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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20051102APPROVED 1/24/2006 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 2, 2005 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis, and Barry Jacobs COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Barhanian 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 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda Chair Carey reviewed the items before the County Commissioners. These include the three district maps to be considered during the public hearing on district election of County Commissioners; an environmental news service memo; a memorandum of agreement with the Town of Hillsborough (aqua); item 7-a, a list of the recipients of the Arts Commission awards; revisions to the resolution on the war in Iraq; a correction to item 8-a; amendments to item 9-d; and water level information. Chair Carey asked the Board to consider adding a closed session for the purpose of: "to discuss the County's position and to instruct the County Manager and the County Attorney on the negotiating position regarding the terms of a contract to purchase real property, " NCGS ~ 143-318 (a) (5} (located at 510 Meadowlands Drive, Hillsborough; owned by Shachtman LCC; to be used for storage). The Board agreed. Chair Carey said that item 9-e-2 would need to be removed. Chair Carey asked the Board to consider moving the Manager's Comments before the public comments and the Board agreed. PUBLIC CHARGE The Chair dispensed with the reading of fhe public charge. 4. County Manaaer's Report John Link said that each year the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce recognizes the Sheriff's Deputy Officer of the Year and an Emergency Management Officer of the Year. He recognized Deputy Jasper Clark as Sheriff's Deputy Office of the Year. Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said that Deputy Clark was the first alternative school resource officer last year. He introduced past recipients of the award and also the family of Deputy Clark. John Link recognized Emergency Management Officer of the Year Eric Griffin. He has also won the Vance EP Award, which is a competitive award conveyed to him by the North Carolina Emergency Management Association. John Link then recognized a group of employees that won the Norton Group Award from the North Carolina Public Health Association. The Public Health Educators won this award. Health Director Rosemary Summers said that the Norton Group Award is given to a group for outstanding cooperation and service to public health in North Carolina during the past year. She introduced the staff: Donna King (Director of Division of Health Promotion and Education}, Louise Eckels, Maria Hitt, Ellen Young, and Matt Strange. Susan Clifford, Renee Kinski, and Nan Partington could not attend. She said that they won this award because of their outstanding models of community collaboration. She described the projects that the employees coordinated. John Link asked Annette Moore to come forward. Ms. Moore is the special counsel to the Orange-Person-Chatham Area Mental Health Program. She has been inducted as the President of the National Association of Human Rights Workers. This is the oldest professional civil rights association in the United States. 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda Isabel Geffner is Executive Director of The Community Backyard. She distributed a handout (yellow). The Community Backyard is anon-profit organization working in Orange and Chatham Counties with all of the public child-serving agencies. The mission is to look at mental health and substance abuse needs of children in the two counties and to identify the gaps in services far these children, and to help develop models of intervention and treatment. She said that one of the areas they have been focusing their work on is substance abuse prevention and treatment. This is one of the most severe areas of need in the two counties. She reported that they have been recently awarded a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Drug Free Community Support Grant. The County Commissioners offered a letter of support. It is initially a $100,000 grant, which has a dollar for dollar match locally. She said that they were going to work hard to alter community Harms to get people to realize that the statistics that they see indicate that children in our counties are using drugs and alcohol at alarming rates. The Chatham County Commissioners contributed $10,000 to this effort. She hopes that the Board will support the renewal of this grant. She said that a lot of the heart and soul of their work comes out of the passion and commitment of Dale Pratt-Wilson. Dale Pratt-Wilson is with the Committee for Alcohol and Drug-Free Teenagers. She said that she witnessed 200+ teenagers at a party using drugs and alcohol and then driving to another party. A group of concerned citizens formed a committee in Chapel Hill and Carrboro and have been working aver the past year and a half to raise the community's awareness of the local epidemic. She said that they have also worked to build a community wide coalition of stakeholders and they will be meeting tomorrow at Squids at 12:00. She invited everyone to attend. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda below.} 3. Board Comments Commissioner Gordon said that TTA reported that the Smart Commute Challenge had over 12,000 participants. She said that TTA has a mock up of the vehicle that is being planned for phase I of the regional rail. It is only the front half of the car. Commissioner Gordon said that the Intergovernmental Parks Work Group met last week and they had a presentation on the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The issue is the route through Alamance and Orange Counties. There will be more information on the three different variations of routes. Commissioner Gordon said that they also talked about the Orange County/Chapel HilUCarrborolHillsboroughJMebane parks planning efforts. All jurisdictions have given the IP Work Group the go-ahead to develop a coordinated facility document for parks and greenways far planning purposes. They saw a first draft of this. This document will have information an all parks in this area and will help when other parks are being planned. Commissioner Gordon said that the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council talked about the Fairview Park and the recommended facilities. Commissioner Gordon referred to her resolution about the war in Iraq. There is another resolution about new federal priorities that was presented in Chapel Hill and Carrboro and this will be an the November 15t" meeting. This is a different resolution. Commissioner Gordon said that her husband went to the special district tax information meeting and she asked about how the distribution of the brochures was going. John Link said that they have made distributions of the brochures to libraries, fire departments, Gauntry stores, schools, solid waste convenience centers, and they are replenishing them this week. Commissioner Halkiotis thanked all of the people who have expressed concern about his wife. He received a call from his wife whose car was struck in Guilford County by a drunken driver who had had his license suspended. She is fine. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is getting worried about the water levels. When he sees Wake County going to mandatory water restrictions, he is wondering what is going on with Orange County. Lake Orange is 8 feet 8 inches below full. He asked for Commissioner Jacobs to talk about this since he is the most active member of the Eno River Association. The Governor is asking Orange County and other counties to look at voluntary water restrictions and nothing has been done. He is very concerned. He has also read that Hillsborough is going to buy water from Qurham or Burlington. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he appreciated Chair Carey keeping them up to date on mental health reform. He said that he gets worried when he sees Representative Verla Insko upset about something and she is upset about this issue. He read from a letter from Representative Insko to Secretary Odum: "There has been neither a thoughtful review of other alternatives, nor a thorough exploration of unintended consequences." He commended Judy Truitt for standing up to the state officials. He said that this is totally stupid and he is really worried about what the Secretary is doing. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he had to leave the meeting early with Hillsborough last night, but he heard that afterwards town officials were not happy with the proposed land swap with the County to build their new Public Works facility. He suggested that Chair Carey and John Link talk about this issue and bring back this information to the rest of the Board. He thought the concerns were resolved some time ago. Commissioner Halkiotis referred to Mayor Phelps' letter on law-income senior housing. He said that he does not want be involved with the Town of Hillsborough on anything until this issue is resolved about the land swap. Commissioner Halkiotis referred to a letter to Chair Carey that came from Leonard Green, Assistant Attorney General to the State of North Carolina. He said that this makes him sick. This is regarding Time Warner. He read from the letter: "At this point, based on a number of factors, the Consumer Protection Division is not going to take action against Time Warner Cable in this matter." He said that it appears that Time Warner is a very powerful group and he is disappointed that the Attorney General staff feels that there is nothing against Time Warner. Once again, the big businesses are ruling the roost. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he is disappointed with the behavior over the district tax. The latest is a flurry of emails by people now chastising reporters. It is almost hysteria. He thanked John Link for forging ahead with the information sessions. Commissioner Foushee thanked all who expressed concern for her husband. He is back on the job. Commissioner Foushee said that in the Information Technology Advisory Committee, they are exploring the possibility of looking at other email providers for the County Commissioners. Commissioner Jacobs suggested that the RPAC representatives send an email to the Clerk and the Chair about the issues of interest to Orange County. The Clerk could identify representatives on the municipal recreation boards and ask them on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners to da these regular emails with information. Commissioner Jacobs said that he attended the district tax information session last night and he said that people made good paints on both sides. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Halkiotis in asking the Chair to write a letter to Secretary Hooker-Odum protesting the manner in which mental health reform is being manipulated and distorted at the expense of local government and the people to be served. He would also like to respond to Attorney General Cooper and say that this was an inadequate response to concerns. Commissioner Jacobs said that he was in rural California last week, and gas prices were lower than they are in Hillsborough. He wants to know what the Attorney General is doing about this regarding consumer protection. Commissioner Jacobs said that Pleasant Green Community Center is having a dinner on Saturday, and the two notice signs about the possible closing of the road at Cole Mill Road are falling apart. He asked the Planning staff to fix these before Saturday since there might be a lot of people there from the community. Commissioner Jacobs said that he attended a joint meeting last night of the FSA, Ag Preservation Board, Cooperative Extension, and Soil and Water, and he found out that the Stillhouse Creek project would be staked out next week and in January the vegetation will be planted. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the resolution next week about domestic priorities and he said that Congress is in the process of cutting billions of dollars out of human services. The number of Medicaid recipients has risen in the last few years by almost half. He would like to ask staff to put together some numbers on what these cuts would cast citizens and put it in a letter and send it to the two U. S. Senators and the House Representative. Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey will put this together and have it back at the next meeting. Commissioner Jacobs said that he shares Commissioner Halkiotis' concerns about the water levels. He said that beaver dams are impeding the flow of water at some points of the Eno River and he suggested that someone needs to patrol the Eno River to open up these beaver dams. He wants to have another water summit about the Ena River and he would like to invite the property owners from Lake Orange, the Eno River Association, the state water quality officials, and other stakeholders and try to work out a system. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to a development of condominiums in San Francisco, which is 11,000 new units and 12% are going to be sold at below market cost, which means that it will be affordable for anyone who makes $175,000 or less. This puts Orange County's affordable housing problems in perspective. Chair Carey asked about the 90-day suspension that the Board agreed to impose on the conservation measures. Rod Uisser said that it was early September. Chair Carey said that the temporary measures are important, but they will continue talks with Hillsborough and Orange- Alamance, but the Board did agree in September to adopt a 90-day suspension of its use of conservation measures because of the confusion with in-town users and out-of-town users. Chair Carey said that he forwarded a copy of a letter he is writing to Mayor Phelps to the Board of County Commissioners about water and he would appreciate comments from the Board. Chair Carey said that they are not the only Board that is outraged about mental health reform problems and issues being pursued by the Secretary. The reform was going pretty good until this latest round of edicts came down. The State Secretary has backed off on cuts far this year, and they are concerned about cuts for next year and to get to some point of agreement on the formation of regional centers. He will be happy to write a letter to the Secretary acknowledging the outrage, along with the other letters. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the negotiations with Hillsborough and the Eno River situation, and she said that the Board did pass a water resources initiative, which is the tap priority of the Commission for the Environment. This is a comprehensive view of water resources in Orange County. She would like for the Board to consider funding the water resources initiative, because it would be good to have ahydro-geologist to advise on negotiations like this and other water resources issues. 5. Items for Decision--Consent Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to approve those items on the Consent Agenda as stated below: a. Minutes The Board approved the minutes from September 7 and September 20, 2005 as submitted by the Clerk to the Board. b. Appointments -None c. Budget Amendment #4 The Board approved budget ordinance amendments far fiscal year 2005-06 for Library Services, Department on Aging, and Non-Departmental -Employee Health Insurance. d. First Reading -Ordinance Granting Franchise to Time Warner Entertainment/Advance-Newhouse Partnership, to Own, Operate, and Maintain Cable System in Unincorporated Orange County This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate consideration. VOTE ON CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA: d. First Reading -Ordinance Granting Franchise to Time Warner EntertainmentlAdvance-Newhouse Partnership, to Own, Operate, and Maintain Cable System in Unincorporated Orange County County Cable Advisory Committee. Commissioner Jacobs said that he wanted clarification on the density of households per street mile. The number agreed upon was 18 units and it was answered that Orange County was asking far 18 units. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the PEG access and he asked if the digital boxes would be made available to everyone. Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that they did not have full discussion about this but that Orange County would make the public aware about this service. Commissioner Jacobs asked her to add this before the next reading. Commissioner Jacobs asked about equipment from Time Warner for broadcasts and if they would then negotiate a lower price from The People's Channel if the County provides equipment. Gwen Harvey said that this would involve the Clerk's office and Purchasing. There is a contract for the remainder of the fiscal year. Implementation of this proposal will not take effect until the latter part of the fiscal year. They have been communicating with The People's Channel about this all along. The system will require one person to operate the robotic equipment. There will still be a relationship with The People's Channel. Michael Patrick said that for information purposes, the set up would be similar to Chapel Hill's and they have someone that comes in on a contract basis and it would probably be a different price. Commissioner Halkiotis said that the only reason he is going to vote for this is because he has received several requests from citizens for Time Warner access. He thanked Michael Patrick for all of his work. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to approve the first reading of a cable franchise renewal ordinance (agreement} with Time Warner EntertainmentlAdvance-Newhouse Partnership {TWC), as recommended by the Orange County Cable Advisory Committee. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 6. Resolutions or Proclamations a. Resolution Supporting the End of the War in Iraq The Board considered a proposed resolution supporting the end of the war in Iraq. Chair Carey pointed out the two alternatives -Resolution proposed by Commissioner Gordon (pink sheet} and Revisions to the resolution proposed by Commissioner Jacobs {white sheet). Commissioner Gordon said that she asked for this resolution to be put on the agenda tonight because of the continuing effect of the war on state and local government. The pink sheet updates her resolution to indicate that there was a death of more than 2,OQ0 United States Service personnel. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve a proposed resolution supporting the end of the war in Iraq as stated below, with Commissioner Jacobs' revisions, and adding "clear" in the "Now, Therefore" section, before the word "rapid". ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONER A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE END OF THE WAR IN IRAQ WHEREAS, the men and women in the Armed Forces deserve our gratitude for their service and bravery; and, WHEREAS, our service personnel should be put in harm's way only for just cause; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners adopted a Resolution Supporting Diplomatic Solutions to End the Conflict in Iraq an March 24, 2003; and WHEREAS, the war in Iraq has caused the death of more than 2,000 United States soldiers, the wounding of more than 15,500 service members, and incalculable personal damage to our military personnel and their families, as well as death, injury, and devastation for tens of thousands of Iraqis; and WHEREAS, in a time of economic difficulty at home the present Administration's policy has cast tens of billions of dollars that would be better spent on health care, social services, education and infrastructure, both here and in other countries; and WHEREAS, there is considerable evidence the war in Iraq was entered into based on, at best, erroneous information and, at worst, consciously manipulated assertions and fears; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of Commissioners, in keeping with its support of the basic values of the United States and a concern for the well- being of its citizen-soldiers, calls upon the federal government to develop a clear, rapid, orderly, and well-articulated plan for bringing the war in Iraq to a swift conclusion, safely bringing our men and women home; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution be forwarded to federal and state legislative delegations on behalf of the residents of Orange County. This the 2"d Day of November 2005. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Halkiotis said that Chapel Hill Town Council approved a similar resolution and Commissioner Gordon said that their resolution articulated their concerns a little differently. Commissioner Gordon said that she brought this resolution forward because she believes in it strongly. She also has a nephew that is serving a second tour of duty in Iraq and she said that there is a personal element in this as well. He is a Captain in the Marine Corp. who is a pilot of medical evacuation helicopters. 7. Special Presentations a. Orange County Arts Grants Recipients The Board presented checks to local artists and arts organizations receiving Spring 2005 Orange County Arts Grants. Chair Carey invited Martha Shannon to come forward. Martha Shannon said that they present these checks twice a year. This is funded with pass through State money. Recipient: Attendee: ArtsCenter Advocates, Inc. - Mary Harley Kruter Carrboro, Town of (Carrboro Music Festival} - Gerry Williams Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission - Kate Flory Deep Dish Theater Company - Desert City Poetry Series - Door to Door Program of UNC Health Care & Planetree Efland-Cheeks Elementary Schoal (Cultural Arts) - Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library - Hillsbarough Arts Council - Cornelia Kip Lee - Alexis Mastromichalis - Meadowmont Community Association - Paul M. Neebe - Orange County Artists Guild - Pamela Pease - Kathleen Stone-Michael - Paul Frellick Ken Rumble Jay Javits Victoria Frisch Nerys Levy John Delconte {out of town) Alexis Mastromichalis Dave Hill Alice Neebe Mary Harley Kruter Pamela Pease Kathleen Stone-Michael b. Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting The Board recognized the staff of the Orange County Finance Department for earning the Government Finance Officers' Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the Fiscal year ending June 30, 2004. John Link said that this is the 23rd straight year that the Finance Department has won this award in preparing the audit each year. Finance Director Ken Chavious said that most of his staff could not be here tonight and he listed them. He thanked his staff and the County employees that are involved in the financial operations. Chair Carey asked the Board to consider moving 8-a next. $. Public Hearings a. Public Hearing on Initial Draft MapslPlans Related to Possible District Elections for the Board of Commissioners The Board conducted a public hearing on initial draft mapstplans related to Possible District Elections for the Board of Commissioners; continued the Board's review of the draft maps/plans and other associated materials related to possible District Elections for the Board of Commissioners: and provided comments, questions, and any further direction to staff as appropriate. Geof Gledhill made a PowerPoint photo presentation, which included district maps and narratives of the plans. The copies of the maps were provided and they are also available on the County's website. PROPOSAL 2 FIVE COMMISSIONERS WITH TWO MULTIMEMBER DISTRICTS- ONE THREE-MEMBER DISTRICT & ONE TWO-MEMBER DISTRICT There would be no members elected at-large and all of the members would be elected from districts. All five members could be nominated in the Primaries either by their respective District Voters OR by all County Voters, and all five members would be elected in General Election by all County Voters. PROPOSAL 3 SEVEN COMMISSIONERS -ONE TWO-MEMBER DISTRICT/TWO SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICTS/THREE AT-LARGE The four members from the three districts must reside in those respective districts and could be nominated in the Primaries either by their respective District Voters OR by all County Voters. Three at-large members would be nominated in the Primaries by all County Voters. All seven members would be elected in the General Election by all County Voters. Geof Gledhill said that the people running in the districts would have to reside in the districts. PROPOSAL 5 FIVE COMMISSIONERS -ONE TWO-MEMBER DISTRICT/ONE SINGLE-MEMBER DISTRICT/TWO AT-LARGE ^ The three members from the two districts must reside in those respective districts and could be nominated in the Primaries either by their respective District Voters OR by all County Voters. Two at-large members would be nominated in the Primaries by all County Voters. All five members would be elected in the General Election by all County Voters. Chair Carey said that the Board of County Commissioners' timetable includes hearing public comments tonight and then the Board will discuss this at its November 15th meeting again. He said that while all maps include districts, the Board of County Commissioners has not decided if these would have district nominations or countywide nominations. The timetable for implementation would be a vote in November 2006 by the residents and implementation in 2008. PUBLIC COMMENT: Artie Franklin lives in Chapel Hill Township and he supports changing the way Board of County Commissioners members are elected in order to provide greater representation. He thinks the current method leaves about one-third of the residents in the County under represented. He thinks the best way is to have people nominated in the primaries by their district voters rather than at-large. This will guarantee that people in districts will have an opportunity to choose someone who represents them. He said that he thinks all three of these proposals offer a greater opportunity, but he prefers proposal #3 because it goes the furthest in increasing representation. He reiterated that it is important to him for this to be fair. He hopes the voters have an opportunity to vote on this in 2006. Brian Voyce lives in an urban area of Orange County and he commended the County Commissioners for considering this. He said to imagine that it is 2006 and David Price has been nominated again in the primary election as the Democratic candidate for the 4tn Congressional District and he is not reelected because the rules have changed. Now every voter in North Carolina can vote in the 4t" Congressional District. He said that this would not be fair, and that district representation plans would do the same thing. He suggests having the Chair of the County Commissioners voted at-large by everyone. He said that only people residing in a district should vote in the primary election and the general election of that district. Bob Strayhorn said that they did not intend to make the County Commissioners' life miserable over this issue, but they have seen a lot of the rural citizens become discontent because they feel as if the Board of County Commissioners does not represent them. They are looking for someone living the midst of rural Orange County to represent them. He said that he does not know if any of the proposals will meet this, but if everyone votes at-large, the goal will not be achieved. He thinks the more at-large seats there are, the less likely they will be represented. The proposal with 7 seats is the closest one that could meet the goal. Dolly Hunter is from the rural part of the County and she has done an analysis. She said that they have not been given enough time to understand the proposals. She does not understand why this has to be decided by November 15t". Chair Carey said that they have worked on this since the first of the year and the groups that came to them wanted them to address this as soon as passible. Commissioner Halkiotis said that he also feels that they have not had enough time to study this. Dolly Hunter said that any notification for a public hearing about this issue would have two weeks' notice two weeks in a row, and this has not been done. She feels that the only way any of these proposals can work is if the nomination and election is done by district in the primaries or, as Chatham County has it, the candidates in each district receiving the highest number of votes equal to the number of positions to be filled in that district is to be elected. Bill Ray said that proposal #3 with seven County Commissioners comes nearer to what they are looking for, but he would like for them to delete "either" and "OR by the County voters." Representative Bill Faison said that he is glad for the efforts made in discussing this issue. He reiterated that the proposal that they submitted earlier is the better proposal than any one of the three proposals. He said that what troubles them the most is the ward "OR". He said that they want the ability of the rural citizens to come and be a part of this, but putting "OR" in there makes it an at-large election again and that is not what they want. He said that proposals #5 and #2 are favorable. In proposal #2, 25°~ of the people that would be selecting the members are part of urban Chapel Hill. He finds this somewhat concerning given that there are other ways to do this. He hopes they will eliminate "OR" so that the rural part of the County can have a meaningful voice. Louise Tate is a lifelong resident of rural Orange County and she has served on the Agricultural Preservation Board and Shaping Orange County's Future Task Force. She said that one of her concerns was the short notice of the public hearing and she has concern about a decision being made an November 15t". She asked if they had to decide on a model before carrying it to the voters. If so, she supports proposal #3 but without the "OR". She hopes the decision is one that rural Orange County can support. Mark Peters said that he agrees that agenda materials should be available two weeks in advance, but he is in favor of proposal #5 because it has balance. Ted Triebel said that he is favoring proposal #3 with some changes. He said that he is troubled by the Iraq resolution. He wants to know why the Board of County Commissioners speaks out on national matters. He is a 30-year career veteran and is pro-military and anti-war, but if they feel the need to support the end of the war in Iraq, then he would ask that they support the end of the war in Sudan, Somalia, Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Pakistan, and others. Pete Hallenbeck is from Efland and he said that as time goes by he sees mare friction between the rural areas and the Board of County Commissioners. He is concerned about these proposals because they could elect basically the same people because of the at-large nature of the elections. He agreed with taking the "OR" out. Chair Carey thanked everyone far coming out and said that the next time this issue would be on the agenda is November 15tH c. Solid Waste Matters The Board reviewed and discussed matters related to the County's solid waste facilities master plan and land clearing and inert debris management considerations and provided direction to the Manager and staff. Rod Visser said that tonight and in future work sessions the staff will be bringing back several matters related to solid waste. The first matter relates to the Solid Waste Facilities Master Plan, which was approved in October 2001. The second matter is citing and operation of possible land clearing debris facilities. Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson referred to the map and said that four years ago the Board approved several elements of the master plan. There were two areas of the landfill of which the Board did not approve any particular function -the area of the current convenience center and the back corner near the Neville Tract. They suggested that the northern area be a possible location for a transfer station. They are currently developing a concept site plan for a transfer station at this location to bring forward at a later date. They want to meet with the Chapel Hill Planning Department to see if there are any issues there. The other area was previously suggested as a possible area to relocate the existing processing pad. There are other facilities that can be located, but the transfer station certainly needs to be located somewhere. Commissioner Jacobs said that they received an update email from Susan Levy of Habitat for Humanity today and he replied to her asking whatever happened to a resale and reuse facility. She replied and reiterated what they had decided in 2001. They have reconstituted a group to work on such a facility. Susan Levy stated that the understanding was that the County would be responsible for the initial capital expense of land and the building and Habitat would operate the business. Commissioner Halkiotis asked Gayle Wilson about the recycling pad and verified that they would have to pour a new one, which would be concrete. Chair Carey said that there would be more in-depth discussion on this at the work session on November Stn Commissioner Gordon said that this is proposing to acquire a 60-acre tract far land clearing debris. She asked what part of the plan this comes from. Gayle Wilson said that this is Hat directly related to the facilities master plan, because a piece of property adequate to manage significant quantities of debris does not exist in the Eubanks Road area to suffice for this function. They are not proposing that it be located anywhere an the map that is included. He said that they are proposing that the Board of County Commissioners acquire property in the likely event of another storm or to respond to the ongoing insufficiency of local available land clearing debris. He said that they couldn't burn the debris anymore. Commissioner Jacobs said that he and Commissioner Halkiotis spent time with staff to try and came up with a plan for land clearing debris and they wanted to exclude inert debris from any site that would be acquired. They went to great lengths to make sure that this was only land or storm debris. He does not want inert debris to be brought up. Commissioner Gordon said that it looks like they were excluding hauling to out of county facilities. She said that people may be alarmed if there were inert debris, or any debris since this would be a large area. The County Commissioners have gone on record saying that there would be no landfill in Orange County. She does not want to rule out the hauling to out of county facilities. Gayle Wilson said that they must be sensitive to neighbors, and as far as hauling out of county, it is expensive and they wanted to offer something locally. Commissioner Halkiotis said that Commissioner Jacobs' memory is correct, and he thinks they need to call another meeting of the small group. The bottom line is that a lot of these statements cannot be enforced. He wants to call a meeting of this group as soon as possible before the holiday break. He also asked if the Solid Waste Advisory Board and the Solid Waste staff have discussed crushing down items to different sized aggregate that can be sold for a variety of activities. Gayle Wilson said that they have not proposed processing inert debris on this particular site. There was never any discussion that it would be buried. Commissioner Halkiotis said that they would find greater acceptance if there was a totally clean facility that took natural, compostable products that could be sold. He thinks there are many opportunities here. John Link said that this is exactly what they wanted to discuss. He thinks that they need to look at this from the standpoint of a hierarchy of needs. It is close to winter and in 2002 they had the major ice storm in December, and Orange County had just taken over the landfill. There has to be a place to put storm debris. This should be the priority. Chair Carey asked if they are accepting inert debris at the current C&D landfill, and Gayle Wilson said that at $41 a ton, they get very little. Commissioner Gordon asked about the small group and what it did. Rod Visser said that this was a small informal work group with Commissioner Halkiotis and Commissioner Jacobs and staff that discussed what is legally permissible within the regulatory environment. The staff only has authority over sites of two acres and smaller, and they did not pursue this further because it did not receive a warm reception during public hearing comments. The group also included citizens that needed a place to dispose of debris. Chair Carey urged the group to look at alternatives to expanding activities at this location because the Board made promises about this site. 9. Items for Decision--ReaularAaenda a. SportsPlex Facility Management Agreement The Board reviewed and considered approving an agreement between Orange County and Recreation Factory Partners, Inc. to provide overall facility management for the Triangle SpartsPlex, upon the County's anticipated closing on the acquisition of that facility in December 2005 and authorizing the Chair to sign, subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney. Rod Visser said that they are bringing back a proposed management agreement with Recreation Factory Partners at a monthly cast of $6,250. They would be responsible for overall management of the entire facility. They would not provide programming of the senior center. They would use existing employees and their own employees to provide programming for ice- skating, aquatics, fitness, food services, etc. The budgets are part of the contract and this is described in the abstract. It would be run as an enterprise fund, just like the solid waste budget. Geof Gledhill did much of the work on the contract. He introduced John Stock of Recreation Factory Partners, Inc. Mr. Stock made a PowerPoint presentation of some of their existing facilities in the area. Their concept is that they are in the sports and entertainment business and the customers are primarily parents and children. They plan to create a venue where families can eat, shop, and play. He described the venue in Wake Forest. Chair Carey said that he and Commissioner Foushee met with staff and Mr. Stock last week and reviewed his company's credentials and they asked for additional information, which was included in the abstract. Commissioner Halkiotis asked for Chair Carey and Commissioner Foushee to share their thoughts with the Board. Chair Carey said that the company has a lot of experience and they can capitalize on this. He said that the contract amount is for the management and the Board of County Commissioners will have an opportunity to set the budget and the fees later on. He thinks they should proceed with the contract and time is of the essence. Commissioner Foushee agreed with Chair Carey and said that she was impressed by the expertise of this group and the ability of the staff to work with the ice rinks. Commissioner Gordon asked Mr. Stock about operating pools and Mr. Stock said that they do not have experience with pools, but he has consulted with his friend, Scott Hammond, who has lots of experience with pools. The side that what worries him more with a pool is to make sure there is ultimate safety. From the programming side, he feels that they will be fine with this. Commissioner Gordan agreed that they need to move forward expeditiously. She said that there are blanks in the contract, such as on page 16. She pointed out "the contract administrator" and said that she believes this means the County. She would like a balance between letting the business people manage the day-to-day operations and also letting the County Commissioners handle things that need to be handled. The contract administrator could be the County Manager and then there would still be things that the County Commissioners approve. She is concerned about the programming and how the County Commissioners would be involved in this. Also, on page 18, the operating revenue benchmark needs to be filled in. Also, on page 27, the annual budget information is still needed. Commissioner Gordon would like to know what the Board of Commissioners can do if there is a problem with programming or fees. Her suggestion is to have the staff to fill in the blanks and bring it back on a consent agenda as soon as possible. Rod Visser said that their vision is the County Manager as contract administrator and the staff can came to the Board of County Commissioners as often as the Board would like. Commissioner Gordon said that she does not want anything to do with the day-to-day operations, unless there is something going against the County principles. Geof Gledhill said that this contract takes the Board of County Commissioners out of the day-to-day operations and the County Manager is the direct contact person between RFP and Orange County in the day-to-day operations. The Board of County Commissioners will constantly monitor the budgeting process for this enterprise. The general fund contributions to the Sportsplex will decrease. He agreed that the blanks were critical, but the budget is not in place yet. John Link said that they have had this discussion and will come back with a facsimile of a budget. This should be a seamless process. Chair Carey agreed that there should be a seamless operation. He said that they would learn a lot with this first contract that will hopefully generate some economies. He suggested adapting this contract and asking staff to bring back all of the details, especially the budget, as soon as possible. Commissioner Jacobs said that he shares Commissioner Cordon's concerns and he suggested that they provide preliminary approval of the agreement, which will give an opportunity to look at it again. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 11 and asked if RFP pays a living wage or if it would be willing to pay a living wage. Rod Visser said that they did talk about this and the fact that Orange County has this policy in place. There are some exceptions such as temporary employees, seasonal employees, and students. The key point is that if they are going to do this, they will have to adjust the operating benchmarks. Commissioner Jacobs asked staff to come back at the November 15t" meeting with a policy statement, that when a new facility is purchased and when it is opened to the public that it be ADA accessible. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiatis to provide preliminary approval to an agreement between Orange County and Recreation Factory Partners, Inc. to provide overall facility management for the Triangle SportsPlex, upon the County's anticipated closing on the acquisition of that facility in December 2005 and authorize the Chair to sign, subject to final review by staff and the County Attorney. The staff will come back with the final details of the contract as soon as possible far Board approval. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Legal Advertisement for Joint Quarterly Public Hearing -November 21, 2Q05 The Board considered the legal advertisement (Attachment 1) for items to be presented at the Joint Board of County CommissionerslPlanning Board Quarterly Public Hearing scheduled for November 21, 2005. Planning Director Craig Benedict said that there are four items suggested an the agenda. The first item is the third phase of the intent for Orange County to close the Pleasant Green Community Center road. They will also evaluate the signs to make sure they are presentable as suggested by Commissioner Jacobs. The second item is the first of three public hearings on the land use plan update. This will specifically address some of the residential density options in the rural sections of the County. The two other items have to do with family group and rehabilitative care amendments and child daycare amendments. The State has revised its code on how these are categorized. Some of the County's zoning language does not line up with the State regulations. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve the legal advertisement (Attachment 1) far items to be presented at the Joint Board of County Commissioners/Planning Board Quarterly Public Hearing scheduled for November 21, 2005. VOTE: UNANIMOUS c. Draft Environmental Responsibility Goal The Board was to receive the recommendation of the Commission for the Environment on a draft Environmental Responsibility in County Government goal and consider adoption of the goal. DEFERRED d. Proposed Revisions to the Policy for Naming of County Owned Buildings and Facilities The Board was to consider a proposed revision to the Policy for the Naming of County Owned Buildings and Facilities. DEFERRED e. Appointments (1) Affordable Housing Advisoryy Board -One New Appointment The Board was to consider making one new appointment to the Affordable Housing Advisory Board. DEFERRED (2} Advisory Board on Aging -One New Appointment The Board was to consider making one new appointment to the Advisory Board on Aging. DEFERRED (3} Agricultural Preservation Board -One New Appointment The Board was to consider making one new appointment to the Agricultural Preservation Board. DEFERRED (4} Commission for the Environment-New Appointments The Board was to consider making appointments to the Commission for the Environment. DEFERRED (5} Commission for Women -New Appointments The Board was to consider making new appointments to the Commission for Women. DEFERRED 10. Reports-NONE 11. Closed Session A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to go into closed session at 10:42 p.m. for the purpose of: "to discuss the County's position and to instruct the County Manager and the County Attorney on the negotiating position regarding the terms of a contract to purchase real property, " NCGS S 143-318 (a) (5) (located at 510 Meadowlands Drive, Hillsborough; owned by Shachtman LCC; to be used for storage). VOTE: UNANIMOUS RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION: A motion was made by Commissioner Jacabs, seconded by Commissioner Halkiatis to reconvene into regular session at 10:55 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 12. Adiaurnment A motion was made by Commissioner Jacabs, seconded by Cammissianer Halkiatis to adjourn the meeting at 10:55 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board Orange County Water Supply Reservoir Water Levels Available information as of 9:00 AM, Thursday, October 27, 2005 Lake Orange • Water level is 7'-4" below full (anticipated to drop at a rate of approximately 1"per day) • Water storage capacity remaining is approximately 40.3°~ (188 million gallons) • Approximately 73 days of water supply remaining (at Capacity Use specified release rate) • Eno River Capacity Use Restrictions have been at Stage IV since 1013/05, but will become Stage V on or about 10/28/05 absent a significant rainfall event in the next 24 hours. West Fork Reservoir • Water level is 2'-2" below full • Water storage capacity remaining is approximately 92°~ • In excess of 300 days of water supply remaining (assuming all Town demand is met by West Fork Reservoir only) OWASA Reservoirs • Water level at Cane Creek Reservoir is 6'-10. 5" below full • Water level at University Lake is 5'-9. 75" below full • Total remaining water storage capacity is approximately 63.3°I° • /n excess of 230 days of water supply remaining Regional Precipitation Data [inches above [+] ar below [-] normal) RDU -6.98" for 2005 • -0.65" for October 2005 • -4.09" since September 1, 2005 Piedmont-Triad • -10.67" for 2005 +0.13" for October 2005 • -3.94" since September 1, 2005 Miscellaneous notes 1. Eno River Capacity Use Agreement conditions for Stage V include zero release from Lake Orange to maintain instream flow. 2. Stage V does include a 1.0 cfs release from West Fork Reservoir far instream flow. 3. Beaver activity and the presence of large quantities of fallen leaves all along the Eno River have caused the formation of a number of very efficient instream catchments. This, in turn, compounds difficulties in the process of maintaining and quantifying instream flow.