HomeMy WebLinkAboutPolicy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects 3
Attachment 1
R Revised for BOCC approval on 11/21/00
ORANGE COUNTY
Clarification of Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects
(This document is intended to clarify the expectations of the Orange County Board of Commissioners in
collaborating with the Boards of Education in planning for and implementing school capital projects. On
October 17, 2000, the Board of Commissioners adopted the policy in concept. On November], 2000, the
Board requested that staff make minor changes and bring the final version back on November 21, 2000 for
affirmation. Bold italic type indicates changes from the November 1,2000 version of this policy.)
1. Background
The County's ten year capital investment plan is a planning document that is updated annually.
Before the beginning of each fiscal year, the Board of County Commissioners approves the
funding plan in concept. However, funding of individual projects is contingent upon the scope
of work required to complete the project.
• Level 1 Projects: Level one projects are those projects that have a relatively small scope
of work and can be accomplished using a single prime contractor, in-house staff or entail
purchasing equipment and vehicles. Specific examples of Level 1 projects include
roofing projects, parking lot paving and re-wiring of existing buildings. The Board
approves the entire project ordinance at one time.
• Level 2 Projects: Level two projects are major projects that require several phases to
complete. For these projects, the Board of County Commissioners approves a four-phase
appropriation process to include:
• Concept/Pre-Planning Phase (includes preliminary programming and design work
that would result in conceptual drawings and preliminary cost estimates.
• Planning Phase(including siting& infrastructure)
• Design and Construction Approval Phase (including final design, equipment, furnishings,
non-recurring start up, technology, contingency)
• Schools have the latitude to shift funds between major components without
prior BOCC approval, providing that the actual cost of the project does not
exceed budget.
• Superintendents will provide the County Manager with written project
updates at their regular monthly meetings. In turn, the County Manager will
provide the Board of County Commissioners with written progress reports
related to the project.
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• Final Accounting Phase
■ Upon completion of the project, School and County staff will reconcile actual
project expenditures with approved budget and provide the BOCC with a
"final accounting" of project.
2. Site Standards
In accordance with North Carolina State Statutes, a local board of education cannot execute a
contract nor expend funds to purchase a facility site without the consent of the local board of
county commissioners. As each school system in Orange County plans for future school-related
facilities, it is important that they adhere to the following guidelines related to the potential
acquisition, either by purchase or donation, of a site, in addition to any siting criteria they may
have established internally:
Potential Sites - The Board of Education is to notify the Orange County Board of
Commissioners, in writing, whenever they have tentatively identified a potential
school site for purchase, or if a potential donor indicates interest in donating a site to
the system. The written correspondence should provide the following information for
Commissioner consideration:
• Location, including tax map numbers, of the potential site;
• Opportunities for additional facilities to be co-located as a park site, as
outlined in the "Memorandum of Agreement for Providing Coordinated Site
and Facility Planning";
• The availability of public utilities within the urban services boundaries of the
County;
• If a donated site:
• Any knowledge of a donor's plans for adjacent development;
• Special considerations or expectations the donor may have referenced in
initial discussions pertaining to the donation;
Upon receipt of the Board of Education's notification, the Commissioners will
appoint, by a majority vote of the Board, a representative to work directly with the
Board of Education. As a partner with the school system, the Commissioner
representative will receive information and provide input regarding talks and
negotiations related to the potential site. The Commissioner representative will share
information regarding the progress of talks and negotiations of the potential site with
other members of the Board of Commissioners.
Environmental Factors—A school system is to pay particular attention to the physical
environment surrounding the site and new facility.
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• In order to avoid future flood hazards, a facility should not be located in close
proximity to wetlands, stream buffers, or in a flood plain. Facility siting should
also avoid other physical factors that create either additional construction or
longer-term maintenance problems, or other unfavorable environmental impacts.
• Once a system acquires a site and before grading begins, each school system
receives State approval of its erosion control plan and additional County review to
ensure that unnecessary cutting of trees or clearing of land does not occur.
Adequate natural buffers are to be left intact with existing trees, or replanted if the
areas are disturbed during construction. Special attention should be paid to
"specimen"trees as outlined in the County land development code.
Road and Utility Requirements —Major elements for a system to consider in siting a
new facility relate to infrastructure requirements by a Town or other public utility. In
some recent instances, the systems have been required to provide costly infrastructure
such as sidewalks and road improvements. These elements greatly inflate
construction costs of new facilities. As a system begins initial planning, there should
be a joint meeting between elected Town, County and Education officials to discuss
particular requirements that all parties expect of other project partners.
3. Building Design Standards
As a school system selects a particular facility design, it is important that the most cost-effective
design alternative be pursued. Historically in Orange County, new school buildings have been
designed uniquely for each particular project. The Board of Commissioners encourages systems
to pursue non-traditional, or prototype, designs that can be replicated for use on more than one
project. Should a system choose a unique design, it is to provide a detailed cost comparison
analysis and justification in writing of why that particular approach was chosen over a prototype
design.
4. Construction Standards
Over the past few years, the County has given special attention to defining construction
standards for each school level-elementary, middle and high schools. The standards provide a
minimum and maximum square footage and student capacity for each level. As a system
undertakes construction of a new facility, it is,critical that the system adheres to the most recent
school construction standards (estimated project cost should include a reasonable allowance for
inflation).
The Commissioners agree to provide funding for new school facilities that are designed within
the adopted standards. They do not agree to fund projects that go beyond the adopted standards
unless there is sufficient justification provided in writing by the Board of Education. One
justification for going beyond the standards relates to co-location of facilities, in particular
recreational facilities. In this case, the system must provide detailed explanations outlining the
benefits to be offered to the community and citizens, in the context of the intergovernmental
"Memorandum of Agreement for Providing Coordinated Site and Facility Planning" and the
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"Orange County Parklands Acquisition and Evaluation Criteria" adopted by the Board of
Commissioners on December 7, 1999.
5. Project Approval
A project's inclusion in the ten-year plan does not give the Schools or the County legal authority
to expend funds. The legal authority to expend funds lies in County Commissioner approved
capital project ordinances. Therefore, the schools should not incur any expenses for any capital
project until the Board of County Commissioners approves the capital project ordinance.
In order to provide timely flow of the approval process and ensure that all elements are
addressed, the following steps should be followed:
• Details included in each system's ten-year Capital Investment Plans regarding the scope and
timing of various phases of individual capital projects is limited. To that end, as individual
Boards of Education begin discussions related to new capital projects (new construction, site
acquisitions, major renovations, etc), they will be expected, in writing, to notify the Board of
County Commissioners of the substance of those discussions. The memorandum from the
School Board will:
• Provide the Commissioners with an overview of the project concept along with other
project specifics that the Board of Education has defined to that point;
• Justify the need based on current school capacities and projected student enrollments
consistent with the School Adequate Public Facility Ordinance (if the Ordinance is in
effect at this time);
• Provide a preliminary cost projection of the project based upon the adopted school
construction standards and provisions of the Cost Effective Facilities Initiative (CEFI),
which has derived from earlier discussions about "value engineering" (if this policy is in
effect at this time);
• Request that the Board of Commissioners approve a capital project ordinance to provide
funding for the initial planning phase of the project;
• Instruct the Superintendent to update the County Manager, in writing, of the project's
progress at his/her monthly meetings with the County Manager.
• Upon receipt of the memorandum from the Board of Education, the Board of
Commissioners will:
• Act upon the project concept by either approving it or asking the Board of Education to
amend the concept plan;
• Instruct County staff to confirm the project's cost estimate and student capacity in
accordance with the County's adopted School Construction Standards Reports along
with student enrollment projections;
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• If the Board of Commissioners approves the project concept, the County Budget Director
will prepare an agenda abstract and related capital project ordinance that provides
funding for the concept and pre-planning phase of the project;
• Appoint,by majority vote of the Board, either a Commissioner representative (preferably
the same representative that participated in the siting phase of the project) and one staff
representative, or two staff representatives, to partner with the school system as the plans
develop;
• Instruct the County Manager to update the Commissioners on a regular basis regarding
the written information shared by the School Superintendent.
6. Expenditure of Project Funds
Funding for Project Planning- School systems will not expend or encumber for planning of
any project until the Board of County Commissioners has approved the plan concept.
Background-For several years, the Board of Commissioners has approved a capital project
ordinance entitled Planning for Future Projects for each school system. The creation of
these ordinances enabled a system to expend a portion of their pay-as-you-go funds for
planning during a project's conceptual stages. Once a project grew beyond the concept
stages, systems requested the Commissioners to approve a "project specific" capital project
ordinance allocating all funds anticipated to carry out the planned project. In turn, each
district expended their monies up-front for planning, design, architect, construction,
furniture and equipment. In return, the County reimbursed each District with all of the
project-related expenditures up to the total project budget.
With the changes implemented by the County Commissioners in June 1999, this process
has changed. It is important to note that unless a County approved capital project ordinance
is in place (i.e. adopted by the County Commissioners), that the County is not legally or
otherwise obligated to reimburse the school system for their expenditures. If the Board of
County Commissioners approve the project concept and capital project ordinance as
outlined in Item 5 above, the following steps occur:
• Following Board of Commissioner approval of final plans for the project, the school
system advertises for construction bids;
• Once the system receives the bids, the School Superintendent notifies the County
Manager, in writing, of the result of all bids received.
• The County Manager informs the Board of Commissioners, in writing, of the
construction bid results.
7. Submission Timelines
• While the Board of Education may receive the bids, it should not execute any contract
until the Board of County Commissioners receives bid information and approves a
capital project ordinance for the construction phase of the project;
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• Generally, the Board of Commissioners conducts regular meetings on the first and
third Tuesday of each month. To allow for timely preparation of the meeting agenda,
the following timelines should be followed by staff:
• Twenty-one days prior to the Board of Commissioners meeting, the School Finance
or Budget Director or the Director of Facilities provides the County Budget Director
with:
• Bid Tabulation of School Construction or Major Renovation Project (example
included as Attachment 1 of this Memorandum)
• Any other pertinent information regarding the project.
• Fourteen days prior to the meeting, the County Budget Director submits a draft
agenda abstract including the bid tabulation and capital project ordinance to the
County Manager's office for review. The Budget Director forwards (via e-mail or
fax) a copy of the abstract and attachments to the School Finance or Budget Director
and the Director of Facilities for review and comments.
• Ten days prior to the meeting, the School Finance or Budget Director and the
Director of Facilities provide abstract revisions and comments to the County Budget
Director.
• Seven days prior to the meeting the County Budget Director submits final agenda
abstract and attachments to the County Manager's Office. A copy of the abstract and
attachments are forwarded (via e-mail or fax) to the school system.
Upon adoption by the Board of Commissioners, the County Budget Director informs the School
Finance and Budget Director and the County Finance Director of the abstract approval and the
assigned account number(s). This is done via a standard memorandum that indicates purpose and
account codes.
• All requests for payment from the School Finance Directors are forwarded to the County
Finance Department for payment. The County Finance Department ensures that the
requisition for payment falls within the purposes approved by the Board of Education.
8. Change Orders
The School Superintendent submits, in writing, to the County Manager all contract change
orders for the project. Upon receipt of the information, the County Budget Director prepares an
agenda abstract and an amended capital project ordinance for approval by the Board of
Commissioners at their next scheduled meeting. If there are change orders that cause project
expenditures to be over budget, the School district must receive approval from the Board of
Commissioners prior to approving the change order.
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Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects
Orange County
Parklands Acquisition and Evaluation Criteria
(adopted 12/7/99)
Number .Criteria Note: All criteria area livable and willbe used for evaluation)
1 The existence of matching funds from a requesting jurisdiction, with the expectation of at least 1:1
match in funding
2 Existence of prior partnerships and previous commitments to the same entity
3 Relationship to the inventory of existing facilities and lands
4 Potential for grants and other funding opportunities
5 Cost of project, relative to available County resources
6 Completion of existing projects with an adopted facility plan
7 Contains a site identified in the Inventory of Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats of Orange County,
N.C.
8 tibility of planned park use with adjacent land uses
9 Appropriate intensi of land use for the surrounding area
10 Geographic location relative to the area to be served (central location for the target population), as
well as location relative to the number of people served
11 Promotes continuity of wildlife corridors, greenways and linear parks
12 Land is adjacent to new or existing schools
13 Land for active recreation is suitable and appropriate for the planned uses (i.e., avoids wetlands and
environmentally-sensitive lands
14 Ac uisition would further purposes of Upper Eno and New Hoe Corridor preservation efforts
15 Access (transportation) is safe and easily-accomplished
161 Meeting multiple goals of the above gets higher weighting
IL
Commissioner Hohkotis asked for information from Chapel Hill ontheir experiences vvith
CNG vehicles. David Stancil said that the contact person was Bill Terry and that he would be glad to
get some information.
C}onnnnisoionerJauobooshedforadditionm| inforrnmtionpnhovvthmsevehin|aoanevvorking
elsewhere. He asked about.the refueling station and if there is any consideration of making this
available to anyone other than County government. David Stanci| said that a long-term goal \oto
have the refueling station used by others.
Commissioner B-rown,asked if the grant application was ready and David Stancil said that
it would be another two weeks before the grant application would be ready.
Chair Carey asked if the request for additional information was intended to hold up the
development of the application process or to approve the grant and have these other questions
included and answered inthe evaluation process.
David Stancil said that if the County applies and gets the grant, the County would be
obligated for at least the project auout|inadinthegnontapp|iomt(onforthafinotyemrofthep ja«t.
John Link suggested proceeding with finishing the application and taking the item up at the
retreat on December 9 m or the work session on December 12 m.
A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to table
this item to either December 9th or 12m with the authorization to continue with the grant application
process.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS'NONE
8. ITEMS FOR DECISION -CONSENT AGENDA
otion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve
the items on the Consent Agenda as stated below:
a. Property Tax Refunds
The Board approved two requests for property tax refunds, resulting in a net decrease in
revenue of$1,167.53, in accordance with the resolution that is incorporated herein by reference.
b. Property Value Changes
The Board approved property value changes made after the 2000 Board of Equalization
and Review had adjourned, resulting in a net decrease in revenue of$4,107.61, in accordance with
the resolution that in incorporated herein by reference.
C. Application for Proi)eqy Tax Exemption
The Board approved an untimely application for an exemption from ad valorem taxes for
the 2000 tax year, resulting in a reduction of 2000 taxes due to the County, municipalities, and special
districts in the amount of$1,372.02, in accordance with the resolution that is incorporated herein by
reference.
d. Late Application for Homestead Property Exemption
The Board approved one late application for granting a homestead exemption for the 2000
tax year, resulting ina reduction of 2DDO taxes due 10 the County, municipalities, and special districts
in the amount of$241.40, in accordance with the resolution that is incorporated herein by reference.
e. Request to Release two Land-use Deferred Tax Notices
The Board approved a request for release of two 2000 Land-use Deferred tax notices,
resulting in a net decrease in revenue of$1,362.95, in accordance with the resolution that is
incorporated herein by reference.
f. Budget Amendment#4
The Board approved a budget ordinance amendment and e capital project ond|noncefor
Pathways Elementary School.
g. Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Prooects
The Board adopted a policy on planning and funding school capital projects.
h. Technical Services for Renovation of Planning and Ag Building
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