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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 02-13-2001APPROVED 10/2/2001 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 13, 2001 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center Boardroom in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONER5 PRESENT: Chair Stephen H. Halkiotis and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordan and Barry Jacobs COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., and Clerk to the Board Beverly A. Blythe A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to go into closed session "to consider the qualifications, competence, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee" NCGS § 143-318.11(a)(6). VOTE: UNANIMOUS THE MEETING WAS RECONVENED AT 7:30 P.M. FOR THE WORK SESSION COUNTY COMMISSIONER5 PRESENT: Chair Stephen H. Halkiotis and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Harmony Whalen COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser 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. 1. SOLID WASTE MATTERS a. Possibilities for Regional Cooperation b. BOCC Policy Statement Regarding No New Mixed Solid Waste Landfill in Orange Count County Manager Jahn Link said that the staff thought that this was a good opportunity far the Board to discuss the possibilities of contacting the neighboring jurisdictions relative to jointly working on solid waste facilities and programs. Chair Halkiotis made reference to the opportunity that quickly arose in Chatham County. He asked if anyone else knew of any other happenings regionally regarding solid waste issues. John Link said that there could be possibilities for Orange County to work with Alamance, Caswell, or Durham Counties. He said that it would be a good idea to come together with the neighboring jurisdictions to explore possibilities in the short term. Commissioner Carey commented that he feels that we should contact all of our neighbors to see if there is any interest in working together. Commissioner Jacobs said that the C&D Recycling Task Farce had talked about trying to find partners for the County's C&D efforts. He said that Person and Alamance Counties have solid waste landfill capacity that has been expanded or is not being filled. Commissioner Brawn would like to pursue communicating with everyone we can. Commissioner Gordon commented that, if the resolution is passed, it has to be very clear that we are looking for partnerships that do not include putting a landfill in Orange County. Chair Halkiotis said that the resolution clearly states that our landfill capacity is expected to be exhausted by late 2006 or early 2007 and that Orange County has no intention of setting up an additional landfill. Commissioner Jacobs said that it would be of interest to the County to have an analysis of what would happen if mixed solid waste were sent to another county before capacity is reached. Commissioner Brown is in favor and strongly supports this resolution. She would be very glad to end all searches in Orange County for an MSW landfill and put everything to rest. She would like to make it clear to the citizens that the search for an MSW landfill is over. Commissioner Carey strongly supports the resolution. He said that if the Board adapts this resolution, it makes it imperative to try and find a partner to work with. He also feels that the search far an additional landfill is over for the foreseeable future. Chair Halkiotis asked Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson to give an update of who is shipping solid waste out of their county, who are they shipping to, what they are paying, and if it is C&D or just MSW. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to adopt and authorize the Chair to sign the resolution as stated below: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS A RESOLUTION INDICATING THE INTENT NOT TO SITE A NE~~tr MIXED SOLID `'tTASTE L4NDFILL IN ORANGE COUNTY WHEREAS, Orange County manages a landfill that accepts mixed solid waste (MSW} from residential and commercial waste generators in Orange County and its municipalities: and WHEREAS, the current MSW landfill's capacity is expected to be exhausted by late 2006 or early 2007; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners remains committed to the achievement of a goal of 61 percent per capita waste reduction by the year 2006 through aggressive recycling, reduction, and diversion efforts; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners has previously signaled that it intends to explore alternatives to in-County landfilling to deal with residual waste materials that cannot be recycled or reused; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby formally establish its intent not to pursue the siting of a new mixed solid waste landfill in Orange County to replace the current MSW landfill when it reaches capacity. This, the 13th day of February, 2001. VOTE: UNANIMOUS John Link said that he would contact the Managers of the other jurisdictions, indicating Orange County's interest in having discussions. DISCUSSION OF REMAINING ADDITIONAL TOPICS FROM RETREAT AS THE BOARD a. Soccer Facilities Recreation and Parks Director Bob Jones spoke about soccer facilities. He said that there were three recommendations that came from the task force. The discussion emphasized working more closely with the school systems and identifying larger parcels of land for future school sites and additional soccer fields. He said that one of our Recreation and Parks Advisory Board members is working with one of the local soccer associations in discussing the possibilities of future funding for soccer fields. The Recreation and Parks Advisory Council is also emphasizing the importance of future park sites and soccer fields. Commissioner Jacobs asked how much of the demand for soccer was driven by residents of the southern part of Orange County and Bob Jones said about 80%. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 22 and the establishment of a coordinated group and asked if anything has been done to bring the groups together. Bob Jones said that there have not been any formal discussions. Commissioner Jacobs said that he received an email from someone about securing a soccer field. He thought that the soccer task force would create an entity, but so far no entity has been formed. He thinks that we should encourage a group to get the soccer organizations meeting on some kind of regular basis that would represent the balance between private interests and the public investment. He said that we have identified the issues but we have not nudged this into being. Commissioner Gordon made comments about page three, Soccer Symposium Task Force Follow Up RecommendationlNext Steps. Regarding #1, She said that she thought that the sport was not supported by adequate public fields and she thought that the County was going to correct this. She would not agree with the County providing the fields and then the soccer organizations taking them over. Commissioner Gordon made reference to item #2 and said that she envisioned that this activity would go through the Recreation and Parks Department. She does not agree with having a separate, self-standing agency financed by taxpayers that would control soccer. She thinks that it would be better to have an entity that looked at a matrix of sports. She does not think the group should be financed by the taxpayers. Commissioner Jacobs said that he did not think that the task force report vision was to turn over public fields to private organizations or to fund a private organization with public money. He said that the idea was to leverage some private funds to create improvements on basic facilities that the public would provide. Commissioner Carey disagreed with Commissioner Jacobs. He did not see turning public facilities over to private groups as a logical development. He agrees that we should try to capitalize on the energy and interest of the people interested in soccer. Commissioner Brown asked several clarifying questions, which were answered satisfactorily by Bob Jones. Commissioner Brown said that it sounds like the next step is to organize the proposed soccer group. She asked which organizations would be involved in the group. Bob Jones said that any soccer organization could be included. Commissioner Jacobs said that the last subcommittee report, attachment G on page 22, dealt specifically with inter-league cooperation. He said that the committee was told by several of the organizations that there is money waiting. He made reference to attachment E on page 18 and said that there was a subcommittee that was set specifically to work on access issues. Most of the recommendations relate to the way in which to proceed. He said that the soccer task farce also talked about scholarships and found out that the Hispanic soccer league in Orange County had been disbanded because they could not get facilities and had been playing in Durham. He said that it would be clear that we would change the demographics if we could bring the Hispanic community back into the Orange County soccer community. He said that there was a recognition by the private organizations, as evidenced by the report on the last page of the soccer task force report, that if the County is going to proceed in any kind of partnership with the private organizations, that these private organizations are going to have to cooperate. He said that we are not investing public money in a private venture, but we are investing public money in a public venture that requires partnership. Chair Halkiotis said that he agrees with what Commissioner Carey said in the interpretation of #2, page 3 of the agenda, regarding field development by private organizations. He gave examples of land that was awned by a school and used by the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association and the Orange County Parks and Recreation Department. He said that the model of cooperation is there, and he thinks that there should not be competing forces. He thinks a small group of two Commissioners {he does not wish to serve}, Economic Development Director Dianne Reid, Recreation and Parks Director Bob Jones, and representatives from the soccer organizations should be set up to talk about the issues. Commissioner Gordon said that she would be comfortable with the small group as suggested by Chair Halkiotis. She said that she was worried that the recommended entity would become too much of a closed group too soon. She is concerned that the recommended entity was heavily male and white, and that it involved a sport that required payment to participate. She would feel comfortable with Chair Halkiotis' suggestion. Commissioner Carey asked Jahn Link, Bob Jones, and Dianne Reid to research and help in any way they can with the new task force. Commissioner Jacobs and Commissioner Brown volunteered to be on this task force. b. Proposed Land Legacy Action Plan {Appendix 6 in Retreat notebook) Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil spoke about the action plan and asked for direction from the Board of Commissioners. He said that the annual action plan is the process that drives the acquisitions for parklands, natural areas and wildlife habitat, farmlands, cultural and archaeological areas, and riparian watershed buffers. In September and October of 2444, each of the advisory boards related to the different types of resources identified some priorities. The priorities were put into the first draft of the action plan. The idea is to bring this back to the Commissioners for adoption, concurrent with consideration of the Capital Improvement Plan. He spoke about some of the activities of the lands legacy program. The County has been able to acquire 1.2 million dollars in state and federal grants to put towards land acquisitions. He showed some maps of natural areas and priority areas. There have been 4,644 acres of land identified as significant natural areas to date. He said that ERCD would continue to aggressively pursue grants. He made reference to the table on page five, which is the recommended priority list. Some of the priorities include: purchase of additional lands adjacent to the Cedar Grove District Park and the Northern Human Services Center, beginning of the Seven Mile Creek nature preserve, acquisition of land in Bingham Township {working with OWASA for a community park}, tying together pieces of open space in the New Hape basin, park needs in Eno Township -north and east of Hillsborough and continuing the process of working with the soil and water district and OWASA to identify areas far farmland conservation easements. He asked for guidance from the Board on the priority list. Commissioner Jacobs commented on David Stancil's last point in regard to the upcoming band issue. He thinks it is a good action plan, but he thinks we need to do a better job of articulating why some of the priorities are of value to people that live in urban parts of the County. He made reference to the heritage corridors and the historic preservation goal and said that he would like to see this in more detail, Commissioner Brown and Commissioner Gordon both commended David Stancil and his staff on their effort in pulling this program together. Chair Halkiotis also praised David Stancil `s work. Commissioner Gordon also said that she wanted to underscore what has been said, in that it is important to explain the County's vision. She recommended trying to articulate our vision to the citizens for what we are trying to accomplish. This would also be good information for the bond committee. c. 250t" Anniversary of Orange County Commissioner Jacobs gave a short history of the start of the County. In September 2002, it will be the 250t" anniversary of the first court of common pleas and sessions, at which Sheriff Alexander Mebane presided as the chief officer of the County of Orange. He said that it would be a great economic development and historic preservation opportunity to get the historic community and the chambers of commerce together to work on some of the heritage in the County. He said that the celebration could involve the schools as an educational opportunity. He suggested making this celebration a goal for 2001-2002, and involving the Economic Development Department, which has the Visitors Bureau and Historic Preservation. Chair Halkiotis said he thinks this is a good idea, and asked John Link and staff to bring back a proposal. d. Indicator Program Commissioner Brown asked for an update on this program. David Stancil said that the staff has been looking at the indicators that were developed by the Shaping Orange County's Future project to see which ones could be used to measure where the County is and where it is going. He said that the next step would be to get the information to the Board in the form of a report. This will come back to the Board in April. e. Definition of Bonafide Farm Commissioner Brown said that she put this item in because there have been some issues about definitions of farms and if they were actually businesses in certain rural areas. She suggested that the Manager find out if all has been resolved. She would like to make sure that people who use land and live in a rural manner are not put in some kind of legal jeopardy. Commissioner Carey asked for a report on this regarding the statutory definition for Orange County. Commissioner Jacobs spoke about such things as a bed and breakfast activity or other ways that farms can bring in income without violating the zoning regulations. Commissioner Brown asked for a report by June. f. Erosion Control Update Planning Director Craig Benedict distributed a handout entitled, "Sedimentation and Erosion Control Update." There will be some changing responsibilities for Erosion Control in the coming year. Orange County is the first county in North Carolina to apply for delegated authority for buffer enforcement procedures. He spoke about the new fee structure to cover some of the new activities. This fee schedule will be coming back to the Board at the first work session in April. Commissioner Brown asked about state projects (i.e., Chapel Hill park development, schools, etc.} not being under the purview of Erosion Control in Orange County. She asked if this has changed. Craig Benedict said that the County did not have any more authority, but there is mare cooperation. Commissioner Carey asked Craig Benedict to explain the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, #4 in "Changing Responsibilities". Craig Benedict explained that this was a new state mandate that all point source pollution factors that are discharged into any local stream must be monitored. He said that it is a very elaborate program on the enforcement end. Identification of the sources of the discharges will begin in October 2001. Commissioner Gordon asked about the river basin for the NPDES regulations. Craig Benedict said that this reference to the Cape Fear River basin, which includes Cane Creek, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and some surrounding areas. Commissioner Gordon asked Craig Benedict to explain the significance of the Stormwater Utility Task Farce and if it was a way to meet these regulations. Craig Benedict explained that because Chapel Hill and Carrboro are of a specified population, they have increased responsibilities. Commissioner Gordon asked if it was expected that Erosion Control would be taken over by the utility group. Craig Benedict said that this was a possibility. Commissioner Gordon would like to have a report from this task force as soon as possible because it could have a profound effect an the Cape Fear River basin. She would like an overview of all the entities that are working on this and the timelines. Craig Benedict mentioned that the task force was looking for a Commissioner representative. Chair Halkiotis nominated Commissioner Gordan to serve an the Stormwater Utilities Task Farce. Commissioner Gordon would like to know the timeline and the responsibilities before she agrees to do this. There will be a money request from the Stormwater Utilities Task Force during the budget deliberations. Chair Halkiotis asked about the closer coordination with NC Forestry Service and asked what would be needed from them. Craig Benedict said that the request is for reporting and notification of what the NC Forestry Service is doing. An example of this is a report on the number of trees being removed for development versus forestry operations. Commissioner Jacobs asked David Stancil to comment about the forestry event an Tuesday, February 20t" at 3:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center. Commissioner Jacobs and Commissioner Brown will develop an agenda. g_ Transportation Services Department an Aging Director Jerry Passmare spoke to this and invited AI Terry, Operations Supervisor, to join him at the table. Jerry Passmare discussed the services and composition of the Transportation Advisory Board. He said that from time to time his department feels that other entities should be represented, such as Triangle Transit Authority and Employment Security Commission. Also, it would be good to have more representation at large and from the business community. He would like to maintain the health representation. He said that this past year there was supposed to be an updated Transportation Development Plan, of which the state pays 90°~. The four-year plan must be in place in order to receive vehicle replacements, etc. The state has been short staffed and is in the process of hiring a planning consultant to work on the plan in Orange County, Durham County, and Chatham County. He also referred to the possibility of Transportation becoming a separate department, and other options. He said that he would present various options to the Board of County Commissioners when the transportation plan is updated this year. John Link advised that the TAB, and particularly the planning consultant, engage Commissioner Gordon and Commissioner Jacobs and look at expanding the report beyond the type of report that the Department on Aging normally pursues. Jerry Passmore said that the state consultant would be asked to focus on looking at the organizational structure and come back with options to present to the Commissioners. Commissioner Gordon would like to see the Commissioners become involved sooner rather than later. She would like the Commissioners to be involved before the consultant is involved. John Link asked for Jerry Passmore, Commissioner Jacobs, and Commissioner Gordon to meet and decide what steps should be taken next. h. CountylNCACC Legislative Goals Greg Wilder said that legislative goals were forwarded to the NCACC. The General Assembly session began January 24t". The Legislative Issues Task Force met last week to discuss the actual County goals, and these will be presented to the Board on February 20t". The deadline far local bills is March 18t" and the deadline for public bills is March 26t". There is a legislative breakfast scheduled for March 12. Commissioner Gordon asked about the list of legislative goals. Greg Wilder will get the list to the Commissioners tomorrow. Commissioner Gordon made reference to a message she received that NACo is recommending support of oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Chair Halkiotis asked Greg Wilder to call NACa headquarters and find out additional information on this issue. 2. OTHER TOPICS AS THE BOARD DETERMINES a. Appointments to EDD Transportation Work Group and the Capital Needs Task Force EDD Transportation Work Group A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve the following appointments to the EDD Transportation Work Group: Steve Halkiotis and Barry Jacobs, Orange County Board of Commissioners; Evelyn Lloyd and Mark Sheridan, Hillsborough Town Commissioners; Ted Triebel, Orange County Planning Board; Bryan Warren, Hillsborough Planning Board; George Horton, Orange County Economic Development Commission; Danny Lloyd, Hillsborough/Orange County Chamber; Lynette Jefferies or designee, Alliance far Historic Hillsborough; Bill Crowther, Ayr Mount; Holly Reid, Eno River Association; Jim Parker and Scott Radway, development representatives; Wendy Olsen, pedestrian advocate; Laura Cotterman, environmentalist; and Hazel Lunsford, resident of EDD. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Capital Needs Advisory Task Force A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to change Audrey Booth, Jay Bryan, Whit Morrow, and Bill Waddell from alternate positions to permanent members of the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Potential Bond Planning Assistance -Trust for Public Land Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil spoke to this item. He said that the Trust for Public Land has worked with localities on bond referenda for open space and parks. The County has received contact from representatives of the Trust for Public Land, and he and Commissioner Jacobs met with them on February 2"d. He included some materials on what the Trust does. He said that they were willing to assist to the degree that there is interest in having them assist. Mast recently, the Trust was active in the Wake County open space bond issue last fall. He basically wanted to let the Board of County Commissioners know that this group exists. Commissioner Gordon asked David Stancil what he had in mind for the involvement of the Trust. David Stancil said that the TPL had an interest in working with Orange County as a partner much as Triangle Land Conservancy and other non-profits in helping with the acquisition of lands. He said that TPL commented that Orange County is way ahead of other counties in land conservancy planning. TPL has an office in Raleigh and has some experience coordinating with Triangle Land Conservancy. Chair Halkiotis said he would feel very comfortable with David Stancil spearheading the involvement of TPL and how they could be helpful. Commissioner Gordon asked if John Link `s staff could spearhead this. There was consensus by the Board that John Link would work with David Stancil on this. At this time, it was seven minutes until 10:00 p.m., and the Board agreed to continue the meeting until 10:00 p.m. c. Review of Remaining Goals for FY 2001-02 (5) Wastewater Treatment Management Program (On Site) Health Director Rosie Summers said that they have contacted the public utilities to see if they were interested in participating with the County an this program. A letter was received from OWASA indicating that they are interested and would be willing to partner with Orange County, but there has been no specific financial commitment. She said that there might be some possibility for Clean Water Trust Funds to establish a revolving loan fund, depending on the survival of that fund. There will be an intern that will be doing some grant writing this summer to try and develop the loan fund. Also, in this year's budget request, there will be an Environmental Educator position that will serve to start the education process for this project. Commissioner Carey asked how the revolving loan fund would be used. Rosie Summers said that the intent of the revaluing loan fund was far law-income property owners to repair failing septic systems or to establish indoor plumbing. The Health Department is also applying to CDC for a Public Health Service Prevention fellow far two years to identify properties that have no indoor plumbing. At 14:44 p.m., a motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to adjourn the meeting. VOTE: UNANIMOUS. Commissioner Gordon suggested that the Commissioners write down comments about the remaining goals. The next meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2441 at 5:34 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Stephen H. Halkiotis, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC