HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20051017APPROVED 3/21/2006
MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
WORK SESSION
OCTOBER 17, 2005
7:30 p.m.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Monday, October 17,
2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr., and Commissioners
Valerie P. Foushee, Alice Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis and Barry Jacabs
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Barhanian
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant 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.
1. 2004 Facilities Study Group Key Issues Report
Justice Facilities:
Jahn Link said that Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Janes would summarize
this item. He said that Commissioners Halkiotis and Jacobs have worked with staff on facility
issues and tonight they will start with Justice Facilities.
Pam Jones said that after they talk about Justice Facilities then they would go through the
list. She gave same history of the project. The architects have met several times with building
staff and Commissioners and they have learned a lot. There was a report in 1995 that talked
about Orange County's development of justice facilities, and this gave a span for square footage
that would be needed by 2025 that was somewhere between 95-100,000 square feet. The
County Commissioners decided that 100,000 square feet would be too large for Margaret Lane,
so it was pulled back to 25-27,000 square feet. This was determined to be too small, so there is
now a 38,000-square foot design. The additional square footage would be cost out at $2.2-2.5
million and is within the debt capacity. They now need to decide which footprint to pursue. They
hope to be under construction this time next year. The total cost of the project is about $10
million.
Commissioner Halkiotis asked if this included the farmers market and Pam Jones said yes.
John Link said that they would do a summary sheet after tonight.
Commissioner Gordon asked if they could talk about the debt schedule and Pam Janes said
yes, that Donna Dean was here to address that issue.
Ken Redfoot from Corley Redfoot Zack said that they were asked to look at a 27,000 square
foot facility, but after interviewing staff and after other site visits it became clear that they needed
to look at two schemes -one for 27,000 square feet and one for 38,000 square feet. He
described the layout of the addition. The single point of entry would be off Margaret Lane for
security reasons. There will be a reduction in parking in this area as a result of the addition. He
showed pictures of the two schemes and described each scheme. The larger scheme allows for
the Public Defender to be in Hillsborough, who is now in Carrboro at Carr Mill Mall in a rented
space. The rent is $104,000 a year, 48% of which is allocated to the Public Defender and 52°~
of which is for the dental clinic.
Jahn Link said that the larger space allows more space for the Sheriff and the courts.
Commissioner Gordon said that the Sheriff would not be adequately served in the 27,000
square foot area. She said that she understood that the urgent need was the Sheriff and the
courtroom was not urgent. Ken Redfoot apologized if he gave the wrong impression. He said
that the courtrooms were bare minimum for what is required and needed now.
Commissioner Gordon asked if they built the 38,000 square feet, would it fit the needs for ten
years and Pam Jones said that it would probably serve for 15 to 20 years.
Jamie Stanford, Clerk of Court, was introduced.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that he visited the Sheriff last week and the Sheriff is totally
behind the larger footprint. He said that the Sheriff has worked for years in a sardine can and
now it is passible to put all of the Sheriff's duties under one roof. He thinks this is a frugal and
visionary opportunity to do something concrete. He regrets cutting corners at the F. Gordon
Battle Courtroom and not adding a second floor. He said that they should have put in the dental
clinic at the Southern Human Services Center and added more space there instead of spending
so much money on rent. He is supportive of the larger scheme.
Jamie Stanford pointed out that recently they lost the third floor courtroom to judges' offices,
and adding just one more courtroom brings them back up to where they used to be. He said that
they struggle each day to find enough court space for the many proceedings. He wants to make
sure they have enough.
Commissioner Gordon asked if two courtrooms would be enough and Jamie Stanford said
that more courtrooms would be better, but two would do for now. There are enough proceedings
to fill the courtrooms.
Commissioner Gordon said that she shares Commissioner Halkiotis' regret that they should
have built onto the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom when they had the chance.
Commissioner Foushee asked about the usage of the Chapel Hill courtroom and Jamie
Stanford said that the Chapel Hill courtroom is used every Tuesday and then for juvenile
delinquency and Department of Social Services neglect and abuse cases. It is probably used
four out of five days. They would continue to use it as long as Chapel Hill would allow them to
use it. Parking is a problem at the courthouse in Chapel Hill.
Commissioner Jacobs asked if one of the courtrooms could be a general purpose meeting
room and Ken Redfoot said yes.
Commissioner Jacobs suggested that, if the Board is in general agreement, that it ask Pam
Jones and Ken Redfoot to make a presentation to the Town of Hillsborough. He would like to
make Hillsborough feel like a partner in this project. He would like to suggest that in the Spring
for employees to begin phase out parking on East Margaret Lane and Cameron Street. He said
that County operations should not be perceived as an impediment for parking.
John Link recommended that if they go to Hillsborough, that Jamie Stanford, Judge Joe
Buckner, and the Sheriff try to go at the same time.
Commissioner Halkiotis supported what Commissioner Jacobs said about parking. He thinks
everyone needs to know that there is an issue with parking. He said that every County employee
needs to have a sticker on their vehicle with a designated parking lot number. He said that Pam
Jones suggested that they were going to look at First Baptist Church and try to reach an
agreement to use the parking lot far a park and ride lat. He said that they should take a bold
step and have designated parking for employees. He knows that employees park out front in the
15-minute spaces, and this needs to stop.
A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
direct the architect to proceed with the larger footprint (37,000 sq ft) for the Justice Facilities
Complex.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to direct
the staff to develop a parking plan for employees by April 1, 2006.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Commissioner Gordan asked about the debt capacity for the justice facilities. Donna Dean
said that at the September 13t" meeting, the staff presented the debt issuance schedule, which
included $7.7 million for the justice facilities, which included corresponding renovations and upfits
at the new courthouse. In addition, they have also programmed $4 million in the following year
for additional County space. In the third year (2007-2008},there is $4.5 million programmed.
Taking all of this into consideration, they would still be well within the debt capacity if they were to
do the additional $2.2-2.5 million for the justice facilities.
Commissioner Gordan asked if the $4.5 million was earmarked far anything and Donna Dean
said that she does not recall.
Donna Dean will make copies of the September 13t" diagram.
Park Operations BaselPark Administration at the Valley Forge Site:
Pam Jones said that when they put the space study together, one of the primary concerns
was to free up space at the Planning and Ag Building and to minimize the amount of rent being
paid. Part of the strategy was to relocate ERCD and the Parks and Recreation site to the Valley
Forge site. Since that time, ERCD requested that their offices be located at the Julia Blackwood
properly on Millhouse Road in Chapel Hill, and this would free up some space at the Planning
and Ag building. This would be done the last quarter of next year.
Regarding the Parks Operations base, there are a couple of site plans. She said that when
they contemplated the parks operations base being maned to this facility, they were looking at a
shorter period of time -five years. The Parks Strategic Plan called for them to locate
permanently at the Blackwood property on NC 86. This decision has not been officially made by
the Board. She said that both plans are pretty expensive because of some requirements, such as
retaining walls, and she does not think it would be worth it far the short term.
She made reference to the options on the abstract.
- Option 1: Renovate the building and site to accommodate the Parks Operations
BaselParks Administration
o If renovations are to occur, recommend which site plan should be used as the
basis for design;
- Option 2: Not renovate the building to accommodate the Parks Operations BaselParks
Administration
o If no renovation is to occur, discuss the advisability of building a structure for the
parks operations base somewhere in the vicinity of the Public WorkslFairview
Park site; or
o In the alternative, continue to lease the existing parks operations base until such
time the appropriate facilities are constructed at the Blackwood Farm as a
permanent location of the operations base. The current annual lease for the
parks operations base is $33,000.
- Option 3: Consider relocating other County offices to the building. Outstanding issues
that have arisen since the publication of the 2004 Facilities Study Update and that
potentially could be addressed at this facility include:
o Board of Elections need for additional office space and storage for equipment,
ballots, etc.
o Expansion of Farm Services Agency (FSA}, presently located at the Planning and
Agriculture Building. (Note: Relocating FSA to this facility should likely also
include the relocation of all other agriculture related functions in the Planning and
Agriculture Building in order to maintain effective collaboration among the
departments.}
Option 4: Consider marketing the building for sale. FYI, the current tax value
according to the Tax Assessor's office is $291,877
She said that staff did a site visit and the Building Inspector said that there would be no
problem with having office space in this building. The Parks Operations Base would not create a
lot of complications either, but there would need to be firewalls to separate the two offices and the
Parks Operations Base. The space could be renovated under one of five different codes and
probably not have to have sprinklers. The plumbing and HUAC would have to be upgraded and
the roof is on the replacement schedule far this coming year.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that they visited the OE building, and he agrees that building
retaining walls and other requirements are too expensive for the short-term use of five years. He
said that all of the mechanical equipment should be stored at Public Works and not within
Recreation and Parks. He would like to look at siting a facility at Public Works and expanding
onto the existing Public Works building for the Recreation and Parks equipment.
Commissioner Jacobs would like to see a fiscal analysis far a parks operation center versus
spending $33,OOOIyear on rent. He would like to see the minimalist approach to this. He would
also like to see the reactions of the farm agencies to being moved from the northern part of
Hillsborough to this site. He said that if they add more farm services staff then this could be a
wash. The question would then become whether ERCD still needs to move out of the Planning
building if the farm agencies free up the space. He said that the more long-term the solution, the
more cost effective it would be.
Chair Carey asked that the analysis include the possibility of locating the Parks Operations
Base at Public Works.
Commissioner Gordan asked if they were trying to get the operations base and office space
in the same spot and Pam Janes said that, under an ideal circumstance, yes, but if they are
looking at putting the base at Fairview, it is probably appropriate just to move that function and
leave the administrative staff where they are for the time being.
Commissioner Gordon said that it would be important to talk with the various departments to
understand the needs of each department.
Storage Facility Acquisition:
John Link said that in the particular location that is being considered, there is another
footprint for another storage facility. He said that this might not be able to be done without
constructing another building.
Pam Jones said that they would have some resolution on the storage facility acquisition
within the next few weeks.
Chair Carey suggested that Commissioners Halkiotis and Jacobs look at this analysis first
before coming back to the Board. Pam Janes said that they would like to bring this back in late
November or early December.
Board of Elections Space Request:
Pam Jones said that Board of Elections needs additional operations and storage space. Two
options from the space study included relocating EDC to the facility that shall not be named and
allowing the Board of Elections to take over the whole first floor of the Court Street Annex; and
the second option was moving EDC or the Board of Elections to the Orange Enterprises building.
She suggested that the Board let the staff work through the acquisition of the storage facility and
bring a floor plan back.
Commissioner Halkiotis thanked Economic Development Director Dianne Reid for having a
vision because she has allowed the BOE primary use of the EDC's conference room.
Commissioner Gordon said that if the proposed storage facility goes through, it would be
good to keep the Board of Elections downtown. It would be good to keep the Economic
Development Commission downtown as well.
Animal Shelter:
Pam Jones said that closing on this property is conditioned upon regulatory approvals being
sought, which includes an SUP and a zoning compliance permit from the Town of Chapel Hill.
This is an 18-month process at expedited review. They are putting together a proposal to hire
architects and they hope to bring this back before the holiday break. They have information back
from the University that the County could stay on the site until after the lease expires or until they
could develop the new facility. The lease expires January 1, 2007.
Miscellaneous Updates
Carrboro Library:
Pam Jones said that the facility study group has been touring the area far the Carrboro
library. Nothing has been found yet, but it is becoming obvious that limited capital funding may
inhibit anything for this library. It has been suggested that they suggest to the Town of Carrboro
to assist in the funding as a partnership.
Commissioner Jacobs asked staff to come back with a resolution to that effect.
A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to have
staff come back with a draft resolution for the Town of Carrboro to provide partnership funding for
the Carrboro Library.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Commissioner Gordon suggested partnering with the Town of Hillsborough for the branch
library also and includes this in the resolution. The Board agreed.
Spartsplex/Central Orange Senior Center:
Pam Jones said that they would be bringing back a plan very soon, probably in November.
They have moved through the acquisition phase and the planning phase is beginning for the
senior center. Jeff Thompson has been doing project management and there is an agenda item
tomorrow night far him to da project management for the Southern Orange Senior Center also.
ADA Compliance:
Pam Jones said that the space group is very concerned that the County buildings follow a
plan of action to address any ADA non-compliance issues. There was a plan several years ago
and this group will follow it through and ensure that it is updated and that those things are
incorporated in the CIP.
Parking in Downtown Hillsborough:
This was addressed in the Justice Facilities discussion.
High Performance Building Guidelines:
Pam Jones said that this is called green building also. Several years ago, the Triangle J
Council of Governments invited local government officials and designers in the area to create a
set of building standards that would do as little as possible to negatively impact the environment
as buildings are built. This has become a model across the nation. The County incorporates the
practices, but has not formally adopted the guidelines. She would like to bring this forward for
adoption in the near future.
Commissioner Foushee said that it would be helpful to have a list of how high performance
building guidelines are incorporated into any building projects.
2. Potential Strategies to Expedite Construction Projects
Jahn Link said that this is a topic that the Board of County Commissioners wanted the staff to
bring back. This is basically a brainstorming abstract.
Planning Committees:
Commissioner Gordan made reference to Planning Committees and said that the County has
always done a good jab of getting public input. She does not understand the statement, "Utilize
ad hoc committees, not specifically appointed by the BOCC to eliminate the need for public notice
and meeting minute requirements." She does not want to do anything to exclude the public.
Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the justice facilities process and said that it took
months to set just three meetings. Then the commissioners met with Pam Jones and the
architects, and this was mare expeditious. He said that setting up meetings is the hardest part.
He would like to still involve the public and stakeholders without making it such a big production.
Commissioner Gordan said that they should not eliminate the process of getting ideas from
stakeholders. If it is a smaller project, then the process could be tailored to the job. She does not
want to exclude the public at-large or the dynamic process of design.
Chair Carey made reference to the top of page five, and the bullet that says, "Couple the
broader based public information with the formation of smaller planning groups." He said that a
different process could be recommended by staff for each project.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that it would be a great opportunity to test this out with the new
animal shelter. He likes the idea of smaller planning groups.
Commissioner Foushee said that it was hard far her to understand haw ad hoc groups would
work if they were not formed or authorized by the Board of County Commissioners. She said
that, unless it is a staff oriented committee, it would be hard to get around the public notice. Geof
Gledhill said that public bodies are any groups that the Board appoints. If the Board does not
appoint the group, then it is not a public body.
John Link said that this target of finishing by 2009 for the animal shelter is not going to work.
It will have to be sped up and every priority cannot be number one.
Commissioner Jacobs suggested doing what Commissioner Halkiotis said far the Central
Orange Senior Center also and expediting the process with smaller planning groups.
Commissioner Gordon said that the Board should not utilize the ad hoc committees and to
not consider this option.
Board approvals-Design and Construction Phases:
Commissioner Jacobs said that, dealing with the regulatory process, they need to be mare
attuned to the deadline processes of the other jurisdictions and their timeframes. It might just be
an issue of working more closely with the jurisdictions' staff.
Pam Jones said that the Town of Chapel Hill has an upfront process where you can sit down
with them and map out the progress. Chapel Hill has the longest process.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is not for moving ahead with the proposal of anything
under $300,000 not coming through the County Commissioners. He would like to maintain the
opportunity to review these bids. He has no problem with the way it is currently set up with
$20,000.
Board Participation in Project Planning:
Commissioner Gordon said that she sees this as a parallel process where County
Commissioners that are not directly involved could be brought up to speed.
Pam Jones said that the idea was that all County Commissioners would have a similar base
of knowledge and an item would not have to be brought back for additional information when it
was presented. There could be an informal session where everyone would be brought up to
speed.
The Board agreed with this.
Consultants:
Pam Jones said that when there are projects that are parallel or very close in development, it
might be helpful to have the same consultant.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that Economic Development Director Dianne Reid is promoting
Shop Orange First, and if there are consultants who live in Orange County, then they should
consider those first.
Commissioner Jacobs agreed, considering the consultant is qualified.
Working with Contractors:
Pam Jones said that this involves the County contracting with an architect and they would
pull together a contractor that would work early on in the planning along with the planning
committee to form a project. The contractor can then guarantee the project construction for the
dollar amount that is set in the beginning. She thinks that this can be less costly. Most of the
State's projects are done this way now.
Chair Carey said that it was reasonable to use incentives for contractors.
Resource Allocation:
Commissioner Jacobs said that it might expedite the process far Pam Jones if there was
someone to help her make some follow-up phone calls.
John Link said that it would take mare staff somewhere. Commissioner Jacobs suggested
identifying a project manager earlier in the process.
3. Review of Initial Draft Mapping and Associated Materials Related to Possible District
Elections for the Board of Commissioners
Chair Carey said that it is his hope to narrow down the options to two far the next BOCC
meeting to discuss in detail with public comment, and then to choose one of those two at a later
meeting to adopt. There are five options brought forward from the larger list.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to the principles an page five, and the fifth one: "To
the degree possible, district boundaries should be configured to provide the opportunity for areas
more urban in nature to nominate commissioners from mare urban areas and areas more rural in
nature to nominate commissioners from more rural areas." She is not sure how this would be
done.
Chair Carey said that he included this principle and he did not have any intent to draw
districts based on any philosophies, and he was speaking only about geography.
Commissioner Jacobs said that they should try and stick to the fairest and most
straightforward way and to change the word "nominate" to "produce" in the fifth principle. He
does not support districts for nominating purposes, but he does support them for producing
commissioners.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that there are already two Commissioners from the rural area
and three from the urban areas. However, their political philosophies do not match the political
desires of a lot of the people that have been pushing for district representation. He said that he is
against nominating people from districts. He said that there has to be a better word than
"nominate", and he is okay with "produce." He would like to leave the door open for a better word.
He said that the bottom line is that there are already two County Commissioners in the rural area.
Chair Carey said that he recognizes that there is no way that lines can be drawn that will
produce any particular philosophy on the Board of County Commissioners. He does support an
option that allows Commissioners to be nominated in a district. He has come full circle because
he used to oppose it. He thinks that a nomination in the district and an election at-large would
accomplish some of the objectives of all of the groups. He wants to preserve the at-large
election.
Commissioner Faushee agreed with Chair Carey an bringing forth one proposal that allows
nominating from the district and an at-large election. She said that this would most likely address
the philosophical issues. She said that her first choice would not be to do this, but she thinks that
if they are going to respond to what they have heard, then they should at least bring forward a
proposal.
Commissioner Gordon said that maybe the best solution is to hold open how it is going to be,
because she does not think the County Commissioners are ready to narrow it down.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to principle #6: "Any district plan should provide
African-Americans, women, and other minorities an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their
choice." She said that she assumed this meant that African-Americans, women, and other
minorities would be given the same opportunity as Caucasian males.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that it is important to note that this is already being
accomplished and there are few places in the world where this is being accomplished. This is the
first time that there have been two African-Americans on the Board of County Commissioners.
He suggested adding some verbiage that says this is already being accomplished.
Chair Carey suggested adding language that would "maintain" this equal opportunity.
Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the last principle about not increasing the
divisiveness in the County and said that they have tried to accomplish this by bringing people
together. He said that because he is conservative about making change, he goes back to page
three where the staff contacted 22 counties similar to Orange County and 21 used districts for
residency purposes only. His concern is that they do not leap too far in trying to act to a
legitimate concern, but make it more divided. He said that it seems that there is a standard way
of doing this in North Carolina. He said that to go from the current system to a district system is a
large step in the direction of accommodating the concerns that people have raised.
Commissioner Halkiotis supported Commissioner Jacobs' comment. He said that they could
learn from these 22 other counties.
Geof Gledhill said that Commissioner Jacobs' comment is valid, but there are a significant
number of pure district systems among County Commissioners. There are 14 pure district
systems.
Chair Carey said that the situation is different in every county. He has found that there are
varying degrees of happiness with the district systems. He wants to do what is best for Orange
County now.
Commissioner Halkiotis made reference to the last principle: "District lines, and any efforts to
establish districts, should not exacerbate perceived divisions within the County," and said that the
word "perceived" is a very dangerous word. He suggested taking this principle out and Chair
Carey agreed.
Commissioner Gordon suggested taking out "perceive" and say that, "The new system of
voting should not exacerbate divisions within the County.
Commissioner Halkiotis suggested, "Any district plan should foster greater participation in the
election process by all citizens." The Board agreed with this language.
Commissioner Gordon asked for information about the implementation process and how and
when the district boundaries will came into effect.
Geof Gledhill said that if you nominate by districts, you have to redistrict periodically. If you
have a pure residency district, you do not have to redistrict. Commissioner Gordon asked Geof
Gledhill to write a brief statement on how the amendment would work and what the choices are.
Chair Carey made reference to the maps and said that the Board is not making any decision
an whether the nominations will be for districts or at-large at this point.
The first two proposals are maps that are variations on the theme of the option that he put
forward. The first one has the smallest variation. He was trying to minimize the extent to which
either of those dipped into the urban areas of Chapel Hill or Carrboro to draw the district lines. He
said that he would probably select proposal #2.
Commissioner Halkiotis said that his preference is for proposal #3, which is Commissioner
Jacobs' proposal of seven County Commissioners. He thinks this broadens the opportunity for
greater citizen participation. He thinks that having three at-large County Commissioners
becomes the insurance package that the majority will always prevail. He is against district
nomination.
Commissioner Jacobs thinks that by having more commissioners, they will be giving more
people an opportunity to have more of a voice in the government.
Chair Carey said that he would not support aseven-member board. He said that, with any of
the proposals, the voters at large get to elect all of the County Commissioners, and in some of the
proposals, they get to nominate the majority of the County Commissioners.
Commissioner Halkiotis asked for information about how many seven-member and five-
member boards there are in the State.
Commissioner Jacobs said that this merits bringing forward to the public and it gives every
single person in every district the opportunity to choose a majority no matter what system of
nomination is chosen.
Commissioner Foushee said that proposal #3 is her preference for the reasons stated by
Commissioner Jacobs, but also because it would make the work more manageable. She said
that this option allows for philosophical needs to be addressed and shows that the Board has
listened to the concerns that have been brought forward.
Commissioner Gordon said that she would prefer afive-member Board. She suggested
taking three proposals forward for comment: #2, #3 and either #4 or #5.
Chair Carey suggested bringing forward proposals #2, #3, and #5. The Board agreed with
bringing these three proposals fonrvard, along with the principles as revised.
Commissioner Jacobs said that out of 100 counties that are in North Carolina, there are 32
seven-member boards, three six-member boards, and one three-member board. Most are five
member boards.
A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
adjourn the meeting at 10:211 p.m.
UOTE: UNANIMOUS
Moses Carey, Jr., Chair
Donna S. Baker
Clerk to the Board