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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 199506051 APPROVED 8/22/95 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JUNE 5, 1995 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, June 5, 1995 at 7:30 p.m. at the Orange Grove Community Center in Bingham Township, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, Stephen H. Halkiotis, William L. Crowther and Don Willhoit COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Albert Kittrell and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (other staff members are identified appropriately below) NOTE: All documents referred to in these minutes are in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's Office. All ordinance amendments are in the Official Ordinance Book. I. ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA - NONE II. AUDIENCE COMMENTS A. MATTERS ON THE PRINTED AGENDA Chair Carey announced that citizens who want to speak to a matter on the printed agenda will be recognized at the appropriate time. B. MATTERS NOT ON THE PRINTED AGENDA Bill Waddell, resident of Bingham Township, thanked the Board of County Commissioners for having their meeting in Bingham Township. Last year the Orange Grove Fire Department raised a question about the paving of Arthur Minnis and Buckhorn Roads. They were assured after that meeting that paving these two roads would be investigated. They now understand that these two roads will be moved back and maybe removed from the list entirely. He asked how this stands and if they are not on the list he asked that they be put on the list. He emphasized that paving these roads is important to the response time of the fire department. With bad wet weather, they can't take their fire trucks on portions of those roads. John Link will check on the status of these two roads with the Department of Transportation and report back to Mr. Waddell and to the Board of County Commissioners. C. COMMUNITY COMMENTS - NONE PUBLIC CHARGE Chair Carey dispensed with the reading of the public charge. III. BOARD COMMENTS 2 Commissioner Halkiotis said that a traffic signal has been placed at New Hope Church Road and there has been nothing but praise from the parents of the children who attend the school. Also signaling has taken place at Mt. Herman Church Road and NC70. He asked about a process for recognizing heros and was told that it will be placed on the next agenda for the Board's consideration. IV. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT - NONE O. RESOLUTIONS/PROCLAMATIONS A. RESOLUTION APPOINTING ORANGE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to adopt the resolution stated below appointing Ms. Virginia Rolfe as the Orange County Tax Collector for a two-year term, beginning July 1, 1995: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION APPOINTING THE ORANGE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR FOR A TWO YEAR TERM BEGINNING JULY 1, 1995 WHEREAS, Mr. John Horner has tendered his resignation as Orange County Tax Collector effective June 30, 1995, upon his retirement from more than 30 years of service to Orange County and its citizens; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Manager has recommended that Ms. Virginia Rolfe be appointed to succeed Mr. Horner as Orange County Tax Collector effective July 1, 1995, based on her extensive qualifications for that office in terms of education and experience; and WHEREAS, Ms. Rolfe has indicated her strong desire to be appointed to that office as indicated; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Orange County Board of Commissioners, as provided for under Chapter 105-349 of the North Carolina General Statutes, does hereby appoint Virginia Rolfe as Orange County Tax Collector, effective July 1, 1995, for a term of two years; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Ms. Rolfe shall be compensated by an annual salary associated with Grade 76, Step 6A of the Orange County Salary Schedule, which salary is currently $49,517; further, that Ms. Rolfe shall be entitled to all other pay and benefits as are made available to other permanent County employees under the provisions of the Orange County Personnel Ordinance. VOTE: UNANIMOUS B. RESOLUTION GRANTING PERMISSION TO OPC MENTAL HEALTH AGENCY TO BE EXEMPTED FROM PROVISIONS OF THE STATE PERSONNEL ACT A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Chair Carey to adopt the resolution as stated below to grant permission to the Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Agency to seek exemption from certain provisions of the State Personnel Act and authorize the Chair to sign: RESOLUTION TO GRANT PERMISSION TO THE ORANGE-PERSON-CHATHAM MENTAL HEALTH, MENTAL RETARDATION, AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE AUTHORITY TO SEEK EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE STATE PERSONNEL ACT WHEREAS, in 1991 the North Carolina General Assembly amended Section 126- 11 of the General Statutes to allow Area Mental Health Authorities to establish "substantially equivalent" personnel systems; and 3 WHEREAS, the Orange-Person-Chatham Area Authority has expressed a desire to develop a "substantially equivalent" personnel system; and WHEREAS, the County Commissioners believe that it would be in the best interest of the Orange-Person-Chatham Area Mental Health Authority to develop a "substantially equivalent" personnel system. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of Commissioners give approval to the Orange-Person-Chatham Area Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Authority to pursue changes to its personnel system as allowed under G.S. 126.11. VOTE: UNANIMOUS C. RESOLUTION ADJUSTING CABLE TV EOUIPMENT AND INSTALLATION RATES D. RESOLUTION ADJUSTING BASIC RATES BASED ON EXTERNAL CABLE TV COST Mr. Bob Gwyn, Chair of the Cable TV Advisory Committee, explained the information in the agenda. Cablevision Industries (CVI) is not seeking an adjustment in the rates it currently charges for equipment and installation within Orange County. However, the consultants recommend that a $5.00 tier change charge be reduced to the maximum permitted rate allowed by the FCC of $3.00. Also, Time Warner has submitted appropriate FCC forms requesting an adjustment to basic rates based on external cost. The consultants recommend that the Board approve a $.07 increase in basic tier rates for the Chapel Hill Headend (approximately 5,421 subscribers), and a $.02 increase in basic tier rates for the Durham Headend (approximately 29 customers). A motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve and authorize the Chair to sign both resolutions as stated below: RESOLUTION/ORDER APPROVING ADJUSTMENTS FOR EQUIPMENT AND INSTALLATION RATES WHEREAS, on March 23, 1995, Cablevision Industries Corporation submitted an Equipment and Installation Costs (FCC-1205) filing for Regulated Cable Services for Orange County; and WHEREAS, on May 11, 1995, Orange County received a report from its consultants indicating that CVI's said filing was in compliance with Federal Communications Commission procedures, allowing for the adjustment of equipment and installation rates. IT IS A FINDING that Cablevision Industries Corporation has justified the maximum permitted equipment and installation rates, excluding the charge for changing service tiers, for subscribers served in Orange County. RESOLUTION/ORDER APPROVING ADJUSTMENTS IN BASIC SERVICE RATES BASED ON EXTERNAL COSTS WHEREAS, on May 1, 1995, Time Warner Cable, d/b/a Cablevision of Chapel Hill/Durham, filed an FCC-1210 Updating Maximum Permitted Rates form for Regulated Cable Services with the County. This filing covers the period of July 15, through December 31, 1994. WHEREAS, on May 16, 1995, the County received a report from its consultants indicating that Time Warner Cable's said filing was in compliance with Federal Communications Commission procedures, allowing for the adjustment of basic cable service rates based on external cost factors; and 4 WHEREAS, the County has authority to regulate basic service rates charged by Time Warner Cable serving franchise NC-0276, Orange County IT IS A FINDING that Time Warner Cable has justified the adjustment of its basic tier service rates based on external cost factors. VOTE: UNANIMOUS SPECIAL PREBENTATIONB - NONE VII. PIIBLIC HEARINGS A. HOME ANQ COMMUNITY CARE BLOCK GRANT Albert Kittrell presented for citizen comments the Home and Community Care Block Grant Funding Plan. Effective July 1, 1992, the grant combined funds appropriated to the Department on Aging, Department of Social Services and Joint Orange Chatham Community Action Agency to administer programs for senior citizens. Since there were no citizen comments, a motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the 1995-96 Home and Community Care Block Grant Funding Plan as endorsed by the Home and Community Care Block Grant Advisory Committee. VOTE: UNANIMOUS VIII. TTEMB FOR DECISION - CONSENT AGENDA A motion was made by Commissioner Crowther, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve those items on the Consent Agenda as listed below: A. APPOINTMENTS -moved to XI B. MINUTES The County Commissioners approved the minutes as presented for March 30, April 3, and April 18, 1995. C. PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING FUND APPLICATION The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign an application to the State Budget Office to release funds in the amount of $419,419 from Orange County's Public School Building Capital Fund account for the renovation project at Stanford Middle School for the Orange County Schools. D. RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS This item was considered after the Consent Agenda. E. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT ATTORNEY CONTRACT The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign a contract with Coleman, Gledhill and Hargrave to provide legal representation for the Child Support Office. F. MEMORANDUM ~ AGREEMENT WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH GRANT-IN-AID The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign an agreement with the Pennsylvania State University to conduct the research according to the research proposal which will measure the sediment trapping efficiency of both conventional sediment basins and the basin devised by Erosion Control staff. 5 G. CHASE HOLLOW _ PRELIMINARY PLAT The property is located on the east side of New Sharon Church Road south of Walker Road, in Eno Township. Fourteen lots are proposed out of 29.94 acres. All lots will be served by individual wells and septic tanks. The Board approved the Preliminary Plan for Chase Hollow per the Resolution of Approval as presented in the agenda and on file in the Clerk's office. H. STONE KNOLL SUBDIVISION = PRELIMINARY PLAN The property is located in Chapel Hill Township on the west side of Old NC86 southwest of Calvander in the University Lake Watershed portion of the Rural buffer. A cluster subdivision is proposed with fourteen residential lots ranging in size from 1.18 to 5.16. The Board approved the preliminary plan for Stone Knoll Subdivision per the resolution of approval as presented in the agenda and on file in the Clerk' s office . I. HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION - CHANGE IN MEMBERSHIP This item was considered after the Consent Agenda. VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE BOARD Off' COUNTY COMMISSIONERS A motion was made by Chair Carey, seconded by Commissioner Crowther to approve the Rules of Procedure for the Board of County Commissioners as presented changing on page 12 the number of hours the agenda packet is to be delivered to the Board of County Commissioners before the meeting from 24 hours to 96 hours. VOTE: UNANIMOUS I. HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION = CHANGE IN MEMBERSHIP A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Crowther to approve the change in the membership for the Human Services Advisory Commission to include the Partnership for Young Children and the Communities-in-Schools programs. Charlotte Jones was appointed to the vacancy for CIS and Anita Daniels was appointed to represent the Partnership for Young Children and Sue Russell was appointed to the alternate position for the Partnership for Young Children. VOTE: UNANIMOUS I%. ITEMS FOR .DECISION - REGULAR AGENDA A. SCHOOL MP C ~ DECISION The three options as listed in the agenda are noted below: 1. Keep public school impact fees at their current levels at least until completion of the updated Technical Report and the sliding scale for fees is developed. 2. Increase public school impact fees in both School Districts to $1,500. 3. Differentiate between School Districts by keeping the impact fee at $750 in the Orange County system and increasing the fee to $1,500 in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro system. John Link said that the chart on page 4 of the agenda abstract which shows the number of single-family units, multi-family units and mobile homes that were permitted in 1994 in each township is justification for a differentiated fee. 6 A motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to increase the public school impact fee in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district to $1,500, effective July 1, 1995. Commissioner Willhoit said that this increase for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district recognizes that there are more lower priced units in the Orange County district -- not that there are a greater number of needs in one system or the other or because one school board wants the increase and the other one doesn't. It is a question of having enough money for building schools. He sees this as an intermediate step until the study on sliding scale of fees is completed. There is still a need to address affordability. Chair Carey said that equal funding pertains to operational funding. Capital needs must be addressed as they are identified by both school systems and may not necessarily be the same for both systems. He emphasized that the Impact Fee is not going to meet all the building needs of the two school systems and that there will have to be other sources of funds . Commissioner Crowther said that his opposition to raising the impact fee at this time is based on equitable issues. He feels the County is not using the enabling legislation in looking at other than residential development to generate money through the impact fee. Commissioner Willhoit feels there is no justification to base the impact fee on anything other than residential. Geof Gledhill clarified that the County would be at some risk charging an impact fee which is earmarked for school construction to commercial development. After a brief discussion on charging commercial development an impact fee, Chair Carey said he does not want staff to spend anytime investigating the connection between commercial development and their impact on schools. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he supports the increase to $1,500 for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro district. He feels the Board should be concerned about affordable housing but the responsibility of the Board of County Commissioners is to fund schools and provide schools for students. He is really worried about one school system falling behind the other and that is what is happening in Orange County. The kids in the northern end are being left behind the kids in the southern end of the County. He feels that all children deserve the best education that can be provided. He said for the record that he is afraid that more children are going to show up in the northern end of the County than expected next fall. Also, there will be more kids in the southern end than they are projecting. Commissioner Gordon noted for the record that she favors this increase only as part of a long-range plan that is comprehensive and proactive for school funding. VOTE: Ayes, 4; Nos, 1 (Commissioner Crowther) B. ORANGE COUNTY RADIO ~,MATEURS FUNDING REQUEST A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Willhoit to approve the request for funding as outlined in the agenda and that the $8,000 be taken from the Commissioners' 1994-95 contingency account. VOTE: UNANIMOUS C. ENO WOODS SUBDIVISION PRELIMINARY PLAN The property is located in Eno Township on the Durham County line at the northwest corner of the intersection of Cole Mill Road and Umstead Road. Thirty-five new residential lots are proposed from 95.6 acres. Each will be served by a new public road and by individual wells and septic systems. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Willhoit to approve the Preliminary Plan for Eno Woods Subdivision as per the resolution of approval in the agenda and on file in the Clerk's office. The subdivision recommended for approval is consistent with the Planning Board recommendation and does not include connection of the two cul-de-sacs. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 8. REPORTS A. YOUTH AND AMIL SERVICES COORDINATION FUNCTION GREEN BANANAS PROJECT Dr. Philip Cooke from the UNC School of Social Work presented an interim report on the "Green Bananas" project. The three project goals are listed below: 1. Develop a community definition of collaboration 2. Identify, describe and highlight successful collaborative structures, and 3. Explore opportunities and mechanisms for enhancing collaboration The report is included in its entirety in the agenda. The Board of County Commissioners accepted this report as information . B. OC UNTY AUTOMATION PLAN The Board received information on the progress in the use of automation by Orange County departments and options/plans for further computer enhancements. Keith Brooks, Data Processing Director, said that eventually, the RS 6000 will be expanded and all applications on the McDonnell Douglas M9255 will be placed on the RS 6000. He said that they will be developing networks between the various departments. Their focus next year will be on training of their present staff since most of them have mostly mainframe knowledge and not personal computer knowledge. Discussion ensued on the mainframe computers. Keith Brooks explained that the RS6000 is larger and allows more applications. He recommends keeping the RS6000 and adding components. Commissioner Willhoit agreed that going with the larger mainframe would be quicker and allow more applications. Keith Brooks briefly explained the role of the DP Steering Committee. He said that there will be ongoing training so that new employees will be trained right away. Commissioner Gordon asked about the relative merits of mainframe computers versus personal computers for Microsoft application and suggested that consultation with experts at the University of North Carolina would be helpful. Rod Visser reported that the next step will be to contact the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill to get their comments on the County's automation plan. The Board of County Commissioners will refer any additional questions to the Manager. 8 $I. APPOINTMENTS A motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to appoint Charlie Lancaster to the Chapel Hill Planning Board as the Joint Planning Area representative for a term ending June 30, 1997. VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Commissioner Crowther, seconded by Chair Carey to approve the following appointments: Youth Services Advisory Committee - Bert L'Homme and Donna Buzzard for terms ending September 30, 1997, Robin Ruhf, Mark Rhodes and Jaye Wurtzel for terms ending September 30, 1996 Recreation and a ks Advisorv Council - Angenette McAdoo representing Cheeks Township for a term ending March 30, 1998 Orange Countv oa d of Adjustment - Karen Barrows for a term ending March 30, 1998 and Terry Westendorf to full membership for a term ending June 30, 1997, Steve Medlin as alternate for a term ending June 30, 1996 and Tony Whitaker as alternate for a term ending June 30, 1997 Commission for Women - Judy Woodall, Winnie Morgan and Cindy McMahon for terms ending June 30, 1998 Sou Orange ire District - Barbara Steckler, Tom Mason and Jack Vogt for terms ending March 30, 1997 EMS Advisorv Council - Jane Waddell for a term ending June 30, 1997 VOTE: UNANIMOUS BII. MINIITES - NONE $III. CLOSED SESSION - NONE XIV. ADJOIIRNMENT With no other items to come before the Board, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the OWASA community meeting room, 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk