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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 02-21-2013 APPROVED 4/9/2013 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING February 21, 2013 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Joint Meeting with the Town of Hillsborough Commissioners on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in the Link Government Services Center, in Hillsborough, North Carolina. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Alice Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Mark Dorosin COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Annette Moore COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Assistant County Managers Michael Talbert and Clarence Grier, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens and Commissioners Eric Hallman, Brian Lowen, Frances Dancy, Evelyn Lloyd, and Michael Gering HILLSBOROUGH COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: HILLSBOROUGH STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Eric Peterson Welcome and Opening Remarks (Mayor Tom Stevens and Chair Barry Jacobs) Chair Jacobs said Commissioner Dorosin was out of town and was unable to attend and Commissioner McKee would be attending but would be late. Mayor Stevens said that Evelyn Lloyd will be a little late. 1. Coordinated Planning Efforts a. Update on Town of Hillsborough Future Land Use Plan Town of Hillsborough Planning Director Margaret Hauth referred to a map (attachment 1 B) that had been seen previously by Board members. She said that the established boundary on the map is the first step the town needed to take to move along the coordinated planning agreement. She said that the boundary is in the coordinated planning agreement for annexation and utility extension area for the town. This exceeds current city limits and ETJ (Extra-territorial Jurisdiction) and establishes future land use for all of the areas. She said the town incorporated most of the comments from the Board of County Commissioners on land use and the Town's planning board approved all of it last night with the exception of one minor change. She said the town is ready to proceed with this, which will also allow the coordinated planning agreement to move forward. Chair Jacobs asked if they had talked about the changes in annexation laws as it relates to this plan. Mayor Stevens said they have not had much discussion about the legislative decisions on annexation. He said where there are properties with a single owner wanting to develop property, this is allowed; but where there are neighborhoods with numerous land owners, it can be problematic. Margaret Hauth said most of their annexations have been voluntary. Commissioner Rich asked for an explanation of what it means to amend boundaries. Margaret Hauth said they will be moving some residents into their ETJ and some out of the ETJ and back into the county, which involves re-zoning for each of those property owners. She said that those property owners have to be notified and there is a process of working through that change with them. She said that as properties are moved from one jurisdiction to another, it has to be moved from one zoning category to another. Commissioner Rich asked how many people would be affected. Margaret Hauth said it is more than a few but not an extraordinary number. She used a map to point out areas that will be subject to change. She said there will be 624 acres to be added and 489 acres to go out. Margaret Hauth said their Town Board has to formally approve and adopt the plan and then it will come back to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration, along with the request to amend ETJs in late March or early April. Chair Jacobs asked about public hearings and Margaret Hauth said they will be forthcoming. Town Commissioner Hallman asked if this included the mutual courtesy review process. Margaret Hauth said yes, the courtesy review is already in place and the coordinated planning will go beyond that. b. Central Orange Coordinated Area (COCA) Land Use Plan Tom Altieri, Comprehensive Planning Supervisor for Orange County, said the initial step is for the Town to adopt this future land use plan for not only town use areas and ETJ, but also for the areas designated as urbanizing per the interlocal agreement. He referred to orange and blue areas on the map (attachment 1 B). Once this is done the county has the opportunity to adopt the land uses as prescribed by the town, adding land uses for the broader area shown in white on the map being displayed. He said this will then become the joint land use plan for both boards to consider. He said the purpose of the coordinated land use plan is to differentiate and designate those areas that are to remain rural from those that are to have urban services. Tom Altieri presented a draft outline and time table for their review. He referred to the following items on the timeline: 1) March — Town Board will consider its land use plan, and 2) April — County Commissioners will receive this plan as well as the formal outline and timetable for consideration and approval. He said the time period will allow for any negotiations necessary between the town and county. He said they have provided comments from the county on one occasion and the town was very responsive. He said he expects some discussion about the land use in the white areas on the map. There will probably be county outreach at two different times during the process. He said the county and town will need to adopt a plan that both entities can adopt. He said that once this is adopted, the town and county would need to work independently to incorporate the map and land uses into its land use ordinances. He said this is a two step process. The first step is to adopt the land use plan, map, designations and descriptions of the areas. The second step would include subsequent public hearings to implement that plan into the town and county ordinances and ETJs swapped, as mentioned earlier. Commissioner Pelissier asked if there are requirements for this process to notify property owners of the public hearing. Tom Altieri said there would be some requirements and the county has its own requirements outlined in the unified development ordinance. He said that land use plan public hearing notices are advertised in newspapers, sent out via emails to owners on the distribution list. There is no first class mail for these. He said this would be the case for the first hearing to adopt the map and designations. He said that for the second step to formally amend the 2030 comprehensive plan and incorporate those uses onto the county future land use map, there are state and county requirements to notify by first class mail. Commissioner Pelissier asked if it wasn't a little late by the second hearing, when people are actually notified by mail, to make any changes. She said she has some concerns about this. Town Commissioner Lloyd arrived at 7:18 PM. Tom Altieri said that step one, which is being worked on now, has included some notification and some community meetings and input. This first step is more germane to the town. The second piece relates to the broader white area. He said the attempt to break it up makes it more manageable and prevents an unnecessarily large scale mailing. Frank Clifton asked how much the white boundary would be changing. Margaret Hauth said it is a new boundary that has not existed before, but it is the same as it was when the agreement was adopted to start down this road five years ago. Frank Clifton asked about the specific impact on the people living in the white area as far as reviews, and approvals. Tom Altieri said it would be primarily the county and the town has no role in the white area. Frank Clifton asked about the notifications to the people in the white area and Tom Altieri said, in step two, there would be notifications in the white area with regard to any changes in land use or zoning. Frank Clifton noted that most of this area is rural and questioned how they would be notified. Tom Altieri said this process in general is outlined in the inter-local agreement between both boards. Craig Benedict said that the general understanding is that if this area does not remain rural around Hillsborough the impact of sprawl in that area would impact Hillsborough. He said that, if Orange County were to ever consider higher or lower density, the impact of the rural area is of common interest to Hillsborough, though not necessarily regulated by Hillsborough. Chair Jacobs said the white area on the map was at one point a fifty-year water and service area envisioned by Hillsborough and then recognized as not feasible. Margaret Hauth said not all of it, but a good portion of it. Chair Jacobs said this is vestige of older maps and older plans adjusted with a rural buffer to the south, watershed to the west and a differentiation between Durham and Hillsborough and the Eno River State Park to the east. This only left the north as an option for movement up. Frank Clifton said he wanted to make the point that many of these residents are quite a distance from Hillsborough proper. Commissioner Gordon said the key question is regarding what happens in the white area. She said the first step is to notify the people in the blue and orange areas, then it is stated that the people in the white area are to be notified if the zoning and land use are to be changed. She asked for clarification of what would change in the white area to necessitate notification. Tom Altieri gave an example, using the rural buffer, which has a zoning district that applies to it - "rural buffer". This enables the county to have a different residential zoning density in that area. He said the white area does not currently show up in the town's zoning, and if the county were to suggest that the density be different in the white areas, some zoning district would need to be created. This would be a re-zoning that would require property owners to be notified. Commissioner Gordon noted that this implies that the property owners might be affected in some way, which raises the question of whether they should be involved earlier in the process. Craig Benedict said that before any changes are made in the white area they will notify residents of any proposed changes. He noted similar debates during the late 80's in the planning process of determining some of the rural zoning density. This was eventually voted on as one unit per two acres. The thought was that if it stayed at the previous number of one unit per one acre, it would not be a low enough zone to protect the rural lifestyle and to differentiate it from the urban environment. Similarly, there is still one unit per one acre in other areas and if the soil will accommodate the well and septic needs of this number, it could add up to quite a few units. He noted that this will add traffic to what is already a traffic concern area. He said that will be a decision through the public hearing process of notifying the public and working with the County Commissioners to make a determination about the white area. Commissioner Gordon questioned whether the plan and map are really formally adopted in step one, or step two. Tom Altieri said this would be a process similar to the small area plans, (i.e. Efland, Mebane) where the County Commissioners adopt a plan in one public hearing and then in a second public hearing goes through the first class mail process before formally making changes. Commissioner Gordon clarified that this means it is not formally done until step two and Tom Altieri said that is correct. Commissioner Price she does not know if there is any need to worry about the white area. The critical part is the ETJ and the blue and orange area. Chair Jacobs said what he is hearing is that the white area will not change unless the county proposes a change. He noted that at this point there are no zoning change proposals in the white area other than those that are already part of the agreement, the gray and the blue. Margaret Hauth said the light blue are outside their urban service boundary, where there are already water lines in the ground. She said there is no impact to the light blue areas under the agreements. c. Safe Routes to Schools (STST) Action Plan Update Abigaile Pittman, Transportation Planner for Orange County, reviewed the history of the Safe Routes to School action plan, as outlined on pages two and three of the meeting abstract. She gave details regarding the revisions to federal and state funding sources, specifically the federal funding, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21St Century Bill (MAP 21), in which Safe Routes to School direct allocation funds were removed. She said that NC Department of Transportation staff has told the planning staff that safety loop funds will continue to be available to the program with the nine competitive rolling grant cycles. She said this program is a reimbursement program that does not require local management and is 100 percent federally funded. She said that when applying for federal reimbursement grants, the county and town should budget funds and set up accounts to expend those funds until DOT has reimbursed the project costs. After identification of projects, the county would apply through the DOT Division 7 office and funding is based on project priority with as much local support as possible from PTA groups, etc. Town Commissioner Lowen asked for clarification on CW Stanford Middle School as a choice and asked what determined why these schools were chosen and not the schools next to them. Commissioner McKee arrived at 7:36 PM Craig Benedict gave some history on the project and said that the advisory board had several representatives and advocates were affiliated with the schools in Orange County. They determined that accomplishments could be made with the schools stated here. He said, with Stanford, there is some expandability to cover up to the high school. Town Commissioner Lowen said that many of these sidewalks will benefit all schools because of proximity to one another. Craig Benedict said there are some implementation actions that the Board can identify. Abigaile Pittman said she heard from DOT that the projects given priority are the projects that serve multiple sites. Craig Benedict said that Orange High and CW Stanford have that proximity and should move up the priority list. Commissioner Price said that there was also more concern with younger children, many of whom walk, getting to school, whereas most high school students were driving. Chair Jacobs said it would be an enhancement to incorporate the mention of the high schools into discussion of the routes. Commissioner Gordon said the staff needs to find out from DOT why this project is handled in this way. Abigaile Pittman said that the locations chosen all had some common deficiencies such as high speed traffic, no sidewalk connectivity to neighborhoods, incidents of bicycle crashes and pedestrian accidents in the area, and extensive planned residential growth. Chair Jacobs asked for feedback on their request. d. North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Rail Crossings Plans in and near Hillsborough Abigaile Pittman, citing primarily from page three of the meeting abstract, said in September 2012 the Planning Department received a solicitation for comments from the NCDOT Rail Division with regard to proposed private crossing closures with the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR)/Norfolk Southern (NS) Railway crossings at Gordon Thomas Drive, Greenbriar Drive, and Byrdsville Road in Orange County. This railroad track is part of the SE High Speed Rail corridor, which when complete, will provide high speed passenger rail service between Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, NC. NCDOT requested that the County provide scoping comments to be used in the preparation of a proposed Environmental Assessment (EA). Initial comments were sent to the NCDOT Rail Division in November 2012, and a response letter was received in December 2012. Citizens Informational Workshops were held by the NCDOT Rail Division in January for all three proposed private railroad crossing closures, and a summary of public comments is available. The BOCC discussed and added comments at its meeting on February 19th and a second comment letter was approved and sent to NCDOT. Abigail Pittman said the primary comments expressed a need for greater clarity regarding, 1. Which alternate access roads will be improved and/or constructed roads accepted into the state system, 2. More specific details regarding proposed right of way and pavement widths, 3. Storm drain details and pavement standards and 4. The anticipated schedule for required right of way or easement apposition for relocation of property structures. Margaret Hauth said the Town of Hillsborough has been engaged with the State to co- sponsor a traffic separation study of crossing closures in west Hillsborough. She said there has been one meeting, at which the town and North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) has requested scoping changes that have delayed this project. She said the town has committed to fund the data items it requested on traffic counts and actual numbers, and NCRR has not yet committed to fund the study items it was interested in, so the project is at an indefinite standstill until funding is in place. Commissioner McKee asked if any crossing closings were planned in the areas inside the town proper and if so, how many. Margaret Hauth designated the two in West Hillsborough. Commissioner McKee said at the public information meetings held for the residents, DOT was giving out erroneous and contradictory information regarding possible roads to be used for alternative access. Margaret Hauth said she heard similar feedback from attendees at the first meeting and this was the reason for a request for specific data counts to assess true impact on the citizens. Abigaile Pittman said she had seen this same issue at a previous closing and a traffic study was requested. Chair Jacobs questioned how traffic would detour if both crossings were closed in West Hillsborough. Margaret Hauth said the agreement was that if either of the crossings were closed or modified, then mitigation funds could be brought forward for real improvements to the trestle. If agreement cannot be reached on an action plan then those funds would not be triggered. She said she has not seen, even a rendering yet of what those funds might produce. Craig Benedict said another joint planning effort between Orange County and Hillsborough is the Orange Grove Road master plan and the crossing that goes into the mobile home park there has been mentioned. He said planning has gone on between Hillsborough and Orange County and now if DOT plans to close a crossing, there will also need to be assistance with re-routing. He said this re-routing may include an Orange Grove Road extension. He said that the discussion in the meetings stressed that the residents affected are both Orange County and Hillsborough residents and the big picture needs to be considered. He also said that, on the west side of Hillsborough, the Eno Mountain Bridge needs to be used. He said that if you use a western bypass, you can't go to the north side of the Eno and not take it anywhere. He said there needs to be a furtherance of the Eno Crossing. Chair Jacobs said there had been discussion of connecting Mayo Street to Eno Mountain Road to allow a bypass of Hillsborough to reduce downtown traffic. He noted that if the crossings were closed, this option would be eliminated. Margaret Hauth said the bridge over the Eno is not angled to allow a convenient connection to West Hill Ave and would have to be connected somewhere else, thus putting the trestle in play. Abigaile Pittman said that the larger picture is at play in the discussions of several of the crossing closings, especially Greenbrier and the connectivity with other plans in the area. She said that the response that is heard consistently says DOT needs to work with the larger picture. Town Commissioner Lloyd said if they were to close the West Hill Avenue or Bellevue, it would be impossible to get through those routes and she said that the fire department and EMS would object. Chair Jacobs said Congressman Coble, who is on the House Transportation Committee, represents Eno Township, where the entry change is located for I-85, and most of the widening east of Hillsborough is in his Congressional District. Chair Jacobs said that perhaps he would be a source of help for some of these issues in the future. 2. Transit a) Update on Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan (OCBRIP) Implementation Craig Benedict said Orange County invested in this bus and rail investment plan last year through the approval of the half cent sales tax and that plan was part of a document approved by the MPO. He said this set forth that the money would be spent for a light rail system from the hospital, out 54, up I-40 and 15-501 into Duke University and around to North Carolina Central. He said a bus service with 40,000 hours was also included, with 34,000 hours in the first five years. He noted that 34,000 hours of service equates to 10 or 11 new buses with 2,000 to 3,000 hours per bus route. He said it is time for the implementation of the master plan and Orange County has a tri- party agreement with the Durham/Chapel Hill/ Carrboro MPO and Triangle Transit on how to implement this. He said there are criteria set forth about how much revenue is expected and cost and expenditures. He said that Orange County staff has begun meetings with Triangle Transit knowing that money for the half cent tax will be assessed beginning April 1. He said there is a lot of work to be done before you initialize a new route. He said that one of the most important routes is the proposed east/west route between Mebane, Efland, Hillsborough and Duke Hospital. He said he is not sure if a full cross county route can be implemented or if it will start in Hillsborough and go to Durham. He said Triangle Transit has suggested that they are able to do the route but studies are ongoing to see if it can be done more economically by Orange Public Transportation. He said that the route between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill, the 420 route, was started by OPT, then taken over by Triangle Transit, who hired Chapel Hill Transit to run the lines. There are ongoing talks with the Hillsborough community to figure the best way to potentially intersect the new east/west route mentioned earlier with the 420 route and the circulator route to create a bus hub in Hillsborough to service multiple purposes. He said they are also looking at the addition of other rural services, and possible funding of an Amtrak Rail Station in Hillsborough. He said that the rail system is still in the planning and funding stages to see if Federal Transit Administration will approve the application of 1.4 billion dollars in funds to be shared between Orange and Durham County. He noted that this project is still 3-4 years from a next step. Chair Jacobs asked if the Board could expect periodic updates on this project. Craig Benedict said yes. He said that Triangle Transit is required to put forth yearly updates on revenues, expenditures and costs. He noted another part of the investment plan is the Martin Luther King Boulevard area, which is suggested for a Bus Rapid Transit route. He said the funding data for this has to be reported on an annual basis and this discussion is had in November of each year. He said that this year is a formative year and there is ongoing development of new routes, expanded hours, and weekend service. He noted the increased demand and need for the east/west cross county public transit. Commissioner Pelissier asked who the lead would be in making the Hillsborough Rail Station happen and what Orange County's role would be in this project. Craig Benedict said there should be resolution from all local governments as they move forward and Triangle Transit, as the implementer, should be involved. He said that it will be important to make assessments and establish good ridership numbers and route descriptions in the formative stages of finding the strongest route. He said the train station is at 80% funding. Margaret Hauth said there are a number of different grants under different programs as they work on funding. Commissioner McKee said during most of the Board of County Commissioners' discussion the Mebane to Durham route was presented as a unified route. He said the Hillsborough Rail Station was a late entrant into the plan and he hoped that it would not be an early exit out of the plan. He said that whether federal and state money comes through or not, there will be an amount of money generated by the half cent sales tax and there will be intense competition for that money due to a high number of public transportation needs throughout the county. He said that for the five priorities listed in the plan, it is important to look out for all of the county, but especially the areas that do not have other funding sources. He said that town has its own transportation needs and the connection between the 420 route and a Mebane/Durham route would create an ideal interconnectivity. He said that it will be important to stay on top of things and not let the train station have an early exit, and to insist that the Mebane to Durham route not become a Hillsborough to Durham route. He said that the rural parts of the county are a priority in terms of receiving these promised services earlier, rather than later. Town Commissioner Lowen asked if the Mebane to Durham route would run along Highway 70. Craig Benedict said that is the current thought. He said they have thought about the Tanger Parking lot as a park and ride, as well as the Mebane Walmart if that does not work out. He said the route along 70 to Efland will likely use the North Hillsborough shopping center along 70, and Triangle Transit thinks the route should go down 85 into Durham. He said there is debate that staying on 70 would be just as fast, and this will be tested. Town Commissioner Lowen said he would love to see improvements along Hwy 70 and he said that, thinking about folks north of town coming to Hillsborough, a park and ride would alleviate a lot of traffic from coming through town. He said that the area being used for parking now is not an ideal location and the proposed new park and ride brings opportunities for growth and development along that corridor. Craig Benedict said that is an important hub. Commissioner Gordon underscored that it is going to be very important for the representatives from the various Orange County jurisdictions to work together because there is a competition for the funds outside of the rail funds. She said that 70-75% of the funding is designated for light rail, which leaves the remaining balances to cover all of the bus service. She said this makes it very important that the 25% is put toward bus service and that something doesn't get delayed. She said that Triangle Transit has a ten member board and Chapel Hill and Orange County comprise only two of that number. She said the representation from Orange County on the MPO is four out of nine members. She said that this makes it very important that a common message from Orange County representatives be presented to both of those boards rather than competing messages and efforts. Town Commissioner Hallman asked if there was any discussion about Mebane and Alamance providing some funds. Craig Benedict said there are two agencies in Mebane and Alamance County, Piedmont Area Rapid Transit (PART) has a route dropping off people in Graham and going down 54. He said there are conversations ongoing with PART about providing funding as that route will likely not be needed if an east/west route is established. He also mentioned Alamance County Transit Authority (ACTA) and Mebane provide funding to them, so it is possible to gain some funding from Mebane. Chair Jacobs said he has the same concerns that other Commissioners have about getting regular updates from Triangle Transit and it seems that the board's concerns and input are not being received. He said that the county and the towns have gone out on a limb to make this possible and the sooner that staff can give the elected officials a heads up about items that may not be part of what they voted on from Triangle Transit, the better for everyone. He gave the example of the push for the route to follow 85, thus increasing traffic coming through town to access the bus. He asked the staff to keep the elected officials apprised and to notify them if there is need to write a joint letter. Commissioner Pelissier said she is the Orange County representative on the Triangle Transit Authority and Triangle Transit has met with auditors to work up a report on how much money has come in and how much has been distributed. She said there are efforts to keep the funding separate between Orange County and Durham County and that shared route costs are shared 50/50. She said she has asked that the draft reports are provided to Orange County so that they can make comments. She said the train plan cannot be taken off the whole plan unless all three entities sign off on it. She said that if federal and state funding does not come through, the funding for that project will remain until matching funds are acquired. She said she met with Triangle Transit staff earlier this week about the implementation of the plan about the bus routes, and her understanding is that the rural bus routes are ones that should come before the Board for approval. Craig Benedict said that the east-west route has already been approved and it is up to Triangle Transit to let staff know information on the plan and they will inform the Commissioners. He said the only time there would be a decision process necessary would be if there is a significant change in proposed routes or services. He said there are thresholds set for these types of changes that would require it to come back to the elected officials. Town Manager Eric Peterson said, with regard to the matching funds for the rail station, he would like to know the restriction on how the money is used. Craig Benedict said that the money is earmarked for whatever package is determined. Eric Peterson said there is always a need for a plan B and it may be 5 years down the line and there still may not be any movement on the rail station. He said they want to continue to do their planning and doing a public/private partnership is one possibility for a plan B. He said that using the 20 acres of land and the match funds and putting out a request for proposals, may bring in private money to help build the station and put retail in there to bring in tax money. He said he just wants to make sure that money allocated isn't just for federal match in case federal match does not happen. Commissioner Gordon said Triangle Transit has to follow the plan. She said that the implementation agreement includes a review of the plan every four years. After eight years, they will specifically look at how the grants are coming from the federal and state government. She said that if private money were to come in, she is not sure that the money in the plan could be released before the four year review or even the eight year review. Frank Clifton said that agreement between all three parties involved is required to modify the plan, so if proposals are put forth, there will be a discussion and approval process that has to happen. b) Update Information on Circulator Route: Cost per Hour, Trips per Hour, CMAQ Funding and Beyond Al Terry, Orange County Transportation Administrator. presented some background information on the Circulator Route. The in-town Hillsborough Circulator route began June 6, 2011 with a three year grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program. For the first year, NCDOT waived the local match requirement of 20 percent. The Town of Hillsborough is providing the local match of about$22,000 for the remaining years, while the County will operate the service at no additional cost to the Town. The CMAQ grant will continue until June 30, 2014. Funding from July 1, 2014 forward will need to be identified. The route serves various residential areas around Hillsborough as well as the Library; Orange County Courthouse; Social Services Center at Hillsborough Commons Shopping Center; the Shops at Daniel Boone; UNC Family Practice; Durham Technical Community College satellite campus; Hampton Pointe and Meadowlands Business Park. High volume pick-up points include: the Fairview Community, Coachwood Apartments, and Gateway Apartments. Favorite stops along the route include: the Library, Social Services, Durham Tech Campus and Walmart. The Hillsborough Circulator route was redesigned in October 2011 based on input from users. An additional stop was added at South Nash and Calvin Streets. Staff will provide a route map and operational statistics, along with any other information at the meeting, and the Boards can discuss issues related to this item. Al Terry said he will now review the highlights of the route and the operational statistics, and current and future funding of the circulator route. He said that from July 1 st to December 31 st of 2012, the total number of trips was 7,368; this number indicates the number of passengers. He said the cost per trip is $5.39 and this is lower than the total cost per boarding for Orange Public Transportation. He said the cost per hour for operation is $35.28 and does not include indirect costs; if indirect costs were included, the total cost is $43.09 per hour. He said the trips/passengers per hour is 6.5 and it started out as 3.8/hour. He noted that this is a very high number for a public route. The high volume pick up areas are: 2 - the police station annex, 3 - Hester Whitted, 4 -Whitted Forest off highway 70, 10 - Coachwood, and 11- Gateway. He said the high volume drop-off areas are: The Library, because of its central location; Department of Social Services; Durham Tech, because of its connection to the 420; Food Lion; the courthouse; and Walmart. Al Terry said it takes about 2250 hours to run this route. He noted that once June 30, 2014 comes and the current funds disappear and the agreement with the Town of Hillsborough has disappeared, the funding has to come from somewhere. He said there will be a $96,000 per year operational cost. He said the remainder of this year and all of the 2014 fiscal year, the funding will remain 80% CMAQ funds and 20% Town of Hillsborough. He said this is a highly successful route with about 15,000 riders per year, which hopefully takes a lot of vehicles off the road. It takes about an hour to make the entire route and there are some proposed changes under consideration, however, the plan at this point is to maintain the current schedule. He said the circulator route it is the most successful route that OPT operates. Craig Benedict said there is partial funding in the Orange County Bus and Rail Development plan after the CMAQ funds run out. He said, this includes the 2,250 hour and local matching funds would be necessary at about 25%. He said they are still researching with Triangle Transit, what the assumption was for local funding and for federal and state funding. He said that if federal and state funding does not come forth for the additional 75% then local match will go up. There is a funding source to take this into the future with the half cent sales tax and the question is when it comes online, and what local match is being followed. Al Terry said that the half cent sales tax could support the route in some fashion, but the service hours, would use half cent sales dollars and would reduce other services that Orange Public Transportation could provide, because there are a limited number of service hours within the plan. Al Terry also referred back to the discussion of the east/west corridor route and said that there will be test runs being done to see how cost effective the route could be run and that Orange Public transport could start that route if Triangle Transit chooses to give those service hours. Commissioner Gordon questioned how it came about that Triangle Transit decided to run the route from Hillsborough to Durham instead of Mebane to Durham. Craig Benedict said the master plan states Mebane to Durham, but there was some consideration of starting a partial route and expanding over time because of the way the money has come. He said there is a need to look at models of how best to allocate funds as they come in. Al Terry said that when it is a commuter service, consideration has to be taken of who provides emergency transportation back to the vehicle and this is the reason for two mid-day runs. Commissioner Gordon said it is important to follow up on these issues because it is a deviation from the plan. She said there should be a request for ridership numbers from Mebane to Durham and from Hillsborough to Durham to see if the numbers work out. She noted that Triangle Transit reevaluates routes every spring to see if they need to be redone. Al Terry said even though they have a semi-hub now in North Hillsborough it needs to be a temporary hub, not a permanent HUB, because it is not ADA compliant. He said they have looked at several other areas and need to continue to look for other options that would accommodate a park and ride. 3. Implementation of Downtown Hillsborough Access Study Improvements (Crosswalks, Parking, Sidewalk Work) Margaret Hauth said they have taken the plan to the next step to fund the design work and move toward engineer's estimates. She said they have had great support from Orange County and DOT and the hope is that a lot of the improvements will take place this year. She said that DOT has advised that Churton is approved to be re-paved, so the sidewalk needs to be done first. She said the details are included in the Agenda Item (page 5) and the map (pages 10, 11 and 12). She said that the proposed closing of a lane on East Margaret Lane is no longer being pursued. Commissioner Gordon asked for clarification about the section on map page 11, regarding addition of an access to River Park. Margaret Hauth said the plan being considered would extend the sidewalk beside the courthouse down to River Park so that a crosswalk could be put in at Nash and Kolack to facilitate access. Commissioner Gordon clarified where the sidewalk would extend and where the crosswalk would be. Margaret Hauth said there is a gravel walkway coming out the back of the courthouse that comes up to Churton Street. Frank Clifton said this is on the plans with DOT for a crossing at the light in front of Weaver Street, but there is a grade issue there that will have to be accounted for. He said some trees may have to be removed to give enough space and allow handicap access. Commissioner Gordon verified that this is just to cross the street and access the sidewalk, and she asked about what might be done to access River Park. Frank Clifton said this will be decided after a design on the crosswalk has been decided. He said it might just be a pathway. 4. Update on Waterstone Eric Peterson said they do not have any new updates from UNC Hospital about opening dates. He said the administration should open sometime in 2013 and the hospital has an estimated opening in 2015. He said there was to be a closing schedule to sell all of the housing pods in 2012 but it did not go through due to problems with the escrow agreement. The Town Board chose not to proceed with the special assessment district. Stratford Development came back to the town board in January to address concerns and reduced the amount of proposed bonds financed in the special assessment district. He said the town board has requested reduction on the payback from 20 years to 10 years to save 2 million dollars in interest payments. He said the town board will meet on Monday and set a public hearing date regarding next steps and proposed assessment roles. After this, the Town Board will approve an application to the local government commission. If things go according to schedule, bonds will be sold in June and the proceeds used to construct the parkway to manage traffic along 86 and within the development. Chair Jacobs requested that the Board be sent a copy of the plan and what is happening at the UNC site. Margaret Hauth said it is on their website and she can send them the direct link. 5. Update on Hillsborough Vision 2030 Margaret Hauth said they kicked off the Town's Vision 2030 process. She said this was done to get fresh input, which is being used to create a draft plan. She said this draft will be released in March to get public input throughout the summer and have a document ready for formal adoption in early fall. 6. Interlocal Agreement to Protect Archaeological Resources on Town and County Properties Rich Shaw, Land Conservation Manager, said about a year ago there was a mutually agreed location for a wayfaring sign. He said it was discovered that this was a place where they had found archeological items. In response, the town and Orange County decided to work jointly to try and prepare a map of known archeological sites. He said they will have a map and interlocal agreement to share in about 6 months. Town Commissioner Hallman questioned how this knowledge would be used on privately owned properties. Rich Shaw this is only for publicly owned properties and more information will be added to the database as it is discovered. Margaret Hauth said that these maps are not published due to fear that the sites would be plundered, however in-house maps are important so that water/sewer and public works folks are aware when improvements are being made. Rich Shaw said that one of the cultural resource specialists found out that the state had been keeping hand maps and now are using GIS and this will now be incorporated into the town and county database. Chair Jacobs asked if there would be outreach to DOT to let them know where these resources are. Margaret Hauth said that inquiry can be made. 7. Future Use of Whitted Human Services Center Frank Clifton said Orange County raised the possible use of this center about a year ago and the county has done some preliminary visions of the center. He said one use is just for governmental usage and the other is to share with county and arts community. He said that the Board of County Commissioners has not made any specific direction but has been working closely with town staff on parking, noise impacts, etc. AMS Director, Jeff Thompson provided a review of the proposed following floor plans: Plan 1 — Board of County Commissioners' Meeting Space with Government Office Space, Plan 2- Board and Arts Council Co-tenancy, and Plan 3 Board of County Commissioners' Meeting Space Only. These plans are found on pages 17, 18, 19 of the meeting abstract. Jeff Thompson said that, with regard to the combined use with the cultural center, he and Margaret Hauth have worked closely on this, especially with regard to parking. He said that if the board is interested in pursuing this, there would need to be an operational agreement with the cultural center to drive the zoning and permitting process. He said the pieces of this will include the activity type, intensity and frequency. He said that with a 300 seat arrangement, 192 parking spaces will be needed and that there are 219 on-site, including on street parking. He noted that if on street parking were removed, some spaces would have to be created. He presented a map of the parking site plan, which shows, paving in area 6 and area 1, as well as the addition of 25 spaces in the grassy area southeast of the main entrance. Frank Clifton clarified that addition spaces would be in the area where mobile units had been previously and there would be landscaping and paving done in each of the areas. He said the ramps on the back of the building would be one of the more expensive parts of the process. Frank Clifton said there is no plan to use area 5. Margaret Hauth said that the actual use agreement will dictate whether this is a staff level approval or gets in front of a board. She said that right now, all of the plans meet the ordinance requiring all parking to be off street. She said she feels this will likely move forward with staff level approval but she said it would be worthwhile to have all parties involved, including the neighborhood in one room to communicate information and discuss it before commitments are made. Chair Jacobs said the Board of County Commissioners agreed at their work session to hold a public meeting with the Town, the Arts Community, and the residents around this area, and ideally this could be done in concert with developing the CIP He said maybe something could be scheduled in March/April 2013. Frank Clifton said they have had design money set aside and it could be financed short term. He said the meeting could potentially be held in the Whitted Building to give opportunity to see the facility. Mayor Stevens encouraged them all to move forward with this public meeting and said the town is eager for the arts community to have a performing arts facility as well as publicly accessible meeting space. Town Commissioner Lowen concurred with Mayor Stevens. He questioned how meeting space would be prioritized if the plan were to move forward with the cultural center. Chair Jacobs said the County would have first choice on the meeting space. He said that the entities can work out the schedules since the town and county set their meeting schedules a year in advance and alternate meeting space. Commissioner Gordon referred to page 8 and the parking lot pavement and creation of 25 additional spaces. She asked for clarification of where these would be located. Jeff Thompson said that the grassy space in area 1 would be converted to asphalt parking. Commissioner Gordon said that there had been discussion about finding out the meeting space needs of the different government entities. She noted that it may end up that only weekend space was available, and that might not be good enough for the cultural center. She said there was question about what the cultural center might need to do during the week and if it would create noise. She said that the other big issues are parking, impact to the neighborhood, and schedule conflicts. She said that not everyone, including herself, is confident that scheduling problems won't arise. She said that a gentleman from the Orange County Cultural Center said that even with only cultural groups in a facility, there can be scheduling conflicts. Commissioner Gordon asked for additional explanation of the third plan. Jeff Thompson said, referring to the third plan, that there would still be a permanent meeting facility with 150 seats as well as a flexible meeting space. He noted that the interior walls on this plan are different than the other plans and divide the space for office use. Commissioner Gordon asked if Hillsborough was interested in partnering on this project or being responsible for the lease as originally contemplated. Town Commissioner Dancy said that the public and joint meetings on the use of this facility still need to be discussed, as mentioned by Commissioner Gordon. She said the cultural center would be responsible for setting its own schedule. She said that she believes the Town of Hillsborough was interested in partnering but that the cultural center was the entity that proposed the leasing agreement with the county. Frank Clifton said that when the Board of Commissioners first started looking at plans to modify the current meeting space the costs were fairly substantial and alternative sites were looked at. The Whitted Building was considered because if the large open space that is easy to remodel. He said it would not be everything the cultural group wanted but would offer a location for them to gain a foundation and following that might lead to another facility in the future. He said that concerts, lectures series, etc., could be done there when governmental meetings were not going on, during the day, weekends, and summer. He said it will still be more than the cultural group has now. If this does not work as a joint arrangement there are other options. He said they have looked at expenses needed to make the building suitable as a public facility for governmental function and any additional needs the cultural center has, they will have to fund on their own. Commissioner McKee said he would like to keep the Orange County Schools informed as they move forward with the public meeting since they have expressed an interest in the sharing this meeting space. Frank Clifton said there were elements of the original proposed plan for the cultural center that did not work and were not financially feasible. He said that it would work as a facility for special events, but would not work for a revenue generating space. He said that the cultural center has said that they would appreciate what is available in the current plans. Margaret Hauth said the operational agreement will be the key element for everyone and this will need to be a fluid process. She said that, considering the goal of growing a base, there will need to be a clear understanding up front, of what threshold will be set for the cultural center finding a new home. She suggested for the public meeting, instead of full board participation, they just have quorums of the boards or a sub-committee. Chair Jacobs suggested for the staffs to propose some dates for this public meeting and to remember that no one had made any decisions at all at this point. He said there will be a public meeting of all parties and the School Board should be kept in the loop as well. He encouraged cultural board members present that if there are updated plans for the cultural center, it would be good to present those to the county and the town at the upcoming meeting. 8. INFORMATION ITEMS (Not for Specific Discussion) a) Memorandum on Conservation and Watershed Protection Efforts b) Memorandum with Update on Extending Orange County Local Landmark Program into Hillsborough's ETJ With no further items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:39 PM. Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CIVIC Clerk to the Board