All right, good morning, everyone.

Thanks for hopping on on this fine February morning.

Um we already have a quorum here, which is good.

We can go ahead and proceed.

Um we're gonna have a pretty short meeting, it looks like we only have one applicant um this month.

We'll get into that in just a second.

Um just uh order of business.

If you all didn't know, the um the online application portal for the debt program has changed.

Sarah has included the updated QR code and the flyer that fortunately, thank you, Lauren has updated with the new QR um code.

So if you are have these posted in your workspaces or in the community, please make sure those get updated.

If you have additional um flyer materials yourself, Savannah, do you all have one for Carbro that you've you've been using?

See, she unmuted, but I haven't heard anything.

I don't know if she's having some difficulty.

I think she unmuted, but haven't heard anything, so I just messaged.

Um morning, Ruby.

Sounds like Savannah, can you hear us?

Okay, great, thank you.

So Savannah's gonna um replace their Carborough flyers with the updated QR code.

So um just uh loop everyone in who may have joined a few minutes late.

Um the QR code, the application flyer has changed.

Um there's a flyer attached to the email Sarah sent on Sunday with the new one.

So again, if you have those flyers posted in your workspaces, or if you need to start doing that now, please make sure to print off those new ones and save the new ones with that QR code direct to the new application um page.

That's the only difference, just the QR code changed.

Uh everything else is basically the exact same.

Um, I'm gonna go ahead and share my screen, do the formalities, and then we'll hop over to um Sarah to share the applicant we have on today's cycle.

So uh first order of business, we'll just do our roll call.

Uh I know we have quorum today, but just to get the numbers, we'll start off with Donna.

Hi.

I believe Crystal is absent.

Uh Mark is also absent.

Tiffany.

I'm here.

Um, I am present.

Danielle.

Here.

Ty.

Here.

Ruby.

Here.

April.

Here.

And Amber.

Here.

All right.

So we definitely have a quorum there.

Um next we'll move over to approval of the agenda.

So I've pulled it up on the screen here.

Um I'll just go ahead and move to approve the agenda as shown.

I'll second.

Second.

I heard Tiffany first.

Ty, thanks for the effort.

Um second by Tiffany.

And we'll vote beginning with Donna.

Yes.

Danielle.

Yes.

Ty.

Yes.

Uh Ruby.

Yes.

April.

Yes.

And Amber.

Yes.

All right.

So the agenda has been approved.

And then next order of business is the meeting minutes.

Um, these are from January's meeting.

This was circulated with the weekly with the email this week.

The only ones who cannot vote, um, board members at least was Crystal and uh Ruby.

I think you may have dropped out a little early last time, so I'm not gonna have you uh vote on this since you weren't there for the full meeting.

Um, but those of you that were present will go ahead and vote.

I'll motion to approve the meeting minutes.

Second, second by April, and then we'll vote going down this list here of Donna.

Approve Amber.

Yes.

Tiffany.

Yes, Danielle, yes, and Ty.

Yes.

All right, so approved.

Um, last thing I'll do before I turn it over to Sarah is we do have an updated um funding balance.

Sarah, today's applicants from Chapel Hill, is that correct?

Okay.

Um so you all can see here um the current Chapel Hill pot of 8,248.

And then just for your own knowledge, the Carborough and the Orange County pots um there are as shown.

I'll go ahead and stop sharing now.

Turn it over to Sarah for our one applicant today.

Okay.

Can you all see the application?

The screening form.

Yes.

Okay.

Perfect.

Thank you.

All right.

So our applicant is Rebecca Decimone.

I'm thinking that's how you say it.

She's coming out of the Chapel Hill pot.

She's not received any assistance in the past three years, not convicted of any violent felonies in the past five.

Uh not currently incarcerated.

She owes $6,151.37 in court fees.

Does not owe any fees to the DMV or need an alcohol assessment.

So Rebecca is a 45-year-old white female residing in Chapel Hill at the Freedom House Recovery Center.

She's in a transitional program.

Employed part-time at a breakfast and brunch restaurant.

Almost half of her pay goes towards transportation to and from work via Uber.

She's receiving food stamps, has medical and credit card debt due to court costs in Florida, which have now gone to collections.

She's unable to obtain a driver's license.

She says she hopes to feel free from this financial burden and hopes to move forward and have a normal life.

And she's facing barriers to housing utilities, food security, and transportation.

Does have some cases from Florida.

As you can see here, she owes $806.40 for trafficking and fentanyl case, $286.65, and then uh $41.04.

Um for these Florida cases.

And I think when Mitch and I talked, um, you know, we talked about and and Mitch, I wasn't able to get up in with Rebecca on Friday, um, so I can try her again, but we talked about focusing on these Florida cases and efforts to help her get a driver's license back, um, especially with the limited funds that um we have in Chapel Hills Pot right now.

Yeah, I remember talking about that.

At the time we didn't know yet what the actual offenses were in Florida.

Um I'm kind of shocked that those offenses are causing issues for her driver's license, though.

Are we able to confirm it all?

Besides, I mean, how do we know that her license is spended out of Florida because of these cases?

Was it her telling the program or some other way?

I'm just kind of curious about that.

I can go back and look in the notes.

I don't know if Lauren knows.

She disclosed the information.

Okay.

Thanks, Lauren.

Because those are some interesting offenses, especially the trafficking offenses.

Um a little different now if it's not like a traffic offense, like you know, motor vehicle violation anymore.

Um April, by chance, do you have any connection with Miss Desimon?

Uh no, I I don't, but I'm guessing um you get a certain amount of charge or fees or something for every state, and then she crossed with drugs, so that might be wise.

Tangled it with a license.

Sarah and I had met, I've checked her driving record.

I think she was a resident of North Carolina for a while and then moved down to Florida, I think two years ago or three years ago, Sarah, is that right?

And moved back and is not at Freedom House um for the time being.

What does the board think?

What any thoughts about this applicant and the information we have about her?

Well, I I think we ought to confirm that these Florida fees are preventing her from getting a North Carolina driver's license.

Yeah.

Um Lauren.

I don't mind doing something going ahead and approving it.

Contingent on finding that in fact that's correct.

It may very well be correct.

I don't know, but but uh, you know, I wouldn't want to pay them off if they don't need to be paid off in order for to get a North Carolina driver's license.

Yeah, that's fair.

Lauren, I know I think you have a contact with DMV that you get restoration fee amounts from.

Do you think they may be able to provide information regarding the situation?

I just know when I looked at the record last week, there was no information regarding Florida, but it's not uncommon for DMV to have other internal information that stops them to have a driver's license due to out of state matters.

So they can for North Carolina Matters.

Reach out to Florida DMV too.

So at least in my perspective, what I think maybe most like impactful for her here is to get her driver's license as soon as early as she can.

Obviously, according to the application here, she's spending most of her income or at least half of her income on um Ubers to and from work.

So my initial thought is perhaps we just postpone this application for about a month, see if we can connect with the applicant and possibly Florida DMV if Lauren's able to connect with them and kind of confirm these details so then we can come back and use our our funds a bit more wisely than then just hoping that this is the correct information.

Is there any thoughts of that or for the discussion people want to have that?

Crystal, okay.

So I'll go ahead and motion to have that, then we'll postpone this applicant until March.

Um March 16th is next month's meeting, and see if in the meantime we can get this information regarding that and kind of just confirm if those Florida fees um that are listed on on here are the ones that are causing an issue for her and in fact keeping her from having a license here in North Carolina.

Um and so second seconded by Crystal on that motion, it sounds like I'll go ahead and move the vote to that meeting with Donna.

Yes.

Mark.

I'm gonna abstain since I missed much of the conversation.

Understood.

Tiffany?

Yes.

Danielle.

Yes.

Ty.

Yeah.

Ruby.

Yes.

April.

Yes.

And Amber.

Yes.

All right.

And then Lauren and or Sarah, if I can provide any further assistance with that, just please let me know.

Um I know deal with DMV is not always an easy thing, but if I can help all let me know.

Thanks, Mitch.

All right.

Well, that was our one and only applicant.

So thank you all for your time and I'll be at a quick meeting today.

Um, March 16th is our next meeting next month.

As a reminder, for those of you may join late on the email Sarah circulated earlier this week.

That new um flyer has the updated QR code.

So please make sure if you're sharing the information to all your community, uh, make sure we're using the current one so though that QR code can go right to the um new link.

Um, any other business people want to talk about?

Mitch, I won't be able to be at the sixth the meeting on March 16th, just so you know it's my conference week.

Okay.

Thanks, letting us know.

With that, I'll go ahead and release everyone else out.

Um, I think Sarah and Danielle are gonna hop stay off a little bit to have a conversation.

But it's good seeing everyone this month.

I'll see you all next month.

Thank you.

Thank you.