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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20020128APPROVED 2/19/02 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Work Session January 28, 2002 6:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session on Monday, January 28, 2002 at 6:00 p.m. in the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Stephen H. Halkiotis COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. Chair Jacobs went through the handouts in front of each County Commissioner. They include: Newspaper Articles regarding moratoriums on telecommunications towers Minutes from when this Board discussed the Space Needs Report 3/29/01 Blue Sheet -change in the BOCC meeting schedule for the location of the retreat Green Sheet -Announcement from David Stancil regarding the properties adjoining Northern Human Services Center Minutes from the October 11th meeting with Durham Technical Community College Telecommunications Towers Update from Craig Benedict Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order. 1. ORGANIZATION ASSESSMENT -PHASE 2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REVIEW REPORT Kevin Fitzgerald made reference to the material in the agenda. He summarized that material. He said that he will talk about the interviews he made with members of the Information Technology (IT) committee, Board of County Commissioners, County employees and representatives from six (6) counties and three (3) cities. The findings and the recommendation he has are based on his interviews. He tried to pull together important themes. He went through his findings as a result of his interviews, the benchmarking and the recommendations. The presentation he made is part of the agenda and summarized below. The purpose of the information services review were threefold: • Improve the understanding of how Information Technology is used by Orange County Government • Develop a comparative understanding of how other units of Government use technology to support their activities • Make recommendations to improve the operation of Information Technology in Orange County The findings were categorized as strengths, weaknesses, training issues, reporting issues and concerns about implementing modifications to existing applications as well as the replacement of several major systems. Emphasis was placed on Orange County's lack of a consistent methodology to manage technology projects which leads to confusion about the respective roles and responsibilities of departments and Information Services (IS) in terms of who has accountability for projects. Kevin Fitzgerald summarized his findings from the interviews he conducted with other governmental entities. He said that most of the units have adopted a project management methodology. In all cases, Orange County had less staff than any other governmental unit he interviewed. Also, the level of funding was lower than any other governmental unit. Kevin Fitzgerald listed his recommendations for staffing. He recommended creating a Chief Information Officer (CIO) position responsible to the County Manager and functioning as a senior staff member. He listed the responsibilities of the position. He recommended adding two (2) full-time Business Analysts and upgrading two (2) temporary help-desk positions to permanent status. He feels that the County Manager should set a countywide policy that specifies that the IS Department has overall responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the County network and all applications and equipment that run on it. The policy should include the role of the CIO and consultation with departments. He also made recommendations regarding training, communication and Information Technology Strategic planning and eGovernment planning which is in the agenda abstract. Commissioner Gordon suggested that the title of CIO should be changed to "Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO)" or even better, "Chief Technology Officer (CTO)" since it is shorter. Otherwise this position could be confused with other "information" positions related to communications such as Public Information Officer (PIO). To illustrate how such a chief officer would operate, Kevin Fitzgerald said that there is currently a request out for a new business system. This is very complicated involving four departments. Someone must have the ultimate responsibility and be the project manager, interacting with the contractor and communicating with all the parties. That kind of methodology is not in place in Orange County. People are doing this in addition to their other responsibilities instead of having one person in place to handle these types of issues. In response to a request from Commissioner Gordon, Kevin Fitzgerald said he would send the BOCC an example of a project management process used by another jurisdiction. Commissioner Gordon asked how there could be better collaboration. Kevin Fitzgerald said that it is important to have someone not only looking out for that particular department but also looking at the big picture for the entirety of County government. A good project management methodology will help sort out all of the issues and be clear about the objectives and responsibilities. The project needs to be cost effective, on time and at a quality you want. We are talking about managing really important systems - GIS and business system among others. In answer to a question from Commissioner Gordon, Kevin Fitzgerald said that business is defined as the specific activities in that particular department. Technology needs to support good functioning of those efforts. In terms of the IT Committee, the level of technology expertise of the members of this committee is very high which has helped the County in placing emphasis on establishing an equipment replacement policy, migrating from the mainframe to the Internet and putting some real strength in the standards which have been put in place. A strong emphasis from the IT Committee is eGovernment. Kevin Fitzgerald made reference to the help desk and said that employees express a very strong appreciation of the help desk but there is a need for a faster response to unique problems. These oftentimes take too long. The employees are appreciative of the equipment replacement policy. Some users are specialized and they would like a broader choice of the kind of equipment they get. Generally speaking, the computers are highly used in the County. The availability of training with Durham Technical Community College (DTCC) is a strength. There was some concern that new employees need additional help in becoming familiar with common uses such as email, etc. Chair Jacobs questioned if it is a good thing or bad thing that some departments have their own technology person. Kevin Fitzgerald said that the area of concern is how these departments relate with and interact with the IS department. The control of the network and scope of the network is under the control of the IS department. Problematic is the coordination with the IS department. Commissioner Gordon asked about any thoughts or guidelines as the County grows in having additional technology personnel in various County departments. Kevin Fitzgerald said that it is only problematic when it is not coordinated with the IS department. staff. Kevin Fitzgerald emphasized that the staff in IS is spread really thin. They do not have enough Kevin Fitzgerald said that there was some interest expressed in getting some additional resources by contracting out some of the support services. In his interviews, there were some new applications added within County departments without communicating with IS and the IS department has had to make adjustments to accommodate these new applications. There are some communication issues and confusion about roles and responsibilities and about who has control. When he looked at the benchmark communities, the IS departments have control and responsibility for all the equipment and running of that equipment. They work hard to develop collaborative relationships in new techniques and software. In all instances, the IS director reports directly to the County Manager or the Assistant County Manager. Many Counties and cities are dealing with migration to new systems. Common systems being upgraded include GIS, Register of Deeds. Several units are developing eGovernment plans. Forsyth County has just completed such a plan. Commissioner Halkiotis questioned if other states support their counties with applications and technology. Kevin Fitzgerald did not know. He said that he feels that working with the State will take some time and that it will eventually happen. Commissioner Gordon asked about other jurisdictions which have IT staff in other departments and Kevin Fitzgerald said that he compared only the number of people in the IS dept. He said that in Orange County Government there are probably four more positions outside of the IS department which do technology support or functions. Commissioner Halkiotis observed that looking at the recommendations, it would cost $385,000 to $400,000 to implement them and asked if there is any opportunity to consolidate positions from the other departments to save some money. Kevin Fitzgerald didn't think there was any way of doing this. Commissioner Carey asked about the involvement of all departments and Kevin Fitzgerald said that there could be an interdepartmental committee that would decide how decisions are made. It could be a new Orange County technology steering committee. This would need to be what works best for the County. John Link said that he would not pursue a permanent standing committee but it would be staff coming together to address a particular issue. John Link will come back with an analysis and a recommendation which will include addressing to what extent we will merge functions from several of the departments. He will bring back information on pros and cons of temporary versus permanent employees. 2. TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS AND ANTENNA DISCUSSION This item was presented to discuss possible areas of revision to the tower ordinance to provide alternate review processes and a telecommunication plan to promote co-location and master grid planning as well as information on the differentiation between Class A and Class B review processes. Chair Jacobs said that it is interesting that Class A towers (200'+) must come to the Board of County Commissioners for approval and none have been submitted since 1996. Craig Benedict clarified that Class A towers are 200 feet or higher. Class B towers are 199 feet and lower and six have been approved by the Board of Adjustment within the last two years. He made reference to the map showing the tower sites in Orange County and mentioned that to date there are 49 towers. In some cases the company is the telecommunication provider like AT&T. Also there is a new company called Telecommunication Providers and these are companies that go out and find locations and then promote colocation and process applications. He made reference to the consultant's contract, which was in response to a County Commissioners' goal. He said that Metrosite is still doing business in North Carolina and interested in doing work for Orange County. He expanded on what Metrosite could do saying that they have experience in dealing with other governmental entities. Craig Benedict suggested that maybe the County Commissioners may want to put a moratorium on accepting any further applications for towers. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about fees and Craig Benedict said that there is an inspection fee of $50 at the present time. He is recommending that this be increased to $4,000. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if we require that an abandoned tower be taken down and Geoffrey Gledhill said that the tower companies are bonded and they must take the tower down if it is abandoned. Geoffrey Gledhill said that 199' is telling. When the County Commissioners revised the ordinance a couple of years ago, the objective was to build shorter towers. The tower companies have responded to that by making applications for shorter towers. Chair Jacobs said that there were some articles the County Commissioners received last year about the towers interfering with birds. Geoffrey Gledhill suggested that the County Commissioners focus on how the County Commissioners want to proceed from this time forward. John Link asked if this moratorium item could be added to the quarterly public hearing in February with the ordinance to come back in August and Craig Benedict said that it could. Craig Benedict asked if changes to the telecommunications ordinance should be made based on staff knowledge and input from the County Commissioners or would the County Commissioners consider hiring a consultant that would assist with developing these changes and managing towers on public sites. Also, should we bring in telecommunication providers to help with these changes and do we invoke a moratorium while we are going through this process of changing the regulations. Commissioner Brown said that she wants to make sure that we protect the public's interest in all this this -not only the scenic view we all enjoy but at ground level also. She supports a moratorium and also placing these on public properties so that the County would receive the money. Commissioner Carey supports the moratorium so that we have time to learn about these towers and their effects on people and also he agrees with placing these towers on County lands where people do not live near by. We need to try to generate a revenue source. He is leery of consultants who extract a part of the revenue for evermore. He feels we should get some advice from a consultant who will help us develop a better ordinance. He feels a discussion with the stakeholders would be beneficial. Commissioner Gordon reinforces hiring someone to help with the changes to the ordinance but she agrees that it is not wise to give away part of the revenue for the infinite future. She asked about the regulatory changes and Craig Benedict said that additions could be added to the regulations to be more specific. Chair Jacobs said that we need to address the schools and the schools negotiating deals with telecommunication tower companies. John Link suggested that we add to the quarterly public hearing a moratorium on telecommunication towers. Commissioner Gordon suggested getting information from Chatham and Durham who are also facing the same issues as Orange County. In answer to a question from Commissioner Brown about taking applications once a year, Craig Benedict said that having all the providers in the same room at one time is beneficial. 3. COUNTY SUPPORTED FACILITY NEEDS This item was presented for information and for the purpose of receiving feedback from the County Commissioners for County supported facility needs. Purchasing Director Pam Jones led the discussion using a PowerPoint presentation, which is incorporated herein by reference. 1. Justice Facilities Expansion Pam Jones said that the master plan for the expansion of the justice facilities was presented to the Board of County Commissioners in April, 2000. It called for four phases of development of approximately 24,000 square feet each. The phase I facility may include the Sheriff's Department and expansion for functions currently located in the courthouse. There are two design options with option A including a parking deck constructed as part of building phase 2 or afree-standing multi-level parking structure located where the Sheriff's office now stands and constructed during phase 2. The facility planning process was approved by the County Commissioners on September 4, 2001. She elaborated on the desired planned outcomes and on the expanded plan, which revises the number of development phases from four to three. The consultant will present a full report in the Spring of 2002. 2. Space Study Projects including Senior Centers and Northern Human Services Center Pam Jones listed the Level 1 projects as stated below: ~:~ Government Services Center Expansion ~:~ Planning and Ag Building Renovations/Farmers Market ~:~ Justice Facilities -Phase I ~:~ Conversion of Southern Human Services Center Residence to Conference Center Pam Jones said that there was some discussion as to whether a third story could be added to the Government Service Center and have it still fit in the downtown area. She spoke to Ken Redfoot who indicated that he feels that there could be a third story and even a fourth story added to the Government Service Center without any problem. Regarding the Animal Shelter, she originally projected 10,000 square feet. The Animal Shelter now indicates that they need a significant expansion. The lease at the current site expires on December 31, 2006 and talks with UNC indicate that there will not be an opportunity to expand this lease. It could probably be extended on a month to month basis but nothing long term. The plan is to move the Animal Control office to a location with the Animal Shelter for better operations and working relationship in terms of functionality. Level 3 involves the expansion of the Whitted Building and the Southern Human Services Center. The Whitted building would accommodate the library, which would double in size to approximately 25,000 square feet. This is based on 45,000 sq.ft. of additional space on three levels and would accommodate projected needs for all departments. It does relocate human services functions now in rental space like Human Rights and Relations and OPC Mental Health -Family Counseling Center and create new entrances by function for high traffic activities. The Southern Human Services Center would expand off of the east side of the building and create a longer building and accommodate the needs of DSS and Health until 2010. Commissioner Gordon said that as Orange County grows our County complex will grow. If we decide we can't consolidate County operations in Hillsborough, then we will have to figure out where we are going to put our County buildings. Hillsborough does not want tall buildings that will block the view of the open area. She feels that three stories might be okay and we could try for a parking deck. The Justice Facility building could be moved back from the street a few feet. Commissioner Brown asked about the first justice facility building and if this will accommodate all the court personnel and Pam Jones said that it would accommodate the Sheriff's department and all other court personnel who are now in rental space. There are a couple of options for Human Rights and Relations. One is that they could take the office being vacated by the Visitor's Bureau and another is expansion within the building they now occupy. Chair Jacobs said that we also could talk about the possibility of moving Parks and Recreation over to the Planning and Ag building which would also accommodate expansion of OPC. Also, we could consider locating Recreation and Parks to the Blackwood Park or to the Homestead location. We might want to look at this in the light of having other options. We talked about colocation of public works with Hillsborough. Pam Jones said that she did check with Eric Peterson and he is not in support of this idea. She will continue pursing this idea. John Link said that he feels that further discussion will be necessary to colocate facilities. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to working with Hillsborough and suggested that the two managers work together and that the chair work with the Mayor on this effort of colocation. He feels we should push it and promote it. He would like to schedule a meeting as soon as possible and put this before them. Chair Jacobs suggested that the County Commissioners may want to have a meeting with the Hillsborough Town Commissioners and have colocation as one of the items among others. John Link made reference to Fairview Park and said that he feels that part of that discussion should be on what the County and Hillsborough can do together with some of this property, with Hillsborough contributing some resources. The building committee will meet and by using the comments made by the County Commissioners incorporate these into the final report. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for a PowerPoint presentation on the structures on the properties that the County has acquired. this study. Chair Jacobs said that there was a study about the annex and he would like to see a copy of NORTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER John Link said that he feels that this facility needs greater focus short-term. Pam Jones listed the current program offerings at the Northern Human Services Center. The future program options include expansion of the Cedar Grove Day Care when Head Start reorganization is complete. Also Durham Tech could have additional program offerings and a presence for EI Centro Latino is a possibility. The Health Department could offer wellness screenings and health education and a cybrary could be located at this facility. Pam Jones made reference to a request from Superintendent Randy Bridges of a program called "Options in Education" which would be offered through the Orange County Schools. This would involve standard and technology curriculum in combination with in-class and on-line offerings to meet graduation requirements. The maximum program participants would be 100 students. Commissioner Gordon asked if this would be an alternative school and Pam Jones said that this would go beyond that and they have been cautioned about calling it an alternative school. Commissioner Gordon said that she was surprised that there would be 100 students attending this facility. She asked why the space would be needed. John Link will ask Randy Bridges for additional information. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he feels that this use would not be compatible with the uses envisioned for this facility, and that the committee working on planning this center had a different vision. Pam Jones understands that the Head Start program is for four year olds and they will be going to four pre-K locations in the Orange County schools. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he feels we have a significant number of pre-K kids and asked if it would be more effective to build apre-K facility, which would free up space in the K-5 schools. He agreed with Commissioner Gordon in that we need to have a report from both school systems and need to be involved in this process. John Link said that he has requested this information from both school systems. Also, he has asked that both boards reconvene the standards committee because adding pre-K space to elementary school space will change the standards for these buildings. Chair Jacobs said that this is one way of changing capacity that the County Commissioners need to be made aware of. Commissioner Gordon asked about the building and said that she understands the building is structurally sound but just old and this was confirmed. Chair Jacobs asked how the amount of bond monies was determined for the Northern Human Services Center and if this amount corresponds to what we are paying for on pages 18 and 19 of the agenda. Donna Dean answered these questions. He asked about the park and ride lot not being approved by DOT and Jerry Passmore said that they will continue to put in an application each year for this money. In answer to a question about solar opportunities, Wilbert McAdoo said that they are working with an organization that is submitting a proposal to the state for funding. They should know something by March. John Link said that he would recommend that we finalize the solution for the septic system and once we have that in place and the money is available, we can celebrate with the community and at that point we will know what the system will accommodate and move forward on the other projects. It depends on resolving the septic system. John Link reiterated that what the County Commissioners have indicated tonight is that the scope of what was proposed by Randy Bridges is beyond the scope for this facility, and therefore cannot be approved. 3. Community College Campus Planning Process The Board endorsed in principle the development of an Orange County campus in April 2001. The action items required within the next few months, along with timelines suggested by staff, include: • Adoption of a resolution to pursue establishment of a satellite campus of Durham Technical Community College (February -March 2002) • Public Hearing (March -April 2002) • County officially notifies Durham Tech Board of Trustees of Intent to Match State Bond Funds for the Development of a Satellite Campus (March -April 2002) • County adopts site selection process (March -April 2002) • Durham Tech Trustees notify State Board of Community Colleges of Intent to Establish a Satellite Campus in Orange County (April -May 2002) Pam Jones talked about site selection and suggested criteria. She listed a proposed site selection process, which would include establishing a work group to guide the process and make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. This work group would be appointed in February or March and the timeline for the site selection process and acquisition would be no later than Spring 2003. Commissioner Carey asked about the criteria and Pam Jones said that all of the criteria suggested by the Community College Committee were included. Commissioner Gordon asked about the future timeline. She feels we should have the public hearing as soon as possible and then adopt the resolution of intent afterwards. She wants to get all the information out to the citizens first so the County Commissioners can receive input from citizens before proceeding to adopt the resolution. Chair Jacobs said that if the timeline begins with a public hearing and then adoption of the resolution, it would move the project forward. Commissioner Brown suggested exploring colocation possibilities for which the County Commissioners would set the standards for the process. John Link said that staff will come back with an amended timeline so that the public hearing is held first. Staff feels that establishing a site committee may generate discussion on where it should be sited and something may come out of this process. Chair Barry Jacobs suggested adding to the committee one of the two members who serve on the DTCC Board of Trustees from Orange County , one representative from each school system and maybe some representatives from some of the largest employers. NOTE: Chair Barry Jacobs asked that anytime a presentation is made that we mention why we are doing this - we are providing court facilities because it is the responsibility of the County to provide adequate facilities for the courts. 4. Homestead Road Campus at the Southern Human Services Center Pam Jones said that the known projects for the Homestead Road Campus include expansion of the Southern Human Services Center and a Southern Orange Senior Center. Potential projects could include court expansion with support office space and an EMS satellite station. The Southern Orange Senior Center assumes 25,000 square feet to be located at the Homestead Road campus. The lease at the Galleria expires June 30, 2006. Commissioner Halkiotis said that this is a massive set of building projects for this county. He feels we need to reopen the discussion of value engineering and he volunteered to work to do this. Commissioner Brown agrees with this suggestion. the parks. Chair Jacobs said that we have also talked about a park designer to help with planning all 4. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC UPDATE GROWTH AND BUILD-OUT PROJECTIONS USING GIS Postponed ADDED ITEM CHANGE IN BOCC REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to amend the Board of County Commissioners' regular meeting calendar by changing the location for the meeting scheduled for Saturday, February 2, 2002 to the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina from the Olive Branch Inn. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 5. ADJOURNMENT With no further items for the Board to consider, a motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adjourn this work session at 10:20 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for February 5, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Barry Jacobs, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC