Notice of Public Hearing for 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update

In 2012, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) along with the Durham-Chapel Hill Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) and GoTriangle adopted the first Orange County Transit Plan. This Plan was funded by a newly adopted Article 43 Half-Cent Sales Tax. It included investments in new and expanded bus service and new capital infrastructure projects like the Chapel Hill North-South Bus Rapid Transit Project, the Hillsborough Train Station, and the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit (DOLRT) Project. The Plan was updated in 2017 to meet federal requirements associated with the DOLRT Project.

In March 2019, the DOLRT Project was discontinued. This project was the Transit Plan's primary investment, representing a critical partnership between Durham and Orange counties and serving as the transit infrastructure around which other transit services and growth strategies were planned. In response to the discontinuation of the DOLRT, the Orange County BOCC initiated the process to update the Transit Plan in November 2019.

Over the past two years, a staff and consultant project team have developed a draft Transit Plan Update with input from the public and steering through a Policy Steering Committee (PSC). Additional information about the planning process and outreach phases used to develop the draft 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update can be found at: www.octransit2020.com.

Orange County BOCC Public Hearing

For any resident who would like to provide comments directly to the BOCC, Orange County staff has scheduled a public hearing on Nov. 1, 2022, at 7 p.m. in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room at the Whitted Building, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough. The agenda for this meeting will be available online by 5 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2022, on the following webpage: https://www.orangecountync.gov/1707/BOCC-Agendas.

Public comments may also be submitted to Tom Altieri, Comprehensive Planning Supervisor, via email at (taltieri@orangecountync.gov). Comments submitted to this address before midnight on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, will be forwarded to the BOCC in advance of the Nov 1 public hearing.

Orange County SHIIP provides free and unbiased assistance to those with Medicare

The Orange County Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) provides free and unbiased assistance to those with Medicare. Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period is from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7. During this time, we recommend that everyone with Medicare review 2023 plans to ensure you have the best plan for your needs. Both Part D Drug Plans and Part C Advantage Plans have changes each year, making it important to compare your current plan with other options. Many people can save $300, $500 or even thousands of dollars by switching to a different plan, and most can only change during this seven-week period.

Here are three ways you can take advantage of Open Enrollment:

Schedule a meeting with a certified counselor. Our volunteer counselors are trained by the NC Department of Insurance and are committed to helping you understand all your options without pressure to choose a specific plan. We offer in-person appointments at the Seymour Center in Chapel Hill and the Passmore Center in Hillsborough as well as Zoom video appointments. Visit www.orangecountync.gov/Medicare to schedule your appointment on-line or call 919-245-4274 and leave a message with your contact information. We’ll call you back to schedule.
You can also get help over the phone 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday by calling the NC Department of Insurance SHIIP Program at 1-855-408-1212.
You can review plans yourself by visiting www.Medicare.Gov. Important Note: If you take injectable insulin, the information provided at Medicare.Gov is incorrect due to legislation passed in August that capped the price of injectable insulin. Please be sure to use one of the other options above.

Whatever approach you choose, the important thing is that you check your Medicare options every year between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7.

If you are new to Medicare with an effective date in 2022, you will choose a plan for 2022 and should still review plans again for 2023 during the Open Enrollment Period.

If you are an NC State Retiree, your open enrollment period ends Oct. 28. There are no major changes to the State Retiree plan offerings for Medicare-eligible members, and you don’t need to take any action unless you want to change plans.

The Orange County SHIIP program is sponsored by the Orange County Department on Aging.

Orange County Nickels for Know-How Referendum

The Orange County Nickels for Know-How Referendum will be held on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022.

One polling location will be established in Orange County. The polling location will be at the County Extension Office at Bonnie B. Davis Building, 1020 US 70 West, Hillsborough.

Mart Bumgarner, the Crops and Horticulture Extension Agent explained that the referendum is being held to let users and producers of feed or fertilizer decide if they wish to continue the self-assessment program. This program has been in place since 1948, and the law requires that a new referendum be held every six years.

A 2/3 favorable vote will mean that growers are willing to continue to assess themselves to support agricultural research and education. The assessment is fifteen cents per hundred pounds on feed and fertilizer produced in North Carolina.

The funds, about $1.4 million annually, are collected by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and then allocated by the NC Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc.'s 148 volunteer Board of Directors to support agricultural research and extension projects at North Carolina State University benefitting agriculture in North Carolina.

For more information on the referendum, please call your County Extension Office at 919-245-2062 and speak with Mart.

Construction Update for The 203 Project

Beginning on Monday, Oct. 31, a new one-way traffic pattern will be implemented around the construction site of The 203 Project on S. Greensboro Street in downtown Carrboro.

This will affect traffic movement on Roberson (westbound only), Maple (northbound only) and Carr (eastbound only) streets. This will affect traffic movement around the project site only.

For accessing the Libba Cotten Bikeway, cyclists are encouraged to use Carr Street to avoid oncoming traffic on Roberson Street.

As a reminder, the public parking lot at this site is now closed. Alternative public parking lots are located around town and a parking map can be viewed here.

The 203 Project development will be the future home of Carrboro Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources; Orange County Southern Branch Library; Orange County Skills Development Center; WCOM Radio; a teen center and performance/multipurpose uses. The 203 Project will provide opportunities for education, art and community connection.

More information is available at http://townofcarrboro.org/1151/The-203-Project

Questions can be directed to the203project@carrboronc.gov.

Aging to host Day of the Dead Carnival on Oct. 27

The Orange County Department on Aging and the Project EngAGE Intergenerational and End of Life Choices Senior Resource Teams invite the public to attend our community event, Day of the Dead Carnival, on Oct. 27.

Bring your family, friends, and the kiddos to celebrate the memories of our loved ones. Enjoy fun, food, arts and crafts as we decorate sugar skulls and picture frames for those we want to honor and remember. We will offer a viewing of the Disney-Pixar film Coco and provide child friendly end-of-life educational materials. Join us in costume, as we celebrate and create memories and take home a Halloween goodie bag! Program sponsored in partnership with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Jerry M. Passmore Center in Hillsborough.

Please register by Monday, Oct. 24 with the Passmore Center front desk by calling 919-245-2015.

www.orangecountync.gov