HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02-19-2010 1 APPROVED 3/16/2010
2 MINUTES
3 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
4 PLANNING RETREAT
5 SOUTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER
6 February 19, 2010
7 9:00 a.m.
8
9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Board retreat on Friday,
10 February 19, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North
11 Carolina.
12
13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Valerie P. Foushee and Commissioners Alice
14 Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Bernadette Pelissier, and Steve Yuhasz
15 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Mike Nelson
16 COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: John Roberts
17 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton and Clerk to the Board Donna S.
18 Baker
19 SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT FACILITATORS: Vaughn Upshaw (UNC School of Government)
20
21 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon seconded by Commissioner Hemminger to
22 approve adding a time sensitive item to agenda, Adoption of a Resolution Approving Qualified
23 School Construction Bond Financing for$4,136,434 for the Carrboro High School Arts Wing.
24
25 Commissioner Gordon asked if the CHCCS knew about this revised resolution and Frank Clifton
26 said yes, staff had communicated this information to the school system.
27
28 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to
29 approve the Adoption of a Resolution Approving Qualified School Construction Bond Financing
30 for$4,136,434 for the Carrboro High School Arts Wing.
31
32 Resolution Approving Revised Terms
33 For Carrboro High School Arts Wing Financing
34
35
36 WHEREAS:
37
38 On November 17, 2009, the Orange County Board of Commissioners approved terms
39 and documents related to the County's financing of the planned Carrboro High School arts wing
40 (the "Project").
41
42 Completion of the financing has been delayed pending final approval by the North
43 Carolina Local Government Commission. This approval is now expected at the LGC's meeting
44 on March 2, 2010. Because of the delay, the initial financing commitment from Branch Banking
45 and Trust Company ("BB&T") has expired. BB&T has renewed its offer to provide Project
46 financing. Because of changed market conditions, the new financing proposal calls for an interest
47 rate of 2.09%.
48
49 BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Orange County, North
50 Carolina, as follows:
1
2 1. The Board confirms its decision to carry out the Project with financing from
3 BB&T.
4
5 2. The Board approves an annual interest rate payable on the financing of not to
6 exceed 2.09%. Otherwise, the Board's approval of Project financing terms and agreements as
7 set forth in the Board's resolution of November 17, 2009, is ratified and confirmed.
8
9 3. All County officers and employees are authorized and directed to take all such
10 further action as they may consider necessary or desirable in furtherance of the purposes of this
11 resolution. All such prior actions of County officers and employees are ratified, approved and
12 confirmed. This resolution takes effect immediately.
13
14 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
15
16 Retreat Objectives:
17 1. Agree upon criteria for creating successful advisory boards and commissions (ABCs)
18 2. Evaluate advisory boards and commissions using criteria
19 3. Decide which advisory boards and commissions' best support the BOCC's vision and
20 goals.
21 4. Determine next steps in adopting policies for Orange County's advisory boards and
22 commissions.
23
24 Vaughn Upshaw asked the Board of Commissioners what they wanted to review during today's
25 retreat:
26
27 1. Reduce the number of boards and commissions the BOCC serves on
28 2. Guidelines for Commissioners being on boards
29 3. Better communication lines from boards to commissioners and vice versa
30 4. Better process for recruiting and selecting members of the boards/commissioners
31 5. Ensure boards have a clearly defined mission that fits into County's goals and priorities
32 6. 6. Identify which boards/commissions support goals & priorities of the County
33 7. Better communication from BOCC liaisons that serve on Advisory boards and
34 commissions
35 8. Ensure boards and commissions do not have overlap and duplicated efforts
36 9. Include Representatives boards/commissions in restructuring process
37 10. Increase process for convening ABC(advisory board and commissions) around goals
38 11. Include broader perspective of ABCs of how members relate to the goals
39 12. Develop clarity of county staff relationships with ABCs
40 13. Recognition of ABCs at BOCC meetings
41 14. Reaffirm values of ABCs : contribution of expertise, time and effort
42
43 Vaughn Upshaw said these are all legitimate suggestions from the Board of Commissioners;
44 however, they may not be successful on all of these things today but they will give it a good
45 start.
46
47 Success from Scratch
48 Introduction of ideas to remove all ABCs and start from scratch
49 General acceptance to start from scratch with ABCs
50 What does success look like?
51 BOCC paired off to decide what success looks like
1 Reporting out of partner's perspective:
2 • Commissioner Foushee: (reporting on Commissioner Yuhasz' perspective)
3 o Success would mean that we have determined to set a criteria by which we
4 appoint members to ABCs
5 • Commissioner Yuhasz: (Commissioner Foushee)
6 o Success would be clarity of mission (what we want from the BOCC)
7 o Reporting relationship between the ABCs and BOCC
8 o Reporting of BOCC liaisons that serve on boards/commissions to other members
9 of BOCC (quick summary)
10 • Commissioner Jacobs: (Commissioner Pelissier)
11 o Establishment of any ABCs would have to have as their mission to achieve the
12 goals and priorities identified by the county
13 o System to ensure trust in citizens that BOCC value citizen participation
14 • Commissioner Pelissier: (Commissioner Jacobs)
15 o Make sure there is a liaison between the ABCs and BOCC
16 o Should each department have an advisory board?And how many per
17 department?
18 o Should the liaison be a BOCC member? Staff?
19 o Accountability of ABCs and BOCC (clear about purpose and product expected)
20 • Commissioner Gordon/Commissioner Hemminger (joint perspective)
21 o standard way of communicating between ABCs and Board of Commissioners
22 (summary report)
23 o effectively use the expertise of the ABCs
24 o ensure members appointed have expertise needed
25 o regular and systematic communication between ABCs and Board of
26 Commissioners
27 o Do ABCs need to have a Board of Commissioners member to serve on them or
28 not
29 o External boards vs internal boards ( eg boards that relate to county
30 administration)
31
32
33
34 Gap Analysis
35 • Which ABCs meet Orange County's criteria for success?
36
37 Vaughn Upshaw asked what are the criteria that they need to apply to their decision-making to
38 make the outcome and success a reality.
39
40 1. External
41 o Engagement of citizens around issue is important for buy-in
42 2. Internal
43 o Internal focus to keep the county operations on target
44 3. As much as possible make sure mission of ABCs are linked to county goals/priorities
45 4. Is purpose of ABCs linked or exist elsewhere
46 o Statutory mandates (exempt from start from scratch)
47 5. Time bound or permanent
48 6. Resources commitment of the county
49 o Staff support
50 o Financial commitment
1 7. Equity
2 8. Does an organization already exist in the community that can fulfill the county goals?
3 9. Added expertise
4 10. Accountability
5 11. Periodic review
6
7
8 Gap Analysis (continued)
9 • Which ABCs meet Orange County's criteria for success?
10 Action Plan for Success
11 Process:
12 Set aside statutory items
13 Set aside inter-local agreements/intergovernmental ABCs BOCC is appointed to serve on
14 o Filter out what inter-local/intergovernmental boards BOCC can appoint a citizen
15 to serve on
16 Classify groups according to Orange County's BOCC's goals and priorities
17 o Housing
18 o Environment Preservation and Protection
19 o Economic Development
20 o Cultural Resources
21 o Parks and Recreation
22 o Protective Services for vulnerable populations
23 o Public Safety services
24 o Infrastructure
25 • Transportation
26 • Solid Waste
27 • Information Technology
28 o Education
29 o Planning and Land Use
30 o Human/Health Services
31
32
33 Frank Clifton said this could be a consensus of direction pursued and staff would come back to
34 the Board with suggestions to reduce or keep the same. Frank Clifton said for the board to go
35 through the process and then staff can look at how a board was established or created.
36
37
38 Vaughn Upshaw said the list does not represent 14 boards and commissions; but rather 14
39 categories under which to put all of their boards/commissions.
40
41
42 Review and Next Steps
43 • What policies will the BOCC need to adopt to create successful ABCs?
44 1. Review existing ABCs to identify BOCC authority to:
45 o Dissolve
46 o Merge
47 o Expand
48 2. Review process suggestions (Hand out—draft Advisory Committee Policy)
49
1 • Scope
2 • Duties
3 • Membership Criteria
4 • Roles and Responsibilities
5 • Organization
6 • Meetings
7 • Committees
8 • Quorum
9 • Voting
10 • Authorized Spokespersons
11 • Conflict of Interest
12 • Compensation and Travel Reimbursement
13 • Limitation of Powers
14
15
16 3. Review/establish criteria for ABC policy against a model policy
17 4. Agree on incremental next steps for upcoming appointments
18 5. Consider County Manager's recommendations of reduction/merge/elimination of ABCs
19 6. Identify which ABCs are eligible to be sunset
20 7. Determine appointment process/orientation process
21 8. Standardize language for ABCs
22 a. Establish time/authority
23 9. Clerk will regroup commissions to sort into categories (statutory, external, internal,
24 membership, BOCC appointments, etc)
25 10. Liaison role —A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger seconded by
26 Commissioner Jacobs to approve for only one commissioner to serve on a
27 board/commission unless legally required to participate on ABCs , (Commissioner Yuhasz
28 not present for vote).
29
30
31 Frank Clifton said they need to look at how these boards were originally created, and the Board
32 of County Commissioners needs to prepare itself for some backlash from the public if they do
33 decide to eliminate/reduce/merge boards and commissions, as he as proposed in his
34 recommendations. Frank Clifton said one of the overall problems is when the Board appoints
35 an applicant to a committee; many times they do not know this person at all.
36 He suggested that they may want to consider creating an interview committee made up of 2-3
37 Commissioners to review applications periodically.
38
39 The Board agreed to move forward on sun setting 3 boards/commissions that are no
40 longer functioning:
41
42 Hollow Rock Planning Committee
43 New Hope Park at Blackwood Farm Master Planning Taskforce
44 Twin Creeks Work Group
45
46
47 The Board agreed to sunset/merge soon the following boards/commissions:
48
49 Efland-Mebane SAP Implementation Focus Group
1 Interlocal Agreement Committee for the Hillsborough Area-Orange County Strategic Growth
2 Plan Phase II
3 Rogers Road Water and Sewer Work Group
4 Legislative Issues Work Group —this is only a staff/Board of Commissioners' work group that
5 can be taken off of the list
6 Sportsplex Community Advisory Committee
7 Reduction of 5 Housing Committees (seeking recommendation from Manager)
8 Climate Change Committee (Air Quality Advisory Committee)
9 Transportation Services Board (merge into Orange Unified Transportation Board)
10 Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee & Nursing Home Community Advisory
11 Committee (seeking recommendation from Manager)
12 Carrboro Northern Transition Area Advisory Committee- Clerk to check on status
13
14 Membership Organization- can remove from listing
15 ICLEI
16 NACO/NCACC Legislative Liaison
17
18 Commissioner Yuhasz suggested removing Healthy Carolinians from the list since it is a
19 consortium.
20
21 Commissioner Jacobs suggested for the Board of Commissioners' liaison to notify the Manager
22 as to who and when to sunset, who in turn will notify the Clerk's office so that a
23 board/commission can be formally sunsetted.
24
25 Vaughn Upshaw said ultimately it is the Board of County Commissioners' responsibility to
26 decide to sunset.
27
28 Commissioner Jacobs suggested using standardized language for the future creation of a board
29 — such as task force, focus group, work group, etc.
30
31
32 Commissioner Yuhasz left at 12:28 PM
33
34 The Commissioners agreed to sunset the three boards, and to sunset/merge soon other boards
35 listed above, by unanimous vote (5) ( Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Yuhasz were
36 not present)
37
38 VOTE: Unanimous (5) (Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Yuhasz were not present)
39
40
41
42 12:00 Other BOCC Business
43 1. Meals for BOCC Meetings
44 • Does the County want to develop a policy that states that a certain percentage of
45 food that is served at Commissioners' meals (such as 30% or 1/3 over a year's
46 time) must be grown in Orange County, and would this percentage be a
47 reasonable amount)
48
49 o Reframe as county governmental activities, instead of BOCC meetings
50 o Commitment to a philosophy, wants to avoid adopting formal policy
51 o Encourage practice
1 o Reaffirm process for food ordering : Head count, in the future budget focused
2 o State it as a goal of the county to provide meals that locally grown
3 o A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier seconded by Commissioner
4 Jacobs to approve for staff to come back with a goal for meals provided for
5 county governmental activities
6
7
8 VOTE: UNANIMOUS (5) (Commissioner Yuhasz and Commissioner Nelson were not present)
9
10
11
12
13 2. Policy for Commissioner Travel
14 • Discussion to decide if the funds for this line item should be as a group (7) or individual
15 travel line items ;
16 • Can BOCC members transfer funds from one member to another
17
18
19 o No distinction between board and commissioners. Equal allotment per member
20 (i.e., $1700)
21 o Allocations of budget returned back if funds not used
22 o Cooperation between BOCC members who is best to attend certain meetings
23 requiring a travel allotment
24 o Manager indicated budget process may implement more restrictive process on
25 local funds used among employees. Registration fee paid. Commissioner pays
26 for food, hotel fee.
27 o No motion made, will come back as an agenda item
28
29 3. Meeting Times for BOCC Meetings
30 • Start times for BOCC meetings- formal adoption — discussion of the 7pm vs. the 7:30pm
31 start time.
32
33
34 o A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger seconded by Commissioner
35 Jacobs to approve the meeting start time at 7:00pm.
36 VOTE: 4-1 (Commissioner Gordon) (Commissioner Yuhasz and Commissioner
37 Nelson were not present)
38 o BOCC will make commitment to arrive at meetings on time
39
40 4. Revision of Rules of Procedure Book
41
42 • Order of Agenda items:
43
44 The Board agreed by consensus on the following order for agenda items:
45
46 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
47
48 PUBLIC CHARGE
49
50 The Board of Commissioners pledges to the citizens of Orange County its respect.
51 The Board asks its citizens to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous
1 manner, both with the Board and with fellow citizens. At any time should any
2 member of the Board or any citizen fail to observe this public charge, the Chair will
3 ask the offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal
4 control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until
5 such time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed. All
6 electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers, and computers should please be
7 turned off or set to silent/vibrate.
8
9 2. Public Comments
10 3. Proclamations/ Resolutions/Special Presentations
11 4. Consent Agenda-
12 5. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA
13 6. Public Hearings
14 7. REGULAR AGENDA
15 9. Reports
16 10. County Manager's Report
17 11. COUNTY ATTORNEY'S REPORT
18 12. APPOINTMENTS
19 13. Board Comments (Three Minute Time Limit per Commissioner)
20 14. Information Items
21 15. Closed Session
22 16. Adjournment
23
24
25 • Board Comments: Three minute time limit per Commissioner- no discussion — leave as
26 is
27 • Time limit (one hour total) on public comments (with items either on the agenda or not on
28 the agenda)- no discussion — leave as is
29
30 Vaughn Upshaw said that she knows that the appointment process for the boards/commissions
31 has been held up while the Board of Commissioners discussed this process; however, since this
32 is going to be a longer term process with revising their entire advisory boards/commissions
33 process, she suggested for the Board to select a sub-committee to review upcoming
34 appointments that may need to be made now (esp. to statutory boards).
35
36 Frank Clifton suggested that this process of review/reduction/elimination/merging/sun setting of
37 boards/commissions may take several work session to resolve because they do want to make
38 sure to include input from their boards/commissions on this process.
39
40 The Board agreed that the Chair/Vice Chair will serve as a sub-committee for the appointment
41 process, their own appointment process for choosing the boards/commissions they want to
42 serve on, and the longer process of next steps in the restructuring of their boards/commissions.
43
44 A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs seconded by Commissioner Hemminger to
45 adjourn the meeting at 1:14 PM .
46
47 Valerie Foushee, Chair
48