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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20021111 APPROVED 2/4/2003 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION NOVEMBER 11, 2002 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session on Monday, November 11, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret W. Brown, Stephen H. Halkiotis, and Moses Carey, Jr. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Alice M. Gordon COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Rod Visser, Assistant Manager Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (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 Jacobs called the meeting to order. Commissioner Gordon was not present because of her broken foot. There was an addition to the agenda (orange sheet) to officially add the meeting with the Town of Hillsborough on November 21'`. The agenda items include water conservation issues, coordination of ordinances, Upper Eno Watershed and double rates for out of town customers, major projects (Waterstone, The Preserve, and the two senior developments) proposed in Hillsborough's jurisdiction, Orange Grove Road Work Group report, Hillsborough/Orange County Courtesy Review Agreement, and ongoing projects like Fairview and other recreational activities. He pointed out that Hillsborough requested this meeting. Chair Jacobs reminded everyone of the RPAC barbecue dinner this Friday night at 6:00 at the Cedar Grove Ruritan Club. Chair Jacobs acknowledged that today is Veteran's Day. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Brown to change the County Commissioners' regular meeting schedule to add a joint meeting with the Town of Hillsborough on November 21, 2002. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1. APPOINTMENTS a. Orange County Board of Adjustment—One Appointment The Board considered making an appointment to the alternate position on the Orange County Board of Adjustment. A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Brown to appoint Jeff Schmidt for a partial term ending June 30, 2004. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Chair Jacobs to close the nominations. VOTE: UNANIMOUS VOTE ON APPOINTMENT: UNANIMOUS b. Economic Development Commission —One Appointment The Board considered making one appointment to the Economic Development Commission (EDC). Chair Jacobs said that the last time this was considered, the Board had questions about why this board was nominating this person, and asked for an explanation. The explanation is on page six. The Clerk has informed all of the advisory boards that if they are going to make a recommendation, that they spell out the reasons and not just give a name. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to appoint James F. Walker for a term ending June 30, 2006. VOTE: UNANIMOUS c. Morgan Creek Trail Conceptual Plan Committee —One Appointment The Board considered making one appointment to the Morgan Creek Trail Conceptual Plan Committee. A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Carey to appoint Livy Ludington. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Chair Jacobs to close the nominations. VOTE: UNANIMOUS VOTE ON APPOINTMENT: UNANIMOUS 2. LANDS LEGACY ANNUAL ACTION PLAN — FY 2002-2003 The Board considered the draft Lands Legacy Annual Action Plan for fiscal year 2002- 2003. Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil gave this presentation. The Lands Legacy policy was adopted by the Board in April 2000. In April 2001, the Board adopted a long term priorities document with ten years worth of potential resource acquisition activity. Land Conservation Manager Rich Shaw gave a PowerPoint presentation. He referred to pages three and four, which reemphasize the five Lands Legacy categories under which projects are classified. These categories are natural areas and wildlife habitat, farmland preservation, parklands and open space, cultural and archaeological sites, and riparian buffers. Based on the comments from the advisory boards and potential funding sources including grants and cooperative ventures, they have developed a list of priority projects for fiscal year 2002-2003. These are on pages five and six of the draft plan. He pointed out the projects on a map. Chair Jacobs asked about partnering with OWASA on some of the costs to preserve the conservation easement along Morgan Creek. Rich Shaw said that OWASA is interested in participating in the potential phase II of this project. Rich Shaw continued by speaking about the natural areas category of the Lands Legacy Action Plan. There are three potential priority projects. These are the Shagbark Southern Hickory Forest, the Seven Mile Creek Preserve, and the Adams Tract. Commissioner Brown asked if the university has put their ownership into any kinds of conservation. Rich Shaw said not to his knowledge. He said that the Mason Farm area is under some kind of protection, but he does not know if it is specifically dedicated for protection. He will find out what the university is doing. Rich Shaw continued with the next category of parklands. There are three parkland sites identified that the staff would like to pursue this year. They are North Central Orange Community Park (an area where they would like to buy land), White Cross area, and the proposed rustic woodland trail in the New Hope Creek area. The only historical area that is recommended in this year's action plan is the Faucette Mill area, which is along Eno River. Chatwood is a landmark there. This is an area for potential protection. Rich Shaw said that he met with some of the landowners in this area about potential conservation easements. This corridor has a lot of potential for protection. The next category is riparian buffers. Orange County jointly applied for funds from the State, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, to try and put some permanent protection on the riparian buffer along the Eno River and down into Seven Mile Creek. The request was for $1 million with a $300,000 match from the County. He made reference to the Adams Tract and turned it over to David Stancil. David Stancil said that this property is about 29 acres in the heart of Carrboro. The Town of Carrboro made a request that the County participate and help to provide matching funds for a grant application that they had submitted to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. This has been supplemented with another request asking that the County consider using the monies that were identified for Carrboro greenways in the 2001 bond referendum towards the purpose of acquiring this site for open space and greenways. A memo from David Stancil is included that outlines the site. There are two possible ways of addressing this acquisition. One would be to agree to provide for monies in the bond sales in this current fiscal year. Currently, $400,000 has been identified for greenways bonds. One option would be to utilize this and future years' funding toward the $750,000 maximum to be appropriated with the understanding that the Town would match any remaining amounts of the purchase of the property. The second approach would be to provide some of the acquisition costs, but ask the Town to repay 50% of the County's match over a period of time. The property was appraised at $1.35 million. Also, part of the Bolin Creek Natural Area occurs on the northern third of the property. Chair Jacobs asked about a connector road. David Stancil said that there has been talk in the past about a connector road through the property. In looking at the Town's most recent request, they are proposing to use the property for open space protection and greenways. Commissioner Brown made reference to the Adams Tract and said that it was her understanding that the greenway has always been slated to go along the OWASA easement. She is confused as to why Carrboro would say it could be on the other side. David Stancil said that he asked Carrboro how firm the line was and they indicated that it was just a line on a map at this point and could be moved. Commissioner Brown said that it was not a line on a map because this OWASA easement is being used heavily as a greenway right now. Also, she thought that the bond money was specifically to be used for the construction of greenways. She does not remember what was told to the public exactly. She thinks that this should go out to public hearing before using the greenway bond for this. She does not want to mislead the public. Commissioner Carey suggested not having a public hearing until an opinion from the County Attorney is received about the language in the bond referendum. He thinks Carrboro also admits that their request is for open space and not completely for greenways. Commissioner Brown asked about the ownership of the property. David Stancil said that the party that is not the owner would hold the conservation easement. One stipulation of the County's participation could be a conservation easement on the site that prohibits other activities other than what has been mentioned in the most recent request from Carrboro. John Link said that one question is whether the Adams Tract is worth preserving. If so, under what conditions is the County willing to participate in the acquisition? He would be surprised if the language in the bond referendum prevents the County from doing this. The language for the bonds is very general. Commissioner Carey said that this property is definitely worth preserving. He would like to hear other options of financing this piece besides bond money. He thinks Carrboro should put something into it too. Commissioner Halkiotis thinks the Adams Tract is worth preserving. He also thinks that there should be a number of conditions that should be attached. He made reference to the statement, "this is merely a line on a map" and said that this should be avoided in the future. This sends the wrong kind of message. He is also worried about connector roads. Chair Jacobs asked about the timing of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund decision. It was answered that a decision should be made in mid-December. Chair Jacobs said that this could be put on the meeting of November 19`h to get some public comment. He said that we could look at this property as part greenway and part natural area. There is Lands Legacy money for this. He said that he does not think that the Board ever said that there would be matches for the greenway money. He could see matches for natural areas. Commissioner Brown said that it would be good to see a description of the property and what it is used for now. She said that it is published around the United States as one of the best mountain bike tracks in the country. It would be good to clarify the route of the greenway. It needs to be bought for the purpose that the County believes in. She said that the property should never be used for any kind of road extension or cutting off pieces of it for other purposes. She said that she has heard that the university made some reference to running a connector road through this property. Chair Jacobs said that we need some staff from Carrboro to make a presentation and answer the questions. Commissioner Brown asked about other sources of funding besides the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. David Stancil said that the Land and Water Conservation Fund would be a potential source. There is also the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund. Commissioner Brown made reference to the OWASA easement and said that we could urge Carrboro to negotiate with OWASA to make this an official greenway. Commissioner Brown asked if the mountain biking would be closed down if the Clean Water Management Trust Fund money were received. David Stancil said that it would not close down all of it, but only some of it. John Link said that his understanding is that this item is on Carrboro's agenda tomorrow night. He said that it might be a good idea to share with Carrboro tomorrow the questions and ideas expressed by the Board. Commissioner Brown wants to know if the mountain biking would be shut down if this property were purchased. Commissioner Halkiotis said that technically those people are trespassing. Geoff Gledhill said that they are not trespassing if there are not any "no trespassing" signs. The Board agreed to invite Carrboro to the meeting of November 19`h to clarify the issues of the request for funding to acquire the Adams Tract. David Stancil said that we would not be able to do all of the projects, but the staff proposes to pursue them in a priority fashion and do as much as possible. He mentioned that Commissioner Gordon had asked that the Board not pursue action on the action plan until she was present. Commissioner Brown asked about Faucette Mill and what we were trying to do there. David Stancil said that he hopes to accept donations of conservation easements. There are several property owners in the area that have significant natural and cultural resources and have expressed an interest. Commissioner Brown asked for more information on White Cross and working with OWASA on the mitigation tract. She said that we did get a report from OWASA on the mitigation tract and it is not available for anything except what it is being used for now. She thinks we should eliminate this tract. OWASA did bring forward a proposal to actively market and encourage people to use Cane Creek Reservoir facilities. The County could possibly come up with some active recreation programs using Cane Creek. Commissioner Carey asked if Cane Creek was getting more Alamance County usage and Commissioner Brown said yes. Commissioner Brown said that it is lack of knowledge about it in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Part of the initiative is going to be to make it more appealing and available. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the North Central Orange Park and said that no one has mentioned this in a long time. He asked what we were looking at for this park. David Stancil said that the 1988 plan had called for smaller parks in Cedar Grove and Little River and a larger one in the middle. Now what has happened is that there are larger parks in Cedar Grove and Little River. The question is whether there is an imminent need for a smaller park in between the two. John Link said that part of the answer might be where our plans are for active versus low impact recreation. The question is what should be the reasonable distance for active recreation versus low impact recreation. David Stancil said that one of the work plan items is to revisit the 1988 plan and update it. Chair Jacobs made reference to archaeological and cultural sites and asked about Greyfields. David Stancil said that it is included in the Seven Mile Creek Preserve. This is one of several possible properties for acquisition. Commissioner Brown asked how citizens could have low impact recreation on any of the properties that the County has purchased. The citizens should know this and it should be published. David Stancil said that the last item on the agenda deals with park facility planning. Chair Jacobs made reference to page five and natural areas and wildlife habitat. He said that there were several times that the Chair and Vice-Chair and David Stancil have met with people from Duke Forest and have talked about some kind of reciprocal agreement— right of first refusal or a commitment on Duke's part to dedicate some of the most significant natural areas to the State Natural Heritage Program so that they are permanently protected. Duke Forest also asked for the Sheriff's help with some of the parking areas. Also, he said that the County could consider that there might be buffer areas or out parcels to further buffer Duke Forest. He does not see any mention of this in the Lands Legacy Program. David Stancil that it is in the next to the last bullet. Chair Jacobs said that this should be a specific priority. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the meetings with Duke Forest have been very fruitful and we need to foster this. Commissioner Brown suggested making an item F that would specifically address both universities, the Eno River, and OWASA. Commissioner Brown asked about the Northern Chapel Hill Township Rustic Trail on page nine. She would like for the staff to come back with a better-developed idea on how to accomplish this (the actual properties and a drawing). Commissioner Halkiotis said that he spoke with Commissioner Gordon and she said that the Board could go ahead and vote on the action plan if there were no major revisions. The Board agreed to put this item on a consent agenda. 3. Park Development Issues a. Maple View Soccer Field Design The Board considered approval of the design of the soccer field at Maple View Farms, and received information from staff on questions and issues raised at the October 15`h special presentation of the field design. David Stancil made reference to page four, which is a memorandum that addresses some of the issues from the last meeting. The first item addresses entry signs and interior field signage. There will be an entrance sign as well as signage for park rules, facility use policies, and private property/no trespassing along the adjoining property line. The second item addresses recycling and trash receptacles. The staff is proposing a "carry in/carry out" provision. Users will be asked to take their own trash out of the field. Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft said that the "carry in/carry out" idea has been very successful in other areas. She said that if it does not work, then trash cans could be put in. There will be signs on the property letting people know what to do with their trash. Commissioner Halkiotis said that we have not done a very good job of educating people on how to take ownership of facilities that are being built in communities. He thinks this is a great idea, but he worries that there are not enough people to facilitate this kind of work. Lori Taft said that this was done at the state park in Delaware and small bags were provided on a post and they could be pulled off. The labels on the bags promoted recycling. The bags were then carried to the car. She said that it saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chair Jacobs verified that the signage would also be in Spanish. David Stancil continued going over the memorandum. Item three deals with toilet alternatives. He has not talked with the Nutter's about what they would prefer on the site. Two Port-a-Pot units would cost $1,800 per year and the maintenance is included. A composting toilet would cost $20-25,000 to install and would cost $600-800 per year for maintenance. The staff is recommending the Port-a-Pot units. Commissioner Brown said that the rustic toilets were very nice and that you get what you pay for. Craig Benedict said that the other alternative is an incineration toilet. Some state parks and construction projects are using these. Commissioner Brown said that the signage does not reflect anything about the County paying for this. She thinks that it would be good to have something in the sign to say that this is a public field to be used by the citizens of Orange County and is paid for with taxpayers' money. Commissioner Brown made reference to when the Board first signed a contract. She remembers that this was going to cost $30,000. The cost has tripled since then. She said that she agreed to it based on $30,000. She also did not know that we were going to drill a well, which adds to the cost considerably. She does not understand why there is going to be a well. David Stancil said that the well is for irrigation and for potential drinking water. Commissioner Halkiotis said that in the beginning, we were not talking about an irrigation system or a well or a water storage tank. He thinks that these are the issues that bumped up the price. He said that we are adding permanent fixtures to a non-permanent concept. Commissioner Brown said that as the field is used, people will keep asking for more and better things and the County will continue to improve this field. She hopes that in the future that when something like this comes up that appears to be a bargain, that there is enough expertise in our staff to know all of the issues before the County invests in it. She would prefer spending the money to buy a piece of property to have something permanent. David Stancil said that we are in a position to develop prototype soccer fields and this may help in this process. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about adding trees between the grazing bulls and the field. Open Space Design Specialist Kimberly Siran explained what she had planned as a screen for the bulls. There is a substantial amount of screening. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the sign should have the County seal on it and it should say something like "in conjunction with Orange County Parks and Recreation." A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the site design, authorizing staff to submit the site plan for approval and begin the process of soliciting bids for construction with a goal of beginning field construction in January and opening the field in late-fall 2003. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Southern Park— Conceptual Plan and Proposed Process The Board reviewed and considered the "Report of the Southern Park Conceptual Plan Committee", and discussed a staff-generated draft response to the Town of Chapel Hill regarding a process for approval and construction of the park. David Stancil said that there are two pieces of this. One is the review of the concept plan and the circulation plan (pedestrian, traffic). The second piece deals with the process for approval of construction and financial issues. He made reference to page four, which is a letter from Mayor Foy that attempts to address several of the issues that have been raised at previous meetings. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the map and asked why the soccer field behind Scroggs says Orange County Schools and not Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. It was answered that this was a mistake. Chair Jacobs said that in the most recent discussion at the Assembly of Governments, the notion was to move the footprint for the third soccer field near the picnic tables that are currently shown. Bill Webster, from the Town of Chapel Hill, said that there has been discussion about locating a third soccer field along 15-501. In order to do that, they would have to make some modifications to the children's play area and they will also lose some of the buffer along Dogwood Acres Drive. Commissioner Brown said that her concern is that this field be done away with or something because this area needs to be maintained as a natural buffer area. If the field is going to be moved back as Mayor Foy suggested, then she does not have a problem with it. She also said that she would rather have a multi-purpose field and not just a soccer field because there is no flexibility. Chair Jacobs said that the footprint could be modified to include a multi-purpose field. Commissioner Carey said that he remembers the Chapel Hill representatives saying that they would agree to constructing the two full sized soccer fields along the 15-501 corridor and reserving the footprint but not constructing the third full sized soccer field based on whether other soccer fields would be provided in the area. Commissioner Brown said that it was important that the $2.75 million is only going for the first phase and is County money. The total estimate is $3.75 million. Chair Jacobs asked where the town envisioned the additional $1 million coming from. Discussion ensued about postponing the construction of the third soccer field. Commissioner Halkiotis said that, based on a report in a local newspaper today about a possible school site in close proximity to this suggested opportunity, having the viability of a soccer field would be helpful for Southern Park because the proposed school site is very limited in providing soccer fields. Chair Jacobs asked about the bio-retention ponds and if they are going to be built or if they were already there. Bill Webster said that they would be built and the thought behind them is to control storm water and to provide educational opportunities for the nearby elementary school. Commissioner Brown asked how the Board officially endorses what it wants for this park. David Stancil said that when action is taken, the conceptual plan could be approved with conditions. Chair Jacobs asked David Stancil to explain the history behind the plan for Southern Park, which he did. He made reference to item 2-d, which clarifies that the County Commissioners are the governing body responsible for the approval of capital funding, as opposed to provision of funds. The staff is asking that the Board provide feedback to Chair Jacobs and Commissioner Brown in terms of what sort of response we should make back to the Town regarding this process. Chair Jacobs said that he spoke with Mayor Foy and he had no problem with having equal representation, or having the Board feel comfortable with the way funding was allocated. He thinks that we are close to having an agreement, based on these changes. Commissioner Brown asked John Link about the timing for funding. John Link said that it is very similar to the process for schools. The funding hinges on the committee coming to a final agreement on the plan. There are two major payment occasions by the County. One is, after the committee has agreed on the final plan, money is needed to pay the architects. The second is when the project goes to bid. He recommends the County giving the remaining amount at this time. The County is only giving $2.8 million and that is it. Chair Jacobs said that the Board might want to consider reserving some money for the third soccer field, if there is going to be one. The Project Planning Committee will have to make a decision about the third soccer field before the project goes out to bid. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for information on how the concept of a contract firm has been successful. He would like to know the potential savings. Commissioner Carey asked for clarification on what we are going to do about the third soccer field — reserve the money and/or plan for two and footprint the third one. John Link asked Budget Director Donna Dean about the timeframe for funding. Donna Dean said that the bond funding matches up with Chapel Hill's timeframe. John Link said that we need to make sure that the County's date matches the Town's date before it goes out to bid. Commissioner Brown asked to see this in writing as soon as possible. Chair Jacobs said that we could forward this to Chapel Hill and put it on the agenda for December 2"' or December 10`h. The Board agreed to this. c. Park Facility Planning —Timetables and Summary Sheets The Board reviewed and considered a set of timetables and action plans for the planning and construction of new park facilities in the Capital Investment Plan. David Stancil pointed out a map for the Board's information only. This was a map of all the different park projects that are in the bond, are underway, or that have been identified in the previous discussion. Chair Jacobs asked when did the Smith Middle School field become Jolly Branch? David Stancil said that it has not. He said that you cannot even see Smith Middle School from this field. They have been trying to come up with a title for the field. David Stancil said that they would be bringing this item back for a decision at a later time. Chair Jacobs asked about the Homestead Park Aquatic Center and if there was a timetable for Chapel Hill. David Stancil said that there has been a plan for this facility, but he does not have all of the details. Chair Jacobs asked about the money for this. Donna Dean said that there was $3.5 million for 2003-2004. David Stancil said that to his knowledge there is no timetable from the Town on this project at this time. Chair Jacobs said that it would be nice to get the timetable from Chapel Hill in writing. Commissioner Brown asked about the pocket park at the Skills Development Center. She thinks that a ceremonial opening is very important and that the public should be invited to attend. Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Jones gave an update on the pocket park. She said that it was completed with the exception of planting the trees and pressure washing some areas. This has not been done because OWASA is in water conservation. 4. Justice Facilities Expansion and Other County Space Needs The Board was to continue discussion regarding County space needs as cited in the Space Needs Task Force Report with a primary focus on the Justice Faciliites Expansion and issues associated with the Government Services Center expansion. POSTPONED 5. Construction Management The Board was to consider construction management and how it may fit into projects constructed by Orange County. POSTPONED A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to adjourn the meeting at 10:05 p.m. Barry Jacobs Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board