Community Funding Board Meeting - May 19, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Community Funding Board Meeting - May 19, 2025
On May 19, 2025, at 11:00 AM, the Community Funding Board met virtually to review funding applications and discuss administrative matters. A quorum of seven members was present (Donna, Crystal absent, Mark, Tiffany, Danielle joined later, Ty, Olivia, April absent, Amber via chat). The meeting began with roll call, approval of the agenda, and approval of previous meeting minutes, all passed unanimously. The board reviewed funding balances: Chapel Hill under $10,000, Carborough $6,686, Orange County bail bond $726 (with an additional $1,500 pending and a full $6,000 annual allocation anticipated from Orange County). The board then considered three applicants.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the agenda (motion by Donna, second by Tiffany, unanimous vote: Mark, Tiffany, Olivia, Amber via chat, others present all yes).
- Approval of April meeting minutes (motion by Donna, second by Donna, unanimous vote: Mark, Tiffany, Ty, Olivia, Amber via chat).
Discussion Items
- Katina Welsh (Carborough pod, $443 requested for Durham County court fee): Welsh is a 52-year-old Black female, part-time resident support specialist, seeking full-time employment, with medical debt and transportation barriers. She has an outstanding FTA and potential license suspension by May 30. The board discussed the risk of paying the full fee (including a $50 fine) versus resolving the FTA in court to avoid points and insurance increases. Ty offered to speak with her to discuss consequences. A motion was made to conditionally approve $393 (the court fee minus the $50 fine) upon payment of the $50 fine by Welsh, with the condition that she contact Ty to discuss the case. Motion passed unanimously (Mark, Tiffany, Danielle, Ty, Olivia, Amber via chat).
- Jessica Scott (Chapel Hill pod, requested $5,622.50 plus assessments): Scott is a 44-year-old female in a six-month recovery program at Freedom House, sober for over 100 days, part-time employed, with $5,000 medical debt and $3,000 consumer debt. She has two pending cases in Wake County; the majority of the fees (over $4,000) are in question due to potential inaccuracies. The board agreed to hold off on the disputed amount until a fee breakdown is obtained. A motion was made to approve $1,603.50, comprised of $416 for alcohol assessments and three other fees: $879.50 DWI level one (Mecklenburg), $208 second-degree trespass, and $100 silver vacation fee (Wake County 2014). Motion passed unanimously (Mark, Tiffany, Danielle, Donna, Olivia, Amber via chat).
- Anthony Saunders (carryover from prior meeting): Saunders had not responded to outreach attempts since April 22 (email from Lauren). The board moved to extend the file for one more month, with a motion to deny if no contact is made by the next meeting. Motion passed unanimously (Donna, Mark, Tiffany, Danielle, Olivia, Amber via chat).
Key Outcomes
- Katina Welsh: Conditional approval of $393, with requirement to pay $50 fine and contact Ty to discuss potential court resolution.
- Jessica Scott: Approved $1,603.50 for assessments and specified fees; disputed amount on hold pending clarification from Wake County.
- Anthony Saunders: File extended for one more month; if no contact by next meeting, the application will be denied.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for Monday, June 16, 2025.
Meeting Transcript
We've hit 11 o'clock now. We'll go ahead and get started. Um let me go ahead and just share my screen. I'll pull up our formalities first, and then I'll turn it over to Sarah for the applicants. We only have a few um today get through. Um obviously, first off, we'll do a roll call. Um get into the orgs of business. Start off with uh Donna. Here Crystal, I believe is absent. Yes. Uh Mark. Here Tiffany. I am present. Danielle. I don't know if I saw her or not. I think she's currently absent. Uh Ty. Here. Olivia. Okay. April. We don't see her. Uh and Amber. Amber, I think I see you. Amber, are you there? I see your screen, but I think you're on mute. Oh, mic isn't working. Okay. But you can hear us. Okay. All right. Well, we'll just uh go ahead and proceed then. That that is seven, so that is quorum. And Ty, by all means, if you need to hop up at any time, just feel free to uh jump in. Um first order of business, obviously, is uh with our agenda today. So I have it shared here on the screen. Sarah, do you need anything else about it regarding the board members and start dates? I don't think so. We're just wrapping that up and I'm finishing cross-referencing what what I have in emails and everything just to make sure we've got it all accurate. Okay, great. So we'll move into approving the agenda. So I'll go ahead and motion to have it approved. I'll second. Second by Tiffany. We'll vote with those who are present, beginning with Donna. Yes. Mark? Yes. Yes. Olivia.
openpublica.com