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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20040131APPROVED 03/04/2004 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ANNUAL PLANNING RETREAT SOUTHERN HUMAN SERVICES CENTER January 31, 2004 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met far its annual Board retreat an Saturday, January 31, 2004 at 9:00 a.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Margaret Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen H. Halkiotis COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Managers Rod Visser and Gwen Harvey and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (all other staff members will be identified appropriately below) FACILITATOR: Gerial Thornburg-May STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: Pam Janes, Ken Chavious, Elaine Holmes, Greg Wilder, Paul Thames, Gayle Wilson, Donna Dean, Nick Waters, Craig Benedict, Lari Taft, Nancy Coston, Rosemary Summers, Jerry Passmare, Todd Jones, Dianne Reid, David Stancil, Tara Fikes, Brenda Stephens NOTE: KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. BREAKFAST GATHERING AT 8:30 A. M. OPENING COMMENTS: Chair Jacobs introduced Geriel Thornburg-May from the Dispute Settlement Center as the facilitator. INTRODUCTIONSIROLE OF FACILITATOR: Gerial Thornburg-May gave same background on herself. She asked if anything needed to be added to the agenda. Chair Jacobs said that he and Commissioner Brown worked on the agenda and circulated it to all of the Commissioners and gat responses from everybody. Commissioner Gordan asked if there would be targeted times to stop. Geriel Thornburg-May said no but that they could set that time now. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he would like to adjourn the retreat at 3:00 p.m. The Board agreed. Geriel Thornburg-May said that this meeting could be informal. She gave each of the Commissioners a "one-minute" green card. If someone has been speaking for a while, then a County Commissioner can hold up a green card, which means that the person should wrap up his or her comments within one minute. She asked the County Commissioners about which items they wanted to spend the most time on in the agenda. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for an update from Commissioner Brown on pending mental health reform issues. Commissioner Brown said that OPC Mental Health Director Tom Maynard would be coming to the retreat to address that issue. Commissioner Gordon asked to hear the advisory board reports. Geriel Thornburg-May asked for any opening thoughts before starting the formal agenda. Chair Jacobs said that having spent time in an adjoining county, he thinks that we as a county are very lucky and unusual. He said that this Board of County Commissioners is an activist board and very involved. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he and Chair Jacobs met with DOT recently, and DOT shared with them how a lunch meeting three years ago with the Commissioners had an impact. He said that they are too far ahead of their time when it comes to caring about people and the environment. He said that Chair Jacobs was on TV recently and was talking about smart growth, and he was way ahead of the other people that were speaking. This program was the John Locke Foundation public forum. John Link called the Commissioners' attention to the environmental scan section in their notebook. Another big item to discuss is the upcoming revaluation. Commissioner Gordon said that the commissioners received the Retreat information on Thursday afternoon and did not have time to look it over thoroughly. John Link introduced Budget Director Donna Dean 1. FISCAL MATTERS FISCAL OUTLOOK: Donna Dean distributed a handout of the PowerPoint presentation. She said that she tried to be realistically optimistic about this fiscal year. 2003-04 Approved Budget Totaled $129 Million - approved tax rate of 84.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation - property tax collections are currently ahead of where they were last year at this time - sales tax collections and other County revenues and expenditures appear to be on target with the current year budget Property Taxes Remain Largest Single Source of Revenue County's Financial Picture Remains Sotid Preview of 2004-05 Budget County Revenues: - Property Tax Valuations Remain Strang o® historical growth averages 3.5-4.5 percent in non-revaluation years o® preliminary estimates far upcoming budget project one cent to produce just aver $1 million compared to $970,000 in the current year - Fee Updates to be Presented to BOCC in March o® staff currently reviewing fees for Building Inspections, Recreation and Parks and Dental Health o® exploring options for accepting credit cards for payment - State fiscal analysts are optimistic about sales tax collections School Budget Initiatives Influencing County's 2004-05 Budget Equal funding opportunities o® implications on Countywide and CHCCS district tax rates Both systems experiencing increases in student membership o® Average increase in student membership for the two systems (combined} over the last three years has been 460 students Other Initiatives Influencing County's 2004-05 Budget - Final phase of BOCC approved plan to transition EMS transportation services to County - State-mandated restructuring initiatives in Mental Health - Decisions regarding delivery of animal protection services - Increased debt service related to 2001 bands and alternative financing - Implementation of alternative financing sources for County's Solid Waste Enterprise Fund - Continued reworking of the County's comprehensive land use plan - Emphasis on County facilities and public safety infrastructure Upcoming Budget {Mork Sessions: - February 12t" - BOCC discussion of equal education funding opportunities - March 18t" -debt issuance schedule and presentation of proposed fee changes for fiscal year 2004-05 - April 1~`-presentation/discussion of new staff resources recommendation - April 20t" -presentation of 2004-14 County Capital Investment Plan - May 6t" -work session to discuss recommended fee updates, new staff resources, and county capital - May 20t" -presentation of 2004-05 Annual Operating Budget and 2004-14 School Capital Investment Plan - June -budget work sessions Commissioner Carey said that he can see that Donna Dean was being optimistic. Donna Dean said that two years ago they were optimistic and then in February there was chaos in the State. Hopefully this will not happen again. CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN: --Percent of capital dedicated to funding County facilities, school facilities Chair Jacobs said that now that we have the SAPFO in place and we can project what school facilities would be needed over the next 10 years, and staff worked out how much money would be available for capital projects, we can calculate out more definitively an approach to giving County projects a higher priority. In the past, County projects have only comprised about 27°~ of the capital expenditures. He had proposed 40°lo and that the County adopt this as a policy. He would like to make a definitive policy statement about how to proceed in the CIP. Donna Dean said that she has some of the numbers. She said that last spring they were talking about the new high school and how they may be inching up toward the debt capacity. She said that it may be time to have a discussion about the capital funding policy. She said that Chair Jacobs raised the issue in October of doing more for County facilities. Commissioner Carey said that when he left home this morning, his wife asked him not to talk about the "m" ward (merger). He said that he was going to have to tell her he is sorry. He said that when we talk about the capital picture and using resources efficiently, they need to take the "m" word into consideration. He agrees that they need to give more money to County facilities. He said that if the two school systems were combined, it would increase money for the County facilities. If you spend more on the County, then you need to assure the public that the students' needs are still going to be met. Chair Jacobs said that he considers the community college a part of the County capital costs. This is also education. Commissioner Halkiotis said that they have not done an in-depth analysis as to the actual numbers of students in each school in both systems. For example, Cedar Ridge High School is already at capacity. There is still a perception that children will be bussed to Cedar Ridge. It may be that the OCS Board may need to look at redistricting the high school students to make it more equitable. John Link said that from a capital perspective, related to the equity of funding for the schools, the merger option is one option on the table. If the Board pursues a countywide district tax in Orange County only, then it could be put in the ballot that the district tax could be used far capital and current expense. Commissioner Gordan said that she would echo what Commissioner Halkiotis said and that we need to look at the different options. There are a lot of conflicting obligations and we need to try and fulfill our statutory obligations first. She urged the Board to study the options. John Link said that as the Board is having a work session later this month that includes discussion of equity options of school funding, he thinks the continuation of haw the capital funding would fit into that would be appropriate. Chair Jacobs said that any information provided by the staff would have to be obtained within the next week. He is not sure that the information could be gathered by February 12`" Donna Dean said that on March 18t" they would be talking about the debt issuance schedule, which would fit in nicely. Commissioner Halkiotis said that sometimes the Board asks for information from staff and the staff does not have enough time to put it together. This is very serious and the staff needs enough time to do it. Geriel Thornburg-May asked about the specific information requested by the Board. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is not a clear picture of the numbers for the schools. Also, he would like to know all the classrooms that are being used for pre-K as well as other programs that are taking up space in the schools. Commissioner Gordan said that some of the information will came from the SAPFO but there is some question about capacities. Donna Dean said that she has some preliminary numbers from SAPFO and she could have a report back to the Board of County Commissioners by the first meeting in March. Commissioner Gordan said that it would be helpful to list the information that they are planning to give the Board and then let the Board review the list first. Donna Dean said that a list would have to follow the February 12t" work session. Jahn Link said that they could get it by February 2Qt" --Construction Management John Link asked Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Jones to address this. He said that there has been a lot of need for a construction project manager to supplement what other staff people have been doing. He made reference to the memo from Pam Janes, indicating what a construction management person or firm would do. Pam Jones explained her memo, which is in the notebook (page 1, Fiscal Matters}. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the last time they tried to look at this they went down too many roads. His proposal would be to stay away from firms. He would like to use one person, and the person should be a resident in Orange County. The person should also have a contractor's license. The person should work directly with Pam Jones and the Board should get periodic updates on the projects. He said that the person should be a stakeholder and really care about Orange County. Commissioner Brown asked how this person would relate to John Link and Pam Jones. John Link said that Pam Jones works directly for him and this person would work directly with Pam Jones. Commissioner Carey asked about the experience for the number of projects one person could handle atone time. Pam Jones said that the timing of the County's projects would go well with a single position. Commissioner Halkiotis said that a good Construction Manager could handle three to four projects at one time. Chair Jacobs said that he hopes that Commissioner Halkiotis would be involved. He said that if Commissioner Halkiotis were not a County Commissioner, he would like to hire him for this position because he has experience with this kind of effort. He would like Commissioner Halkiotis to be involved in the selection of this person. He asked if there would be sufficient candidates within Orange County. Pam Jones would like same latitude on this in advertising and she will research how to do this for preference. Commissioner Brawn asked if this would be an independent contractor and if they would take care of their own health insurance. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there are companies in North Carolina that have these people on board and we could solicit information from the NCACC to see how other counties choose a construction manager. Commissioner Brown said that she would be glad to help Commissioner Halkiotis on the selection process. Jahn Link asked if the Board was happy with the outline. The Board agreed. Commissioner Carey verified that this is just far County projects. STANDARDS FOR FUNDING NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES Chair Jacobs said that this came up after some discussion on October 27, 2443 of APS and what strings should be attached as far as public accessibility to records, hiring practices, living wage, affirmative hiring, etc. He said that the Red Cross is selling its building for which the County contributed capital funds. The Board should discuss the possibility of whether the County should differentiate capital funds from other funds. Staff can come back with some proposals. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed with Chair Jacobs. He said that when he read about the Red Cross he gat really angry. He remembers voting on this and that Commissioner Brown had some concerns. He is tempted to write a letter asking for the County's money back because he feels the trust has been violated. He would like to clarify very clearly the County's expectations when the Board votes to use public monies to help support a building program. Commissioner Gordan said that there should be same standards for capital and operating funds. One of the things for accountability should be an audit. An entity should not claim to be private and not allow anyone to look at their books. She said that there should be accountability and openness because it is taxpayer dollars. She asked the staff to come up with standards for the Board's review. Commissioner Brown said that if citizens assume that the Board has the responsibility for something then the Board starts to assume the same. The line of accountability is not tied directly to the Board. She said that they need to make sure of the whole accountability piece and the Board's ability to influence should be very direct. She said that there are many organizations that the County has helped, but she can never find the documentation ar the agreements. John Link said that they would be glad to come back with standards. On the capital side, it can be straightforward, that the County may appropriate money to anon-profit for a specific capital purpose and expect that the non-profit respond back if there is any change in the capital project. He thinks an appropriate question for the Red Cross is the rationale for the selling of the building. On the operating side, he would propose looking at thresholds based on whether or not the County would be funding a public function by anon-profit or other entity far a discrete service that no one else is providing (i.e., Sportsplex and APS). Chair Jacobs made reference to considering a threshold for non-profits and other agencies. Commissioner Carey said that there is a continuum on operating and capital that the Board should take into consideration. The federal government uses the concept of Notice of Federal Interest that has to be filed with the Register of Deeds. This is one option on the capital side. The information can be looked up as a public record of what you give to an agency. County Attorney Geof Gledhill said that another model is the way you fund affordable housing. You lend money for long term and you take a security interest in the property. You can make achoice -you may give money with no expectations of getting anything back unless you sell this property. Commissioner Gordon suggested creating a database of all of this information and records. Jahn Link encouraged the Board to look at the report on outside agencies. The report is fairly comprehensive. The staff will came back with a focus on capital projects and what the appropriations have been for non-profits. Commissioner Brown asked that the reports include the date that the Board voted on it. Jahn Link said that this would be brought back atone of the appropriate budget work sessions in April or May. Discussion ensued about the disconnection between the Board and the non-profits. John Link asked for feedback from the Board on the Budget staff report on the non- profits. Chair Jacobs said that a lot of this was farmed out to the Human Services Advisory Commission and the Board may need to revisit their charge and to see if there is any overlapping. Geriel Thornburg-May said that there might need to be same follow-up with the Red Cross. John Link said that staff would prepare a letter to make an inquiry of their present status. Commissioner Carey asked how much was contributed to Red Cross' capital fund and Donna Dean said $25,000. CREATION OF IN-HOUSE ATTORNEY POSITION John Link said that it would be a great help to have an additional attorney, a staff attorney, to assume responsibilities that may not require Geof Gledhill's hands-on involvement. Geof Gledhill said that in 2001 this was first discussed and he wrote to the Board. He said that his firm has being working with Orange County since 1976 and there is no legal memory of Orange County except in his office. Chair Jacobs said this proposal was put together with Geof Gledhill's direct consultation and it got partially derailed by budget problems in 2001-02. Commissioner Carey said that for the purposes of succession, the County should go in this direction. Commissioner Halkiotis said that Geof Gledhill's concept of organizational memory is important. He would like to move ahead with the concept, but he wants to know what it is costing the County for legal services right now and what it will cost to hire a staff attorney (office, secretary, paralegal, etc.). He would like to know what other counties our size were doing with a position like this. John Link will include this as part of the budget. Commissioner Gordon would like to know Geof Gledhill's proposal on the allocation of his time and the new person's time. She asked if Geaf Gledhill would envision less work far him after this position is created. Geof Gledhill said that he does not expect that he will do less. His expectation is that things will be done in part differently in that there will be additional services available to the County. For example, the staff attorney would be available for projects related to citizen inquiries. Another example is the ability to set up an institutional contract system. Also, the staff attorney would better be able to attend advisory board meetings as needed. Commissioner Gordon asked how the institutional memory would be served since the person would not be in training to be the County Attorney. Geof Gledhill said that the answer to that has to do with the degree in which this position may result in Orange County's changing its view on how it provides legal services. At some point the County may decide not to employ a law firm, but to have an attorney on staff. Commissioner Gordon said that this has to do with how you perceive a County Attorney, such as there is a certain leadership, a higher level of law services, the ability to go to court that is associated with a County Attorney. A position like this staff attorney does not require a lot of leadership. She feels that this is an entry-level position. She asked Geof Gledhill to conceptualize this position a little bit more. John Link said that it is extremely rare that the same County Attorney has been with a county far 30 years. This is reflective of the stability of Orange County. He said that this could be done in Orange County where in many other counties it could not be done. Geof Gledihll said that the aspect of the position would grow as the person's longevity continues and he thinks this position would change over time. He said that 20 years ago, 40% of his work was Orange County; now it is 250°~. Commissioner Brown said that she is interested in understanding same of the processes that might be developed. For example, the contract issue. Also, someone in this position would need to be extremely sensitive to a county situation. This person would need to have subtlety in dealing with public issues. Commissioner Halkiotis added that one of Geof Gledhill's greatest strengths is how he relates to urbanites and rural citizens. He thinks it will be a sad day when Geof Gledhill is no longer representing Orange County. John Link will bring a proposal back in the Manager's Budget in the new position request process, which will be in April/May. At this time, the Board took a 5-minute break 2. UPDATES MENTAL HEALTH Commissioner Brown asked OPC Mental Health Director Tom Maynard to join the Board at the table. Tom Maynard made reference to the report and said that the steering committee has been working over the last year on the plans far implementation of mental health reform. The business plan went forward to the State and was approved. The State designated OPC as a local management entity LME}. This was effective July 1, 2003. Yesterday they spent all day with the State director and associates explaining some of the decisions. One is the funding formula for the LME. The LME administrative functions will be funded directly by the State with State and Medicaid money. There will be no County participation required far this. The Medicaid portion also does not require a County match. The funding formula is $2.03 per citizen per month. This is a generous allotment. There has been no contract signed yet. This would be a little over $5 million. This means that service funds would be handled entirely separately from administration. Currently, all State and Medicaid rates include an administrative portion. This will be clean and separate. It also means that the County contribution, it appears, will not be required for administrative support but for services support. The new governance structure is under development and there is an inter-local agreement in draft farm between the three counties. The organization will be governed by the new structure. Commissioner Brown said that the new structure will be the three County Managers, three County Commissioners, and the OPC Board will become an advisory board to the new entity. Tom Maynard said that the one big change is how the State pays them. They have to find about $3 million a month to make ends meet. The State has delayed payments 30-45 days. He said that they have had to hustle to pay their bills. The way they get paid from the State has changed, but also the service definition manual has changed and it will make a difference in what they get paid to do by the State. The good news is that the new definitions allow them to get paid for services that they have wanted to provide (children with severe mental health problems, in-home support, outreach support, better medication management, and improved crisis services). They cannot develop a budget for next year until they get the service rates. The downside is that some of the old things will go away. The threat was that they would have a cessation of funding for developmental day services, sheltered workshops, and outpatient services except by licensed people. Yesterday they learned that the State has decided to postpone the developmental day issue and the sheltered workshop issue for at least a year. Regarding divestiture of services, they have started with programs where there is high gain and low negative impact. Regarding their institutional downsizing, they have had targets for getting people out of institutions, and this year they paid $500 per day for everyone in the institution over their quota. This is a big risk. Chair Jacobs asked how many people Orange County served for mental health and Tom Maynard said over 3,000. There is a higher distribution of services to people with severe disabilities. Commissioner Brown gave some history of the OPC mental health system. She said that the two walk-in clinics were the fundamental access points. She thinks the State is interested in having LME to divest of all of these programs and put them out to bid to for-profit corporations, which would break apart the programs of OPC. A lot of counties have divested all of their programs. She finds this appalling and something that OPC would not want to do. She wants to take responsibility for our citizens and maintain the clinics. Tom Maynard said that same parts of divestiture are good, but people also want continuity. They also want to strengthen the crisis program. Commissioner Halkiotis asked what happens in the five-county area that divested their programs and how people access private providers. Commissioner Brown said that there is going to be a toll free number to give out this information. Commissioner Brown said that this is the discontinuing of the 1960's public mental health system. OPC has established a sliding scale funding process, so anyone with any income can access the system and can afford to get help. The reform eliminates this sliding scale, and this upsets her. OPC is trying not to lose it. Jahn Link said that the concept is that through the Lead Management Entity {LME), the three counties will continue to work together. When they look at and evaluate each county's needs and there is a particular need or service, this is where they need to put in some of the Human Services Safety Net funding. He said that they are trying to be deliberate in making sure that no services are discontinued or that any employees are discontinued. He said that the specific item this board needs to address is that the implementation date be later than July 1, 2004. The Board needs to ask the legislative delegation to move this date back. Commissioner Brown made reference to the last County Commissioners' convention last summer and that the focus was an the mental health systems in four or five states that have already gone through this. The systems start to deconstruct and many clients have ended up in the prison systems. There was a lot of discussion about how local sheriffs and County Commissioners deal with this issue. She said that the reform was supposed to take about three years for the State to come up with the requirements and then the counties could adjust to them and switch aver to them. Instead, the State is just making them up every week. The new definitions are not complete or solid. Chair Jacobs asked if this would be discussed further at a work session. John Link said that they will bring this back for a work session and they will have a more definitive plan. He would like to look at particular interventions that the Board needs to make in Orange County. This will probably be in April/May. Commissioner Gordon asked Commissioner Brown for recommendations of anything more the County could be doing at this point. Tom Maynard said that a lot of this change he does support from the State, but the problem is the principle of divestiture. He expects that they will be able to keep things together. Discussion ensued about what other counties are doing about mental health reform. Chair Jacobs said that the Board needs to reconstitute its legislative goals committee and identify what to bring up with legislators. PLANNING - EFLAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT, SCHOOL 51TING, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN LAND USE COMMITTEE Chair Jacobs said that he and Commissioner Halkiatis have met with staff and Mebane's Mayor. There may be some action that Mebane takes in the near future. There has been progress. Commissioner Gordon asked about the EDD and the service agreement and Mebane's statutory authority over annexation issues. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that this area is from Buckhorn Raad to West Ten Road to the railroad tracks, almost to the Mt. Willing intersection. At this time, Mebane has said that this is within Orange County's land use jurisdiction and they will honor that. Mebane does not have the ability to annex in this area at this time because it is outside their extraterritorial jurisdiction and it is more than one mile outside their existing city limits. Mebane is happy to have a utility service agreement to service 940+ acres in this area. At some point in the future, Mebane is not going to give up its ability to annex these areas. Mebane did have a satellite annexation of the Petro station on Buckhorn Road. Commissioner Gordon asked if Mebane could do a satellite annexation of these 900+ acres theoretically and Craig Benedict said no. Chair Jacobs said that the People for Progress, who live along Buckhorn Road, south of US 70, would be included in the service. They will get sewer. This is part of what the County Commissioners asked Congressman Price to accomplish. John Link said that there are other reports on school siting and on the Comprehensive Land Use Element. Craig Benedict made reference to the school siting issue and said that there were some smart growth initiative meetings concerning High School #3 in the CHCCS. Related to the OCS middle school, there are 67 acres of land in one section and another 33 acres in the Buckhorn EDD. The school would be located on a portion of the 67 acres. The County will be looking at the potential for adjacent purchases for joint use facilities. Some adjacent lands could be used for a soccer field ar other recreation. Commissioner Gordon said that her understanding is that the middle school is on 41 acres. The Schools and Land Use Council asked what the County was going to do an the other 33 acres and when there would be a decision. She thinks the County is waiting to see how Mebane reacts. She made reference to a letter to the SLUC from Chair Jacobs and asked what steps the SLUC needs to take. One of their charges is to site schools. John Link said that to the extent the County can get a response from Mebane about services, the staff will be ready to come forward with possibilities of the adjacent land. Chair Jacobs said, regarding the process of school siting, that there are also school construction standards to address. The County Commissioners have been solicited by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation on behalf of the UNC Center for Urban and Regional Studies to get a grant to da workshops around the state between County Commissioners, Schaal boards, and planning departments on school siting. This is based on some discussions within Orange County. There may be some statewide movement to change the paradigm. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is an opportunity to do clean economic development here. He said that the County could design a practice field right and have co- location and save money with lighting alone. Commissioner Brown said that it would be encouraging to have a soccer complex at the middle school. Commissioner Gordon said that it sounds like there could be a work session and the SLUC can work an the siting piece. She thinks that the SLUC would want the Board of County Commissioners to ask them to undertake this. Commissioner Brown suggested that the SLUC not take on any more responsibility until the Board of County Commissioners decides. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed. Chair Jacobs said that, as far as the comprehensive land use plan, they are going to get a tape of the presentation by Craig Benedict. Craig Benedict said that the focus group met and had same goad comments. He said that they are working an scheduling township meetings around the County. They are not changing recommendations but they are changing format, delivery, presentation, and statistical comment. Commissioner Gordon said that they were quite concerned about what type of proposals would go out to the public. She asked what kind of proposals would be made. Craig Benedict said that they are making it simpler. The next presentation will be a base presentation. Commissioner Gordon asked for some details about the public meeting (how long the meeting would last, would the public be able to ask questions, etc.}. Commissioner Brown asked about the timeframe for the comprehensive plan. Craig Benedict said that there would be outreach for the first part of year and then there would be a formal process in the summer or fall. The goal is to have a land use comprehensive plan by the end of 2004. Commissioner Halkiotis suggested cutting the lunch break 30 minutes. The Board agreed. At this time, the Board broke for lunch. Chair Jacobs suggested moving the New Initiatives to the February 12t" work session. LEASED SPACE Report in notebook. VISION FOR PARKS - IP WORKGROUP, TRAIL SYSTEM, TIMEFRAME FOR FACILITY DEVELOPMENT Commissioner Brawn said that she put this on so the Board could catch up together an the Intergovernmental Parks work group. Also, the trail system has been a part of the planning piece for southern Orange, coming out of the CHTPAC property, and connecting the New Hape Corridor with the Eno River Corridor. The Board has never adapted this into the plan officially. Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil gave some history about this plan. Commissioner Brawn said that the IP work group is the only intergovernmental group for parks. The purpose was to pull the towns and the County together to have along-range outlook on parks planning countywide. The group was to maintain the connection with the staff. She said that the one downside was that there was no way of sharing all of this information with other elected officials ar the community at-large. She would like to continue this, but it would need to be modified in the number of meetings and the communication issue. Dave Stancil said that the three-year trial run ended in June 2003. It has been limited to three meetings a year, which has posed a problem sometimes. There is strong interest in continuing it. Commissioner Brown said that the group is in the middle of one of its charges, which is to create a countywide park map. The draft is in the retreat notebook. Healthy Carolinians had the same charge, so they have worked closely together. They would like to reprint the map and then put it on the County's website. Chair Jacobs asked if Commissioner Brown and Dave Stancil were going to came back with a new charge and Commissioner Brown said yes. Dave Stancil said that they took notes and they might have the ability to have staff take minutes in the future. Geriel Thornburg-May asked about a timeframe and Commissioner Brown said that there could be an agenda item in the spring -around April. Commissioner Brawn said that she would share the map with them and funding could come from the Board of County Commissioners' account. Chair Jacobs made reference to the timeframe for facility development and said that the Board asked far this to keep up to speed an what is going on with facilities. He said that, historically speaking, the County is at least halfway between bond referendums. He said that this would give the Board an idea on haw the County is doing on some of the projects where it was promised that the bond money was going to go for certain functions. He pointed out that Southern Park and Homestead Park Aquatic Center have a proposed 2006 opening date. He suggested putting this date on the update. He suggested putting an asterisk by Seven Mile Creek Preserve far Lands Legacy. There should be some way to indicate that there is room for growth. Dave Stancil said that by the end of the year they should be opening Little River Park, constructing at Efland-Cheeks Phase II, and possibly beginning a construction phase at Northern Human Services Center. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT -STRATEGIC PLAN, SELF-FINANCING BONDS, LOAN POOL Economic Development Director Dianne Reid made reference to the self-financing bonds. She said that 48 other states have this capacity. The issue, which will be on the ballot on November, would amend the State Constitution to enable local governments to use this tool. It is structured similar to the water and sewer extension fund, in that the money is recaptured through additional taxes. Commissioner Brown said that she does not understand this. Dianne Reid said that you issue bands based on projected increase in tax base. The bonds are repaid as the tax base comes in over time. It is frequently used in downtown development. Commissioner Brown said that she just heard a developer claim that the County was going to put in the water and sewer far the EDD south of Hillsborough. She asked if this band was what he was referring to. Dianne Reid said na because it would have to be put to a referendum. It is for EDD projects only. The other name for it is tax increment financing. John Link said that the Board needs to consider how this would mix in with the rest of the debt financing. He asked Dianne Reid to give some specific examples of how this has worked in the surrounding area. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there is a danger here with some people thinking that smart growth means having enough schools built to handle all the new kids that are coming. He said that the reasoning could become twisted into meeting the needs and subsidizing private projects with public dollars. Commissioner Carey asked if this was applicable only in the County and Dianne Reid said yes. If the voters approve this change, the municipalities would have the authority to use it as well within their jurisdictions. Commissioner Gordon urged caution because there is no free lunch. Commissioner Brown said that she would hate for this to get to the point where this is on the ballot without the Board really understanding it. In answer to a question about the loan pool, Dianne Reid said that the commitment of the banks is up, so we need to figure out what to do with it. There is a board of directors for the program, which includes Commissioner Brown, John Link, and Finance Director Ken Chavious. Commissioner Brown said one of the big issues is the low interest rates. Chair Jacobs urged the group to look at the self-help credit union, which charges virtually no interest and has a lower fault rate than traditional loans. Commissioner Carey said that if they want to make things happen in the rural areas of the County, then they need to come up with something different. The self-help option is a consideration. 3. NEW INITIATIVES -Deferred to work session on February 9~h Environmental responsibility goal far county government Social justice goal for County government Creation of Orange Unified Transportation advisory board 4. ADVISORY BOARD REPORTS Commission for the Environment: Mark Smith, Chair of the Commission for the Environment, said that they work with air quality, biological resources, and water resources. Regarding air quality, they are involved in two grant programs. One is the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Action Plan. They would like to have County Commissioner representation for this. They are also in the process of pursuing a joint Orange and Durham County Energy Audit Program. The Air Quality Committee is looking at how the County can contribute to something having to do with local ground-level ozone issues. They would like to review available information on what the County can do for local control measures. Regarding biological resources, they want to add to the overall Lands Legacy Program such as monitoring strategies far the overall program and interconnectivity conservation planning. A long-term goal is to put a higher percentage of the Lands Legacy money to conservation and natural areas and prime forests. Richard Whisnant (past chair of the Commission for the Environment) said that he works at the Institute of Government and he gets to work with local governments around the State. He thanked the County Commissioners for being among the most progressive and capable county governments an the environment. He thanked the staff also. Richard Whisnant made reference to the water issue and said that there is a series of recommendations. There is one action item that came out of the drought in 1998-2000. They would like the County Commissioners to encourage OWASA and the University to continue the course in reclamation and saving potable water supplies. Also, regarding groundwater contamination, there is no one responsible in the County for monitoring what happens to incidences of groundwater contamination. They would like the County Commissioners to consider a staff position at the County level to monitor groundwater. He spoke about a staff person in Mecklenburg County that they were able to visit. Chair Jacobs asked if they have worked with the Board of Health on the groundwater issue. Richard Whisnant said that they talked in the report about the need for this position to connect with the BOH. They have not worked directly with the BOH. Chair Jacobs said that when he was on the BOH, there were some of these same concerns. There might be an opportunity for collaboration. Chair Jacobs said that one of the goals for County government is to be environmentally responsible. This might be something that the Commission for the Environment could work on. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the person in Mecklenburg County and which division of the county she works under. Richard Whisnant said that she works in a generalized division. She talked about the importance of connecting with the health side of the county. She is not underneath this section. Commissioner Gordan asked Jahn Link about following up on this. Jahn Link said that the Board is encouraged to include the water specialist. Donna Dean said that this has already been included in the new positions for the budget. Chair Jacobs asked the Commission for the Environment to make a presentation to the BOH. Commissioner Gordon agreed. She said that this position would be non-regulatory and the BOH is regulatory. She said that she hopes that the Board does seriously consider adding this position so this important work can be accomplished. Commissioner Brawn said that the Commission far the Environment could be very effective if it understood what the County has already done ar is in motion to do and also looked at the spectrum of impacts as recommendations are made. Richard Whisnant said that some of the things that were done by the Board that helped them in the recommendations included the U. S. Geological Survey database. There is no one responsible to maintain the information and take it forward. They felt that the next step was to get someone to keep the work alive. Commissioner Brown said that she thought that soil and water conservation was holding all of this data. Commissioner Halkiotis said that there were other agencies that did not want the Commission for the Environment. He is glad he voted to put the Commission for the Environment in place. Chair Jacobs said that the Triangle J is trying to start an Air Quality Committee. He suggested that Richard Whisnant help in this effort. John Link said that if the Board of County Commissioners were to move forward with this position, then all of the work that was done by the U. S. Geological Survey would be used to help the person. Commissioner Gordan said that the most important item would be the program that builds on the USGS data. Advisory Board on Aging: Florence Soltys said that she was presenting because Chair of the Advisory Board on Aging, Jack Chestnut, was ill. She said that there are two major goals of the Master Aging Plan. One is to develop the non-profit agency by July 1, 2004. The other goal is to get the committees appointed far the two new senior centers. Regarding the Southern Orange center, there is a request that one of the at-large members be a representative from UNC Hospital. The other request is to move to do a Central Orange committee so that they do not feel left behind. They did a study of the County aging, and the study is complete. This study will be made public soon. Another goal is to do something about mental health. They would like to have mental health services available in the senior centers. Another big issue for the year is to look at the guardianship program in Orange County. As people have aged and become frailer, they will need mare help. This is a statewide program. She said that this would be an increasing concern. She said that they would need to deal with mental health, guardianship, dementia education, telephone reassurance, and Friend to Friend. Next year, they would like to develop a formalized evaluation to look at whether the people in the County are being served well. Another issue is that there are a lot of people that may have wealth that may need guardianship and they need to be adequately protected. Commissioner Carey asked if there was space adjacent to the Central Orange Center and Florence Soltys said that it might be coming available. Chair Jacobs asked if it was in the budget request. Department on Aging Director Jerry Passmore said that they would like for that to be part of the budget request. Jill Passmore spoke about the Orange County Long Term Care Facility Roundtable. The Master Aging Plan recommends the development of the roundtable. The first meeting was in May 2003. Orange County is on the cutting edge in that this is the first roundtable of its kind in the State and in the nation, as far as they know. There were 75 people in attendance. They divided into three working subcommittees -Advocacy; Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention; and Legislative and Advocacy Work. All committees have met to review the Master Aging Plan objectives and to set a working plan for 2004-2005. The next full membership meeting of the roundtable will be March 31 S`. They request the County Commissioners' presence at this. It will be at the Southern Human Services Center from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. One of the major problems that has come up in all subcommittees has been training and that staff members do not know how to deal with difficult behaviors in facilities. Many are associated with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Fifty percent of the population 85 years and older has Alzheimer's. Another emerging issue is the young mentally ill population mixed in with the older adults. Other concerns are the lack of enforcement of existing regulations of Senate Bill 10 -Transfer Discharge Rights for Adult Care Home Residents and Special Care Unit Disclosure Act. There is a major issue with national criminal background checks because a lot of employees come from other states. Chair Jacobs asked Jill Passmore if the Legislative subcommittee could get some legislative issues to the Board to bring to the legislative breakfast. Jill Passmore said that they could do that. Kate Barrett spoke about dementia and distributed a handout. The Dementia Initiative goes from early diagnosis to long-term care. She pointed out the dementia checklist for physicians that they developed. She asked for the County Commissioners' support to provide positive reinforcement to facilities that send their staff to two days of intensive training at the Central Orange Senior Center. They also want permission to put on the website what facilities have sent staff and haw many staff members were sent. Solid Waste Advisory Board: Jan Sassaman, Chair of the SWAB, said that they meet monthly and they have good participation. He gave a PowerPoint presentation as follows: Major Accomplishments: Continued evaluation of alternative financing mechanisms for future waste management needs and options. Responded to matterslissues brought before it by BOCC, local governments, and Solid Waste Management Staff. Initiated contacts with municipalities regarding alternative financing planning. Reevaluated the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan for Orange County. Key Concerns and Emerging Issues: Need for more feedback from BOCC to SWAB Need to address financial status of the SW Management Enterprise Need to focus on waste reductionlrecycling to support continued sustainable development in the County Feedback: - SWAB is unique o® Authority derived from the Interlocal Agreement -independent of the BOCC o® Members appointed by individual jurisdictions, advice BOCC o® Multiple stakeholders - SWAB Needs to Hear from BOCC/Management about BOCClManagement Concerns o® SW Staff cannot provide the level of dialog with BOCC and Senior County Management that is needed o® Past involvement of Barry Jacobs and Rod Visser was very helpful to SWAB, especially in formative years - Barry and Rod, Please Come Back Financial Status of the SW Enterprise Greater expenses associated with increased recycling and waste reduction efforts Less revenue and increased costs for disposal of MSW and C&D in the County Landfill Need to maintain stable financing and planning of solid Waste Department operations as well as fiscal responsibility Support for Continued Sustainable Development - Continued development of Orange County and recently announced plans for Carolina North reinforces need to focus on waste reduction and recycling to support the sustainable development of our County and communities. - We continue to see the essential need for a materials recycling facility as called for in the ten-year plan. - Principles of sustainable development call into question the future plans for sending solid waste out of Orange County once the current landfill is closed. Given the level of development anticipated over the next 50 years by UNC at Carolina North and Orange County in general, we will need to rethink the issue of a new landfill in Orange County or work towards a regional landfill - i.e., in Chatham County. - We need to work towards inclusion of UNC in the Inter-Local Agreement. Commissioner Brown said that it was very clear that there would be no landfills in Orange County. She said that it was out of the question. Commissioner Halkiotis and Commissioner Gordon agreed. Summary - SWAB is capable and committed to, and charged with, providing the BOCC with assistance, guidance, and advice - SWAB is still relatively new and still needs to fine tune its relationship with the BOCC - Despite Orange County's Solid Waste success, the SWAB feels there is still much to be done. Chair Jacobs asked if there has been any attempt to get UNC to formally participate in SWAB. Jan Sassaman said that they would like for the Board of County Commissioners to bring UNC to the table. Chair Jacobs said that UNC was invited in the beginning and the Board could send another letter inviting them again to participate formally. He said that the proposed reorganization of boards and commissions would have a Board liaison to the SWAB. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the UNC issue has been around far a while. He would be supportive of writing another letter to UNC and inviting them. It is a political issue and UNC needs to come to the table, especially considering Carolina North. Commissioner Brown said that she thinks some discussions of the Board on solid waste issues do not get communicated to the SWAB. The staff can communicate these discussions or the SWAB can be invited to a BOCC meeting when a solid waste agenda item is addressed. Commissioner Carey suggested delaying Commissioner proposals on equal opportunity in education until February 12`" 5. REORGANIZATION FRAMEWORK FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Clerk to the Board Donna Baker made this presentation. She made reference to the resolution and the memo from her. Also, the comprehensive chart of the Boards and the Commissions that the Board is asked to review and see which ones the Board wanted to sunset, appoint a liaison, to not have a Board member an, and to have a Board member an. The Board also should decide the difference between a liaison and a member. Commissioner Gordan said that she did not think that there was a question about the liaison/member. She thought that a liaison was a person who goes to the meetings as asked but has no obligation to go to every meeting. A member could participate fully. She said that it seems that this has already been solved. Commissioner Jacobs said to come back with a proposed definition of liaison and incorporate it in the resolution. He suggested that when new boards are created that there is a built-in sunset. For example, the Little River Regional Park work group should be sunset when the park opens. Discussion ensued about which boards and commissions should be sunset. Commissioner Gordon suggested putting the boards and commissions that were not appointed by the Board on a separate sheet. Chair Jacobs clarified that the Board wants a definition of liaison and to have a process to sunset boards and commissions. Chair Jacobs suggested pulling out the ones that have no clear majority or question marks and go ahead and set the rest. The Board agreed. The Clerk will come back with the remaining boards and commissions sometime in March. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to approve the Tally for Sunsetting Boards/Commissions, not including the Southern Cammunify Park Committee. The Boards and Commissions affected by this motion are: (CHTPEC) Chapel Hill Township Park and Educational Campus Master Plan Work Group CPLUC: Comprehensive Planning Land Use Committee Efland Cheeks Park Conceptual Plan Committee H2O (VI(ater Resources Committee) High School Planning Work Group Schools and Land Use Council (CHCCS) Schools and Land Use Council (Orange County Schools) School Facilities Task Force Site Selection Committee for the New Middle School Commissioner Brown stated her belief that the Southern Community Park Committee was never established as afree-standing committee. It was a subcommittee of the IP Work Group. Commissioner Gordon stated her recollection that the committee was afree-standing group. This group will be put an the list far discussion. Chair Jacobs suggested looking at the three school related boards to see if there is another permutation or another committee structure for school related issues. VOTE: Ayes, 4; No, 1 {Commissioner Gordon) Jahn Link made reference to the orientation for new board/commission members. He said that the Board could consider same kind of orientation or board chair meeting on some yearly basis where there is same communication about expectations. The last orientation was held in 2001. Commissioner Carey said that this orientation should be held every year. He said that the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners should have a special meeting with the chairs of the boardslcommissions. Jahn Link, Donna Baker, and Chair Jacobs will work on this meeting and came back with a proposal for an annual meeting with the Chair of the Board of County Commissioners and the chairs of boards/commissions. Commissioner Gordan would like to recommit to the orientation far the new members of boardslcommissians. The Board agreed. 6. OLD BUSINESS Commissioner proposals on equal opportunity in education -deferred Goals and objectives staff or BOCC wish to modify -deferred Campus of Southern Human Services Center: Dave Stancil made reference to the site evaluation and map of the Southern Human Services Center. Chair Jacobs said that he suggested that this be on the agenda because they have never discussed this in depth. He said that it seems that UNC does not want to have the parking and senior center straddling the line. Some seniors are arguing to put the senior center right up on Homestead Road. It seems that it would be a good idea to evaluate this site just like if it was a developer coming in. Based on the environmental constraints, it does not look like the best place would be out on the road. John Link said to think of this as overlays. The next step would be for the Board to decide what to put where. Chair Jacobs said that if the Board appoints a task force to define what is in the senior center, the Board should make the siting decision first. Commissioner Carey said that he needs to look at this more closely before making any decisions. Commissioner Gordon agreed. Chair Jacobs said that the paint is that this is a maturing facility. The facility should be built in a way that is environmentally sensitive and can be served by public transportation. Commissioner Brown asked about the existing house and the trail system and pond. She thinks that every year more of an investment should be put in far the maintenance of the house so that it does not deteriorate. Also, the Board needs to decide if there will continue to be a park piece connected with the pond. Jahn Link said that Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey was working on this. Commissioner Brawn asked about the maintenance of this area and if Recreation and Parks was maintaining it. Recreation and Parks Director Lari Taft said that they have adopted it and during the spring season they will bring it back to the Board of County Commissioners. Chair Jacobs suggested having the carpentry class from Orange High School to look at the house and see what can be done. Chair Jacobs said that as long as the Board is comfortable that this is going to move ahead, he feels comfortable establishing an advisory board and explaining to them that the Board will come up with a site. Commissioner Gordan said that it would be hard to get very far without knowing where the site was going to be. Chair Jacobs said that he was suggesting it so that the advisory board could move forward. John Link said that they do have a timeline. Pam Jones said that we are two months into the six-month design format. John Link will bring information back to the Board by March 15tH Commissioner Brown said that the architectural process should be a very open process. She was told by a few people involved in senior centers that they had already picked out an architect and asked her to support this. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the final decision still rests with the Board. Youth issues -deferred 7. MATTERS RAISED AT RETREAT, NOT PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED NONE The Board adjourned the retreat at 3:00 p.m. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board