Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19780925717 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARp OE COMf4ISSI0NERS SEPTEP~BER 25, 1978 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, September 25, 1978, at 7:30 p.m., in the Commissioners' Room of the Courthouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Members present: Commissioners Norman Gustaveson, Donald Willhoit, Jan Pinney and Norman Walker. Commissioner Richard Whitted was absent. In Chairman Whitted absence, Vice Chairman Gustaveson assumed the chair. Vice Chairman Gustaveson opened the meeting by asking if any member of the Board wished to add additional items to the agenda. The following items were added to the agenda: Agenda Item 6: Charles Rivers Memorandum Agenda Item 7: Rezoning Request of Clarence Gates Agenda Item 8: Appointments to EMS Council Agenda Item 9: CETA Activities Review Agenda Item 7: Rezonin Re uest of Clarence Gates Mr. Gates read a memorandum addressed to the Orange County Commissioners which stated that he and his father wish to move their septic tank business from its present location to his father's property. He stated that the lease at the present site will be up in three years and, if they are not al1awedto relocate on their own property, they will have to sell the business or sell their homes and move to another location with the business. Mr. Gates invited the Commissioners to come and see the operation and the proposed new location before making a decision on his request for rezoning. Agenda Item 2Ac ~p_oir.tment-Orange County Board of Adjustments Commissioner Willhoit nominated Richard Ducker to serve on the Orange County Board of Adjustments. Commissioner Walker offered a second and moved to close nominations. Vote: ayes, 4; noes, 0. Agenda Item 26: Appointment-Orange County Planning,Board Commissioner Willhoit nominiated Robert D. Greer to serve on the Orange County Planning Board. Commissioner Walker offered a second and moved to close nominations. Vote: ayes, 4; noes, 0. Commissioner Gustaveson asked the Clerk to write letters to Colonel Breeze and Ms. Marilyn Riddle thanking them for their service and hard work on the Orange County Planning Board. Agenda Item 3: Property Tax Assessments In the Tax Supervisor's absence, Commissioner Gustaveson asked that this item 6e put on the first Monday agenda for action. Agenda Item 9: CETA Activities Review Mr. Joe Bradshaw addressed the Board stating that he attended the Balance of State Council meeting in Raleigh on Tuesday, September 19. The Council's staff proposed Orange County and Qurham County be considered a consortium by the Balance of . State. He said that Secretary Lee designated the Orange-Durham County problem a high priority condition to be given instant attention by the State Office of Community Employment. Mr. Bradshaw stated one person, Jim Lott, had been assigned to us full time. A management team from Raleigh will come to Orange County to help set up our records and work with the finance and CETA offices. Some of this team will work with Mr. Bradshaw to plan programs through the Balance of State. Congressional action to continue CETA is expected this week, but, to date, there are no guaranteed CETA posi- tions after September 30. 713 The County Manager told the Board that his staff would get together a .list of all CETA requests and current CETA positions for the Board's review. Commissioner Pinney expressed his concern over what would happen if congress does not fund some CETA titles. He did not like the idea of a blanket 30 day extension as suggested in case Title VI is slashed 25% to 30%. Commissioner Gustaveson stated that the County Manager's staff should then use its best judgment in making temporary extensions. Commissioner Willhoit suggested making extensions "up to 30 days". He also asked to be kept abreast of any additional information available regarding funding. Agenda Item 4: Architect's Presentation of Grad Brown Alternatives Mr. Nassif stated in his original feasibility study he examined each county build- ing, the number of persons in these buildings, the best use of this space and county program priorities. He considered expanding present county buildings and tried to reassign agencies to different buildings before arriving at his final recommendation. The Grady Brown building is both substantial and large - 57,000 square feet. He recommended renovating Grady Brown because it would be less expensive than building a new building. Mr. Nassif gave the Commissioners a tabulation of the bids received and reported the requested 30 day extension had been granted. Mr. Nassif said other options available are to rent additional space, rebid Grady Brown, negotiate bids on Grady brown, renovate Grady Brown in phases, or do nothing at all. The County Manager asked if it would be possible to renovate the old part of Grady Brown first. Mr. Nassif felt this was possible but not his recommendation. Commissioner Walker voiced concern over the impact of having a gym beside the library. Mr. Nassif said that all departments were consulted during this study and.the Recreation Department did not bring this to his attention when interviewed. He said the Recreation Department expressed concern over parking and wanted the existing playfield to serve as parking. Commissioner Walker asked what had happened to the concept of converting the parking area in front of the Recreation Department to a park with trees and benches. Mr. Nassif stated that would happen at a later time when all parking would be located in the rear. Commissioner Walker asked how much the renovation would cost per square foot. The County Manager stated the bid figure runs about $36.30: Mr. Nassif said new construction ~rould run $40 to $45 per square foot. Commissioner Walker said he believed that it would be more economical in the long run (50 years) to build a new building since Grady Brown is out of the governmental complex. He stated that by building a new building, we would be saving energy, etc. He stated he believes Grady Brown to be too expensive for a stopgap measure. Commissioner Pinney asked, "How did we miss the bid estimate so badly?" Commissioner Walker stated there had been a year's delay and costs had gone up during that time. The County Finance Director said the county had $1,915,000 to use on this projec. Commissioner Gustaveson asked if it was an acceptable practice to bid a fixed contract profit and work with the contractor to negotiate separate phases of the bid. Mr. Nassif replied, "As it stands now, the Board, by law, is able to negotiate with low bidders in any category. This way you are assured of competitive bids". The County Attorney said that he had not heard of bidding that way before. He said he would look into the statutes to check this idea. Commissioner Pinney stated that in any remodeling job, the contractors bid high enough to cover unanticipated cast they might encounter. 719 Commissioner Willhoit said he did not believe it worthwhile to try to nickel and dime the contract down. It looks like it is 1/2 million aver our estimates. If there is a chance to get more competitive bids, maybe we should ga out for bids again. Ben Lloyd asked if he understood Commissioner Willhoit to say it would cast 1/2 million over what was budgeted given time lapse. He was told the original estimate was $1,24p,000 and the bid now is $2,049,000. Mr. Lloyd asked, "Why the drastic increase?" "Has the time lapse caused this increase?" Commissioner. Walker answered, "Inaccurate initial cost estimate, plus time lapse and a whole lot of other things." f1r. Nassif said it would take three weeks to get new bids. Commissioner Willhoit laid he was not interested in considering $2,000,000 and would like to pursue the idea of getting bids from contractors who did not bid. He mentioned things that might 6e changed, such as elevators, and the coordination of a central intake for Social Services and Health instead of each having their own reception rooms. Commissioner Pinney observed this project would take all the money the county had, leaving nothing for the jail. The County Manager asked if the county could rebid for one building and Mr. Nassif replied it could. Commissioner Walker said renovation of Grady Brown would save money but new construction might be cheaper in the long run. He said the Board should start looking into the option of new construction which might save more money, energy and be more convenient for the community in the long run. Commissioner Gustaveson asked that this issue be put on the third Tuesday agenda in October to discuss options available in terms of rebidding. Commissioner Walker was excused from the rest of the meeting. Agenda Item 5: Industrial Development Revenue Bond_Authority The County Attorney introduced Ms. Jane Curtis with the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Ms. Curtis told the Board that industrial revenue bonds are fairly ne~•~ in North Carolina. The state requires certain legislative findings that assures industry using this procedure provides enough jobs to have an impact on the community, pays high than average wages and shows certification of financial responsibility. Industry cannot abandon another location in North Carolina and use these bonds to construct new plants. Interest on these bonds is exempt from state and federal income taxes, thus, lower rates are available to the user. Ms. Curtis stated there were five steps involved in bonding: 1) initial meeting with financing authority, 2) approval in principal by Department of Commerce, 3) public notice, 4) review period and 5) final approval by Department of Commerce after judicial review. The county is in no way responsible for repayment if the user defaults. Commissioner Gustaveson asked if it were necessary to have a company waiting before forming a financing authority.. Ms. Curtis responded that some authorities were formed beforehand while others were created when needed. The County Finance Director said there had been same question initially that companies needing this type of financing were of lower financial quality. Ms. Curtis responded that the credit worthiness for this type bonding had to be better than the typical bank or other lending institution normally required. The County Attorney said the necessary step the Board Should take if interested would be to direct him to get in touch with bonding counsel with the idea of pre- paring a resolution of intent. 720 Commissioner Gustaveson directed the attorney to secure the resolution of intent for Board consideration. Before proceeding further with industrial land development project, Commissioner lillhoit wanted the industrial area identified, and a land use plan developed. Fie wanted to convey this information to the Planning Board. Commissioner Willhoit said he would write a memorandum to the Planning Board. Agenda ItEm 8: Appointments to EMS Council , Commissioner Willhoit moved, seconded by Commissioner Pinney, to appoint Bill Lessig and Dr. Tommy Griggs to the Retional EM5 Council. Vote: ayes, 3; noes, 0. Agenda Item 6: Charles Rivers Memorandum The Board authorized the Chairman to write our senators and congressman requesting t;ieir support of federal legislation continuing the present Impact Aid Act. There being no further business, the Board adjourned. ~~~~ Norman Gustaveson, Vice Chairman Mary Lou Bauley, Clerk