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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19960516APPROVED 1114196 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BI-MONTHLY WORK SESSION MAY 16, 1996 The Orange County Board of Commissioners held their bi-monthly work session on Thursday, May 16, 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, Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen H. Halkiotis COUNTY COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Commissioner Willhoit (out-of-town) COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill 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) BOARD COMMENTS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to a statement made in the newspapers by Mayor Horace Johnson, Mayor of Hillsborough about the County learning some things from the town in managing their budget. He feels the responsibilities are vastly different and that an apology is in order. On another matter, he wrote Hillsborough last month and asked that the Town consider lowering the water rates for the SportsPlex because they bring visitors into the County who is turn spend money. He feels that a facility like the SportsPlex sustains the quality of life more than other companies. Chair Carey said that he would encourage Hillsborough to work more closely with the SportsPlex and at their next work session will discuss this possibility with them. Commissioner Crowther asked that item #5 "Financing Options for Orange County/Hillsborough Park" be deleted. AGENDA 1. DECISION ON SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS Chair Carey commended the group and especially Budget Director Sally Kost for developing these standards. Chair Carey emphasized that one of the reasons for setting standards was not only to help the public to understand, but to provide guidance to both school boards when they develop their plans for school construction. Sally Kost noted that the basic school is based on state standards and meet state guidelines. Commissioner Gordon feels that these standards need to be not only the standards for new schools, but also for the present schools. She feels that there should be a minimum standard and that there should be a commitment to bring the other schools up to this standard. There is additional square footage in some of the schools because of the community use of the school. She wants agreement on the minimum that will be done for each child in each system. Chair Carey said that the plan commits this board to the minimum for new schools and the commitment to upgrade all the other schools to the minimum can be discussed. John Link noted that the largest amount of square footage between the tiers is for workrooms and offices for staff support. Sally Kost explained that tier 2 includes extra square footage for storage and for multi purpose space to be used for after school care. Tier 3 includes all other space including additional storage, lobby space, common space for students - all other over and above the state standards. Commissioner Crowther said he likes the concept that schools are community buildings. He hopes the Board can set the standards so that they address community needs. Chair Carey supports the use of schools for community and recreational purposes. He thinks that tier 1 is educational support space and it appears to him that perhaps this can be made less confusing to the public by adding the tier 1 items into the basic school - for both the elementary and middle school. The first tier would be the community use tier and the second tier would be for all other space. Commissioner Halkiotis challenged the Chapel Hill/Carrboro School system and the Orange County School system to say up front whether or not the building will be open to the community after hours. Also reasonableness in design is important. The County has had to significantly reduce the cost of new construction for County buildings and it is expected that the schools do the same. Caswell has two elementary schools that used the same design. He asked that the goal be to get the maximum amount of teaching space without having monuments. Chair Carey feels the minimum should address the basic educational needs and if the school adds footage for alfterschool purposes then they, at that time, are making a commitment for this use. Chair Carey said that tier 1 should be worked into the basic school and the afterschool activities should be included in that tier. The second tier would be what is now tier three. If money runs short then the school board will have to make a decision on what needs to be cut. This does not tell the school boards how much square footage to put in each school because it would depend on programming for that particular school. Commissioner Crowther asked for an explanation from Orange County schools on why they voted to not endorse the recommendation of the Construction Standards Work Group. Board Member Susan Dovenbarger said that the Orange County schools made a motion to endorse the basic school and leave the tiers in place as they are now stated. Going beyond the basic school would depend on what money is available and the justification for going beyond the minimum. Commissioners Gordon and Halkiotis agreed with Chair Carey on combining tier 1 into the basic tier In response to a concern expressed by Commissioner Halkiotis, Chair Carey said that he feels the Schools Boards know what the County can afford and he hopes that they will reuse designs and design schools as economically as possible. The assumption in the report is that the cost of land will be the same for both school systems which may not be true since the cost of land in Chapel Hill is more expensive than that in Orange County's school district. It was the consensus that the basic school will be basic plus the original tier one, the new tier A will include afterschool space and community use (the original tier two) and tier B will include everything else (the original tier three). In answer to a question from Commissioner Gordon, Chair Carey said that this does not commit the Board of Commissioners to fund the maximum. It means that the Board will decide what they will fund, based on circumstances at that time, and the School Board will have to decide where to make cuts in the specific project. A motion was made by Commissioner Crowther, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to combine tier one into the basic school and tier B including all those standards listed in tier three which will be the minimum, with tier A including all those listed in tier two. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FINANCING Chair Carey said that he is not ready to make a decision on short and long term financing for school capital. Commissioner Gordon would like for the Board to discuss the strategy behind long term funding and to further discuss this item in August. She feels the needs are there which would require a bond referendum. She feels a task force should be formed to identify the needs and make recommendations. Chair Carey said that a decision on forming a task force can be made when the report is made in August. In answer to a question from Commissioner Crowther, Geoffrey Gledhill said that the ballot would be prepared so that the County needs are listed separate from school needs. Commissioner Gordon is ready to say that the Board is seriously considering a bond referendum for the schools and in August set in motion the steps for a comprehensive school capital funding plan which includes a referendum. John Link said that he and the two superintendents will bring back a recommendation in August. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to be able to give the citizens an information sheet explaining the Board's overall strategies for financing schools. Chair Carey suggested waiting until August to discuss other items related to school capital funding. John Link distributed information on the possible parameters for a revision in allocation of recurring school capital outlay. This will be discussed in a future meeting. Commissioner Gordon suggested that an argument for equity would lead to an allocation of everything on a per pupil basis. 3. OPTIONAL: DEPENDING ON ACTIONS BY HILLSBOROUGH BOARD AND BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ON MAY 13 AND MAY 14 RESPECTIVELY) A) FIRE INSPECTION FEES Several suggestions were made including charging the county for fire inspections for county buildings and schools, thus making the fees lower for others. It was also suggested that the County pay a percentage from the general fund. The Staff will provide the Board with options on how to resolve this issue on June 3. B) PARTICIPATION IN PROVIDING FIRE INSPECTIONS FOR HILLSBOROUGH AND RURAL ORANGE AREAS This item was deleted from the agenda. 4. INTERNET ORANGE REPORT Jane Sparks from Information Systems gave an overview of the process the committee followed in developing this proposal for County internet connection. Their was a consensus of the Board to move forward on this project. 5. FINANCING OPTIONS FOR ORANGE COUNTY/HILLSBOROUGH PARK This item will be considered at a later time. 6. REVIEW OF CARRBORO LIBRARY CONTRACT Director of Library Services Brenda Stephens said that there are two concerns. One is the appropriateness of the materials selected and the other is governance. It was decided that the consortium needed to meet and discuss all the options before making a recommendation to the County Commissioners. This will be done within the next month and a report will be forthcoming. 7. FUNDING FOR GYM AT HARGRAVES RECREATION CENTER Chair Carey suggested that the Board consider allocating $25,000 for each of the next 10 years to this project. There was a consensus of the Board to allocate $50,000 for the next two years totaling $100,000. 8. APPOINTMENTS TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE FOR CARRBORO'S SMALL AREA PLAN It was decided that one staff member from Planning would be appointed to this subcommittee. Also, Chair Carey and Commissioner Willhoit indicated they would attend the meetings when possible. ADJOURNMENT With no further items to discuss, Chair Carey adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting of the Board will be held on May 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Superior Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk