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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20070319APPROVED 4!2412007 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING March 19, 2007 7:30 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Joint Meeting with the Town of Hillsborough Commissioners on Monday, March 19, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the Link Government Services Center, 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 COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens and Commissioners Eric Hallman, Michael Gering, Brian Lowen, Frances Dancy, and Evelyn Lloyd TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Eric Peterson COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Brian Ferrell COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon and Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker {All other staff will be identified below). Chair Carey said that he just learned tonight that Town Commissioner Dancy's sister was killed last week, and he asked far a moment of silence. Introductions were made. Mayor Stevens said that he is still celebrating about the designation from the National Trust of Historic Preservation of Historic Hillsborough. This is in today's edition of USA Today. 1. Fairview Area Issues a) Park Planning Process Update Environment and Resource Conservation Director Dave Stancil said that early this year both boards looked at and revised the master plan for parks, including Fairview Park. The staff is moving toward an RFP for the site plan and construction documents. The plan is to have good firms to choose from in April or May. Copies of the master plan were distributed. Construction could be started as soon as spring 2008. One piece of the park is on an expedited schedule, and this is the playground replacement. Recreation and Parks Director Lori Taft said that the replacement of the playground at Fairview Park is proceeding and this is in the master plan. The composite piece has been identified and this is in the bid process now. This new playground will be moved away from the floodplain and parking lot. This should be completed by the end of the spring. Town Commissioner Brian Lowen said that the residents of Fairview ask often about the status of the park, and he will bring them this update. He said that the residents wanted to know if the replacement will be comparable to the one at Efland-Cheeks and Lori Taft said that it is very similar. Dave Stancil said that the staff is going to laminate the master plan and display it at the police station. Chair Carey asked if this would be coming in over bid like other buildings that are being built in the County, since it does not have as much bricks and mortar. Dave Stancil said that there is more design than they have funding to build at this time, so there will be some decisions to make. b} Status of Land Swap Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that the Town proposed acost-sharing arrangement for the land swap to cover the survey and related expenses. This was authorized by the Board of County Commissioners on the consent agenda on February 20tH Demetric Potts said that the Town has executed the agreement with consultants to move forward with the survey, and he and Orange County Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo met onsite with the surveyors to talk about the next steps. The hope is to have the area flagged out by next week. c) Town Public Works Facility Development Update Demetric Potts said that the land swap was the trigger to move forward with the development of the Public Works facility. Once this process is completed, the Town will move forward with putting out an RFQ to get the design phase underway. This is anticipated to happen sometime in July. 2. Economic Development & Planning a} Update on US 70-Cornelius Street Corridor Study, including Proposed RetaillService Incubator Economic Development Director Dianne Reid said that this study began last summer and different groups served on the committee. This committee is nearing completion. The final wrap-up meeting is next Wednesday to formally approve the recommendations. Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth said that they have a 40-page report about this group and there has been a lot of input from the neighborhood. There have been flyers put up around town about the report. Chair Carey asked about next steps and Margaret Hauth said that it would be referred back to the two elected boards for adoption. Commissioner Gordon asked about the funding and Dianne Reid said that it is on the wish list of Congressman Price. She said that the group talked about the desire to have an incubator type of facility for start-up businesses and for relocating businesses from Daniel Boone. She said that there is a sub-group of the task force that is interested in establishing a community development corporation to run some of the activities. Brian Lowen said that it would be goad to have a joint public hearing on this study. Margaret Hauth said that there is nothing compelling for the boards and it is not mandated to have public hearing. Chair Carey suggested asking staff to work together an this possibility. b} Update on Town of Hillsborough Strategic Growth Plan Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict said that the phase one strategic growth plan is an outgrowth of a previous program from 2004-2005, which was the Orange County/Town of Hillsborough Urban Transition Area Task Force. Clarion and Associates was the consultant, who analyzed the potential far growth and the constraints to growth in this general area, and developed a plan. There was a task force that worked through phase one, which included County and Town Commissioners, Planning Board members, and citizens at- large. The product of the task force was a plan that showed that some of the earlier versions of the water and sewer boundary could not be serviced by existing water supplies in Lake Orange and West Fork of the Eno, even with the expansion of the second reservoir, and a smaller version of the water and sewer boundary would more appropriately match the infrastructure available to Hillsborough. An outcome of that was a resolution, which was passed by both boards over the last few months, which included a concept map far how growth can occur in the area. Margaret Hauth said that the resolution has six items for the Town and the County to be working on. In addition, the Town of Hillsborough still wants to go back and look at some of the recommended internal land uses. Margaret Hauth agreed and said that as this moves forward closer to implementation, the information can be more specific to the public. Margaret Hauth went through the resolution, Attachment 2-b. She said that most of the six items, a-f, have a public hearing component and a requirement for an interlocal agreement between the Town and the County. She said that the staff could probably bring back a package in time for the budget seasons. Town Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd asked about the EDD and the entranceway and Margaret Hauth said that she was talking about undeveloped land in the Town's jurisdiction. Evelyn Lloyd said that the EDD committee and she could talk with Commissioner Jacobs about this. Eric Hallman said that, as Co-Chair of the Strategic Growth Planning Committee with Commissioner Jacobs, he was very pleased with this process and he thanked Orange County for its support and participation. c) Update an Hillsborough WaterlSewer Discussions with Durham Town Manager Eric Peterson said that in May 2005, the City of Durham approached the Town of Hillsborough with the idea of providing water and wastewater treatment services for the Town, with the concept that Hillsborough would shut the water plants down and get all of the water and sewer treatment from the City of Durham. There was a very detailed financial analysis last summer, and the final answers are forthcoming. Regarding the wastewater treatment issue, Hillsborough has hired an engineering firm, and this firm will be making a presentation to the Town Board at its April meeting to provide cost estimates for using Durham or expanding Hillsborough's system. He said that the capital costs of going with Durham for wastewater treatment are two and a half times more expensive than if the Tawn expands and upgrades its system. He said that when the Town first started talking about this, there was interest in Orange County about the EDD and the intersection of US 70 and I-85. He said that he could not address this at this time until the financial analysis is finished. Commissioner Gordon asked if Hillsborough would have the responsibility of contributing water to the general system. Eric Peterson said that the concept they looked at was to take Hillsborough's current allocations and let it run into the Eno River. Durham would take the raw water, treat it, and send it back. Commissioner Gordon asked about Hillsborough's input into Durham's water policies if they went with this option, and Eric Peterson said that if this was financially viable, Hillsborough would lose autonomy. Tom Stevens said that Hillsborough has not even looked at this issue yet because it is too soon. Eric Peterson, said that there is a draft agreement, but they are now just focusing on financial viability. Commissioner Jacobs asked if Hillsborough would consider water without sewer. Eric Peterson said that they could do water without sewer because of the environmental concerns with the Eno, but they could not do the reverse. He said that it is important to look at this option with Durham because the Town's water rates are among the highest in the state. Evelyn Lloyd said that Hillsborough spent $3 million to upgrade the water plant, and it is in good shape. d) Update on Daniel BoonelCollins Property Master Plan and County's Courtesy Review Comments Margaret Hauth said that on March 22"d, there will be a public hearing on this 220-acre parcel at the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom at 7:00 p.m. Portions of the property are not currently in the Town's city limits and the Town is requesting annexation. A rezoning is being requested for the Daniel Boone portion. She said that the staff received word today that the person who leases the motel and campground has chosen to close the campgraund effective May 1 ~. Notices have been provided to the residents of the campground. The residents will be offered preferred rates at the motel and apartments behind the motel. There is a group of MPA students that is working on an assessment of the needs for these residents to see if any of them qualify for existing programs such as affordable housing, etc. Commissioner Foushee asked how many residents would be relocated from the campground and Margaret Hauth said about 30 families in both the mobile home park and campground. Evelyn Lloyd asked why the campground was closing and Margaret Hauth said that, as people are finding other alternatives and moving away from the campgraund, the owner of the campground is losing revenue, so he decided to close. Commissioner Gordon made reference to the draft report on courtesy review and she said that it is very important in this development that there be planning for public transportation components. She said that some transit planners at TTA have told her that they are interested in working with the Town on this issue. She said that this would be a dense development with a lot of walkability. Commissioner Jacobs commended the Town Board in the way it looked at this development. He especially wanted to thank Commissioner Lowen for bringing up the school site question when the developers made the presentation. He said that this presentation was made about the same time that developments in Chapel Hill were being approved. He said that what the Town was presented by the developers was vague, minimally responsive, and borderline insulting, and he hopes that the Town should not settle for anything less than what Chapel Hill expects from its developers. Commissioner Michael Gering said that he wants input from Orange County about the financial impact of providing County services to this development. Commissioner Brian Lowen agreed. Commissioner Brian Lowen said that he was surprised when he got the email today and the campground was closing with such short notice, and he hopes that the Hopper family will help make arrangements for these families since they own the property. Mayor Stevens said that the Town Board felt that the following items were important with the Daniel Boone area: infrastructure, water, mixed use development, flex space, walkability, street improvements, sustainability, land for future school, recreation, open space, and historic preservation. Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd distributed a map from the developers about the softball fields. She said that she feels that this is an insult. Chair Carey said that the news is out and the businesses are seeing a downturn in business at the Daniel Boone Shops because people do not think they are still open. He asked if anyone is working with the Chamber about this. Mayor Stevens said that he has spoken to several business people in that area and this is a major concern. Commissioner Michael Gering said that the Tourism Board annually entertains grants for programs from Daniel Boone Village merchants. He expects that this will remain. Craig Benedict distributed the draft comments on the courtesy review. Commissioner Gordon asked about the timeline for when Hillsborough will need to review and decide on this. Margaret Hauth said that the timeframe is at the board's discretion. The developer would like a decision by June, but the Town Board has not made any commitment. She said that they have estimated 18 months to two years in terms of putting in the infrastructure. It is impossible to estimate since it is so far out. The layout of the master plan is still not known as well as to which buildings might stay and which ones would nat. Commissioner Brian Lowen asked Craig Benedict about his recommendation about urban style school sites and Craig Benedict said that there are same prototypical acreage standards that the State uses, but the County Commissioners and both school boards have been trying to address new concepts instead of a sprawling suburban school site. The urban style is more compact with walkability. Another comment addresses land banking for school sites. Commissioner Jacobs said that there is a middle school in downtown Raleigh that is on four acres, and it fits within a denser context. e} Potential County Signage Guidelines to Coordinate County Facilities Signage with the Town's New Way-Finding and Signage Guidelines Commissioner Eric Hallman said that he asked that this be put on the agenda. Commissioner Michael Gering said that the Town has set aside money in the budget for Signage for way-finding. The first half of it is funded, and it is estimated to include hiring a consultant to do the analysis, community outreach, and development of the basic plan. He said that Town staff has been thinking about the phase one program, but a consultant has not been hired yet. In addition, there is a need to refine the Signage ordinance. He said that they would like both the Town and the County to conform to the plan when it is developed. Margaret Hauth said that way-finding attempts to establish some hierarchy of what there is to see and this can help people find other sections of the town. Mayor Stevens said that this is a heads up item. Chair Carey suggested that the Town contact the Orange County Visitor's Bureau to be involved in this. f} Next Steps in Joint Planning Craig Benedict said that this was reviewed earlier. 3. Facilities Issues a} Update on Justice Facilities, Farmers Market and River Park Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Jones said that the information is in the abstract. She said that the bids for the justice facilities have been received, and the plan is to do same value-engineering. The hope is to have a contract by the end of April. The project includes the justice facilities expansion, River Park, and the Public Market House. She said that the site access to the Farmer's Market may be limited in the beginning. There will be a temporary gravel parking lot across from the medical center. The First Baptist Church is allowing the County to use its parking lot free of charge far the courthouse staff and jurors for two years. The abstract information is below: Bids were received for the Justice Facilities Expansion on February 22, 2007. The bids were close to the cost estimates submitted throughout the design process. County staff, consultants and contractors are identifying elements that may be subject to value engineering in order to ensure sufficient funding is available for contingency and owner responsibility items (e.g. materials and soil testing, data wiring, etc.}. Since the project also includes renovations within afifty-year old building, contingency funding is an important consideration. Staff anticipates that the value engineering process will be completed by the end of March 2007, at which time the contractor may proceed with getting bonds, insurance and contract documents together for the anticipated bid award on April 24, 2007. Construction is expected to begin during the first week of May 2007, with completion anticipated in late-2009. As a reminder, this project also includes River Park and the construction of a Public Market. The Public Market portion of the project will be completed as quickly as practicable after the beginning of the work. However, it should be noted that the construction site will include the entire lower parking lot, thereby making access less than ideal for patrons of the market. It is staff's understanding that the farmer's market leadership has been able to negotiate alternative arrangements far a downtown location during the construction period to allow uninterrupted service during the 2007-growing season. Staff will provide any other information related to these facilities at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss these facilities as necessary. b} County Campus Projects Update Pam Jones said that the Gateway Building construction has started and the parking deck will be next, followed by the County office building and the library. The Gateway Building should be finished by this time next year, and the office building and library should be done six to eight months later. The occupants in the Gateway Building will be Tax and Records, and the office building will house land-related departments (Planning and Inspections, Environmental Health, County Engineer, Housing and Community Development, etc.). Commissioner Michael Gering asked about the space across from the Whiffed Building and Pam Jones said that there has been no building identified as of yet. Michael Gering said that it has been suggested as a sculpture park or something to provide an amenity to the neighborhood. He encouraged the County to think of something nice to put there for the community. c) County Planning for Downtown ParkinglConstruction This was addressed above. d} Update on Durham Technical Community College Satellite Campus Development Pam Jones said that this facility will be open a little bit later than originally thought. They are still working through issues with Durham Tech about sustainable design as well as the sprinkler system. Laura Blackman thanked the Town's staff for their help on this issue. Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd asked about the Heritage Center and Pam Jones said that this has been discussed, but it is not funded now in the CIP. The discussions will continue. Commissioner Jacobs said that Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Gordon put in a request for funding for the Heritage Center from the legislative delegation and from Congressman David Price. Commissioner Jacobs asked Pam Jones to address where they stand on a joint meeting room and Pam Jones said that the Link Government Services Center will be renovated after the land-related departments are moved out. There has been discussion about a joint meeting room with the Town, and once the architect comes on site, they can look at this further. Commissioner Brian Lowen asked about the building on Revere Road and Pam Jones said that this would become a rural central department area with Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water, etc. Cooperative Extension has been asking far a large area far gatherings for some time. The current library will be taken over by Social Services and the Health Department. Commissioner Brian Lowen asked about any updates on the recreation center and Pam Janes said that the administrative offices will locate to the EMS offices on New Hope Church Road. EMS will reside at the Tweeter building in Meadowlands. This would free up the space at the Whiffed Building to be primarily for recreation programs. e} Update on Walnut Grove Church Road Solid Waste Convenience Center Public Works Director Wilbert McAdoo said that the County will be closing the NC 57 Solid Waste Convenience Center on April 24th. The County has purchased land and plans to expand this center on the corner of Walnut Grove Church Road and NC 86 N. This should be open on April 26th. He said that the contractor has started working and a lot of the clearing is done. He said that they are asking the Town residents to use the existing Town curbside services for waste disposal and recycling. Also, the Hampton Pointe recycling center is available. Commissioner Jacobs said that the County is still looking for a site on NC 57 and Commissioner Brian Lowen said that he has heard residents who are very concerned about the closing of this site. f} Development of Coordinated Guidelines for Pre-construction Archaeological Surveys Commissioner Eric Hallman said that this is informational. The Tawn Board has been approached by residents about all of the new construction going on and the possibly disturbing of historically significant sites. He would like the Town and County to coordinate efforts in this area and make the public more aware of attempts made to preserve these areas. Pam Jones said that the County did cultural and archaeological surveys on the downtown buildings, and they did find something at the justice facility that will be preserved. There is also an RFP going out for a study for the Southern States site, which is the County's portion of the County campus. She said that the Board of County Commissioners approved a policy where anytime land is disturbed, %4 of an acre or more, a cultural and archaeological study must be done. Commissioner Eric Hallman said that a press release on this would be helpful and Mayor Stevens agreed. 4. School-Related Issues a} Future School Site Collaboration/PlacementslLand-Banking in Hillsborough Chair Carey said that there is a draft letter in the packet from him, and this process will be facilitated by the new school construction standards that the School Collaboration group will review, finalize, and send to each of the elected boards for approval. In that document, there will be additional information about school acreage needs that will facilitate this process. Craig Benedict said that this has been discussed for years as far back as the Schools and Land Use Council, to coordinate the location of schools. He said that the School Collaboration Work Group is in the process of bringing this up to the surface because land can be scarce in urban areas. Through the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, there are projections for when schools need to come on the horizon up to ten years in the future. He said that land banking is a proactive mechanism by which all local governments could work together to try and identify school sites even before development proposals come forward. Commissioner Eric Hallman said that the Town Board had a joint meeting with the OCS and they were educated on the processes of identifying and reserving school sites. Craig Benedict said that there is a provision in the Town's subdivision ordinance about reservation for public sites. The strategic growth plan process can include identifying locations far potential school sites. Commissioner Gordan said that these concepts have been used previously in Orange County. The idea of land banking for schools was implemented in the 1990's when the Commissioners set aside money each year in the School/Park Reserve Fund. At first the county reserved the equivalent of one cent on the property rate per year, and that was later reduced to ane-third {1/3) cent. However, no money has been allocated since 20Q2. There were also statements in the draft letter concerning a group composed of representatives from the towns, the school boards, and the Commissioners getting together to discuss matters like school siting. These jurisdictions and these functions are basically the same as the ones in the Schools and Land Use Councils, which were sunsetted a couple of years ago. She said that this proposal would reinitiate the interaction of the various government entities, but she does not see any funding attached to it. The County Commissioners need to discuss how this will be funded. bj School Site Reservation/Dedication as Part of Developments This was addressed above. 5. County Services/Financial Partnership Budget Director Donna Coffey said that there has been success in joining with the Town on several projects including, Fairview, River Park, providing fire inspections, and animal control. She said that the County will be approaching the Town about partnering with Orange County an the financing of these joint projects as the parts come online. This is a heads up item. Laura Blackmon said that initial discussions will be at the staff level. Commissioner Eric Hallman said that ane-cent an the Town's tax rate will only bring in $70,OQ0. Chair Carey said that the Board of County Commissioners received an invitation from Senator Kinnaird to come to the NRC hearing on March 22"d to discuss the application of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant for renewal of its permit. The County Commissioners received a letter today indicating that the NRC will not be at the meeting. With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:34 PM. Moses Carey, Jr., Chair Donna S. Baker Clerk to the Board