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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 199204011 APPROVED 5-4-92 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY ASSEMBLY OF GOVERNMENTS APRIL 1, 1992 The Orange County Assembly of Governments meeting was held on Wednesday, April 1, 1992 at 6:00 p.m. at the Homestead Community Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, Verla C. Insko and Don Willhoit. COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Stephen H. Halkiotis BOARD OF ALDERMEN PRESENT: Mayor Eleanor G. Kinnaird and Aldermen Jay Bryan, Hilliard Caldwell, Jacquelyn M. Gist, Tom Gurganus and Frances Shetley. CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Kenneth S. Broun and Council Members Julie M. Andresen, Joyce Brown, Mark Chilton, Joe Herzenberg, Alan E. Rimer, Arthur S. Werner and Roosevelt Wilkerson, Jr. HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Allen A. Lloyd, Evelyn Lloyd, Carol Lorenz and Robert M. Rose. Chair Moses Carey, Jr. made introductory remarks. Mayors Broun and Kinnaird welcomed everyone to the meeting. AFFORDABLE HOUSING DISCUSSION Tara Fikes, Director of Housing and Community Development for Orange County stated that providing affordable housing is very important to everyone in the County. The different groups which provide affordable housing have been discussing the need to work together to further this effort. A strategy has been developed by Orange County represented by Tara Fikes, Chapel Hill represented by Judy Russell, Carrboro represented by James Harris, Hillsborough Planning Department and Donna Dyer representing the Orange Community Housing Corporation. Donna Dyer made a presentation on the report .entitled "Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) for Orange County, North Carolina". She made reference to the document and stated that the high cost of home ownership has left many families out of the housing market or sent them to surrounding counties to buy homes and commute into Orange County. For families needing three or more bedrooms, very little housing exists. Development of this countywide CHAS was undertaken by a working group with a representative from each participating jurisdiction plus staff from Orange Community Housing Corporation, the County's non-profit housing development corporation. This document identified specific needs and prioritized them based on severity of need and availability of resources to address the need. Section I, Community Profile, is a description of the housing need and market 2 in Orange County. Section II is a five-year approach to addressing these needs, and Section III is a one-year strategy, describing actions to be taken during the Federal fiscal year, October 1, 1991 through September 30, 1992. She listed some of the opportunities for developing projects which will provide affordable housing. There are many programs in Orange County which provide affordable housing and it is proposed that all these groups work together in a total effort except for Habitat for Humanity. Ms. Dyer presented a transparency showing the existing programs and the new federal programs being offered. She listed the goals and objectives of the CHAS. She pointed out that no local jurisdiction qualifies as a federal entitlement. There would need to be a consortium formed with another county. This would require an interlocal agreement. She feels the matching funds would be 25~. Based on population this would mean allocations of $100,000 from Orange County and Chapel Hill, $30,000 from Carrboro and $20,000 from Hillsborough. Other than money can be used as a match. No matching funds will be required the first year. A public hearing is scheduled for April 22 to inform the citizens of the agreement and what is proposed for providing affordable housing in Orange County. The local jurisdictions must enter into an agreement by June 30, 1992. In answer to a question from Mayor Kinnaird, Ms. Dyer indicated that having staff or board members interested in affordable housing would be sufficient to enter into the agreement. Also, the Orange Community Housing Board will be restructured to limit the number of representatives from each jurisdiction. Hillsborough Commissioner Carol Lorenz expressed a concern that no one is getting to the root cause of why housing costs are so high. There are a lot of added costs imposed on housing by local governments because of regulations. She feels that local government has the power to reduce the cost of housing. Aldermen Hilliard Caldwell feels that the cost for basic utilities is prohibitive. He would like for OWASA to join in this effort. to provide affordable housing. Ms. Dyer noted that the program is flexible. If a private developer comes up with a proposal to provide this housing, it can be considered and approved. It was pointed out that the University is a major factor in the high cost of housing and that there should be some coordination with the University. They have a large amount of acreage which could be used for this purpose. It was the consensus of the elected officials that this collaboration is a great step forward and that the time schedule should keep everyone moving toward a decision. 3 OWASA,LCHATHAM COUNTY WATER SALE 1. CLARIFICATION OF RE4UEST Lois Herring, Chair of the OWASA Board indicated they were pleased to receive Chatham's request for water. OWASA has an unused water source that could accommodate Chatham's needs and also, if necessary, meet the emergency needs of Hillsborough. OWASA could use the extra income generated from the sale of water to Chatham County. She noted that Chatham has been a good neighbor which they would like to repay. Henry Dunlap, Chair of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, introduced County Manager Ben Shivar. He gave a brief history of how their water system is laid out and what they are doing to secure future water supplies. They have three (3) systems which are not interconnected. The State has put them under a moratorium which means that plans for new development are being scrutinized. According to the state standards, Chatham County has already approved development that will use the available water supply. Many of these subdivisions will not be built out for several years. In terms of new sources of water, the Pittsboro water plant is being expanded and will be finished in July and will provide 365,000 gpd additional water. They have also developed new wells to augment their supply of water. They also purchase water from Sanford and Siler City when necessary. In order to supply the north Chatham area, they need to secure an additional source of water and that was their reason for contacting OWASA. In the long run they plan to construct a plant on Lake Jordan. A proposal will go to the Board as early as late summer. Mark Ashley, Chatham County Engineer, distributed a handout which indicated that they serve 1,417 customers with an average daily demand of 288,403 gallons. There are 1,032 vacant lots with state approval for water. By using a 400 gpd standard per vacant lot this totals 412,800 gpd. The potential supply agreement with OWASA is detailed in the handout with a minimum daily gpd of 25,000 in 1993 to a maximum daily gpd in 2002 of 600,000 gpd. He noted that the area is continuing to grow and there are a significant number of vacant lots. Chatham County is in the process of building a 1.1 million gallon storage tank on Edwards Mountain. This tank will be in operation this fall and will be used in an emergency. The interconnection with OWASA will provide a way to shut down one system for maintenance. A ten year agreement will allow Chatham the time necessary to build a plant on Lake Jordan. In answer to a question from Council Member Julie Andresen, Mr. Ashley stated that it is their intention to have the funds to construct this plant on Lake Jordan by the end of this 10 years. He noted that the water system in the Governor's Club 4 development is owned and maintained by Chatham County. They are currently providing water to 40 homes in this area. The total cost to expand the plant at Pittsboro is $1.2 million. The Governors Club is paying $800,000 of this cost in return for 1,000 connections. 2. ROLE OF TOWNS AND COUNTY Chair Carey noted that although this discussion can continue, the group would probably not be able to come to any consensus. The process needs to be developed for reaching a consensus on the direction to pursue. Mayor Kenneth Broun asked about time constraints and Mr. Shivar stated that the sooner a decision can be reached the better. In answer to a question from Council Member Joe Herzerberg, Mr. Shivar stated that the population for northern Chatham County in 1991 was 8,750. The projected population by the year 2000 is 12,500. They have 1300 water customers. Mr. Shivar clarified that even when the expansion at the Pittsboro plant is completed, the state will not lift these constraints because they count all vacant lots in approved subdivisions or other development as if they are occupied. 3. PROCESS FOR TOWNS/COUNTY PARTICIPATION IN DECISION In answer to a question from Carrboro Aldermen Jacqueline Gist about the necessity of all elected boards approving the sale of water to Chatham, Lois Herring stated that there are other issues such as planning and zoning that need to be addressed. Chair Carey noted that all the elected boards should have an opportunity to list and address any identifiable land use issues or concerns. He suggested that this could be accomplished through a work group made up of elected officials from each board. Commissioner Insko stated that a subcommittee would need to know the concerns of each elected .board. Information on potential problems or concerns need to be identified by each elected body. She emphasized the importance of working with OWASA on this issue. It was decided that each elected board would place this item on their agenda for the purpose of determining if there are identifiable problems. The Chairs and Mayors will then determine if there are problems which affect all jurisdictions and if a subcommittee is the best way to continue. The subcommittee will then meet and their findings, along with a consensus-reaching process, will be resubmitted to the elected boards for their consideration. The group decided that the memo dated March 26 from Marvin Collins and Roger Walden would be the point of reference to begin the discussion. 5 OWASA ISSIIES - OTHER 1. LIST OF OTHER ISSOES WIiICH SHOOED BE ADDRESSED (1) whether or not an elected official from each juris- diction should be on the OWASA Board, (2) role clarification - what the OWASA role is, what the towns role is and how they relate to each other, (3) identify what is expected or provide guidelines for the respective representatives on the OWASA Board, (4) identify ways for better communication between the elected boards and the OWASA Board, (5) .identify what is or should be OWASA's long range role in providing water to Orange County -- assisting Hillsborough and the remainder of the County, (6) identify a process to address the concerns of citizens on the relationship between the elected officials and OWASA, (7) determine if an OWASA Board is necessary -- look at the original charter, (8) determine the obligation of the elected officials to the people who elected them, (9) pursue the question of the 16" line that Hills- borough wants to purchase from OWASA, (10) discuss the issues of serving existing communities which are on wells and septic tanks in town at a reasonable cost including the rural buffer both to the north and south, (11) identify the duties of the OWASA Director including the financial responsibility, (12 ) determine if OWASA is permitted to give "tapons" for low cost housing and if not, why not. 6 2. PROCESS AND TIMING FOR ADDRESSING THESE ISSIIES It was agreed that a process for addressing these questions and issues needs to be developed. These are complex issues and many are policy issues. It was decided that (1) the managers will take the list of questions/issues and discuss them with each governmental board to determine if the list is correct and complete, (2) the managers will then determine which issues all jurisdictions may have a mutual interest in pursuing, (3) this list will then be submitted to the elected boards for refinement along with a timeframe, and (4) this refined list will be a topic for the next Assembly of Governments meeting. It was pointed out that time is of the essence. NOTE: Julie Andresen asked that a service map be provided to the staffs of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Moses Carey, Jr. Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk