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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19960313APPROVED MAY 1. 1996 REGULAR QUARTERLY MEETING ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH TOWN COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 1996 7:30 P.M. The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Hillsborough Town Commissioners met in joint session on Wednesday, March 13, 1996 at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners William L. Crowther, Stephen H. Halkiotis and Don Willhoit. COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Commissioner Alice M. Gordon COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill HILLSBOROUGH TOWN COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Horace Johnson and Commissioners Evelyn Lloyd, Catherine Martin, Richard Simpson, Kenneth Chavious and Remus Smith. COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Albert Kittrell and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) NOTE: All background information is in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's Office. AGENDA 1. PARK COMMITTEE REPORT Ted Abernathy, Economic Development Director and member of the Park Committee showed a map of the general design on this 5-acre parcel located in back of the Government Services Center which included a 30-foot pavilion and other such structures. He made reference to the pond which is a wet area created by the Department of Transportation as a burrow area, and said that the committee would like to drain the pond and dedicate the riverfront area to the construction of an Occoneechi Village. It would be located next to the river. He noted that the area on both sides of Stillhouse Creek would remain as they are. A lot of the area would be open and remain as grassy areas. There also may be a few picnic tables. In answer to a question from Commissioner Halkiotis about filling in the burrow area, Ted Abernathy said that it would be filled with materials from the mountain and then reseeded. Three bridges would need to be constructed leading into the park. The estimated cost is between $125,000 to $175,000. The process is to get design approval and then get some final pricing and a timetable for doing the project. The committee will pursue private funding from local businesses as well as grants and funding from town and County. There was a consensus from the two governing boards to move forward on obtaining a firm estimate of cost for the project. This will be presented to the two boards at a meeting in May. 2. FEE FOR FIRE INSPECTIONS Chair Carey presented this item for discussion. Town Manager Eric Swanson emphasized that they need to talk about a timetable for the Town to turn over the fire inspections. Commissioner Halkiotis noted that since the beginning of the program, the County has collected $23,670 for those inspections within the Hillsborough town limits and $ 26,281 for County inspections. When he voted for this originally, he voted for it knowing that it would come back to the Board of Commissioners at a later date for reevaluation. He feels that the 10% administrative fee that the Town of Hillsborough charges for intown inspection is too much and the 20% for the ETJ area is too high. He wants people treated fairly. The size of the facility must be taken into consideration when charging this fee. He feels it would be in the Town's best interest to do their own fire inspections and to set a fair fee. The County does not have the staff to do all the other County inspections which are required. Chair Carey noted that the fee structure was set on a trial basis. The County now has some experience and something on which to base a review of these fees. He agrees that the Town should have the latitude to set these fees for those facilities within the Town's jurisdiction. Commissioner Halkiotis said that with the amount that was collected for the inspections within Hillsborough, they could pay for a firefighter. Mayor Horace Johnson agreed that they now have some experience on which to base these fees for fire inspections. He asked that the County continue doing these fire inspections until the Town has an opportunity to hire someone and provide the necessary training. He asked that the managers work on a plan which will move them toward this goal with an effective date of July 1, 1997. John Link said that the managers will use the assumption that the service will pay for itself, unless otherwise directed by the Board, and develop a fee schedule that will generate that amount of revenue and one that is fair. The managers will report back to their respective Board within 30 days. Town Commissioner Remus Smith said that he is not concerned about the fees. However, he feels strongly that the Town needs another year before they can assume this responsibility. Commissioner Halkiotis noted that in many cases when making the fire inspection, other issues will be identified which will require calling in County staff to assess the situation or recommend corrective action. The County may be involved with safety issues or public welfare issues because these are County functions. Chair Carey would like for the fee schedule to be uniform. He has a problem with having two different fee schedules. Mayor Johnson indicated he is willing to leave the fees in place for another year until they can hire someone and get them adequately trained. The program was commended by Mayor Johnson and Chair Carey as the right thing to do because business owners want to provide a safe environment for their customers. It was decided that the two managers would work on a plan and a timetable for implementation and present this plan to each governing board the first regular meeting in May. The fees will be part of that plan. The two boards will then meet later in May to confirm the plan. Commissioner Willhoit feels that although state law indicates that the inspections in the ETJ of Hillsborough must be done by the Town of Hillsborough, that those businesses have no recourse with the governing board that they elect. NOTE: Mr. Jack Davis is to be informed of the meetings the managers will have on this issue. 3. PAID FIREFIGHTERS Eric Swanson made reference to his memo dated April 21, 1995 about "Full-Time Fireman Issues for the Town and Orange Rural". He said that the major problem with providing fire protection is the lack of volunteers during the daytime period. All Orange County schools except one are located in these two fire districts. The first solution was to increase the number of volunteers during the daytime period. The County has twelve employees who have firefighter certifications. The concern here is a lack of a policy for letting them volunteer. The County Schools and the Town both let their employees volunteer without any loss of wages. The recommendation from this group is to encourage volunteers and pursue changes in personnel policies to accommodate such activity without a loss in salary. The second solution was the hiring of fulltime personnel. One salary would be paid by the Town and the other salary would be paid by the County and the Orange County School Board. He noted that these proposals were not endorsed by everyone on this committee. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he feels volunteerism needs to be promoted. He has no problem with County employees volunteering to respond to fires. In answer to a question from Mayor Johnson on training requirements, Fire Marshall Mike Tapp said that it takes from 6 months to one year to learn the basic functions and another year to complete the training. Commissioner Willhoit questioned the liability issues for County employees who would volunteer as a firefighter. Commissioner Crowther noted that 25% of the calls are intentional or false calls and he suggested that there needs to be a large fine for false calls. Chair Carey, in answer to a question from Town Commissioner Remus Smith, said that he feels the County should consider funding one-half of a position and that the County should participate to the extent it can. He supports developing a policy where County employees can volunteer if they wish to do so. He wants to know the response from the County School System on this request. He feels that they should look at all options including the fire district tax. and decide on what is more efficient. Commissioner Halkiotis feels it extremely important to provide new equipment and have adequate staff to operate the equipment. Mayor Johnson reemphasized that he would like for whatever plan they approve to be effective July 1, 1997. John Link noted that it seems that paying for this position from the district tax does not address the equity issue because the County does not pay property taxes. However, if the County uses property tax revenue to pay for personnel for a specific district then another equity issue is created whereby everyone will have to pay for this service. It may be easier to pursue this issue in terms of providing capital needs instead of personnel. He will look at that option in his response to the Board the first meeting in May. Commissioner Willhoit asked that all schools in Orange County be reviewed for fire protection and not just the Orange County schools. satisfied. Chair Carey noted that there are a lot of equity issues and that everyone cannot be It was decided that the two managers will consider all options and come back with a recommendation for the option they feel is reasonable and as equitable as possible. It was decided that a meeting will be scheduled with the Town of Hillsborough for May. 4. SERVICES PROVIDED TO HILLSBOROUGH A. Special Services by Agreement B. General County Services Provided in Hillsborough Chair Carey presented this item for information. A memo dated November 7, 1995 listed the services provided by Orange County to the citizens of Hillsborough. Mayor Johnson feels that there is a good working relationship between the County and the Town and hopes that it continues. Everyone agreed that it is important for the Town and the County to work cooperatively together on the many issues they face. 5. ANY OTHER ITEM AS THE GROUP DECIDES - NONE ADJOURNMENT With no other items to discuss, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting will be held on March 19, 1996 at 7:30 p.m. at the OWASA community meeting room in Carrboro, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk