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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19990831APPROVED 1217199 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION AUGUST 31, 1999 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, August 31, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Alice M. Gordon and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs 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) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. Chair Gordon called the meeting to order and welcomed OWASA and Board members. By consensus the Board added as item 2 the Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement 1. Topics for September 2 Meeting on Local Jurisdictions' Coordination to Access Jordan Lake water supply Peter Gordon, Vice-chair of the OWASA Board, introduced Ed Kerwin as the Executive Director and Bill Strom and Bernadette Pelissier as Orange County's two representatives on the OWASA Board. He made reference to the meeting held a year ago with local officials from Orange County, the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough with the OWASA Board of Directors. At that meeting, issues relating to regional cooperation on water were addressed. He said OWASA would like to again explore these issues in a non-contentious way. He made reference to the meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 8t", and said that there have been some informative discussions between Chatham County's staff and the OWASA staff. However, a lot of the technical aspects need to be discussed further as well as any political aspects of OWASA helping Chatham County with their water supply. He said OWASA has been involved in a major master plan study that addresses the projections of Orange County's long term needs for water and various scenarios for how that water might be supplied. He said they are present to answer any questions the Board may have in preparation for the September Stn meeting. Commissioner Brown made reference to OWASA's master plan. She said that as she looks at all the issues over the past few years, there is the perception that a lot of staff work is being done on the issues of providing water to Chatham County. She asked how all of the staff communication is working, especially with the consultant who also may be working with other counties. She asked how the County could become aware of what the staff has done on water issues with other jurisdictions. Bill Strom said that the consultant that OWASA is using is very active with the other jurisdictions which received allocations from Jordan Lake. As OWASA sits, they are having staff meetings, pursuing options, developing an integrated plan, and looking at the future to see what the water issues will be. He would like to hear from the Board of County Commissioners about the policy issues. He said that the master plan indicates to him that they will have enough water for another 20-25 years, which makes him not want to expand. However, he would like to know what the County Commissioners want. OWASA will pursue this until they hear from the policy boards on what should be done. He said that if they get a clear message from the governing boards not to pursue making decisions on water issues, then the staff would be free to do other things. Commissioner Carey said the OWASA Board is doing the same thing he would do because informed decisions can not be made until a long-range plan is developed. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if Jordan Lake was built to establish a water supply or for flood control. Ed Kerwin said that it provides flood control, water supply, and recreation. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the drought conditions, the water supply, and the bird pollution that caused the beaches to be closed down. He asked about the water level in Cane Creek since the drought this summer. Ed Kerwin said that Cane Creek is down 60 inches. OWASA has enough water for at least 250 days without rainfall. Commissioner Halkiotis said he thought OWASA stood for "Orange Water and Sewer Authority," and it did not have anything to do with Chatham County. He feels that if there is a need to provide water to those in need it is fine, but if it is to have more development he has some serious concerns. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the water quality protection efforts, studies, and Jordan Lake. Pat Davis from the OWASA Board said that regarding watershed protection measures for Jordan Lake, there are seven communities coming together to indicate their commitment to move forward and develop a Calibrated Nutrient Response model for Jordan Lake. This model would provide the state and local governments with the scientific tools to evaluate alternative development scenarios and long term management strategies within the watershed. The seven governments come from Burlington, Greensboro, Reidsville, Graham, Mebane, Pittsboro, and OWASA. The seven governments have come together because they were going to be subject to more stringent wastewater discharge regulations that were enacted by the general assembly. This watershed management tool would be developed within the next one to two years. Commissioner Jacobs asked if the Calibrated Nutrient Response model would be one step removed from the level of recommending policies for watershed protection. Pat Davis said the tool has to be developed in a technically sound manner so that the Environmental Management Commission can use that tool to evaluate alternative nutrient control strategies for the Jordan Lake watershed. The statutory language is written so that once the tool is developed, calibrated, and verified, then the EMC has the amount of time it determines necessary to use the tools and evaluate alternative management strategies and develop a proposed set of rules it would apply within the watershed. Commissioner Jacobs said that it seems prudent to study watershed protection before discussing expediting withdrawals from Jordan Lake. Bill Strom made reference to the extent of the watershed saying that it comes right into the Town of Chapel Hill. He said if Jordan Lake is going to be acceptable long term, there will have to be a lot of coordinated efforts to protect that resource. He said OWASA has been taking advantage of the fact that Orange County has far more protective watershed regulations providing for pristine, clean water resources that OWASA has zoning jurisdiction over. OWASA's track thus far has been to maximize the yield and harvest from those resources. He fears, as an OWASA Board member, that going for a Jordan Lake allocation early can take away from OWASA's ongoing efforts to protect their watersheds. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to Ed Kerwin's August 13th letter and the fact that, "OWASA has not, to date, received a specific request from Chatham County or any other entity for the use of our property at Jordan Lake." He asked if the OWASA Board has discussed any kind of stance for how to react to Chatham County's idea of trying to use that property as the western exit point through a state mandated mechanism or some other arrangement. Peter Gordon said the OWASA Board has not really had much discussion on those types of things. He mentioned the options in granting Chatham County permission to use some of the land. He made mention of a regional intake that may be set up. He would not be in favor of a regional facility because the system has been built with money from OWASA customers. Chair Gordon asked if Chatham County has asked Cary for access to their intake and been turned down. Peter Gordon said Chatham County can request increments of 100,000 gallons per day from Cary. They have received them in the past, but they have received no guarantee of getting increments in the future. Bill Strom made reference to item `d' in the letter from Hobbs, Upchurch and Associates, P. A. He read the sentence that says, "the Town of Cary has offered Chatham County the opportunity to complete a hydraulic study to evaluate the effects of allowing the County access to its 6 MGD allocation through the existing raw water intake." He said it may be that there is enough implied capacity there to draw out a larger portion of the 6 MGD that Chatham County has because there are additional pumping requirements to the Chatham County water plant then there are to the Cary/Apex water plant. He said that Chatham County is going to look at other options. Chair Gordon said that Chatham County has infrastructure on the eastern side of the lake because that is where they are drawing water from now. She asked if the problem is on the intake and not on the piping. Ed Kerwin said that what is keeping Chatham County from getting additional water is the intake structure itself which is controlled by the Town of Cary. Chair Gordon asked if the pipes would be sufficient if Chatham County could get more water through the infrastructure. Bill Strom made reference to page 11, item D and said that the piping capacity would be studied. Chair Gordon asked if they need to get 6 MGD all at once or 3 MGD. She asked what Cary is required to allow them to do. Ed Kerwin said that Cary owns and operates the single intake structure. In Chatham County's view, Cary would need to expand and provide a facility to meet Chatham County's needs while Cary takes care of its own needs. Bill Strom said that he understands that the capacity may already exist with the existing set up. There is less load on the pumps to pump to the Chatham County water site than to Cary. Chair Gordon said that it seems that it would be cheaper and easier for Chatham County to access its allocation through the Cary structure, if Cary were cooperative. Peter Gordon said he thinks that is why this is a contentious issue politically and technically. Cary's preference is for a state agency like NCDENR to actually supervise and control an intake facility. Commissioner Jacobs asked if there was a downside to a situation where the state would supervise something like this. Peter Gordon said NCDENR would probably not pay for the facility. The major issue is asking OWASA customers for more money now for a facility that will be built in the distant future. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is totally confused, and asked Pat Davis about his explanation. Pat Davis said that regarding the pump station, the concrete structure could be expanded. The machinery needs to be upgraded to go beyond the current maximum pumping capacity. There needs to be some pump improvements. At some point Chatham County would need to expand the pipe coming out of the pump station to use their total 6 MGD. He said there could be an interim opportunity to get some additional capacity out of that through some modest pump station improvements. He said it is a very complex issue. Commissioner Brown asked about the exchange with Durham and Chatham County, the waterline, and the three million dollars that was appropriated. She asked who appropriated the three million dollars, and why. Pat Davis said that because of the situation that Chatham County has been in with respect to not being able to get access to their current allocation of water on Jordan Lake, they have been looking at other options. One of the options has been the possibility of establishing interconnections with other jurisdictions to get interim expansion of the water supply. The City of Durham has been looking at ways to improve the portability of water and sewer operations for its existing customer base. Chatham County and Durham had discussions about establishing an interconnection, and Chatham County submitted a grant proposal to the state under the Revolving Loan and Grant Program for water facilities. This is the Clean Water Responsibility Act with the bond provisions that passed. Chatham County received notice of grant reward for that project and is preparing to get the design and regulatory approvals in place to establish a major interconnection with the City of Durham's water distribution system. He said this interconnection could buy Chatham County a few years' time for their water supply. He said Chatham County hopes that the issue regarding the Jordan Lake partnership could be worked out within the next five to seven years. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the frustrating thing for him is the fact that he sat on this Board in 1990 when the watershed protection measures were discussed and put in place. The County Commissioners were trying to be good stewards of the land and protect and preserve the watershed. The Board asked Durham County to put the same protection measures in place, but they decided not to do so. He feels that if he were giving direction to OWASA, he would say to back off and not get involved with water issues of other jurisdictions. Commissioner Brown asked if OWASA has any relationship with Chatham County in providing water to them. Ed Kerwin said that they have an emergency-only interconnection. Beyond that, it has been discussion and information gathering only. Bernadette Pelissier said that it needs to be made very clear that even though there is a master plan, that OWASA does not need to make any decision in the short term. If Chatham County has a short timetable, she is not interested in making a decision and she feels that the timetables need to be questioned. Commissioner Brown made reference to the watershed protection efforts of the County Commissioners. She would like to see OWASA continue protecting the watersheds and use their resources to protect and preserve the resources of Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs sees this as an opportunity for Orange County, since there is a commitment to watershed protection. If it is a longer process, then it is a good opportunity to tie anything that is on the west bank to the watershed protection standards that are presently in place. Orange County's interest is that this be done in an environmentally sound manner. This would give an opportunity to help other jurisdictions to pursue watershed protection. If there is going to be development in Chatham County or anywhere else in the Jordan Lake watershed, it should be done in a way that is suitable. Peter Gordon said that the focal question in the meeting a year ago was if there should be strings attached to OWASA for allowing their land to be used. He feels it is important to get the issue out there again. He does not want OWASA to get caught in the middle between Orange County and Chatham County government. Chair Gordon said that it appears that solving this water supply problem is not urgent this year. She asked if it was in OWASA's best interest to pursue this issue. She asked why OWASA was not going to wait until the master plan was finished. Peter Gordon said that from OWASA's perspective it would be to their benefit to wait a few years to have this discussion. Commissioner Brown asked about the University Lake watershed in Chatham County and if it has been built out. Craig Benedict said that he heard that more than half of the watershed has been developed. He needs to get clarification on this. Commissioner Jacobs asked what would happen if it did not cost OWASA any money, but that they let Chatham County use the site and let somebody else develop the intake. By using the site, OWASA would build some kind of equity in the facility. Commissioner Halkiotis feels that there would not be a situation that did not involve money. He does not feel comfortable with this. Geoffrey Gledhill asked Pat Davis if Durham has an allocation to Jordan Lake, and is the Core of Engineers and state willing to open up the water allocation process. Pat Davis said that Durham has indicated that they will be presenting a revised water allocation request. The response from the Division of Water Resources has been that if Durham proceeded with a water request and it was part of a partnership arrangement then that might improve Durham's chances of getting a more favorable review. Pat Davis said that Durham could fast track their efforts now because of forming a partnership with Chatham County. If this partnership forms it will be difficult for the member governments and OWASA to collectively work to ensure that the long-term interests are protected. He said that Durham's entry into this has changed the puzzle. Commissioner Carey clarified that it is conceivable that the partnership with Durham and Chatham County could result in an intake on OWASA land, similar to the easement on the east side. Pat Davis said that the one thing that is appealing with the OWASA site is the location and availability. Peter Gordon said that he would really be surprised that given 100 MGD that the state and corps allow two intakes that only use a portion of that 100 MGD. Chair Gordon asked if the Board of County Commissioners knew how they would approach this in the meeting on September 2nd Commissioner Halkiotis reminded the Board that he would not be there, so they could not vote on anything at the meeting. Peter Gordon asked that the County Commissioners ask questions on what is being proposed and get as many clear statements that they can. If there are non-water considerations the County Commissioners should put them on the table so OWASA does not have to. 2. Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement Commissioner Carey asked if this resolution would address Carrboro Town officials' concerns in a way that allows them to move forward with the agreement. Chair Gordon said that Mayor Nelson did not know how his board would react. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Mayor was not sure whether or not this resolution would address all the concerns of his board members. Another concern the Mayor has is the manner in which the fees are determined, changing it from three governments to two governments. Chair Gordon said that Carrboro was concerned about #1 and #2 in the agreement, which the resolution addresses, and #4 concerning the fees. Commissioner Brown said the thing that struck her when she read the agreement was the issue of 90 days. She was concerned that working on the Greene Tract and deciding what its uses are going to be could take a couple of years. The transfer of the land to the County will not take place unless the statement is modified. Chair Gordon said they would be willing to sign the agreement and let the transfer go through and not give the land for the facilities until all the uses are decided. She said Geof Gledhill explained to her that the County would not be responsible until all the issues were resolved. Geof Gledhill said Carrboro might never be in agreement on these issues. Chair Gordon said that as of now, 60 acres will come to the County and there would be no burial of mixed solid waste, but everything else would be all right. Commissioner Carey said that Carrboro is asking the County to expedite the implementation of the public water to the area, and Carrboro is holding up the process because the County can not get started until the County Commissioners have responsibility to take some actions. He disagrees with this. John Link suggested that the County send this resolution to Carrboro with a letter describing all that the County has tried to accomplish in terms of the most recent action two weeks ago, and Carrboro should respond with signing the agreement so the County can expedite this process. He will put a friendly reminder that if the agreement is not signed by September 7t", the County Commissioners would not be able to take over solid waste management on January 1, 2000. Chair Gordon reminded the Board that they have moved the deadline ahead three times, and September 7th should be the final deadline. Commissioner Jacobs reminded the Board that the County Commissioners have already made a commitment to pay for extension of water to the Rogers Road area. Chair Gordon suggested passing the resolution and writing a letter to the Mayors of the three towns, stating what the agreement is now and asking them to sign the agreement. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve the Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement Resolution as stated below: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING ORANGE COUNTY'S INTENTIONS WITH RESPECT TO TWO ASPECTS OF THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT GOVERNING FUTURE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT WHEREAS, discussions about a series of draft interlocal agreements on solid waste management in recent months have brought all parties close to final agreement on a document which the County and the Towns could approve; and WHEREAS, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen by resolution dated August 17, 1999 indicated the Town's preparedness to approve the interlocal agreement under consideration, subject to certain modifications outlined in that resolution, including two constraints on the timing of the transfer of title to 60 acres of the Greene Tract; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS THAT the Board reaffirms its intent to negotiate in good faith with the other parties regarding the ultimate disposition of the remaining approximately 109 acres of the Greene Tract during the "bargaining period" defined in the interlocal agreement, and states its general support for use of the remainder of that property predominantly for public purposes; AND, the Board reaffirms its commitment to expeditious provision of public water lines to appropriate properties and willing residents in the vicinity of the current Eubanks Road landfill, known as the historic Rogers Road neighborhood. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Gordon said they would write a letter covering the points discussed tonight and on August 17th to the three towns. 3. School Funding John Link said Orange County ranks first in the state for public education funding. He said staff contacted a number of other counties in the state, and 10-15 counties responded. There was a range of small and large counties. They found that there were several formulas that were being used to determine school funding. Budget Director Donna Dean made a PowerPoint presentation on how Orange County is financing the schools. John Link pointed out that the allocation per pupil is $3,160. He said that the Chapel HiIIICarrboro City School System also receives, because of its district tax, an additional $1,094 per pupil. He said if the County continues what they are doing right now, based on the averages in the past, the funding would more than double over the next 10 years. John Link then explained the models that are being used by other counties for school funding. He explained the model that Orange County is using, which is choosing a percent of the general fund. He pointed out that this is not a policy. Donna Dean said that the Budget staff has tried to ensure that the per pupil amount would not fall below the current per pupil amount of $3,160. Chair Gordon said the Board was on the right track in that they were doing what the citizens want them to do. She said there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. Some of the expenses are increasing because of growth that does not pay for itself. There will be more expenses as Orange County continues to grow. She said the County staff needs to get some idea of the pattern of growth in the schools. She is supportive of trying to come up with finances, but she thinks the school boards and County staff need to work together in a larger context. Commissioner Jacobs asked if the impact fees are included in the total funding and he was told no. He said that it would seem easier to develop an adequate public facilities ordinance so the available funds could be projected more specifically. Regarding the district tax, he thinks it should be more comprehensive so it is not just increased every time school expenses are not met. Commissioner Halkiotis said that one of the challenges the Board will face in the next few months is to begin discussions on what an adequate public facilities ordinance would look like. He thinks this should be discussed in the near future. The Board of County Commissioners decided that a message needs to be sent that the Board will control the budget and allocate funds according to a method or formula, and the school boards can decide their policy within the parameters. Planning Director Craig Benedict made reference to the adequate public facilities ordinance and said that there is a major linkage between setting a capital investment for the future and what is spent in the budget each year. The decision that comes from the Board will establish the capital side of the expenditure. Once the set of standards is developed, it establishes certain classroom sizes. He said the impact of these decisions is very closely tied into an adequate public facilities ordinance. Chair Gordon pointed out that the class sizes in Orange County are smaller than the class sizes in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Commissioner Carey said he agrees with Craig Benedict, but the problem is the school boards can make a decision that sets the number of students in each class. He pointed out that the County does not control all of the approvals for subdivisions and number of units that are constructed. Commissioner Brown said that it should be shown that Chapel Hill/Carrboro has a higher per pupil allocation than Orange County. She asked for a list of each school, the capacity of each school, etc. She thinks the school board needs to have a budget parameter. John Link said that they would take the comments tonight and add in the impact of the adequate public facilities ordinance. Commissioner Brown asked Donna Dean to put each of the models on a graph and separate Orange County and Chapel Hill/Carrboro according to their per pupil allocation. Commissioner Carey said he would like to know the total number of students in each school system. He said that there are some years that there have been state policy changes that caused expenditures, and it would be helpful to know which years this happened. He made reference to a meeting at the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners convention this month. At this meeting there was a discussion about getting money to implement the new policy on testing children to make sure they move forward, and developing plans for those who did not move forward. He asked if this money was received. Chair Gordon mentioned the district tax and the difference in per pupil allocations in Orange County and Chapel Hill/Carrboro. She said one of the problems the Board found in achieving equity a few years ago was in the method of increasing the general fund and decreasing the taxes in phases. This caused a tremendous tax increase for people in the County. She hopes the County will hold the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system harmless for this. She said the other reason for the inequity is that the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school system is growing three times as fast as the Orange County school system. The Board agreed to adopt a formula to determine the amount of school funding. This will be discussed again. 4. Proposed Corbin Downs Development Craig Benedict gave a summary of this project. The applicant has decreased the amount of residential units from the original plan from over 1,200 to about 750 including 180 single family, 460 apartments, and 90 townhouses. He said the school impact had decreased to a large degree because apartments do not generate as many students as townhouses. He summarized the agenda for the meeting on September 8t". He said the big issue with the staff is traffic. The whole town of Hillsborough will be impacted by the increased traffic. The projected taxable value of this project is 243 million dollars. He needs to take a look at the additional staff hours necessary to service a project of this size from a building standpoint. He listed some of the impacts that a development this size would have on the immediate area. Geoffrey Gledhill pointed out that at least half of the commercial area would be built in the last three years of the project. The phasing is very important. Commissioner Jacobs asked if there were height limitations on the project, and could it be built up instead of out. Craig Benedict said there are tradeoffs for preserving open space by allowing vertical buildup, but space must be allowed for parking. Commissioner Halkiotis thinks the Board should bring up the list of services the County provides to the Town of Hillsborough at the meeting on September Stn Commissioner Brown asked if Hillsborough would annex this property, and Craig Benedict said yes. Commissioner Jacobs feels the Board needs to go into this meeting taking a position that this is a positive step that they are sitting down with Hillsborough and discussing this in advance of annexation. He thinks the Board should get these issues out on the table. Hopefully, Hillsborough will be willing to meet with the Board again after the issues are identified. ADJOURNMENT With no further items for Board consideration, Chair Gordon adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting is scheduled for September 7, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in the new County courthouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Alice M. Gordon, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk