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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20071105,~ APPROVED 12/3/2007 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING November 5, 2007 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, November 5, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (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. 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda Item 4-d was removed because the Bond Attorney was not able to be present. Chair Carey asked the Board to consider adding another item to the agenda or consider it at a later meeting. The issue is restarting the search process for a site to locate the transfer station. He is asking the Board to do this because the County Commissioners told the residents that they would take the request to restart the search process under advisement, and because he has had a change of mind about the location of the transfer station on the Eubanks Road site. He said that he would support the effort to restart this search process. The Board would also have to decide on the criteria to use in siting a transfer station. He would like to consider this either tonight or at a subsequent meeting. Commissioner Foushee said that she supports reconsidering the siting of the transfer station and that the public is owed a response to the request that was made earlier. She said that she would not want another search to preempt the work of the Rogers Road Task Force. She believes that this is a positive process that will mitigate the impact that the landfill has placed on this community. She said that she has gained an appreciation of the residents' concerns that live in the Rogers Road area because Rev. Campbell called her one night and asked her to come and experience what the residents are smelling. She said that it is a reality to the residents that they believe that these impacts of the landfill should be mitigated, and she agrees with them. ,~ Commissioner Nelson concurred with previous statements and he would support putting this on the next agenda. He pointed out that the County faces a deadline to find a site for the transfer station. Chair Carey said to add this issue to the agenda for November 15th. The Board will have to look at a proposed process and site search criteria. Commissioner Gordon supports adding this to the next agenda and to include some specific recommendations concerning the process for the new site search, or at least a way to start the process. Chair Carey invited any of the Board members to convey ideas on this process to the Manager. He said that he does not want to give the perception that the County Commissioners are misleading the residents. He wants to address the implications of restarting the process for the outcome of the task force's work and process. PUBLIC CHARGE The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge. 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda Annette Moore said that about two years ago she came to the Board when she took office as President of the National Organization of Human Rights Workers. At that time, she gave each of them a pin, and Chair Carey told her that he liked her shawl. At the end of her term, which she just completed, she decided to bring each of County Commissioners a shawl. She thanked the County Commissioners for the opportunity to represent the County in this organization. Chair Carey thanked Annette Moore for her work in this organization. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda below.) 3. Proclamations/Resolutions/ Special Presentations a. Resolution Recognizing Elizabeth Mason Carter for Community Service The Board considered a resolution recognizing Elizabeth Mason Carter, retiring Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education member, for her community service. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to approve a resolution recognizing Elizabeth Mason Carter, retiring Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools Board of Education member, for her community service. RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING ELIZABETH MASON CARTER FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE WHEREAS, Elizabeth Mason Carter will be retiring from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education; and, WHEREAS, she has served over 13 years as a school board member which included leadership roles as chair and vice-chair; and, ,~ WHEREAS, she was a student of the very same school system for which she has provided guidance and leadership; and, WHEREAS, in addition to commitment to activities of the full school board, she has served on committees including the Head Start Policy Council, the Hospital School, the minority student achievement committee, and the public school foundation; and, WHEREAS, she has provided a persistent, impassioned voice for Chapel Hill and Carrboro families not normally heard; and, WHEREAS, she has been a guiding beacon of excellence and equity for all students; NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby recognize Elizabeth Mason Carter for her outstanding service to the staff, parents and especially the students of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools System and the people of Orange County. This the 5t" day of November 2007. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 4. Consent Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to approve those items on the consent agenda as stated below: a. Minutes The Board approved the minutes from September 25, October 9 and October 18 (5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.), 2007, as submitted by the Clerk to the Board. b. Appointments -None c. Resolution Authorizing Signatures on Financial Instruments The Board adopted a resolution authorizing Laura E. Blackmon, County Manager and Howard Fitts, Accountant II, to sign and pre-audit County financial instruments. d. Oranae Countv Small Business Loan Pool - Bvlaws Revision for Board of Directors The Board was to consider approving bylaw provisions pertaining to directors for the Orange County Small Business Loan Program. This item was removed from the agenda. e. Countv Manaaement Schedule: Records Retention and Disposition Schedule The Board adopted the County Management Records Retention and Disposition Schedule, dated April 1, 2006, and authorized the County Manager and Chair to sign. f. Contract with Corlev Redfoot Zack for Enaineerina and Desian Services for Fairview Community Park This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate consideration. ,~ g_ Contract with RB Engineering, Inc. for Structural Engineering Services to Repair the Herbert Blackwood House (future New Hope Park at Blackwood Farm) The Board authorized a contract with RB Engineering, Inc. as cited herein and exempted this project from the qualifications based selection process for architects and engineers as provided in G. S. 143.64.32; and authorized the Manager to sign on behalf of the Board, subject to final review by staff and County Attorney. h. Recreation and Parks Grant Applications The Board authorized staff to pursue a variety of grant opportunities available to the County through the Recreation and Parks Department. i. Classification and Pay Plan Amendment -Add Class of Homeless Programs Coordinator This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate consideration. L Community Development Block Grant Award -Housing Rehabilitation Program The Board approved the execution of the Funding Approval Form; Grant Agreement; and Resolution for the FY 2007 Community Development Block Grant Award and authorized the Chair to sign. k. Approval of Tax-Exempt Financing Arrangement for Efland Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. to Construct a New Fire Substation The Board of County Commissioners approved the tax-exempt financing arrangement for Efland Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. to contruct a new substation and authorized the Board of Commissioner Chair to sign the appropriate documents related to the financing arrangement. VOTE ON CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA: f. Contract with Corley Redfoot Zack for Engineering and Design Services for Fairview Community Park The Board considered authorizing the Chair to execute a contract with Corley Redfoot Zack (CRZ) for park pre-construction design and engineering services to secure permits, conduct engineering work, and create construction drawings and specifications for bid documents for Fairview Community Park and authorizing the Chair to sign subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney. Commissioner Foushee said that she would like an update on the status of the planning for Fairview Community Park, in light of the comments made from some citizens when a related item was on the agenda. Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft said that in June the Board of County Commissioners asked the staff to delay approval of the contract for design services pending further review with the community members. The staff and elected officials met with community members in August, where there was a presentation and opportunity for feedback. The design team's presentation was very well received and there was full consensus on moving forward with this recommendation. Since then, a proposal has been received from the design firm and it was a little troubling, so it has taken about a month to negotiate the contract. Purchasing and Central Services was successful in bringing the price down over $20,000. With this process, the project will go out to bid by next summer, and there will be a contract for construction of the park ready for review next August. The park could take up to a year to complete. ,~ Chair Carey asked if the design had been put up at the facility and Lori Taft said that it is up at the police substation. A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Nelson to approve the contract with Corley Redfoot Zack as cited herein; and authorize the Chair to sign on behalf of the Board, subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney. VOTE: UNANIMOUS i. Classification and Pay Plan Amendment -Add Class of Homeless Programs Coordinator The Board considered amending the Orange County Classification and Pay Plan to add the new class of Homeless Programs Coordinator at Salary Grade 20 and authorizing the FTE. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the financial impact, which mentions the long-term joint arrangement among the local governments that will be formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that is currently under development. She said that she is concerned about the terms of the overhead that will be included in the MOU. She wants to make sure that Orange County pays all of the overhead only for the current year and that in subsequent years it will be split among the partners. Tara Fikes said that this is her understanding. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to amend the Classification and Pay Plan to add the new class of Homeless Programs Coordinator at Salary Grade 20 and authorize the addition of 1.0 FTE. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 5. Public Hearings a. CDBG Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation Program The Board conducted a public hearing to receive citizen comments prior to official close-out of the County's FY 2004 Community Development (CDBG) Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation Program and authorize execution of the Certificate of Completion by the Chair. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes said that the purpose of this public hearing is to receive citizen comments prior to official close-out of the County's FY 2004 Community Development (CDBG) Scattered Site Housing Rehabilitation Program. She said that Orange County received $400,000 in CDBG funds in May 2004, and the funds were used to repair ten substandard dwellings occupied by low-income families in the Towns of Carrboro, Hillsborough, and unincorporated Orange County. Four units were repaired in unincorporated Orange County, and three were repaired in the Towns. The expenditures totaled $360,000. At this time, all plans have been completed and all grant funds have been expended. In order to facilitate official grant closeout with the North Carolina Department of Commerce, it requires that a public hearing be held to assess the performance of the County in administering this grant program. There were no public comments. A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to close the public hearing. VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to authorize execution of the Certificate of Completion by the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 6. Regular Agenda ,~ a. Provisional Status Employees The Board considered adoption of an amendment to the Orange County Personnel Ordinance Article I, Section 4.0 to include a definition for "Provisional Status" Employees and to confer the status of "provisional" employee on those employees who qualify according to the definition. Policy and Compliance Officer Annette Moore said that on August 19th the Governor signed into law an amendment to the State Personnel Act, which requires that local government employees covered by the act be employed for 24 consecutive months before gaining career State employee status and gain a property interest in their position. Orange County has employees covered by this act, and for this amendment, it means that if the employees do not complete the probationary period on or before August 18, 2007, they must be employed for 24 consecutive months from the date of their employment before they can apply a property interest in their position. In County employment, this probationary period is sometimes tied to benefits such as funeral leave, maternity leave, military leave, tuition refund and educational leave, the ability to donate or request shared leave, and access to the grievance and appeal process. This amendment will not give these employees a permanent status, but it will give them access to these benefits that have been taken away. In answer to questions from Chair Carey and Commissioner Gordon about the differences in the original and the amended abstracts, Annette Moore said that there were only minor wording changes. Commissioner Gordon asked that the next time there are changes to an abstract that they be highlighted. A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to adopt the amendments to Article I, of the Orange County Personnel Ordinance to add sections 2.6 and 4.33, renumber sections 4.33-4.39, and confer the status of Provisional Status employee on all employees who qualify under these sections. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 7. Reports a. Potential Artificial Soccer SurFace Report The Board received a report to determine if there is continued interest in this project and to provide direction to staff. Lori Taft said that last year there was a series of meetings with the soccer community members with the Board of County Commissioners, and one suggestion from this was adding artificial turf to playing surfaces to increase usage and playing time on some soccer fields. She said that she was asked by the Manager to look into this idea for the Smith Middle School fields. Carrboro, CHCCS, and Orange County entered into an MOA for usage and upkeep of these fields and a couple of years ago, there was an agreement concerning the lighting for the fields. This has helped the soccer community but not the condition of the fields. These fields are the only two full-sized fields in southern Orange County, and adults are able to play on these fields. She said that she has looked into this issue of artificial surfaces. There was an information sheet attached to the abstract, along with a site plan for the facility. The cost for putting turf on two fields is $ 1, 624, 400, and the cost for one field is $ $856,000. She said that she could only go so far without any funding mechanism in place because of design work that would be required. She said that the drainage and grading is half of the budget. She said that members of the soccer community have participated in this process and some have offered to contribute financially. She said that the school district has tentatively agreed to relinquish control of field 3-a to Carrboro after school hours, which has not been done before. ,~ Future steps would be how to put this out to bid, where funding could be obtained, the priority placed on this project, and potential partners. Commissioner Nelson thanked Lori Taft for the time spent on this. He asked when the Twin Creeks fields would be built and Laura Blackmon said 2010 with two of the four fields. Commissioner Nelson said this idea was first brought forward in a joint meeting and the community was excited about this possibility because it increases the availability of these two fields. He said that he is interested in pursuing this, but there is the funding question. Commissioner Foushee agreed with Commissioner Nelson, but she said that it is hard not to look at this without the costs and the priority list for funds. Laura Blackmon said that this project has been brought tonight because this issue has been discussed in the past, but it is not part of the CIP. The Board will be getting the CIP tonight and can then decide how to move forward. Commissioner Gordon agreed with the other two Commissioners. She is interested in nailing down contributions and what the groups would want in return. She wants to see a proposed agreement. Since the land for the two Smith Middle School fields is leased from the University of North Carolina, she wants to review the terms of the lease. She said that the county should consider the merits of building the fields on land the county owns. She asked what it would cost to build a field from scratch. Lori Taft said that it would not be substantially higher than changing the existing fields. She said that there is little economy of scale in the construction. Commissioner Gordon asked why the fields would not be done for Twin Creeks until 2010 and Laura Blackmon said that part of it is getting through the Town of Carrboro approval process. Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil said that staff is exploring an interlocal agreement alternative to the conditional use permit. This may make the process shorter, but he does not know that as of yet. Commissioner Gordon said that if there were not the possibility of building new fields on land the county owns, she may be more interested in pursuing this turf issue further, but she would like to see more factors worked out. She said that she is really interested in prioritization of projects for the CIP. Lori Taft said that the contributions from the community look in excess of $600,000, and in exchange, the entity would like free playing time, with the contribution being considered as an up front payment. The playing time would be distributed just as it was, but this entity would just not be paying for it. Laura Blackmon said that the Town of Carrboro is the agency that schedules these fields and collects the fees. Orange County would not be providing programming on this field. She said that there has to be funding in place before this project can move forward at all. 8. Board Comments Commissioner Gordon distributed the Durham- Chapel Hill- Carrboro Metropolitan Organization Newsletter, which is attached and is hereby made part of the minutes. The DCHC-MPO is involved in two Greenhouse Gas Emissions plans. Durham's plan is being completed before Orange County's plan, because Durham is using older data and Orange County is using updated data. The report also includes information about the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan and a fresh look at regional transit. At the next DCHC-MPO meeting, the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan will be discussed. The Long-Range Transportation Plan is the planning period between now and 2035 and is updated every five years. There was a joint MPO meeting on October 31St, and the Special Transit Advisory Commission presented its report. There are now 18 transit ,~ projects to be considered. She said that everyone seems committed to working together. The realtors published the results of a survey, and the results showed that people think that it is important to have mass transit. Commissioner Gordon also distributed the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) Newsletter, which is attached and is hereby made part of these minutes. One of the things that TTA is very proud of is that the ridership grew in 2006 four times the national average - 12% versus 3%. There are new routes and 20 new buses have been ordered. The Go Triangle Regional Information Center was just kicked off. The phone number is 485-RIDE to get information about riding the buses. She said that there is an extraordinary opportunity for regional cooperation because there are people of like mind in a lot of the municipalities. Commissioner Nelson - no comments. Commissioner Foushee - no comments. Chair Carey said that the collective group of the Mayors and Chairs of Orange County, Chatham County, Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro, and Town of Pittsboro met again on October 30th. There were also representatives from UNC and OWASA. Some of the same issues were discussed, and the group pledged to get all of the jurisdictions to continue to work together to resolve issues of mutual interest. One issue is a joint resolution to ask the State to become more involved in the water quality and water allocation issue related to Jordan Lake. There is a possibility of a joint intake on the west side of the lake. Chatham County wishes to share the site that OWASA owns, but the rules are not clear on the conditions. The group decided to ask the State to become more involved and to move the process along about setting some rules about sharing intakes, promoting regionalization, etc. The other issue was that the group would like to have smaller groups work on the subjects of mutual interest such as transportation. The next report will be at the next Assembly of Governments meeting in the spring. There are no meetings planned between now and that Assembly of Governments meeting. Commissioner Gordon asked about the structure for the working group and Chair Carey said that no decision was made to change the structure of this group as of now. It will remain the Mayors/Chairs/Vice-Chairs, etc. working on items of mutual interest over the next few months. In some cases, some of the groups may not include all of the jurisdictions. Commissioner Gordon said that one concern at the last Assembly of Governments meeting was that the meetings should be noticed. Chair Carey said that this will be done in the future because the meetings are not closed meetings. 9. County Manager's Report Laura Blackmon said that she has a report from Director of Elections Barry Garner, and the tally for early voting was 959 in 2004 and over 1,000 this year. Barry Garner has accepted a position in Florida, and Friday will be his last day for Orange County. Laura Blackmon said that the staff has been trying to plan amini-retreat for December. There will also have to be agoal-setting retreat to kick off the budget process. Laura Blackmon said that item 4-h, which was pulled, was on Recreation and Parks Grant Applications. She said that the staff has been looking at whether there could be a grant process where the Manager could at least be able to approve the applications for grants that require neither matching funds nor any additional staff. She asked the Board to review this proposal. 2008-18 Ten Year CIP ,~ Laura Blackmon distributed the CIP budget for 2008-18 and there will be a work session on November 13th to go over this. She went through the notebook and reviewed each tab. • Summary of budget calendar and CIP calendar • School capital ordinances to be approved in early spring • Assumptions, principles, and future considerations • Capital project worksheets Donna Coffey pointed out that the capital as well as the annual operating impact was shown for the next ten years on the worksheets. She also said that the information from the schools is the same information that the school systems distributed in September. Also, in Appendix A, the unfunded needs are shown. For County and Schools, it is a little less than $270 million over the next ten years. Also, in Appendix B, the Annual Debt Service Obligations and the debt capacities are shown. Appendix C shows the remaining debt issuances approved on February 20, 2007. Laura Blackmon said that one consideration is the future implications of these projects on operational budgets. She said that even though there is debt capacity to do some of these projects, the operational expense will be very difficult to address. Donna Coffey said that this document would be online by Thursday, and there will be electronic copies on CD in the Budget Office. Chair Carey pointed out that there is no reference to additional revenue sources. Laura Blackmon said that this could be discussed at the work session. 10. Appointments a. Local Revenue Options Education Advisory Committee The Board considered making appointments to the Local Revenue Options Education Advisory Committee. Commissioner Gordon expressed concern about the meeting schedule because there will be four meetings through the holidays. It was answered that this schedule would be revised somewhat. A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to appoint Keith Dixon, Barbara Hardison, and Mark Zimmerman to the Local Revenue Options Education Advisory Committee. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Orange Unified Transportation Board -New Appointments The Board considered making new appointments to the Orange Unified Transportation Board. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Nelson to appoint Paul Guthrie to the Chapel Hill Township position (#4) with a term ending September 30, 2009; Karen Barrows to the Little River Township position (#7) with a term ending September 30, 2009; and Dawn Brezina to the Eno Township position (#5) with a term ending September 30, 2010 on the Orange Unified Transportation Board. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 11. Information Items ,~ • Update from Archer Group on Pay and Classification Study 12. Closed Session-NONE 13. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to adjourn the meeting at 9:08 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Note: Access the agenda through the County's web site, www.co.orange.nc.us ,~ Orange County water supply reservoir water levels Available information as of 3:00 PM, Thursday, November 1, 2007: Lake Orange • Water level is at 84" below full. • Water storage capacity remaining is approximately 42.1 % (135 million gallons) • Approximately 75 days of water supply remaining (at Capacity Use specified release rate). We are currently releasing less than the Capacity Use specified rate, due to Hillsborough's extra release and the drastic reduction in withdrawals by Orange- Alamance and Piedmont Minerals. • We are currently in Stage 4 of the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement. Stage 5 is triggered once the Lake drops to 89" below full. West Fork Reservoir (as of October 25, 2007) • Water level is at 62" below full. • Water storage capacity remaining is approximately 67.6%. • Approximately 220 days of water supply are remaining (assuming Town's current daily demand and releases for streamflow augmentation) • Hillsborough is currently releasing approximately 1.3 million gallons per day more than they are required. This excess amount meets most, if not all, of their current average daily demand. • Hillsborough has asked for Voluntary Conservation from all of its customers. OWASA Reservoirs • Water level at Cane Creek Reservoir is 126.75" below full • Water level at University Lake is 82.5" below full • Total remaining water storage capacity is approximately 50.0% • Approximately 219 days of water supply remaining (at current average weekly demand) • OWASA is currently in Stage 2 of its Water Conservation Ordinance. National Weather Service/NOAH Regional Precipitation data (inches above [+] or below [-] normal) RDU -6.16" since January 1 -0.56" since September 1 Piedmont-Triad -9.68" since January 1 -0.08" since September 1 Miscellaneous notes * The NC Drought Management Advisory Council drought map, dated June 19, 2007, shows the majority of Orange County to be in the area characterized as "severe drought" in terms of drought conditions. * Orange-Alamance has asked for Voluntary Conservation from all of its customers.