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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 03-29-2001APPROVED 6/19/2001 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION MARCH 29, 2001 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session on Thursday, March 29, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Stephen H. Halkiatis and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon and Barry Jacobs COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill 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. 1. EFLAND SEWER SERVICE AREA POLICY Planning Director Craig Benedict presented a base map of the Efland area. He said that the County Attorney Geoffrey Gledhill would go into the history of the Efland sewer project, County Engineer Paul Thames would talk about the bond issue, and he would finish with existing policy implications and how it affects the subdivision process. Craig Benedict explained the map of the Efland area. Geoffrey Gledhill said that the plan for the Efland sewer system arose because of some bad soils in the Efland area. The County employed some engineers, particularly the John McAdams Company, which reported how to provide public water and sewer to the Efland area. The County staff worked with the community to develop some agreements with members of the Efland community that were mostly in the Phase One area. The bottom line is that enough people made a written commitment to receive public sewer to make the project viable. Sometime thereafter, the County employed another engineer to take another look at the system boundaries and the system design. This report indicated that the County would not have enough money to build all of Phase One. Bids were taken on the westernmost portion of Phase One and Phase Twa. The school and most of the failing septic systems are located in the western portion. Craig Benedict stated that the adopted plan at this point is Phases One and Two and the additional system improvements. Geoffrey Gledhill said that three expansions to the boundary of the system have been approved. The expansions include the Hancor manufacturing facility, the Barber and Ross facility, and the Richmond Hills subdivision. Craig Benedict continued explaining the map of the Efland sewer service area. He said that the majority of the Orange-Alamance water system is within Orange County's transition areas, specifically the ten-year transition area. Paul Thames spoke about the 1997 bond project. The proposed project consists primarily of the easternmost part of Phase One and Phase Two. The bond area lies primarily in the transition areas and out of the water quality critical area. The project involves gravity sewer collectors. The plan is to relocate the existing main pump station from the intersection of McGowan Creek and Efland-Cedar Grove Road to the east to Brookhallow Road and McGowan Creek. There is another pump station on the Crabtree Mobile Home Park property that drains the eastern end of the project. The bond area project would serve almost all of the remaining residents that signed up for sewer service in the 1985 customer drive. There are about ten customers that would not be served by this project. Four of the homes are in the water quality critical area. If the project were started now, the design of the project would be finished around the beginning of calendar year 2002. Grant funds, specifically Clean VIlater Grant funds, could also be obtained in the March cycle to leverage the bond funds. Commissioner Gordon asked if the County had an obligation to serve the ten customers who were not in the bond project. Paul Thames said that the County probably did not have a legal obligation to serve these customers. Discussion ensued about the four homes in the water quality critical area. Commissioner Carey said that he feels a stronger commitment to the people in the quarry area because of the burden that they have been sharing. He asked about the implications of providing water to the four homes in the water quality critical area. Geoffrey Gledhill said that this sewer project predates the water quality critical area. He said that there was a way to serve those four homes without doing damage to the land use plan and to the water quality critical regulations. Craig Benedict showed two proposed subdivisions on a map -Ashwick and McGowan Creek. Ashwick is in the ten-year transition area, primarily in the Phase One adopted plan. There is a portion of McGowan Creek that lies outside the transition area. Craig Benedict then explained the policy implications of the sewer project. John Link pointed out that this is a utility and one of the limits of the system should be whether or not expansions pay for themselves. Paul Thames made reference to charging capital facilities fees, even within the bond area, and said that if someone lives in the bond area and did not sign up, if the Board decides, it can legitimately charge them capital facilities fees. Geoffrey Gledhill painted out that the Board would have to decide not to charge capital facilities fees for people in the bond area that did not sign up because the rules require the charge. Commissioner Gordon asked and Paul Thames answered that the typical capital facilities fee would be about $4,000 per household. John Link proposed that the staff came back at the regular meeting on April 17t" with some steps identified to address specifically Phases 1 B and 2 as well as steps for planning in general far the Efland area. He is not sure that the citizens in Efland are clear about the fact that those that are going to develop are going to pay the capital charges and pay far the lines. If the County is going to act as a utility, it means that the users pay. Chair Halkiotis stated that a meeting with the Chair, the Vice-Chair, and the Manager to meet with the Mebane City Manager, two members, and the Mayor has been confirmed for April 17tH Commissioner Brown does not feel comfortable permitting a large development knowing full well that there is not a secure water system. Chair Halkiotis suggested that one or two County Commissioners work with the staff to move this Efland project along. Commissioner Brown suggested that she and Commissioner Jacobs work with staff to move this project forward. This will be a Board of County Commissioners' task force. 2. GREENE TRACT Planning Director Craig Benedict made this presentation. He said that there is an interlocal agreement for the 169 acres, which make up the Greene Tract. The interlocal agreement states that within two years, a decision will be made about the future of the Greene Tract. Craig Benedict received today from the Town of Chapel Hill via email a further analysis of why this is not an amendment to the joint planning area until the County Commissioners approve it. Chair Halkiotis asked that Craig Benedict please do an analysis of the email he received from the Town of Chapel Hill and share with the County Commissioners. Jahn Link asked Craig Benedict to analyze what the LOG discussed over the last two or three years about possible uses of the Greene Tract. He said that this document did not speak to affordable hauling or school sites, both of which were discussed at same length. He asked Benedict to provide the County Commissioners a list of questions that they may want to ask relative to this issue at the JPA public hearing an April 12t" Commissioner Brawn made reference to the two studies that were done of the Greene Tract and said that she feels that these should be included in the packet. Also, there were resolutions that went along with the studies. Commissioner Gordon feels it is important to get this going. She has a concern that this process may take a long time. She thought that there was a tentative consensus about what should happen here. Also, she thinks that the map that goes to the public hearing should show the 60 acres divided out to the County as part of the interlocal agreement. Commissioner Brown asked that Craig Benedict show on the map that goes to public hearing the nearest sewer connection to the Greene Tract. Commissioner Gordon thinks it is important to establish the process and make substantial progress an the Greene Tract negotiations before the summer break. 3. WATER AND SEWER BOUNDARY AGREEMENT Geoffrey Gledhill made reference to the latest revisions to the water and sewer agreement, which reflects the comments made by the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro since the last time this was discussed by the County Commissioners. The most significant change is the part that deals with Heritage Hills, Rangewood, and Piney Mountain subdivisions, which is on page 7 of the document. He distributed an analysis of the proposed change of the definition area to define "primary service area" in a way that recognizes that the primary service area is something larger than existing plans for the extension of sewer. He made reference to a map and showed Orange County's primary service area, Hillsborough's primary service area, and OWASA's primary service area. This change recognizes that the map may be changed from time to time. Commissioner Brown made reference to page five and asked about the adverse public health conditions. Geoffrey Gledhill said that in order for a situation to meet the adverse public health conditions, it would have to meet all criteria that are listed. Commissioner Jacobs said that once this is adopted, then the Board should refer to the Planning Board the ramifications of the possibility of changing the watershed standards, so that if there was an adverse public health condition, a remedy that would be allowed would be to extend a water or a sewer line. Water or sewer lines are prohibited in watersheds with the current standards. Several editorial changes were made to the agreement by Commissioner Gordon and were noted by Geoffrey Gledhill to be incorporated into the document. This agreement will be placed on the Consent Agenda. 4. PRELIMINARY SPACE NEEDS REPORT Purchasing Director Pam Jones presented this report. She said that the report was to provide an inventory of space needs of the County and project the needs through 2010, identify any specialized needs, explore reasons for departmental growth, analyze technology's impact on facilities, and recommend options. One of the things that was noted through the questionnaires was that many departments have little pieces of imaging and document retention programs. It would be very effective to formalize the efforts in providing digital information. The principles of the study included co-location, consolidation, and ownership. The report will be updated in the fall to include the studies of the library and the Northern Human Services Center, which have separate task force reports. No action is recommended for the Purchasing and Central Services offices, Northside Community Center or the Skills Development Center at 501/503 West Franklin Street. The questionnaire included questions about current space, future space needs, specialized needs of future space, and storage needs. The projects are in three different levels: Level 1 - 2001-2003; Level 2 - 2003-2007; and Level 3 - 2007-2010. The Level 1 projects include the Government Services Center expansion, Planning and Agricultural Building renovationslFarmers Market, and Justice Facilities -Phase 1. The Government Services Center expansion would include deconstruction of the GSC Annex. The cost estimate for the Government Services Center is $7.4 million. The cost estimate far the Planning and Agricultural Building renovationslFarmers Market is $400,000-475,000. There may be some grant funds available for the farmers market. The estimated cast for the Justice Facilities expansion is $5-$6 million. Level 2 projects include Animal Shelter/Animal Control (cost estimate - $1.4 million}, Emergency Management (cost estimate - $840,000}, Public Works/Transportation {cost estimate - $574,000}, and minor renovations for 112 N. Churtan St. (cast estimate - $60-$70,000} and Court Street Annex (cost estimate - $20,000}. Level 3 projects include Whitted Human Services Center (cost estimate for option 2 - $6.7 million} and Southern Human Services Center (cost estimate $3 million}. The two projects that are not categorized are the Senior Centers {cost estimates not developed} and Solid Waste and Recycling (cost estimate - $679,000 paid through Landfill Enterprise Fund). The expenditure levels for the projects, excluding Senior Centers and Solid Waste and Recycling are $14 million far level 1, $3 million for level 2 and $10 million for level 3. The recommended Board of County Commissioners' action is to approve the Executive Summary and forward it to the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force and to receive the rest of the report in the fall of 2001. Commissioner Jacobs made same editorial comments, which were noted by Pam Janes. Commissioner Jacobs stated that the Library Task Force would have its report completed by the end of April. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page nine and the Chapel Hill courtroom and said that it sounded like this came up too late in the process and when the report comes out in the fall there will be more detail. On pages 13-14 regarding the Whiffed Building, he said that there was a sign that directs people, which looks terrible and should be removed. He said that at the corner of Margaret Lane and Cameron Street, a street light would be useful. Regarding page 15 and parking, he said that we had some meetings with Hillsborough and absolutely nothing has happened. He would like to see some follow up on what was decided about parking in Hillsborough. He assumes that there will be public art incorporated into the buildings. Pam Jones indicated that she would like to see the County Commissioners adopt a policy for public art. Commissioner Jacobs does not agree that ERCD should be moved from the building that it is in. He said that ERCD works very cooperatively with Soil and Water and Cooperative Extension. He does not agree with relocating Recreation and Parks to this facility. He is concerned that we are talking about building athree-story building for the Government Services Center. Regarding the Farmers Market, he is not sure the Planning and Agricultural Center site is the right location because it would require people to drive to it. Regarding Emergency Management, Commissioner Jacobs asked if there was any interest by the Sheriff for a substation. Regarding public works, in talking about the Fairview Property, Commissioner Jacobs said that Hillsborough has had some conversations about moving their public works facility. Pam Jones said that Hillsborough has opted not to ca-locate with the County. Commissioner Jacobs encouraged Pam Jones to talk with Hillsborough again about co-locating. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the cost was involved in moving the buses from the Whitted Center to the Public Works Facility. Regarding the renovation of the house at the Southern Human Services Center property, he feels it should be moved forward instead of included in Level 3. Considering the minimum cost, he feels this should be moved up in priority. Commissioner Carey asked if it is an assumption that land will be available at the solid waste facility for an animal shelter and Animal Control and Pam Jones said yes. Commissioner Brown mentioned that OPC might end up as a County department. Regarding the small house on the Southern Human Services Center acreage, Chair Halkiotis suggested that this might be an opportunity far County employees and County Commissioners to take this on as a project. He does not think it will take $100,000 to make this a functional facility for a conference center. Chair Halkiotis said that he did not hear anything about storage facilities at Public Works. The County needs storage. Chair Halkiotis said that it seems to him that the cast of buildings is $150.00 per square foot. The schools are using $90.00 to $100.00 a square foot. He said that $150.00 per square foot is a little high. He suggested that the County Commissioners that worked an this plan make the presentation to the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force and show some of the conditions in some of these buildings. He asked that parking be taken into consideration because the County needs parking and the parking issue needs to be taken under advisement. He suggested that when the presentation is made to the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force that we show how much is being spent on leased space. It was decided that the Executive Summary will be forwarded to the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force with the request for a presentation. The renovation of the house on the Southern Human Services Center acreage will be moved up to Level 1. Chair Halkiotis made reference to a memo from Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil. Orange County and Durham County have been named the Conservation Trust for North Carolina's "Conservationists of the Year." The nominations came from the Triangle Land Conservancy, the Eno River Association, and other partners in the Little River Park project. Environment and Resource Conservation Director has asked a Commissioner to be present at the ceremony on April 2"d at The Summit Conference Center of Greensboro to accept the award. Chair Halkiotis suggested that Commissioner Jacobs attend this ceremony. 5. LANDS LEGACY ANNUAL ACTION PLAN 2001-2002 This item was delayed. 6. COMMUNITY COLLEGE TASK FORCE REPORT AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION This item was delayed. 7. POSSIBLE WAIVER OF COUNTYlMUNICIPAL/UTILITY DEVELOPMENT FEES FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION This item was delayed. 8. STAFF FOLLOW UP REPORTS A. Carolina Spring Apartments Senior Affordable Housin This item was delayed. B. Eastwood Lake Dredging Project This item was delayed. 9. ADJOURNMENT With no further items for the County Commissioners to consider, Chair Halkiotis adjourned the meeting. The next regular meeting will be held on April 3, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. at the F.Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Stephen H. Halkiotis, Chair Beverly A. Blythe, CMC