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Home My WebLink AboutORD-2001-018 Cedar Ridge High School Capital Project Ordinance ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 19, 2001 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT: Cedar Ridge High School Capital Project Ordinance DEPARTMENT: Budget PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna Dean, 245-2151 Attachment 1. Letter of Request from the Orange County Board of Education TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Attachment 2. OCS Cedar Ridge High Hillsborough 732-8181 School Capital Project Ordinance Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To approve a request from the Orange County Board of Education to increase fire fighting capacity for Cedar Ridge High School. BACKGROUND: Recently Civil Consultants, Inc. conducted a study of several fire protection system options for Cedar Ridge High School for the Orange County Board of Education. According to the information contained in the attached letter (Attachment I of this abstract), the fire suppression capacity, as currently designed, meets minimum State requirements. The Board of Education is interested in taking additional steps to improve safety by increasing the capacity beyond what the State requires. The consultants identified two options: • Option #1 - Construction of a private 200,000 gallon cylindrical ground storage tank near the corner of Orange Grove Road and Grady Brown. School Road at an estimated cost of $350,000. • Option #2 - Construction of a new 250,000 gallon elevated water storage tank at the same location as in Option #1 at an estimated cost of$600,000. Details regarding each option are included in Attachment 1 of this abstract. In keeping with the Commissioner's Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects, the Superintendent has submitted details regarding the change order, in writing, to the County Manager (Attachment 1). The District requests that the Commissioners approve a reallocation of project savings (currently budgeted in the project Contingency)to complete Option#1 2 FINANCIAL IMPACT: Currently budgeted project contingency totals $600,000. Should the Board approve the request to complete Option #1 (an estimated cost of $350,000), the project Contingency account would be reduced to $250,000. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board of County Commissioners approve a request from the Orange County Board of Education to increase fire fighting capacity for Cedar Ridge High School at an estimated cost of$350,000. 3 Orange County Board of Education MEMORANDUM TO: John Link FROM: Randy Bridges Randy Bridges RE: Cedar Ridge High School Fire Protection Water System Superintendent DATE: May 29, 2001 Board Members: Keith Cook,Chairman Brenda Stephens,Vice Chair Robert Bateman Susan HaMotis During the May 21, 2001 Orange County Board of Education meeting a David Kolbinsky proposal for increasing the fire fighting capacity for Cedar Ridg e High Delores Simpson Dana Thompson School was presented to the Board. Please know that we meet the minimal requirements as established by the state with the current system of water pressure. However, we feel that to make Grady Brown 200 East King Street Elementary School and Cedar Ridge High School as safe as possible, Hillsborough,NC 27278 additional steps should be taken. Telephone: 919-732-8126 FAX: 919-732-8120 I have enclosed a copy of the plan to place a water storage tank on the Grady Brown campus to meet the needs of both schools relative to fire �puNr�. fighting capacity. As you are aware, Cedar Ridge High School came in under budget. The Board has approved a request to the Commissioners to ° reallocate some of the savings to cover the cost for the water tank. We are asking that you present this information to the Commissioners for their • 7 8 L'� consideration and approval at your earliest convenience. If additional information is needed,please let me know. Thank you. /ha Enclosure cc: Orange County Board of Education Sandra Tinsley Mike Parker Tony Whitaker Steve Halkiotis Ricardo Gonzalez Ken Redfoot Orange County Schools "Providing educational opportunities for successful futures." 4 'ICU C O SUI ANTS INC. Froincers ..ana i)MT10oment 0'.nsuaants #6014 April 5, 2001 Dr. Stephen Halkiotis Orange County Schools 200 E. King Street Hillsborough, NC 27278 Re: Cedar Ridge High School Fire Protection Water System Dear Dr. Halkiotis: With the help of Finkbeiner Pettis and Strout, Inc., we have completed a study of several fire protection system options forthe referenced site. After assessing the basic options and a few variations thereof, we suggest consideration of two viable fire protection options, as follows: OPTION#1 - Construction of a private 200,000 gallon cylindrical ground storage tank near the comer of Orange Grove Road and Grady Brown School Road. The tank would be approximately 45 feet high (overflow elevation t 745'), to provide enough system pressure to meet the necessary hydrant and sprinkler flow requirements without the need for booster pumps. Only the top half of the tank volume(100,000 gallons)will be useful for meeting site fire protection requirements, since anything below elevation 725' would not be high enough to create the minimum required pressure. The bottom 100,000 gallons of water would only be a necessary structural support for the water above it. The tank would be filled by the available pressure in the Town of Hillsborough's public water system, but water from the tank could not cycle back into the Town's system since the tank height would be far too low to allow any backflow under normal conditions. As a result, the tank and all its downstream piping would contain non-potable water, usable only for fire protection, irrigation, or other non-drinking purposes. The non-potable status of the system has the following negative consequences: a. A new non-potable waterline from the tank to the high school will be required, essentially parallel to the new potable waterline already being constructed by the project for the Town of Hillsborough. b. The onsite looped waterline and hydrant system designed by the Architect will require significant redesign. This onsite system is currently under construction and is a critical path item for project completion. 3622 Lyckan Parkway ■ Suite 3003 ■ Durham,N.C.27707 919-490-1645 Phone ■ 919-403-0336 Fax . cMiengr @aol.com 5 C. The existing domestic water service line extending from the onsite loop will not be usable as designed. but will instead require a connection to the new public (potable) waterline being constructed by Orange County Schools along Grady Brown School Road. This work has significant cost and schedule implications. d. The water in the tank system may require periodic discharge and replacement to maintain a bare minimum level of water quality. The water used for this purpose would probably be billed from the Town of Hillsborough at the prevailing domestic water rate.' In addition to the above,the ground level tank has another unappealing characteristic. The tank-overflow elevation will limit and define the available pressure and flow conditions of the onsite hydrant and sprinkler system, at a level far less than the potential that could exist otherwise. In other words, the Town's water system has quite good static pressure at the school site, but it doesn't have the ability to maintain adequate pressure during high flow(fire flow)conditions, due to various water system constraints in the area. Storing the fire protection water in a relatively low- height tank sacrifices the "quite good" pressure potential for more water volume at "merely adequate" pressure. If future public system improvements are made by the Town or others, the ground level tank option will not allow the school to benefit from the increased capacity, because the tank overflow elevation will always govem the available pressure and flow for the site. Despite the above complications,the ground level tank option does qualify as feasible and adequate. The estimated cost of Option#1 is about$350,000,which includes the cost of onsite waterline re-configurations. The system could be in service before the June, 2002 school occupancy date. OPTION #2 - Construction of a new 250,000 gallon elevated water storage tank at the same location as in Option#1. This tank would be of a conventional golf ball-and-tee shape, and approximately 132 feet high (overflow elevation±832'). This height would match the hydraulic pressure gradient of the Town's water system in the area, creating a fully compatible and integrated component of the public water system. This option would greatly increase the degree of fire protection for the adjoining Grady Brown Elementary School, and for Town water customers in the area at large. This compatibility with the Town's pressure gradient will allow the water in the tank to cycie with the normal flow of water in the Town's system,maintaining a fully potable condition in the tank and in connected lines. In addition, the proposed tank volume is large enough to be viable as a municipal asset. For these reasons, this option assumes that the tank will be owned and maintained by the Town of Hillsborough, as part of the Town's public utilities infrastructure. In addition to the obvious benefits of an elevated tank as described above, Option#2 has other meaningful benefits, as follows: a. No parallel non-potable waterline would be required along Grady Brown School Road. -2- 6 b. The onsite waterline loop and hydrant system can be constructed as currently designed. C. The domestic water service line for the school site can be constructed as currently designed. d. No substantial impact to the school's construction schedule or onsite construction cost would be anticipated (assuming a timely decision to implement this option). The total estimated cost of Option#2 is $ 600.000. The tank could be in service before the June, 2002 school occupancy date. i rL�l;.t.• Y/� Cedar Ridge High School Construction 7 Orange County Schools Capital Project Ordinance Be it ordained by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners that pursuant to Section 13.2 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the following capital project is hereby adopted. Section 1. The project authorized provides funds to construct a new high school, Cedar Ridge High School, in the district, using proceeds from the Schools' portion of impact fees, 1997 voter approved bonds, savings from Pathways Elementary Construction, and an installment purchase arrangement. Repayment of the installment purchase arrangement will be paid from the District's annual portion of the one-half cent sales taxes. Section 2. The officers of the County are hereby directed to proceed with the project within the budget contained herein. Section 3. The following revenue is anticipated to complete this project: Through FY 2000-o1 Through FY 1999-00 Appropriation 2000-01 Sales Tax 1,564,015 (1,434,336) 129,679 Impact Fees 365,321 0 365,321 PSBF 0 0 0 rans er trom ratnwap Elementary School Construction Project 0 1,300,000 1,300,000 1997 Bond Funds 0 12,500,000 12,500,000 Installment Purchase 1 0 13,665,000 13,665,000 Total Project Funding 1,929,336 1 26,030,664 27,960,000 Section 4. The following amount is appropriated for this project: Through - Through FY 1999-00 Appropriation 2000-01 Plannin /Arc En in Fees 1,250,000 400,000 1,650,000 Site Acquisition 679,336 0 679,336 Site Development 0 2,306 000 2,306,000 Le Fiscal Cost 0 165,000 165,000 Construction 0 19,558,190 19,558,190 Moveable Equipment 1,100,000 1,100,000 Technology 0 1,751,474 1,751,474 One-Tune Start-Up 0 500,000 500,000 Contingency Cc)ntingency 0 1 250,000 250000 Total A ro riation 1,929,336 26,030,664 27,960,000 Section 5. This ordinance supersedes all previous New High School Construction Capital Project Ordinances for the Orange County Schools. Section 6. This ordinance shall remain in effect from July 1, 1998 until June 30,2002. Adopted this 19th day of June 2001. This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate consideration. _q. Impact Fee Reimbursement Agreement This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate consideration. r. HOME Program —Second Mortgage Assistance The Board approved and authorized the Chair to sign a development agreement with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Inc. on behalf of the Orange County HOME Consortium to provide second mortgage assistance for one low-income family. S. Boards/Commissions/Task Forces to be Dissolved 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 f. Cedar Ridge High School Capital Proiect Ordinance The Board considered a request from the Orange County School Board to increase fire- fighting capacity near Cedar Ridge High School. Commissioner Gordon asked if this solution would be adequate for the fire-fighting capacity. Chair Halkiotis said that if the waterline should break that runs under)-40, which has broken several times,there would be some serious complications for the school. All now high schools built in North Carolina must have sprinkler systems in the auditorium stage area and the ancillary dressing rooms. There is one fire hydrant currently serving Grady Brown Elementary School that is putting out about 830 gallons per minute,which is 30 gallons more than the state minimum. With the new high school and a future government building on that other piece of land, it would be foolish not to provide an enhancement to the fire-fighting capacity. This proposal would bring a line under Grady Brown Road and site a hydrant at the top of the property line and would interconnect with the five existing hydrants on the Cedar Ridge site, add another hydrant to the Grady Brown site, and overall enhance the entire fire-fighting opportunity. The upgrade is adequate. He said that an effort was made over a series of months to work with the Town of Hillsborough to do something jointly, and they were not interested in pursuing anything heading across 1-40 on Orange Grove Road. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon-, seconded by Commissioner Carey to approve the request from the Orange County School Board to increase fire-fighting capacity near Cedar Ridge High School at an estimated cost of$350,000. VOTE: UNANIMOUS .q. Contract Renewal with People's Channel The Board considered renewing a contract with People's Channel to videotape and broadcast County Commissioners' meetings for fiscal year 2001-2002. Commissioner Jacobs asked if we ever got a response back from Time Warner to our request for them to live up to the contract which had previously been in effect before they took over the system that assured us that we would be provided service in this manner. John Link said that there was recently a meeting involving the leadership of the Cable Advisory Committee and Time Warner discounted the old franchise,feeling that they could legally discount it if and when it went to _.4 U_ --;A+k-4-+k;- i -1h,-k4...L,-++k- -k+-;- 1- 4