Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20050324APPROVED 5!312005 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION MARCH 24, 2005 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session on Thursday, March 24, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Steve Halkiotis, and Barry Jacabs COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey and Deputy Clerk to the Board David Hunt {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. The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. He made reference to the request to remove the appointments far the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he continues to be amazed with the deterioration of what he thought was the democratic process in Orange County. He made reference to the lavender sheet and the action taken by of Representative Faison, in light of the fact that the Chair wrote him a letter and asked that he understand that there is a process that Orange County follows. He said that Representative Faison is obviously intent on ignoring Orange County's process that has been in place far a long time, and has already filed a bill to expand the Board of County Commissioners to provide for district election of most of its members. He asked if this was some kind of dictatorship and who put this together. He said that there was no public hearing and this was not democracy. He suggested putting a letter together in very strong terms and send it to the rest of the legislative group and everyone else in the North Carolina House. Commissioner Jacobs seconded this. Chair Carey said that he did send a letter to Representative Faison, requesting that he leave local matters to local folk. He thought it would be disruptive and divisive if Representative Faison proceeded to file a bill in the legislature. He agreed with sending a letter to the other delegates and house members. Commissioner Jacobs said that this action is also antithetical to the goals of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners. He asked that NCACC add to their legislative delegation opposition to this action. 1. Appointments Chair Carey said that the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council appointments were removed, but also, prior to this meeting, when it was thought that these appointments were going to be on the March 31St agenda, the plan was to remove the Planning Board appointments because of some confusion about the definition of one of the policy items. After it was decided to remove that appointment, he did some research and decided to ask the Board to consider the document that he distributed (email an the green sheet). He thought that, rather than deferring discussion of all of the issues related to board appointments to the meeting when this discussion will take place, he thought he would accelerate this one item because it would allow them to move ahead with the appointment of the Planning Board members as soon as possible. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the ABC Board and the report from the ABC Board Chair and said that it was missing one important issue -the gross sales far the year. The answer was $10 million, but the board chair had to ask a paid staff member for this very important number. He said that he is not sure the Board of County Commissioners does a thorough enough job of looking at the responsibilities of a particular board and the skill set that people should have to serve an a board like this. He made reference to the new mental health reorganization and the millions of dollars that this group will be looking at for the three-county area. He is concerned about getting enough information about the people that are applying for the boards. Commissioner Gordon would like to hold off for one more meeting, because she wanted to confer with the Clerk on what would be helpful administratively. She would like to have a better idea of what the problem is and what the solutions might be. Commissioner Foushee asked that the decision on this not be delayed for more than one meeting. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he supports what the County Attorney said about what constitutes a full term. He said that he does not want to reappoint Crauford Goodwin to a full term. Affordable Housina Advisory Board -Three appointments Commissioner Foushee nominated Betty Tam-Davidson, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs. Commissioner Jacobs nominated Gary Gaddy. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Jacobs nominated Artie Franklin, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis. VOTE: UNANIMOUS {Position numbers were not specified in the nominations) ABC Board -One new appointment Chair Carey nominated Passion Jones, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs. Commissioner Halkiotis asked that the Board brainstorm and submit to the Chair any boards that have a big financial responsibility and ask that the Clerk put together a background sketch on each person on thane boards and the skills that they bring. Commissioner Jacobs suggested having questions for applicants of those boards with more financial responsibility. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Animal Services Advisory Board -Initial appointments This item was tabled in order to get recommendations from the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough. Arts Commission -Five new appointments Commissioner Gordon nominated the four recommendations from the Arts Commission: Lauri Alexander, Tammy Lambert, Randy Owen, and Katherine Poulos to positions expiring March 31, 2007. Commissioner Halkiotis seconded. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Gordon nominated Tyler Dockery, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to a term expiring March 31, 2007. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chapel Hill Board of Adiustment -Two new appointments Commissioner Gordon nominated Peter Strongoli for position #13, with a term expiring March 31, 2008, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Jacobs nominated James Stroud to position #11, with a term expiring March 31, 2008, seconded by Commissioner Foushee. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chapel Hill Planning Board -Two new appointments Commissioner Jacobs nominated Margaret Campion for position #8, with a term expiring June 30, 2006, seconded by Commissioner Gordan. VOTE: UNANIMOUS The second position was left open for additional recruiting. Hillsborough Board of Adjustment- One new appointment Commissioner Halkiotis said that Barrie Wallace was put on the Hillsborough Planning Board a couple of years ago and there was some controversy attached with this vote. Barrie Wallace is on the applicant interest list. He asked if it was appropriate to put Ms. Wallace on the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board. This appointment was tabled awaiting clarification. Human Relations Commission -Five new appointments Commissioner Gordon nominated the five recommended candidates: Sabrina Covington-Farrar for the Town of Hillsborough, and Artie Franklin, Augustin Gnamien, Steven Clemens, and Randee Haven-O'Donnell for the At-Large positions. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Orange County Recreation and Parks Council -New Appointments Removed. Solid Waste Advisory Board Work Group -One appointment Commissioner Halkiotis nominated Barry Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Gordon. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 2. County Facilities Needs Report Budget Director Donna Dean made the PawerPoint presentation. 2005 County Facilities Needs Orange County, North Carolina March 24, 2005 Tonight's Presentation ^ Overview ^ A Look at County Needs ^ Board Questions, Comments, Discussion 2005 County Facilities Needs Report ^ Detailed report of current county facilities needs . Includes needs that range from major capital repairs with anticipated costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars to minor structural or aesthetic improvements with anticipated costs in the hundreds of dollars . County facilities needs total around $18 million over the next ten years ^ Does not prioritize County needs . County capital priorities to be identified during the upcoming Capital Investment Plan planning process ^ Detailed report of current county facilities needs . Includes needs that range from major capital repairs with anticipated costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars to minor structural or aesthetic improvements with anticipated costs in the hundreds of dollars ^ Does not address future space needs of County departments . Presentation scheduled for March 31 ^ Daes not prioritize County needs . County capital priorities to be identified during the upcoming Capital Investment Plan planning process Contents of Report ^ Two Major Sections of Report ^ County Facilities Needs Summary (located on pages 1 through 15 of report) . Offers alphabetical summary by building of individual facility needs . Total Requested Column reflects ten-year funding need ^ Individual Facility Projects . Provides detailed information of needs at individual facilities County Facilities Needs Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo explained the pictures and noted the capital facilities needs. Some of the needs include floor replacement, painting, windows in the recreation department, drainage repair, brick work for retaining walls, additional recycling containers and concrete pads far solid waste convenience centers. Discussion ensued between Commissioners Jacobs and Halkiotis about purchasing the sites for convenience centers instead of leasing them. Commissioner Gordon asked Wilbert McAdoo to think of some way, while the convenience centers are being refurbished, to make the recyclables accessible, because there is no way to get at them at this time. Commissioner Foushee asked about how many sites the County owns and it was answered only one out of six sites. Wilbert McAdoo continued with his presentation of needs: painting at the old section of the jail in Hillsborough. Commissioner Halkiotis said that it would be important to have a listing of all historical buildings in the County's possession. The old buildings need to be painted very frequently because the paint does pat adhere well to the older wood. He said that the County should be putting aside $40,000 a year, just to be painting these old buildings. Wilbert McAdoo continued with his presentation of needs: needs at Court Street Annex and Homestead Center, drainage repair at Purchasing and Central Services, waterproofing needs. Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the person that fixed a problem at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School at the old wing. This person put in some new drains. He suggested that Wilbert McAdoo talk to this person. Wilbert McAdoo continued talking about the needs: restroom needs {built in the 50's}, roofing repair needs. Commissioner Halkiotis asked how much was needed every year for the strategic roofing plan. Wilbert McAdoo said that their experience has been $300- 500,000. This amount is budgeted. Donna Dean painted out that this year there is no money budgeted far roofing repairs. Across the nation, local governments have been faced with funding cuts and mandates, so some big-ticket items have been postponed. She said that far the current year, the available pay-as-you-go funding for County capital needs was around $2.3 million. After being faced with the cuts at the last minute last year and with the mandates, $1.6 million of this was redirected with operational items in the general fund. Commissioner Halkiotis said that, in his opinion, the County has been focusing in on school needs and has ignored its own needs. He is not going to say that state and federal funding cuts and unfunded mandates have put the County in this place. He said that the County has put itself in this place by turning its back on its own buildings because it has given and given to both school systems. County Capital and Facility Funding ^ State and federal funding cuts and implementation of unfunded mandates over the last 4 to 5 years, have forced local governments to redirect funds that would normally address capital needs to fund operational needs . In many instances, facility repairs and maintenance items have been postponed causing capital needs to mount ^ As a point of reference, available pay-as-you-ga funding for county capital needs in the current fiscal year totaled $2.3 million . $1.6 million of that amount was redirected to the County's General Fund to "make up" funding losses and increased mandates . In the end, $750,000 was allocated to the CIP for the following items . Fulfill our funding commitment to Sportsplex ($400,000), provide for Information Technology initiatives {$350,000) and purchase mandated Jail equipment {$50,000) Board Discussion Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the County's total recurring capital budget for County government. He asked if it was a fixed amount, like for the two school systems and Donna Dean said no. Commissioner Halkiotis said that it is important to note that the County Commissioners give bath school systems over $2 million in recorded capital funds for maintaining their buildings, and the County does not give anything to itself for this purpose. John Link pointed out that, because of the funding lass from the State the last two or three years, the County has not been able to fund the total recurring capital to the school systems. Continuation of presentafion above. Commissioner Gordon asked about operational needs and if this was referring to small capital needs. She asked if there was not any money within departments to do small things like a $500 repair. Donna Dean said that it does not mean small capital. She said that it goes back to using the pots of money to fund the cuts. They have redirected any monies that would be going to County capital projects to fund operational needs like Medicaid, etc. Commissioner Gordon asked about the small, routine maintenance projects and if there was no money in the budgets of the departments for this. John Link said that the focus for repairing and painting buildings has been through Public Works. Furniture needs and the like come from the department budget, but items related to the actual building are handled through Public Works. Wilbert McAdoo said that they have a limited amount of funding for building maintenance. The basic needs are to keep the building dry, provide utilities, keep it clean, etc. Things such as painting and carpet are lower on the priority list. Commissioner Foushee said that she has visited most of these buildings and was shocked at the state of most of them. She asked if there have been any air quality studies in these buildings. She said that some of these buildings appeared to have poor air quality. Wilbert McAdoo said that there have been some air quality analyses done. There were some minor issues. They have tried to increase airflow where they can, which helps air quality. Commissioner Foushee said that it was surprising to her that there is not a recurring capital budget for maintenance of facilities. She would support a recurring capital budget for the next CIP. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the County has not been a very good steward of its own buildings because it has been taking care of everybody else's buildings. He asked if any of the roofs were leaking right now and Wilbert McAdoo said no. There were some minor things, but they have been taken care of. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he has been looking at some of the County buildings and there are some major rotten wood issues at the new courthouse. He has also noticed indoor air quality issues with plants in the Government Services Center. Some of the employees are bringing in botanical gardens into their offices, but they are introducing damp soils, mold, and mildew. He said that employees might need to be taught how to live in harmony with the HVAC systems. Wilbert McAdoo said that the Solutous Group has agreed to come and talk to the Risk Management Team in April to start the process of training. Commissioner Jacobs said that this is where he misses some kind of priority order to the budget. He would like to have a better sense of the major issues in the budget. Jahn Link said that the staff has talked about giving the County Commissioners the building blacks to the budget in terms of increments. There will be more detail about this next week during the budget presentation. Commissioner Gordon said that it is clear to her that a recurring capital budget is needed. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the new courthouse and said that some of the needs could be folded into the Justice Facilities expansion and Donna Dean said that is the plan. The CIP and debt issuance schedule will show this. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the Northern Center improvements and asked if anything was budgeted far this. Donna Dean said that at the present time there are sufficient funds to cover the wastewater treatment system. Commissioner Jacobs said that it seems it would be easier to tear down the Planning Department and start over since there are so many improvements needed. This building used to be a supermarket. 3. Orange County Animal Shelter -Six Month Progress Report Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey made this presentation. She introduced Shelter Director Joe Pulcinella, who introduced his staff. Gwen Harvey summarized the information in the notebook. The Board of County Commissioners determined that there would be a new governance, management, and leadership structure put in place for the animal shelter. This occurred on July 1, 2004. She pointed out the organizational chart and the Transitional Operations Procedure Manual. Section 3 addresses operating performance and Section 4 addresses the fiscal analysis. Section 5 is a summary of work in progress and includes some challenges such as staffing requirements, spaytneuter surgical services, medical carettreatment of the animals, placement rates, publicity and public image, volunteerism and private donations, and targeted spaytneuter outreach. She said that there was a seamless transition on July 1 St and there was no interruption of service. There is a good team in place. She believes that there are improved relations with a lot of the community stakeholders. Commissioner Halkiotis commended the staff on a fine job. He asked where APS operations are currently. Jae Pulcinella said that they are in a facility in Mebane. They have opened a restricted admission facility. Commissioner Halkiotis asked if there had been a significant change in activity since July 1St as far as animals being dropped off and adapted. Joe Pulcinella said that the statistics dropped across the board after July and they are trying to figure out why. The two theories are that it is a statistical phenomenon because of improved record keeping and that the public is confused about the change. Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the break point where it would be cost effective to have an in-house veterinarian as opposed to contract services. Gwen Harvey said that they are going to be investigating this. Commissioner Foushee said that it might be helpful for the County Commissioners to know what has been spent year to date for surgical expenses. She asked if any other services were contracted beyond spay/neuter and Joe Pulcinella said no. The ballpark figure far spay/neuter services will came out to approximately $100,000 for the year. Commissioner Jacobs suggested putting in the tax bill that the shelter is open and operating. He asked about the procedures for identifying lost animals. He asked if there was a capability to put pictures on the website for this purpose. Joe Pulcinella said that they have not been able to implement this yet. They do have adoptable animals on the pet finder website. Commissioner Gordon asked about the mast important thing that needs to be done in the next six months. Joe Pulcinella said that the outreach program is very important. He would like to go into the community and talk about the resources available far spay/neuter. The County Commissioners commended the staff for all the work on this transition. Commissioner Halkiotis said that as soon as the Animal Services Advisory Board is in place, there needs to be a design committee to work on the new facility. John Link agreed. 4. Follow-upon Item from January 11, 2405 Listening Session Chair Carey said that this item came to the Board's attention by Jay Bryan on at least three occasions. The last occasion was at the January 11t" listening session. He is going to ask that the Baard defer decision on this item. He thinks it is incumbent upon the Board to tell the citizens that the Board will or will not do something about this. It has to do with acommunity-building plan. Commissioner Halkiotis would like to discuss this at length at a future meeting, because he feels the same way. Cammissianer Jacobs suggested talking about it before the Assembly of Governments meeting. With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board