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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 19990914APPROVED 1217199 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION SEPTEMBER 14, 1999 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday, September 14, 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. EMS Director Nick Waters gave an update on the planning initiatives for Hurricane Floyd. He summarized a handout that indicated what had been done so far to plan for Hurricane Floyd, such as conducting conference calls with the National Weather Service, coordinating with The American Red Cross, providing news releases to the citizens, and opening shelters. He gave an update on the projection of the storm. He also gave an update on what EMS planned to do to prepare for the storm. He said that they were as prepared as they could be. He said they are encouraging the citizens to realize if Orange County gets hurricane force winds, there will be a point in time that response stops. They are encouraging the citizens to be prepared to survive for 72 hours with essential needs such as non-perishable food, drinking water, etc. Chair Gordon asked where EMS is telling people to go. Nick Waters said they are recommending that whoever lives in a mobile home or flood prone area go to a substantial structure, preferably friends or family. They are using the shelters as a last resort. John Link said that the Departments of Health, Aging, and Social Services are making individual contacts with clients and citizens who have special physical conditions and need to have oxygen. Nick Waters said they would deal with those individuals on a case by case basis. He said they would either move them to a place that has electricity or bring in bulk storage tanks of oxygen. Regarding the meeting schedule, the Board will address one item for the regular meeting on September 21St in the courtroom and adjourn the meeting until September 29th to address the remainder of the items on that agenda. The public hearing on a proposed C&D site will be held on September 21. That meeting will be held in the big courtroom in Hillsborough. A work session will be held on September 30th A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to amend the regular meeting schedule to change the location for September 21St to the courtroom in Hillsborough which will be continued to September 291h, and to change the purpose of the September 301h meeting to a work session. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Gordon will decide tomorrow (September 15th) at noon whether or not the meeting for that night will be canceled. 1. Court Issues.: Update and Approval of Master Plan of Hillsborough Court Campus Site Purchasing Director Pam Jones made a presentation. In summary, she reported on the last five years, what has been done and what needs to be done regarding the Hillsborough Court Campus Site. The Board has been requested to consider two items. The first item is to endorse the security enhancement measures at the Hillsborough Court facility. The second item is to authorize the Manager's negotiated contract to look at a site master plan of the Hillsborough campus. She summarized the Justice Facilities Study Committee report of July 1995. After the two new facilities were opened, the Board charged a second group of people to look at the report and to determine if the findings were still valid, and to look at the impact of the two new facilities. The group found that there had been some relief provided by the new additions, but the increasing caseload in the court system was still requiring urgency for long term development of court facilities. At the same time that the validation committee was bringing forward their conclusions, the incident happened in which the young lady was assaulted. The Security Committee, which included court officials, County Commissioners, and County staff, had a meeting to talk about security issues at that point. She summarized the suggestions for enhanced security that were brought up at the meeting. One of the main goals for security was to provide a single point of entry to the Courthouse with a security checkpoint. There were several options for additions to the Court campus. She summarized the goals of the site plan. The cost of the master plan would be approximately $12,000, and would take six weeks to complete. She summarized the needs of the Chapel Hill court system. The lease cost for the Chapel Hill court system for fiscal year 1999-2000 will be $90,000 or more. She summarized the scope of study for the proposed site master plan. Judge Wade Barber said he really appreciated the emphasis on planning. He talked about how the Old Courthouse is being used. He said that the present courthouse is highly utilized and things are working out well. He appreciates what the County has done in that regard. In his office they have implemented a civil case management schedule which is working extremely well. In January he and Carl Fox will implement a criminal case management plan which will help with decreasing the caseload. He agrees that the County needs to do a comprehensive plan. He also feels that security needs to be addressed. He appreciates the two deputies in the courthouse at this time. He feels that placing the deputies outside the courthouse is the most important thing that could be done at this time regarding security. This is also the most economical thing they could do at this point. He thinks the security checkpoints will require a lot of long-range planning and facilities. He feels the Courthouse needs additional waiting areas. People are standing in the hallways at this time. He feels the County is on the right track in developing a long-range plan. Judge Joe Buckner supports making a good long-range plan for meeting Orange County's court needs. They are committed to using all of their resources. He has moved high volume court to the end of the week to manage parking facilities. They are taking care of the business they have to provide now, but the next phase of volume may be difficult to handle in their present facilities. There has been a 65% increase in his caseload in district court in the last five years. They just want to have the facilities to handle the increase in the upcoming years. There are some unforeseen circumstances that must be anticipated. For example, there could be an increase in traffic tickets, a case that may last for weeks, etc. He supports a master plan that is economical and safe for everyone. He is committed to help in any way. Commissioner Carey appreciates the judges being flexible and their efforts in maximizing the use of the facilities. He asked if the projections for population increases would be updated in any way. Pam Jones said the master plan would update population projections. Judge Buckner said that with the passing of the Victims Rights Amendment, if you are a victim of a crime, you have the right to be contacted about the status of the specific situation. As a result, the District Attorneys' offices will get significant numbers of new employees. Commissioner Halkiotis feels the County should not be paying $61,000 per year in Hillsborough and $90,000 per year in Chapel Hill for rented space. He asked Pam Jones to talk about the proposal for Homestead Road. Pam Jones said that the Homestead Road site does have a parcel set aside for courts. Judge Buckner asked about Chapel Hill's responsibility for helping to build and pay for court facilities. John Link said that Chapel Hill does not feel they have a responsibility except for the upkeep of the buildings. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to traffic court and asked Judge Buckner if there is a convenience factor with having traffic court in downtown Chapel Hill versus having it at Homestead Road. Judge Buckner did not have an opinion about downtown Chapel Hill versus Homestead Road. He said most of the people who get minor traffic violations in Chapel Hill are from Chapel Hill/Carrboro, so there is a travel factor. The other issue is officer availability and being able to bring in one officer at a time in a case that needs an officer's testimony. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the master plan. He feels it would be useful to have a presentation on the facilities report from 1995. He asked if there had been any archeological studies on the remainder of the Hillsborough campus. Pam Jones said that there have been archeological studies done only on the land that they have disturbed but not on the entire property. Commissioner Jacobs said he agreed with what Commissioner Halkiotis said about the rent and court fees. Joe Buckner made reference to court costs and said that in 1999 the court fees were increased by $1.00. Perhaps revenues from the actual operations of the court have not kept pace with the growth. Commissioner Jacobs recommended passing a resolution to send to NCACC and the state legislatures, articulating that the County is being asked to take on a tremendous financial burden and the corresponding support has not been forthcoming over the last years. Chair Gordon asked about the recommendation for the Hillsborough area and what was planned for Chapel Hill. Judge Buckner said that there would not be superior court in Chapel Hill. The courtroom in Chapel Hill is used for traffic citations. He explained what district court includes as listed below: ? Motor vehicle offenses ? Domestic issues - divorce, alimony, child custody, child support, etc. ? Juvenile - delinquency and Department of Social Services cases and special sessions of child support court ? Hospital hearings ? Probable cause hearings ? Criminal misdemeanors ? Boundary disputes Judge Barber told about superior court and what cases they hear. These are listed below: ? Felony cases ? DWI cases ? Civil cases other than family ? Condemnation cases - professional negligence, medical malpractice, etc. Judge Buckner said he and Judge Barber made a determination that based upon load, need, and schedule that they could switch courtrooms. They call the three courtrooms the Old Courtroom, the New Courtroom, and the Big Courtroom. At this time, superior court takes precedence over the other cases in using the Old Courtroom and the New Courtroom. The other cases use the Big Courtroom. Judge Barber said the next courtroom does not have to be very large. He said it needs to be a good, dignified room so everyone who comes in feels that their case is important. Judge Buckner said he would like to have a smaller courtroom so that domestic cases and smaller cases with 15 people or less could be handled. Chair Gordon asked about the phases of the master plan. She would like to hear about the specific things that are going to be addressed so the Commissioners can make better judgements about this issue. Purchasing Director Pam Jones explained that she tied the master plan and the phasing plan too closely together. She said that after the information about the site is received from the master plan, the architect could give some ideas about the phasing of the project. She said the Board would need to look at that and give their comments about the phasing. She said there are many levels of discussion before the specific phases are determined. Commissioner Brown asked about the space needs of the Sheriff and how this fits into the project. Pam Jones said the 1995 report consolidated the Sheriff into the building that would be constructed as well as the jail. She said this could be identified as the first phase. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to Judge Barber's use of the word dignity. He feels that the people who come to the courthouse need to show dignity and respect. He feels that people should not be smoking in the front of the courthouse. Bringing a sense of dignity to the building needs to be part of the master plan. He feels that security is an issue that needs to be constantly addressed. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to authorize the Chair to sign the master plan of the Hillsborough Court campus site and endorse the camera and the deputies for security measures. Chair Gordon said she questioned building onto the downtown Chapel Hill site as opposed to expanding within it because it is a very congested area. Commissioner Brown said she is concerned about two issues. One issue is transportation from Chapel Hill to Hillsborough and the other issue is the traffic in Hillsborough. John Link feels the Board needs to talk about expanding Orange Public Transportation (OPT) or pushing Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) to have another route to Hillsborough and back to Chapel Hill. This is an element of the plan that needs to be addressed. Also, he would like to see how this folds into a space needs assessment for all of county government. Commissioner Jacobs said he supported the motion, but feels that the proposal is vague and the context is not articulated. Chair Gordon asked what the product of the master plan would include. Pam Jones said the Board would receive another report that shows the capabilities of the site. She said the master plan would give more of the context that is needed. Discussion ensued on how far back on the property the proposal should consider. John Link said the message from the Board should be they would address what needs to be addressed in phases. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. Solid Waste Matters a. Status of Interlocal Agreement Chair Gordon reminded the Board that the Interlocal Agreement was adopted on August 17t". The question is whether or not the Agreement should be modified. John Link gave an update on the Interlocal Agreement. He said that the County and Chapel Hill have agreed on every point. The response from Carrboro is that they would like to see two towns along with the County included when making decisions on establishing fees. The fees are those that are required to carry out the entire solid waste plan, specifically the recycling goals and the reduction of solid waste at the source. One of the options in funding these fees was the special district taxes, one for Chapel Hill/Carrboro and the other for Orange County. There has been no agreement as to the methodology to pursue establishing those fees. The Agreement says that those fees will be established. The question is whether the fees will be established with one other town or two other towns. Commissioner Carey said that he does not have a problem with reverting back to the original language to include two towns. He said this is more meaningful to Carrboro because they are the smaller of the two towns. He thinks Carrboro may be afraid that Orange County and Chapel Hill are going to do something regardless of how they feel about it. He thinks the Board should be sensitive to that. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he wants to make this easy for the staff to administer. He supports the Agreement as it is. He suggested asking Carrboro to trust and support Orange County to set the fee structure. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to reaffirm the Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement as written. Commissioner Jacobs would rather go along with what Carrboro has requested. He said even though it is not a major issue with the Board, it is apparently a major issue with Carrboro to include two towns along with the County in the Agreement. Commissioner Brown said that while everyone supports recycling, there are all kinds of views on the level of recycling and how to go about it. Commissioner Carey said that the Board has an opportunity to build some trust by recognizing that Carrboro feels this is an important issue. He feels the Board needs to move ahead with this issue. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the LOG and said that during the last year, the County was getting voted down constantly. He feels that Chapel Hill and Carrboro should trust the County to manage the landfill operations. He wants the Board to move ahead and see what happens. He just wants to make it easy for the staff. VOTE: AYES, 3; NOS, 2 (Commissioner Carey and Commissioner Jacobs) A RESOLUTION OF AFFIRMATION (see memo from John Link) Commissioner Jacobs asked if what is in the resolution is incorporated in the Interlocal Agreement. Rod Visser said that there is language in the Interlocal Agreement that says that the County needs to have the freedom to implement appropriate fees or otherwise to adjust the system to man the fees. This resolution is just a supplement to the Agreement. John Link said that this resolution makes it perfectly clear that Orange County cannot move forward without the fees. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve the Resolution of Affirmation to the Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement as stated below: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE NEED FOR ALL PARTIES TO SUPPORT A REVENUE STRUCTURE SUFFICIENT TO FINANCE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN WHEREAS, the governing boards of the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Orange County have upon several occasions in the past expressed their formal support for the implementation of the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan and its inherent solid waste reduction goals of 45% by the year 2001 and 61 % by the year 2006; and WHEREAS, progress towards those goals will be dependent on the successful implementation of new strategies, processes, programs, and facilities that will expand the types and amounts of materials to be reduced, reused and recycled; and WHEREAS, the December 30, 1998 report from the Solid Waste Alternative Financing Committee pointed out that there would be an annual shortfall in the Landfill Fund budget during each of the next ten years of between $1.8 million to $3.8 million, which would need to be made up with alternative revenue sources if the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan were to be carried out as contemplated; and WHEREAS, the Alternative Financing Committee also discussed the feasibility of employing solid waste service district taxes to finance differing levels of recycling/reduction/reuse activities in different jurisdictions or different geographical locations; and WHEREAS, the employment of various alternative revenue sources will require the support of the County's municipal partners if the parties are together to make reasonable progress towards the mutually established solid waste reduction goals; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS DOES HEREBY reaffirm its commitment to the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan with its inherent solid waste reduction goals and urges the governing boards of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough to do likewise; and does hereby urge each municipal governing board to affirm its commitment to ensure that the fees and charges necessary to carry out the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan are approved and put into effect in a timely and unambiguous manner so that it will be possible to successfully implement this plan. This, the 14th day of September, 1999. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Parameters of C&D Site Search Commissioner Jacobs distributed a list of questions. He feels that there are a number of significant issues that have not been addressed. These are listed below: Need for a C & D landfill - financial considerations Timing - alternatives to September 30th and July 1St Siting - protected areas (rural buffer, watershed/WQCA), target areas, default location Co-location of functions -transfer station, MRF, economic development Aggressiveness - model C & D recycling ordinance (site separation) and Joint EDC/Solid Waste effort to seek grant funding He feels that these are serious issues and questions that need to be addressed. Chair Gordon asked if the option can be extended. John Link said that real estate representatives are not interested in extending this offer because they have another buyer waiting if this option is not executed. Geoffrey Gledhill said that a 30-day notice is needed before a final decision is made on a C&D site. He also explained how the County could buy the property since Chapel Hill has the option. The option agreement turns into a contract for purchase if it is exercised and there will be 60 days in which to close the deal. He made reference to his letter to the County Commissioners and said that the County Commissioners need to make the decision on this site after they hold the public hearing. Commissioner Carey said that Commissioner Jacobs has raised some questions and policy issues that the County Commissioners need to discuss. The Board also needs to have a thorough discussion about the pros and cons of recycling. He thinks the option is not the most significant thing that is driving the need to make a decision by September 30th. The most significant thing is the capacity of the current site. Regarding the Guess Road site, he is not willing to take the option and reserve this as open space because there are many other things to consider. He feels that a C&D site needs to be centrally located. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to Commissioner Jacobs' list and said that the Landfill Owners Group (LOG) has discussed many of these items. The Board does need to be discussing these issues. Commissioner Brown said that alternatives to recycling C&D waste should be revisited. She said there does not seem to be much economic benefit to doing the recycling. Chair Gordon said she understood that there are mandates for solid waste facilities, but there are no mandates for C & D sites. John Link distributed a copy of an Orange County Proposal from June 1999 regarding the Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement. He made reference to two items that were highlighted and are stated below: IF all entities continue to work through the LOG to develop options for: construction and demolition disposal, THEN the County will pursue a conceptual revenue structure that finances core operations (MRF, MSW, and C & D Landfills) through tipping fees. John Link said the reason he brought this up was because the Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement is almost completed and he thinks the other jurisdictions would remind the Board that they would do these things that were highlighted. He encourages continued discussion of these issues, but he hopes the Board will remember what they stated they would do. Commissioner Brown made reference to the first item that states "construction and demolition disposal" but the other one states "C & D Landfills." John Link said that "landfill" could probably be replaced with "disposal." He said the expectation is that there will still be a method by which citizens in the County can dispose of C & D. Commissioner Brown asked if there was not a C&D site, how that would affect the revenues. John Link said that the revenues would have to be generated by another way, like tipping fees. Commissioner Brown also asked about the timing. She asked how long it takes to prepare a site. John Link said that the timing was for a decision to be made by September, and have a site open by June. He said if the Board has to pursue other alternatives after the next 30 days, the other jurisdictions need to be reassured that it does not mean the County is not committed in carrying out their responsibility to find a way to dispose of C & D. Commissioner Jacobs asked that John Link call the trustees to see if the option can be extended beyond 30 days. The meeting was adjourned at this point. 3. Strategic Communications Plan This item was postponed. 4. Update on Mebane/Orange County Planning Coordination This item was postponed. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to adjourn the meeting. The next regular meeting will be held on September 21, 1999 at 7:30 p.m. in the big courtroom in the new County Courthouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Alice M. Gordon. Chair Beverly A. Blythe, Clerk