HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-05-2013 - 5a ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: February 5, 2013
Action Agenda
Item No. 5-a
SUBJECT: MINUTES
DEPARTMENT: Board of Commissioners PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donna Baker, 245-2130
Draft Minutes
PURPOSE: To correct and/or approve the minutes as submitted by the Clerk to the Board as
listed below:
Attachment 1 November 8, 2012 BOCC Regular Meeting
Attachment 2 December 6, 2012 Assembly of Governments Meeting
BACKGROUND: In accordance with 153A-42 of the General Statutes, the Governing Board
has the legal duty to approve all minutes that are entered into the official journal of the Board's
proceedings.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: NONE
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve minutes as
presented or as amended.
1
1 DRAFT Attachment 1
2 MINUTES
3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
4 REGULAR MEETING
5 November 8, 2012
6 7:00 p.m.
7
8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Thursday,
9 November 8, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Central Orange Senior Center in Hillsborough, NC.
10
11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Bernadette Pelissier and Commissioners
12 Valerie Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, Barry Jacobs, Pam Hemminger, Earl McKee, and Steve
13 Yuhasz
14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Assistant County Managers
17 Gwen Harvey, Michael Talbert, Clarence Grier and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other
18 staff members will be identified appropriately below)
19
20 NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT
21 AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
22
23 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
24 Chair Pelissier went through the items at the County Commissioners' places.
25 - Pink sheet - proposed changes to item 5-g, Burlington-Graham Metropolitan
26 Planning Organization Memorandum of Understanding Adding Orange County as a
27 Voting Member; and 5-h, Specific Policies for Board of County Commissioner
28 Advisory Boards
29 - White sheet — PowerPoint for item 7-a regarding the Northern Human Services
30 Center
31 - Yellow sheet — revised resolution for item 7-e, the Orange County Code of
32 Ordinances Regarding Personnel
33
34 PUBLIC CHARGE
35
36 The Board of Commissioners pledges to the residents of Orange County its respect.
37 The Board asks its residents to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous
38 manner, both with the Board and with fellow residents. At any time should any
39 member of the Board or any resident fail to observe this public charge, the Chair will
40 ask the offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal
41 control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will recess the meeting until
42 such time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed. All electronic
43 devices such as cell phones, pagers, and computers should please be turned off or
44 set to silent/vibrate.
45
46 2. Public Comments
47 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda (Limited to One Hour — THREE MINUTE LIMIT
48 PER SPEAKER — Written comments may be submitted to the Clerk to the Board.)
49
2
1 Don 0' Leary said that word on the street says that the County Commissioners do not
2 look forward to his contributions but he will get over it. He spoke about the County
3 Commissioners' association with ICLEI angers him. He said that he is not alone. He made
4 reference to Agenda 21 , which intends to erode the rights through regulation and taxation and
5 eliminates ownership and property rights and phases out the Constitution. Agenda 21 states
6 clearly that it intends to eliminate 80% of the population and clearly states that there must be
7 regulation on human reproduction. He quoted Maurice Strong, Founder of the U. N.
8 Environment Program and a backer of ICLEI, "isn't the only hope for the planet that the
9 industrialized civilization collapse," and "a massive campaign must be launched to de-develop
10 the United States," and "it is clear that the current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the
11 affluent middle class can cause a high meat intake, consumption of large amount of frozen and
12 convenience foods, use of fossil fuel, appliances, home and workplace air conditioning, and
13 suburban housing are not sustainable." He said that this is all implemented in Agenda 21 and
14 would be carried out through ICLEI. He made reference to his website, which has the pdf file of
15 Agenda 21 : .
16
17 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda
18 (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda
19 below.)
20
21 3. Petitions by Board Members (Three Minute Limit Per Commissioner)
22 Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like to have a report/special presentation from
23 the Elections Director on how the elections went.
24 Commissioner Jacobs said that he is not aware if Orange County is doing anything in
25 reference to Veteran's Day. He said that there used to be an event that recognized the
26 veterans in Orange County. He would like to make this a part of the position that is being
27 advertised in Orange County.
28
29 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations-NONE
30
31 5. Consent Agenda
32
33 • Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda
34 Items f, g, h, and i were removed.
35
36 • Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda
37
38 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner
39 Foushee to approve the remaining items on the consent agenda as stated below:
40 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
41
42 • Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda
43
44 f. Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Text Amendment
45 Schedule for February 2013 Joint Quarterly Public Hearing — Site Plan Submittal for
46 Projects Requiring Stormwater Review
47 The Board considered approving the process components and schedule for a Planning
48 Director initiated Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) text amendment for the February 25,
49 2013 Quarterly Public Hearing concerning submission of formal site plans for projects requiring
50 stormwater plan approval.
3
1 Commissioner Gordon said that she had a question about this and she had asked
2 Michael Harvey if they could add on page 6, item b, Advisory Boards, Commission for the
3 Environment at the January 2013 meeting. Michael Harvey said that this would be feasible, so
4 she wanted to let the Board know about this addition.
5 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
6 approve the Amendment Outline form contained within Attachment 1 and direct staff to proceed
7 accordingly, with the addition on page 6 as stated above.
8 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
9
10 g Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization Memorandum of
11 Understanding Adding Orange County as a Voting Member
12 The Board considered approval of a resolution adding Orange County as a voting
13 member of the Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization (BG MPO) to the
14 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and authorizing the Chair and County Clerk to execute
15 the MOU.
16 Commissioner Gordon said that she had submitted some editorial changes on the pink
17 sheet at their places and they are acceptable to the BG-MPO.
18 The changes are below:
19
20 In the Memorandum of Understanding (Attachment 2), use gender neutral language, and
21 correct the sub-section numbers, as follows:
22
23 1 . Page 6 - 5-d: Change "his alternate" to "his/her alternate"
24
25 2. Page 6 - 7: Change "Chairman and Vice Chairman" to "Chair and Vice Chair."
26
27 3. Page 9 - second paragraph (after 3 bullets): Change "Chairman and Vice Chairman" to
28 "Chair and Vice Chair."
29
30 4. Pages 7 and 9. It appears that there are two sub-sections with the number 10. Correct
31 the numbers for these sub-sections, and the ones that follow them.
32
33 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
34 approve a resolution adding Orange County as a voting member of the Burlington-Graham
35 Metropolitan Planning Organization (BG MPO) to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
36 and authorize the Chair and County Clerk to execute the MOU, with the editorial changes
37 shown above.
38
39 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
40
41 h. Specific Policies for Board of County Commissioner Advisory Boards
42 The Board considered approving the resolution approving the board-specific policies for
43 the advisory boards referenced and approving two amendments to the Orange County Board of
44 County Commissioners' Advisory Board Policy and authorizing the Chair to sign the attached
45 resolution.
46 Commissioner Gordon said that she had submitted some editorial changes to this
47 document and they are below:
48
49 Section III-B Composition - Change the wording to the following:
50
51 1 . The OUT Board is composed of thirteen (13) voting members
4
1 2. The OUT Board does not have alternate members.
2
3 3. Members shall represent demographic, geographic, cultural and
4 professional characteristics, as follows:
5 a. Seven members, one from each township in Orange County.
6 b. Six at-large members, with expertise or specific interests in the following areas:
7 (The six bullets are fine as written.)
8
9 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner McKee to
10 approve the resolution, with the editorial changes, approving the board-specific policies for the
11 advisory boards referenced and approving two amendments to the Orange County Board of
12 County Commissioners' Advisory Board Policy and authorize the Chair to sign the attached
13 resolution.
14 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
15
16 L Report on Library Interoperability
17 The Board considered the Library Interoperability Report from the Town and County
18 Managers and Library Staff for Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill, and authorizing
19 staff to proceed with implementation of the first four (4) short term objectives.
20 Commissioner Jacobs said that he asked to have this pulled in order for the public to
21 hear a presentation about the steps the County is taking to work on interoperability of Library
22 Services. He asked Library Services Director Lucinda Munger to give a brief report.
23 Library Services Director Lucinda Munger said that this past fall the staff of the Chapel
24 Hill Public Library and the Orange County Public Library held several meetings to go over the
25 issue of interoperability. This was part of a signed interlocal agreement between both parties.
26 The discussions were very cooperative. The report is the outcome of those sessions. The goal
27 is to improve access for all Orange County residents and to continue to provide high quality
28 library services throughout the County. These are the two primary goals. These were divided
29 into short-term objectives. She thanked the Chapel Hill Library staff who worked on this very
30 cooperatively.
31 Commissioner Jacobs asked about the contribution to the Chapel Hill Library system
32 and Lucinda Munger said that it would be $460,000 for the next fiscal year, which is a 3%
33 increase over the current year.
34 A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded Commissioner Hemminger to
35 approve the Library Interoperability Report from the Town and County Managers and Library
36 Staff for Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill, and authorize staff to proceed with
37 implementation of the first four (4) short term objectives.
38 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
39
40 a. Minutes
41 The Board approved the minutes from September 6 and 13, 2012 as submitted by the
42 Clerk to the Board.
43 b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Release/Refunds
44 The Board adopted a release/refund resolution, which is incorporated by reference, related
45 to 53 requests for motor vehicle property tax releases or refunds in accordance with
46 NCGS.
47 c. Property Tax Releases
48 The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release property
49 values for seventy-three (73) taxpayer requests that will result in a reduction of revenue in
50 accordance with North Carolina General Statute 105-381 .
5
1 d. Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion
2 The Board approved thirteen (13) untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad
3 valorem taxation for the 2012 tax year.
4 e. Request for Proposals (RFP) Awards — Library Automation
5 The Board awarded two RFP's for the following Radio Frequency Identification System
6 (RFID) from Bibliotheca, Inc. of Norcross, Georgia at a cost of $58,220.69; and Integrated
7 Library System (ILS) from Innovative Interfaces, Inc. of Emeryville, California at a cost of
8 $138,505 and authorize the Manager to sign the contracts on behalf of the Board subject
9 to final review by staff and the County Attorney.
10 f. Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Text Amendment
11 Schedule for February 2013 Joint Quarterly Public Hearing — Site Plan Submittal for
12 Projects Requiring Stormwater Review
13 This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
14 consideration.
15 g Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization Memorandum of
16 Understanding Adding Orange County as a Voting Member
17 This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
18 consideration.
19 h. Specific Policies for Board of County Commissioner Advisory Boards
20 This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
21 consideration.
22 L Report on Library I nteroperabi l ity
23 This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
24 consideration.
25 L Change in BOCC Regular Meeting Schedule for 2013
26 The Board changed the location of the BOCC Annual Retreat, which is scheduled for
27 Friday, February 1 , 2013 FROM Southern Human Services Center, 2501 Homestead
28 Road, Chapel Hill TO the Solid Waste Administrative Offices, 1207 Eubanks Road, Chapel
29 Hill.
30
31 6. Public Hearings
32
33 a. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendments (Closure & Action
34 Hearing) — Solar Arrays
35 The Board received the Planning Board's recommendation, closed the public hearing,
36 and considered a decision on Planning Director initiated text amendments to the Unified
37 Development Ordinance (UDO) regarding the review and permitting of solar arrays.
38 Planner Michael Harvey reviewed this item. Attachment 2 establishes the standards for
39 the array. The accessory use of the solar array is limited to 20 kilowatts. Anything over this
40 would be reviewed by the Board of Adjustment as a Class B Special Use Permit. Anything over
41 100 kilowatts will be reviewed by the County Commissioners as a Class A Special Use Permit
42 with a public utility. The Planning Board recommended unanimous approval with minor
43 modifications, which are in the packet.
44 Commissioner Gordon asked Michael Harvey to summarize the reasoning behind doing
45 10 kilowatts. Michael Harvey said that this is based on NC Green Power and Piedmont
46 Electric's standard for what is allowed. They decided to go with the Planning Board
47 recommendation of 20 kilowatts because that is what Duke Energy allows.
48 Clarifying questions of County Commissioners were answered by Michael Harvey.
49 Chair Pelissier said that it might be a good idea to re-label items like this because when
50 people see "public hearing" they think it is actually a public hearing.
6
1 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz
2 to close the public hearing.
3 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
4
5 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz
6 to adopt the ordinance with the initiated text amendments to the Unified Development
7 Ordinance (UDO) regarding the review and permitting of solar arrays (Attachment 2).
8 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
9
10 7. Regular Agenda
11
12 a. Northern Human Services Center Project — Next Steps
13 The Board provided specific direction to staff on efforts related to the Northern Human
14 Services Center (NHSC) by Approving "Option 2" as the development path for the project; and
15 Authorizing the Manager to engage a professional design firm for the project through a request
16 for qualifications ("RFQ") process.
17 Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Stancil
18 said that this was presented on October 25th. He did not go through the PowerPoint
19 presentation again. The PowerPoint is included in the packet for reference. There are two
20 options. The first option is to deconstruct the entire facility and building a new 10,000 square
21 foot community center. The second option is to use the center section of the building. Either of
22 those options would include Triangle J High Performance Building Standards throughout the
23 project. The cost estimate is around $2 million for either of the options. This funding is
24 reflected in the Capital Investment Plan this spring. Attachment 3 has a summary of the
25 comments made at the September 25th community meeting. There was very strong consensus
26 that Option 2 would be preferable. The design process will begin in the spring during the capital
27 budget season. Staff is prepared to continue on the path of Option 2 with the Board's approval.
28 Commissioner Hemminger asked about the asbestos situation. Jeff Thompson said that
29 the asbestos is encapsulated and it is in a safe condition. It will be completely cleared out and
30 it will be safe.
31 Frank Clifton said that the internal workings of the building will be removed and only the
32 structure will be retained.
33 Commissioner Hemminger asked if there would be storage for equipment for the park
34 and Jeff Thompson said yes.
35 Commissioner Jacobs asked if sustainable elements would be incorporated and Jeff
36 Thompson said yes. Commissioner Jacobs asked that this be added into the document so that
37 it is part of the understanding going forward. He said that for the people that may not be
38 around in 2015 or whenever this building opens, he would like to request that the Historic
39 Preservation Commission and/or the Orange County School System get together and try and
40 capture some of the history of the Northern Human Services Center.
41 Dave Stancil said that this is already in the works.
42 A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner
43 Hemminger to approve Option 2" as the development path for the project which includes:
44 removal of classroom wings, adaptive re-use of 10,000 square foot center portion; new roof and
45 building systems; standard interior upfit; and authorize the Manager to engage a professional
46 design firm for the project through a request for qualifications ("RFQ") process.
47 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
48
49 b. Strategic Information Technology Plan
7
1 The Board reviewed and provided input on the latest draft of the Strategic Information
2 Technology Plan and considered approval based on the Board discussion.
3 Frank Clifton said that Chief Information Officer Todd Jones is out on extended medical
4 leave and Jim Northup is standing in for him. He said that the document before the Board is in
5 its final stages.
6 Jim Northup introduced Dr. Shannon Tufts from the UNC Center for Public Technology.
7 He said that this document will serve as a guide to technology and capital investment planning.
8 Dr. Shannon Tufts congratulated Orange County on the tremendous effort put into
9 technology services and said that it is one with the highest number of online services in the
10 state compared to other counties of similar size. She said that Orange County is down 6-18
11 staff compared to where it should be with a similar sized organization. She said that there are
12 many low-cost recommendations such as Information Technology governance, which is where
13 the managers can offer input about technology investments as strategies are being formulated.
14 In terms of external priorities, she stated that the highest priorities should be website upgrades;
15 moving toward paperless agendas; and creating a comprehensive licensing, inspection, and
16 permitting system. One of the County Commissioners' areas of interest was reporting all
17 meetings and that the public should have a right to have access to all meetings. This is a
18 substantial investment.
19 Commissioner Gordon clarified that the Board is only adopting a framework tonight and
20 not making any financial obligations.
21 Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 25 and the recommendation for the
22 County to choose one location for all Board of County Commissioners meetings. She would
23 like to add, "or at most two locations." Shannon Tufts said that this is fine.
24 Shannon Tufts said that there are other options to look at than webstreaming and most
25 of them are low cost. She can document these as well.
26 Commissioner Yuhasz said that he would like to see all of the meetings webstreamed
27 and videotaped.
28 Commissioner Hemminger asked that the IT Governance Committee get started.
29 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner McKee
30 to adopt the Strategic Information Technology Plan and to move forward right away on the
31 Information Technology Governance Committee.
32 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
33
34 c. Bid Award — Buckhorn Mebane Phase 2 Water and Sanitary Sewer, and
35 Approval of Budget Amendment #3-C
36 The Board considered awarding the bid and approving a construction contract to J.F.
37 Wilkerson Contracting of Morrisville, NC in the amount of $4,016,545.74 for the installation of
38 Buckhorn Mebane Phase 2 water and sanitary sewer system; approving Budget Amendment
39 #3-C for $1 ,016,546 (last year's Capital Investment Plan (CIP) cost estimate did not include
40 some cost efficient water and sewer scope additions that can be completed in this phase rather
41 than during later phases); authorizing the Chair to sign the contract on behalf of the Board of
42 County Commissioners, subject to final review by the County Attorney; and authorizing the
43 Manager to execute individual change orders within the limit of the Manager's authority
44 ($250,000) up to the extent of the project budget.
45 Planning Director Craig Benedict made a PowerPoint presentation. The funds for this
46 were made available by the November election of 2011which approved the 1/4 cent sales tax
47
48 Bid Award
49 Buckhorn Mebane Phase 2 Water and Sanitary Sewer and Approval of Budget
50 Amendment #3-C
51
8
1 Purpose
2 • Awarding the Bid to J.F. Wilkerson Contracting
3 • Approve Budget Amendment #3-C
4 • Authorize the Chair to Sign the Contract
5 • Authorize the Manager to Execute Individual Change Orders, As Necessary
6
7 Project Vicinity
8 • Part of 3,000 acre Efland/ Buckhorn/ Mebane Utility Planning Area
9 • 800 acres of Economic Development Land Use
10 • 3-mile Corridor South of 1-85/1-40 and West of Efland
11
12 Project Scope
13
14 • Gravity Sewer `Backbone' System Linked to the City of Mebane (15,000 LF)
15 • 16" Water Mains Support an Additional 900 acres (14,000 LF)
16
17 Economic Development Initiatives
18
19 • Funding 1/4 Cent Sales Tax Initiative from the November 2011 Voter Referendum
20 • Succeeded in Two Major Interlocal Utility Agreements with Mebane and Durham
21 • Invest in Infrastructure
22 • Diversify the Economic Tax Base
23
24
25 Recommendations
26 • Award the bid and approve a construction contract to J.F. Wilkerson Contracting of
27 Morrisville, NC, in the amount of $4,016,545.74 for the installation of Buckhorn Mebane
28 Utilities Phase 2 water and sanitary sewer system;
29 • Approve Budget Amendment #3-C for $1 ,016,546;
30 • Authorize the financing of the project and payment of debt service using the 1/4 cent
31 sales tax revenue;
32 • Authorize the Chair to sign the contract on behalf of the Board of County
33 Commissioners, subject to final review by the County Attorney;
34 • Authorize the Manager to execute individual change orders within the limit of his
35 authority ($250,000) up to the extent of the project budget.
36
37
38 Economic Development Director Steve Brantley said that the installation of this water and
39 sewer will further distinguish Orange County for sustainable industries and other economic
40 development opportunities. He thinks that there will be an increase in interest and visits. He is
41 excited to market this area with news of these utilities.
42 Chair Pelissier asked that this be marketed right away.
43 Steve Brantley said that he could forward a press release statewide and to the North
44 Carolina Department of Commerce.
45 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
46 award the bid and approve a construction contract to J.F. Wilkerson Contracting of Morrisville,
47 NC in the amount of $4,016,545.74 for the installation of Buckhorn Mebane Phase 2 water and
48 sanitary sewer system; approve Budget Amendment #3-C for $1 ,016,546 (last year's Capital
49 Investment Plan (CIP) cost estimate did not include some cost efficient water and sewer scope
50 additions that can be completed in this phase rather than during later phases); authorize the
51 Chair to sign the contract on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners, subject to final
52 review by the County Attorney; and authorize the Manager to execute individual change orders
53 within the limit of the Manager's authority ($250,000) up to the extent of the project budget.
54 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
9
1
2 Commissioner Jacobs said that the public passed the 1/4-cent sales tax and the transit tax.
3 He said that the residents of Orange County by instituting the sales tax are improving economic
4 development and technology in schools to improve the quality of life for those that live and work
5 and play in Orange County.
6 Commissioner Gordon said that Orange County is now in an enviable position because it
7 has large tracts of land on the interstate for economic development.
8 Craig Benedict introduced the contractors for this project.
9
10 d. Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood — Managers' Recommendations & Rogers
11 Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA) Neighborhood Center Business
12 Plan
13 The Board reviewed and provided comments, concerns, and suggestions to the Historic
14 Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force on the Managers' Recommendations dated October16,
15 2012 and the RENA Neighborhood Center Business Plan.
16 Assistant County Manager Michael Talbert introduced this item. The last time this task
17 force met they asked that this document be presented to each of the local governing boards for
18 feedback. The task force meets again on November 14th, which is the last scheduled meeting.
19 A final report is due to the Assembly of Governments on December 6th. There is no immediate
20 financial impact for action taken to discuss this issue.
21
22 Attachment 2 is the first item to be considered:
23 First Phase:
24 1 . A new Rogers Road Neighborhood Community Center to be constructed on the 2 lots in
25 the Phoenix Place subdivision, a site graciously provided by Habitat for Humanity. (The
26 Board of County Commissioners approved a capital project of $500,000 to advance
27 funding for a Rogers Road Community Center on October 16, 2012.)
28
29 a. That County staff will work with Habitat to investigate a contractual agreement with Habitat to
30 construct a Community Center that would serve the residents of the Rogers Road
31 Neighborhood. The Managers will approve the design of the facility, initially funded by Orange
32 County, with the intent of a long-term master lease agreement that would cover operating and
33 maintenance of the Center, with the detail to be worked out later, including a second lease with
34 Rogers Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA) for $1 per year, to operate some
35 community based programs.
36
37 b. Authorize the Managers to negotiate an Interlocal cost sharing agreement for the Community
38 Center that will commit the County and the Towns to the same costs sharing percentages as
39 outlined in the 1972 Landfill Agreement 43% for Orange County, 43% for the Town of Chapel
40 Hill and 14% for the Town of Carrboro. Funding to reimburse the County will begin in Fiscal
41 2013/14.
42
43 c. That the details of the construction of a Community Center will be referred back to the
44 Managers for coordination and a report to the Task Force and/or the governing bodies.
45
46 Second Phase
47
48 2. That the Managers continue to work on a solution to provide Sewer Infrastructure to the
49 Rogers Road Neighborhood including priority and funding options. At this time discussions are
50 continuing as to how to advance and fund that effort.
10
1
2 a. That the County and the Town of Chapel Hill recommend that Orange County will petition the
3 Town of Chapel Hill to annex all County owned property (that is located in Chapel Hill's ETJ) in
4 the Rogers Road Neighborhood, including the jointly owned Greene Tract, This action would
5 alleviate legal concerns from the Town of Chapel Hill attorney.
6
7 b. The Managers recommend that Habitat petition the Town of Chapel Hill to annex the 2 lots in
8 the Phoenix Place subdivision, provided by Habitat for the construction of a Rogers Road
9 Neighborhood Community Center.
10
11 c. That the 104 acre jointly owned Greene Tract be considered for development, that would
12 include a future school site (10 to 12 acres), and the remainder of the site be considered for
13 workforce/affordable housing, with all proceeds from the sale or lease of the land for
14 development, including funding from the County for a future school site, to be used to fund
15 sewer in the Rogers Road Neighborhood. Such development of workforce housing is
16 consistent with the Chapel Hill 2020 Comprehensive Plan. While there is no formal agreement
17 on how the Greene Tract will be used, a concept plan was introduced in 2002.
18 Collectively all governing boards will have to approve any future plans for the Greene Tract.
19
20 3. That the Task Force investigate the creation of County Sewer District for all property owners
21 in the Rogers Road Neighborhood and adjoining neighborhoods that are not currently served by
22 a municipal sewer system and would benefit from the installation of sewer infrastructure to
23 serve the Rogers Road Neighborhood.
24
25 a. Territory lying within the corporate limits of a city or town may not be included in the district
26 unless the governing body of the city or town agrees by resolution to such inclusion.
27
28 b. The County would propose to contract with OWASA for the actual operation of the sewer
29 system, which would provide an opportunity for a different rate structure for this district.
30
31 c. A County Sewer District could make special assessments against benefited property within
32 the district to cover the costs of constructing, extending or improving sewage disposal system.
33 The basis of any special assessment would be determined at a later date after investigating
34 development potential and the number of possible dwelling units (the Managers of Chapel Hill
35 and Carrboro are instructing the planning staff to begin this evaluation). A special assessment
36 would share the costs of the sewer system with current benefited property (homeowners) and
37 undeveloped land for future development.
38
39 d. Consideration could be made to offset the cost of connecting sewer system for some group
40 of residents to be defined. One example could be the owners of owner-occupied housing units
41 in place at the time the sited (1972). There were estimated 40 +/- housing units in place at that
42 time. Other definitions of those who would receive an offset can be developed.
43
44 e. To investigate the use of approximately $900,000 of Orange County Solid Waste Rogers
45 Road Reserves for sewer improvements.
46
47 f. The County Sewer District will be eliminated when the debt is retired and the system would be
48 given to OWASA.
49
50
11
1 Frank Clifton said that the sewer issues have caused the most hurdles. There are still a
2 lot of issues to be dealt with. The Town of Carrboro has taken affirmative action at this time.
3 Commissioner Hemminger thanked he managers for finding a mechanism with a
4 funding opportunity for this proposal. She said when they are thinking about the cost of sewer
5 that everyone should remember that this is a long-term project. The task force is interested in
6 different options and the sewer district conversation was very positive. There are still many
7 things to be worked out, but everyone is ready to move forward to make it work.
8 Michael Talbert said that the neighborhood association held a meeting at the
9 Tabernacle Church on November 3rd. There were 22-25 people there. The intent was to see
10 which members of the community wanted sewer. Rev. Campbell and Mr. Caldwell had already
11 gone door to door and had a list of 42 names of people that were interested in getting sewer.
12 Eleven were inside the Town limits of Carrboro, two were outside of the Rogers Road
13 neighborhood and nine were inside. In the Chapel Hill Planning side, a total of 31 were
14 interested in sewer.
15 John Roberts said that the attorneys did discuss these manager's recommendations
16 and came out in agreement that all can be accomplished, but may not be in the manner
17 recommended. The details need to be reviewed more.
18 Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 8, item 2-a, and asked about the pros
19 and cons of annexation. She would like to have this information.
20 John Roberts said that the concerns are that the towns feel that they cannot spend
21 money outside of their jurisdictions. Annexation has been suggested to extend the jurisdictions
22 to allow them to spend money within these areas.
23 Commissioner Gordon made reference to item 2-c and the jointly owned Greene Tract
24 of 104 acres. She said that there was quite a process the Board of Commissioners went
25 through when they came up with the plans for the 104 acres. She said that the entities need to
26 engage in some sort of process to decide what all three jurisdictions can agree upon. She said
27 that it needs to be a collaborative process.
28 Commissioner Jacobs said that it would be useful to see what was discussed at AOG
29 meetings in the past about the Greene Tract. It was very spirited because people were arguing
30 about how much acreage should go for affordable housing, whether there should be active
31 recreation, etc. He said that he appreciated that there is a Historic Rogers Road area and that
32 these residents need to be served first. He said that it would be nice to come to the AOG with a
33 description of OWASA's tap-on policy. He thinks that the policy is that if a house is in that area,
34 then it has to hook up.
35 Frank Clifton agreed that the elected bodies need to have a discussion with the OWASA
36 board about this issue. When the landfill closes next summer, there will be discussions about
37 what happens in the neighborhoods around it.
38 Commissioner Yuhasz made reference to the Greene Tract and said that it is important
39 to look at the discussions from the past, but he would not want it to hamstring the process. He
40 said that it is also important to have a discussion about divestiture of the Greene Tract.
41 Chair Pelissier suggested that the task force ask OWASA to look at its policy related to
42 sewer gravity for this specific project. She thinks that the board might be willing to consider
43 this.
44 Commissioner Hemminger said that the community center discussion came up again
45 and it was thought that $500,000 was not going to be enough, and that $650,000 would be
46 more realistic to add to the advancement project (an additional $150,000). She asked the
47 Board to consider additional funding.
48 Commissioner Hemminger said that the business plan from RENA is a dream and a
49 listing of all kinds of possibilities. She asked the Board to view this as goals and a dream only
50 at this time.
12
1 Commissioner McKee asked about the driver for the increased costs for the community
2 center.
3 Michael Talbert said that staff had talked to Chapel Hill about what size facility could be
4 built on the site and he said the size of the facility has been increased because they want a
5 commercial kitchen and a green building, and more room for other projects.
6 Commissioner Gordon said that they need to figure out what they need in the building
7 first and then figure out the cost.
8 Michael Talbert said that RENA is currently working with an architect, but the goal is to
9 get this funded now so that there is assurance that it will be built. The plan will come back for
10 refinement.
11 Commissioner Jacobs suggested inviting OWASA officers, Attorney, and Executive
12 Director to the AOG meeting to hear the conversations.
13 Commissioner McKee said that he would support this increase in costs but he does not
14 want to chase a moving target.
15 Commissioner Foushee said that there was discussion about having enough money for
16 flexibility for the future and it is less expensive to do it now rather than later. She said that
17 Habitat is not going to be the agency that constructs the building and the County will need to
18 contract with someone to do that.
19 Commissioner Hemminger said that Habitat wanted a figure they could work with and a
20 range.
21 Michael Talbert agreed that Habitat will contract this out, which limits volunteer help.
22 This is what caused some of the increase in costs.
23 Michael Talbert went over the Business Plan briefly. He reiterated that this is a dream
24 and what they want to do for the next 10 years. Several new initiatives include day care,
25 fostering economic development through a catering business, and a business incubator to
26 promote businesses. The budget includes $208,000 in year one, which would start after the
27 building is complete. By year three, the budget will be $345,000. Much of the revenues in the
28 beginning will come from grants - $129,000 out of $208,000. The income from new initiatives
29 would kick in starting in years two and three.
30 Commissioner Yuhasz asked where the grants would come from and Michael Talbert
31 said that this was not specified. He thinks that they would explore all opportunities.
32 Commissioner Yuhasz said that his concern is that this facility will be built and then the
33 neighborhood will look to the Board of County Commissioners to manage and maintain it from
34 now on. He would feel more comfortable if he knew where this money would come from.
35 Commissioner Foushee said that a lot of this goes back to dreams. She said that this
36 group has operated without the County's help for many years. The goals and expectations are
37 that they will continue to operate with little or no help from the local governments. She said that
38 the operational funding needs to be more clear. She said that if this center gets built, the
39 neighborhood will be able to sustain it.
40 Commissioner Yuhasz said that he believed that this would be the intent, but the
41 approval of this center will have attached to it conditions from the Town of Chapel Hill and may
42 make it difficult to operate on a shoestring.
43 Commissioner Hemminger said that it would be very appropriate to put in that the
44 County Commissioners are excited about the plan but the County will not be providing
45 operational funds.
46 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner
47 Foushee to send the message that the Board of County Commissioners is pleased with the
48 recommendations and with the RENA plan and to direct staff to find an additional $150,000 for
49 the upfront startup costs of the community center, and to provide comments back to the task
50 force.
13
1 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
2
3 A motion was made by Commissioner Yuhasz, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
4 enter into discussions about divestiture of the Greene Tract with the other involved
5 governmental bodies.
6 VOTE: Ayes, 6; Nay, 1 (Commissioner Gordon)
7 Commissioner Hemminger said that she would like to signal the intent to discuss with
8 OWASA to look at the policy for a pump station in this particular situation.
9 Chair Pelissier made a friendly amendment that she writes a letter to the OWASA Chair
10 declaring the Board's intent and copy Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
11 Commissioner Jacobs said that he would like the boards to have the conversation about
12 the Greene Tract just like he would like the boards have the conversation with OWASA.
13 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
14
15 e. Amendment to the Orange County Code of Ordinances Regarding Personnel
16 The Board considered reviewing and approving a proposed amendment to Chapter 28
17 of the Orange County Code of Ordinances by approving the attached resolution.
18 John Roberts said that this is coming out of the October 25th work session and one of
19 those boards was the Personnel Hearing Board. This is an appeal board and has only met one
20 time in 20 years. The changes he recommended are to select three members from among five
21 senior County employees including elected officials that do not report to the Manager. Another
22 change would be to amend the portion that says there would have to be an attorney because
23 this is not a judicial hearing.
24 Commissioner Hemminger asked if the employee was allowed to have another person
25 with them other than an attorney and John Roberts said yes.
26 John Roberts said to add a sentence that the employee may be accompanied by an
27 individual for support only of the employee's choosing who is not an attorney.
28 Commissioner Gordon asked who would choose the committee.
29 John Roberts said that the Human Resources Director would contact the five people
30 that the Board of County Commissioners chooses.
31 Commissioner Gordon would like to have a more defined process. The other County
32 Commissioners are ok with choosing the first three that are available.
33 Frank Clifton suggested having the five people decide who would serve. Commissioner
34 Gordon agreed with this.
35
36 RESOLUTION OF AMENDMENT
37
38 A RESOLUTION AMENDING CHAPTER 28, ARTICLE VIII OF THE ORANGE
39 COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES
40
41 Be it Resolved by the Board of Commissioners of Orange County, North Carolina:
42
43 WHEREAS, Orange County, through ordinance, has provided for employee appeals to the
44 Personnel Hearing Board of Step 3 decisions by the County Manager regarding demotion,
45 suspension, or dismissal of employees; and
46
47 WHEREAS, the Personnel Hearing Board last met in 2008 and this infrequency of meetings
48 creates a difficult situation for members and staff; and
49
14
1 WHEREAS, the integrity of the appeal hearing process may be maintained by having available
2 to serve as members senior Orange County Officials who do not report to the County Manager;
3 and
4
5 WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, believing it to be in the best interest
6 of employees and to maintain the integrity of the appeal process, wishes to amend Chapter 28,
7 Article VIII of the Code of Ordinances as is reflected in the attachment hereto, Exhibit 1 .
8
9 NOW THEREFORE, the Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby amends Chapter 28,
10 Article VIII, Sections 28-87 and 28-88 of the Orange County Code of Ordinances to provide for
11 the procedures of Step 3 appeals and to provide for the membership of the Personnel Hearing
12 Board.
13
14 This Amendment shall become effective upon adoption.
15
16 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner
17 Foushee to approve the proposed amendment with the suggested changes to Chapter 28 by
18 the County Attorney of the Orange County Code of Ordinance and the revised resolution.
19 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
20
21 8. Reports-NONE
22
23 9. County Manager's Report
24 Frank Clifton said that the employees' United Way campaign donated more than they
25 ever have before and more participants than have ever participated. Over $30,000 was
26 donated by employees.
27
28 10. County Attorney's Report
29 John Roberts said that there was a court case that invalidated the SAPFO for Cabarrus
30 County. The majority decision said that adequate public facilities ordinances are not zoning
31 ordinances and therefore the County cannot enforce them. He said that he met with the local
32 Attorneys and they think that they can maintain Orange County's ordinance in place with some
33 amendments. He will be presenting this to each of the boards shortly.
34
35 11. Appointments
36
37 a. Orange County Arts Commission — Appointment
38 The Board considered an appointment to the Orange County Arts Commission.
39 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
40 appoint Geoffrey Hathaway to the At-Large position with a term expiring March 31 , 2014.
41 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
42
43 b. Orange County Commission for the Environment — Appointments
44 The Board considered appointments to the Orange County Commission for the
45 Environment.
46 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Hemminger to
47 appoint Samual Yellen to the Land Resources position with a first full term expiring December
48 31 , 2014; and Terri Buckner to an At-Large position with a first partial term expiring December
49 31 , 2013.
50 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
15
1
2 c. Historic Preservation Commission — Appointment
3 The Board considered an appointment to the Historic Preservation Commission.
4 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
5 appoint Todd Dickinson to an At-Large position with a second full term expiring March 31 , 2015.
6 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
7
8 d. Human Relations Commission — Appointments
9 The Board considered appointments to the Human Relations Commission.
10 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
11 appoint the following:
12 - Tiki Windley to an At-Large position with a first full term expiring September 30,
13 2015
14 - Robert Ireland to an At-Large position with a first full term expiring September 30,
15 2015
16 - Dr. Li-Chen Chin to the Town of Hillsborough position with a first full term expiring
17 June 30, 2015
18 - Gerald Ponder to the Town of Hillsborough position with a first partial term expiring
19 June 30, 2014
20 - Joseph Polich to an At-Large position with a first full term expiring September 30,
21 2015
22 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
23
24 e. Orange County Planning Board - Appointment
25 The Board considered an appointment to the Orange County Planning Board.
26 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to
27 appoint Dr. Herman Staats to an At-Large position with a first partial term ending March 31 ,
28 2013.
29 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
30
31 f. Orange Unified Transportation Board - Appointments
32 The Board considered appointments to the Orange Unified Transportation Board.
33 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner McKee to
34 appoint the following:
35 - CDR Alexander Castro, Jr. to the Bingham Township position with a first term
36 expiring September 30, 2015
37 - Rev. Susie Enoch to the Cheeks Township position with a first partial term expiring
38 September 30, 2013
39 - Sam Lasris to the Cedar Grove Township position with a first full term expiring
40 September 30, 2014
41 - Paul Guthrie to the Chapel Hill Township position with a second term expiring
42 September 30, 2015
43 - Bryan Warren to the Hillsborough Township position with a first partial term expiring
44 September 30, 2014
45 - Ted Triebel to the Little River Township position with a first term expiring September
46 30, 2015
47 - Jeff Miles to the Pedestrian Access Advocate position with a first term expiring
48 September 30, 2015
49 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
50
16
1 12. Board Comments
2 Commissioner Gordon said that there was a joint meeting of the DCHC-MPO and
3 CAMPO Transportation Advisory Committees. The two MPOs did a joint Long-Range
4 Transportation Plan (LRTP) for the first time when they completed the 2035 LRTP. The long
5 range plan for 2040 will be called the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and the two
6 groups will again work together to produce a joint 2040 MTP. She said that a report was
7 received on the RTP Master Plan and there are some transit-friendly features included.
8 Commissioner McKee said that the election took place last week and everyone should
9 keep in mind that the United States has the best governmental system in the world.
10 Commissioner Hemminger said that she met with Orange County staff about the Upper
11 Neuse River Basin Authority rules about Falls Lake Watershed area. They set up a system of
12 working together and meeting regularly to talk about these things. There will be an update from
13 staff regarding the new additional rules that will come into effect within the next year. The
14 things affecting Orange County are the septic tank situations. The County has to prepare an
15 inventory of all septic tanks in the County.
16 Commissioner Yuhasz said that on October 24th the Board of Health adopted the
17 Smoke-Free Public Places Ordinance. There will be a public hearing on that for this Board on
18 November 20th, with consideration for adoption.
19 Commissioner Jacobs congratulated Commissioner Foushee for being elected to the
20 General Assembly and the three new Board of County Commissioners Elect and Chair Pelissier
21 for being re-elected.
22 Commissioner Foushee thanked the residents of Orange County for participating in the
23 election process.
24 Commissioner Foushee said that she attended the DSS Institute and Orange County's
25 DSS was recognized for one of their customer service projects. Also, there was a
26 groundbreaking for the Orange County unit of the Boys and Girls Club on Sunday at 4:00. She
27 thanked the contributors of this project.
28 Chair Pelissier congratulated Commissioner Foushee and the other new members of
29 the Board of County Commissioners.
30 Chair Pelissier said that there is information about the Partnership to End
31 Homelessness Project Connect. This year there were a total of 268 people either homeless or
32 at risk for homelessness being served. There were almost 2,700 different services provided.
33 The highest number of services was health at 1 ,037. She also participated in the Piedmont
34 Crescent Partnership for Transportation event. Those invited were given feedback on what
35 kind of policies the State should have for funding for transportation for the Piedmont Crescent
36 area, which is Orange County all the way to Charlotte.
37 Chair Pelissier said that at the Triangle Transit Authority Board meeting it was noted that
38 the Federal Transportation Administration sent several people here to look at the transit routes
39 in respect to the New Starts application for the light rail plan.
40 Commissioner Jacobs acknowledged that the voters of Orange County approved the 1/2-
41 cent sales tax for transit.
42 Commissioner Gordon congratulated the four commissioners who were just elected or
43 re-elected to the Board of County Commissioners and also congratulated Commissioner
44 Foushee for being elected to the General Assembly.
45 13. Information Items
46
47 • October 16, 2012 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List
48 • Tax Collector's Report for Period Ending October 19, 2012
49
50 14. Closed Session
17
1 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz
2 to go into closed session at 9:35 for the purpose of:
3 "To consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of
4 appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or
5 prospective public officer or employee;" NCGS § 143-318.11 (a)(6).
6
7 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
8
9 RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION
10
11 A motion was made by Commissioner Hemminger, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz to go into open
12 session at 11 :25 p.m.
13
14 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
15
16 15. ADJOURNMENT
17
18 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee seconded by Commissioner Hemminger to adjourn the
19 meeting at 11 :25 p.m.
20
21 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
22
23 Bernadette Pelissier, Chair
24 Board of County Commissioners
25
26
27
28
29 Donna S. Baker, CMC
30 Clerk to the Board
1
1 DRAFT Attachment 2
2
3 MINUTES
4 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
5 CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
6 HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
7 CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN
8 December 6, 2012
9 ASSEMBLY OF GOVERNMENTS
10
11 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met with the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and
12 Hillsborough for an Assembly of Governments meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 7:00
13 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill. N.C.
14
15 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Mark
16 Dorosin, Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price, and Penny Rich.
17 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
18 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Staff Attorney Jennifer Galassi
19 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Clerk to the Board, Assistant
20 County Manager Michael Talbert, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members
21 will be identified appropriately below)
22 CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS/STAFF PRESENT: Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Ed
23 Harrison, Jim Ward, Lee Storrow, Gene Pease, and Town Manager Roger Stancil
24 CHAPEL HILLTOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Matt Czajkowski, Donna Bell, and
25 Lauren Easthom
26 CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEMBERS PRESENT/STAFF: Mayor Mark Chilton
27 and Aldermen Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Lydia Lavelle, Michelle Johnson, Jacquelyn Gist,
28 Sammy Slade, and Town Manager David Andrews.
29 CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEMBERS ABSENT: Dan Coleman
30 TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS/STAFF: Mayor Tom Stevens and Town
31 Commissioners Eric Hallman, Frances Dancy, Brian Lowen, and Town Manager Eric Peterson
32 TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Evelyn Lloyd and Michael Gering
33
34
35 Call to Order/Introductions/Opening Comments
36 Mayor Stevens and Mayor Kleinschmidt congratulated all new County Commissioners.
37
38 Introductions were made.
39
40
41 11 Solid Waste Updates
42 Michael Talbert said that the purpose of this update is to give the jurisdictions a chance to
43 update everyone on their solid waste progress. The landfill will be closing June 30, 2013 and
44 everyone is making plans to deal with this.
45
46 • Town of Carrboro
47
48 Mayor Chilton said that Carrboro enthusiastically wants to collaborate with Orange
49 County in waste reduction. He said that they probably will be taking solid waste to one of the
50 two transfer stations in Durham County. There are some modest savings in using the private
51 transfer station on the south side of Durham. He said that, based on the discussions last
2
1 Tuesday, the Board of Aldermen looks forward to having the community move forward with
2 having roll-out recycling bins. He said that he is also excited about opportunities of organic
3 waste and pay-as-you-throw, which would discourage the disposal of organic waste.
4
5 • Town of Chapel Hill
6 Mayor Kleinschmidt said that Chapel Hill has retained a consultant and received a report
7 from them on a review of the solid waste options. The report has been shared with all parties.
8 Chapel Hill is looking at moving waste to a transfer station in Durham. He said that Chapel Hill
9 wants to renew its contract with recycling with Orange County.
10 Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil said that Chapel Hill will be using a Waste
11 Industries transfer station beginning in April. He said that they would like to enter into a new
12 interlocal agreement.
13 Council Member Pease arrived at 7:13PM.
14 Council Member Ward said that he wanted to speak strongly that Chapel Hill is eager to
15 give direction to Orange County so that Chapel Hill can proceed with an RFP for the purchase
16 of the recycling carts to get this program up and running as soon as possible. He said that he
17 hoped that they can do a new interlocal agreement that addresses this issue.
18 Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 4 of the abstract and said that Orange
19 County was to purchase these last year.
20 Commissioner Rich said that she does not want to forget about newer technology and
21 they need to focus on the future and get ahead of the curve. She would like to consider
22 different ways to handle their waste. She said that perhaps when the Solid Waste Advisory
23 Board (SWAB) comes back to life that they could address this new technology.
24 Chair Jacobs said that the SWAB did some investigation and decided that newer
25 technology was beyond the capabilities without more resources. When the County decided not
26 to site a transfer station 4 years ago, it has been the position to confirm the commitment to
27 finding alternate technologies and creating more regional partnerships.
28 Alderman Slade said that he would encourage the County to pursue a zero waste goal
29 as a priority.
30 Council Member Ward asked if the County feels comfortable with moving forward with
31 the purchase of the recycling carts.
32 Chair Jacobs said that hopefully by the end of this conversation, the County will be
33 ready.
34
35 • Town of Hillsborough
36
37 Mayor Stevens called upon Hillsborough Town Manager Eric Peterson.
38 Eric Peterson said that the Durham County transfer station is just as close to Eubanks
39 Road so Hillsborough will partner with Orange County to take their waste to Durham County.
40 He said that, from a staff perspective, they are interested in participating in a recycling program.
41
42 • Orange County (including update on the Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB)
43 Michael Talbert said that the County is making progress. The landfill is closing in June.
44 The management of the landfill was transferred to Orange County in 1999. This interlocal
45 agreement created the SWAB. The SWAB continues to be active and is an important function
46 of solid waste. Originally the SWAB had eight members with two from each jurisdiction, and this
47 can be considered as things move forward. With the closing of the landfill in June, the interlocal
48 agreement terminates and so does the SWAB. Orange County will continue to do recycling,
49 construction and demolition, yard waste, storm debris management, and countywide and
50 statewide planning and reporting will still be in place. The five convenience centers will continue
51 to stay in place. The County is considering an agreement with the City of Durham for solid
3
1 waste at $42.50 a ton. This could be a five-year agreement. Attachment A summarizes this.
2 The County generates about 200 tons per day of solid waste. If all of this went to the City of
3 Durham, it would make up less than 20% of their total capacity. If there is an agreement or
4 solution at some point, Durham would make an excellent partner for waste to energy or other
5 new technologies. This would give a five-year window to continue. The Board of County
6 Commissioners will consider this on December 11 t". Orange County will continue the recycling
7 effort. In July, the County went to single-stream recycling. The convenience center at Walnut
8 Grove is being remodeled. The plan is to remodel all five of the convenience centers. Walnut
9 Grove should be complete in the next 3-4 weeks.
10 There will also be district centers, which will operate longer hours and will take more
11 recycling components. The neighborhood centers are smaller and take fewer items.
12 Orange County is ready to move forward with a new interlocal agreement and staffs are
13 already working on this. A component of the interlocal agreement could be the creation of the
14 new SWAB along with the charge.
15
16 Aldermen Michelle Johnson and Jacqueline Gist arrived at 723PM.
17
18 Chair Jacobs asked Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson to update them on the waste
19 reduction goal.
20 Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that since the state required reporting and for local
21 governments to set goals, Orange County has steadily increased its per capita waste reduction
22 and the goal of 61% when it was set was the highest in the state. He said that Orange County
23 is still moving forward and is at a 56% waste reduction rate. He said that one of the contributing
24 factors is collaboration with partners.
25 Mayor Chilton said that since one of the state representatives from Orange County is
26 retiring soon, Joe Hackney, who wrote the bill for the first state-mandated waste reduction bill.
27 He wanted to publicly recognize Joe Hackney. He said that following upon Joe Hackney's
28 leadership, Orange County has been at the forefront statewide and a role model as far as
29 adopting the aggressive waste reduction goals that Gayle Wilson mentioned. He thanked all of
30 the staff that works for solid waste management in Orange County for making these pioneering
31 ideas of the elected officials. He said that the staff is demonstrating a model for our state and
32 our country.
33 Mayor Chilton asked for clarification of the five convenience centers.
34 Gayle Wilson said that the concept is to modernize all five existing centers, but dedicate
35 two of these to be full-service with longer hours and a full array of services.
36 Chair Jacobs said that Orange County was one of the first counties to do electronics
37 recycling and an ordinance for construction and demolition waste, and that is because of the
38 partnership with the municipalities. He said that one of the offerings at these larger sites is food
39 waste recycling.
40 Commissioner Jacobs made reference to reconstituting the SWAB and said that he would
41 like the University to have an option to be at the table.
42 Mayor Kleinschmidt said that UNC is doing its own solid waste disposal.
43 Mayor Chilton said that it is important for UNC to at least be a part of this discussion.
44 Frank Clifton said that there have been ongoing discussions. The attorneys have been
45 talking about the new agreement that will clarify the recycling roles and the roles of the County,
46 as well as the agreement with Durham and Orange County. He said that any of the towns can
47 join the discussion.
48 Mayor Kleinschmidt said that the interlocal agreement needs to describe the mission and
49 short-term goals of each entity.
50 Chair Jacobs said that as part of a new SWAB, he would like to see a more aggressive
51 effort of pursuing alternative technologies for solid waste disposal.
4
1
2 21 Review of the Draft Interim Recommendations from the Historic Rogers Road
3 Neighborhood Task Force
4
5 Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the yellow sheet, which was for this item.
6
7 Michael Talbert said that the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force last met
8 on November 14th. This was supposed to be the last meeting and this was supposed to be the
9 final report. He reviewed the charge of the task force:
10 - Investigate and make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, the
11 Chapel Hill Town Council, and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen for neighborhood
12 improvements, including funding sources, financial impact to the County and the
13 Towns for the following:
14 o Sewer Service to the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood as defined by the
15 previously approved public water connections in the area
16 o A Neighborhood Community Center
17 - The Task Force is also directed to:
18 o Submit an Interim Report back to the County and the Towns by the end of
19 August 2012; and
20 o Submit a Final Report to the Assembly of Governments on December 6,
21 2012.
22
23 Attachment B includes the recommendations in draft form because the Task Force has
24 not seen them or approved them yet. There are five primary recommendations:
25 1 . That the costs of both a New Community Center and Sewer Improvements be
26 shared by the local governments, at the same costs sharing percentages as outlined
27 in the 1972 Landfill Agreement, 43% for Orange County, 43% for the Town of Chapel
28 Hill and 14% for the Town of Carrboro.
29 2. That the Managers and Attorneys originate a Memorandum of Understanding
30 between Habitat, Orange County, the Town of Carrboro, and the Town of Chapel Hill
31 for the construction of a new Rogers Road Community Center. The budget will not
32 exceed $700,000 and the project will be bid in compliance with North Carolina public
33 bidding requirements. Orange County will finance the project with reimbursement
34 from the Towns as outlined in (1) above.
35 3. That the governing boards continue to appropriate funds, as previously budgeted to
36 reimburse the Solid Waste fund for the purchase of the Greene Tract, for both a New
37 Community Center and Sewer Improvements. Funds budgeted in Fiscal Year
38 2012/2013 for the Greene Tract are as follows; $90,549 for Orange County, $90,549
39 for the Town of Chapel Hill and $29,524 for the Town of Carrboro. The governing
40 boards are also encouraged to locate other funding sources for a New Community
41 Center and Sewer Improvements.
42 4. That the Hogan-Rogers House no longer be considered as an option for a
43 Neighborhood Community Center. The St. Paul's AME Church is working with the
44 Chapel Hill Preservation Society to save the structure.
45 5. That the Task Force continue to meet to address the Charge of the Task Force, for
46 an additional six months with the original composition of the Task Force. The
47 composition of the Task Force originally included two members appointed by each
48 Town (Chapel Hill and Carrboro); two members appointed from the County; and two
49 members appointed from Rogers Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA).
50
5
1 There are several recommendations that have not been finalized and that is why the
2 Task Force wants to continue to meet. The first is the community center. There needs to be a
3 memorandum of understanding of how the center is going to operate, who will pay for it, who
4 will construct it, who will occupy it, and what type of interlocal agreement or memorandum of
5 understanding would be between the Towns, Habitat and the Rogers Road Neighborhood
6 Association for the operation and the program/activities to be provided.
7 The second item is the sewer district. The managers suggested that there be a Rogers
8 Road County Sewer District. There are a lot of details to be worked out with that. The
9 recommendation is that the managers continue to work on this issue and participate with the
10 Towns and OWASA to study this idea. The managers could work with the attorneys to create
11 criteria that would enable homeowners that have lived in the Historic Rogers Road
12 Neighborhood before 1972 to connect from the sewer system free of charge and recommend a
13 sliding scale fee structure for homeowners that moved to the neighborhood between 1972 and
14 2012.
15 Attachments D and E have attorney opinions. There are many legal issues yet to be
16 worked out over multi-jurisdictional lines.
17
18 Chair of the Task Force Pam Hemminger said that the task force was determined to
19 finish its work as soon as possible. She hopes that the County will approve starting the drafting
20 of the Memorandum of Understanding between the County, the Towns, and Habitat. There are
21 lots of different options still to be considered and lots of information still to be pulled together.
22 This is why the task force wants to continue to meet.
23 Aldermen Gist said that there have been several memos from their attorney in the past
24 couple of weeks. She asked if he would be willing to share about the latest memo.
25 Town of Carrboro Attorney Mike Brough said that, with respect to the community center,
26 the issues that he raised had to do with the role of Habitat. He said that there would have to be
27 a bidding process and it was not clear to him how there would be a bidding process. Habitat is
28 not going to be constructing the center and it is his understanding that the County would
29 continue to own the center. He said that there are a lot of details that remain unclear to him.
30 The other issue that he expressed to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen is the ongoing operation
31 and maintenance of the center. He understands that the intent of the County is that whatever
32 funds are distributed are not considered to be ongoing. He suggested that some consideration
33 be given to this. His recommendation is that the Board considers whether the planning should
34 be directed solely to the sewer project as opposed to the community center. If all three bodies
35 are operating the community center there are issues about the programs, etc. The memo is
36 shown below:
37
38 Memorandum to: Carrboro Mayor and Board of Aldermen
39
40 From: Mike Brough
41
42 Subject: Rogers Road Proposals
43
44 Date: November 7, 2012
45
46 "County Attorney John Roberts, Chapel Hill Attorney Ralph Karpinos, and I met
47 November 6th to discuss the managers' October 16, 2012 recommendations for constructing a
48 Community Center to service the Rogers road area and to extend sewer lines into this area.
49 We also discussed Mark Dorosin's October 23, 2012 letter recommending that, not only should
50 sewer lines be extended into this area, but that homes should be connected to the sewer lines
51 at public expense. We agreed on the conclusions set forth below in paragraphs 1-5. The
6
1 thoughts set forth in paragraph 6 did not occur to me until after our meeting, and therefore have
2 not been endorsed by the other attorneys:
3
4 1 . Statutory authority exists for the towns and the county to cooperate in operating
5 funding a community center located in the Rogers Road area, and there are a
6 number of ways in which this could be accomplished. However, as we understand it,
7 the current proposal is that the county and/or the towns would pay Habitat $500,000
8 to construct the facility, on land provided by habitat, and then Habitat would lease the
9 center to RENA, who would operate it, presumably in accordance with RENA
10 Neighborhood Center Business Plan (Attachment B to the Agenda Item). The
11 attorneys do not believe it is legally permissible for the county or the towns to expend
12 public funds to fund the construction of a building on land the county does not own,
13 under circumstances where the building would then be leased to a private
14 organization that would use the facility to run programs of its choosing. The county
15 could, of course, construct a community center on land it owned or leased, but it
16 would have to put the project out for bids in accordance with applicable statutes.
17 The operation of a community center would require annual appropriations. The
18 county could provide staffing through its own employees or it could contract with an
19 organization such as RENA to run programs, but these would have to be open to the
20 general public. In short, there are many options for legally accomplishing the
21 objective of providing a community center that would benefit the residents of Rogers
22 Road, but the current proposal is not one of them.
23 2. Orange County, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill, as owners of the Greene Tract, and the
24 County, as owner of other property used for solid waste disposal, could petition
25 Chapel Hill to annex any properties owned by these governmental entities within the
26 portion of the Rogers Road area that is located in Chapel Hill's ETJ of Joint Planning
27 Area, and Chapel Hill could do so (subject to the possible exception that, if the area
28 to be annexed was not contiguous to the existing town limits, than no lots within a
29 subdivision could be annexed unless the entire subdivision was annexed). However,
30 this would enable Chapel Hill to extend sewer lines only to those areas so annexed.
31 3. The $900,000 that Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County agreed to pay to the
32 Landfill Fund for the 100+ acres of the Greene Tract that were not conveyed to
33 Orange County cannot be used to pay for either the construction of a community
34 center or the extension of sewer lines to the Rogers Road area. The Greene Tract
35 was acquired using landfill funds, and the $900,000 is being paid back to this
36 enterprise fund. Such funds can only be expended to cover the costs associated
37 with the operation and maintenance of the landfill.
38 4. Proceeds from the sale of the 100+ acre portion of the Greene Tract now owned
39 jointly by Orange County, CB, and CH can be used in the same manner as other
40 unrestricted general funds. Thus, Carrboro could use these funds to extend sewer
41 lines to unserved areas within Carrboro's corporate limits.
42 5. The towns and the county could appropriate funds to subsidize the cost of actually
43 connecting homes to a sewer line, once that line has been constructed. In order to
44 be able to point to specific statutory authority to provide such subsidies, it would be
45 preferable to limit the availability of such subsidies to low and moderate income
46 property owners. The attorneys do not recommend that the contractor engaged by
47 the county and/or the towns to extend the lines be directed to construct lines
48 connecting individuals' properties to the public lines because this work involves
49 actually getting into the plumbing systems within individuals homes and poses
50 significant risks of unexpected complications and claims of damages.
7
1 6. The managers propose that a "County Sewer District" be created for the Rogers
2 Road area as well as adjoining areas that do not have sewer, and that the district
3 use the special assessment process to recoup some of the costs of extending sewer
4 service to these areas. Presumably, the proposal is referring to a County Water and
5 Sewer District created pursuant to Article 6 of G. S. Chapter 162A. Such a district
6 would be a legally separate municipal corporation, but the governing body of the
7 district would be the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Such a district could
8 issue its own bonds to raise the capital to cover the cost of extending the lines.
9 Assessments could be based on various criteria listed in G.S. 153A-186 including
10 "the area of land served...at an equal rate per unit of area," which would mean that
11 properties with greater development or redevelopment potential would pay more than
12 small properties, but the statute does not provide a way to exempt from the
13 assessments specific properties based on criteria not listed in the statute. Thus, if
14 the objective is to extend sewer lines at little or no cost to the longstanding owners of
15 properties in the Rogers Road area, but to recapture some of the cost of extending
16 the lines when properties in this area are developed or redeveloped, the special
17 assessment process appears to be a useful tool.
18 An alternative might be to establish the District and have the District issue its bonds to
19 raise the cost of extending the lines. Carrboro could contract with the District to pay for the cost
20 of extending the lines to serve properties that are within the town. The District would contract
21 with OWASA to operate and maintain the lines and to bill the customers in the same manner as
22 other OWASA customers. (An amendment to the WSMPBA would probably be needed). Then
23 the District could establish a fee — call it a service line extension fee — that would be designed to
24 recoup some of the costs incurred by the District in extending the lines. (OWASA has an
25 "availability fee" that is designed to recoup the cost of the treatment plant and major outfalls, but
26 this fee does not cover the service lines because those are typically installed at the developer's
27 expense). This fee would be paid at the same time as OWASA's availability fee — when a
28 connection is made. The District's policy could provide that the service line extension fee would
29 be waived for the first connection made to any property existing as of a specified date."
30
31
32
33 Aldermen Slade said that the proposal does not mean that they would not be providing
34 their portion of the costs for the community center and the sewer. He said that $900,000
35 represents 14% of those two costs aggregated. It is more of a way to facilitate technically the
36 management of the two projects.
37 Aldermen Gist said that she appreciated the memo today because it pointed out
38 potential "alligators" that could damage the whole project and the whole effort. She thinks that
39 these are very serious, pragmatic, legal issues that have to be dealt with. She wants to invite
40 the task force to address these issues.
41 Commissioner Rich suggested that the task force hand this over to the managers,
42 attorneys, and planning departments. She thinks that the issues coming up from the attorney
43 are things that managers and attorneys have to make everyone aware of. She thinks that the
44 task force has met the charge and has identified the monies. She also thinks that they have
45 identified their commitment to sewer and the community center. She does not want to keep
46 discussing this without making sure that all of the managers have discussed this. She does not
47 want to hold any of this back.
48 Mayor Chilton said that Carrboro elected officials are in an unusual position in that a
49 huge portion of the sewer component and the costs of serving the entire area happens to fall
50 within the town limits of Carrboro. However, the number of homeowners and renters to be
51 served who live in the Carrboro town limits is very small. He said that Carrboro is very happy to
8
1 participate to the tune of $900,000. He likes what the attorney suggested regarding focusing on
2 the sewer lines.
3 Commissioner McKee thanked the members of the task force. He said that he does not
4 see anything that cannot be worked out. He thinks that the sewer issue and the community
5 center issue be disengaged. He said that one should not depend on the other, nor should any
6 recommendation depend on another recommendation for the community center to move
7 forward. He will continue to push that the community center be moved forward one way or the
8 other. He said that he is determined that the County will build this center.
9 Commissioner Jacobs asked Pam Hemminger to answer the question about Habitat's
10 participation.
11 Pam Hemminger said that Habitat owns the property where the community center is
12 supposed to be located and is dedicating property. There had to be a special use permit
13 process for this to happen. This is one of the reasons that Habitat is involved. Habitat does not
14 want to assume responsibility for long-term care and maintenance of the building. Habitat did
15 offer to be the construction engineer/contractor for this building. This will be a lot less cost. She
16 knows that there are legal issues to be worked out and these can be worked out.
17 Chapel Hill Town Councilmember Ward voiced support for continuation of the task force.
18 He asked that the charge be revised and updated to address the upcoming questions related to
19 the remaining issues. He said that the task force is really good at having representatives of all
20 elected bodies coming to meetings so that as the staff work through the issues, there is a venue
21 where there can be updates, etc. Without the task force in place, it is cumbersome to get the
22 approval information to the three elected boards.
23 Chair Pelissier said that she is struggling with the extension of the task force, especially
24 when it comes to the community center. She does not want to hold things up. She would like to
25 hear from staff about whether these things can be worked out.
26 Commissioner Jacobs said that the County Commissioners have made no explicit vote
27 on whether or not to continue the task force. The Board implicitly agreed with its two
28 representatives that it was worth continuing, but the Board no longer has any representatives on
29 the task force (Pam Hemminger and Valerie Foushee are no longer on the Board). It is on the
30 January 24th agenda for discussion on whether or not to appoint two new people or whether or
31 not the task force has finished its work.
32 Commissioner Dorosin made reference to the sewer issues. He said that these are
33 fundamental policy issues that should be resolved and not by staff. He said that he remains
34 committed to the idea that every resident in the Rogers Road Historic Neighborhood gets
35 connected to the water and sewer at no cost. He said that he would like to decide now or soon
36 that the boards are committed to funding the infrastructure mains and the connections from the
37 mains to the meters at the very least at no cost to existing residents. He is concerned about the
38 language about special assessments, loans, and sliding scales. He said that if they go down
39 any of these paths, then it is a betrayal of the commitment made to this community.
40 Commissioner Price said that she agreed with Commissioner Dorosin and she is
41 committed to seeing the community center. She thinks that the task force needs to continue to
42 meet. She thinks that the legal issues can be worked out. She agreed with separating the two
43 issues so that the community center can be built as soon as possible.
44 Alderman Johnson said the task force voted at their last meeting to continue the task
45 force for six months. She said that one of the recommendations was for managers to meet and
46 report back to them and they are waiting on that. She said that there are two community
47 members on the task force, and if the task force no longer meets, then the community members
48 are left out of the conversation.
49 Council Member Pease said that they need to disentangle the two issues and say that
50 the task force has finished phase I, whatever that is, and let the attorneys and managers work
51 out the legal issues for the community center. He said that his fear of continuing the task force
9
1 with its current process is that it is going to be somewhat of a new makeup. He would be afraid
2 that it might be slowed down or there may be other agendas with new members joining it. He
3 suggested getting to the end of the conversation on the community center and then starting a
4 phase 2 with new members and tackling the sewer issues.
5 Council Member Storrow said that none of these ideas are in opposition to each other.
6 He said that it seems like if the task force is stopped, the community center would probably still
7 get built. Regardless of the structure, he thinks that the community center is finished. There
8 are more structural questions than philosophical. He said that there should be some
9 mechanism to continue a conversation. He said that if the task force is totally dismantled then
10 some of the sewer questions may not be answered.
11 Council Member Ward said that if Council Member Pease agreed with Commissioner
12 Rich then now he does also. He said that this task force has been very effective and the
13 membership will be changed, and it is appropriate to rehash. He said that the Board of County
14 Commissioners is in control of setting the agenda for the task force. He said that the community
15 center is now checked off the list and is now in the hands of staff. He feels confident to take the
16 center off the list and then let the task force tackle these other issues and keep the community
17 members on it, whichever form it may take.
18 Alderman Slade said that the task force should be kept intact. He said that the
19 community center is a done deal. He said that there is a lot of work to be done with the sewer.
20 He strongly supports continuing with this effective task force.
21 Commissioner Rich said that at the beginning of the task force for the first two months,
22 they were read the charge. She thinks that the task force has fulfilled the charge and if the task
23 force is asked to continue, the charge must be changed.
24 Commissioner McKee said that the task force should continue with the current members.
25 There are three members whose situations have changed, but the community has not changed.
26 He said that the charge of the task force was not to make sure that any governmental entity
27 came out on the better end of the deal. The charge was to ensure that the community came out
28 on the better end. The members of the task force as it is currently constructed have spent
29 almost a year working on this. He suggested leaving this task force constructed as it is with the
30 current members as they are unless they have other obligations to prevent them from being
31 able to attend.
32 Alderman Gist said that she supported continuing with the task force because it gives
33 the staff and elected bodies someone to talk to about the issues. She would like the task force
34 to continue to address the community center issue and the continuing costs of operating the
35 center and other unknowns.
36 Mayor Chilton said that he agreed with Aldermen Gist. He said that this task force was
37 created by the Board of County Commissioners and the reality is that the County
38 Commissioners need to decide how it moves forward.
39 Chair Jacobs said that it has been helpful to hear everything. He said that he has
40 brought up the issue of gentrification several times, but it was not discussed in detail and was
41 not part of the charge of the task force. If the task force goes forward, the charge should be
42 revised.
43
44 21 Greene Tract Historical Information and Options
45 Michael Talbert said that the Greene Tract was purchased in 1984 and it was 164 acres.
46 As it transitioned from Chapel Hill to Orange County, the interlocal agreement gave 60 acres to
47 remain as an asset of solid waste and 104 acres would be conveyed to Orange County, the
48 Town of Chapel Hill, and the Town of Carrboro, based on the percentages of 43%, 43%, and
49 14%. There was a condition that the entities will pay back the solid waste fund so that there
50 would be adequate funds for the future for landfill closure costs. All of this transpired between
51 2001-2008. In 2001 , there was a Greene Tract work group that came back with
10
1 recommendations. Over the years there have been many potential discussions of uses of the
2 Greene Tract and there have been no decisions made. One would be open space to be
3 protected by conservation easement. Another option is affordable housing, with acreage to be
4 placed in a land trust. Another option is for a future elementary school site for CHCCS. There
5 are two attachments with detail of the history of the property. After everything has been repaid,
6 there will be a little over $1 million that has been repaid back to the Solid Waste Fund.
7 Mayor Chilton asked how much land the CHCCS needs for a school site here.
8 Michael Talbert said that eight years ago the CHCCS discussed needing 10-12 acres.
9 Mayor Chilton asked about the acreage for affordable housing.
10 Michael Talbert said that it was about 18 acres.
11 Commissioner Gordon said that OCS and CHCCS projections are in the packets. For
12 CHCCS, the needs projected over the next 10 years are for an elementary school in 2012-13, a
13 middle school in 2017-18, and a high school in 2020-21 . She said that there are not a lot of
14 school sites identified.
16 CHCCS staff member Bill Mullin, Executive Director of School Facilities, said that there is also
another elementary school needed in 2017.
17 Alderman Gist said that just because there is land does not mean that it has to be used.
18 There will be future generations that might need it.
19 Chair Jacobs pointed out the possible school construction schedules on page 2. He said
20 that he has never heard any particular opposition to the school site at the Greene Tract. He
21 said that a lot of decisions were not closed and it would be good to see if everyone is still
22 generally on the same page.
23 Mayor Kleinschmidt said that Chapel Hill, after having invited Carrboro and Orange
24 County to the table, did go through a three-year small area planning process with the Rogers
25 Road neighborhood, including the Greene Tract. He said that there is a plan that is adopted in
26 the Chapel Hill comprehensive plan, but it is not in this document. He suggested that everyone
27 look at the Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan and Small Area Plan for Rogers Road. He said that
28 people that live next to the Greene Tract have already talked about what they would like to see
29 and Chapel Hill adopted it.
30 Commissioner Gordon said that she wanted to emphasize that there are not very many
31 school sites. In terms of the Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan, she would like to look it over in
32 more detail. She also agreed with Alderman Gist in that it would be good to have some
33 preserved land.
34 Mayor Chilton said that one of the practical issues years ago is that the road access to
35 this property is poor. He said that it sounds really great to say that all these things will be built
36 here, but the reality is that there would be some significant investment with infrastructure to
37 even make it possible to develop.
38 Mayor Kleinschmidt said that they should have the Chapel Hill SAP in front of them while
39 they are discussing this.
40 Michael Talbert said that page 26 of the abstract has a map of the Rogers Road existing
41 and proposed sewer.
42 Alderman Gist said that everyone has spent lots of time on committees wondering what
43 would happen to their work. She apologized to everyone that worked on the small area plan.
44 She hopes that this will be fixed.
45 Council Member Harrison said that he has done a lot of work on small area plans in the
46 past. He said that there was a huge investment of time and expertise from elected officials in
47 this small area plan.
48 Alderman Lavelle said that this is a good example of the importance of institutional
49 history.
11
1 Chair Jacobs said that everyone should incorporate the SAP into their thinking of the
2 Greene Tract, and they can have this discussion in their individual joint meetings with the towns.
3 He said that most of the work has been done.
4 Mayor Chilton said that Carrboro is only a 14% stakeholder from a real estate point of
5 view and it is in Chapel Hill's planning jurisdiction. He said that he is optimistic that the
6 conversations in March between Orange County and Chapel Hill will be fruitful. He said that the
7 call from 10 years ago when this was last under discussion was that the affordable housing
8 component of all of this was of particular concern of the Board of Aldermen. He does not see
9 why this would be different today than it was then. He said that the Board of Aldermen remains
10 keenly interested in this.
11
12 4.1 County Update on the Capital Investment Needs for Schools and School Sites
13 Based on the School Districts Student Enrollment Projections and Schools Adequate
14 Public Facilities Ordinance
15 Chair Jacobs said that Superintendent Rhodes from OCS was in attendance.
16 Paul Laughton from Finance and Administrative Services said that Clarence Grier is
17 under the weather tonight, so he was filling in. He said that the County has several capital
18 needs — Emergency Services, expansion of Southern Human Services Center, construction of
19 new jail, and future park development. This item is focused on school capital needs for both
20 systems based on student enrollment projections and the Schools Adequate Public Facilities
21 Ordinance (SAPFO). He made reference to Attachment B, which has a summary of the CIP for
22 schools (blue sheet).
23 Council Member Harrison left at PM.
24 Planning Director Craig Benedict summarized Attachment A (School Level of Service (LOS),
25 Capacity, Membership, and Membership Increases). He explained the level of service figures.
26 Chair Jacobs noted that when the State mandated reduced class sizes it also took away
27 school construction money from the County. He commended Commissioner Gordon for
28 working so hard on SAPFO.
29 Commissioner Gordon said that Attachment A is a snapshot and it gives information
30 showing when schools are needed. She said that if you look at 2012-13 for CHCCS, there is a
31 school needed because the school capacity went over 105%.
32 Council Member Pease said that Chapel Hill Town Council has been shown plans for
33 growth in Chapel Hill. He asked if there was any commonality between all the different bodies
34 that are doing growth projections and if there is any agreement about what growth is going to
35 look like.
36 Craig Benedict said that there have been similar questions about the growth that will
37 occur countywide. The projections are based on history.
38 Mayor Chilton asked when an elementary school would be needed in OCS, based on
39 the model. Craig Benedict said that it would be 2020-21 . However, there is a substantial
40 amount of growth occurring on the Orange County side of Mebane. If these children begin
41 showing up in the schools, this will affect the future projections.
42 Mayor Chilton said that there is a constant demand for new schools in CHCCS and there
43 is a much slower pace of demand for additional schools in OCS. He said that there is a lot of
44 unused space at the middle school level in OCS.
45 Council Member Ward asked about legal challenges to SAPFO and whether there is
46 anything on the horizon from the legislature.
47 Chair Jacobs said that the County has never invoked the CAPS that would prevent
48 development from continuing under SAPFO.
49 Orange County Staff Attorney Jennifer Galassi said that this is something County
50 Attorney John Roberts has spoken to the Board of County Commissioners about. There is a
12
1 petition from outside the county where Cabarrus County's SAPFO was struck down. This might
2 be an issue in the future and the SAPFO may have to be amended.
3 Commissioner Pelissier said that Orange County really needs the assistance from all
4 towns to help work with the school systems to find sites for new schools. If all of these schools
5 were built, the County would have to allocate $100 million in debt before 2018.
6
7 51 Information Items (No Presentations)
8 • Southern Orange County Government Services Campus Master Plan
9 • Proposed New Jail Facility in Hillsborough
10 • Steps to Implement New Transit Sales Tax and Vehicle Tag Fees Update
11
12 61 Adjournment
13 The meeting adjourned at PM.
14
15
16 Barry Jacobs, Chair
17
18 Donna S. Baker, CMC
19 Clerk to the Board