Durham, N.C. – The Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) met on Monday, July 28, 2025, in Regular Session. Due to HVAC issues at the Administration I Building, this meeting was held at the Durham County Human Services Building on the 2nd Floor, in Conference Rooms B & C, located at 414 E. Main Street.

Closed Session: The Board adjourned into Closed Session pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11(a)(4) and G.S. 143-318.11(a)(3).

Chair Nida Allam called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.

All attendees were led by Commissioner Vice Chair Dr. Mike Lee in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Agenda Adjustments: The Board made no adjustments to the agenda.

Announcements: Monica Wallace, Clerk to the Board, read the announcements.

1. GoTriangle Offers New Service in Durham/Orange – GoTriangle is now offering updated bus service along Routes 400 and 405 in Durham and Orange counties. Buses will run every 15 minutes between Downtown Chapel Hill, Patterson Place, South Square, Duke and VA Medical Centers, and Downtown Durham on weekdays from 5:45 a.m. until 7 p.m., every 30 minutes on weekdays from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. and on weekends from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m., and every 60 minutes from 9 p.m. to midnight on weekdays, from 7 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. These changes will provide more service and reduce wait times, improving connections to local transit and improving access among Chapel Hill, Durham and points in-between. GoTriangle’s funding for the route expansion was provided through the Durham County FY26 Transit Work Program approved by the Board of Commissioners in May 2025. GoTriangle is budgeted to receive $1.5 million through the Durham County half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2011. This new change will affect old routes; please visit www.gotriangle.org/service-changes for more information.
2. Stop the Violence & Cease Fire Community Resource Event – The Durham County Sheriff’s Office is hosting its third annual Stop the Violence & Cease Fire Community Resource Event at the Durham County Memorial Stadium on Saturday, August 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event is part of the DCSO’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Everyone is invited to come out for a day of fun while learning about community resources. There will be back-to-school giveaways, complimentary food from local food trucks, and entertainment for all ages!
3. Library Fest Logo Contest – Can you out-design Durham County Library staff? They are calling on all artists, hobbyists, and design daredevils to enter the Library Fest 2026 Logo Contest! This year’s theme is “The Stories That Built Us” – and your design could be the face of it all! Deadline to submit entries is August 15, 2025. Find out more information here: https://durhamcountylibrary.org/arbitrary-feature/library-fest-2026.
4. Durham County Tax Bill Estimator – Now that the 2025 General Reappraisal and both the City and County of Durham have passed their 2025 -2026 budgets, residents may be wondering what their tax bill will be. Watch this video – https://youtu.be/Q-uu9n30FLk – to learn how to use our Tax Bill Estimator and then head to the Estimator here – https://bit.ly/DCoTaxBillEstimator.
5. Apply for Ag Economic Development Grant Program – The Durham Soil and Water Conservation District’s Agricultural Economic Development Grant Program is accepting applications! Funded by the Durham Board of County Commissioners, the purpose of the AEDGP is to offer cost share grants to assist farmers and nonprofits in their agricultural endeavors and to promote Agriculture Development and Outdoor Environmental Learning Centers in schools. Applications are open until 11:59 p.m. on August 25, 2025. Applications are posted at https://dconc.gov/Soil-and-Water/Ag-Economic-Development.
6. DCo Website has a New Look – Last week, the official Durham County Government website got an overhaul with the launch of our redesigned website! Be sure to head over to www.DCONC.gov and check it out! We will be looking for feedback from residents and stakeholders on what they like, and what we can improve, in the near future. You can also send your feedback now to publicinformationoffice@dconc.gov.

Minutes: Commissioners approved the June 23, 2025, Regular Session minutes, following a minor correction. Delete vote by Commissioner Jacobs who was not present.

Citizen Comments: The Board provided a 30-minute comment period for any resident of Durham County wishing to speak.

Ceremonial Items:

Proclamation – National Emergency Management Awareness Month –  The Board is proclaimed August 2025 as National Emergency Management Awareness Month in recognition of the vital and essential service provided by emergency management professionals in Durham County in planning, preparing, responding, mitigating, and recovering from disasters. Read the proclamation here.

Proclamation – Program Integrity Awareness Month – The Board proclaimed July 2025 as Program Integrity Awareness Month and to assist in spreading the word about the role that the DSS Program Integrity unit takes in providing investigation and advisory services to ensure appropriate and efficient use of available public resources and to ensure accurate benefits are available to eligible citizens. Read the proclamation here.

Resolution – Recognizing UNC Basketball Legend William “Bill” Chamberlain – The Board honored William Martin “Bill” Chamberlain, paying tribute to his life and legacy as an athlete, civil rights advocate, and North Carolina legend. Read the resolution here.

Recognition – Introduction of 2025 Durham County 4-H Youth Delegate, Promise McCoy, for the NC Association of County Commissioners YouthVoice Program – The Board is requested to meet and recognize Promise McCoy, the 2025 Durham County 4-H Youth Delegate for the NC Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) YouthVoice program. YouthVoice, which takes place at the NCACC’s Annual Conference on Saturday, August 23, offers sessions that help youth delegates gain a better understanding of what county governments do and the role of commissioners as the governing body for counties, and provides multiple opportunities for youth and county officials to connect. Promise is 15 years old and has been involved with Durham County 4-H for three years. Promise has been a highly engaged member of 4-H, participating in a number of clubs, camps, and service activities. She served as the secretary for her 4-H Middle Grounds Garden Club last year. This year she was elected as the 2025-2026 4-H North Central District Secretary and will be serving alongside youth from other counties in the district.

Recognition – Durham County Earns 11 NACo Achievement Awards and a Digital Cities Award for 2025 – The Board is requested to recognize the winners of our seven National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards for 2025 as well as an additional Digital Cities Award. Since 1970, the NACo Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding county government programs and services. Through a non-competitive application process, noteworthy programs receive awards in 18 categories that cover a vast range of county responsibilities. The NACo Annual Conference and Expo, the largest meeting of county elected and appointed officials, took place in City and County of Philadelphia, Pennslyvania, from July 11-14. Durham County Government received the following NACo Achievement Awards for 2025 are:

• Durham County Government Public Facing Website Modernization - Durham County Information Services & Technology and Public Information Office
• DCo Forward 2029 - Durham County Manager’s Office
• Durham County Voter Experience Survey - Durham County Board of Elections
• Durham County DCo Votes Application - Durham County Information Services & Technology and Durham Board of Elections
• Durham County Duke Fiber Implementation - Durham County Information Services & Technology
• Durham County Social Services Case Management Modernization - Durham County Government Public Facing Website Modernization and Durham County Social Services
• The African American Legacy in Gardening and Horticulture Symposium - Durham County Library

Durham County Information Services & Technology Department was named a Digital Counties Survey winner for 2025. The annual Digital Counties Survey is conducted by the Center for Digital Government and Government Technology Magazine, in partnership with NACo. Winners exemplify how counties embrace innovative technologies, data governance, and cybersecurity for more responsive and effective government.

Consent Agenda: Commissioners approved the following items. See full agenda for complete details:

25-0367- Approve Budget Ordinance Amendment #26BCC006 Appropriating $30,000 in General Fund Fund Balance for Payment of Lease Expenses and Approval of the Lease Agreement for the Durham County Office of Emergency Services (OES) Fleet Maintenance Repair Facility Between Knightdale Holdings, LLC. (Landlord) and Durham County (Tenant) at 1129 E. Geer St. Durham, NC for a 4-year term, with the First Year’s Rent Amount of $119,550 and Other Terms as Noted in the Attached Lease Agreement

25-0369 - Budget Ordinance Amendment No.26BCC005 to Recognize a Grant Award of $6,883 from the Durham Library Foundation, Increasing the total Funding to $177,883

25-0375 - Approval of Capital Project Amendment No.26CPA001 Appropriating $1,500,000 of Collection System Rehabilitation Fund Fund Balance and Transfer Funding to the Collection System Rehabilitation Capital Project (SE051) for a New Total Project SE051 Budget of $9,098,592.12

25-0376 - Approve Lease Agreement Between Samet, Corp. (Tenant) and Durham County (Landlord) at 115 N Queen St, Unit A for a 24-month term, with Annual Lease Revenue of $24,000 and Other Terms as Noted in the Attached Lease Agreement

25-0381- Award Contract for Janitorial Services RFP NO. 25-043 to CJ Enterprise Cleaning Services in the amount of $169,800.00 for janitorial services at South Regional Library, Southwest Regional Library, East Regional Library, North Regional Library, Emergency Operations Center, and Bragtown Library

25-0382 - Award Contract for Janitorial Services RFP NO. 25-043 to H3 Cleaning Solutions in the amount of $413,502.03 for janitorial services at Administration I, Administration II, Main Library, Judicial Annex, for fiscal year 2025-2026

25-0383 - Award Contract for Janitorial Services RFP NO. 25-043 to Joy Cleaning Service LLC in the amount of $314,400 for janitorial services at Health and Human Services Building, for fiscal year 2025-2026

25-0384 - Approve Budget Ordinance Amendment No.26BCC001 to Recognize $20,000 in Grant Revenue from the Burt’s Bees Foundation to Support an Inventory of Natural Areas in East and North Durham County

25-0387 - Approval of Resolution Designating Plat Review Officers in Tax Administration and to Cancel the Review Officer Duties of Former County Employees

25-0396 - Appoint Voting Delegate - 2025 North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) 118th Annual Conference

25-0399 - Approve Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Contract with the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce for Business Recruitment, Expansion, and Retention Services in the Amount of $225,000

25-0400 - Approve Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Contract with the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce for Small Business Support Services in the Amount of $50,000

25-0404 - Approve Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Contract with Made in Durham for Workforce Development Services in the Amount of $250,000

25-0405 - Approval of Capital Project Amendment No.26CPA005 and Budget Ordinance Amendment No.26BCC002 Decreasing the Open Space & Farmland Preservation Capital Project (4730DC083) by $380,600 in PAYGO Funding and Transferring the Funding to the General Fund to Support the Purchase of Two Conservation Easements (Sparrow and Frank)

25-0406 - Approval of Capital Project Amendment No.26CPA002 Appropriating Approved County Contribution (PAYGO) Funds ($19,398,358) for Multiple Capital Projects

25-0411- Approval of Capital Project Amendment No.26CPA004 Reducing the Little River ES - Roof Replacement DPS Capital Project (5910SH289) by $32,956.32 in North Carolina Public School Lottery Funding

25-0412 - Approval of Capital Project Amendment No.26CPA003 & Budget Ordinance Amendment No.26BCC003 Reducing Several Capital Project Budgets to $0 and Transferring the Remaining Balance to the Debt Service Fund; as well as Closing Multiple Capital Projects that were Completed in FY 2024-25

25-0414 - Authorize the County Manager to Approve a Contract Amendment with Sunbelt Rentals for the Rental Extension of an HVAC Chiller in the Amount of $59, 178.22, for Two Additional Months Rental, for a total contract amount of $137,772.37

25-0418 - Approval of Property Tax Releases and Refunds for June 2025

All items were approved — 5-0

Other Business: Approve Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Contract with Downtown Durham, Inc. for Economic Development Services in the Amount of $200,000 - The Board authorized the County Manager to execute the attached contract in the amount of $200,000 with Downtown Durham, Inc. downtown economic development services.

This item was approved – 4-0 with 1 abstention

Board and Commission Appointments: The Board made appointments to the following boards and commissions:

• Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board – (i) Daniel Edwards and (i) Frachele Scott
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission – Andrew Birch
• Durham and Wake Counties Research and Production Service District – Alex Murray, Sarah Gaskill, Gina Andersen, Michael “Mike” Curry, Greg Luberecki, Frederico Egli, Sarah Ellis and Tara Crossan
• Durham Convention Center Authority Advisory Committee (SDAC) – Shawn Holland
• Durham County Hospital Corporation Board of Trustees – (i) Hector Hidalgo
• Durham Sports Commission – Emily Jo Roberts
• Durham Technical Community College Board of Trustees – Thashundray Edmonds
• Juvenile Crime Prevention Council – Linda (LA) Cuttler
• Library Board of Trustees – (i) Leah Josephson, (i) Ann McLain, Ericka Patillo, and (i) Kynita stringer-Stanback
• Memorial Stadium Authority – Robert “Bob” Weiseman
• Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee – “Local Government Official” – Wendy Jacobs
• “Healthcare provider” – Jamie Carter
• “Social Services Provider” – Catherine “Kay” Sanford
• “Law Enforcement Representative” – Dawn Baxton
• “Education and Employment Service Representative” – Paul Nagy
• “Individual with Lived Experience with Opioid Use Disorder” – Loftin Wilson
• “Employer and Business Leader Rep” – Karen Kelley
• “Community-based Organization Rep” – Shelia Howard-Martinez
• “Individual who is Representative of a Diverse Community” – Alonzo Pamplin
• “Healthcare Payer or Funder” – Brittany Price

Congratulations to new and returning board members!

Items Pulled from the Consent Agenda: None

Adjournment: The Board adjourned the meeting at 8:07 p.m.

Board meetings are cablecast live and rebroadcast on Durham Television Network (DTN) on Spectrum channel 8 and 1302, Frontier channel 70 and AT&T U-verse channel 99. Meetings can also be viewed on the County’s YouTube channel. To view the agendas and recordings of the BOCC’s Regular Session meetings, visit the BOCC’s Website. Please note, this meeting (July 28) was not broadcast live on DTN or YouTube due to the moving of venues. A recording will be uploaded.

The next hybrid Regular Session is scheduled for Monday, August 11, 2025, inside the Commissioners' Chambers on the second floor at 200 E. Main Street.

For more information about BOCC meetings, contact the Clerk to the Board's Office at (919) 560-0025 or email clerk@dconc.gov.

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