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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 20080212 APPROVED 4/15/2008 Orange County Board of Commissioners And the Orange County Human Relations Commission Joint Work Session Tuesday, February 12, 2008 6:00 p.m. (Dinner at 5:30 p.m.) The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session along with the Human Relations Commission (HRC) to hear presentations on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses Carey, Jr., Valerie Foushee, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Alice M. Gordon COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Brian Ferrell COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Deputy Clerk to the Board David Hunt (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) HRC MEMEERS PRESENT: Jack Vogt, Barb Chapman, Vivette Jeffries-Logan, Bill Hendrickson, Barbara Marotto, Margot Lester, Josephine Harris, Bryant Colson, and Carolyn Ikenberry HRR STAFF PRESENT: Director Shoshannah Smith and James Spivey Commissioner Gordon was not able to attend due to a scheduling conflict. 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 6:05 PM by Chair Jacobs. He said that the Board enjoys the opportunities to meet with advisory boards in this kind of setting to focus on specific topics. 2. Introductions — Board of County Commissioners, Human Relations Commission (HRC), and Staff Introductions were made. Commissioner Carey said that this discussion of social justice was probably precipitated when he raised the issue of merger of the two school systems. One of his major reasons for raising it was because he thought there were some social justice issues regarding the two school systems, but no one agreed with him, so he gave up. 3. Presentation by Human Relations Commission Members: Overview of the Social Justice Goal Chair of the HRC Bill Hendrickson said that the final report was put together by the staff, and reviewed in detail and edited by the Human Relations Commission. He said that the draft report mentions a Human Services Reformed Task Force Report from 1996, and in 2002 the County Commissioners mentioned an interest in pursuing the social justice goal for the County. In 2004, the County Commissioners requested directly that the Office of Human Rights and Relations, working with the HRC, produce this social justice goal. The HRC obtained the services of Professor John Calmore of the UNC-CH School of Law to lay the foundation of this report. He said that social justice is a tough issue to deal with and it is so broad. The HRC thinks that, "The aim of social justice is full and equal participation of all groups in a society designed and mutually shaped to meet their needs." He said that the report includes certain particular areas of social justice that were discovered in the research that was done over several years. Vivette Jeffries-Logan listed the categories for social justice ranked in descending order, based on the amount of money allotted to each category by Orange County residents. Approximately 550 residents spent $7,169.02 on social justice at different listening sessions across the County using the Pennies in a Jar Tool. These are listed on page 8 of the report. 1. Elimination of Oppression 2. Economic Self-Sufficiency (incoming wealth, health care, and housing) 3. Physically and Mentally Safe Communities 4. Environmental Justice 5. Civic Participation (voting) 6. Other (tax relief, transportation, reproductive justice, animal protection, and taking money from the rich to give to the poor) Bryant Colson explained the Pennies in a Jar, where each citizen was allotted 13 Orange dollars, and was asked to allocate the dollars to the five areas of social justice. There were three public listening sessions, and the advisory boards were also solicited for opinions. People were also questioned at University Mall and Hog Day. Bill Hendrickson read from the Memo of Transmittal that, The enclosed report proposes to achieve social justice in Orange County and the County shall perform government duties including policy-making and budgeting..." He said that the County Commissioners are the implementers and budgeters, and the HRC includes just the advisory people. He said that the County Commissioners would be congratulated for initiating the first justice goal for any county in the whole country. Bryant Colson added that, during this process, the commission learned a lot about Orange County's residents and one another. He said that he has a newfound respect and appreciation for his colleagues through this process. Commissioner Carey asked how the HRC came up with the five categories. James Spivey said that there were lots of subcommittee meetings and brainstorming. He made reference to page 20, and the summary of the topics. Barbara Chapman said that the first step was to educate themselves after they were asked to do this report. Staff put together a workshop for the HRC on Overcoming Oppression, which was very challenging. There was also a subcommittee that brainstormed ideas. She said that they tried to make it as inclusive as possible, but manageable in terms of people understanding categories. Shoshannah Smith made reference to page 28 and the list of events/groups solicitations of ideas. Jack Vogt said that he came in at a later stage in this process and he looked at it quite critically. He said that the core of it is on page 10 and the Social Justice Vision. He said that he had some difficulty with the term, "oppression," and he would prefer "discrimination." He thinks the report is as good a statement of social justice that he has seen. He does have some questions about some of the costs of the recommendations and who should bear them. He said that the recommendations are meant to highlight what the general point means. Bill Hendrickson said that this goal is now on the table and he does not want it to gather dust. The HRC would like it to remain a living creature. Chair Jacobs thanked the HRC for all the work that was done. He said that when this started, the Board did not envision how complex, broad, and unusual this was going to be. 4. Specific Social Justice Goal Issues/Questions from HRC and BOCC Clarification of Scope: Should the HRC . . . social justice, or should we continue to do a broad-based analysis? What further research would the BOCC like from the HRC on this issue? Commissioner Nelson said that as he was reading through this he noticed how broad it was. He said that some of the action items are outside of the County's scope. He would like to redraft this and take out the items that are outside of the County's scope. He said that at least one thing has already been done —same-day voter registration. He said that the County Commissioners do a better job when the goals are focused and have a clear path. Carolyn Ikenberry said that the HRC decided not to filter comments from citizens and just put down everything that residents said. Commissioner Carey said that the point might be to put action items in categories to help focus the attention of the BOCC. He suggested keeping all of the comments in, but just categorizing them for focus. Commissioner Foushee agreed and said that it is good to see the comments. She said that the Board should focus on the actions that it can implement and then find out the budget implications. She thinks that this is an excellent document. Commissioner Carey made reference to one of the items under "other" related to diversifying revenues of Orange County, and said that this one does not have a price tag, but the HRC can help the County achieve this by helping to pass one of the local revenue options. Barbara Chapman said that there will have to be more meetings in order to whittle this report down because it will be a process of working and then coming back to the BOCC because it knows the current state of the economy, etc. The HRC also does not have the resources to do the budgeting. Commissioner Foushee said that the County Commissioners would not expect the HRC to do budgeting, but the action items need to be more focused. Commissioner Nelson said that the Board has a meeting in April with the legislative delegates and he suggested that the HRC start the editing process and send a letter with a list of the items, and then it could be presented to the delegation. Bill Hendrickson said that the Board has given the HRC the next steps, and they will proceed accordingly. 5. Other Social Justice Goal Topics 6. Next Steps 7. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 6:53 PM. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board APPROVED 4/15/2008 Orange County Board of County Commissioners WORK SESSION Tuesday, February 12, 2008 7:30 pm Link Government Services Center, Hillsborough, NC The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses Carey, Jr., Valerie Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geof Gledhill COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Deputy Clerk to the Board David Hunt (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 The meeting was called to order at 7:32 pm. 1. Orange County Housing Authority Bylaws Revision Jabrina Robinson, Vice-Chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Board, highlighted the significant changes to the bylaws. She said that when the AHAB met with the Board of County Commissioners in August, the Board asked the AHAB to go back and review the bylaws of the Orange County Housing Authority to bring them up to date with some of the goals discussed for the Housing Authority. Most of the changes are minor. The first section is in Article II. It was decided that the Board of Commissioners of the Authority shall consist of seven members. Commissioner Gordon made reference to Article I, Section 3, and suggested that it should say, "at such other place in Orange County..." Geof Gledhill said that it could meet outside of Orange County and there is no law preventing it from doing so. Commissioner Gordon said that the preference would be to meet in Orange County. Commissioner Gordon asked if the members had to be called commissioners. Jabrina Robinson said that by statute they are defined as board of commissioners. Chair Jacobs suggested saying the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners to differentiate from other commissioners. Chair Jacobs asked about the purpose of no commissioner being a County official. Jabrina Robinson said that this is designated by statute. Jabrina Robinson made reference to revisions to Article III, Section 5, and that the Executive Director shall be appointed by the Orange County Manager, and compensation will also be determined by the County Manager. Commissioner Gordon asked where the purpose of the Housing Authority was outlined and Geof Gledhill said that it is in the charter. Commissioner Gordon suggested that this should be outlined in the general statute. She also suggested changing "chairmen"to "chair" throughout the document. Chair Jacobs asked if this group really needs to meet monthly. Jabrina Robinson said that the opportunity is there for it to meet monthly, but it is not required or envisioned on a regular basis. Chair Jacobs made reference to Article IV, Section 2, and suggested that it say, "Meetings shall be held with notice....." This leaves it flexible without there being predetermined monthly meetings. Laura Blackmon pointed out Article II, Section 4, and said that the terms are 3 years, instead of not less than 2 or more than 5. Chair Jacobs said that this should be consistent with all of the other boards. Commissioner Gordon asked to hear from Geof Gledhill on the purpose of the Housing Authority. Geof Gledhill read the purpose. Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes arrived at 7:49 pm (she was stuck in Whitted elevator, power outage). Chair Jacobs asked if there could be a position for someone from Human Rights and Relations because it investigates housing. Jabrina Robinson said that there has not been discussion about this department directly, only in recruiting different members. Chair Jacobs suggested that the authority think about other groups within County government. Geof Gledhill made reference to an earlier question about appointing County officials and said that it is not defined and could include elected officials and staff. He said that it would be a good idea to track the language in the statute. Chair Jacobs suggested leaving a couple of seats on the authority for members of other County boards and commissions. 2. Regional Value-Added Shared Use Food & Agricultural Processing Center Willie Best made reference to the back page of the abstract under Financial Impact and said that the consultant from Smithson Mills said that instead of"in profit per year," it should say, "in revenue to the clients." to the Report on the Feasibility of Establishing a Regional Shared Use Food & Agricultural Processing Facility Serving Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange Counties by Smithson Mills. Noah Ranells said that the objective of this meeting is to discuss some more and ask questions of staff. Some of the first items to consider are consideration of the recommended site, which is the Orange Enterprises building on Valley Forge Road; a resolution indicating continued interest to participate as a multi-jurisdictional county effort; and trying to pursue initial grant funding. He reminded the Board that it authorized staff to submit a grant proposal to the North Carolina Agricultural Development Farm and Preservation Trust Fund in December. There has been no word on this to date. Commissioner Nelson asked about the total of$750,000 and where the rest of the money was coming from. Noah Ranells said that as grant opportunities arise, there are cycles for proposals and funding sources. The staff is considering opportunities to get this almost fully funded by grant funds. Commissioner Nelson asked about financial participation by the other counties. Noah Ranells said that the degree of financial participation is up for discussion. The degree of participation as discussed in the stakeholder group has been seed money, $3,000-5,000 to try and make sure there is a strong start to a Project Manager. Chair Jacobs said that he talked to Representative Faison today and he introduced a bill, as did Senator Kinnaird, and talking about making this one effort and bringing in Caswell and Person Counties. The Vice-Chair of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners has already talked to Representative Cole and some other Representatives are very supportive. He thinks that there are some promising avenues for funding. Commissioner Nelson asked about the annual fees after the startup is complete and if $150,000 would cover it. The representative from Smithson Mills said that in Asheville the operating expenses there are approximately $130,000 a year; and $70,000 of that is the Facility Director (salary of$50,000 with benefits). The community college receives rent of about $35,000 a year. The balance is dedicated to equipment repairs, minor equipment acquisition, cleaning fees, etc. He said that, based on the demand measured in this region, which is substantially higher than Asheville, he believes that the project can approach or meet a break- even status within a few years. Commissioner Nelson asked about the Valley Forge site and said that, if Orange County were chipping that in, what would the other counties be contributing. Noah Ranells said that those discussions have not occurred yet. Chair Jacobs said that this could be brought up once everyone is brought to the table. He is sure that there is a willingness to contribute. Commissioner Nelson made reference to the management entity and asked who would set this up and if it would spin off into its own authority. Noah Ranells said that the options for development of the management authority lay with the commissions of each county as well as the stakeholder group. These two entities would come together and form this administrative body. The representative from Smithson Mills strongly recommended establishing a 501(c) 3 with appointees from various commissions because it is more flexible and works better. Commissioner Nelson asked about the lease arrangement and said that his main concern is that he does not believe in giving space away. However, this is an exciting project and he would like to find a way to do this. He would prefer that this entity pay rental, even if it means the County is contributing financially towards the operating expenses for the first few years. He does not think that it is a wise idea from a business standpoint to set up a business and not have them paying all of the operation costs that a real business would pay. He said that it is hard to justify giving property away. Chair Jacobs suggested trying to scale it up to the place that the County wants. By process of elimination, it is going to be way more convenient to Orange County producers. So Orange County will have the biggest advantage for the economic development opportunity. With that understanding, he thinks that something equitable could be built in. Noah Ranells made reference to a previous question and said that there is about $300,000 in equipment and $400,000 in renovation costs for the initial phase. He said that this is a business incubator and would spawn economic development. Laura Blackmon said that there will be concerns from other counties about the County getting the building renovated and the value that would be added to that. The representative from Smithson Mills said that there is a way to structure it so that the value of the building can be a match. The agreement in Asheville is $1 a year, with a $35,000 a year utilities and maintenance fee. Commissioner Gordon said that this is an exciting opportunity. She asked if there was a hope to do more than break even. Noah Ranells said that this is an incubator and it will graduate people out. The long-term financial planning is a little uncertain. Commissioner Gordon said that she thinks that the County should be able to get some money back. She said that the value of the building would be about $500,000. She does not think that the County is affluent enough to be able to afford to give this property away. In order to get the costs down, she would like to assess what the property is really worth and then ask the other counties to subsidize it too. She thinks that every other county involved in this has a lower tax rate. She also has a concern about giving space away. She wants to talk to the other counties, factor it in, and make it fair. Chair Jacobs said that he has heard that the Board has no objections with proceeding, no objections with allocating the building, no objections to seeing the board become a 501(c) 3, and that there should be some equitable financial relationship whereby Orange County gets some money back. These four items could be put on an agenda and the other counties could be informed that Orange County is committed to the project and that these four items would be put on an agenda. He directed the Manager to put this in the form of an agenda item in a subsequent meeting. Noah Ranells said that staff would continue to seek out funding opportunities. 3. Local Revenue Options Referendum Rod Visser said that the County Commissioners' timeline for making a decision on this is Tuesday night's meeting, February 19th. He said that he just came from the sixth meeting of the Local Revenue Options Committee, and it is in the process of wrapping up the initial report to the County Commissioners. This report will include a list of pros and cons, observations, comments, etc. There will be no recommendation because the County Commissioners asked that there not be one. Laura Blackmon said that the purpose of having this item on the agenda was to see if there were other questions. The meeting on the 19th will be the pros and cons and comments, the results of the poll, and the decision. Chair Jacobs said that he did submit a question to the County Attorney, which he copied all of the Commissioners on. Geof Gledhill said that he put more in the letter than was asked. He said that one of the things that he has learned is what happens to the other half of the two percent excise tax that is already on the books. This goes to the State in a week. The question from Chair Jacobs was what exemptions there could be under the law for a land transfer tax, if the voters approved it. The answer is that transactions involving property subject to affordable housing or homestead exemptions would not be exempt from the tax. Chair Jacobs said that the County could assist people in this situation by a reimbursement through the general fund and Geof Gledhill said yes. Right now, the County does not reimburse anyone for the excise tax. There is also no provision in the law to allow local exemption of this tax. Chair Jacobs said that at the public hearing the Board heard about counties near the coast that have had tremendous success using the real estate transfer tax. He would like to know how transfers in Orange County have tracked over the last few years. He has heard that they have not changed significantly, even in the down housing market. He would like this information. He would also like to know how many of the affordable units are transferred in an average year. Budget Director Donna Coffey said that she had this information on affordable housing and would provide it later. Rod Visser said that staff would try to get this information by Thursday when the agenda packets are sent out. Commissioner Gordon said that she wants to make sure that there is not an additional burden on affordable housing. Chair Jacobs said that the County Commissioners are interested in helping lower income people, especially seniors, deal with property taxes. As changes are made in taxation, he wants to know what is being done to the environment of people who are living in affordable housing. Commissioner Nelson asked about the education process. Rod Visser said that the committee has not talked too much about that yet because it has been approached in two phases. The first phase is the committee educating itself about the mechanics of the two revenue options. He said that he would see it being similar to the education of bond referenda. Commissioner Nelson said that he has some concerns because this is very different from bond referenda. He said that there are a lot of politics related to this and a large amount of money that realtors and homebuilders have put into this. He said that the County cannot run this like it has run other bond referenda. He has concerns about not having enough time to do it right. Secondly, there are people who might be willing to jump in and fight for this. In other states where this has been on the ballot, there have been other business interests who have put in a lot of money to get it passed. He said that this help has been almost cut off because of the quick timeframe. He really wants to beat the ones who are fighting this and be as assertive as possible. He said that the only way to pursue the timing is to delay this until November. Commissioner Foushee said that, over the last couple of weeks when she considers what needs to be done to educate the public, she realizes that the time between now and May 6th may not be adequate. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to concentrate on what will be done with the money and explain the County Commissioners' intent for the proceeds. As far as the timing, she would rather go forward on May 6th. She thinks that whether it passes or not is going to depend on how it is explained why the money is needed and what will happen if the County does not get the money—either with the sales tax or the land transfer tax. Commissioner Carey asked if the committee sufficiently understands the unfunded capital needs of the County and the fact that there is no revenue to cover those needs. Rod Visser said that the committee understands this at a macro level and that there is a need for additional revenue. Commissioner Carey said that people have been paying attention to this matter of needing more funds since last year, and everybody objects to the continued increase in property tax. He would like to go forward in May and make a clear statement about how the money is going to be used, which is to provide some relief from continued increases in property taxes. Commissioner Nelson said that he agreed with a lot of what Commissioner Carey just said. He also agreed that the County Commissioners should be very clear with the voters on what the money will be used for. From his perspective, he thinks that the money should be spent on the schools. Commissioner Foushee agreed and said that if this is going to be successful it should be clear that this money would be dedicated to meeting school construction needs. Chair Jacobs suggested asking the Manager to put in the agenda packet a clear message related to schools that can be voted on by the Board. He also thinks that it should be clear that this will be approached in an equitable manner between the two school systems and that this is not money to do new projects that have not previously been contemplated. This is for required projects that are already projected. Commissioner Carey said that he agrees with clarity and simplicity and he thinks that schools should be at the top of the priority list, but he does not want to give the schools all of the money. He said that there are other pent up demands and important needs that will have to come into play. Chair Jacobs said that the Manager had a proposal about retiring debt and not specifically school debt, so there could be two proposed focuses. Commissioner Gordon suggested crafting the language as specifically as possible, including capital and projects that will be funded in the next few years, no more than four. There will definitely be pent up school and park needs. She does not think that people will vote to reduce the County's debt. Laura Blackmon agreed that the focus has to be capital needs. She said that it is important for the public to see a 10-year capital plan. She said that the statement could be that if the County does not have the alternative revenue source, the projects that are required will require an increase in property taxes, and other projects will be delayed. The Board agreed to have the Manager come back with one statement, with the flexibility to edit it and vote on it. 4. Proposed 2008-18 Capital Investment Plan Laura Blackmon gave some background and said that the staff was under the impression that the CIP would not be discussed at this meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Carey to adjourn the meeting. It was pointed out that there were school board members present. Chair Jacobs asked the school board members what they wanted to discuss. Jamezetta Bedford, Chair of the CHCCS Board, said that they wanted to make sure that the unfunded Elementary School #11 as well as the new administrative offices were on the priority list. Also, Carrboro High School is already over-capacity with the three grades, and it should be over-capacity next year. The numbers for the auditorium and the new wing keep moving closer. Laura Blackmon asked if CHCCS wanted to modify its submittal and Jamezetta Bedford said no. Commissioner Gordon said that she did not want to postpone talking about the CIP. Chair Jacobs said that the staff prepared for March 12th Laura Blackmon said that she was going to go through all of the things the Board talked about last week and try and pool things together. Commissioner Gordon said that she wants to make sure that everything is in order fiscally with the CIP. She is concerned about the financial impact of the vacant buildings that the county owns. The county needs a plan to sell these buildings or to otherwise obtain revenue from them. Laura Blackmon said that there have been discussions on the DSS and Health at the vacant Wal-Mart. Commissioner Gordon said that this needs to be in the context of the CIP. Chair Jacobs asked if there was a deadline with the owner for an indication and Laura Blackmon said yes. Chair Jacobs asked the Manager to find out exactly when the deadline is. Commissioner Carey said that it would be terribly confusing to act on all of these simultaneously and it will add more time to the decision-making process. He suggested making a decision on a, b, c, or d as soon as possible. The most critical part of the CIP is the next year. Chair Jacobs said that the Board meets on March 6th, there is a budget work session on March 12th, and then a regular meeting on March 18th. If there is something to discuss about DSS/Health options on March 6th, then it could be plugged into the budget work session on March 12th Commissioner Nelson seconded the motion to adjourn at 9:35 pm. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board