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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19940823 s .♦ 1 APPROVED 9/6/94 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 23, 1994 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, August 23, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. in the OWASA Community meeting room in Carrboro, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. , and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon, Stephen H. Halkiotis, Verla C. Insko and Don Willhoit. COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr. , Assistant County Managers Albert Kittrell and Rod Visser and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (other staff members are identified appropriately below) NOTE: All documents referred to in these minutes are in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's Office. I. ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Changes to VIII-I "Appointments" included the addition of an appointment to the Orange County Board of Adjustment as distributed and the deletion of the appointment to the Domiciliary Board. Corrections were accepted to the minutes of August 8 and August 10, 1994. At this point in the agenda, Rem Malloy and Erwin Danziger spoke about a report that will be coming to the Board of Commissioners later this week about seismology tests they have had done near the American Stone quarry. Mr. Danziger asked that a copy of his letter dated April 14 be forwarded to all members of the County Commissioners. II. AUDIENCE COMMENTS A. MATTERS ON THE PRINTED AGENDA Chair Carey said that anyone who would like to speak to an item on the printed agenda will be recognized at the appropriate time. H. MATTERS NOT ON THE PRINTED AGENDA Mr. Charles Sedman spoke about the expansion of the Multi-Flora greenhouse operation on New Sharon Church Road. He noted that they were cited last week by the State for operating two illegal landfills on the property. They have accumulated about 200 pounds of waste in about three months. He questioned if this waste should be going to the landfill. He does not believe that this greenhouse operation has anything in common to a bona fide farm which exempts farms from zoning regulations. John Link will report to the County Commissioners at the next meeting on this situation. Commissioner Halkiotis noted that this agricultural operation has turned into clear cutting, 36 exhaust fans and tractor-trailers using a private driveway used by others. Geoffrey Gledhill suggested looking at this operation to see if it still fits the definition of a bona fide farm. 2 PUBLIC CHARGE Chair Carey dispensed with the reading of the public charge. III. BOARD COMMENTS Commissioner Willhoit asked that a report be given at the next meeting on the Duke Forest Parking situation mentioned at the last meeting. He noted that the County Commissioners have received a special invitation to be present at the human services forum for the summary at 2:00 on September 15. IV. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT - NONE V. RESOLUTIONS/PROCLAMATIONS - NONE VI. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS - NONE VII. PUBLIC HEARINGS - NONE VIII. ITEMS FOR DECISION - CONSENT AGENDA A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Willhoit to approve the items on the Consent Agenda as listed below: A. FOREST SERVICE CONTRACT The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign the annual agreement between Orange County and the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources for the provision of support to the NC Forest Service in Orange County. The County appropriated $37,248 in fiscal year 1994-95 to match the State appropriation of $55,872 for the provision of this service in Orange County. B. BID AWARD - VOTING TABULATORS FOR ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS The Board awarded a bid for the purchase of forty-five (45) Optical Scan Voting Tabulators for the Orange County Board of Elections to Business Records Corporation of Clemmons, North Carolina for a total cost of $220,600. One other bid was received from Global Elections for $223,500. C. LEASE RENEWAL FOR SOLID WASTE CONVEENIENCE CENTER The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign a lease for the Solid Waste Convenience Center at the Bradsher Quarry site in Bingham Township owned by Dr. James Thompson and wife, Betty A. Thompson. D. ORANGE COUNTY'S JORDAN LAKE WATER ALLOCATION This item was deleted and considered after the Consent Agenda. B. BUDGET ORDINANCE AMENDMENT #1 The Board approved the following budget amendments and grant project ordinances: GENERAL FUND Source - Intergovernmental $ 29,772 Source - Miscellaneous (Revenue) 26, 500 Appropriation - Public Safety 56,272 3 (To allocate funds for the purchase of new weapons for Sheriff Department personnel. ) Source - Contributions to Outside Agencies $(17,990) Appropriation - Public Safety 17,990 (To transfer Community Based Alternatives (CBA) funds and County match for the Crisis Intervention Program to the Sheriff's Department. ) Source - Miscellaneous (Appropriation) $ (37,500) Appropriation - Debt Service 37,500 (Technical amendment to correct original 1994-95 budget ordinance. ) EARLY AND PERIODIC SCREENING. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT (EPSDT) OUTREACH PROGRAM GRANT PROJECT ORDINANCE Source - Intergovernmental - EPSDT Outreach $ 53,500 Appropriation - Human Services - EPSDT Outr. $ 53,500 VIOLENCE PREVENTION - SCHOOL RESOURCES GRANT PROJECT ORDINANCE Source - Intergovernmental - Violence Prevention $76, 614 Source - General Fund Operating Match $25, 538 Appropriation - Public Safety-Violence Prevention $76,614 Appropriation - General Fund $25,538 CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAM - GRANT PROJECT ORDINANCE Source - Intergovernmental - Crisis Intervention $59,756 Source - General Fund Operating Match $20,915 Appropriation - Public Safety - Crisis Inter. $59,756 Appropriation - Public Safety - General Fund $20,915 SECTION 8 BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM GRANT PROJECT ORDINANCE Source - Existing funds $1,648,278 Source - Moderate Rehab 382,772 Source - Voucher 507, 198 Appropriation - Rental Assistance Existing $1,455,516 Moderate Rehab 336,624 Voucher 460,032 Appropriation - Administration Existing 192,762 Moderate Rehab 46, 148 Voucher 47, 166 F. CONTRACT APPROVAL - DESIGN SERVICES. HVAC NEW COURTHOUSE The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign a contract with Gary Merritt, mechanical engineer for engineering services for the design of replacement chillers for the New Courthouse at a cost of $4,900. G. CONTRACT APPROVAL - ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT RENOVATION The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign a contract with 4 Hakan/Corley and Associates, Inc. for construction documents, drawings, etc. necessary to complete the Sheriff's Department Renovation Project at a cost of $15,740. H. PRESERVATION PLAN - CONSULTANT SELECTION The Board approved the selection of The Jaeger Company as the consultant to prepare the Preservation Element of the Comprehensive Plan and agreed to reimburse the consultant for its services in an amount not to exceed $29,040. I. APPOINTMENTS The Board approved the following appointments: PERSONNEL ADVISORY BOARD Ken Morgan for a term ending June 30, 1996 Caleb Moore for a second term ending June 30, 1996 EMS ADVISORY COUNCIL Doug Noell for a term ending June 30, 1996 Neil Bateson for a term ending June 30, 1996 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT Leo L. Allison for a term ending June 30, 1997 J. MINUTES The Board approved the minutes as corrected for June 15, 1994, August 8, 1994 and August 10, 1994 . VOTE ON THE CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS ITEM REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA D. ORANGE COUNTY'S JORDAN LAKE WATER ALLOCATION Commissioner Gordon asked about the disposition of the allocations abandoned by the Town of Hillsborough and Orange Alamance water system. John Link will report back to the Board on pursuing this allocation and the cost. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to (1) authorize the Chair, the County Manager and the County Attorney to devise modifications, including a provision for reimbursement of payments of interest and/or principal in the event that the EMC reapportions or reassigns the County's allocation to the contract as required to secure accord among the parties to the contract, insofar as all modifications are consistent with the intent of the approved contract, (2) authorize the Chair to sign and execute the contract, and (3) authorize the staff to remit payment for the allocation from the funds that have been set aside for that purpose. VOTE: UNANIMOUS IX. ITEMS FOR DECISION - REGULAR AGENDA A. INTRODUCTION OF BOND ORDER FOR FARMLAND PRESERVATION REFERENDUM The Bond Order as presented in the agenda was introduced by Chair Moses Carey, Jr. A motion was made by Commissioner Willhoit, seconded by Commissioner Insko to authorize the Finance Director to file the "Sworn Statement of Debt", set the public hearing date for September 6, 1994, instruct the Clerk to publish the Bond Order and public hearing notice by August 31, 1994 and approve the form of the bond question to be posed on the 5 November 8, 1994 ballot. VOTE: UNANIMOUS In answer to a concern expressed by Commissioner Halkiotis, John Link said that he will present some of the educational materials on this bond prior to the public hearing scheduled for September 6, 1994. Commissioner Gordon noted that one purpose of farmland preservation is to save prime land for food production and she asked to what degree food crops are counted in the LESA formula. She requested that the educational materials for the bond provide a brief explanation of the methods for evaluating farmland used in the LESA system and also answer the major questions raised in the first public hearing. The Board decided that the members of the Bond Steering Committee will not be appointed by the Board but will be an independent committee. Any educational materials may be paid for by the County. However, anything that promotes the bond issue will have to be paid for by outside funds. B. STATUS OF COURTHOUSE ADDITION Purchasing Director Pam Jones briefly went through the steps that have been followed. She worked with Judge Battle to develop what a court facility needs for short term for the next five years. The plan as stated in the abstract consist of six items. These include the following: (1) The Courtroom should have a seating capacity of no fewer than 125 persons; (2) The arena area should be of sufficient size to accommodate multiple defendants when necessary; (3) There should be a jury deliberation room with toilet facilities; (4) A Judges office with toilet facilities and private entrance should be included; (5) A holding cell and separate entrance for inmates should be included; (6) There should be conference rooms (at least two) available for the attorneys and their clients. The County Commissioners asked questions about the location of the different offices and functions which were answered by Purchasing Director Pam Jones. This court facility will seat about 200 and can be used for meetings held by the County Commissioners. Commissioner Halkiotis suggested that the space be used only when there is a controversial item and a large crowd is expected. Judge Love will be starting night court in November or earlier. Commissioner Gordon indicated that it was important to consider how this structure would fit into the long term plan for court facilities, and asked if the facility could be designed so that a second or third floor could be constructed on the same site if needed in the future. Pam Jones noted that the Justice Facility Study Committee is looking at facility needs that will last until 2020. A motion was made by Commissioner Insko, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the change in the scope of work for the New Courthouse project and during the development of the 1995-2000 Capital Improvements Plan, amend the plan to include an additional $120, 000 for the purpose of constructing a courtroom to accommodate the Orange County Superior Court. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 6 C. BID AWARD - SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT RENOVATION A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Willhoit to award the bids for the renovation of the Sheriff's Department as follows and associated contracts for these amounts be approved contingent upon attorney and staff review: General Contractor, Harrod & Associates Construction Co. , Raleigh for $128,480; Mechanical Contractor, Comfort Engineers, Durham for $48,670, and Electrical Contractor for Mid-Atlantic Electric Co. , Durham for $24, 175, and further to authorize the County Manager to execute any change orders which may be necessary, as long as said change orders do not exceed the project budget; and to authorize the Chair to sign Construction Contracts upon review and approval of the County Attorney and County Staff. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Note: Other bids received for the construction work were from Patriot Building Company for $146,600 and Trout and Riggs Construction for $155,900. One other bid was received for electrical from Lawson for $20,426. D. FOSTER CARE BOARD/ADOPTION SUBSIDY RATE INCREASES The 1994 General Assembly approved rate increases for foster care board reimbursements and the Adoption Subsidy Program for hard-to-place children. The new rates per month are for ages 0-5 $315, ages 6-12 $365 and for ages 13-18 $415 per month. The total cost to implement the Foster Care increases, effective September, 1994 is approximately $65, 500. The County's match is $25,458. The total cost to implement the adoption subsidy increases in about $141, 180 and the County's match is $27,475. The combined County cost for both programs is approximately $52,933 . These specific increases were not included in the Fiscal Year 1994/95 budget. Factors such as the length of placements, number of new placements, ages of children and placement settings will determine the Department's ability to absorb the increases within the current budget. The Social Services Board has approved the rate increases for both programs, effective September 1, 1994. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Willhoit to approve the rate increases for foster care board reimbursements and adoption subsidies as stated above. VOTE: UNANIMOUS X. REPORTS A. SECURITY ISSUES AT CHAPEL HILL COURT FACILITY The agenda listed the issues which will be explored further by the Justice Facilities Study Group. Pam Jones said that after many discussions, the major problem identified is that there is no holding cell. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to accept the report and endorse formulating a plan to address these issues to be brought back to the Board with cost data. VOTE: UNANIMOUS H. CABLECASTING OF COMMISSIONERS MEETINGS The report included options for cablecasting Commissioners meetings and briefly explained the arrangements that Chapel Hill, Carrboro, City of Durham and the County of Durham have with their cable providers in cablecasting their meetings. John Link made reference to the refranchising IPIF7 . 7 that will take place next year and said that the County will progressively pursue asking the cable companies to help in putting together a plan for cablecasting. Diane Bloom made reference to a letter she wrote asking for the County to look into cablecasting their meetings. She thanked the Board for looking into this possibility and hopes that it can be done. C. REPORT ON THE GRANT FUNDING PROCESS FOR PINEY MOUNTAIN WASTE TREATMENT SYSTEM County Engineer Paul Thames reported that grant funding for Piney Mountain has been denied. However, additional grants will be available on September 30. It is possible that as much as $500, 000 could be granted for the Piney Mountain project. However, the problem is that when the Environmental Management Commission denied the County's grant application, the vote was almost unanimous to deny, partly because the funds are considered more appropriate for municipal projects. When the application was denied, the County's role in the funding, construction, ownership, management and operation of this system was at an end. In order for this new grant application to be accepted, the County must agree to meet grant funding conditions, including bidding, ownership, and operational requirements. The Piney Mountain homeowners wish to start constructing their new system now. If they start construction, the grant funds can be used to reimburse them for their expenditures, but only if the County owns the system. Julie Andresen, OWASA Board Chair, said she requested that OWASA itemize what is involved in maintaining these systems. She is concerned about OWASA's obligations in owning the parts of the system which serve each individual household. She suggested that it would take cooperation from all parties concerned to work out the best solution. John Marsh of the Homeowners Association emphasized the importance of moving forward with the interlocal agreements so they can proceed with the bid process. He said that each lot had been assessed $6500 to cover the construction costs for this system and the money would be collected by the end of August. County Attorney Geof Gledhill said that the difference between this situation and the one the County agreed to previously is that the County is now being asked to own the system regardless of whether the grant funds are received or not. County Manager John Link stated that the staff will need to work on this arrangement and that it will be important to make sure that the risk to the County is at an acceptable level. A report will be given at the September 6 meeting on this situation. XI. APPOINTMENTS - NONE XII. MINUTES - NONE XIII. EXECUTIVE SESSION - NONE XIV. ADJOURNMENT With no further items to come before the Board, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting will be held on September 6, 1994 at 7:30 p.m. at the Northern Human Services Center, Cedar Grove, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr. , Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk