The County Commission agenda for January 5th has several items on it that RJC members may want to comment on. Our breakdown of these items and their relevance to racial justice in our community is below. To make a public comment, you need to sign up by Monday, January 4th at 3 p.m. You can follow this link to sign up. If you are unable to make a public comment for this meeting, you can also email the Commissioners individually using their contact form.
You can read the agenda for this County Commissioners Meeting in its entirety here.
Consent Agenda – Resolution to Approve Naming of Creek – Bacoate Branch
- Relevance to Racial Justice: This resolution would name a tributary of the French Broad river in honor of Osie Bacoate, the mother of local civil rights activist and Black business owner Matthew Bacoate, Jr.
- What you might say about it: It’s gratifying to see the County honor the Bacoate family for all of their contributions to our local community, past and present.
- Relevant Documents
New Business – Budget Amendment for Dogwood Trust Grant
- Relevance to Racial Justice: This ordinance would allocate additional funds from the Dogwood Trust to establish a Program Manager for the Community Paramedic Team, further strengthening this important program. A primary goal of this program is to equip paramedics to respond to 911 calls from folks suffering from overdose, including those without insurance. It is a meaningful step in the direction of “reimagining public safety” by addressing substance use as a health care problem rather than a criminal justice problem. The program not only enhances training for paramedics to respond in real time to overdoses, but includes in-time dosing and warm hand-offs to Medication Assisted Treatment, Naloxone kit and training on the scene, rapid response medical clearance for those wishing to enter detox, and in-person follow-ups for chronic disease management and prevention, including wound care, infectious disease, diabetes, heart disease, behavioral health, etc.
- What you might say about it: It’s good to see Dogwood Trust and Buncombe County directing resources toward paramedics and facilitating their larger role in engaging and supporting community members who experience substance use disorders.
- Relevant Documents