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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19760210•'~~ ~~ JOINT MEETING OF ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AND CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO BOARD OF EDUCATION Report February 10, 1976 - The Orange County Commissioners, Orange County Board of Education, and the Chapel Hill-CarrboroF3aard of Education met on February 10, 197b,at Lincoln Center. Mrs. Flo Garrett, Chairman of the County Commissioners, called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the following members present: County Commissioners Mr. Norm Gustaveson, Mr. Jan Pinney, and Mr. Richard Whitted; Orange County Board of Education members Mr. $. G. Coleaxan, Mr. Oscar Compton, Mrs. F;mma Sue Lof tin, and Mr. Larry Sturdivant; and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of ,Education members Mr. Edwin Caldwell, Jr., Mrs.Betty Denny, Mr. Kenneth Howard, Mr. James Riddle, Mrs. Mary Scruggs, Mrs. Phyllis Sockwell, and Mr. Norman Wheatherly. Staff members in attendance were Mr. Sam Gattis and Mr. Neal Evans of the Ceunty Commissioners, Mr. George Williams and Mr. Robert Fianea from the two school systems. Mrs. Garrett said that the meeting is called to discuss the county capital needs. Mr. Sam Gattis, Orange County Manager, said that a Facility study is being done, but has not yet been completed, and that the listed needs are estimates only. He said that the most pressing Heads, not yet so identified by County Commissioners, and not listed in order of priority, are for a new jail at an estimated cost of $750,000 to $1,000,000; office spate for county administrative offices; renovation of Grady Brown Svhovl in Hillsborough, if feasible, at an estimated cyst of $900,000, or about half of this if only one of the two buildings were renovated; and renova- tion of court facilities at an estimated cost of about $l~Q0,00. He said that a second-line need is for space in Chapel Hill to provide county services, since the present rent for Department of Social Services and Health Department is $2p,000 annually; a policy decision will need to be made whether additional traditional county services should be provided izz Chapel Hill. He said that third-line needs include rural water and sewer, and recreational facilities in the county. Mr. George Williams, Orange County School Superintendent, said that the Orange County Board of Education discussed the needs of Orange County schools at their last meeting, and that the presentation includes only immediate needs; the Board decided that they are unable at this time to predict accurately the future enrollment, since there has been a sudden enrollment increase this year over that projected. He said that the immediate need is the renovation and addition to the elementary school in the Efland area, or the construction of a new school; the estimated current cost of renovation and addition is $1,600,000 with projected increase in cost of l0~ a year. He said that there fs a need for addi- tional space for cutural arts at the high school, at an estimated cast of $500,000; for a storage building for the maintenance of the school food service, at an estimated cost of $75,000; for additional classrooms at some of the elementary schools, since one of the classes is now housed in a trailer; for dressing rooms and storage apace at~the junu,or school, at an estimated cost of $100,000; far imprpvements at the existing sites, --- including landscaping, paving and playgrounds, at an estimated cost of more than $100,000; and that additional $175,000 is needed for miscellaneous smaller projects, for a total of $2,850,000 for immeditate use. Mr. Williams said that the Board has discussed items that will be needed in the future, which will greatly increase the amount of funds requested. Fie said that the average of bids in construction is between $27.50 and $30.00 par square foot, and that the post of the projects was calculated within this range. ;'~'~ d Mr. Compton s$id that the estimated. renovation cost of EFiand-Cheeks school ~.s a minimum, and that there is no room For growth in any of the schools in the county. He said that he feels the county should both add to the Efland-Cheeks school and also build an additional school in the same general area to attract back some of the 350 students who now go to schools in Alamance County, since the addition alone would provide room for less than 100 additional students. He said that another junior high school will be needed in that area in the future. Mr. Williams said that the sixth graders from Efland-Cheeks now attend the Grady Brown School in Hillsborough, and said that the community residents have indicated that they would like to have the sixth graders bank at Efland-Cheeks when a new school is built. _ He said that the school attendance in the Efland-Cheeks school was 400 with a sixth grade in 1969-1970 school year, and that it is now about 1F90 without a sixth grade; the renovated building would have space for over 600 students. Mrs. Garrett asked whether there is any way that the Orange County Board of Education could predict needs for five years. Mr. Williams said that such.a prediction would be extremely difficult, since the Board anticipated an enrollment of J+30 at Efland-Cheeks thi s year, and the school now has !}90 students enrolled. He said that apace is needed next year for elementary schools, and in seven years an addi- tional junior ~3igh school may be needed, since there seems to be an increase in the enrollment in grades below the fourth grade. He said that the Grady Brown School has a number of students enrolled from Durham city and county, and that these students may go back to the Durham system, once their school system becomes atabiliz~d.-.. Mr. Compton said that the Board discussed the needs for the next five years, but f+~lt that any indication of needs so far in the future would be inaccurate, since the enrollment cannot be accurately predicted. Mr. Weatherly said that during the past ten years the Chapel:Gill-Carrboro School System has built two junior high schools, built and added to Seawall and Ephesus Elementary Schools and to the high school, and added to Frank Porter Grahear Elementary School; that in this•sanne period classroom use ha,s bees discontinued at the old high school, Lincoln Center and Nprthside School. He said that the school system has sufficient space to accommodate all the kindergarten program, and~~ that the growth in enrollment has been 50-b0 new students a year. He said that, because of the rapid expsasion of the school system, the physical facilities at the newer buildings have not yet been completed. He said that the immediate needs era the completion of multi-purpose rooms, completion of the landscaping, parking, and traffics facilities, and the renovation of Frank Porter Graham, Glenwood, Carrboro a.nd Estes Hills Elementary Schools. He presented a written list of proposed capital projects needs. I. Five year capital Needs 1976-77 - 1980-81 (Items in this category are not listed in priority order) A. Lincoln Center Renovation: Maintenance, Warehouse, Adult Education, Administration, Recreation B. F. P. Graham Multi-Purpose Room C. Phillips Multi-Purpose Room D. Renovations Estes Hills Glenwood Carrboro E. Phillips: Athletic Fields Library Addition Additional Industrial Arts Shop $l,l40,000.00 $ 175,000.00 $ 175,000.00 $ 280,000. -- $$ 280,000.00 280,000.©0 120,000.00 $$ 150,000.00 90,000.00 F.:. Culbre th : .`.~'~ `~' Athletic Fields 96,000.00 ~ Faur Classroom Addition 144,000.00 G. Frank Porter Graham: Parking and Bus arse $ 60,000.00 H:., High School: Completion of Cultural Arts Building $ 444;000:00 Parking, Paving $ 61,0©0.00 I. Cafeteria Department All Schools $ 105,000.00 _. J. Seawall - Parking, Driveway $ 75,000.00 R.... Contingency $ 325,000.00 Total Funds Needed to Complete Plans Proposed: $4,000,000.00 II. Five Year Capital Needs 1981-82 - 1985-86 A. New Elementary 5chaol $1,000,000.00 B. Other 1,500,000.00 to 2,000 000.00 motel X2,500,000.00 - $3,000,000.00 This plan is based upon the assumption that the current capital outlay appropriation to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools would be at the rate of $300,000.00 to $400,000.00 per year. Funds in excess of this amount would need to come from other sources. He said that the items are not listed in a priority orde r, and that the two major anticipated expenses are the renovation of Lin coln Center and the construction of a new elementary school. or additions to two existing elementary schools. Mr. Hanes, Superintendent of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System, said that the enrollment pattern at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System parallels that of the County, with consistent enrollment growth over the past few years and a sudden jump this school year, especially in the enrollment at the first grade level, and that the projected growth over the next four years shows 200 for the next year, 150 for the second year, and l00 each for the third end fourth years. He said that the timing of the eonstruction• of the new elementary school will depend on whether this enrollment projedtavn holds true, or whether there is a sharper increase in the students enrplled. He said that.the elementary schools will be operating at 93-99~ capacity during the next four years, if the projected increase is correct. He said that the Board anticipates that the current capital outlay appropriation will be continued in addition to the needs expressed. Mr. Williams said that the County Board of Education also anticipate that the currant capital outlay appropriation will ba continued. Mr. Howard said that„ as far as the Orange County is concerned, the school needs in the county will occur on a yearly basis, with major funding needed yearly either by the County or by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School system. Mrs. Garrett asked for discussion on how the projected needs should be funded. Mr. Caldwell said that when projects get funded on a pay-as-you-gp basis something gets sacrificed, since not enough funds are available to do all the necessary parts of the projects. He said that experience has shown that, in the past, the State has had to assist counties about every twenty years to help with building needs, but the State has issued bonds recently, and the schools cannot wait another ten years for them capital improvements. - -- ~~8 Mr. Howard said that, if revenue sharing were discontinued, the state will not have any money for capital improvement projects. Mr. Weatherly said that the County Commissioners will need to decide hew these capital improvement projects are to be financed. He said that some additional money can be raised from the supplemental tax in part of the county, but that it will not be sufficient for the expressed needs. That tax is presently limited to currant expense uses. Mrs. Garrett said that one alternative is to raise taxes. She said that Durham County is asking the legislature for a special supplement by school systems. Mr. Compton said that the capital improvement needs for the County School system, at an estimated $2,200,000, would be sufficient for the next four or five years, but that an additional $300,000 to $400,000 will be needed annually for currant capital expenses. He said that this estimate can change, depending on the student enrollment in the next few years. Mr. Caldwell said that it is important to recognize that spending money now may save money for the county in the future, if capital improvement projects are planned systematically and not delayed until a crisis occurs. He suggested that the County Commissioners consider a bond issue as one of the alternatives of funding. Mrs. Denny asked about the urgency of the county needs for a new jail and courthouse improvements. Mrs. Garrett said that the jail is raw operating under a provisional status, and that the county must demonstrate that it is planning seriously for an early completion of a new jail, otherwise the state can require extensive renovation of the existing jail. Mr. Gattis said that the court now meets in Hillsborough thirty weeks of the year, often with three kinds of court in operation at the same time, and that the present facilities consist of one court room and an auxiliary court room; there is also only one jury meeting room, and often two of the courts will have juries, and that sev®ral more employees would be able to provide services if there ware sufficient office space to put them. Mr. Weatherly said that there is a possibility of potential savings far the county in having the outside play areas, multi-purpose rooms, and gym facilities at schools used jomntly with county and municipal recreation commissions, since this might make cooperative development of these facilities possible. Mr. Riddle said that the estimated needs by both the school systems. and the county are between $b 000,000 to $8,000,000 for the first five years, and as much as $1,000,000 over the neat decade. He asked whether any figures are available on the cost of financing this amount on a pay-as-you-go basis as opposed DSO a bond issue. Mr. Pinney said that it would taT~e a 25¢ tax rate to obtain $1,500,000 annually over a period of five years, or a 12¢ tax rate ~o obtain a twenty year bond issue of $8,000,000. Mrs. Scroggs said that the l2¢ tax range assumes that s11 the bonds would ba issued at the same time at 6~ interest. She said that the needs, expressed by county government an¢i county schools are legitimate and critical needs, as are those of Chapel Mill-Carrboro schools. She said that asking these projects to be funded on a pay-as-you-go basis would place an undue burden on the taxpayers over the next ten years, in order to relieve future taxpayers, since these facilities will be in operation for an estimated forty years. She suggested that the Funding of the smaller projects be from annual appropriations, with the larger projects possibly funded through a bond issue, and said that _ even if a sizable bond referendum ware needed, the bonds would not be actually issued until such a time as the projedt was ready for construction. Mrs. Garrett said that the County residents' ability to pay off bends also has to be considered. Mrs. Peachee Wicker asked whether a breakdown on the proposed renovation costs of Lincoln Center is available, with estimate other than those from the committee that studied the renovation; and whether the renovation figures for the three elementary schools have estimates (available, and whether these include air conditioning. Mr. Hanes said the Lincoln Center renovation figure is that estimated by the cam- ~~~ mittee, and that this has not yet been approved by the Board; and that the item to be included in the renovations bf the three schools have not been determined, but that the Board will need to decide between various alternatives, including heatzng and electrical system updating, air conditioning, and library updating and expansion. Dlr. Howard as][ed whether the future a£ the Northside School has been decided, idr, Gattis said that Diental Health will occupy the facility and space will not be available for additional county services. Dir. Howard said that he sees a need for $20,000,000 worth of capital expenditures over the next ten years, that the county is currently providing about $800,OOD for the two school .systems' capital expendi- tures•annually,. which leaves a gap of $12,000,000, assuming that the current tax base, tax rate and spending pattern continued. He said that pay-as-you-go funding of $1,200,000 annually will mean a 20~ tax rate increase, and that this would put a burden on the present genera- . tion of county taxpayers for payment of facilities that will be used over a long number of years. He said that he sees a bond issue as the only way of financing these projects. D:r. Riddle said that the tax rate increase of 20d assumes that there will be no additional county needs, and said that paying in one year projects that total $6,000,000 may mean a tax rate increase for that year of 50~. Dirs. Denny asked about the limit as to the amount of bonds the County can issue. Dir. Gattis said that the statutory limit is 8/0 of the assessed evaluation, which is nearly $700,000,000 which gets up to the $56,000,000 level. He said that the present outstanding bonds, which . were issued in 1967, amount to about $5,000,OOD, and that he feels this amount, plus an additional $10,000,000 in the proposed projects, would be within prudent limits. Dlr. Howard asked whether a growth of tax base can be anticipated in Orange County. Nir. Gattis said that the county has just gone through a period of rapid growth because of construction of shopping centers and apartments complexes, but that the expansion is now minimal. He said that the county is having an increase in residents who live in trailers, with an average of 1.5 additional trailers per day being _ occupied. He said that this type of expansion represents a tax loss, since one public school student from a trailer or a private residence means more expenses to the county than income from the property can cover. kir. Lindsay Efland said that the political reality of lack of success of bond issues should be considered. He said that many areas of the county are feeling the affects of recession, and it is questionable whether bands would be approved. Dirs. Scroggs said that the agrees a $10,000,000 bond issued would not pass, but said that the county residents should be made aware that if they wish to have certain services, then they have to pay for them. She said that she, personally, cannot choose whether to fund schools or jail and courts, and that she would not like to see the county get back in the situation where schools have to be constructed on an emergency basis after the students are already enrolled. Dirs. Garrett asked how Orange County Shool Board. members feel about a bond issue. Mr. Compton said that he shares the feeling that a bond issue is not popular in northern Orange, and that he feels the School Board is not enthusiastic abound bonds. He said that there is a feeling that money is spent more freely if bond money is used. Dir. Coleman said that he feels more information has to be made available before a decision on bonds is made, since at this time the County needs are not really known. He said that he zs not in favor of a bond issue if the projects can be funded otherwise, since it is difficult to pass bond issues in northern Orange Dirs. Garrett said that there seems to be an agreement that Efland-Cheeks Sbhool has to be renovated, but that a problem exists since work on the jail and courthouse cannot be delayed for thx'ee years. N.r. Gustaveson asked whether anyone has suggestions for alternative funding of these projects. ~tiv t•;r, Compton said that he feels people would accept a tax increase more readily than they would a bond issue, although 20~ tax increase might not be possible, He said that the county schools have done without a number of things that should be provided, and that they can do without for a while longer. He said that he would prefer '.. that a jail be built no sooner than the county has to build it, if the choice is between providing far the criminal or for children. Atr. Riddle said that, considering the expressed needs of the County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools, the county would need to provide about $3,000,000 for projects needed by 1977-1978, which would mean an increase of $2,200,000 in tax revenues. r±r. Compton said that he feels the increase would not be that large. Airs. Garrett said that, to complete Eflar_d-Cheeks by 1977-1978, the county school system would have to receive $1,200,000 for the first two years including the base. A=r, Williams said that the majority of this could be needed the first year to let the contract. Air. Weatherly said that he would find it difficult to 'reduce the proposed needs to a bare minimum, that the Chapel Hill-Carrborc Schools could operate with one additional elementary school only, but the parents in southern Orange have expressed a wish for quality education that includes more than a bare minimum. A1r. «hitted said that for the fiscal year 1976-1977 the expressed needs have been the bulk of Efland-Cheeks financing, the Cultural Arts building at the Chapel Hill High Schaal, the annual maintenance costs, and the jail, for a total of $3,300,000, which is about :;" $2,000,000 more than the capital outlay for this fiscal year, and would mean a 37~ tax rate increase, which is an impassibility. F:e said that the above projects do not even consider social services, mental health or current expense increases. Airs. Sockwell said that it should be remembered that capital improve- ment expenses also mean an increase in current capital outlay, to provide cost of utilities and maintenance. t•1r. Pinney said that the c his first priority, and th be before November, 1976, year. He said that if the at Efland Cheeks would be unacceptable alternative. construction on a pay-as-y least 10~ in the tax rate. onstruction at Efland-Cheeks school is at the scheduling of the bond issue .cannot which is after the beginning of the fiscal bond issue failed, then the construction delayed a year,. and to him this is an He said that funding the Efland-Cheeks au-go basis would mean an increase of at ASr. Gustaveson said. that he is optimistic about the passage of a bond issue if the County Commissioners and members of both School Boards were to explain the necessity of this to the county residents. Mr. Caldwell said that the trend in North Carolina has been to say as little about a bond issue as possible, and that people are reluc- tant to accept bonds without information. He said that the necessity of a bond issue whould be explained, and that people should be inr'ormed of the lack of alternative methods o~ funding. A:r, Finney agreed that county residents should be ir_formed about the necessity of a bond issue, but he said that he feels the County Commissioners cannot gamble with capital improve~ents for one entire year on the assumption that a bond issue will pass. He said that if the funding of capital improvements would mean an increase of 15~ on the tax rate, he would have to accept this. A'r, Williams said that a total of $3,444,000 is needed over the next two years for the construction of Efland-Cheeks school ($1,600';000) for operatir_g expenses of both school systems ($1,400,000) and for the cultural Arts building at chapel Hill High School .L$d44,000), and that this would be the bare minimum needed by the two school s;~stems, with additional expenses for county needs. He said that it would be nice also to have some marey to begin the first stage of construction of the county high school Cultural X1rts building, since this addition could be built in stages, although it would be more expensive to do so. A:r. Hanes said that he feels the operating expenses of both school systems would be considered at $1,600.,000 for the two years. Airs, Benny said that this would strip the capital exper_ditures of .~??~ the two school systems to the bare bones and, adding the cost of a new jail, would mean a $2,2D0,000 per year. She asked whether the feeling is that this can be accommodated through increased tax rate without a bond election. r;r. Hanes said that this would amount to an increase of about 15~ in the tax rate. I~ir. Riddle said that he would not be content, and that he feels citizens would not be either, if no other capital improvements besides the Cultural Arts building were funded over the next two years. He said that, as a basic minimum, the miltipurpase rooms at F. P. Graham and Phillips, renovation at Glenwood, traffic improvement at Seawell and F. P. Graham, and conversion of cafeterias to dishwasher use should .be funded in addi- tion to the Cultural Arts building, at another 10~ increase in the tax rate. Mx. Gattis said that the current county tax rate is 65~, and 25~ increase comes close to a 50% tax bill increase for county residents. Dirs. Scroggs said that other needed increases in the county program have not yet been consider.~d. She said that it is necessary to have informa- tian available an all the funding necessary, and the various alternatives by which funds can be obtained. She said that there will be other in- creases in the school budget over which there is no control, such as mat- thing state salary increases for local teachers. Mr. Gustaveson said that this point he sees no way of funding even the minimum of capital outlay without a bond issue. He said that the deci- sion needs to be made very soon whether the bond issue is the way to go, since delaying a decision may make it impossible to have a band issue in November, 1976. He suggested that it be decided what is the prudent size of a band issue, and that a smaller committee be apAOinted to work out the actual package to be included. FIe suggested. that the bonds be limited to School Bonds, ar_d that the County capital expenses be budgeted on a pay-as-you-go basis. i.r. Gattis said that there is plenty of time for a November bond issue from the legal point of view, but that decisions will need to be made on the type of bond issue, the kind of election, and the type and amount of publicity, sometime during the budget planning process. Mrs. Garrett said that .either only school bonds can be issued, ox that the jail also can be included in the bond issue. She said that people should be given all the facts on the necessity of the projects, so that they can decide whether these should be funded through bonds or by taxes. DIr. Gustaveson asked whether strong support can be expected from both the School Boards, if the County Commissioners decided to issue bonds. D;r. Compton said that at this point he is not in favor of a bond issue. He said that the County residents should be shown why the increase in funds is needed, and that the jail should be in the bond issue. D;rs. Garrett sugested that the two School Boards meet again separately before another joint meeting, and discuss the more specific ideas to be included in a band issue, and the more specific listing of priorities for the first five years. D;rs. Scroggs suggested that each system also consider what it could do in the next five years with a set amount of money. Dir. tiJilliams said that, if a bond issue were to be held, the projects to be included have to reflect the fact that a bound issue will need to be carried in the Chapel Hill area to pass. Mr. Caldwell agreed that this aspect needs to be considered, but said that the items included have have to be of such a nature that both the southern and northern parts of the county will be willing to support the bond issue. r:rs. Garrett said that hlr. Gattis will supply information to the Boards at least five days before their D=arch 1, 1976, meetings on the revenues that can be raised from various tax rates over specific periods of time, and the increase in tax rate needed to pay off specific amounts of bonds . D:r. Howard suggested that a committee be formed with one member from each Board to discuss specific items such as sequence of major projects and bond issue specifics, to report back to each Board meeting on D;arch 1, 1976, at which time each Board can discuss the proposal presented, and that a meeting be set later than D:arch 1, 1976. He said that this method would work better than trying to meet as a committee of twenty-two members. He said that the Committee could decide the timing of the .'~?~ various major projects, with funds an years without a major project being divided evenly between the two school systems, which would eliminate the reed to set the smaller projects in any sort of priority order at this time. r.r. Weatherly said that he finds the proposal appealing, since experi- ence has shown that a vote an the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Hoard is often split, and, an election of new people to the Board, the priority ranking of projects may change. He said that if a bond issue were decided. on, this would not prevent the Board from decid- ing which specific projects were to be funded by bonds. A.rs. Garrett set the next joint meeting for Tuesday, Alarch 2, 1976, at 7:30 p.m. at the Board offices of the orange County Schools. The meeting adjourned at 7.1:15 p.m." (The foregoing is a verbatim copy of the "Report" furnished to the Orange County Board of Commissioners by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Hoard.) I~:INUTES OF THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARA OF COAiDiI55IONERS February 11, 1976 The Orange County Hoard of Commissioners met in special ses- sion on Wednesday, February ll, 1976, at 7:30 p.m., in the Commis- sioners' Roam of the Courthouse in Hillsborough. Members present were Chairman Flora Garrett, Commissioners Norman gustaveson, Jan Pinney, Norman Walker and Richard ir'hitted. biembers absent were none. S. t:. Gattis, county Administrator; Neal Evans, Fiscal officer; and Betty June Eiayes, Clerk; were also present. mark Burnham, representative of Triangle J council of Govern- ments; Ervin Dobson, Planning Director; Chris Edwards and Hall Minnis of the Planning Staff; Fred. S. Cates, P4ayor of the Town of Hillsborough; Paul R. *Ailliams and John Roberts, members of the Hillsborough Town Hoard, Jeff Howax'd, Community Development Coordinator for the Town of Carrboro, and Marvin McPherson, Jr., Building Inspector for the Town of Carrborq; were also present. The Chairman referred to Item #1 on the Agenda: Representatives of the Orange County Planning Board will review with the Board of commissioners passible community Development Applications for the coming fisV:•l year. Ervin Dobson of the Planring Department stated that the Planning Staff had met jointly with representatives of the Towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough.. That from the discussion, study and investigations by his department, they were recommending that the County of Orange join with the Town of Ilillsboraugh in making app4ication to HUD for joint Community Development Grant Funds. The Planning Airector filed the following report: COrSIUNZTX DEVELOPI~?ENT ACTIVITIES NORTHERN FAIRVIEW TARGET AREA 1. housing rehabilitation grants $ 60,000 2. temporary relacatic~ payments 5,000 3. removal of dilapidated vacant structures 600 ~k. road paving 301,500 5. water line extension 33,600 6. park development on county land 15,000 7. fire hydrant installation 5.,500 $ x21,200 Explanation of items 1. Rehabilitations grants, administered by the Triangle Housin Development Corporation, will serve to hire a crew of local residents and to purchase necessary materials. 4Then available,