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Orange County boards urge school partnerships, preservation grants and housing actions
Summary
At a Feb. 10 work session, representatives from county boards and commissions briefed the County Commission on 2025 accomplishments and 2026 priorities, urging renewed school partnerships for recreation, small preservation grant support for historic sites and coordinated housing and voucher strategies.
At its Feb. 10 work session, the Orange County Board of Commissioners heard annual reports from a first group of county boards and commissions, who highlighted priorities ranging from parks partnerships to historic-preservation grants and housing-voucher work.
"Demand outpaces the existing supply of recreational spaces and opportunities," said Natalie Ziemba, representing the Orange County Parks and Recreation Council, as she summarized the council’s role in the county trails master plan, the June opening of Perry Hills Mini Park and the continuing demand for pickleball courts and soccer fields. The council urged renewed partnerships with Orange County Schools to expand access to facilities.
The Historic Preservation Commission asked the Board to consider a small county grant program to leverage external funding and incentivize owners to protect historic properties. Art Menius said the commission expects the Strayhorn House nomination to reach the National Register within about 45 days and is pursuing preservation easements and markers for previously unmarked cemeteries and sites connected to enslaved people at Blackwood Farm Park.
Other updates included: the Agricultural Preservation Board’s completion of an updated Agricultural Viability and Farmland Stewardship Plan, which the board plans to present in spring 2026; the Commission for the Environment’s work on a 2026 State of the Environment report and calls to restore full Community Climate Action grant funding; and the Animal Services Advisory Board’s ongoing dangerous-dog hearings, volunteer programs and employee-appreciation events.
Housing-focused panels reported work on housing choice vouchers and project-based voucher efforts. Jana Murdock-Doherty of the Orange County Housing Authority described a new RFP for project-based vouchers and said the authority is reviewing administrative policies to transition families when emergency voucher funding ends. Housing Director Blake Rosser said project-based vouchers total about 51 units and that overall affordable housing inventory remains a principal barrier.
Commissioners asked for more detail in several areas, including a granular breakdown of school-facility partnerships, the size of requested preservation grants, and concrete timelines for housing bond analyses. Presenters said survey results and final reports are expected in 2026 and that a second group of boards will present work plans at the March 10 work session.
The Board thanked the volunteer boards for their reports and offered preliminary support for targeted county investments that leverage additional grants and partnerships.
