Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02-18-2010 APPROVED 3/16/2010 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING February 18, 2010 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Joint Meeting with the Town of Hillsborough Commissioners on Thursday, February 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the New County Orange County Main Library, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Mike Nelson, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, 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) HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens and Commissioners Frances Dancy, Eric Hallman, Michael Gering, and Evelyn Lloyd HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Brian Lowen HILLSBOROUGH STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Eric Peterson Welcome and Opening Remarks (Chair Foushee and Mayor Stevens) Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said that this library is a fabulous building to be in. He said that there is a very cooperative relationship between the Town and the County. 1. Central Orange Coordinated Area (COCA) Interlocal Agreement— Discussion Regarding Urbanizing Area Representation on Hillsborough Planning Board and Board of Adjustment Orange County Planner Perdita Holtz said that this relates to the COCA that was signed by both jurisdictions this past December. She said that the issue at hand is representation on the Hillsborough's Planning Board and Board of Adjustment and people living in the Orange County Urbanizing Area. The urbanizing areas are County areas that are urbanized now but could be annexed. She said that she and Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth have talked about some board flexibility with citizens in these areas to serve on these boards. Commissioner Gordon said that it would helpful to let the County Commissioners know how many members there are on the Hillsborough Planning Board and Board of Adjustment (BOA). Margaret Hauth said that there are 10 members on the Planning Board and three of them are ETJ representatives. The Board of Adjustment has five regular members and two of those are ETJ representatives. There is an alternative for in-town and out-of-town. There is a Planning Board representative on the Board of Adjustment, which happens to be an ETJ person because the person from the Planning Board who lives in the ETJ chose to serve on the Board of Adjustment. It is a Planning Board membership and not a residency membership. Commissioner Yuhasz verified that the Town of Hillsborough really has nothing to say about what happens in the areas that might be annexed. However, there would be a courtesy review process. He is not sure why those people would need representation on these boards. Commissioner Pelissier said that it was Orange County's original position to have representation on the Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment. She asked about the rationale for this. Perdita Holtz said that the original recommendation has to do with other areas of the County, specifically the JPA (Joint Planning Area) in the southern part of the county where there has been a lot of talk about people not feeling that they have representation if the area will be annexed at a future date. Commissioner Gordon said that her recollection is that the JPA part of the County does have representation. She said that this recommendation makes sense to her. Commissioner Gering said that he has a problem giving people seats on these two boards when they are not subject to Hillsborough's regulations. Commissioner Pelissier said that she understands where the rationale came from, but since it is in Orange County's jurisdiction, this may create more problems. She made reference to annexation and asked at what point it would kick in that there would be a member on the Planning Board. Margaret Hauth said that they take volunteers as they come forward. There is no hard and fast rule. Commissioner Jacobs said that he thinks that part of the idea is to have as seamless a transition as possible from one jurisdiction to the other regarding planning so that there is some consistency. Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Jacobs. She said that it is better to advertise in the urbanizing areas for applicants to these boards. She is in favor of the staff recommendation. Commissioner Yuhasz said that if he was living in the ETJ areas, and he had to compete with people who have no interest in what happens with the Hillsborough Planning Board, he might have a problem with that. He said that the ETJ representatives are intended to represent the interests of those people who do not have a direct representative on the Town Board of Commissioners but need to have some representation in the planning process. He suggested leaving it alone and not including the orange areas (proposed Orange County urbanizing areas) in the representation. Commissioner Gering said that he has a harder time understanding this representation on the BOA and what it would mean since the people are not in Hillsborough's jurisdiction. Mayor Stevens said that this is a small area they are talking about and people have good access to the process throughout. He said that to mess with something when it is not broken may not work and it should be left alone. Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Gering and said that there is a difference between the BOA and the Planning Board. Regarding the blue areas (proposed Hillsborough urbanizing areas), she said that this would need to come back for discussion. Margaret Hauth said that it would be awhile before this is operational, at least a year or more. Chair Foushee said that the boards should revisit this when the time comes since there is not a problem that should be fixed now. All agreed. 2. Update on Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Grant Agreement: (a) Operating Assistance for Proposed Intra-Hillsborough Public Transit Route and (b) Capital Expenses for DTCC Orange Campus Park and Ride Lot Department on Aging Director Jerry Passmore said that he and Transportation Planner Karen Lincoln along with Margaret Hauth have looked at transportation in the Hillsborough area, which has one of the highest concentrations of seniors. He said that they are excited about including transportation in this area and this will allow people to use public transportation rather than their own cars. The primary connecting point is the park and ride lot at Durham Tech. For an eight-hour run, it would cost $45.51 per hour. He made reference to Attachment 2 and went through this information. Karen Lincoln said that one of the reasons for this revised application is because the original route was primarily between Durham Tech and the downtown justice facility area and at that time they had proposed a more extensive route. The 420 Hillsborough-Chapel Hill route is doing that now so it is covering the initial intent. Jerry Passmore pointed out the route on page 9 and said that the intent of each stop is to cover the northern part of Hillsborough and making a loop. The route runs about 55 minutes. He said that he tried to put stops in areas where people would likely go. The goal is to make this route convenient. Commissioner Yuhasz said that the fare is so nominal and he asked if there had been any discussion about making this fare-free. Jerry Passmore said that they did not think about this, in these economic times. Frank Clifton said that this might be a decision that the Town would need to make because they are going to ask the Town to subsidize the operational costs (page 7). Margaret Hauth said that when the application was made by Orange County it was that Hillsborough would share the match and she does not think it was the Town's expectation to fund the full match requirement. Hillsborough Manager Eric Peterson asked if there would be benefits to the County as far as parking issues. Commissioner Nelson asked for a copy of the record about the commitment by Orange County. Frank Clifton said that Orange County does not participate in the transit system in the southern part of the County, so the plan was to not do it in the northern part. Commissioner Jacobs said that presumably people would pick this route up in a neighborhood. He suggested approaching DMV about using the parking lot and having people park there and pick up the bus. He also asked why they would give free bus rides to those 65 and older, but charge for people too young to drive. Jerry Passmore said that the reasoning nationally is that older adults are more transit dependent and are usually on fixed incomes. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like to see more consideration for younger people that do not drive. Frank Clifton suggested creating annual passes for a nominal fee. Jerry Passmore said that the local match could be paid back by the fares. Commissioner Gordon asked about the indirect costs and if they are included. Jerry Passmore said that they will be included when they get the final numbers. Commissioner Gordon said that 22% is significant and this needs to be worked out before the grant is submitted so that the indirect costs can be included. Jerry Passmore said that OPT's costs are only about half of what Chapel Hill's costs are. Commissioner Lloyd said that oftentimes the Town will ask the County to help with grants and the County does. So if the County asks for help now, then the Town should also help in some way. She said that she does not mind helping the County out, but she does not want to be surprised with having to spend more money all of a sudden. Frank Clifton said that if the Town wants an interior bus route for Hillsborough, then this is an opportunity for them to have it at a lower cost than they could otherwise. He said that the County is already running a bus system for those that qualify, and this is an opportunity to provide a service via mostly federal money that requires some matching funds. This service is aimed at people that do not fit into the other categories (disabled, etc.). Frank Clifton said that someone has to guarantee the 20% local match for this grant. Commissioner Lloyd said to keep in mind that Hillsborough is a very poor town. Mayor Stevens said that this is a start and Hillsborough needs to do this and even a lot more than this. He said that this is a huge economic development issue and a huge traffic mitigation issue. Commissioner Nelson said that this is clearly crucial from an economic development standpoint, but the County has to treat all of the towns the same. Frank Clifton suggested asking staff to refine this and bring it back to both boards. The fees and stops can be reviewed more. 3. Next Steps to Address Churton Street Traffic Congestion Following NCDOT's No- Build Decision on Elizabeth Brady Road Margaret Hauth said that in the agenda packets there is a list of projects that the Town developed as alternatives for Elizabeth Brady Road. She said that the Town would like to participate in any discussions regarding this process. She asked that the County share all information with the Town regarding this. Chair Foushee said that this request is reasonable and the Board of County Commissioners would not be opposed to having representation by the Town of Hillsborough at those quarterly meetings as they move through this process. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County has talked with DOT about changing the access from the west to get to the US 70 connector. He said that the County has lobbied with DOT several times on this issue and it may be a good designated bypass and it could be part of the conversations. Regarding railroad crossings, if there is going to be a high-speed rail, there will be a huge impact because there are a ton of railroad crossings between Efland and the east side of Hillsborough. He hopes that the County and the Town can work on this together. Commissioner Gordon said that numbers 2, 3, and 4 are on the existing regional priority list and both Orange County and Hillsborough supported these. She said that we could try to move these projects forward on the priority list. 4. Efland Area Sewer Allocation Agreement Frank Clifton said that he and Eric Peterson have had conversations about this and part of that discussion is that this is the only place where Orange County is in the utility business and the desire is to get out of the utility business. If Hillsborough is not interested, then they might talk to the City of Mebane. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that in the 1980's there were failing septic systems and in order to solve this problem, the County and the Town talked about constructing a system and sending it back to Hillsborough. He showed the Phase I system on a map, which includes Efland-Cheeks Elementary School and about 100 residents. The system has been expanded to 200+ residents, and they only use 30-40,000 gallons a day, versus the 380,000 gallons per day capacity. There was a commitment signed by the residents and the County in 1987 and the commitments are being fulfilled to expand the system to Phase II, which would pick up 100+ residents. Orange County has received some EPA grants to finish the system. The plan at this time is to put in one more lift station, dump it back into the old one, and then the old one would send all of the effluent back to Hillsborough. It is difficult to manage this system because it is so small and the cost to the residents is quite high. If the system is built larger in the future, they would have to stay at the 380,000 gallons per day cap. The question is whether it should go back to Hillsborough or Mebane. Frank Clifton said that the County has had some general discussions with Mebane and it has generally agreed to accept the quote, but the agreement needs to be amended for the long-term. Secondly, the County could look at the current agreement with Hillsborough and maybe release some of that capacity if it is needed. Ultimately, the issue revolves around the cost of doing this, which will be quite high. He said that his goal is to get the County out of the utility business. Commissioner Lloyd said that she was on the Board of Health when all of those septic systems failed in Efland. She said that each of those areas received a grant and all the people had to do was to pay to tap on to the system. She said that the Board of Health made sure that every deed showed whether or not the residents of the houses had tapped on. Eric Peterson said that this would be a win for Hillsborough to have the additional capacity. Frank Clifton said that the next steps would be for staff to look at the provisions of the existing agreement and work on a reasonable release of the County. This would be at least ten years out. 5. Local Landmarking Program Margaret Hauth said that there is a State law that allows a local jurisdiction to designate landmarks within the jurisdiction and the property owners are entitled to a reduction in the tax bill in return for maintaining the properties according to certain standards. The Town of Hillsborough does not have a program like this, but Orange County does have this program for the unincorporated areas. From time to time, there is interest from property owners within the ETJ to pursue local landmarking. There is some interest in working with the County to see if there is a way to give that ability back to Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs said that he is in favor of facilitating this and all agreed. Frank Clifton said that the staff can start this process. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to see the implications of this for the County. 6. Update on Rail Station Margaret Hauth said that on March 31st, from 4:30-8:00 p.m., the Town of Hillsborough will be hosting an open house public forum on the latest round of design for the train station. The Town is waiting for funding (ARRA) before moving forward. Commissioner Gordon asked if it was clear whether or not the high speed rail funding would cover the station and Margaret Hauth said that it is pretty clear that the funding will not fund the station. Commissioner Gordon asked about the process with the HYAA fields. Commissioner Gering said that it became clear that the cost of moving the fields was expensive, and the committee decided in the short-term to move a couple of the ballfields and then when needed, the rest of the ballfields could be moved. There is a representative from HYAA on the task force. Commissioner Pelissier made reference to one of the alternatives to Elizabeth Brady Road, which was to extend Orange Grove Road. Margaret Hauth said that this is still a possibility. Mayor Stevens said that he appreciates the County's support on this. 7. Update on Hillsborough's Plans for the Former Collins Property Margaret Hauth said that the previous conversation covers this item too. The larger tract is still the Collins Property and in private ownership. The 20 acres belongs to the Town. Commissioner Gordon asked about the plans for buildings and Margaret Hauth said that the Hillsborough Planning Board was working through the UDO Design Standards, and they are comfortable with six stories in some corridors, especially near the train station. Commissioner Gering said that the concept that the committee had was that it would be a municipal center with municipal functions and green space. The development around it could be residential, commercial, retail, etc. 8. Signage for County Buildings Frank Clifton said that the County has made a major commitment to the buildings in Hillsborough but the County buildings are hard to find. He said that the wayfinding signs are good but the County's buildings need to be identified better because they do not sit on the main roads. He said that every day people come to the Government Services offices looking to pay taxes or find the Register of Deeds Office. He said that some jurisdictions have signage kiosks that identify certain areas. He suggested looking at this. Commissioner Gordon said that Triangle Transit is considering a ticket sales outlet in Orange County. She also noted that in the Hillsborough area sometimes people do not know what the bus schedule is for the TTA bus stops. She said that if there was some place where information like this could be found, then it should be included in future signage planning. Commissioner Jacobs said that the plan for the new courthouse included a signage kiosk and Margaret Hauth said that is one that was included in the wayfinding plan. Commissioner Jacobs said that when you go through the gate to the parking deck, it says County parking, but it is Mr. Horton's signage and his parking deck and this needs to be clearer about Orange County spaces, which are supposed to be free. He has heard people come to the librarians and complain because they do not know where to park. 9. Building Inspections Services, Erosion Control, and NPDES Contracts Craig Benedict introduced Susan Mellot, Building Official for Orange County, and said that Orange County has been working with Hillsborough since 1974 in helping them with building inspection services and erosion control. He said that some standardized agreements are needed, and staff will be bringing them forward in the near future. Also, the NPDES contracts are up for renewal, so this is a good time to formalize agreements. Frank Clifton said that there are some issues with the County enforcing regulations within the Town limits without any authority. He said that there is some urgency for these agreements to move forward to establish relationships beforehand. 10. Valley Forge Road Property and Potential Annexation Frank Clifton said that from a County staff perspective, there is not a significant issue with this. He said that he and Eric Peterson have discussed this and who would get the tax revenues. Craig Benedict showed this property on a map. One of these parcels will be used for the Value-Added Food Processing Center. Another parcel is leased by a business. The property is currently in Hillsborough's Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and is anticipated to be annexed in the future. Frank Clifton said that this is kind of an economic development issue. Commissioner Gering said that this was discussed a year ago, and the Town sent a request in December for voluntary annexation. He said that this was the first they had heard that the County was reluctant to take this step. Frank Clifton said that it is appropriate for someone to approach the owner of the business and let them know what is happening and that the tax bill will be $18,000. Eric Peterson said that it would be more than $18,000 when the property is annexed. Commissioner Gering said that he did not realize that the tax would be this much on this particular property. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he has a problem with hitting this lessor with an $18,000+ additional cost. This was not the reason for annexing. If the lease is up within two years, then it could be negotiated with the new lease. Frank Clifton said that someone could talk to the person and talk about what might happen. Mayor Stevens said that the assumption was that at such point when the property would be under a business then the tax would be billed. He suggested that staff explore alternatives, such as a phase-in. Commissioner Gordon said that the County Commissioners have not discussed this and she asked for an explanation of all of the implications of this voluntary annexation. Commissioner Nelson said that the steps for involuntary annexation are complicated and expensive. 11. Heritage Center Commissioner Gering said that they wanted to add an agenda item for the Heritage Center and Mayor Stevens said to go ahead. Commissioner Gering said that the Hillsborough Tourism Board thinks that the Heritage Center is important and they have always looked forward to a Heritage Center. He said that if the Heritage Center joined the Orange County Museum then that would be a win-win situation. He said the Orange County Museum rents space for$1 a year from the Town. He said that, knowing that the County wants to divest of some of its buildings, then there is an opportunity for some type of partnership. He asked the County Commissioners to talk with the Town before committing to selling the Purchasing building. Commissioner Nelson asked if the groups interested in having a Heritage Center had talked about getting the funding for operational or capital costs and Commissioner Gering said no, they had not. Commissioner Nelson noted that the county had not committed funding to the center in the CIP. Frank Clifton said that the Board of Commissioners has had discussions about the smaller court building and it might be advantageous for the Town to consider looking at the value of owning the parking lots around these buildings. He said that once the parking lot is sold, then there are other issues. Right now it is open public parking. He said that the County Commissioners have put several restrictions on the sale of these buildings. Commissioner Yuhasz said that he would like to work with the Town on a proposal for these buildings and a Heritage Center. Commissioner Jacobs said that there was supposed to be a preliminary report from the Heritage Center Work Group in the spring. There have been some conversations about alternative ways of funding it that would not involve the County carrying the load. With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:20 PM. Valerie Foushee, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board