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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20040602APPROVED 08/17/2004 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING June 2, 2004 11:30 a.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, June 2, 2004 at 11:30 a.m. in the Government Services Center, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs, and Commissioners Margaret Brown, Moses Carey, Jr., Alice M. Gordon, and Stephen Halkiotis COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS 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) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. ALL RECORDINGS OF THE MEETING WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. 1. Additions or Chances to the Aaenda Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. and went aver the additional information at their places: - the colored sheets {green and purple at the top} relate to the presentation of the Northern Human Services Center - the orange sheet is from Orange-Alamance and relates to item 9-c {Hillsborough's Conservation Ordinance} - the white sheet from Commissioner Gordon relates to item 5-f about the SAPFO - the yellow sheet from Chapel Hill is a request far funding for aposition -this was referred to the Manager for his recommendation in the budget process - a revision to item 9-f (Boards and Commissions} - the pink sheet is an email to Chair Jacobs from people that live close to the Whiffed Building and are having problems with noise from the chiller unit - he suggested having the Manager convene a meeting at the Whiffed Building with the residents fo resolve the issues, John Link recommended that, prior to the meeting, he would share with the Board of County Commissioners what steps have been taken regarding decibel reduction. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is confused about item 5-f. Commissioner Gordon has sent faxes regarding her interpretation of the numbers far certification for SAPFO. He asked if the Planning Director was going to make comments about Commissioner Gordon's comments. Chair Jacobs said that this item will come off the consent agenda because someone from the public wishes to speak on it. John Link said that he has asked Planning Director Craig Benedict to respond to changes in the report and specifically the recommendation that the report move forward far approval. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is concerned because in his opinion this should be coming from department heads and not individual County Commissioners. He said that this is setting a precedent. He does not think this is the function of the County Commissioners. Commissioner Gordon said that there were errors in the SAPFO report and it is up to the Board of County Commissioners to find them and have them corrected. 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda NONE b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda below.) 3. Board Comments Commissioner Carey -none. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the meeting of the Transportation Advisory Committee members of Orange County with NCDOT staff, Doug Galyon and other officials. They talked about issues that were important to them, including Elizabeth Brady Road. There is going to be an Environmental Impact Analysis (EIS} and the Tawn of Hillsborough wants to see this analysis. If there is to be input from Hillsborough and Orange County, it should come sooner rather than after the EIS is completed. Commissioner Gordon made reference to HOV lanes and US 15-501 and I-40, and said that Doug Galyon would be talking with Secretary Tippett about this. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Homestead Road project and that there has been some analysis on how much it would cost to fund the main sections of the sidewalk. Along Homestead Road, it would cost a little over $200,000. Doug Galyon is going to try to find funding for this. Commissioner Gordon said that she pointed out the priority of Orange Grove Road, specifically the construction of pedestrian bridge over I-40, as Orange County's number one priority. Chair Jacobs asked about Smith Level Road and Commissioner Gordon said that it would be discussed at a meeting with the Town of Carrboro on June 28t" at 10:00 a.m. Doug Galyon suggested the time of the meeting and said he could attend. Commissioner Halkiotis -none. Chair Jacobs asked Craig Benedict for an update about the meetings among planning directors and the school systems about school site planning, and also the status of the brochure for simple steps for farm related operations. Chair Jacobs asked Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil to make an announcement. David Stancil said that they were informed Friday afternoon that the Lands Legacy program has received another grant from the USDA Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program in the amount of $639, 000 for the acquisition of conservation easements on three farms. This will protect about 500 acres of land. Lands Legacy, to date, has almost 1,100 acres in protection. The total grant funding over the last four years is $2.7 million. Commissioner Carey said that the materials from staff on the analysis of the Jockey lot situation on Buckhorn Road were not clear regarding whether the Board of County Commissioners needed to take action. Craig Benedict said that they proposed amulti- departmental approach, working with the County Manager's office and the County Attorney. The Board needs to provide direction on haw to proceed with sending a letter to the property owner to set forth the constraints for transportation issues and maintenance of the site. The staff met with DOT to came up with some ideas. Chair Jacobs said that they discussed with DOT at their last meeting that the Board of County Commissioners and the Manager would invite the owners to came and meet with them voluntarily to discuss these issues in order to resolve them. 4. County Manager's Report Jahn Link asked County Engineer Paul Thames to give an update an voluntary conservation measures. Paul Thames said that as of 12:01 a.m. on May 29t", the County has experienced seven consecutive days of low flaw in the Eno River. In accordance with the capacity use agreement, they went into withdrawal restrictions affecting Hillsborough and Orange-Alamance. This does not require any action. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about Lake Orange and Paul Thames said that Lake Orange is full. Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Paul Thames and the Manager for bringing this to their attention and giving them updates. Commissioner Brown arrived at 12:00 p.m. 5. Items for Decision--Consent Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve those items on the consent agenda as stated below: Commissioner Gordon made a correction of a typographical error on item `g', which was noted by staff. a. Minutes The Board approved the minutes for April 1, 2004, Joint meeting with the Board of Health and the April 1,2004 regular meeting as submitted by the Clerk to the Board. b. Appointments (1) Agricultural Preservation Board The Board reappointed Whit Morrow to the Agricultural Preservation Board. (2) Affordable Housing Advisory Board The Board reappointed Jack S. Chestnut, Bonnie M. Gates, and Nannie M. Richmond to the Affordable Housing Advisory Board to terms expiring June 30, 2007. c. Approval of Financing Arrangement for Orange Grove Rural Fire Department to Purchase a Replacement Fire Truck The Board approved the Orange Grove Fire Department's purchase of a replacement fire truck and authorized the Board of Commissioner Chair to sign the appropriate documents related to the financing agreement. d. Budget Amendment #13 The Board approved budget and grant project ordinance amendments far fiscal year 2003-04 for Department of Social Services, Department on Aging, Criminal Justice Partnership Program Grant Project, Governing and Management Non-Departmental, and Emergency Management. e. Smith Middle School -Development and Joint Use Agreement Amendment and Authorization to Contract for Field Lighting Design The Board adopted the proposed amendment to the current Development and Joint Use Agreement to allow Orange County to contract for the installation of athletic field lighting on Smith Middle School Soccer Fields 3a and 3b without further encumbering the County to be fiscally responsible for routine maintenance, repair and utility costs associated with field lighting, and to request authorization far staff to retain the services of a design firm specializing in Athletic Field Lighting required for the proposed project and authorized the Manager to execute the resulting contract (est. $15,000) as prepared by staff and approved by the County Attorney. f. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance fSAPFO) -Approval of Annual Certifications This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate consideration. gl_ Application for State Public School Building Capital Funds The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign the application far Public School Building Capital Funds for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' share of the 2003-04 debt service payment related to construction of McDougle Elementary School. h. Interlocal Agreement for Billing and Collection of Fees for Proposed Town of Chapel Hill Stormwater Utility The Board approved the interlocal agreement subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney, and confirmed staff plans to immediately recruit far and fill the new Tax Clerk position. i. Comprehensive Transportation Plan Update for Oranae County The Board authorized the Chair to sign the letter asking NCDOT to conduct the comprehensive update for the Orange County Comprehensive Transportation Plan. VOTE ON CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA: f. Schools Adeauate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) -Approval of Annual Certifications The Board considered approving various certifications related to student membership and capacity of the Orange County Schools (OCS) and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) as of November 15, 2003, as outlined in the revised draft Annual Report of the SAPFO Technical Advisory Committee (SAPFOTAC) and the incorporated forms. Craig Benedict distributed copies of the document put on the Internet last week. He said that the report is very technical. He made reference to page two of the agenda abstract and explained the five general categories the Board must certify -building capacity with CIP changes, student membership projection methodology, student membership projections, student growth rate, and studentlhousing generation rate. He said that they are still recommending using the analysis that was done in 2001 by Tischler and Associates that was the basis of the school impact fees. Craig Benedict addressed Commissioner Cordon's comments since the last meeting on May 18t". In most cases, Commissioner Cordon's comments involved revisions to the formal report and did not affect the technical information within the report. He said that he could attach some comments from the Planning staff to the report if the Board wishes. He said that Commissioner Gordon did bring forth some technical errors in some areas of the report. He has na problem with changing these areas to make them clearer. Craig Benedict said that there have been changes since November 15, 2003 such as the passibility of high school #3 being delayed. This is not included in the report because it is more recent information. Commissioner Gordan clarified the corrections to the SAPFO report in the following memorandum: MEMORANDUM To: BOCC and Manager From: Alice Gordon Subject: Overview of Commissioner Cordon's Suggested Revisions to the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO} Annual Report Date: June 1.2004 Copy to Craig Benedict On May 25, 2004 I sent a rather informal fax to Craig Benedict giving my comments and suggested revisions to the SAPFO report. His reply was given in the document, "Revisions made in the SAPFOTAC report by the Orange County Planning Department in response to Commissioner Cordon's May 25, 2004 Fax." Since my handwritten comments may not be entirely clear, I am indicating below the basic issues that were addressed in my fax. There are also some suggestions for the future. I. 2004 SAPFOTAC Executive Summary A. Five Year Comparison of Student Membership Projections The "5 year out Snapshot Comparison," which is Item II.C on page I, needed to be clearly labeled as an increase or decrease in projections between the prior year and the current year. However, in the future, I think it would be more important to provide a summary chart showing how many student seats are available (unused} and how many are needed. What we need to highlight in the Executive Summary is the most basic data concerning whether there will be a need to create more capacity during the next few years. Accordingly, I have made a chart for the five-year planning period, and included it as page 3 of this memo. I thought it was helpful to show the data in both chart and bar graph form. My suggestion for the SAPFO report is that we should produce the same bar graphs for the current student projections that the budget office has produced in the past. B. Increase or Decrease in the Growth Rate Item B on page ii deals with the direction of the growth rate for each level (Elementary, Middle, and High School) and both school districts. The information was originally presented in a confusing way, but now the report indicates that in five of the six cases, the growth rate was positive (increasing), and describes the increase or decrease in the rate. In one case, Orange County Middle Schools {OCMS), the four-year growth rate was negative (decreasing), though the decrease has become more gradual. II. 2004 Annual Report A. Student Projections (pages 27-33} My main suggestion far change was to correct the inaccurate language describing the student projections for the Orange County Middle Schools. The report had originally indicated that the projections showed a relatively slow but constant growth of about two classrooms per year. However, as the chart for "OCS Student Projections (2003)" on page 32 shows, the projections really show a decrease and some fluctuations. The actual number of students far 2003-2004 is 1671. Projections for the next year show 1627 students, a decrease of 44. The projected number of students does not come back to 2003-2004 levels until 2009-2010 (1679 students}. I n addition, the report initially had given 120% as the level of service for the year prior to the opening of the new middle school #3, whereas now the correct level of 112°~ has been stated. B. Corrections in Numbers, Changes in Format, and Clarifications In my experience, the usual practice for writing technical reports dictates that one should use systematic data that is gathered and reported for all levels. That is why I asked that "editorial" language be removed. If systematic data is available in the future, it could be reported. I also suggested corrections to some inaccurate numbers and typographical errors. ATTACHED CHART: Number of Seats Available (+} ar Needed (-) Commissioner Gordan said that she hopes the Board finds that this memorandum is helpful and she noted that the Commissioners might have approved an incorrect SAPFO report if she had not noticed the errors. Commissioner Halkiatis said that if the Planning staff needed more personnel to enable them to complete the report accurately in the future, they should let the Commissioners know. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to page two of the abstract in the bottom paragraph, where there is an additional 100 seats in 2003 at the renovated Hillsborough Elementary. He said that although the 100 seat capacity had been constructed, there are not an additional 100 seats available since students are being moved around during the renovations process. The 100 seats will be achieved at the end of the 2004-05 school year and added to the capacity for the year 2005-06. PUBLIC COMMENT: Lisa Stuckey, Vice-Chair of the CHCCS Board of Education, said that they support the Manager's recommendation an this item. She said that they feel that they are caught between a rock and a hard place because the State is imposing on them a reduction in class size. She agrees that it is an unfunded mandate. They would like to have a plan in place by November 15t" sa that they can move forward and resolve this issue. Chair Jacobs said that the Manager and Clerk are trying to set up a meeting with the chairs and vice-chairs. John Link asked about the penalties for not adhering to what the State requires. Steve Scroggs said that when the district does not comply with average class size mandates, what normally happens is that the State board sends them a letter to alleviate the situation and requires that they hire additional personnel and create mare classrooms to bring the average dawn. John Link asked how the Governor or the General Assembly could execute a penalty to counties that cannot afford to carry this out. Chair Jacobs said that they have heard from the legislators that there are plenty of school systems that ignore the Governor's mandate and that there are na penalties. The Board needs to be clear on this issue. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is concerned about the $620,000 being cut from the State for Teacher Assistants. Commissioner Carey thanked Commissioner Gordon far pointing out the errors on the SAPFO report. He asked what the blue chart, "Number of Seats Available (+) ar Needed (-}" would look like if there were only one school system. He asked Commissioner Gordon to produce this chart using one school system. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve the SAPFO related certifications of student membership and capacity as specified in the report certification summary table herein, with the corrections as made by Commissioner Gordon. VOTE: UNANIMOUS At this time, there was a break at 12:30 p.m. for lunch. The meeting was resumed at 12:50 p.m. 6. Resolutions or Proclamations a. Resolution Protecting Community Choice on Billboards and Opposing Senate Bill 1056 The Board considered adoption of a resolution to preserve and protect the ability of local communities to phase in new standards for billboards and other off-premise sign in order to improve community appearance and oppose Senate Bill 1056 "Monetary Compensation - OutdoorAdvertising" and authorize the Chair to sign. Craig Benedict said that this is a bill that was put forward to affect haw local governments would pay for compensation for the removal of billboards that are within their jurisdictions. Presently, the jurisdictions have the opportunity for an amortization schedule. The proposed bill would cast local governments a lot more in scheduled removal of non-conforming signs. The staff recommends that the Board oppose this Senate Bill 1056. Commissioner Carey asked about sponsors of the bill and Craig Benedict said that they are billboard ownership companies in conjunction with certain legislators. Commissioner Halkiotis said that in the News and Observer, there was an article on special interests. He asked for additional information on the video poker machines in the County. Chair Jacobs said that this has been changed and Sheriffs will not be involved. Geof Gledhill said that the Sheriffs declined the money. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to adopt a resolution to preserve and protect the ability of local communities to phase in new standard for billboards and other off-premise sign in order to improve community appearance and oppose Senate Bill 1056 "Monetary Compensation -Outdoor Advertising" and authorize the Chair to sign as stated below: A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING ORANGE COUNTY'S OPPOSITION TO S. B. 1056 MONETARY COMPENSATION -OUTDOOR ADVERTISING WHEREAS, the North Carolina General Assembly creates laws for the citizens and local governments of North Carolina; and WHEREAS, Orange County has long had the authority to make decisions regarding the County's appearance; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners recognizes the importance for other local governmental units to make their awn choices about community appearance; and WHEREAS, preserving the rural character of Orange County is becoming increasingly important to our local economy by helping to draw tourists, and attract and retain businesses; and WHEREAS, Orange County has taken great steps to preserve the natural appearance of its major transportation corridors; and WHEREAS, Orange County would like to retain the ability to remove billboards and off-premise signs through amortization; and WHEREAS, courts have repeatedly upheld the legality of amortization; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1056 would eliminate an important tool used by local governments to remove billboards and require expensive and unnecessary payouts to the billboard industry for their removal; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Orange County Board of Commissioners that the Board opposes Senate Bill 1056 "Monetary Compensation -Outdoor Advertising" that would prevent communities from amortizing billboards and other off-premise signs and require local government units to compensate outdoor advertising companies up to five times the annual revenue from each sign to have it removed. This, the 2"d day of June 2004 VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs asked Craig Benedict to forward this to the organizations that are also in opposition as well as to the legislatures and the sponsors of the bill. Commissioner Brown said that Orange County does not have billboards along I-40, but she noticed as Mebane annexes into the County, that they are permitted within the City of Mebane. She asked if this was correct and Craig Benedict said yes. There are also some existing billboards along I-85/1-40 within Orange County that are not within the jurisdiction, but were "grandfathered" in. He will come back with some recommendations about how these can be eliminated. Commissioner Brown thinks that this is one of the biggest blights on highways. Commissioner Halkiotis said that some of these companies have also tried to illegally upgrade billboards by violating county ordinances when it comes to electrical permits and approval to operate the billboards. He hopes these issues would be brought to the attention of this Board. He made a motion to authorize the County Attorney to take legal action against these companies. Craig Benedict said that they have a GPS inventory of every sign location and also digital pictures to monitor their non-conformity. Commissioner Brown asked if this was a joke motion and Commissioner Halkiotis said yes but he wants information from Geof Gledhill. 7. Special Presentations a. Educational Excellence Work Group Proposal The Board considered approving a proposal from the UNC School of Education that would provide research and analysis about the resources available to the two school systems in Orange County and authorizing the Chair to sign. Commissioner Brown said that this has been coming since last fall. They have had two meetings with University officials and representatives from both school systems. The past Dean of the School of Education put together this proposal, which was presented at the May 1$t" meeting. Rad Visser said that this is a proposal from Dean Grumet and the cost is $25,000. The staff is recommending using the balance of the contingency fund, which is $14,600 and appropriating some additional fund balance to the general fund. The work is expected to take about six months. Commissioner Gordon said that the next item also says that money will be taken out of the contingency fund. Rod Visser said that he will check on this, and if contingency is exhausted then they will use the fund balance. John Link said that the next item is a matching grant. Cammissioner Brown said that Dean Grumet was able to have the University waive the 25°~ administrative fee. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Cammissioner Brown to approve a proposal from the UNC School of Education that would provide research and analysis about the resources available to the two school systems in Orange County and authorize the Chair to sign. UOTE: Ayes, 4; No, 1(Commissioner Carey} Chair Jacobs said that, at the agenda review yesterday, a couple of things came up to put before the Educational Excellence Work Group. One was to track the expansion of federal and state mandates and also cuts in federal, state, and local funding for functions which the school systems have undertaken to continue anyway and that the County is being asked to fund. Also, the work group could provide a comparison between the percentage increases in school funding in Orange County and in other areas where school boards have taxing authority. Commissioner Gordon said that she did not think the work group would get into budgetary issues. John Link said that his staff would volunteer to take the lead in responding to these issues and what a county can sustain as a reasonable increase each year. It would be interesting to look at other states. Commissioner Gordan said that she wants this group to be technical and not dragged into finances or politics. Commissioner Halkiotis suggested that the staff could do this. Commissioner Brown would like to look ahead instead of taking the cuts one by one and haw to have a sustainable budget for the County. The Board agreed to have the staff address these issues. b. Authorization to Submit Alternative Fuel Uehicle (AFU) Incentive Grant The Board considered authorizing staff to submit a grant application in the amount of $25,000 to the Triangle Clean Cities Coalition Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Incentives. Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil distributed fact sheets on natural gas diesel and bio-diesel. This item is to see if the Board would like to apply for an alternative fueled vehicle incentive grant from Triangle J Council of Governments. The maximum grant amount is $25,000. They are recommending a modified version of alternative #1 on page six, which is pursuing a grant asking for $25,000 to construct infrastructure, which could be located at Orange County Schools or Orange County Public Works to begin conversion of the diesel fleet toward bio-diesel, and considering the possibility of installing a compressed natural gas fueling station similar to what the Town of Chapel Hill has. Commissioner Brown asked about Durham City schools and if they have changed to bio- diesel. Commissioner Halkiotis said that they have had mixed reviews about the smell of it. They did receive the grant, but they have not received payment of the grant yet. Dave Stancil said that some of the grants are on a rebate schedule. He said that the down side is that it costs about 30°lo higher. The up side is that it serves as a lubricant, so it enhances the maintenance possibilities of the equipment. Chair Jacobs said that, instead of coming from the Commissioners' contingency, it could be budgeted as a specific item if the grant is received. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if any hybrid vehicles could be purchased for the County besides the ones for public safety. John Link said that the state contract allows the Honda Civic hybrid. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for a small group to be set up within County government to make same recommendations to purchase some hybrid vehicles. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to authorize staff to submit a grant application in the amount of $25,000 to the Triangle Clean Cities Coalition Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Incentives. VOTE: UNANIMOUS $. Public Hearings -none 9. Items for Decision--Regular Agenda a. Housing Bond Policy Revisions The Board considered approval of a revised Affordable Housing Bond Policy. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes summarized the information in the agenda abstract. She highlighted the revisions on pages three and four. Also, page nine addresses the land banking policy. Approval of these revisions will allow the County to begin the land-banking program, where there is $260,000 in fiscal year 2001 monies set aside for this program. Commissioner Carey asked some clarifying questions, which were answered by Tara Fikes. Commissioner Gordon made a correction, which was noted by Tara Fikes. Chair Jacobs pointed out that there are members of the Affordable Housing Advisory Baard in attendance. Commissioner Gordon asked about having a building permit within five years. She said that this was not long for land banking. She asked if it was the intent of the group to get things going within three years and Tara Fikes said yes. Tara Fikes said that there was interest in being sure that the land was used within a reasonable amount of time. Commissioner Brown said that she thinks land banking should be 10 years or more. She does not agree with this short period of time. To her, land banking means that you put it in the bank and save it until other people down the road can use it accordingly. Chair Jacobs asked if Commissioner Brawn was talking about differentiating projects that the County Commissioners initiate, which have no time limit, and those that were initiated by other groups. He believes that all of the County Commissioners said that they wanted the non-profits to have to do something and that they should not hold onto land indefinitely. Commissioner Brown said that, at the end of the five years, if the non-profit did not have a goad idea for it, then it would go back to the County. She thinks people need at least this amount of time to come up with a good proposal. Geof Gledhill said that there is a provision in the section an project completion that allows for an extension of time. Commissioner Brown said that she was not interested in doing away with all timelines, but the original objective was to be able to purchase land quickly and then the development part could take longer so the non-profit could develop a good plan. Discussion ensued about the time land should be held. Commissioner Carey said that he did not like the idea of allowing non-profits to hold land in perpetuity because it is taxpayers' money. The taxpayers should see some results and five years is plenty of time. Commissioner Brown made reference to joining upwith afor-profit and said that the University claimed to be providing affordable housing, but they came to the County to ask for a subsidy for the affordability. This is on page two under Eligible Applicants. She said that this needs to be reviewed in light of this experience. Chair Jacobs suggested having the Affordable Housing Advisory Board look at it to see if there should be some kind of cap on what the County would contribute in partnership with a private development entity in terms of subsidy. Discussion ensued on how to handle the inclusion of for-profits. Commissioner Carey said that the Board would not have to approve every affordable housing project that came in. The Board can say no. Commissioner Halkiotis agreed that no group should hold land in perpetuity and that five years is long enough. He said that it is reasonable to have the advisory board look at this one more time. Allen Rosen from the Affordable Housing Advisory Board said that they bumped up the land banking to five years. They also heard from the County Commissioners that the land banking should be longer. The advisory board felt that five years was enough time, but that the final decision is with the County Commissioners. The time can be extended according to the provisions. He said that they have initiated asemi-annual reporting process and they will be keeping the County Commissioners aware of land that is being acquired. Chair Jacobs said that he heard from the Board that the section anfar-profits should be clarified by the advisory board. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey to approve the revised Affordable Housing Bond Policy, along with the amendments made by the County Commissioners above. Geof Gledhill suggested adding words that Tara Fikes mentioned for page three, "After the PRS Committee has completed application review, and the applicant will have the opportunity to discuss the application with the committee and before the committee makes its recommendation." Commissioner Carey said that he would incorporate this into his motion. Chair Jacobs seconded the motion. Commissioner Brown said that she would vote for this, but she thinks that it does not protect the public's interest fully and that it is flawed in its practical application. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. The extension mapping} that will: 1}define the boundaries and scope of work for the design portion of the project that will extend sewer to the area of Efland defined by the 1997 sewer bond and extend water and sewer to the Buckhorn Economic Development District (EDD)/community; and 2) authorize staff to solicit Requests for Proposals for the consultants that will provide the surveying, engineering and master planning services for the project. County Engineer Paul Thames said that the County Commissioners received maps in their packets. He explained the maps. He said that the staff is asking that the Board approve going ahead with the RFP process to hire a consulting engineer for the design of all of the water and sewer expansion. He pointed out the sewer lines on a map. He said that they are asking for authorization to hire a consulting engineer right now because they are under time constraints with the new middle school and the selling of the sewer bands. There was never any funding set aside to extend water to the school or to the EDD. Altogether, there is $1.2 million shortfall in sewer funds. The staff proposes going ahead with designing the system. Commissioner Gordon asked if the project would be within the budget if the green and yellow lines were deleted and Paul Thames said yes. Commissioner Gordon asked about not having enough money for the school and the EDD. Paul Thames said that there is money for the middle school, but not far the water line. It should be in the school's budget. Commissioner Gordon asked several clarifying questions about the water for the middle school. Commissioner Halkiotis said that every school has an allocation for both water and sewer. He said that he is in support of doing the engineering study for this area. He is ready to get it going because it has gone on too long. Commissioner Carey is also in support of moving ahead now, but he also wants to know exactly how much it is going to cost the County. John Link said that the staff is recommending approval of the five bullets on pages two and three. Commissioner Gordon said that there should be another bullet that says that the project will not cost Orange County additional funds; rather the County will proceed with a second level of activity necessary to move forward.... {as stated in the paragraph under the five bullets}. She thinks it is too open ended otherwise. She wants it to explicitly say that this will not be funded unless Orange County gets the money. Chair Jacobs said that they have not discussed this yet and they may decide that they want to fund this out of Orange County general funds. Commissioner Gordon said that the main thing is getting the water and sewer to the school and to the community that was committed to receive it. Beyond that, she does not want to commit. A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve the steps as follows to initiate the project as described and direct staff to proceed accordingly, with the changes in the wording by Chair Jacobs on bullet #3. - approve a scope of consultant design work that includes all of the identified water and sewer development needs (as indicated graphically an the attached maps}; and direct staff to seek {through a formal Request for Proposals process) an engineering consultant to develop all necessary documents needed to comply with Grant requirements (Engineer's Report and Environmental Assessment), and EDD utility master plan (internal) and project construction documents; and approve a consultant's contract to be presented for approval at the Board of County Commissioners' first meeting in August 2004; and direct the consultant to complete design and permitting activities by late spring of 2005; and authorize the bidding of the project in late spring 2005 {the portion of the project necessary to serve the middle school could then be completed by late summer of 2006). Commissioner Brown said that she is in favor of providing water and sewer to this community. Regarding providing it to the EDD, she said that there are some policy issues that have never been clear to her. She has always been concerned about expansion of Efland water and sewer without ever having done a small area plan. She also does not want to use Orange County money to provide water and sewer for businesses. Chair Jacobs said that on page two, there is some discussion about the small area plan. The Planning Director has assured that this would begin shortly. Commissioner Brown said that the water and sewer boundary should be put in before there is a small area plan. Geof Gledhill said that the boundary line has been put in. Commissioner Brown said that the Board decided that this was not sustainable and that they were going to review the size of the boundary so that it did not become a sprawl area. Chair Jacobs suggested having staff develop a set of criteria for the small area plan to address. John Link suggested adding a bullet that, "The Board further instructs staff to pursue the following levels of activity to address the land use and funding issues concurrent with the development of the project design and permitting," and then incorporate the last paragraph {the second level of activity). At the bottom of the paragraph, he added, "specifically added to staff activity is to address the water and sewer boundary questions raised by the County Commissioners as well as the actions on the part of the potential County involvement in funding based on future public health emergencies or other community concerns." Chair Jacobs asked that the small area plan aspect be added to that. John Link did not mean to exclude that. Commissioner Gordon agreed with the policy paints that Commissioner Brown pointed out. She thinks she can live with the language from Jahn Link. Commissioner Halkiotis amended his motion to include the Manager's language above. Commissioner Carey also accepted. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs asked to get a report from Orange-Alamance on water allocations that they have secured since they last spoke two years ago and if there are any new plans. Commissioner Halkitois left the meeting at 2:45p.m.. c. Proposed Modification of Hillsborough DroughtlVNater Conservation Ordinance The Board considered review and comments on information related to proposed revisions to the Town of Hillsborough DroughtlWater Conservation Ordinance and direct staff as to comments to be directed to the Town. Paul Thames said that they have ordinance language from the Town of Hillsborough to change the drought ordinance to comply with a recommendation from the Town's Water and Sewer Advisory Committee. Page 19 has a brief synopsis of the changes. The Town of Hillsborough has requested that the County Commissioners review the recommendations and make comments either directly or through staff. In answer to a question from Commissioner Brown, John Link made reference to page two and the second full paragraph. This explains the impact of the new Town ordinance. Commissioner Gordan said that she is interested in the reasons behind this. She asked if it was generally because of good intergovernmental cooperation, or because the County has different restrictions. Paul Thames said that half of Hillsborough's water customers are outside of town. There is a difference of opinion legally between the Town's Attorney and the County's Attorney as to whose ordinance should be applicable to TownJCounty customers. It is the County Commissioners' choice as to whether they revise the ordinance to track with Hillsborough's ordinance. Chair Jacobs said that he has a concern about an ordinance that does not address drought conditions. He recalls a meeting almost two years ago where there was agreement that the staffs would work on reanalyzing the relationship between Lake Orange and the new reservoir. It does not look like this has happened. He would like to address the interrelationship between the new reservoir and Lake Orange. He would like to communicate with Hillsborough that the County Commissioners want to have this discussion. PUBLIC COMMENT: John Tolar said that he was concerned about the water an the spillway and what could be done about this. Chair Jacobs said that they have only been asked to make comments an Hillsborough's proposed modification of the ordinance Commissioner Carey asked how many days are remaining once the water stops running at the spillway at Lake Orange and Paul Thames said around 250 days. Commissioner Brown asked what happens if there is a drought and where would Hillsborough go if they ran out of water. Paul Thames said that they could try and get water from Durham or OVIlASA. There is even a possibility of getting water from Orange-Alamance. Commissioner Brown said that the draught two years ago depleted all the water from these sources also. Paul Thames said that there was excess water supply in the MebaneJGrahamJBurlington area during that time. Commissioner Brown said that she sees that the water in this area is not sustainable for the growth that has occurred over the last eight years. She said that the growth has to start slowing down. She said that the more you conserve water in non-drought seasons, the less room you have to conserve it when there is a drought. This is a tough discussion. Hillsborough Mayor Jae Phelps said that the intent of this is to get feedback from the Board of County Commissioners and the Hillsborough Town Board will adopt this new ordinance unanimously. He said that his understanding about the agreement between the two staffs two years ago was that it was for that temporary basis only during the drought. He said that the reason Hillsborough is so adamant about trying to do something is that they do have a good supply in the reservoir. He said that they are using less water than they did years ago. This puts them in a financial bind. It will be hard to tell people that there is a lot of water, but that they need to stop using it. The water rates are very dependent on the usage. Chair Jacobs suggested that the County Commissioners essentially give their acceptance and ask staffs to meet an August 15t" and evaluate whether there is a drought or not. Also, the staffs can start looking at the relationship between the reservoirs. Commissioner Brown said that this whole question should always be open for discussion. Mayor Phelps said that the Town Board is not closed to discussing this, but they did not want to go into restrictions this early in the year. He thinks that mast of the Town Board members are going to vote for this. He is not opposed to continuing discussions. d. Northern Human Services Center Wastewater Treatment System Alternatives The Board received information on design options and projected costs for a wastewater treatment system serving the county's Northern Human Services Center. John Link spoke to the consultants and said that the issue is how to best achieve up to 6,000 gallons per day capacity with a reasonable cost. He said that the staff recommendation is that there be more than afour-day spike of 6,000 gallons per day. Bill Davis, architect with Innovative Design, made a PowerPoint presentation. The estimated current facility use is 600 people per week. The estimate for future expansion is 2,800 people per week. The measured average daily flow is 1,324 gallons per day. The estimate for future expansion is 2,062 gallons per day. The current system is working well, with a 2,400 GPD design. There are some peak flows. The first step in the proposed process would be to put flow equalization in. This would manage the peak flow to allow the existing system to handle the spikes in volume. The second system, which is the one that they recommend, is the additional tanks far controlling peak flows and also a pretreatment system, which processes the sewage and puts out purer water on the outside. The estimated cost is $162,000, which is within the current budget. He said that they just found out about alternatives 3a and 4 (produced by the Environmental Health Staff) this morning, which is in Attachment C. They feel that step 2 is the best alternative. They are not sure if steps 3a and 4 are average flows or peak flows. The other issue is that the State has currently been stricter about having nitrogen reduction from the wastewater treatment facilities. They feel that the State will not approve step 4 without nitrogen reduction. Commissioner Gordon asked for an explanation of the discrepancy between the two recommendations (staff and the consultant). Mike Nicholas said that they got involved in this to improve the environmental aspect. He said that if the County did step 4, they would not want to be part of it. They think step 4 would be a very negative thing for the environment. Ron Holdway from Environmental Health said that they met with the State Engineer and the Regional Soil Scientist on the options, and he did not get the impression that they were limited on treatment options. Tom Konsler, from Environmental Health, said that it is true that the State will be looking for nitrogen reduction. He said that he did not think that it was entirely accurate that there were no other approved technologies that will achieve the nitrogen reduction the State will be looking for. They have not seen any proposals on the living machine. Ron Holdway said that they did look and will continue to look at area wells in that community. This is one of the prime directives for the surveyor to look at. Mike Nicholas said that it was important to look at the bottom line numbers of haw large the facility will eventually be. He said that they were recommending the best system, even though it meant reducing their fee. John Link said that he has been impressed in his discussions with the consultants. He asked what the consultants would be willing to be banded on in the future based on what the County Commissioners want as a threshold of daily capacity. He said that the issue was that this system needs to be sufficient to be able to add on if necessary. He asked what the consultants would "guarantee" for the greatest amount of use per day. One of the consultants said that all of the options were the same flow. There are more expensive options. Commissioner Brown said that she perceives a disagreement between the consultants and staff. She asked that the disagreement be spelled out. Chair Jacobs asked that the disagreement be put it in writing. The staff and the consultants will come together and put something in writing for the Board. e. Appointments (1) Hillsborough Planning Board -One Appointment The Board was to consider one appointment to the Hillsborough Planning Board. DEFERRED (2} Advisory Board on Aging -One New Appointment The Board was to consider one appointment to the Advisory Board on Aging. DEFERRED (3) Orange CountylTown of Hillsborough Urban Transition Area Task Force The Board was to consider appointments to the Orange County/Yawn of Hillsborough Urban Transition Area Task Farce. DEFERRED f. Boards and Commissions BOCC Serve On The Board was to consider the list of boards and commissions on which members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners serve and discuss passible changes. DEFERRED 10. Re arts a. Fairview Park Report The Board was to consider a series of maps shaving existing, proposed and potential uses of the properties belonging to Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough in the Fairview Park, Orange County Public Works vicinity and direct County staff as to how to proceed. DEFERRED 11. Closed Session A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Carey to adjourn into closed session at 3:35 p.m. for the purposes of: "To discuss the County's position and to instruct the County Manager and County Attorney on the negotiating position regarding the terms of a contract to purchase real property," NCGS § 143-318.11(a}{5}. ""Pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11 {a}{3) "to consult with an attorney retained by the Board in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the Board, regarding Orange County vs. Deng et al; and Orange County vs. North Carolina Historical Development, Inc. et al." VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Commissioner Brown seconded by Commissioner Gordon to re-convene into regular session at 4:20 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 12. Adiaurnment A motion was made by Commissioner Brown seconded by Commissioner Carey to adjourn the meeting until June 8, 2004 at 5:30 p.m. at the Government Services Center, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. VOTE: Ayes, 3; No, 1{Commissioner Gordon) Commissioner Gordon wanted the Board to bald a separate meeting an June $, 2004 at 5:30 pm so that the public would receive a special meeting notice specifying the date and purpose of the meeting. Otherwise it will be difficult far the public to find out about this additional meeting. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna 5. Baker Clerk to the Board