Residents press Wake County on food dyes in school meals, RDU zoning, housing authority oversight and Shotwell landfill expansion

Several residents used the public comment period at the Wake County Board of Commissioners meeting on July 7 to press elected officials on a range of issues, including artificial food dyes in school meals, a proposed Article V resolution in the state legislature, zoning around RDU, oversight of the Wake County Housing Authority and concerns about a Shotwell Landfill expansion approved on the consent agenda.

Student concerns about food dyes: Sheila Awashti, a 4‑H Wake County Teen Council member and Millbrook High School student, told the board she and her twin removed artificial food dyes from their diets after health problems and research into additives. "Do you ever wonder what's in your food?" Awashti asked. She cited studies she said were conducted by researchers including scientists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and summarized research linking artificial dyes to neurobehavioral effects in children. Awashti urged Wake County schools to eliminate artificial dyes from school food as a first step.

Federal power and Article V: Peter Spong of District 7 urged the board to support House Joint Resolution 379, a North Carolina legislative resolution seeking a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. Spong asked the board to consider drafting a resolution of support at a future meeting and said he would follow up with Commissioner Vicky Adamson.

RDU zoning and the Oddfellows area: Natalie Lou said she has researched historical meeting minutes related to land-use decisions around RDU and the Oddfellows area and disputed a recent county attorney comment that the issue was political. Lou urged the board to enforce residential zoning in the Oddfellows area and said RDU has not historically had a land-use zoning ordinance, arguing that prior decisions intentionally placed certain parcels outside airport district zoning to protect them from uses such as quarries.

Housing authority oversight: Octavia Rainey, a Southeast Raleigh resident and fair-housing advocate, spoke about the Wake County Housing Authority and asked the board to exercise its charter oversight. Rainey requested the housing authority's annual action plan and said she supports a board member (Yolanda Taylor, named in comments) who she described as credible and experienced.

Shotwell Landfill expansion: Leanne Hammerbacher of Triangle Land Conservancy said she had previously spoken on the Shotwell Landfill expansion (identified on the consent agenda as item 18, which the board approved) and urged the county to require Meridian Landfill to relocate a proposed borrow pit that sits between two blue-line streams and within about 200 feet of a no‑impact zone established in the original permit. Hammerbacher asked the county to set aside at least 10 acres of forested buffer, noted the adjacent Williamson Preserve receives more than 50,000 visitors a year and said the site is located in an area the county designates as socioeconomically vulnerable. She also raised concerns about incremental expansions and cited a landfill annual report stating the facility currently recycles 10% or less of the waste it receives.

Public comment protocol: During the meeting the chair reminded speakers that commissioners generally do not respond during the public-comment period and that comments are for the board's consideration.

What the board recorded: The record shows these public comments were presented to the board; no formal board actions were taken in response during this meeting.