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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 06-14-2012 APPROVED 9/19/2012 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION June 14, 2012 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the Link Government Services Center, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Bernadette Pelissier and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice Gordon, Pam Hemminger, Barry Jacobs, Earl McKee, and Steve Yuhasz COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Valerie Foushee (out of town) COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Assistant County Managers Gwen Harvey and Michael Talbert, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) 1. Proposed Oranqe County Mass Gatherinq Ordinance — Review and Discussion Annette Moore said that a lot of departments worked on this ordinance proposal. She reviewed the high points. She said that this ordinance provides for minimum standards and guidance for mass gatherings of people between 500-5,000. There are State guidelines for mass gatherings of over 5,000 people. This ordinance would provide one-stop shopping for those who want to apply for a mass gathering event. She said that this only applies to open space gatherings and not churches, stadiums, athletic fields, arenas, etc. The permit would be issued by the Emergency Services Director. It would require insurance, a performance bond, and a fee to be determined by the County Commissioners, etc. She said that this ordinance provides for administrative rules issued by the County Manager, which will address specific issues. There is an appeal process and an enforcement portion. Emergency Services Director Frank Montes de Oca said that one example he would use would be the biker rally which caught them by surprise a couple of years ago. The promoter was advertising it as 5,000 per day, alcohol served, overnight camping, outdoor cooking, etc. If there had been a mishap then it could have been catastrophic. Commissioner Hemminger said that if she had to do all of these requirements she would not do an event. She is having trouble with the numbers and not necessarily the ordinance. She would like to know the fee structure. Annette Moore said that they are anticipating an application process that would eliminate some groups from having to go through the entire process. Commissioner Jacobs said that it is wise to have more control over events that have mass people, but he thinks that the figure of 500 people is too low. He said that the fee is too much for a small number of only 500 people. Frank Montes de Oca said that this is not to prohibit the large weddings or events but those cultural events that become a nuisance to the community. Annette Moore said that there is a difference between 500 and 5,000 and this is why there are some proposed rules. She said that there can be further delineation. Commissioner McKee said that he tended to agree with the other comments that the 500 number is too low. He said that these requirements were too much for an event of only 500. Commissioner Jacob pointed out that there are some confusing aspects of the ordinance. He made reference to attachment one, item D, where it says, "the permit shall be issued at least 60 day prior," and then on the next page, it says, "it shall be filed at least 60 days prior." This is confusing. Also, on page 4, Issuance of Permit, it is not clear when there would be approval and it could be at the last minute. He does not think it is a one size fits all ordinance. Commissioner Yuhasz asked how these requirements compared to the State requirements and Annette Moore said that they were modeled after the State requirements. Commissioner Yuhasz said that if these are close to the State requirements, then there could be a group of 2,500 to get a State permit. Commissioner Gordon suggested calibrating this ordinance for different sized groups or different venues. Discussion ensued on calibrating the ordinance. Commissioner Jacobs said that there should be some kind of notification process to the County and the group needs to be notified of the various permits involved so that all bases are covered. Commissioner Yuhasz said that there should be a distinction between revenue generating and non-revenue generating. There should be different requirements. Chair Pelissier said that she is hearing from the Board that there needs to be calibration with regard to permitting and to fees. Frank Clifton said that there is still land use zoning in these rural areas and there will be complaints about uses that do not fit in certain areas. Commissioner McKee said that a lot of people will perceive this as a property rights issue. Annette Moore said that she would come back with a matrix with rules to see if it captures what the County Commissioners have said. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to see something in this ordinance about land use regulations. 2. Public Education Effort Discussion for the Half-Percent Sales Tax Referendum on the November 2012 Elections Ballot Chair Pelissier asked if the County Commissioners wanted to expend County monies on this effort. No monies have been set aside for this. She said that the County did spend money on the '/4-cent sales tax. Commissioner McKee said that the County Commissioners did expend public funds on the '/4-cent sales tax because the proceeds would come back to Orange County and were used by Orange County for Orange County's purposes. However, the '/�-cent sales tax will go to Triangle Transit. Although some of that money will be spent in Orange County, some of it will be spent in Durham County. He has a problem spending Orange County money on this particular item. Commissioner Gordon said that she believes that Triangle Transit has a public relations budget for issues like this. Chair Pelissier said that Commissioner Gordon is correct. Triangle Transit did participate in some information events in Durham County last year when they were passing their own referendum. She said that Triangle Transit is planning on doing some educational events in Orange County. Commissioner Gordon said that Triangle Transit has designated staff to do public relations. Commissioner Yuhasz said that Orange County has expended monies through meetings and information sessions and he does not think that anything more can be done to better educate the public on this. Commissioner Hemminger said that the County needs to update the website and give the link to Triangle Transit. She thinks that the Board needs to be involved in an effort to educate. She does not want to spend money on promotional materials. Chair Pelissier agreed and said that there is a grassroots community effort in process now and she does not want the County Commissioners to expend any monies either. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like to find out formally what Triangle Transit is dedicating to public education and if Chapel Hill or UNC is going to participate in educating the public. He suggested having a FAQ on the County's website. He said that staff or Board of County Commissioners could speak at groups. He said that having an information campaign along an advocacy campaign and saying that they are separate is not effective. He said that it is a winking relationship and it makes him uncomfortable. He said that this is complicated enough that the public really needs to know what is going on and the Board needs to make sure the public knows what is going on. Chair Pelissier said that Triangle Transit is going to do education and Commissioner Jacobs said that he wants this in writing. Chair Pelissier said that she is uncomfortable asking the towns to spend money on advocacy. Commissioner Gordon said that they need to make sure there is something available such as FAQ and all of the documents on the website, etc. She said that at the last TAC meeting this week when the bus and rail plan came out, the TAC approved the plan in concept and deferred action on the plan until Orange County brings back the plan with what role the MPO will play in the plan. The education campaign should be ready in September. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County should formally ask Triangle Transit and Chapel Hill Transit what, if any, is the extent of the educational campaign they plan to participate in or propose to educate the residents of non-urban Orange County with the details of the plan. He does not want to assume anything. He would like to suggest an affirmative response from Triangle Transit on what they are planning to do and when they come back in August they can review this or make another plan. Chair Pelissier said that staff can ask both entities these questions. Commissioner Jacobs said that this is not enough. He would like to know the plans, not via staff. Chair Pelissier said that staff could ask Triangle Transit to tell the County Commissioners the plan. Commissioner Hemminger said that Orange County should partner with Triangle Transit on the northern and southern input sessions. Commissioner McKee agreed with Commissioner Jacobs regarding finding out the plans. He said that he continues to think that Triangle Transit is the one that will be running the show and they should do the public information and education. As far as Commissioner Hemminger's recommendation to do education in the rural area, he thinks that this area already understands this well. He cannot support any campaign that uses Orange County funds to educate on this issue where the funding goes to Triangle Transit. He agreed with having information on the County's website but it should be fair and balanced. Chair Pelissier asked if all agreed to not allocate funds for education and to ask Triangle Transit to do information sessions in northern and southern Orange County and this will come back to the Board of County Commissioners in August. Commissioner Gordon said that she wants the County to develop its own FAQ and Craig Benedict said that he would work with Triangle Transit on this. Commissioner Gordon said that Triangle Transit's FAQ may be different from Orange County's and they need county staff to do a FAQ for Orange County, to be put on the county website along with other information. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Gordon that this is complex enough that they need staff to put this in Orange County verbiage for Orange County residents and to ask Triangle Transit what they are planning to do for public education in Orange County. 2. Sitinq Criteria for Southwest Branch Library— Review of Comments Library Services Director Lucinda Munger made reference to Attachment B. She said that on the left side is the original criteria from last fall. There are also comments from the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and a staff analysis. Everyone pretty much agreed on the criteria about 85%. There were some suggestions from the Aldermen and these were added into the staff comments. This is Phase 3, #2. It is suggested that lease versus purchase be moved to Phase 1 and then in Phase 3, #1, "alignment with Comprehensive Plan," it is being suggested to move that to Phase 1 and change the wording to read, "public or private entities." She made reference to the areas of difference and said that these are listed. The first one is the element of visibility that has been eliminated from the criteria. Staff still thinks that this is an important element and should be in the beginning of the process. The building should be visible. There was also discussion of price being the overarching or primary concern. Staff recommends that the Board leave the price where it is because there are other considerations for a piece of property, such as how much it will take to actually develop the site. Regarding determination of space needs, staff recommends no change from the original because this is driven by code and ordinances. Regarding public transportation, the Aldermen would like the library to be on an existing Chapel Hill Transit route that serves the downtown area. Staff recommends no change from the original because bus routes are constantly changing. Finally, in Phase 3 and Community Preference, the Aldermen suggest that this be moved to Phase 2. Staff recommends that this remain in Phase 3 because Phases 1 and 2 are meant to be very quick technical analyses of a site. Chair Pelissier asked about the timeline for decision on this. Frank Clifton said that staff will bring back information to the Board of County Commissioners in September after the staff sits down with the staff from Carrboro to go over the results of this meeting. Commissioner Hemminger agreed that the building needs to stay visible. Commissioner McKee agreed. Lucinda Munger said that she was wrong about the alignment with Comprehensive Planning tools. This was Phase 3, item 1-b. The Aldermen suggested no change, but the staff is recommending that it be moved to Phase 1. Chair Pelissier clarified that Lucinda Munger is recommending moving two items to Phase 1 — Comprehensive Plan planning tools and lease versus purchase. The majority of the Board of County Commissioners agreed with these two things. On Phase 3, regarding partnerships, Carrboro suggested leaving the co-location open to public/private and staff suggested rewording to say, "co-location with other public or private entities." The Board agreed with this. The County Commissioners agreed to keep the language about having the building visible from the street. Regarding removing traffic counts as incorporated under "access", staff is recommending no change from the original. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Carrboro. He does not see traffic counts as a needed criterion. Commissioner Yuhasz said that the purpose was not to add anything, but to eliminate sites that are not viable. Commissioner Jacobs suggested moving it to Phase 2. Pam Jones said that the traffic count issue could easily become a site capacity issue. Phase 1 and 2 will likely happen without a break. Commissioner Jacobs said that it was ok to leave it. The Board agreed to leave the traffic count where it is. Chair Pelissier pointed out the next difference, under Phase 1, #2 and "space for building on-site parking" as recommended by the Aldermen. Staff is recommending no change. Commissioner Jacobs suggested making reference to the fact that there will be a library strategic plan. The Board agreed. Commissioner Hemminger said that she would like to stay with the staff recommendation, but expand it to let Carrboro know that this is not just an urban library and they need to plan for all types of residents using this library. She wants to put this in writing. Chair Pelissier said that the aging population is going to double in the next twenty years and they may be driving and/or driven in to the library. Frank Clifton said that the reality is that people do drive to the libraries and there needs to be parking. Chair Pelissier made reference to space for future expansion where the Aldermen wanted clarification on that issue. Frank Clifton said that there has been conversation about how big the library should be. It was narrowed down to a 20,000 square foot one-level footprint. Part of that is a community meeting room. Commissioner McKee asked if the library could be designed so that the books and computers are on the first floor and the meeting room would be on the second floor. Frank Clifton said that the problem is that all of the life safety issues would still have to be addressed. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County should not be promising a 20,000 square foot library in Carrboro. The Central Library in Hillsborough is a little over 20,000 square feet. He suggested leaving it clear that there will be room to expand, without setting up an expectation of 20,000 square feet. He does not think it is the intention to build a library as large as the Central Library in Carrboro. Commissioner Yuhasz suggested phrasing it "up to 20,000 square feet" so that there is not an expectation. Chair Pelissier said that the next item is accessibility for public transportation, Item 3. The Aldermen want the library to be on the existing Chapel Hill Transit route. She has already heard comments that the County Commissioners do not want it limited to the existing route. If there is a library, then Chapel Hill Transit could put it on the route later. Commissioner McKee suggested staying with the staff recommendation of accessibility to public transportation. If the site is on the route, that is good, but if it is not, then it needs to be brought onto the route. The Board agreed to no changes on accessibility. Phase 2: Lucinda Munger said that there was just a question from the Board of Aldermen about what the County means by "growth and development." This was part of the concern. Frank Clifton said that it may be better to make the two phases (one and two) one phase. The Board agreed. Pam Jones said that the two phases could just be called Technical and Public. The Board agreed with having just one phase. Lucinda Munger said that technical analysis can be done rather quickly and in-house. The vision is to bring back to the Board and the Manager the sites that meet the majority of these criteria. Those sites that fit the best would then be put before the public for comment. Commissioner Jacobs suggested calling the first part "preliminary" and the second part "primary". Chair Pelissier made reference to Attachment A, which is a letter from Mayor Chilton with the Board of Aldermen motion. Frank Clifton said that staff could put out a solicitation with the criteria for sites but the issue for all sites will be the zoning and this would not happen until the Board of County Commissioners adopted the criteria in the fall. Pam Jones said that the site criteria could be defined in the RFP. Michael Harvey pointed out that in the Board of Aldermen meeting, there was no discussion about changing the zoning ordinance. Chair Pelissier suggested asking Carrboro what would be done with the zoning ordinance and how to share costs for getting permits, etc. 4. Follow-up on Electronic/Paperless Aqenda Chief Information Officer Todd Jones said that the Board discussed agenda automation in May as well as paperless agendas. He has been working with the staff in the Manager's Office to put together a process that will put together the agenda items in a pdf format. The images are crisper and the file sizes are smaller for electronic delivery. It is also a much more interactive document. He offered to meet with Board members to review the new process, how to download files onto laptops or iPads, how the annotation works, etc. He said that anyone with Adobe reader can access the files, but it has to be the latest update. The technology is fairly straightforward. Todd Jones answered clarifying questions from the County Commissioners about this process. Commissioner Gordon asked if there were other options for County Commissioners such as paper. Todd Jones said that if other County Commissioners wanted to use paper, then it could be provided. Commissioner Hemminger suggested considering a policy of how County Commissioners interact with each other when they use Internet-based devices during a meeting. There need to be guidelines. A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 PM. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Bernadette Pelissier, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board