HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 12-06-2012 APPROVED 2/5/2013
MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN
December 6, 2012
ASSEMBLY OF GOVERNMENTS
The Orange County Board of Commissioners met with the Towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and
Hillsborough for an Assembly of Governments meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 7:00
p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill. N.C.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Mark
Dorosin, Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price, and Penny Rich.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Staff Attorney Jennifer Galassi
COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Clerk to the Board, Assistant
County Manager Michael Talbert, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff inembers
will be identified appropriately below)
CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS/STAFF PRESENT: Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Ed
Harrison, Jim Ward, Lee Storrow, Gene Pease, and Town Manager Roger Stancil
CHAPEL HILLTOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: Matt Czajkowski, Donna Bell, and
Lauren Easthom
CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEMBERS PRESENT/STAFF: Mayor Mark Chilton
and Aldermen Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Lydia Lavelle, Michelle Johnson, Jacquelyn Gist,
Sammy Slade, and Town Manager David Andrews.
CARRBORO BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEMBERS ABSENT: Dan Coleman
TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS/STAFF: Mayor Tom Stevens and Town
Commissioners Eric Hallman, Frances Dancy, Brian Lowen, and Town Manager Eric Peterson
TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Evelyn Lloyd and Michael Gering
Call to Order/Introductions/Opening Comments
Mayor Stevens and Mayor Kleinschmidt congratulated all new County Commissioners.
Introductions were made.
� Solid Waste Updates
Michael Talbert said that the purpose of this update is to give the jurisdictions a chance to
update everyone on their solid waste progress. The landfill will be closing June 30, 2013 and
everyone is making plans to deal with this.
• Town of Carrboro
Mayor Chilton said that Carrboro enthusiastically wants to collaborate with Orange
County in waste reduction. He said that they probably will be taking solid waste to one of the
two transfer stations in Durham County. There are some modest savings in using the private
transfer station on the south side of Durham. He said that, based on the discussions last
Tuesday, the Board of Aldermen looks forward to having the community move forward with
having roll-out recycling bins. He said that he is also excited about opportunities of organic
waste and pay-as-you-throw, which would discourage the disposal of organic waste.
• Town of Chapel Hill
Mayor Kleinschmidt said that Chapel Hill has retained a consultant and received a report
from them on a review of the solid waste options. The report has been shared with all parties.
Chapel Hill is looking at moving waste to a transfer station in Durham. He said that Chapel Hill
wants to renew its contract with recycling with Orange County.
Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil said that Chapel Hill will be using a Waste
Industries transfer station beginning in April. He said that they would like to enter into a new
interlocal agreement.
Council Member Pease arrived at 7:13PM.
Council Member Ward said that he wanted to speak strongly that Chapel Hill is eager to
give direction to Orange County so that Chapel Hill can proceed with an RFP for the purchase
of the recycling carts to get this program up and running as soon as possible. He said that he
hoped that they can do a new interlocal agreement that addresses this issue.
Commissioner Jacobs made reference to page 4 of the abstract and said that Orange
County was to purchase these last year.
Commissioner Rich said that she does not want to forget about newer technology and
they need to focus on the future and get ahead of the curve. She would like to consider
different ways to handle their waste. She said that perhaps when the Solid Waste Advisory
Board (SWAB) comes back to life that they could address this new technology.
Chair Jacobs said that the SWAB did some investigation and decided that newer
technology was beyond the capabilities without more resources. When the County decided not
to site a transfer station 4 years ago, it has been the position to confirm the commitment to
finding alternate technologies and creating more regional partnerships.
Alderman Slade said that he would encourage the County to pursue a zero waste goal
as a priority.
Council Member Ward asked if the County feels comfortable with moving forward with
the purchase of the recycling carts.
Chair Jacobs said that hopefully by the end of this conversation, the County will be
ready.
• Town of Hillsborough
Mayor Stevens called upon Hillsborough Town Manager Eric Peterson.
Eric Peterson said that the Durham County transfer station is just as close to Eubanks
Road so Hillsborough will partner with Orange County to take their waste to Durham County.
He said that, from a staff perspective, they are interested in participating in a recycling program.
• Orange County (including update on the Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB)
Michael Talbert said that the County is making progress. The landfill is closing in June.
The management of the landfill was transferred to Orange County in 1999. This interlocal
agreement created the SWAB. The SWAB continues to be active and is an important function
of solid waste. Originally the SWAB had eight members with two from each jurisdiction, and this
can be considered as things move forward. With the closing of the landfill in June, the interlocal
agreement terminates and so does the SWAB. Orange County will continue to do recycling,
construction and demolition, yard waste, storm debris management, and countywide and
statewide planning and reporting will still be in place. The five convenience centers will continue
to stay in place. The County is considering an agreement with the City of Durham for solid
waste at$42.50 a ton. This could be a five-year agreement. Attachment A summarizes this.
The County generates about 200 tons per day of solid waste. If all of this went to the City of
Durham, it would make up less than 20% of their total capacity. If there is an agreement or
solution at some point, Durham would make an excellent partner for waste to energy or other
new technologies. This would give a five-year window to continue. The Board of County
Commissioners will consider this on December 11 th. Orange County will continue the recycling
effort. In July, the County went to single-stream recycling. The convenience center at Walnut
Grove is being remodeled. The plan is to remodel all five of the convenience centers. Walnut
Grove should be complete in the next 3-4 weeks.
There will also be district centers, which will operate longer hours and will take more
recycling components. The neighborhood centers are smaller and take fewer items.
Orange County is ready to move forward with a new interlocal agreement and staffs are
already working on this. A component of the interlocal agreement could be the creation of the
new SWAB along with the charge.
Aldermen Michelle Johnson and Jacqueline Gist arrived at 7:23PM.
Chair Jacobs asked Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson to update them on the waste
reduction goal.
Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that since the state required reporting and for local
governments to set goals, Orange County has steadily increased its per capita waste reduction
and the goal of 61% when it was set was the highest in the state. He said that Orange County
is still moving forward and is at a 56% waste reduction rate. He said that one of the contributing
factors is collaboration with partners.
Mayor Chilton said that since one of the state representatives from Orange County is
retiring soon, Joe Hackney, who wrote the bill for the first state-mandated waste reduction bill.
He wanted to publicly recognize Joe Hackney. He said that following upon Joe Hackney's
leadership, Orange County has been at the forefront statewide and a role model as far as
adopting the aggressive waste reduction goals that Gayle Wilson mentioned. He thanked all of
the staff that works for solid waste management in Orange County for making these pioneering
ideas of the elected officials. He said that the staff is demonstrating a model for our state and
our country.
Mayor Chilton asked for clarification of the five convenience centers.
Gayle Wilson said that the concept is to modernize all five existing centers, but dedicate
two of these to be full-service with longer hours and a full array of services.
Chair Jacobs said that Orange County was one of the first counties to do electronics
recycling and an ordinance for construction and demolition waste, and that is because of the
partnership with the municipalities. He said that one of the offerings at these larger sites is food
waste recycling.
Commissioner Jacobs made reference to reconstituting the SWAB and said that he would
like the University to have an option to be at the table.
Mayor Kleinschmidt said that UNC is doing its own solid waste disposal.
Mayor Chilton said that it is important for UNC to at least be a part of this discussion.
Frank Clifton said that there have been ongoing discussions. The attorneys have been
talking about the new agreement that will clarify the recycling roles and the roles of the County,
as well as the agreement with Durham and Orange County. He said that any of the towns can
join the discussion.
Mayor Kleinschmidt said that the interlocal agreement needs to describe the mission and
short-term goals of each entity.
Chair Jacobs said that as part of a new SWAB, he would like to see a more aggressive
effort of pursuing alternative technologies for solid waste disposal.
� Review of the Draft Interim Recommendations from the Historic Roqers Road
Neiqhborhood Task Force
Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the yellow sheet, which was for this item.
Michael Talbert said that the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood Task Force last met
on November 14th. This was supposed to be the last meeting and this was supposed to be the
final report. He reviewed the charge of the task force:
- Investigate and make recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners, the
Chapel Hill Town Council, and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen for neighborhood
improvements, including funding sources, financial impact to the County and the
Towns for the following:
o Sewer Service to the Historic Rogers Road Neighborhood as defined by the
previously approved public water connections in the area
o A Neighborhood Community Center
- The Task Force is also directed to:
o Submit an Interim Report back to the County and the Towns by the end of
August 2012; and
o Submit a Final Report to the Assembly of Governments on December 6,
2012.
Attachment B includes the recommendations in draft form because the Task Force has
not seen them or approved them yet. There are five primary recommendations:
1. That the costs of both a New Community Center and Sewer Improvements be
shared by the local governments, at the same costs sharing percentages as outlined
in the 1972 Landfill Agreement, 43% for Orange County, 43% for the Town of Chapel
Hill and 14% for the Town of Carrboro.
2. That the Managers and Attorneys originate a Memorandum of Understanding
between Habitat, Orange County, the Town of Carrboro, and the Town of Chapel Hill
for the construction of a new Rogers Road Community Center. The budget will not
exceed $700,000 and the project will be bid in compliance with North Carolina public
bidding requirements. Orange County will finance the project with reimbursement
from the Towns as outlined in (1) above.
3. That the governing boards continue to appropriate funds, as previously budgeted to
reimburse the Solid Waste fund for the purchase of the Greene Tract, for both a New
Community Center and Sewer Improvements. Funds budgeted in Fiscal Year
2012/2013 for the Greene Tract are as follows; $90,549 for Orange County, $90,549
for the Town of Chapel Hill and $29,524 for the Town of Carrboro. The governing
boards are also encouraged to locate other funding sources for a New Community
Center and Sewer Improvements.
4. That the Hogan-Rogers House no longer be considered as an option for a
Neighborhood Community Center. The St. Paul's AME Church is working with the
Chapel Hill Preservation Society to save the structure.
5. That the Task Force continue to meet to address the Charge of the Task Force, for
an additional six months with the original composition of the Task Force. The
composition of the Task Force originally included two members appointed by each
Town (Chapel Hill and Carrboro); two members appointed from the County; and two
members appointed from Rogers Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA).
There are several recommendations that have not been finalized and that is why the
Task Force wants to continue to meet. The first is the community center. There needs to be a
memorandum of understanding of how the center is going to operate, who will pay for it, who
will construct it, who will occupy it, and what type of interlocal agreement or memorandum of
understanding would be between the Towns, Habitat and the Rogers Road Neighborhood
Association for the operation and the program/activities to be provided.
The second item is the sewer district. The managers suggested that there be a Rogers
Road County Sewer District. There are a lot of details to be worked out with that. The
recommendation is that the managers continue to work on this issue and participate with the
Towns and OWASA to study this idea. The managers could work with the attorneys to create
criteria that would enable homeowners that have lived in the Historic Rogers Road
Neighborhood before 1972 to connect from the sewer system free of charge and recommend a
sliding scale fee structure for homeowners that moved to the neighborhood between 1972 and
2012.
Attachments D and E have attorney opinions. There are many legal issues yet to be
worked out over multi-jurisdictional lines.
Chair of the Task Force Pam Hemminger said that the task force was determined to
finish its work as soon as possible. She hopes that the County will approve starting the drafting
of the Memorandum of Understanding between the County, the Towns, and Habitat. There are
lots of different options still to be considered and lots of information still to be pulled together.
This is why the task force wants to continue to meet.
Aldermen Gist said that there have been several memos from their attorney in the past
couple of weeks. She asked if he would be willing to share about the latest memo.
Town of Carrboro Attorney Mike Brough said that, with respect to the community center,
the issues that he raised had to do with the role of Habitat. He said that there would have to be
a bidding process and it was not clear to him how there would be a bidding process. Habitat is
not going to be constructing the center and it is his understanding that the County would
continue to own the center. He said that there are a lot of details that remain unclear to him.
The other issue that he expressed to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen is the ongoing operation
and maintenance of the center. He understands that the intent of the County is that whatever
funds are distributed are not considered to be ongoing. He suggested that some consideration
be given to this. His recommendation is that the Board considers whether the planning should
be directed solely to the sewer project as opposed to the community center. If all three bodies
are operating the community center there are issues about the programs, etc. The memo is
shown below:
Memorandum to: Carrboro Mayor and Board of Aldermen
From: Mike Brough
Subject: Rogers Road Proposals
Date: November 7, 2012
"County Attorney John Roberts, Chapel Hill Attorney Ralph Karpinos, and I met
November 6th to discuss the managers' October 16, 2012 recommendations for constructing a
Community Center to service the Rogers road area and to extend sewer lines into this area.
We also discussed Mark Dorosin's October 23, 2012 letter recommending that, not only should
sewer lines be extended into this area, but that homes should be connected to the sewer lines
at public expense. We agreed on the conclusions set forth below in paragraphs 1-5. The
thoughts set forth in paragraph 6 did not occur to me until after our meeting, and therefore have
not been endorsed by the other attorneys:
1. Statutory authority exists for the towns and the county to cooperate in operating
funding a community center located in the Rogers Road area, and there are a
number of ways in which this could be accomplished. However, as we understand it,
the current proposal is that the county and/or the towns would pay Habitat$500,000
to construct the facility, on land provided by habitat, and then Habitat would lease the
center to RENA, who would operate it, presumably in accordance with RENA
Neighborhood Center Business Plan (Attachment B to the Agenda Item). The
attorneys do not believe it is legally permissible for the county or the towns to expend
public funds to fund the construction of a building on land the county does not own,
under circumstances where the building would then be leased to a private
organization that would use the facility to run programs of its choosing. The county
could, of course, construct a community center on land it owned or leased, but it
would have to put the project out for bids in accordance with applicable statutes.
The operation of a community center would require annual appropriations. The
county could provide staffing through its own employees or it could contract with an
organization such as RENA to run programs, but these would have to be open to the
general public. In short, there are many options for legally accomplishing the
objective of providing a community center that would benefit the residents of Rogers
Road, but the current proposal is not one of them.
2. Orange County, Carrboro, and Chapel Hill, as owners of the Greene Tract, and the
County, as owner of other property used for solid waste disposal, could petition
Chapel Hill to annex any properties owned by these governmental entities within the
portion of the Rogers Road area that is located in Chapel Hill's ETJ of Joint Planning
Area, and Chapel Hill could do so (subject to the possible exception that, if the area
to be annexed was not contiguous to the existing town limits, than no lots within a
subdivision could be annexed unless the entire subdivision was annexed). However,
this would enable Chapel Hill to extend sewer lines only to those areas so annexed.
3. The $900,000 that Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County agreed to pay to the
Landfill Fund for the 100+ acres of the Greene Tract that were not conveyed to
Orange County cannot be used to pay for either the construction of a community
center or the extension of sewer lines to the Rogers Road area. The Greene Tract
was acquired using landfill funds, and the $900,000 is being paid back to this
enterprise fund. Such funds can only be expended to cover the costs associated
with the operation and maintenance of the landfill.
4. Proceeds from the sale of the 100+ acre portion of the Greene Tract now owned
jointly by Orange County, CB, and CH can be used in the same manner as other
unrestricted general funds. Thus, Carrboro could use these funds to extend sewer
lines to unserved areas within Carrboro's corporate limits.
5. The towns and the county could appropriate funds to subsidize the cost of actually
connecting homes to a sewer line, once that line has been constructed. In order to
be able to point to specific statutory authority to provide such subsidies, it would be
preferable to limit the availability of such subsidies to low and moderate income
property owners. The attorneys do not recommend that the contractor engaged by
the county and/or the towns to extend the lines be directed to construct lines
connecting individuals' properties to the public lines because this work involves
actually getting into the plumbing systems within individuals homes and poses
significant risks of unexpected complications and claims of damages.
6. The managers propose that a "County Sewer District" be created for the Rogers
Road area as well as adjoining areas that do not have sewer, and that the district
use the special assessment process to recoup some of the costs of extending sewer
service to these areas. Presumably, the proposal is referring to a County Water and
Sewer District created pursuant to Article 6 of G. S. Chapter 162A. Such a district
would be a legally separate municipal corporation, but the governing body of the
district would be the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Such a district could
issue its own bonds to raise the capital to cover the cost of extending the lines.
Assessments could be based on various criteria listed in G.S. 153A-186 including
"the area of land served...at an equal rate per unit of area," which would mean that
properties with greater development or redevelopment potential would pay more than
small properties, but the statute does not provide a way to exempt from the
assessments specific properties based on criteria not listed in the statute. Thus, if
the objective is to extend sewer lines at little or no cost to the longstanding owners of
properties in the Rogers Road area, but to recapture some of the cost of extending
the lines when properties in this area are developed or redeveloped, the special
assessment process appears to be a useful tool.
An alternative might be to establish the District and have the District issue its bonds to
raise the cost of extending the lines. Carrboro could contract with the District to pay for the cost
of extending the lines to serve properties that are within the town. The District would contract
with OWASA to operate and maintain the lines and to bill the customers in the same manner as
other OWASA customers. (An amendment to the WSMPBA would probably be needed). Then
the District could establish a fee— call it a service line extension fee —that would be designed to
recoup some of the costs incurred by the District in extending the lines. (OWASA has an
"availability fee" that is designed to recoup the cost of the treatment plant and major outfalls, but
this fee does not cover the service lines because those are typically installed at the developer's
expense). This fee would be paid at the same time as OWASA's availability fee—when a
connection is made. The District's policy could provide that the service line extension fee would
be waived for the first connection made to any property existing as of a specified date."
Aldermen Slade said that the proposal does not mean that they would not be providing
their portion of the costs for the community center and the sewer. He said that$900,000
represents 14% of those two costs aggregated. It is more of a way to facilitate technically the
management of the two projects.
Aldermen Gist said that she appreciated the memo today because it pointed out
potential "alligators" that could damage the whole project and the whole effort. She thinks that
these are very serious, pragmatic, legal issues that have to be dealt with. She wants to invite
the task force to address these issues.
Commissioner Rich suggested that the task force hand this over to the managers,
attorneys, and planning departments. She thinks that the issues coming up from the attorney
are things that managers and attorneys have to make everyone aware of. She thinks that the
task force has met the charge and has identified the monies. She also thinks that they have
identified their commitment to sewer and the community center. She does not want to keep
discussing this without making sure that all of the managers have discussed this. She does not
want to hold any of this back.
Mayor Chilton said that Carrboro elected officials are in an unusual position in that a
huge portion of the sewer component and the costs of serving the entire area happens to fall
within the town limits of Carrboro. However, the number of homeowners and renters to be
served who live in the Carrboro town limits is very small. He said that Carrboro is very happy to
participate to the tune of$900,000. He likes what the attorney suggested regarding focusing on
the sewer lines.
Commissioner McKee thanked the members of the task force. He said that he does not
see anything that cannot be worked out. He thinks that the sewer issue and the community
center issue be disengaged. He said that one should not depend on the other, nor should any
recommendation depend on another recommendation for the community center to move
forward. He will continue to push that the community center be moved forward one way or the
other. He said that he is determined that the County will build this center.
Commissioner Jacobs asked Pam Hemminger to answer the question about Habitat's
participation.
Pam Hemminger said that Habitat owns the property where the community center is
supposed to be located and is dedicating property. There had to be a special use permit
process for this to happen. This is one of the reasons that Habitat is involved. Habitat does not
want to assume responsibility for long-term care and maintenance of the building. Habitat did
offer to be the construction engineer/contractor for this building. This will be a lot less cost. She
knows that there are legal issues to be worked out and these can be worked out.
Chapel Hill Town Councilmember Ward voiced support for continuation of the task force.
He asked that the charge be revised and updated to address the upcoming questions related to
the remaining issues. He said that the task force is really good at having representatives of all
elected bodies coming to meetings so that as the staff work through the issues, there is a venue
where there can be updates, etc. Without the task force in place, it is cumbersome to get the
approval information to the three elected boards.
Chair Pelissier said that she is struggling with the extension of the task force, especially
when it comes to the community center. She does not want to hold things up. She would like to
hear from staff about whether these things can be worked out.
Commissioner Jacobs said that the County Commissioners have made no explicit vote
on whether or not to continue the task force. The Board implicitly agreed with its two
representatives that it was worth continuing, but the Board no longer has any representatives on
the task force (Pam Hemminger and Valerie Foushee are no longer on the Board). It is on the
January 24th agenda for discussion on whether or not to appoint two new people or whether or
not the task force has finished its work.
Commissioner porosin made reference to the sewer issues. He said that these are
fundamental policy issues that should be resolved and not by staff. He said that he remains
committed to the idea that every resident in the Rogers Road Historic Neighborhood gets
connected to the water and sewer at no cost. He said that he would like to decide now or soon
that the boards are committed to funding the infrastructure mains and the connections from the
mains to the meters at the very least at no cost to existing residents. He is concerned about the
language about special assessments, loans, and sliding scales. He said that if they go down
any of these paths, then it is a betrayal of the commitment made to this community.
Commissioner Price said that she agreed with Commissioner porosin and she is
committed to seeing the community center. She thinks that the task force needs to continue to
meet. She thinks that the legal issues can be worked out. She agreed with separating the two
issues so that the community center can be built as soon as possible.
Alderman Johnson said the task force voted at their last meeting to continue the task
force for six months. She said that one of the recommendations was for managers to meet and
report back to them and they are waiting on that. She said that there are two community
members on the task force, and if the task force no longer meets, then the community members
are left out of the conversation.
Council Member Pease said that they need to disentangle the two issues and say that
the task force has finished phase I, whatever that is, and let the attorneys and managers work
out the legal issues for the community center. He said that his fear of continuing the task force
with its current process is that it is going to be somewhat of a new makeup. He would be afraid
that it might be slowed down or there may be other agendas with new members joining it. He
suggested getting to the end of the conversation on the community center and then starting a
phase 2 with new members and tackling the sewer issues.
Council Member Storrow said that none of these ideas are in opposition to each other.
He said that it seems like if the task force is stopped, the community center would probably still
get built. Regardless of the structure, he thinks that the community center is finished. There
are more structural questions than philosophical. He said that there should be some
mechanism to continue a conversation. He said that if the task force is totally dismantled then
some of the sewer questions may not be answered.
Council Member Ward said that if Council Member Pease agreed with Commissioner
Rich then now he does also. He said that this task force has been very effective and the
membership will be changed, and it is appropriate to rehash. He said that the Board of County
Commissioners is in control of setting the agenda for the task force. He said that the community
center is now checked off the list and is now in the hands of staff. He feels confident to take the
center off the list and then let the task force tackle these other issues and keep the community
members on it, whichever form it may take.
Alderman Slade said that the task force should be kept intact. He said that the
community center is a done deal. He said that there is a lot of work to be done with the sewer.
He strongly supports continuing with this effective task force.
Commissioner Rich said that at the beginning of the task force for the first two months,
they were read the charge. She thinks that the task force has fulfilled the charge and if the task
force is asked to continue, the charge must be changed.
Commissioner McKee said that the task force should continue with the current members.
There are three members whose situations have changed, but the community has not changed.
He said that the charge of the task force was not to make sure that any governmental entity
came out on the better end of the deal. The charge was to ensure that the community came out
on the better end. The members of the task force as it is currently constructed have spent
almost a year working on this. He suggested leaving this task force constructed as it is with the
current members as they are unless they have other obligations to prevent them from being
able to attend.
Alderman Gist said that she supported continuing with the task force because it gives
the staff and elected bodies someone to talk to about the issues. She would like the task force
to continue to address the community center issue and the continuing costs of operating the
center and other unknowns.
Mayor Chilton said that he agreed with Aldermen Gist. He said that this task force was
created by the Board of County Commissioners and the reality is that the County
Commissioners need to decide how it moves forward.
Chair Jacobs said that it has been helpful to hear everything. He said that he has
brought up the issue of gentrification several times, but it was not discussed in detail and was
not part of the charge of the task force. If the task force goes forward, the charge should be
revised.
� Greene Tract Historical Information and Options
Michael Talbert said that the Greene Tract was purchased in 1984 and it was 164 acres.
As it transitioned from Chapel Hill to Orange County, the interlocal agreement gave 60 acres to
remain as an asset of solid waste and 104 acres would be conveyed to Orange County, the
Town of Chapel Hill, and the Town of Carrboro, based on the percentages of 43%, 43%, and
14%. There was a condition that the entities will pay back the solid waste fund so that there
would be adequate funds for the future for landfill closure costs. All of this transpired between
2001-2008. In 2001, there was a Greene Tract work group that came back with
recommendations. Over the years there have been many potential discussions of uses of the
Greene Tract and there have been no decisions made. One would be open space to be
protected by conservation easement. Another option is affordable housing, with acreage to be
placed in a land trust. Another option is for a future elementary school site for CHCCS. There
are two attachments with detail of the history of the property. After everything has been repaid,
there will be a little over$1 million that has been repaid back to the Solid Waste Fund.
Mayor Chilton asked how much land the CHCCS needs for a school site here.
Michael Talbert said that eight years ago the CHCCS discussed needing 10-12 acres.
Mayor Chilton asked about the acreage for affordable housing.
Michael Talbert said that it was about 18 acres.
Commissioner Gordon said that OCS and CHCCS projections are in the packets. For
CHCCS, the needs projected over the next 10 years are for an elementary school in 2012-13, a
middle school in 2017-18, and a high school in 2020-21. She said that there are not a lot of
school sites identified.
CHCCS staff inember Bill Mullin, Executive Director of School Facilities, said that there is also
another elementary school needed in 2017.
Alderman Gist said that just because there is land does not mean that it has to be used.
There will be future generations that might need it.
Chair Jacobs pointed out the possible school construction schedules on page 2. He said
that he has never heard any particular opposition to the school site at the Greene Tract. He
said that a lot of decisions were not closed and it would be good to see if everyone is still
generally on the same page.
Mayor Kleinschmidt said that Chapel Hill, after having invited Carrboro and Orange
County to the table, did go through a three-year small area planning process with the Rogers
Road neighborhood, including the Greene Tract. He said that there is a plan that is adopted in
the Chapel Hill comprehensive plan, but it is not in this document. He suggested that everyone
look at the Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan and Small Area Plan for Rogers Road. He said that
people that live next to the Greene Tract have already talked about what they would like to see
and Chapel Hill adopted it.
Commissioner Gordon said that she wanted to emphasize that there are not very many
school sites. In terms of the Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan, she would like to look it over in
more detail. She also agreed with Alderman Gist in that it would be good to have some
preserved land.
Mayor Chilton said that one of the practical issues years ago is that the road access to
this property is poor. He said that it sounds really great to say that all these things will be built
here, but the reality is that there would be some significant investment with infrastructure to
even make it possible to develop.
Mayor Kleinschmidt said that they should have the Chapel Hill SAP in front of them while
they are discussing this.
Michael Talbert said that page 26 of the abstract has a map of the Rogers Road existing
and proposed sewer.
Alderman Gist said that everyone has spent lots of time on committees wondering what
would happen to their work. She apologized to everyone that worked on the small area plan.
She hopes that this will be fixed.
Council Member Harrison said that he has done a lot of work on small area plans in the
past. He said that there was a huge investment of time and expertise from elected officials in
this small area plan.
Alderman Lavelle said that this is a good example of the importance of institutional
history.
Chair Jacobs said that everyone should incorporate the SAP into their thinking of the
Greene Tract, and they can have this discussion in their individual joint meetings with the towns.
He said that most of the work has been done.
Mayor Chilton said that Carrboro is only a 14% stakeholder from a real estate point of
view and it is in Chapel Hill's planning jurisdiction. He said that he is optimistic that the
conversations in March between Orange County and Chapel Hill will be fruitful. He said that the
call from 10 years ago when this was last under discussion was that the affordable housing
component of all of this was of particular concern of the Board of Aldermen. He does not see
why this would be different today than it was then. He said that the Board of Aldermen remains
keenly interested in this.
� County Update on the Capital Investment Needs for Schools and School Sites
Based on the School Districts Student Enrollment Proiections and Schools Adequate
Public Facilities Ordinance
Chair Jacobs said that Superintendent Rhodes from OCS was in attendance.
Paul Laughton from Finance and Administrative Services said that Clarence Grier is
under the weather tonight, so he was filling in. He said that the County has several capital
needs— Emergency Services, expansion of Southern Human Services Center, construction of
new jail, and future park development. This item is focused on school capital needs for both
systems based on student enrollment projections and the Schools Adequate Public Facilities
Ordinance (SAPFO). He made reference to Attachment B, which has a summary of the CIP for
schools (blue sheet).
Council Member Harrison left at 9:09 PM.
Planning Director Craig Benedict summarized Attachment A (School Level of Service (LOS),
Capacity, Membership, and Membership Increases). He explained the level of service figures.
Chair Jacobs noted that when the State mandated reduced class sizes it also took away
school construction money from the County. He commended Commissioner Gordon for
working so hard on SAPFO.
Commissioner Gordon said that Attachment A is a snapshot and it gives information
showing when schools are needed. She said that if you look at 2012-13 for CHCCS, there is a
school needed because the school capacity went over 105%.
Council Member Pease said that Chapel Hill Town Council has been shown plans for
growth in Chapel Hill. He asked if there was any commonality between all the different bodies
that are doing growth projections and if there is any agreement about what growth is going to
look like.
Craig Benedict said that there have been similar questions about the growth that will
occur countywide. The projections are based on history.
Mayor Chilton asked when an elementary school would be needed in OCS, based on
the model. Craig Benedict said that it would be 2020-21. However, there is a substantial
amount of growth occurring on the Orange County side of Mebane. If these children begin
showing up in the schools, this will affect the future projections.
Mayor Chilton said that there is a constant demand for new schools in CHCCS and there
is a much slower pace of demand for additional schools in OCS. He said that there is a lot of
unused space at the middle school level in OCS.
Council Member Ward asked about legal challenges to SAPFO and whether there is
anything on the horizon from the legislature.
Chair Jacobs said that the County has never invoked the CAPS that would prevent
development from continuing under SAPFO.
Orange County Staff Attorney Jennifer Galassi said that this is something County
Attorney John Roberts has spoken to the Board of County Commissioners about. There is a
petition from outside the county where Cabarrus County's SAPFO was struck down. This might
be an issue in the future and the SAPFO may have to be amended.
Commissioner Pelissier said that Orange County really needs the assistance from all
towns to help work with the school systems to find sites for new schools. If all of these schools
were built, the County would have to allocate $100 million in debt before 2018.
� Information Items (No Presentations)
• Southern Orange County Government Services Campus Master Plan
• Proposed New Jail Facility in Hillsborough
• Steps to Implement New Transit Sales Tax and Vehicle Tag Fees Update
� Adiournment
The meeting adjourned at 9:42 PM.
Barry Jacobs, Chair
Donna S. Baker, CMC
Clerk to the Board