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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20070206 APPROVED 311 312 0 0 7 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING February 6, 2007 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Moses Carey, Jr. and Commissioners Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, and Mike Nelson COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, 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 WILL BE KEPT FOR 5 YEARS. 1. Additions or Chanaes to the Aaenda Chair Carey made reference to additional information from Social Services Director Nancy Colton related to item 8-b. This will be read to the public when this item is addressed. There was also additional information related to item 9-b, CHCCS Elementary School #10. The blue sheet is information from Commissioner Jacobs. Commissioner Jacobs explained that a citizen called him to bring to his attention that the Sheriff of Alamance County is very critical of Orange County's recent action regarding the immigration policy. This is just far the Board's information. The pink sheet is related to item 9-c-2, which is an addition to the applicants. There was also some information from Commissioner Jacobs about an email from a citizen who took issue with the qualifications of one of the people who applied for the Tethering Committee. He had asked staff for more background information, and this information was what was sent. PUBLIC CHARGE The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge, 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Aaenda Dale Simmons spoke about trying to get the Alamance County line reestablished. He would like the Orange County Legislative Delegation to support this. He presented a description of the townships and all of the counties around it, as well as a map of Alamance County. Chair Carey asked Dale Simmons to give the information to the County Manager. He said that the County Commissioners will take his request under advisement and that Orange County has tried to work with the Alamance County Commissioners for a number of years to try and get it settled. Dale Simmons said that he believes this information should be helpful. Cameron Tew is President of the Triangle United Soccer Association, which is a group of 2,500 youth. About half of the kids come from Orange County and the other half come from Durham County. He spoke about the planned soccer fields at West Ten Soccer Complex. He said that each year they do a customer satisfaction survey of the parents of the organization, and one of the overwhelming things is having fields in close proximity to school and home. He said that he would like for the Board to consider this in reference to the West Ten soccer fields, and whether some of the money could be used to re-sod the existing fields and build fields in other places. He said that the parents are concerned about the soccer fields being too far away from Chapel Hill. Melissa Suarez said that she represents the competitive adult soccer community in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and there is a need for soccer fields. She said that they often have to play under extreme conditions since the youth primarily use the soccer fields. She said that a lot of the members are farmer professional soccer players. She would like to have soccer fields close to their area and not in the West Ten Soccer Complex. She said that they would like to see more funding geared toward fields closer to Chapel Hill and Carrboro. She also painted out that the fields are overused because there are so many participants. She thanked the County Commissioners for generating the fields in both areas. Robert Smith is President of the Board of Directors for Rainbow Soccer. He also is a volunteer coach far teams and plays on a team. He said that far the new season, Rainbow Soccer has a waiting list. He said that Rainbow is good at providing the support staff for the league, etc., but they need help with practice field space. He said that all different types of sports are vying for the same fields. He asked for consideration to develop soccer fields in the southern part of the County. Chair Carey asked the Manager to update the public on the number of fields the County has supported to come on line very soon. Laura Blackmon said that this summer the County will break ground for six fields at the West Ten Soccer Complex. The County will also break ground with three fields at Southern Community Park. In 2010, there will be four fields at Twin Creeks. She said that these fields are more for league play and not for practice fields. She said that the County will be addressing this as the staff works on a Recreation and Parks Master Plan. Commissioner Jacobs said that there are seven fields coming an line in the southern part of the County shortly. Also, the County purchased the Blackwood Farm in part so that there could be more soccer fields in the southern part of the County. There will also be a multi- purpose field at Northern Park. He said that he and the Manager were at a meeting last night at Meadowmont, and it took him under 25 minutes to get from Meadowmant to the West Ten Soccer Complex during rush hour. He does not understand why people think it is sa far from Chapel Hill. He said that they want to make the fields as accessible as possible. He said that at the Board of County Commissioners' retreat, they did discuss getting more soccer fields as one of the unfinished matters of business that the staff will begin working on in a more concerted fashion. Chair Carey said that when the County Commissioners talk about working with others on a master plan, this includes the towns. He said that the County Commissioners are responsible far the entire County, including the areas north of Hillsborough, not just in the municipal areas. Commissioner Gordon said that in terms of the timelines, with Twin Creeks, there are two fields scheduled fo construction within the next couple of years. The other two fields do not have identified funding. Regarding the three fields at Southern Park, the Town of Chapel Hill is bidding this now, so we do not know how many fields will be built there in the near future. Mike Strand serves on the Rainbow Soccer Board of Directors. He is also Executive Director of Triangle United Soccer and an adult soccer player. He is aware that there have been efforts to get the Southern Park fields online and it has been stopped and put out to bid many times. He said that his only request is, that if the decision is made to go with West Ten, that they are designed properly, since many of the other fields are unusable for half of the year due to design problems. He said that the turf quality is the most important component. Patrick Sullivan said that the people have came here to ask for the County Commissioners' help because there is a desperate need for fields. He said that it is taking too long to bring fields online and more funding is needed. He said that the Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation fields do not open until April 15t. He agreed that the other fields are shut down for half of the year because of bad design and overuse. He said that he has been a strong advocate for active recreation, and there should be programs for youth to make the community healthier. He said that this should be done for the whole county, but also they need to recognize where the need is and address the need. Suzanne Roy spoke on behalf of The Coalition to Unchain Dogs. She formally requested that the Board of County Commissioners adopt an ordinance to prohibit chaining of dogs. The coalition represents many local citizens who are concerned with the widespread problem in the community. She asked the citizens present that were in support of this to stand. She said that chaining dogs deprives them of essential socialization, companionship, and exercise. She read many other negative effects of chaining dogs. She read a warning from the American Veterinary Medical Association: "Never tether or chain your dog, because this can contribute to aggressive behavior." She said that nearly 100 localities and states, including Connecticut and California, ban or severely restrict the practice of tethering dogs. In North Carolina, this includes the counties of New Hanover and Scotland and the cities of Laurinburg and Roanoke Rapids. She appreciates the Board's establishing a Tethering Committee, and she urged the County Commissioners to move forward quickly with an ordinance to deal with this problem. She requested a timeline for the committee's deliberations, with the goal of enacting a strong anti-tethering ordinance this year. Chair Carey said that the County Commissioners fully expect to give the committee ample time to consider this matter and make a recommendation to the Animal Services Advisory Board and to the Board of County Commissioners. Craig Perrin is a resident of Hillsborough. He came to ask the Board to take action in favor of banning the chaining of animals in Orange County. He brought a Valentine chain from an organization that is promoting national standards to free dogs from chains. Amelia Perrin is nine and she spoke in support of banning the tethering of dogs. Isabel Leslie is nine and she also spoke in support of banning the tethering of dogs. She said that chained dogs are dangerous around little children. Craig Perrin said that as the Tethering Committee convenes, the Board of County Commissioners will hear many sides of the tethering issue. He said that this is a public safety issue because chained dogs are aggressive. Judith Reitman said that she is here to give the Board a visual sense of the conditions under which dogs live in Hillsborough alone. She said that on Saturday she brought a newspaper photographer, who did newspaper photography in EI Salvador and took a picture of a chained dog being mulled to death by two unchained dogs. She said that they were interested in documenting how bad this problem is in Hillsborough. Within atwo-block radius, they found several dogs chained in yards and there was a lack of shelter and bedding. She said that she interviewed seven owners of chained dogs, and she found that not one of the dogs had a rabies shot, not one of the dogs had been to a vet in over four years minimum, and all of the owners said that they would definitely chain if it were a County law. She said that the Tethering Committee needs to look at what is before it and within three months make a decision. Chair Carey said that some of the things that Judith Reitman mentioned may be related to tethering, but some are relating to efforts of educating the public on the proper care of animals. He said that it is a work in progress, but the County is making progress on that. Judith Reitman said that she does not feel that progress is being made because in a random interview of seven chained dog owners, education had not reached them at all. She said that there is a correlation of tethering and animal neglect. She suggested atwo-fold approach -making the law and doing apre-education period of one month. b. Matters an the Printed Agenda (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda below.} 3. Board Comments Commissioner Nelson said that an the Board appointments, some boards and commissions had no liaison, and he would like to volunteer for the Human Relations Commission and the Solid Waste Advisory Board. Commissioner Jacobs said that the Agricultural Summit would take place on February 13t". The discussion will be on horse farming; farm liability issues; emerging opportunities in grapes, organic grains, and hay; and growing interest in local foods. This will be at the Schley Grange off NC 57. Commissioner Jacobs said that he attended a community meeting for potential zoning options for residents in the economic development district at Buckhorn Road area. The staff is calling it ER zoning -Existing Residential. The meeting was just an explanation of the possibility and answering questions. He thinks the residents will have a few weeks to respond. This is a big decision for people to make about whether to stay Economic Development zoning or residential zoning. Commissioner Jacobs said that he, Chair Carey, and Laura Blackmon met with Congressman David Price, and they asked for funding for six different items -value-added shared use processing facility construction funds for avalue-added Ag center, the sprinkler system at DTCC, a service and retail business incubator in Hillsborough along Cornelius Road, field technology for the Sheriff's Department patrol vehicles, ortho-photography and oblique imagery, and the adult day health center at the Central Orange Senior Center. He said that they also brought to Congressman Price's attention some changes that the County Commissioners would like to see in federal law and procedures. He said that Congressman Price was receptive and enthusiastic. Commissioner Jacobs said that there was another school collaboration meeting yesterday, and there was discussion about trying to finish the school construction standards in time for the joint meeting in April between the two school boards and the County Commissioners. There was also discussion on getting started on the identification of potential school sites for CHCCS in concert with the Planning Directors of Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County, and working on the philosophy of acquisition of school sites in both school districts. He said they were thinking of having a bond referendum to get money so the county could buy school sites. There were also some future topics that were identified -dropout rates, DPI projections, and capital funding that includes lottery proceeds. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County Commissioners all received an email from residents who want them to ask the Chapel Hill Town Council and NCDOT to help get a sidewalk along MLK Boulevard. He gave the email to the Manager. He said that this is not something that the County does, but since the community has asked for support, he would like to address it. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to Kidscope and said that the OCS Board had it on the agenda last night in a closed session. The Kidscope representatives were not present. He said that there is talk about different types of funding, up to $60,000 a year in rent, which the program does not have. He said that it would be good to get this issue settled in an amicable and positive way. Chair Carey said that he would like to have the facts on the Kidscope issue. Commissioner Foushee - no comments. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the sidewalk issue, and said that she reviewed the Chapel Hill Town Council information, and Chapel Hill needs to send to Orange County a resolution asking that the County work with the Town. She said that it is similar to the Homestead Road project. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the bond to secure school sites and she said that the County used to dedicate one cent on the property tax for the SchooUPark Reserve Fund, with the idea of identifying sites for parks and schools and buying them. Over time, the one cent allocation has decreased to zero and the money has been used for other things. Commissioner Gordon said that she and Commissioner Jacobs went to the last Master Aging Plan Steering Committee meeting. The recommendations will be forwarded to the Board soon. She made reference to the furnishings and outfitting of the Seymore Center, and she wants to know what the shortfall is and haw this stands. The Board already agreed not to ask the senior citizens for money. Commissioner Gordon said that she and Commissioner Jacabs also went to the New Hope Park at Blackwood Farm meeting. The work is continuing. Chair Carey commended the Human Relations Commission for kicking off the Human Rights and Relations Month with a great event this past Sunday. Chair Carey said that he picked up a copy of Status of Women Related to Obesity Report from the Commission for Women. He said that there is good information in this report. Chair Carey said that the County Commissioners received a letter from the Chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board related to the anticipated redevelopment of the Daniel Boone Village Complex. There are two mobile home communities that have potential of being uprooted. The Chair asked the County Commissioners to verify information related to this and to discuss with the Town of Hillsborough to try and mitigate the impacts of this redevelopment. He suggested that the Board ask the Manager to get information about how many people would be at risk of being uprooted with this redevelopment. The Board agreed. Chair Carey said that he mentioned last year to the Bond Counsel that the Board of Commissioners made an effort many years ago to keep the business related to hiring Bond Counsel local. He said that the current Bond Counsel is local and is good. He has raised the possibility of bringing in and working with some Bond Counsel from minority law firms in the state to try to promote one of the goals, which is to provide opportunities for minority firms and entrepreneurs to develop in the County. The Bond Counsel is going to bring a proposal forward for doing co-counseling. Chair Carey said that he had asked Commissioner Foushee to represent the Board of County Commissioners on the First School Committee and she agreed to do this over the winter break. He asked if the Board was okay with this and the Board agreed. 4. County Manager's Report Laura Blackmon said that the Board discussed the lottery proceeds at the last work session, and the Board asked to review the capital funding policy. This is ready in draft form and the staff will present it to the Board of County Commissioners at the end of February. She proposed an afternoon work session to focus just on this capital funding policy. She referred to the Manager's Memo, which has information about the NC 57 Solid Waste Convenience Center. She said that the County has known far a while that the property is being sold, and notice was received in January that the County is to vacate the property by March 31St. The County purchased land far the overflow next to the Walnut Grove Convenience Center in December. She said that from tomorrow until Friday, she would be attending the City/County Manager's Conference for the State of North Carolina. 6. Items for Decision--Consent Agenda A motion was made Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve those items on the consent agenda as stated below: a. Minutes The Board approved the minutes for December 7 and 12, 2006 as submitted by the Clerk to the Board. b. Appointments -None c. Advertisement of Tax Liens on Real Property The Board accepted a report on the amount of unpaid taxes for the current year that are liens on real property as required by North Carolina General Statute 105-369 and set March 14, 2007 as the date set by the Board for the tax lien advertisement. d. Authorization to Purchase PCs The Board authorized the Purchasing Director to order personal computers from Lenovo Computers to replace obsolete computers used by staff throughout Orange County Government. e. Acceptance of Electronic Monitoring Initiative Grant Award and Authorization of Deputy Sheriff Position The Board accepted the two-year Law Enforcement Electronic Monitoring Initiative Grant; authorized one full-time equivalent Deputy Sheriff position, beginning February 7, 2007, for one year. Continuation of the position would be contingent upon continuation of grant funding in year two of the grant; and agreed to fund the authorized new position and program, beginning in fiscal year 2009-10, should the State find the first year of the program successful and appropriates the second year of the grant funds. f. Classification Plan Amendment -Title Change for Emergency Management Director The Board amended the Orange County Classification and Pay Plan by changing the title of the existing class for the vacant position of Emergency Management Director at Salary Grade 31 to Emergency Services Director, still at Salary Grade 31. g_ Downtown Hillsborough County Campus Buildings Occupancy Approval The Board approved the occupancy list as presented, subject to potential modifications as may be necessary during building programming; and authorized the Manager to finalize departmental square footage allocations pursuant to the demands of building programming. h. 10 Year Plan to End (Chronic Homelessness Technical Assistance Facilitator The Board approved a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, authorizing the submission of an application fora 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness Technical Facilitator and authorized the Chair to sign. VOTE ON CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS 6. Resolutions or Proclamations-NONE 7. Special Presentations a. Orange County Arts Grant Recipients The Board presented checks to local artists and arts organizations receiving Orange County Arts Grants. Ms. Speaker said that they could not do this without the Board of County Commissioners' support. These grant awards are far Fall 2006 and the awards total $19,230. This is mostly County money. The requests totaled $43,000. The fallowing were recipients of the awards. Grant Recipient: A.L. Stanback Middle School - ArtsCenter - Communities In Schools of Orange County - Culbreth Middle School - Attendees: Janice Wereszczak Jon Wilner Sheila Sholes-Ross Gretchen Bade {pronounced "Body") Door to Doar Program of UNC Health Care -Joy Javits Efland-Cheeks PTA Arts Committee - Victoria Frisch Estes Hills Elementary School - Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library - Gravelly Middle School - Hidden Voices - Michelle C. Johnson - North Carolina Arts in Action - Orange County Artists Guild - Pa'lante - Seawell Elementary School PTA - Southern Review, Inc. - Beverly Tyndall and Carolina Sherman Nerys Levy and Jake Lehrer Janice Wereszczak Lynden Harris NOT AVAILABLE TONIGHT Lisa Kang Peter Filene Laura Wenzel Mary Kate Cunningham Charleen Swansea b. Animal Services Center Public Art Project The Board considered a proposal from the Orange County Arts Commission to purchase two steel dog sculptures {$2,800 each) with money allocated from the Fiscal Year 2006-07 CIP, from Carrboro artist Mike Roig {to be temporarily located at various Orange County-awned properties until they are installed at the to-be-constructed Animal Services Center). Gordon Jamison made this presentation. He is on the Arts Commission. He said that as a project last year, the Arts Commission started buying art for County offices. In that call for artists, there were two dog sculptures and they thought the new animal shelter would be a good place to put these. The plan is to put the sculptures behind the Old Courthouse first. The sculptures will travel around the County until the Animal Services Center is built. The sculptures are being paid far with existing funds. Animal Services Director Bob Maratto said that he has reviewed the sculptures with the Animal Services Advisory Board and with the design committee for the new facility, and they have been met with enthusiasm. Martha Shannon said that the funds being used to purchase these sculptures comes out of the CIP, with same additional money from donated sources. With the Board's permission, they will move forward with the Town of Hillsborough to get a temporary use permit to locate the sculptures. Commissioner Gordon pointed out that the County has had recent experience with the Historic Hillsborough Commission and she asked if it was all right with them. Martha Shannon said that this is a temporary placement, so there should not be a problem. A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve a proposal from the Orange County Arts Commission to purchase two steel dog sculptures ($2,800 each) with money allocated from the Fiscal Year 2006-07 CIP, from Carrbaro artist Mike Roig (to be temporarily located at various Orange County-awned properties until they are installed at the to-be-constructed Animal Services Center). VOTE: UNANIMOUS 8. Public Hearings a. Orange County Consolidated Housing Plan Update The Board received comments from the public regarding the housing and non-housing needs to be included in the Annual Update of the 2005-2009 Consolidated Housing Plan for Housing and Community Development Programs in Orange County and proposed uses of 2007-2008 HOME funds. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes summarized this item. She said that communities are required to have public comment regarding the use of estimated HOME funds in the coming fiscal year. At this point, the County has not received a specific estimate on the amount of HOME funds expected, but she was told to expect an amount equal to what was received last year, which was $665,560. Eligible HOME program activities include property acquisition, new construction, housing rehabilitation, and rental assistance. Commissioner Foushee said that there is a letter from Executive Director of Orange Community Housing and Land Trust Robert Dowling at their places in reference to this. Chair Carey made reference to the mobile home parks at the Daniel Boone complex and asked if Tara Fikes has any information on this site. Tara Fikes said that there may be mitigation to use funds for these families. HOME funding could be used for some of their needs. She said that she was invited to a meeting with the Mayor of Hillsborough and a group of interns that Hillsborough plans on employing from the UNC School of Public Administration to make an assessment of the situation. Commissioner Jacobs said that one of the things from the retreat is to pursue the housing authority concept far the Board of County Commissioners and to land bank. PUBLIC COMMENT: Kia Baker is a member of Public Allies of North Carolina, which is a program to advance young leaders in non-profit and community service organizations. She is placed at Habitat for Humanity of Orange County as the Fairview Coordinator. She said that Habitat is building 18 new housing units in Fairview. In addition to those affordable housing units, there has been a need expressed to deal with housing problems. Habitat would like to start a program called "A Brush With Kindness", which works with minor exterior repairs. Habitat is requesting help from Orange County to launch this program because it does not have the resources for it. She encouraged the County Commissioners to come to their monthly meeting, which is the first Monday of every month. The next meeting is March 5th at 7:OOpm at the Fairview Policing Station. Chair Carey said that this program has potential because of the possibility of getting some "sweat" equity involved with Habitat for Humanity. There was r1a further public comment. A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to close the public hearing. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Tara Fikes said that the application form is available on the Orange County website and the Town of Chapel Hill website. Applications are due February 28tH b. Orange County's Proposed 2007 Legislative Agenda The Board held a public hearing and further reviewed and considered potential items for inclusion in Orange County's legislative agenda package for the 2007 North Carolina General Assembly Session. Chair Carey said that this was discussed publicly at the last meeting, and the Board wanted to bring this forward again. Commissioner Gordon said that there was a good meeting with the Legislative Delegation, and there was enthusiasm for the value-added processing center to get the entire center funded. Commissioner Nelson said that ten legislative priorities were identified. The top four are Medicaid relief, school construction assistance, revenue options for local governments, and mental health issues. Commissioner Jacobs said that he has a few items that have come up from citizens. The first one is a citizen request that the County Commissioners encourage the legislators to support Jessica's Law, which relates to strengthening laws related to sexual offenders against children. He has included some articles about this. He said that it seems something to forward to the legislators. Another request had to do with the Master Aging Plan and the homestead exemption. It has been in the legislative agenda before, but it seems worth mentioning that it is inadequate in a county like Orange that the property values are going up so fast. The Board has asked staff to work on trying to find an alternative mechanism to help primarily low-income seniors stay in their homes. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would also like to suggest changing the use value requirements so that there is a county option to include people based either on income or acreage. The way it is Haw, with agriculture, it has to be based an both. It is a statewide law, but maybe it could be enacted voluntarily within counties. Geof Gledhill said that the uniformity requirement in the North Carolina Constitution makes local option impossible with tax. He said that the substantive idea is not a bad one to ask the legislators to look at. Commissioner Jacobs said that the NCACC will oppose it because it will adversely affect revenues in the counties who rely heavily on agriculture. He said that he would like to at least suggest the other two he mentioned above. Commissioner Faushee said that she would like to consider the request from Social Services. It may only require a letter from the Chair, but she would like to respond to the request and forward it to the legislative delegation. Commissioner Nelson said that he would support a letter from the Chair regarding the request from Social Services. Regarding the homestead exemption, he supports communicating with the delegation about this. Regarding Jessica's Law, he thinks that the legislature passed this or something similar last year. Commissioner Jacobs said that yesterday Chatham County contributed $2,500 to the feasibility study for the value-added center, and Durham is putting it on the consent agenda for its next meeting. He would suggest that it is almost a moot point to be asking the legislature far money for this. Staff is going to be going back to some of the private entities to get more money. Commissioner Gordon suggested changing the request to get the entire center and Commissioner Nelson agreed. Laura Blackmon asked if the County Commissioners were looking to ask the legislature to fund the $1.5 million, plus the $500,000 of startup costs. Commissioner Nelson said to ask for a specific amount, and he said to confer with Representatives Hackney and Faison's office. Chair Carey suggested transmitting a letter to the delegation. Commissioner Gordon suggested referring this to the Legislative Committee to retool this. The Board agreed. The public hearing will be kept open until there is a report from the Manager an February 20tH 9. Items for Decision--Regular Agenda a. Site Selection: Orange County Transfer Station The Board considered findings pertinent to site selection for a proposed Orange County Transfer Station. Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that the Board discussed this on January 23rd, and the Board asked staff to review the list of community concerns and identify potential solutions or responses. Attachment A addresses this request. Secondly, the Board asked staff to provide information regarding analysis of two sites under consideration to host the transfer station. This information is in Attachment B. Regarding community concerns, Gayle Wilson said that he believes that the County is primarily responsible and the primary entity to address those concerns related to refuse handling at a transfer station and overall transfer station operations, landfill operations and facilities {including convenience centers), odor control, vermin control, environmental protection, litter control, leaking vehicles, and the routing of County collection vehicles and County drivers obeying traffic laws. The staff is presently dealing with many of the other matters and will continue to do so. He said that other entities are primarily responsible for the speed limits and traffic control devices in the neighborhoods; future development in the Rogers Road area; and community amenities {sidewalks, streetlights, bus services, etc.). Gayle Wilson said that the Town of Chapel Hill has recently established the Rogers Road Small Area Plan Task Force. Chair Carey and Rogers Road area resident and Solid Waste Advisory Board member Bonnie Norwood are both members of this task force. He said that staff believes that many issues of concern to the neighborhood will be addressed through the task force process. Regarding the two sites, both sites are large enough to accommodate a transfer station facility, and both sites are readily accessible to the interstate. However, there are considerable differences in other aspects of the important siting elements. The staff believes that the alternate site would be of considerable more expense for the County and the interlocal agreement partners to haul the waste to the facility, excluding Hillsborough. Given the potential significant impact on the County's partners, the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, the Manager is recommending that the Board direct staff to solicit input from the towns regarding the transfer station siting decision and report back to the Board as soon as passible. PUBLIC COMMENT: Sharon Cook read a prepared statement, as follows: "Keeping our promises -especially those made to the poor and least powerful in our community - is in itself the most compelling reason to site the garbage transfer station at an alternative site to Eubanks Road. But even without having made that promise to the community -the Eubanks Road site is incompatible with the current and future development in and around the current landfill. County soccer fields are being planned nearby on Millhouse Road -fields that will easily be walkable and bikeable from many of the neighborhoods and residences in and around Eubanks Road - absent the permanent expansion of garbage collection and 18-wheel waste transfer trucks traveling the road. When the current landfill is closed in 2010 -will the land then be returned to the community as a park? How will this fit with the proposed waste transfer station? You have heard the concerns of many of the long-time residents of this area. As we know, the dramatic growth ahead far both Chapel Hill and Carrboro is in the northern most sections of the towns, much of which will be near the current landfill. I hope that you will give due consideration to not only the current residents, but the 1000's of future residents who will soon be living within a short distance of and traveling Eubanks Raad an a daily basis. Traffic on Eubanks has increased tremendously since the opening of the back entrance to Lake Hogan Farms, which cut the distance to I-40 and shopping in Chapel Hill in half for many of the neighborhood's residents. Eubanks Road is no longer a country road outside of the day-to-day traffic streams. Would you build a garbage transfer station in the middle of town? How about locating it on some of the unplanned Carolina North campus? How ridiculous. Yet the current proposal to site a permanent garbage transfer station nearby not only the long-time Rogers Road neighbors, but also the two newer Habitat for Humanity neighborhoods at Homestead Place and Rusch Hollow should be equally offensive to a community that prides itself on social and environmental justice. Future Habitat and other low and mixed income homes are being planned for the Greene Tract directly off of Eubanks Road -even closer to the proposed garbage transfer facility - in addition to residences along Eubanks Road. County funds are being used to build an elementary school and park just down the road at the other end of Eubanks. A middle school is planned for the future. Will it be in our children's best interest to walk and bike to school along a roadway that is permanently used by not only our current garbage trucks, but that number multiplied many times over along with 18- wheel transfer trucks? The only justification far locating the garbage transfer station on Eubanks has been the cost to county taxpayers. But what about the cost of quality of life for those citizens who have borne the burden of the dump far years? Earlier in this meeting, the Board approved $5,600 to purchase and display art at the new Animal Shelter on Eubanks Road. A couple of years ago thousands of dollars, including $15,000 on discussions alone, was spent to rename Airport Road in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I can't help but wander haw Dr. King would look upon this community's treatment of the poor and elderly residents of Rogers Road. As we look upon Black History in Orange County during this month of February, will we be building a proud history of keeping our commitments to our minority residents? Please commit yourselves to keeping the promises that were made by this County to its citizens decades ago. Please find a way to make the alternate site on Highway 70 your choice for the garbage transfer station. Thank you, Sharon Cook, 1610 Claymore Raad, Chapel Hill 27516." Katrina Ryan said that, in reading the initial estimates, the cost for Chapel Hill and Carrboro comes down to about $10 per person per year additional to transport waste to the US 70 site. She said that Hillsborough has the largest capacity for urban growth. She said that the purchase price of the US 70 property is $3.8 million, which is minute compared to the future value of the redeveloped landfill if it does not have a trash transfer station sitting right next to it. This will be prime real estate inside the rural buffer. She said that she does not know the dollar value of the County Commissioners' word to the Rogers Road people, but she does not want them to be foolish about $10 per person and the incomparable value of additional land available to community residents. Uivian Olkin said that she moved to The Highlands in 1994 and there were no other developments. There was nothing on Homestead Raad, Rogers Road, ar Eubanks Road. Now there are six new major developments and Winmore is starting. There are a vast number of new developments coming on the northern edge of Chapel Hill, which will bring tremendous amounts of traffic. She said that she couldn't imagine the type of congestion that will occur because of this development. There are also schools planned for the Eubanks Road area, and she cannot see 18-wheelers, garbage trucks, and school buses mixing. She made reference to the value of the land and said that she has lived in Boston and in San Francisco. The Back Bay in Boston is all landfill and in San Francisco the landfill has become valuable land. She said that there is na reason why this land on Rogers Road cannot be reclaimed for something that will benefit the community or far projects that will bring in taxes. She asked the County Commissioners to look at the long-term effect of both growth and cost. Sarah Kingin said that she would like to express her opposition to the Rogers Road site for a transfer station. Jeff Kingin said that he just pictured tonight for the first time the idea of a sidewalk with school kids on Eubanks Road walking along with garbage trucks speeding by. He said that one County Commissioner admitted that they were frightened when they rode on this road. He said that the transfer station should be carefully positioned next to interstate onloff ramps. He said that the landfill was promised to have a limited lifespan. He said that a permanent transfer station is necessary, but this is the wrong place. He asked the County Commissioners to please let the residents know about the alternate site that is legally and very secretly being considered. He presented a petition with 112 signatures in opposition of the transfer station on Rogers Road. He said that he understands that at the transfer site there will be a Solid Waste office. He said that he did the mileage from Old NC 86 to I-40, from New Hope Church Road to I-40, and NC 86 to I-40. He said that everyone from Lake Hogan Farms, Wexford Homes, and Winmore will have to go on Eubanks Road to get to I-40. Chair Carey said that the other alternative site is fully acknowledged and is common knowledge. He made reference to the comments of the first three speakers that somehow the promise is being broken here if the County decides to put a transfer station on Rogers Road. He said that the impact of a transfer station versus the impact of a landfill is considerably different. Jackie Poole said that she strongly opposes the Rogers Raad site for the transfer station. Robert Campbell thanked the Board of County Commissioners for allowing them to voice their opinions. He is concerned whether the other site is more populated than the Rogers Road site. The Rogers Road site has seven developments with three more coming online. This will put more children at risk and more drivers at risk. He said that he has a concern that Chapel Hill garbage trucks come up Rogers Road, but they do not pick up trash on Rogers Road. The trucks are not supposed to come down Rogers Road and people in charge say that the trucks do not come down Rogers Raad. He said that if the transfer station is put in this area, there will have to be an agreement to monitor the trucks and make sure Rogers Road is not used as an access road to Eubanks Road. Jean Strowd said that she has been a resident of Rogers Road since 1989. She said that they have dealt with promises that have not been abided by and she requested that the County Commissioners take into consideration their quality of life and to consider the other site. Frank Corr said that he lives on Eubanks Road and if there is a transfer station in this area, he would have all of Chapel Hill's trash trucks going by his house. He said that he is concerned about his risk of getting contaminants since the transfer station would be hosed down each day into the sewer. He asked if there could be any design changes to Eubanks Road to accommodate the vehicles and the potential contaminants. Commissioner Jacobs said that the recommendation is to solicit input on the two potential sites from the partners and report back at a future meeting. He said to use specific dates. He would suggest that this come back by the March 1St meeting with comments from the towns. He would also like to ask the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro if they wish to have the County consider the US 70 site, despite its additional costs to their respective jurisdictions. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to solicit input on the two potential sites from the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and report back on March 1St, with the specifics as stated above by Commissioner Jacobs. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Carey asked staff to draft a letter for him as soon as possible to the towns. b. CHCCS Elementary #10 Project Update The Board received an update regarding CHCCS Elementary #10. Budget Director Donna Coffey said that late Friday afternoon the staff received a memo from Superintendent Neil Pedersen about funding Elementary #10 at $24.3 million. The information that was presented to the Board in September regarding the debt plans included $21 million for Elementary #10, with an additional $1.2 million for water and sewer. She said that there are a lot of analyses that need to be done at this point, and these are listed in the abstract. She said that to fund this completely, the County would have to go over the 15°lo debt capacity limit, or cut County projects. Laura Blackmon said that there are several issues to be resolved. These include some design components that the CHCCS wanted to delete; concerns with debt capacity; concerns regarding County projects that may not be completed; and issues dealing with water and sewer and infrastructure. She is requesting that staff have additional time to analyze and review the impacts of this increased funding request. Jamezetta Bedford, Chair of CHCCS Board, said that last Thursday their board authorized administration to submit this request to the Board of County Commissioners for a capital project ordinance to fund this project. She said that they wanted to get it to the BOCC two weeks earlier, but they had to evaluate the differences between the single-prime and multi- prime contract approaches. She said that the school board reviewed the list of proposed project cuts, considering which items would be paid for over time, energy savings versus upfront costs, and what could be eliminated or built later. Regarding sustainability features, rainwater collection remains in the proposal. The school board decided that the solar panels and solar hot water heating system should remain in the project. She said that the other projects taken out reduced the project by $634,319 with the multi-prime contractor, but the project still remains over budget. The $24.3 million request includes the $1.2 million special County contribution and $900,000 already approved for planning. She said that the Carrboro Board of Aldermen has a list of conditions to meet, but all are doable and only two resulted in additional cast. She said that, in order to meet an August 2008 timeframe they need to break ground in March. The CHCCS elementary schools are over capacity and SAPFO can kick in, but she thinks that this should be avoided if possible. Commissioner Nelson said that the County Commissioners just received materials this afternoon, but they need time to digest this information. He said that the question for him is not if they decide to do this, but how. He commended the school board far leaving the solar features in. Commissioner Gordan asked haw long the bids were good and Steve Scroggs said until March 14, 2007. Commissioner Foushee said that the County Commissioners know that they need to do this. She wants to get information with regards to the debt capacity and the other issues before making a decision. Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Foushee. Commissioner Jacobs said that it is also a question of when and the deadline is a month away, with many major decisions to make. He would like to know more about the projections from SAPFO and what the ramifications under SAPFO might be. He said that there could be a discussion about suspending the issuance of CAPs until the school could be built. He said this was done for Carrboro High School and for Gravelly Hill Middle School. He would like a cost benefit analysis with regard to alternative ways of approaching construction. Chair Carey said that the Board of County Commissioners has always met its commitment to schools. He wants to examine all of the issues that have been raised. He thinks it will be difficult to examine all of the issues within the deadline. He wants to try and save money if possible. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to direct staff to review and analyze the impacts of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School's request for $24.3 million for Elementary #10. VOTE: UNANIMOUS c. Appointments (1) Animal Shelter Design Committee -Appointments The Board made appointments to the Animal Shelter Design Committee. A motion was made by Chair Carey, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to appoint Sarah Fallin and Thomas Freeman far the Animal Services Staff position. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Jacobs nominated Shannon Church for an at-large position. Commissioner Foushee nominated Jon Helton for an at-large position. Commissioner Nelson nominated Neal Mochel for an at-large position. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner Jacobs pointed out that Darren Stuart lists himself as an Animal Shelter Volunteer, and he is from Cedar Grove. He recommended Mr. Stuart for the Animal Shelter Volunteer position. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Position Volunteers Animal Services Staff (2) Sarah Fallin Thomas Freeman At-Large (3) Shannon Church Jon Helton Neal Mochel Animal Shelter Volunteers (1} Darren Stuart (2) Animal Tethering Committee -Initial Appointments The Board made initial appointments to the Animal Tethering Committee. Commissioner Jacobs made reference to an email about one of the applicants, alleging that the applicant has been involved in conditioning dogs for fights. He would like to ask staff to look into whether or not these allegations are true. The application states that he is a convicted dog fighter, but he is not a dog fighter and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Commissioner Nelson recommended that Mary Dow fill the Animal Behaviorist position and that Alone Koki be moved to the Animal Wellness, Health Expert position. Commissioner Jacobs recommended Rachel Beckham and Margie Huggins for the at- large positions. The Board agreed to leave the Advocate for Tethering position blank until there is further information on this applicant. Commissioner Nelson volunteered to serve on this committee. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to approve the recommendations as amended, including Commissioner Nelson serving on the committee. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Position Volunteers Animal Services Advisory Board (2} Kristine Bergstrand Law Enforcement Kelly Stroud Animal Behaviorist Ma Dow Animal Wellness, Health Expert Alone Koki Advocate for Tethering At-Large (2} Rachel Beckham Margie Huggins Commissioner Nelson asked about the timeline and Chair Carey said that three months is reasonable for this committee. 10. Reports-NONE 11. Closed Session-NONE 12. Adjournment With no further items to discuss, a motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to adjourn the meeting at 10:14 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board