HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-01-2014 - 6a 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 1, 2014
Action Agenda
Item No. 6-a
SUBJECT: MINUTES
DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donna Baker, 245-2130
Draft Minutes
PURPOSE: To correct and/or approve the minutes as submitted by the Clerk to the Board as
listed below:
January 23, 2014 BOCC Regular Meeting
February 4, 2014 BOCC Regular Meeting
BACKGROUND: In accordance with 153A-42 of the General Statutes, the Governing Board
has the legal duty to approve all minutes that are entered into the official journal of the Board's
proceedings.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: NONE
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve minutes as
presented or as amended.
1
I Attachment 1
2
3 DRAFT MINUTES
4 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
5 REGULAR MEETING
6 January 23, 2014
7 7:00 p.m.
8
9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Thursday,
10 January 23, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the DSS offices, in Hillsborough, N.C.
11
12 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jacobs and Commissioners Mark Dorosin,
13 Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price, Penny Rich
14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Interim County Manager Michael Talbert, Assistant County
17 Managers Clarence Grier, Cheryl Young and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff
18 members will be identified appropriately below)
19 NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT
20 AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
21
22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
23 Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. He reviewed the following items at
24 the Commissioner's places:
25 - Buff sheet -Item 6-i: Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization
26 Member Agencies Memorandum of Understanding Revisions
27 - Green sheet - Item 6-m: Update on Adjustments to Town of Hillsborough
28 Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ)
29 - White sheet- Item 7-b: Rural Recycling Service District Implementation Planning
30 - Pink sheet—Item 11 b: revised abstract for Arts Commission –Appointment
31 - Yellow sheet- Iteml 1-c: revised face-sheet: Nursing Home Community Advisory
32 Committee –Appointment
33 - Purple sheet: Commissioner Rich's proposed petitions
34 - Blue sheet: Jail Alternatives Work Group- memo
35 - Annual Calendar from Housing, Human Rights and Community Development
36
37 Chair Jacobs asked for a moment of silence for longtime Durham County Commissioner
38 Becky Heron, who passed away.
39
40 PUBLIC CHARGE
41
42 The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge.
43
44 2. Public Comments
45
46 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda
47
48 Tony Blake reviewed the following statement:
49
50 Good evening commissioners,
2
1 Thank you for your time, I will be brief.
2 1 am here to ask for a change to the most recent "FIRE PROTECTION AND EMERGENCY
3 SERVICES AGREEMENT" as outlined in paragraph 19 of the proposed contract.
4
5 We believe the purpose of the contract is to solidify the relationship between the county and the
6 volunteer fire departments. Further, the purpose is to create a clear record of the mutual
7 commitments and encourage the building of relationships and process to service the goals of
8 fire protection, rescue and medical response.
9
10 As officers of the White Cross Fire Department Corporation we performed our due diligence on
11 the finalized contract after we received the final version on November 11tH
12
13 At that time, I expressed some concerns raised earlier in November and contacted our attorney
14 for comment. Our attorney confirmed our concerns were valid (see attached letter).
15
16 The concerns are regarding the asymmetrical nature of paragraph 16. We believe this
17 paragraph is not in the best interests of the citizens, the county or our corporation. We request
18 that that the terms outlined paragraph 16 be revisited and amended to be mutual.
19
20 Robert Ireland said he represented the Human Relations Commission (HRC). He
21 invited the Commissioners to the HRC Forum on Sunday, January 26th to discuss an issue of
22 public concern and involvement. He said this year is the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil
23 Rights Act and that will be the main theme of this public forum. He said the question to be
24 asked is "are we there yet?" He said the HRC has planned a forum and he named the three
25 speakers on the agenda.
26
27 Commissioner McKee said he attended the event last year, and he encouraged all of the
28 Board members to attend.
29
30 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda
31
32 3. Petitions by Board Members
33
34 Commissioner Rich noted the purple sheet containing three petitions:
35 She said the first is a petition to allow the Trash Terminators 2.0 to present the project
36 that landed the Trash Terminators 1.0 the National Siemens "We Can Change the World"
37 Challenge Award. She said some of the kids are back, hence the name 2.0. She proposed the
38 presentation for the February 18th meeting in Chapel Hill, and she said their presentation is 5-7
39 minutes long.
40 Commissioner Rich said the next petition is to have a conversation with the Visitor's
41 Bureau about their rent and high administrative fees. She would like to talk about having those
42 fees reduced.
43 She said the final petition is regarding the "ban the box" issue. She has learned that this
44 policy has been in place since 2012, but NACo is unaware of this. She is petitioning the Board
45 to make sure NACo is made aware that Orange County is taking part in this process.
46 Commissioner McKee requested that any transit issues be presented at a meeting
47 where the public can be allowed to speak, rather than at work session.
48 Commissioner Price said last year she had requested information about parking at
49 Fairview Park. She would like an update from staff on this.
3
1 Commissioner Price referred to the tax collector's report and asked if staff can provide a
2 graph that gives a view of the trends regarding poverty and foreclosures in Orange County.
3 She would like this report to be inclusive of the 2008 recession.
4 Chair Jacobs petitioned staff to investigate the community involvement of the banks that
5 the County does business with. He asked that a report be brought back to the Board for
6 examination.
7
8 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations
9
10 a. Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board Update Presentation
11 The Board received a brief presentation from Tony DuBois, General Manager of the
12 Orange County Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, and provided feedback
13 Tony DuBois noted that Ron McCoy, finance director and Keith Cook, chair of the ABC
14 Board were present. He said there are two board appointments coming in the next six months,
15 for a chairman and vice chairman, and he read the ABC Board mission statement.
16 He noted that the board has a new office and warehouse facility. He said a new store is
17 being built at Chapel Hill North, and this will be completed in the fall.
18 Tony DuBois said a copy of the annual report from the state ABC Commission is
19 included in the Commissioner's packets, and Orange County continues to rank in the top 10 for
20 revenue. He said the sales and profitability trend for the County is higher than the state
21 average. He said there has been a heavy emphasis on maintaining a balance between control,
22 revenue, and service.
23 Finance Director Ron McCoy said part of the mission of the ABC board is to return
24 profits back to the community, and the board contributed more than double the statutory
25 requirements to law enforcement and education this past fiscal year. He said for the current
26 fiscal year the board will contribute $155,000 toward alcohol law enforcement efforts. He said
27 in this fiscal year a distribution of$400,000 is being paid to the Orange County General fund.
28 He said the total distributions from the board for fiscal year 2013-14 equal $748,333
29 Commissioner McKee said he has always admired the professionalism of the ABC
30 Board and organization. He said there are regular reports to make sure that alcohol law
31 enforcement is a priority.
32
33 5. Public Hearings
34 a. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment Related to Board of
35 Adjustment Operation and Procedures — Public Hearing Closure and Action
36 The Board received the Planning Board recommendation, considered closing the public
37 hearing, and making a decision on a Planning Director initiated text amendment(s) to the
38 Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) incorporating recent changes in State law related to the
39 Board of Adjustment.
40 Michael Harvey said the planning board is here to receive the planning board's
41 recommendation. He said this item was heard at the November 25th QPH, where staff indicated
42 the amendments were necessary to ensure recent changes to State law are incorporated into
43 the UDO. He referred to following proposed text amendments as outlined in the packet:
44 • Change the votes necessary for the Board to approve a Special Use Permit application from
45 4/5th of members to a simple majority,
46 • Clarify procedure(s) for requesting and issuing of subpoenas,
47 • Clarify appeals timeframe for Board of Adjustment decisions to be submitted to Superior
48 Court, and
49 • Clarify notification requirements with respect to who is notified of a Board decision.
50
4
1 A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner McKee to:
2 1. Receive the Planning Board's recommendation;
3 2. Close the public hearing; and
4 3. Approve the text amendment package contained in Attachment 2.
5
6 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
7
8 b. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment Related to
9 Telecommunication Facilities — Public Hearing Closure and Action
10 The Board received the Planning Board recommendation, considered closing the public
11 hearing, and making a decision on a Planning Director initiated text amendment(s) to the
12 Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) incorporating recent changes in State law related to the
13 review and permitting of telecommunication facilities.
14 Michael Harvey said this item was presented at the November 25, 2013 Quarterly Public
15 Hearing where staff indicated Session Law 2013-185, adopted on June 26, 2013, has modified
16 how local governments process new telecommunication tower applications, including:
17 • A prohibition on requiring information related to the specific need for a proposed
18 telecommunication facility, including the addition of additional wireless coverage or
19 capacity, as part of the application package.
20 While the County can still request this information we cannot require it nor can we find an
21 application is `deficient' when it is not submitted.
22 • Limits the fee local governments can collect for a third party consultant to review
23 applications for co-locations.
24 • Mandatory review timelines/deadlines for local governments to act on co-location
25 applications.
26 • Establishing standards allowing for increases in overall tower height under certain conditions
27 as being `permitted by right'.
28
29 Michael Harvey said the state also decided to allow modifications to telecommunication
30 facilities mandating that local governing bodies accept that modification without additional
31 permit review. He referred to page 40 of the agenda packet, which includes a definition of a
32 substantial modification. He read this as follows: "The mounting of a proposed wireless facility
33 on a wireless support structure that substantially changes the physical dimensions of the
34 support structure."
35 He said there have been questions about what constitutes a substantial modification.
36 He said the answer is contained on pages 12-13 of the amendment packet. He said there are
37 situations where the height of an existing tower can be elevated, not more than 10 percent of
38 the existing height, and this is not a substantial modification. He said there are also additions of
39 apparatus to the body of the tower, as proposed in 11-c on page 13, that do not constitute a
40 substantial modification.
41 Michael Harvey reminded the Commissioners that the Board approved processes for the
42 modification special use permits. He said minor changes can be administratively reviewed and
43 approved by staff, as covered in section 2-7-14. He said there are there are 10 criteria that
44 establish the mechanism for staff to determine whether a proposed change constitutes a minor
45 change or a modification, which must be reviewed by the board that issued the permit.
46 Michael Harvey said a substantial modification is spelled out in section 2-7-14. He said
47 the chief component is that any time a proposed change to a telecommunications tower causes
48 changes to existing conditions or facts entered into the record in the issuance of the permit, the
49 County has to re-review the project as a special use permit.
5
1 He said the biggest concern is that the County has a graduated permitting process for
2 telecommunication facilities. The Board of adjustment reviews towers between 76 and 199
3 feet, and the County Commissioners review tower requests of 200 feet or higher, which have
4 additional setback and lighting requirements. He said the attempt is to guard against someone
5 coming in with a 199 foot tall existing tower and then elevating it to 209 feet without the County
6 Commissioners having to review it. He said this is what the language on page 13 does.
7 Commissioner Dorosin asked for clarification about the thresholds.
8 Michael Harvey said if you have a 180 feet tower and you add 15 feet to it, this will fall
9 within the exemption and will not be considered a modification. He said the telecommunications
10 provider will still have to show compliance with all facets of the County code; however, the
11 County cannot require a special use permit.
12 Commissioner Dorosin clarified that the same would be true if someone has a 220 foot
13 tall tower and wants to go up another 10 percent.
14 Michael Harvey said this is correct.
15 Commissioner Dorosin asked if John Roberts feels this is rational and defensible.
16 John Roberts said that is the planning department's position, and since there is no case
17 law on this it may be defensible.
18 Michael Harvey said the County bears the burden of proving that a substantial
19 modification needs more review. He said it is not an all or nothing issue, and all determinations
20 are made by staff and are appealable.
21 Commissioner Dorosin questioned the fact that this is a second public hearing, but the
22 public cannot speak.
23 John Roberts said the ordinance states that the second public hearing is for the
24 planning board recommendation and written comments only. He said the first public hearing is
25 for oral comments only.
26 Commissioner Dorosin said it is a bit of a misnomer to call this a public hearing.
27
28 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to:
29
30 1. Receive the Planning Board's recommendation;
31 2. Close the public hearing; and
32 3. Approve the text amendment package contained in Attachment 2.
33
34 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
35
36 Chair Jacobs noted that at agenda review the Board asked staff to let the
37 Commissioners know about upcoming telecommunication towers even if the towers are not
38 coming up for review. He said the Board still gets emails and calls from the public about this,
39 and it is good to be informed to respond.
40
41
42 6. Consent Agenda
43
44 Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda
45 Items 6-h, 6-i, and 6-j were pulled from the consent agenda for discussion.
46
47 Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda
48
49 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
50 approve the remaining items on the consent agenda.
6
1
2 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
3
4 Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda
5
6 6-h McGowan Creek Sewer Interceptor Project—Acceptance of State Revolving Fund
7 Loan
8 The Board considered approving and authorizing the Chair to sign the Resolution of
9 Acceptance for the State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan for this project; and authorizing the
10 Manager to sign the State Loan Offer and Acceptance letter on behalf of the Board of County
11 Commissioners.
12
13 PUBLIC COMMENT
14 Mike Efland said he is a property owner on McGowan Creek. He said the sewer project
15 has passed over this property once and will now pass over a second time. He is not opposed to
16 the sewer line itself. He said the newest line is for the pump station is only to decommission a
17 pump station on Cedar Grove Road, and it is not going to serve anyone but the pump station.
18 He asked about the cost of putting the line in versus updating the pump station. He feels this
19 whole process allows for no negotiation, because the land can be condemned if property
20 owners don't allow easements. He said there should be a negotiation process when owners
21 are asked to allow an easement.
22 He said there was some discussion long ago about a green path through the property,
23 and he placed his home right on the setback of the floodplain. He said this sewage line will
24 come between his home and the flood plain. He said the County has only offered him $800,
25 and he feels his rights have been violated. He said privacy is very important to him, and he
26 paid taxes and bought the property. He said now there are trees being cut down, and there will
27 be a big path beside his house. He said he wants something in writing to make sure this path
28 does not become a greenway in the future. He does not feel he should have a tax increase on
29 his property because he has access to the sewer when he does not need it.
30 Mike Efland suggested a fence and a gate if the County needs to access this line for
31 maintenance. He does not want the public using the path on his property as a public access to
32 the creek. He wants something to protect his property, and he wants something in writing.
33 He said he feels he has been railroaded and he has tried to negotiate, but it has fallen
34 on deaf ears.
35 Chair Jacobs asked Michael Talbert how this should proceed.
36 Michael Talbert said this does not affect the revolving loan. He said the line has been
37 approved and contracted, and this is just final approval of the loan package that helps pay for it.
38 John Roberts said this will depend on how strongly the state will enforce its assurances.
39 He said the County is required to make sure all easements are acquired.
40 Chair Jacobs confirmed that as of now, Mr. Efland has not signed an agreement.
41 John Roberts said this is correct. He said there has been a notification of intent to
42 condemn. He noted that the condemnation process does not take the land, only the easement
43 or right of way, and the land remains with the land owner. He said a notice of a condemnation
44 of an easement has been sent, and this should satisfy state requirements.
45 Chair Jacobs asked if there is a window of opportunity to still have negotiations with Mr.
46 Efland.
47
48 Craig Benedict said the easement being required is for utility purposes only, and it is not
49 for greenway purposes. He said this can be specified, and he believes the County has agreed
50 to have a gate. He said he will work with the attorney's office to put this in writing. He said if
7
1 the County was ever to request a greenway, it would be a new process and the Board would
2 have to approve this. He said this is not currently in anyone's mind.
3 Commissioner Dorosin said it sounds like an agreement can be reached, with
4 protections. He asked if the Board can wait on this item until Mike Efland receives his
5 assurances in writing.
6 Craig Benedict said there is timing to this process, and the first letter has gone out. He
7 said there was no response, and this leads to a second letter implicating condemnation if the
8 parties cannot come to terms. He said the state is holding funding for Orange County, and he
9 does not want to forego the chance of this loan with the state.
10 Commissioner Dorosin asked if this could wait until the February 4th meeting.
11 Kevin Lindley said the acceptance of the loan resolution has more to do with when the
12 reimbursements can start; however, not having the easements in hand could hold up the
13 construction. He said this was bid back in November, and there is a certain timeframe during
14 which companies honor the bid price.
15 Commissioner Dorosin said he is not convinced yet. He said it would take longer to do a
16 condemnation than to take the time to work it out the land owner. He said this could be done in
17 the next week.
18 John Roberts said it is not necessary to delay the project. He said Mike Efland's
19 concerns can be addressed in the language of the terms of the easement agreement.
20 Commissioner McKee asked if the use language can be written in the easement.
21 John Roberts said it can be made clear in the agreement that the easement is solely for
22 a utility, water, or sewer line, and it can be limited to that purpose.
23 Commissioner Price asked if the Board can vote on this item, conditional to Mike.
24 Efland's requests being met.
25 John Roberts said a conditional approval is not an approval, and he advises against it.
26 Commissioner Pelissier asked if there was a plan for a greenway.
27 Chair Jacobs said this idea was considered about 15 years ago, but it was dropped and
28 it is not part of any current plan.
29 Commissioner Rich asked if there was anything in the Board's policy to help Mike Efland
30 plant back some of his trees.
31 Craig Benedict said there is some leeway for small trees, but there are no big trees
32 allowed. He said a 10 to 15 foot path is necessary for access, and smaller trees and
33 ornamental shrubs would be fine. He said there was effort to find a balance of the closeness to
34 the house and the closeness to the stream. He said the engineer was asked to re-design the
35 alignment to be as accommodating to Mike Efland as possible.
36 Commissioner Gordon said it sounds like there is a solution, and it is time sensitive.
37 She asked if John Roberts could suggest some language to accommodate the
38 recommendation and Mike Efland's concerns. She said this would include: 1. Approve the
39 recommendation; 2. Authorize the Manager to sign.
40
41 John Roberts said they could possibly add language to the effect to authorize staff to
42 include in the easement document that there will not be any type of greenway or green space
43 on this easement area and some language about a gate being constructed.
44
45 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner McKee to:
46 1. Approve the recommendation; 2. Authorize the Manager to sign; and 3. Authorize staff to
47 include language in the easement document that clearly indicates there will be no greenway on
48 this easement and language addressing a gate to be constructed.
49
8
1 Chair Jacobs said the Board almost never lets someone come back up, but the Board is
2 trying to address the concerns Mike Efland has articulated. He said there are some things, like
3 the trees, that won't be addressed.
4 Mike Efland said this has been discussed for a long time, and he should not be here.
5 He said he has tried to negotiate twice, and this was a couple of months ago. He said he does
6 not need the $800 and he would rather see that money put into a gate and a nice fence.
7 Chair Jacobs said that is what the motion is attempting to do, and he apologized on
8 behalf of the Board.
9
10 VOTE: Ayes, 6 — Nays, 1 ( Commissioner Dorosin)
11 Commissioner Dorosin said he felt the Board should have resolved the documents and
12 the wording before taking action.
13
14 6-i Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Member
15 Agencies Memorandum of Understanding Revisions
16 The Board considered approving and authorizing the Chair to sign a final draft of an
17 updated/revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the member agencies of the
18 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO)
19 Commissioner Price said she is concerned with the language establishing a quorum.
20 She asked if the wording means that an official vote can take place with just one representative
21 from Durham City and County.
22 Bret Martin said that is correct with the way it reads. He said if the board chooses to
23 invoke weighted voting, a quorum would consist of a majority of the voting members, whose
24 votes together represent a majority of the possible weighted votes in the table. He said the City
25 of Durham has 16 weighted votes, and Durham County has 4, which combines to be a majority
26 of the 38 possible votes.
27 Commissioner Price said she has a problem with this and the possibility of decisions
28 being made with Orange County not at the table.
29 Commissioner Pelissier said there has never been a case where there was not an
30 Orange County representative there. She said there is either a voting member or an alternate
31 who are always there. She said Chapel Hill also has a member and an alternate, so the
32 likelihood of someone from Orange County not being there is very low.
33 Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Pelissier, but she also agrees that
34 this is ambiguous. She said this wording could mean that if enough members were there to
35 constitute the majority of the weighted votes, which could be 2 people, then you could start.
36 She said it has actually meant that there have to be 6 out of 9 people present, and those people
37 have to represent a majority of the weighted vote. She said it should be specified that a
38 quorum is met when: 1. a majority of the voting members are present; and 2. the weighted
39 votes of those voting members, when added together, represent a majority of the possible
40 weighted vote.
41 She said, if you just use numbers, the statement would be added in to specify that there
42 must be 6 of the voting members.
43 Commissioner Gordon said she feels this is a serious ambiguity. She said there are
44 other technical edits as well.
45 Bret Martin said he would agree that the language is not clear. He said the way he
46 reads it is that, "a quorum of the MPO Board shall consist of a majority of the voting members
47 whose votes together represent a majority of the possible weighted votes identified in the
48 weighted vote schedule below." He said the sentence is being modified in such a way that what
49 really matters is the weighted votes; but it is true that if only Durham and Durham County are
50 there, a quorum would exist.
9
1 Commissioner Gordon said one way to fix it is to make it specific that the quorum is 6
2 people and those 6 people need to represent the weighted vote.
3 Commissioner Price said her concern is the representation. She said she would like to
4 see some language indicating the need to have more than two governments present.
5 Commissioner Rich asked if each of the boards is voting on the same language.
6 Bret Martin said yes.
7 Commissioner Rich asked if any of the other boards have voted on this yet.
8 Bret Martin said the Town of Hillsborough has approved it, and Chatham County has
9 denied it.
10 Commissioner Rich asked if this language will have to go back to all of the other boards
11 if it is changed.
12 Bret Martin said yes. He said there is a moderate chance that this will have to go back
13 anyway, after the other governing bodies review it.
14 Chair Jacobs suggested the delegates bring it back to their MPO meeting and share the
15 Board of County Commissioners' concerns. He suggested the delegates recommend changes
16 to go back to all of the other boards again for review and approval.
17 Commissioner Gordon said she talked with Ellen Beckmen, a member of MPO staff,
18 today. She said this item is out for discussion, and Chatham County has denied it. She
19 suggested that the wording she specified above should be added.
20 Commissioner Gordon also reviewed the technical items outlined in the memo below:
21
22 6-i - DCHC MPO Revisions to MOU
23
24 There are minor edits that I would suggest for clarity. What would be the best way to handle
25 these edits, if the BOCC chose to incorporate them? I will refer to Attachment 5, since this is
26 the draft with line numbers.
27
28 Page 1 of MOU (p. 31 of the BOCC agenda) - Line 42
29 Spell out TIP so that the line reads:
30 ...and Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs). It is customary to spell out the full name
31 before using an abbreviation.
32
33 Page 2 of MOU (p. 32 of agenda) - Line 17
34 Spell out MPO so that it reads:
35 Each Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)...
36
37 Page 3 of MOU (p. 33 of agenda) - Line 39
38 Add "policy" before "boards" so that it reads:
39 ...include the policy boards of general purpose local government...
40 The reason for this change is to clarify the reference to "policy boards" in paragraph 9 of the
41 MOU (Line 32 on p. 4 of the MOU and p. 34 of the agenda.)
42
43 She said if it is the pleasure of the Board not to pass this, then these changes would be
44 brought to the future discussions of the concerns. She said if the Board wants to approve the
45 agreement with the suggestion that these revisions be handled as technical changes, then that
46 path can be taken.
47
48 Commissioner Pelissier asked if a motion could be made to show intent to support this,
49 but noting that clarifications and modifications are needed.
10
1 Chair Jacobs suggested a motion that: suggests support of the MOU with revisions;
2 accepts the technical changes by Commissioner Gordon and getting responses to the concerns
3 of clarity and inclusiveness regarding definitions of a quorum.
4
5 A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Rich of
6 intent to approve, in concept, the MOU with technical revisions; accept the technical changes as
7 expressed by Commissioner Gordon and ask for responses to the Board's concerns of clarity
8 and inclusiveness regarding the definitions of a quorum.
9
10 Commissioner Price clarified that this is not an approval, and that the Board's concerns
11 would be sent back to the MPO.
12
13 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
14
15 6-j Lands Legacy Action Plan for 2014-17
16 The Board considered adoption of the Lands Legacy Action Plan for the three-year
17 period (July 2014 — June 2017).
18 Commissioner Rich referred to page 2, bullet 2, and asked if the fact that there are no
19 more N.C. tax conservation credits would dampen the plan.
20 Rich Shaw said the longstanding N.C. conservation tax credit has expired by action of
21 the general assembly. He said this credit is only used by landowners when they donate land or
22 interest in their property with a conservation easement. He said it may reduce the opportunities
23 for the County to work with some landowners, as it was an incentive. He said there are still
24 some federal tax credits available.
25 Commissioner Rich asked if the Board will be notified of properties that were missed
26 because of this lack of tax credit.
27 Rich Shaw said yes.
28 Commissioner Gordon said the Board is being asked to approve pages 7-14 in the plan.
29 She referred to the conclusion on page 14, and she read the following: "the first 12 years of the
30 Lands Legacy Program saw tremendous strides in the protection of priority resource lands, with
31 3,077 acres permanently protected (as of December 2013) and several more projects in the
32 works." She said the Board, staff and residents should be very proud of that.
33
34 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
35 approve the adoption of the Lands Legacy Action Plan for the three-year period (July 2014 —
36 June 2017).
37
38 VOTE; UNANIMOUS
39
40 a. Minutes
41 The Board approved the minutes from October 8, 15, November 5, 19 and 25, 2013 as
42 submitted by the Clerk to the Board.
43 b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Releases/Refunds
44 The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release motor vehicle
45 property tax values for sixty-seven (67) taxpayers with a total of seventy-two (72) bills that will
46 result in a reduction of revenue in accordance with NCGS.
47 c. Property Tax Releases/Refunds
48 The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release property tax
49 values for eleven (11) taxpayers with a total of (16) sixteen bills that will result in a reduction of
50 revenue in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 105-381.
11
1 d. Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion
2 The Board approved six (6) untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad valorem
3 taxation for six (6) bills for the 2013 tax year.
4 e. Fiscal Year 2013-14 Budget Amendment#4
5 The Board approved budget ordinance amendments for fiscal year 2013-14 for: Department on
6 Aging; Department of Social Services; Visitors Bureau Fund; Library; New Hope Volunteer Fire
7 Department; Orange Rural Fire Department; Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust
8 Fund; and Animal Services Department.
9 f. FY 2013-14 Budget Amendment#4-A—Approval of a 0.50 FTE Increase and a
10 General Fund Intrafund Transfer to Establish a 1.0 FTE Agricultural Economic
11 Development Coordinator
12 The Board approved increasing the full-time equivalent (FTE) for a reclassified Agricultural
13 Economic Development Coordinator from 0.50 FTE to 1.0 FTE and transferring budgeted,
14 contract personnel funds from Cooperative Extension to Economic Development to cover the
15 FTE increase.
16 g. Request to Ratify the Renewal of the Emergency Solutions Grant Program
17 Effective January 1, 2014 through September 30, 2014
18 The Board ratified the renewal of the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) contract with the State
19 of North Carolina for $116,011 through September 2014 and authorized the County Manager to
20 execute the sub-recipient contract with the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services upon review
21 and approval by the County Attorney's Office.
22 k. Bid Award — Hook Truck for Solid Waste
23 The Board awarded a bid to Freightliner of Austin, 1701 Smith Road, Austin, TX for a Hook Lift
24 Truck, at a delivered cost of$190,548, for the Sanitation Division of the Solid Waste
25 Management Department.
26 I. Changes in BOCC Regular Meeting Schedule for 2014
27 The Board approved two changes in the County Commissioners' regular meeting calendar for
28 2014, to:
29 - Change the official meeting start time of the BOCC retreat, scheduled for Friday, January 31,
30 2014 from 9:00 am to 8:30 am, same location at the Solid Waste Administrative Offices.
31 - Change the date of the Joint Meeting between the BOCC/Board of Health from April 8, 2014
32 at 5:30 pm to May 13, 2014 at 5:30 pm and change the location of this meeting from Link
33 GSC to Southern Human Services Center, in Chapel Hill.
34 m. Update on Adjustments to Town of Hillsborough Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ)
35 The Board received an update on the status of adjustments to the Town of Hillsborough
36 Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ).
37
38 7. Regular Agenda
39
40 a. Southern Branch Library Siting Criteria Update, Professional Services
41 Agreement Award with Freelon Group Architects for Primary Phase Public Input
42 Facilitation and Branch Programming
43 The Board received an update on the Southern Library siting criteria process;
44 considered awarding a professional services agreement to Freelon Group Architects of
45 Durham, NC in an amount not-to-exceed $29,500 for the facilitation of the 120 Brewer Lane
46 Site Primary Phase Public Input facilitation and southern branch programming; and considered
47 authorizing the Manager to execute the necessary paperwork upon final approval of the County
48 Attorney.
49 Lucinda Munger said, at the November 5th meeting, the Board authorized staff to
50 continue the preliminary due diligence phase and begin the primary public input phase for the
12
1 assigned Brewer Lane site. She said staff then issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a
2 professional services firm to facilitate the primary phase. She said nine proposals were
3 submitted; five were chosen for interviews; and it was the unanimous decision of the panel to
4 award the contract to the Freelon Group of Durham, NC. She asked that the Board award a
5 professional services contract to the Freelon Group in an amount not to exceed $29,500. She
6 also asked the manager to execute the paperwork for this contract upon final approval by the
7 County Attorney.
8 She reviewed the timeline actions included in the abstract.
9 Kathryn Taylor from the Freelon Group made a brief presentation. She said the Freelon
10 Group is an architectural firm based in Durham; however the company works on a national
11 level, focusing on libraries, cultural centers and museums.
12 She said this project and process will include a series of public engagement meetings
13 and staff meetings to find out the priorities of this branch. This information will be used to come
14 up with a preliminary program. She said this program will be conceptual, but it will consist of
15 the basic building blocks for whichever site is selected.
16 Chair Jacobs stepped away.
17 Commissioner McKee asked if there were any members of the public who wished to
18 speak.
19
20 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to:
21 1) Receive an update regarding the Southern Library siting criteria process;
22 2) Award a professional services agreement to Freelon Group Architects of Durham, NC in
23 an amount not-to-exceed $29,500 for the facilitation of the 120 Brewer Lane Site Primary
24 Phase Pubic Input facilitation and southern branch programming; and
25 3) Authorize the Manager to execute the necessary paperwork upon final approval of the
26 County Attorney.
27
28 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
29
30 Chair Jacobs asked if there are any scheduled dates yet for the public input meetings.
31 KathrynTaylor said these are not set yet. She said there will be meetings with staff to
32 get visions from the library side before engaging in the first public meetings.
33 Chair Jacobs asked her to coordinate with the Clerk to make sure these meetings do
34 not conflict with the Board of County Commissioners meetings.
35 Commissioner Rich suggested that these meetings be held in or around Carrboro.
36
37 b. Rural Recycling Service District Implementation Planning
38 The Board reviewed and considered authorizing a plan for creation and implementation
39 of a Solid Waste Collection and Disposal District for recycling in unincorporated Orange County
40 and provided direction to staff.
41 Gayle Wilson said the Board of County Commissioners has explored various options of
42 replacing the 3-r fee over the past year. He said this was precipitated by the elimination of the
43 rural 3-r fee previously assessed for rural curbside recycling services. He noted that this fee
44 was $38 per household. He said in December the Board had expressed interest in the
45 establishment of a service district to replace the lost 3-r funding. He said the Board had also
46 acknowledged that the time to act on this was limited.
47 Gayle Wilson said the Board requested that staff return with an implementation plan for
48 proceeding toward the establishment of a service district. He said this requires a public
49 hearing; notices to be sent to all property owners within the proposed district; a report including
50 information on the proposed district to be filed in the clerk's office; the conducting of a public
13
1 hearing; and ultimately a final decision by the Board. He said these steps must all be taken in a
2 deliberate and timely manner if the Board wishes that the district be established and effective
3 by July 1, 2014.
4 He reviewed a map of the district, which was compiled to include the original 13,750
5 residents that are currently eligible for the service and previously paid the 3-r fee. He said
6 additional parcels have been added to comply with the requirement in the statute that the
7 parcels that comprise the district be contiguous. He said additional parcels that contain more
8 densely populated areas, suitable for expansion, have also been included. He said the district
9 also includes parcels and roadways that link these denser areas to the existing service area to
10 create functional collection routes.
11 Gayle Wilson said the district includes sufficient service points to allow for maximizing
12 the efficiency of existing staff and equipment to allow for the addition of approximately 2,000
13 additional service points. He said the proposed district contains about 8,000 additional parcels
14 from the existing service area. He said the current area was converted to single stream
15 collection last year, and efficiency was gained in this transition. He said this efficiency will be
16 further enhanced by new collection vehicles and roll carts.
17 He said 1,715 tons were collected from the existing service area last fiscal year.
18 He said phase 1 of the implementation plan consists of cart distribution and initiation of
19 service to the existing service area by November of 2014. He said phase 2 would be to
20 distribute carts and provide service to the newly added areas no later than the fall of 2015.
21 Gayle Wilson said the preliminary cost estimates for the district are $630,000 or 1.5
22 cents per $100 of property value. He reviewed the manager recommendations outlined in the
23 abstract.
24 Michael Talbert reminded the Board of the past meetings leading to the consideration of
25 district, while using solid waste fund reserve balances for the current fiscal year. He said there
26 are many ways to pay for this, including: franchise, general fund taxing authority, or contracting
27 with a third party to provide a similar service.
28 Commissioner Gordon asked that the district be shown on a map of the entire County.
29 She referred to pages 10 and 11 and said it should be clear that this is a recycling service.
30 Michael Talbert said the district is primarily for the purpose of recycling, but the statute
31 authorizes a Solid Waste Service district, so it needs to be called that. He said recyclable
32 material is solid waste that has been removed from the solid waste stream for recycling
33 purposes.
34 Commissioner Price asked about the solid waste that is not recycled.
35 Gayle Wilson said nothing is being proposed related to garbage as a part of this district
36 at this time.
37 Commissioner Price asked about the reference on page 2 to services provided to the
38 elderly or disabled.
39 Gayle Wilson said special service is provided for bin pickup for elderly or disabled
40 residents unable to take it to the curb.
41 Commissioner Dorosin said the summary gave a projected tax rate of 1.5 cents per
42 $100 of property value. He asked if there has been any analysis of the values of the property in
43 the proposed district to arrive at that number.
44 Gayle Wilson said yes, this analysis was done. He noted that the total valuation of the
45 district is shown at the bottom of the map, and this number is $4,452,893,165.
46 Commissioner Dorosin asked Michael Talbert, if the Board wanted to fund this out of
47 their general fund, what $630,000 would mean in taxable value for the whole county.
48 Michael Talbert said this would equal .3 cent (1/3 of a penny).
49 Commissioner Dorosin noted that the report shows the 2011-12 program cost was
50 $506,000 for the program, and now the projected cost would be $630,000.
14
1 Michael Talbert said in 2011-12 things were moving toward single stream, but trucks
2 and bins were not purchased then.
3 Commissioner McKee referred to the pre-existing rural curbside area where there were
4 13,700 customers, and 57 percent used curbside recycling service. He said this meant that
5 about 6000 residents were paying the 3-r fee and not using the service.
6 Gayle Wilson said that is correct. He said the 57 percent was calculated by the set out
7 rate. He said there may be more participating at any one time, but only 57 percent set out bins
8 on a given day.
9 Commissioner McKee said the point was that there were thousands of people paying
10 the 3-r fee while not using the service and opting to still take their recycling to the Solid Waste
11 Convenience Center (SWCC). He noted that the curbside collection amount was 1,715 tons,
12 and the convenience center collected 2,300 tons, though some of that were urban and other
13 materials. He said this means there were still over a thousand tons coming into the
14 convenience centers countywide. He said his point is that a lot of people on the curbside route
15 were still taking their recycling to the SWCC and not using the curbside service. He said
16 Orange County residents have been good about working toward the 61 percent goal.
17 Commissioner McKee referred to the pre-existing set up with curbside. He asked if the
18 exempt properties were paying the curbside fee. He said the proposed tax district will have 631
19 exempt properties that will not pay the tax although they will potentially still continue to receive
20 the service.
21 Gayle Wilson said this is correct.
22 Commissioner Pelissier asked if there is comparable data for the towns.
23 Gayle Wilson said there are surveys, and when the transition is made to roll carts that
24 information will be provided in detail; but he can't recall it now.
25 Commissioner Pelissier said it would be interesting to know the comparison.
26 Chair Jacobs asked Gayle Wilson to repeat the information regarding the fact that
27 people will not exclusively have to use the roll out carts.
28 Gayle Wilson said due to the varied topography, the County will have to make
29 accommodations for some homes.
30 Chair Jacobs asked if there is any data on the effectiveness of an "opt-in" recycling
31 program.
32 Gayle Wilson said there is considerable data. He said the `opt in-opt out' situation that
33 exists in 12-13 counties results in poor participation. He said Alamance County has an opt-in
34 program and the participation rate is in the single digits.
35 Chair Jacobs asked if it is possible to create a service district that includes the
36 municipalities and the areas of the County that would receive curbside recycling.
37 John Roberts said yes. He said the municipalities would have to approve being included
38 in the service district.
39
40 PUBLIC COMMENT:
41 Norma White lives in Little River Township, and she is against a tax service district. She
42 said the Board of Commissioners exists for the cause of the common good and general welfare
43 of the people. She said everyone can agree that schools, libraries and many County services
44 exist for the common good and general County welfare, even if these are located in town and
45 far from rural households. She said everyone pays, and no one gets to pick and choose what
46 the common good is. She said everyone agrees that solid waste/recycling is an issue that is for
47 the common good of the County, but it is not true that everyone pays. She said the Board of
48 County Commissioners is turning this upside down. She said data shows that the rural areas
49 are doing a fantastic job of recycling, and these areas have been telling the County for years
50 that rural people do recycling differently. She said these residents use the SWCC for the
15
1 common good, yet the rural people pay more. She said this discrepancy shoots down the
2 common good concept. She said the tax differential has all of the appearances of an implicit
3 special tax district, with unequal application of taxation to the rural areas and exclusion of the
4 urban areas. She said the County now wants to impose another tax applied only to the rural
5 areas. She said the County's pretense that the rural areas need and will overwhelmingly use
6 curbside recycling is a faulty premise, as these areas have never been polled or surveyed. She
7 said this is a stab in the dark, and the issue is a shortfall of money in the Solid Waste
8 Department.
9 David Laudocina lives in Bingham Township, and he urged the Board to find an
10 equitable solution for curbside recycling rather than implementing a district tax based on
11 property valuation. He believes progressive taxation is appropriate for some services, but
12 curbside rural recycling is not a good fit. He said his property tax bill includes a flat rate for the
13 3-r fee and a flat rate for the waste center fee, and these charges are dependent on where you
14 live in the County. He feels that the flat rate system for curbside is more consistent with the
15 method used for other waste services. He said the magnitude of the difference in total dollars
16 paid between properties using a district tax tied to property valuation grows as the tax rate
17 increases over time. He said he hopes the policy of allowing use of the orange bins for rural
18 recycling will be a reality, regardless of what system is implemented.
19 He noted that property values have not been re-valued since 2009 to provide true
20 property tax assessments. He said the Board has done a good job of holding the line on
21 property tax increases. He believes it is prudent for the County to find a fairer, more equitable
22 way to pay for rural curbside recycling and hold off on any property tax increases until the
23 valuations are fair and balanced.
24 Alex Castro said he is a senior resident of Bingham Township, and it seemed to him that
25 the Board is messing with something that is working. He said recycling is working in Orange
26 County, and now the Board is looking to spend a lot of money for changes that don't fit. He
27 said that people given a choice will not opt-in; therefore if residents are not forced to do it, the
28 population will not exist to sustain what is put in place. He asked the Board to think strongly
29 about whether this is a good avenue.
30 Bonnie Hauser said she lives in rural Orange County. She uses the SWCC for trash
31 and recycling, and she composts at home. She said families in the unincorporated areas
32 overwhelmingly prefer a voluntary fee over a service district tax. She said % of the families in
33 the rural community prefer to use the convenience centers for trash, and they bring their
34 recycling too. She said this is not about recycling rates, it is simply about the fact that curbside
35 services don't work in much of the rural area. She said people should be able to opt out if they
36 are unable to use the services. She said if the Board decides to pursue the public hearings,
37 she would like it made clear what else the Board hopes to learn about this process.
38 She said she is also confused about equity. She said, according to UNC, County
39 governments cannot make residents pay a fee for curbside collection services, and this was the
40 basis for the end of the 3-r fee. She said the town residents see recycling as hand in hand with
41 the curbside trash collection, which is provided to every household and funded by the town's
42 general fund. She said the towns are expected to delegate their fee authority to the County.
43 Bonnie Hauser said rural residents who want curbside services retain private haulers at
44 their own expense. She said if equity is an issue, then convenience fees should be examined.
45 She said everyone is concerned about the future of the County Solid Waste Department and
46 recycling after the close of the landfill, and there is much to do to get the waste service fees
47 right. She said it is a waste of time to hold public hearings for a service district tax. She
48 advocated for a subscription service for rural families, with an option to opt out.
49
16
1 Ken Robinson lives on Old Greensboro Road. He said he has tried to use curbside
2 service, but there is no space in the right of way for bins, and it does not work for him. He
3 asked what problem the Board is trying to solve. He said he uses the convenience center and
4 sees lots of people using the recycling center. He said he takes his recyclables when he takes
5 his trash, and this is quicker than carrying it to the street and bringing the bins back. He thinks
6 the service district is a bad idea.
7
8 Jan Sassman said the issue before them is whether or not to proceed with a public
9 hearing. He encouraged the Board to vote yes on this, and he said he will defer his comments
10 until that hearing.
11
12 Terri Buckner said she appreciates the solid waste staff, and she appreciates her
13 recycling being picked up. She is here to support this proposal and to encourage the Board to
14 move forward with a public hearing. She said that a subscription service will reduce the
15 recycling rate significantly. She said there are many people in the County who do not have long
16 driveways and would use the service. She noted that she lives far from a convenience center
17 and she appreciates the pickup service.
18
19 Maria Tadd said she lives in Bingham Township. She thanked Commissioner Gordon
20 for her years of service. She said she has lived in Orange County for 20 years and
21 Commissioner Gordon is the finest Commissioner the County has ever had. She said
22 environmental concerns are important to her and Commissioner Gordon has been a steward of
23 the environment and a rational voice at the table.
24 Maria Tadd said her love for the environment is what brings her here today, and she
25 feels that curbside pick-up is a colossal waste of money and is bad for the environment. She
26 said she lives on the corner of two private roads with a total of 14 households, and only one
27 family uses this service. She said recycling must be driven to a designated area, and it is much
28 easier to just drive another 1.5 miles to the recycling center. She said everyone has to drive to
29 the recycling center anyway, so there is no benefit to curbside service when only recyclables
30 are collected. She said the fact that Orange County has been ranked number 1 in the state is
31 testimony to the fact that people are using the convenience centers. She said the elderly
32 population in the rural buffer is increasing, and having to carry the bins to your car and possibly
33 navigate stairs is a hazard for these people. She said the roll carts pose an issue for people
34 like her with long driveways. She said the recycling trucks leave a large carbon footprint, knock
35 down road signs, create ruts in the shoulders, and are a traffic hazard. She asked why
36 curbside pickup is being provided to a community that still has to haul its own trash. She would
37 rather see the money allocated to this program spent on improving the community. She said if
38 the Board does decide to offer this service, she would ask for the subscription option to allow
39 residents to opt out.
40
41 Tony Blake lives in a rural community in Bingham Township. He said the problem is that
42 everyone wants people to recycle more. He said people recycle less when garbage and
43 recycling are separated, so the best way to encourage recycling is to have those two things
44 together. He said this means that the trash needs to be picked up too; otherwise people should
45 just use the convenience centers.
46
47 Don O'Leary lives in Bingham Township. He said he preferred to use the convenience
48 centers. He does not understand why the Board of County Commissioners needs to force this
49 proposal down citizens' throats.
50
17
1 Carroll Hawkins lives in Cedar Grove Township and has a very long driveway. He
2 cannot imagine having a roll cart. He said from an equity standpoint, it is not fair to him to be
3 charged a tax when it is not convenient to use the service, and he does not plan to use it.
4
5 Commissioner McKee addressed Gayle Wilson and said that his department does an
6 excellent job. He complimented the solid waste department on the excellent recycling rate. He
7 said the abstract states that up to 14,000 roll carts will be purchased for the rural areas. He
8 said if it is assumed that many folks will not use the service, there will be a surplus of carts. He
9 said there is a cost of$212,000 for the carts. He said that a tax district with 20,000 parcels has
10 a potential to have up to 8000 unused carts, and this is not a good use of funds.
11 Commissioner McKee said he will concede that there may be a 25 percent reduction in
12 recycling if the County goes to a subscription service. He said rural curbside is only 17 percent
13 of the total recycling in Orange County, and if the 25 percent is applied to this rural rate and
14 then extrapolated across the total volume of recycling, it brings the possible reduction down to 3
15 or 4 percent.
16 Commissioner McKee said, with the tax concept, there will be 694 exempt properties
17 that will not pay tax though they can continue to receive services. He said the possible number
18 of medium and lower income residents that will be paying a tax for a service they may not need
19 or want is an equity issue for him.
20 Commissioner Price said she would like to see some comparable information and data
21 showing the scenario if people in rural areas are not required to pay for pickup and instead use
22 the convenience centers. She said people in the rural areas do recycle, and she has seen it at
23 her convenience center. She questioned whether the Board needs to have curbside pick-up to
24 accomplish their goals of recycling. She questions whether the Board is justifying the means or
25 the end. She feels that the County should be giving citizens options, and the option of"opt-
26 out" should be considered. She said there is no information on the effect of a subscription
27 service, and she would like to see this.
28 Commissioner Pelissier said the Board does not have a lot of information at this
29 meeting. She said part of the problem is that there is no good data on many of the things being
30 considered. She thought the purpose tonight was to decide whether or not to have a public
31 hearing. She does not want to make a decision before a public hearing is held. She said the
32 public needs to receive the big picture on this issue.
33 Commissioner Rich agreed with Commissioner Pelissier. She said that, because this is
34 not a public hearing, many people who are in favor of the tax just sent in emails instead of
35 attending. She urged the Board to move forward with what is in the abstract.
36 Commissioner Dorosin said the County has one goal, which is to maximize recycling in
37 Orange County. He said the other shared goal is to maximize fairness to all in the residents in
38 the County in achieving this recycling goal. He said the idea seems to be that paying a tax
39 means people will put the bin out at the curb, but these same residents will not recycle if they
40 have to opt, and this seems logically inconsistent. He said the only way to fairly do curbside
41 recycling is to either have an opt-in service or to fund it out of the general revenue so that
42 everyone bears the burden.
43 He said, as to the question of a public hearing, it should be a public hearing to present a
44 series of options. He said it can't be a public hearing on just a service district. He said he
45 would only support curbside recycling if it is funded from the general fund or a subscription
46 service. He said if the Board does not want to do curbside recycling, then other options need to
47 be considered, such as more convenience centers.
48 Commissioner Gordon said she would support going forth with a public hearing since
49 tonight's meeting was not advertised as a public hearing, and the Board needs to get this
50 information out to the public. She said a public hearing is required by statute in order to
18
1 establish a tax district. She said other options can also be presented at this hearing. She said
2 she does understand the issues of having a long driveway and paying a tax on vacant land.
3 Chair Jacobs addressed John Roberts. He asked, if the Board went ahead with a public
4 hearing and sent out notices to over 13,000 citizens, but then decided to use funding from
5 general fund and include the municipalities, whether any notices would have to be sent if the
6 urban areas were included after the fact.
7 John Roberts said the public hearing process could be followed later by the
8 municipalities if the elected boards chose to join in the service district. He said there is no
9 statutory mandate that the public hearing happen at a later time, but it would be a good policy
10 for those municipalities to have their own hearings.
11 Chair Jacobs said he does think that a lot of this information is based on opinion, and it
12 is useful but might not be applicable. He has concerns about all of the exempt properties. He
13 said he has lobbied that people with long driveways be allowed to use bins, and he is
14 concerned about the possible surplus of roll carts.
15 Gayle Wilson said an assessment would be done prior to each phase and necessary
16 adjustments would be made.
17 Chair Jacobs said the two goals are the commitment to equity and the commitment to
18 recycling and this balance is difficult. He said even the general fund use has an equity issue if
19 roadside recycling does not provide service to all residents. He said the question is whether the
20 Board feels that it is important enough to use the general fund or service district to support
21 curbside recycling.
22 Chair Jacobs said this should proceed to a public hearing, and all of the options should
23 be put on the table. He said there should be two public hearings held in both ends of the
24 County. He said the Board can come back on Feb. 4th to determine what information should be
25 presented at these hearings.
26 Commissioner Rich said if the general fund consideration is being put on the table, the
27 Board also needs to talk with the towns about what that means for the agreement that currently
28 exists with the County.
29 Commissioner Price said she does want to move forward with the public hearing, but
30 she wants to make sure that all of the options are discussed and time is used wisely. She
31 would also like to see data on the subscription service and the costs to the department and the
32 impact on revenue.
33 Commissioner McKee said he voted against the motion the last time this was discussed.
34 He said the previous wording finished with a statement that staff would proceed with a public
35 hearing with the intent to move forward with a district tax. He said if the Board is going to have
36 a public hearing he wants all options to be laid out, with both advantages and disadvantages of
37 each. He said curbside works very well in a neighborhood style development, but it is not ideal
38 for these longer driveways. He said he will oppose this again if it is done for just the service
39 district.
40 Commissioner Pelissier said that this public hearing would have to happen if there was
41 intent to implement a tax district. She asked if this precludes having information available on
42 the implications of not doing a tax district.
43 John Roberts said no. He said a public hearing is to solicit many types of input. He said
44 the notice would have to have certain information, but additional information is not prohibited.
45 Commissioner Pelissier said she would like estimates on how much of a capacity
46 increase would be needed at the Solid Waste Convenience Centers in the event that the
47 County did not go with a tax district.
48 Chair Jacobs said a few words can be added to the recommended motion tonight to
49 bring everyone into agreement.
19
1 Commissioner Gordon asked how these other options will be articulated. She
2 suggested this could be brought back by staff. She questioned what options would be put back
3 on the table. She said some options, such as franchises, have been eliminated by the Board,
4 and she questioned how it would affect the interactions with the towns if these things were
5 added back. She said the reintroduction of some of these options may have unintended
6 consequences.
7 Gayle Wilson said some of the topics include: the general fund option; Solid Waste
8 Convenience Center-only option; district tax; and a subscription service.
9 Michael Talbert said the County has already made a commitment to the towns saying
10 that the urban curbside is moving forward, and some of these other options are in conflict and
11 may have unintended consequences. He asked if the Board wants everything on the table at
12 the public hearing, or if the general fund idea should be eliminated. He said this means the
13 town residents would have to pay a tax to support the rural district, and this would be a problem
14 with intergovernmental relations.
15 Chair Jacobs said he has suggested that staff can vet the universe of options and come
16 back with a statement on February 4th. He said this would allow the Board to review it and
17 make an informed recommendation.
18 Commissioner Dorosin said he disagrees with the idea that the two goals are in conflict.
19 He said he feels that it is possible to have both environmental protection and social justice.
20
21 A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to
22 move forward with:
23
24 1. Discussing potential public hearing(s) on the proposed District establishment and other
25 options to be articulated, if inclined; determining the number and locations of public hearing(s)
26 the Board would like staff to pursue scheduling, including whether the public hearings should be
27 separate meetings or occur as part of regular Board meetings. (Note— Based on statutory
28 requirements and time constraints associated with a July 1, 2014 implementation, staff
29 believes public hearing(s) will need to occur in late March and early April).
30 2. Pending outcomes from #1 above, directing staff to bring back proposed public hearing
31 dates, times, and locations to the February 4, 2014 regular Board meeting for approval.
32
33 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
34
35 Michael Talbert summarized the above motion. He asked for clarification on whether
36 these hearings will be held at regular Board meetings or at separate meetings. He also clarified
37 that the Board does not want staff to move forward with the criteria to establish a district, but
38 that that process should stop at the fact that a district is possible, as well as the other three
39 options. He asked that the clerk poll the Board for relative dates to possibly do two additional
40 meetings.
41 Commissioner Gordon said she thought it was articulated that staff should vet the four
42 options, but possibly not bring back all four of them.
43 Michael Talbert said the four options outlined by Gayle Wilson are what will be brought
44 back with advantages and disadvantages, on February 4th, so that the Board can consider
45 whether these should be included in a public hearing.
46 Commissioner Gordon said she just wanted this to be clear to the towns.
47 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
48 hold two public hearings as stand-alone events; to review the options brought forward; and to
49 receive public comment.
20
1 Commissioner Dorosin questioned why the Board needs separate meetings. He said
2 this is all supposed to be transparent, and it should be on the regular agenda.
3 Commissioner McKee said the reason for his proposal of stand-alone events is due to
4 concern about the possibility of a lack of time for this size of a public hearing.
5 Commissioner Pelissier asked if staff could look at the calendar before this decision is
6 made.
7 Michael Talbert suggested starting the meeting an hour early.
8 Chair Jacobs clarified that Michael Talbert will come back with scheduling
9 recommendations if this fails.
10 Michael Talbert said this is correct.
11 Commissioner Price said if this fails she would like to have staff look for a meeting that
12 is lean.
13 Commissioner Gordon said she supports a stand-alone meeting with a work session
14 afterward, just in case it ends early.
15
16 VOTE: Ayes, 3: Chair Jacobs Commissioner McKee Commissioner Gordon; Nays, 4:
17 Commissioner Dorosin, Commissioner Pelissier, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner Price
18
19 MOTION FAILS
20
21 c. Approval of Budget Amendment #4-113 to Purchase Rural Curbside Recycling
22 Trucks
23 The Board considered approving Budget Amendment#4-B, for a total of$581,314,
24 authorizing the purchase of two (2) rural curbside recycling trucks from Southern Trucks of
25 Charlotte, North Carolina utilizing the Sole Source exemption from the formal bidding
26 requirement.
27 Gayle Wilson said staff has been delaying the replacement of these trucks, and the
28 current trucks barely function. He said the new trucks are designed to serve both a manual a
29 fully automated system and are versatile for serving the rural area. He said these take about 8
30 to 9 months to build. He said he realizes that one of the options may not require these trucks;
31 however, staff is going to recommend a similar truck next year in their budget for the multi-
32 family program. He said this means the new trucks would still be used.
33 Commissioner McKee expressed his support for this purchase.
34
35 A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner McKee to:
36
37 • Approve Budget Amendment#4-B for a total of$581,314 from solid waste enterprise
38 fund reserves for the purchase of the two curbside recycling trucks; and
39 • Approve a Sole Source exemption purchase from Southern Truck of Charlotte, North
40 Carolina to procure the two curbside recycling trucks at a cost of for $287,076 each
41 ($574,152).
42 Commissioner Dorosin asked what would be done with the trucks if curbside recycling
43 was not initiated.
44 Gayle Wilson said he would not request a recycling truck in next year's budget, but
45 would substitute one of these trucks instead. He said he would use the other as a backup for
46 all of the other programs. He said these are the most adaptable trucks that can be found.
47
48 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
49
50 d. Potential Orange County Fair—Conceptual Plan and Follow-Up
21
1 The Board received a report back to the Board on questions and follow-up information
2 requested at the November 12, 2013 work session on the County Fair Working Group report
3 and considered moving forward with the creation of a County Fair for the Spring of 2015,
4 including the County Fair in the Fiscal 2014/2015 Annual Budget, estimated to be between
5 $187,380 and $243,594, and including improvements to the Blackwood Farm Project.
6
7 Dave Stancil presented the following PowerPoint slides:
8
9 Potential Orange County Fair Follow-up Report
10 Background
11 cat Working Group Charged 6/18/2013
12 cat Meetings July-November, 10/30/2013 Information-Sharing Session
13 cQ Report 11/12/2013
14 cat Board asked for follow-up information
15 Recommended Fair
16 cQ Spring 2015
17 cQ Friday-Saturday ("soft" Thursday night?)
18 cQ Friday—schools?
19 cat Blackwood Farm Park
20 cat Evaluate after first run whether spring or fall
21 Themes:
22 e,3 Agriculture, local foods and restaurants
23 e,3 Arts and local artists
24 e,3 Diverse history
25 e,3 Education and youth
26 e,3 Live music, Games
27 e,3 Economic Development
28 Economic Development
29 cat Primary audience is ALL County residents
30 cat Event could draw from surrounding areas
31 cat Spinoff sales and income for local businesses
32
33 Dave Stancil reviewed maps of the proposed parking areas and the fair layout. He said
34 the livestock events would be demonstration focused, rather than competitions. He said efforts
35 will be made to encourage local food trucks and local restaurants to participate.
36 Jeff Thompson continued the presentation and reviewed the following slides:
37
38 Revenue and Costs
39 cat First-time event— difficult to project revenues/costs
40 cat General Budget Estimate: $189,000 revenues; ca $187,000 costs + 30% contingency of
41 $56,000 (= up to $243,000)
42 cat Proposed Events Planner would fundraise and manage revenues/costs. Costs do not
43 include county staff time.
44 cat Includes proposed funding from Visitors Bureau and General Fund (contingency/stop-
45 loss)
46 cat Around $9,500 in capital improvements to Blackwood Farm Park needed in FY 14-15
47 Cost/ Revenue Estimates
48 cat Working Group Suggestions
49 cQ Receive and discuss the report and projected budget
22
1 cat Authorize solicitation and hiring of professional events planner to coordinate fundraising,
2 volunteers and fair planning/management.
3
4 Manager's Recommendation
5 cat Receive and discuss the follow-up information and either:
6 A. Direct staff to move forward with creation of County Fair for Spring 2015, and agree to
7 include funding in FY 2014-15 budget and CIP; or
8 B. Direct staff not to move forward with the County Fair project.
9
10 Jeff Thompson reviewed the schematic from page 8 of the packet. He said the working
11 group recommends viewing these financial assumptions in a balance neutral format. He said
12 this means looking equally at expenses and the generation of funds.
13 He said the financial information assumes a modest midway. He said the midway is
14 planned for the 1.3 acre area in the northeast corner of the map, but if the midway were not to
15 occur, then that cost would not be included.
16
17 Commissioner Dorosin said after the Board's last work session, the group took the cost
18 concerns to heart, and work was done to address this and do the event in a revenue neutral
19 fashion. He said the intent is to recoup the cost of an event planner as well.
20 He said this event is designed to celebrate the County. He said the meetings reflect the
21 diversity of people interested in this project, and this was inspiring to him. He said concerns
22 about Hogg Days are no longer an issue. He emphasized that there is not currently an event
23 for the entire County. He said the fair will focus on and highlight local events organized by local
24 people.
25 Commissioner Price said another goal is to help promote local businesses, as well as
26 the County. She said the County needs to do more community building, and this will help with
27 that.
28 Commissioner Pelissier said the report does not tell how much future staff time is
29 anticipated for this event.
30 Dave Stancil said this is hard to answer. He said even with an event planner, there
31 would need to be a liaison from a number of different departments to develop the activity. He
32 does not have an estimate for this. He said this event will require about a half a year of activity
33 for the event planner to pull everything together, make it happen, and close it out.
34 Commissioner Rich asked who would be responsible for getting sponsorships.
35 Dave Stancil said the proposed event planner would be responsible for this.
36 Commissioner McKee referred to page 3 regarding upgrades to Blackwood Farm and
37 said he feels that the $9,500 figure is extremely low.
38 Jeff Thompson said there is no storm water permit issue unless more than 20,000 feet
39 of gravel are scraped. He said it is assumed that his staff will put the gravel down.
40 Commissioner McKee asked what trucks will be used to spread gravel.
41 Jeff Thompson said the gravel will include 10 tandem loads for 19,000 square feet of
42 surface gravel. He said this has been done before and it would be for vendor parking only. He
43 said the electrical upgrade is really just updating the existing the electrical service on the
44 farmstead.
45 Commissioner McKee asked how everything else would be powered.
46 Jeff Thompson said this would be done with 20kv generators from a rental vendor with
47 power distribution for the agriculture site, the midway, and the farmstead site.
48 Commissioner Gordon asked about the hours for the event planner and whether this
49 position would be half or full time.
50 Jeff Thompson said it is a 6 month commitment, and it would be a part time position.
23
1 Dave Stancil said this would be negotiated as part of the contract, which could be based
2 on either hours or the end product. He said this is not known yet.
3 Commissioner Gordon said this impacts what the staff time will be.
4 Dave Stancil said there will be a better idea of this framework after the solicitation
5 process.
6 Commissioner Pelissier asked about the possible installation of a fire hydrant and the
7 cost of extending a water line to do this.
8 Dave Stancil said there is water service to the house, and there is a 4 acre pond on the
9 property. He said the fire marshal indicated that this could be used as a water supply, and a
10 fire hydrant would not be needed. He said he does not have costs for a fire hydrant.
11 Commissioner Price noted that there were people at the community meeting who
12 volunteered to help with the event.
13 Commissioner McKee referred to the pond as a source of water supply. He asked if this
14 would require a fire truck to be on site for the event. He is concerned about the difficulty of
15 egress and entrance.
16 Dave Stancil said he has not talked with the fire departments yet, but the fire marshal
17 said he would evaluate this, if and when this event goes forward. He said the driveway does
18 have some limitation, and a fire truck would be the biggest vehicle that could be
19 accommodated.
20 Commissioner McKee noted that the cost projection is $187,000, and he asked for the
21 cost figure from the last work session.
22 Jeff Thompson said it was $250,000 because the site had not been collapsed.
23 Commissioner Dorosin said the event planner would likely be part-time in the beginning
24 and then grow to full time as the event gets closer.
25
26 PUBLIC COMMENT
27 Mark Marcoplos said he is pro fair, and he feels it would be a great celebration of the
28 County's businesses, agriculture, history, and culture. He said it would be a great celebration
29 for the schools. He said it would be fun, and he feels the budget looks doable.
30 Mark Chilton said he agreed with Mark Marcoplos, and he feels this is a great idea. He
31 said this is an opportunity to showcase the local food and value added stuff being produced by
32 the County. He feels it would be more successful than the figures show, and people would be
33 drawn to it.
34 Dave Stancil said the proposed budget with cost on November 12th was $142,000, with
35 another $42,000 in contingencies. He said there has been some refinement to this.
36 Commissioner Rich noted that the abstract says the Visitor's Bureau is committing
37 $10,000, but that is not what happened. She said the notes from that meeting show that the
38 $10,000 would only be available after the event shows it is a viable fair.
39 Laurie Paoceilli said there was a lot of circular conversation. She said the Visitors
40 Bureau is in the events support business, and it seemed fair to many to support the idea of a
41 County fair. She said the conversation got caught up with the realization that there was not
42 enough information about this event yet to financially support it at this time. She said if the
43 Board of County Commissioners vetted this and thought it was a viable event then it is her
44 opinion that there would be a vote to support using that $10,000.
45 Commissioner Rich asked Margaret Cannell, Executive Director of the Hillsborough
46 Chamber of Commerce and producer of Hogg Day, to come up. She asked how much time
47 Margaret Cannell spent on Hogg Day.
48 Margaret Cannell said this would require a minimum of 6 months of full time work since
49 it is a larger event. She said this takes a lot more time and dedication than the Board may
24
1 think. She said the planner will have a sharp learning curve, and for this first time planning
2 process the County would need a full time person for the full year.
3 Commissioner Rich asked how much money Hogg Day made.
4 Margaret Cannell said she has run Hogg Day for 12 years, and the most money it made
5 was $30,000. She said that was a year when pork producers donated $13,000 worth of meat.
6 She said that figure does not account for staff time. She, taking into account staff time, there
7 was a profit of$7,000 this past year.
8 Commissioner McKee asked if Hogg Day gets grants from corporations.
9 Margaret Cannell said Hogg Day had sponsorships, but it was difficult to get them. She
10 said for a start-up event, this would be the first task the event planner would need to do. She
11 said this could be easy if the planner has good networking in place, but the economy also plays
12 a huge role. She thanked the Board and other County staff members who have supported
13 Hogg Days over the years. She noted that several organizations are trying to pick up the event.
14 Commissioner Pelissier said there are a lot of possibilities set out here and a budget
15 nobody really understands. She said while this is a great idea, her main concern is Blackwood
16 Farm and how this would play out with moving Blackwood Park forward in the future. She
17 would like to wait another year or two until Blackwood Park begins development.
18 Commissioner McKee said costs with the schools are getting ready to come up again,
19 and there are continuous state cuts to the school systems. He said he is concerned with how
20 these cost factors will be accommodated, and he feels that this event will be a competing item
21 in the budget. He said if there is going to be an increase in expenses it should be for school
22 systems and core services. He is uncertain that that can even be done without a tax increase.
23 Commissioner Rich said there was some conversation about this event at the Visitors
24 Bureau end of the year meeting. She said one conversation was about the idea that this could
25 start small with a music venue at the farm's amphitheater. She said there was also some
26 concern expressed about some of the property on Blackwood Farm not being stable.
27 Dave Stancil said that was true at one time, but there has been about $100,000 worth of
28 building stabilization done over the past several years. He said this should not be an issue.
29 Commissioner Rich said there was also concern about the integrity of Blackwood Farm
30 being compromised with heavy machinery.
31 Commissioner Gordon said what the Board is being asked to do is to move forward with
32 a project costing $187,000 -$243,000 and include improvements to the Blackwood Farm. She
33 said she has concerns about this financial commitment in the face of so many uncertainties.
34 Commissioner Dorosin emphasized that this model is made to be revenue neutral or
35 revenue positive event. He said the goal for tonight is to get the authority to hire an event
36 planner to help determine the viability of this event. He noted that Hogg Day was revenue
37 positive every year. He believes there will be a large volunteer base to help mitigate staff time.
38 Commissioner Dorosin said a smaller event is possible, but at some point there will still
39 be costs associated with improvements and other items, regardless of the size of the event. He
40 said the event could be shortened, but there are economies of scale to consider. He said
41 vendors would be charged less to come for only one day, and schools could not be involved if
42 the event is only on a Saturday. He said the goal is to draw as many people as possible, so the
43 diversity of the event is important. He said it would be better to scale everything down, than to
44 pull just one section down.
45 He said that the idea of having a park but not going into it is counterintuitive. He said
46 this farm is a jewel of the county and this would be an opportunity to show it off. He said there
47 is a lot of excitement about this, and it will be fun. He said County government has to be about
48 more than just maintaining the status quo and this is a real opportunity.
49 Commissioner Rich asked if any of the local vendors and restaurants were interested in
50 being involved in this.
25
1 Dave Stancil said some of the food trucks participated in the information session, but
2 because there is so little concrete information, no one has committed yet.
3 Chair Jacobs said he was part of the 250th celebration event, and he has been
4 supportive of the fair idea. He said the event has promise; but he does not believe any of the
5 numbers, and he does not want to make any commitments outside of the budget process. He
6 would be supportive of hiring an event planner for 4 months until the budget process, to vet
7 these numbers and see what the County's exposure will be. He said this can be evaluated in
8 May, and the Board will see what their priorities are.
9 He said community building is important, and this event will provide an opportunity for
10 this; however, the Board heard today in the school collaboration meeting about extra school
11 expenses. He said if someone is willing to do the job with the possibility that it will become a full
12 time job if the numbers prove to be reliable, then he would be comfortable with this. He is less
13 comfortable with doing an ad hoc approach.
14
15 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to
16 approve option 2 in the Manager's recommendation, which directs staff not to move forward
17 with the County Fair Project, because of these uncertainties.
18
19 VOTE: Ayes, 4: Commissioner Pelissier, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner McKee, and
20 Commissioner Gordon; Nays, 3: Chair Jacobs, Commissioner Dorosin, Commissioner Price
21
22 Commissioner Pelissier clarified that this motion does not mean the idea is totally dead
23 in the long term, but there are too many uncertainties at the moment.
24
25 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Price to hire
26 a part time event planner to develop and vet a plan, including costs, and to bring this back
27 during the budget process.
28
29 Commissioner Dorosin said this is the only way to provide the information that the Board
30 is looking for. He believes that if this information was available, the Board would support this.
31 Commissioner McKee said every idea does not need to move forward, and the Board
32 sometimes has to make hard decisions. He said this may be a very good idea, but there are
33 other considerations, such as education, that override it. He feels the Board has a hard time
34 making a definitive decision. He is comfortable with the motion that was made, and the Board
35 needs to have the backbone to stick with it.
36 Commissioner Rich said she agrees with Commissioner Pelissier that this ought not to
37 be a dead issue. She said she can go along with Commissioner Dorosin's proposal as long as
38 it is kept in the budget cycle.
39 Commissioner Pelissier said she does not want to revive this and spend money on it
40 right now. She would like to re-visit this in the future, during the discussions for a full blown
41 park at Blackwood Farm.
42 Commissioner Gordon said this should come back for discussion during the budget
43 cycle. She said there is no need to rush and pay money for an employee to keep this idea alive
44 before the budget cycle. She said right now this expense is too large.
45 Chair Jacobs asked for clarification on page 3, regarding the cost to hire an events
46 planner.
47 Dave Stancil said this was geared toward the hiring a person on a contract basis.
48 Jeff Thompson said $15,000 420,000 is a realistic number for the 4 month scope of
49 services described.
26
1 Commissioner Rich said she does not think this number is enough, but it does not
2 matter at this point.
3 Commissioner Dorosin said his motion is to hire someone now to help provide
4 information and answers to all of the questions.
5 Michael Talbert asked if this proposal is to hire a temporary person, or to have a firm
6 hire someone to do this research.
7 Chair Jacobs said this has not been specified.
8 Michael Talbert said the timetable on this would put the hiring in mid to late March or
9 April, which would be too late for the budget cycle for this year.
10 Commissioner Price said there have been emails from interested parties regarding the
11 event planner position.
12
13 VOTE: Ayes, 3: Chair Jacobs Commissioner Dorosin Commissioner Price; Nays, 4:
14 Commissioner Pelissier, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner McKee, Commissioner Gordon
15
16 Motion fails.
17
18 8. Reports-NONE
19
20 9. County Manager's Report
21 Michael Talbert said the North Carolina Association Group benefits pooled ceased to
22 exist on December 31, 2011. He said, as a member of that pool, the County received a check
23 for $157, 000 for their share in the risk pool. He said this went into the self-insurance reserves
24 fund.
25 He said the Board of Elections is moving forward with the idea of early voting, which will
26 start on April 4, 2014 and will end on May 3, 2014. He said, by law this has to operate for 226
27 hours. He said 4 potential sites are being considered, including: The Seymour Center,
28 Carrboro location, and the Hillsborough Board of elections. He said there are negotiations
29 ongyoing for a site in or around the Chapel Hill area. He said this site will be finalized by March
30 14t . He said there is adequate funding in place to make this all happen.
31
32 10. County Attorney's Report - NONE
33
34 11. Appointments
35
36 a. Advisory Board on Aging —Appointment
37 The Board was to consider making an appointment to the Advisory Board on Aging.
38 DEFERRED
39
40 b. Arts Commission —Appointment
41 The Board was to consider making appointments to the Arts Commission.
42 DEFERRED
43
44 c. Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee—Appointment
45 The Board was to consider making appointments to the Nursing Home Community
46 Advisory Committee.
47 DEFERRED
48
49
50 12. Board Comments
27
1 Commissioner Price said there is an opportunity to have further input with Triangle Area
2 Rural Planning Organization (TARPO) through participation in a district 7 meeting on
3 Wednesday, January 29th from 4-7 pm.
4 She said the MLK weekend celebrations were very nice this year.
5 Commissioner Gordon — none
6 Commissioner McKee said he finally made the MLK event this year in Chapel Hill, and it
7 was very nice. He has been attending these for years in the northern part of the County, but
8 this was his first in the southern portion of the County.
9 Commissioner Dorosin — none
10 Commissioner Rich referred to the comments on early voting and said there is concern
11 that the early voting site will not be on campus. She said there are 4 sites being considered
12 and there is concern with it being moved off campus. She suggested the Board get involved if
13 they would like to keep it on campus.
14 Commissioner Pelissier said she celebrated the MLK event in Durham and she cooked
15 for residents who had not had a hot meal in awhile. She said this was a great service
16 opportunity for her family.
17 Commissioner Pelissier congratulated Colleen Bridger for being selected as the North
18 Carolina Health Director of the Year.
19 Commissioner Pelissier said, in reference to the jail alternatives work group, there is a
20 memo at the Commissioner's places that outlines an extension on the report timeline from
21 March 31 st to the May 13th work session. She said this delay will have no negative impact. She
22 said it is more important to have a good, properly vetted report.
23 Chair Jacobs said County staff continues to meet with representatives of the Morinaga
24 project to move the project forward. He said the Burlington Graham Metropolitan Planning
25 Organization adopted the access road program as a top priority. He said the plan is still for
26 Morinaga to be in business by July 1, 2015.
27 Chair Jacobs said Triangle Transit put together a summary of the Hillsborough train
28 station project, and he had passed this on to Mr. Tata at the Triangle J meeting.
29
30 13. Information Items
31
32 e December 10, 2013 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List
33 e Tax Collector's Report— Numerical Analysis
34 e Tax Collector's Report— Monthly Enforced Collections
35 e Memorandum Regarding Major Fund Financial Statement for the Six Months Ended
36 December 31, 2013
37 e BOCC Chair Letter Regarding Petitions from December 10, 2013 Regular Board
38 Meeting
39
40 14. Closed Session
41 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Rich to go
42 into closed session at 11:28 pm for the purposes listed below:
43
44 "Pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(3) "to consult with an attorney retained by the Board in order
45 to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the Board."
46 and
47 "To consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of
48 appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or
49 prospective public officer or employee;" NCGS § 143-318.11(a)(6).
50
28
1 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
2
3 RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION
4
5 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
6 reconvene into regular session at 11:50 pm.
7
8 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
9
10 15. Adjournment
11
12 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
13 adjourn the meeting at 11:50 pm.
14
15 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
16
17
18 Barry Jacobs, Chair
19
20 Donna S. Baker, CMC
21 Clerk to the Board
22
1
I Attachment 2
2
3 DRAFT MINUTES
4 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
5 REGULAR MEETING
6 February 4, 2014
7 7:00 p.m.
8
9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday,
10 February 4, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the DSS offices, in Hillsborough, N.C.
11
12 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jacobs and Commissioners Alice M. Gordon,
13 Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price, Penny Rich
14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Mark Dorosin
15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Interim County Manager Michael Talbert, Assistant County
17 Managers Clarence Grier, Cheryl Young and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff
18 members will be identified appropriately below)
19 NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT
20 AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
21
22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
23
24 Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. He reviewed the following items at
25 the Commissioner's places:
26 - Orange Sheet- Item 4a - Orange County Arts Grant Recipients
27 - Green Sheet - Item 61 - Proposed Revisions to the Legal Advertisement for Quarterly
28 Public Hearing — February 24, 2014
29 - Yellow Sheet -Item 7a - Triangle Transit Update on Implementation of the Orange
30 County Bus and Rail Investment Plan
31 - White chart - Item 7-b-Scheduling Public Hearings — Proposed Unincorporated County
32 Recycling Service District
33
34 Chair Jacobs noted that Commissioner Dorosin would be unable to attend this meeting.
35
36 PUBLIC CHARGE
37 The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge.
38
39 2. Public Comments
40 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda
41
42 NONE
43
44 3. Petitions by Board Members
45 Commissioner Price petitioned the Board to write a resolution to Saint Paul AME Church
46 in honor of its 150th anniversary.
47
48 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations
49 a. Orange County Arts Grant Recipients
2
1 The Board presented checks to local artists and arts organizations receiving Fall 2013
2 Orange County Arts Grants.
3 Commissioner Pelissier arrived at 7:09.
4 Martha Shannon said the Arts Commission received 26 grant requests in 2013, totaling
5 $31,357, and a total of$24,926 in County funds were awarded.
6 Commissioner Rich said this is an exciting program, and she asked how people sign up
7 to participate.
8 Martha Shannon said Commission advertises in all medium and has grant information
9 meetings. She said there are usually first time applicants in each cycle (twice a year).
10 The Board presented checks to the following local artists and art organizations:
11
12 Fall 2013 Arts Grant Recipients
13 Orange County Arts Commission
14
15 Recipients: Attendees:
16 ArtsCenter - Tracy Thomas
17
18 BUMP (Boston Urban Music Project): The Triangle — Kathryn Bradley & Georgiary
19 Bledsoe
20
21 Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation - Lyria Boast
22
23 Iris Thompson Chapman - Iris Thompson Chapman, Thomas
24 Wetson and Steve Brantley Weber
25
26 Door to Door of UNC Health Care - Joy Javits
27
28 Extraordinary Ventures - Cyndi Whisnant
29
30 Janice French - Janice French
31
32 Friends of the Carrboro Branch Library - Nerys Levy
33
34 Grady A. Brown Elementary School PTA- Tracy Thomas
35
36 Rob Hamilton - Rob Hamilton
37
38 Tinka Jordy - Tinka Jordy
39
40 McDougle Elementary School PTA- Rachael Cruickshank
41
42 Northside Elementary School PTA - Tiki Gwynne
43
44 One Song Productions - Nell Ovitt & Rosie Kerwin
45
46 Orange County Artists Guild - Emily Lees
47
48 Phillips Middle School PTSA- Cristina Smith
49
50 Preservation Chapel Hill - Tama Hochbaum (or Nerys Levy)
3
1
2 Barbara Tyroler - Nerys Levy
3
4 UNC Center for the Study of the American South - Libby Rodenbough
5
6 Women's Voices Chorus - Sarah Zink
7
8 b. Proclamation — Human Relations Month
9 The Board considered officially proclaiming the month of February as "Human Relations
10 Month" in Orange County and authorizing the Chair to sign the proclamation.
11 HRC Co-Chair Rollin Russell thanked the Board of County Commissioners for all of their
12 support, specifically their support and presence at the Human Relations Forum.
13 Rollin Russell read the following proclamation:
14
15 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
16 HUMAN RELATIONS MONTH PROCLAMATION
17
18 WHEREAS, the Orange County Human Relations Commission believes that in order to
19 achieve justice and equal opportunity for all Orange County residents, we must all strive to
20 create an atmosphere where people are valued and accepted rather than merely tolerated, and
21 therefore continue to promote the ideal of social justice for all; and
22
23 WHEREAS, the Orange County Human Relations Commission has diligently served
24 Orange County since 1995 and remains committed to promoting equal treatment, opportunity
25 and understanding throughout the community; and
26
27 WHEREAS, the Orange County Human Relations Commission enforces the County's
28 Civil Rights Ordinance which specifically prohibits discrimination based on an individual's race,
29 color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status and familial status; and
30
31 WHEREAS, the Orange County Human Relations Commission encourages Orange
32 County residents, as individuals, to take a stand against social injustice and continue to work
33 together to make freedom, justice, and equal opportunity available for all; and
34
35 WHEREAS, Orange County is committed to preserving the progress made thus far
36 towards equality and leading the challenge for equal opportunity using all the means at our
37 disposal;
38
39 NOW, THEREFORE, We, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim
40 February 2014 as "HUMAN RELATIONS MONTH" in Orange County and challenge all
41 residents to promote the ideology of social justice for all by celebrating and encouraging
42 multiculturalism in the County and encouraging all residents to embrace diversity in Orange
43 County.
44
45 THIS THE 4t" DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2014.
46
47 A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Price to
48 proclaim the month of February as "Human Relations Month" in Orange County and
49 authorizethe Chair to sign the proclamation.
4
1
2 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
3
4 5. Public Hearings
5
6 a. Orange County Consolidated Housing Plan Update
7 The Board received comments from the public regarding the housing and non-housing
8 needs to be included in the Annual Update of the 2010-2015 Consolidated Housing Plan for
9 Housing and Community Development Programs in Orange County and proposed uses of
10 2014-2015 HOME funds.
11 Tara Fikes reviewed the background information from the abstract. She said her
12 department anticipates receiving the same amount in funding as last year ($333,418) for
13 acquisition, rental assistance, new construction and housing rehabilitation.
14 Commissioner Pelissier referred to the Plan to End Homelessness and asked if there
15 are any items in this grant to encourage permanent housing.
16 Tara Fikes said the housing department tries to make sure that the community knows
17 that there is interest in creating more permanent housing. She said there is a real push for this
18 during the preparation of the continuum of care application, and the hope is that this carries
19 over.
20 Commissioner Rich asked if there is anything additional or outside of the box being
21 done that is not listed in the plan.
22 Tara Fikes said she cannot think of anything at this point, but she will give this some
23 thought.
24 Chair Jacobs said the Senior Housing that was done with a private developer was a
25 major investment of housing bond funds.
26
27 PUBLIC COMMENT:
28 Mary Jean Sada said she is the chief operating officer of CASA, an organization that
29 develops and manages rental housing for mostly disabled and homeless citizens. She said one
30 of their tenants, John, a veteran, lost his job and then his housing. She said he ended up
31 camping in the woods for 4 years before an outreach worker found him and developed a
32 relationship with him. The outreach worker was able to put him in touch with the VA and then
33 with CASA. Mary Jean Sada said John now has his own apartment funded by the County
34 Commissioners. She said having a safe secure place enables him to cook, clean, and make all
35 of his appointments at the VA. She said John has expressed that the ability to only pay 30% of
36 his income for rent allows him to even get a burger once in awhile.
37 Mary Jean Sada said this is one example of the power of affordable housing, and she
38 advocates for these funds to serve the County's most vulnerable populations. She said housing
39 is one of the simplest solutions for homelessness. She advocated for funding for more
40 affordable apartments and for rapid re-housing. She said the rapid re-housing is beneficial
41 because it takes people out of the IFC shelter and places them in housing quicker, and it also
42 provides a bridge for some people to prevent them from becoming homeless. She
43 acknowledged Tara Fikes and her staff for their dedication and commitment to finding housing
44 solutions in Orange County.
45 Susan Levy, Executive Director for Habitat for Humanity, said Habitat has developed 11
46 creative partnerships in 2013 to build 11 new homes. She said the families who purchase
47 these homes are hardworking members of the community. She said 9 of these homes were
48 built in Phoenix Place, and 2 of the homes were built in the Fairview Community in
49 Hillsborough.
5
1 She said despite the bad weather so far this year there are 9 homes currently being built
2 in Rush Hollow, 2 homes in Fairview and 7 homes in Phoenix Place. She said when all of the
3 families are moved into Phoenix Place in late summer, there will be 115 children living in a safe
4 secure environment in which to grow. She said, despite the foreclosure crisis, home ownership
5 is still a good thing for families, and it has a long term positive impact on families and children.
6 Susan Levy, said there has been an increase in demand for the home ownership
7 program over the past 5 years, and there were 300 applications for the 50 homes in Phoenix
8 Place. She said 120 of these applicants met the basic qualifications, which means that 70
9 qualified families were turned down. She said the majority of the applicants were living in
10 overcrowded apartments and paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent. She
11 said the owners of Habitat for Humanity homes usually pay less than their prior rent.
12 She said Habitat is also very engaged with the Brush for Kindness program, and 18
13 families were served in 2013. She said this program will continue to expand. She said Habitat
14 will continue to ask for $250,000 in home funds to support building projects.
15 Susan Levy said that Habitat for Humanity, HomeTrust and CASA are all members of a
16 newly formed affordable housing coalition in Orange County. She said this coalition hopes to
17 continue to work with local government to increase the range of local housing options.
18 Commissioner Rich asked what happens to people who are turned down.
19 Susan Levy said these residents are referred to other programs if possible, but there are
20 not a lot of options.
21 Robert Dowling, Executive Director of Community Home Trust, said this community is
22 fortunate to have Habitat for Humanity and Casa. He said more funding is needed in Orange
23 County, and it is unfortunate that each of these organizations is competing for the same few
24 dollars. He said the Waterstone Development is now moving forward on their residential
25 components, and there are plans to develop 24 affordable townhomes. He said this is
26 expected to happen by the summer of 2014. He said this means an increase in the funding he
27 is requesting, and he will be requesting $100,000 in subsidy.
28 He said Community Home Trust has 220 homes in their inventory and 15 more under
29 construction. He said a lot of these are condominiums, and these are starting to see turnover,
30 which means subsidies are needed. He said this is because the income limits today are less
31 than those of 2004, while taxes and housing costs have increased.
32 He thanked the Board for their support of affordable housing in Orange County.
33 Commissioner McKee asked if Community Home Trust could collaborate with Habitat for
34 Humanity and CASA on the project in Waterstone.
35 Robert Dowling said he would look into this.
36 Chair Jacobs asked Tara Fikes if any section 8 housing forms are left here for the
37 Department of Social Services.
38 Tara Fikes said applications are not currently being accepted because the list is so long.
39 Chair Jacobs asked if this list will be re-visited to see if the residents are still interested.
40 Tara Fikes said this purge is being done now, and this will take about six months.
41
42 6. Consent Agenda
43 Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda
44
45 Items 6-k and 6-1 were removed for discussion.
46
47 Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda
48
49 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
50 approve the remaining items on the consent agenda.
6
1
2 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
3
4 Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda
5
6 6-k Authorization of a Deed of Trust by Orange Enterprises, Inc.
7 The Board considered authorizing Orange Enterprises, Inc. (OE) to obtain a deed of
8 trust in an amount of$250,000 and authorizing the Chair to sign.
9 John Roberts said OE is requesting a second deed of trust on this property. He said if
10 Orange County grants this authority OE will have additional operating funds. He said the
11 business has a shortage of cash flow.
12 John Roberts said another request came in that was an amendment to the agreement.
13 He said this amendment changes the number in the 2005 contract which states that OE is
14 prohibited from securing deeds of trust in excess of$715,000. He said tonight's approval would
15 take that total up to $965,000, and OE is seeking to amend the agreement to allow deeds of
16 trust up to $1 million.
17 Chair Jacobs asked if John Roberts was comfortable with this.
18 John Roberts said yes.
19 Commissioner Gordon asked for the total worth.
20 John Roberts said it is assessed for $1,091,519 million dollars. He said this matters to
21 the County because if OE defaults, ownership will default to the County.
22 Commissioner Gordon clarified that the assessed value is $1,091,519 and OE wants
23 authorization for $1 million.
24 John Roberts said this is correct.
25
26 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
27 authorize Orange Enterprises, Inc. (OE) to obtain a deed of trust in an amount of$250,000; to
28 accept an amendment to the contract allowing Orange Enterprises, Inc to secure deeds of trust
29 up to $1 million; and to authorize the Chair to sign.
30
31 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
32
33 6-1 Legal Advertisement for Quarterly Public Hearing — February 24, 2014
34 The Board considered the legal advertisement for items to be presented at the joint
35 Board of County Commissioners/Planning Board Quarterly Public Hearing scheduled for
36 February 24, 2014.
37 Commissioner Price asked if it is possible to add links to the online application or to add
38 contact numbers for staff.
39 Perdita said there is a statement in the legal advertisement regarding a link to
40 applications available on the County Website, as well as a phone number to call for more
41 information.
42 Commissioner Price said this is after the public information meetings and the
43 advertisement will only run one time.
44 Perdita Holtz said the public information meetings are being included in the legal
45 advertisement. She said this exact same advertisement will run twice, even though the public
46 information meeting will have occurred by the time the February 19th advertisement runs.
47 Commissioner Price asked if the link will take people to the specific agenda item or just
48 to the full agenda.
7
1 Perdita Holtz said there are other items posted on the Planning Department's website
2 where there are links in the advertisement. She gave examples of this and said there are only
3 about 5 items on the short list.
4 Commissioner Gordon asked if the Board can specify approval of the updated version
5 that includes the changes outlined in the following memo from her:
6
7 Questions and Comments - February 4, 2014 BOCC Meeting Agenda
8
9 ITEM 6-1 - LEGAL AD FOR QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING
10
11 Changes to Attachment 1 (hearing notice) are proposed to achieve greater clarity and
12 transparency.
13
14 A. Pages 7 & 8 - Hearing item #6 - Agricultural Support Enterprises outside of the Rural Buffer
15
16 Page 7 - Last paragraph on the page - Add clarifying language, as follows:
17 Right before the last sentence, add two sentences giving examples of the proposed uses, so
18 that the last three sentences of the paragraph would now be:
19
20 Examples of the most intensive uses include Agricultural Processing Facility, Farm Equipment
21 Rental/ Sales and Service, Meat Processing Facility, Stockyards/ Livestock Markets, Winery
22 with Major Events (more than 150 people). Examples of the least intensive uses include
23 Community Farmers Market, Cooperative Farm Stand, Rural Special Events (150 people or
24 less), Veterinary Clinic, Winery with Minor Events (150 people or less).
25
26 Page 8 - Public information meeting - Add clarifying language to the title for this section, as
27 follows:
28 PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING
29 for the Agricultural Support Enterprises proposal
30
31 B. Pages 8 & 9 - Hearing item #7 - Agricultural Support Enterprises within the Rural Buffer
32
33 Page 8 - Last paragraph on the page - Add clarifying language, as follows:
34 Right before the last (partial) sentence, add two sentences giving examples of the proposed
35 uses, so that the last three sentences on the page would now be:
36
37 Examples of the most intensive uses include Agricultural Processing Facility, Farm Equipment
38 Rental/ Sales and Service, Meat Processing Facility, Stockyards/ Livestock Markets, Winery
39 with Major Events (more than 150 people). Examples of the least intensive uses include
40 Community Farmers Market, Cooperative Farm Stand, Rural Special Events (150 people or
41 less), Veterinary Clinic, Winery with Minor Events (150 people or less). Projects in the Rural
42 Buffer must also conform to the Joint Planning Area Land Use ......
43
44 Page 9 - Public information meeting - Add clarifying language to the title for this section, as
45 follows:
46 PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING
47 for the Agricultural Support Enterprises proposal
48
49 Chair Jacobs answered yes.
8
1 Commissioner Gordon said it might address some of Commissioner Price's concern if
2 the legal advertisement told where paper copies could be obtained.
3 Perdita Holtz said this is already included in the advertisement, and she read the
4 paragraph.
5 Commissioner Gordon said it would be helpful to highlight the main items in bold when
6 there are so many items and a lot of text.
7 Perdita Holtz said this can be done on this advertisement too.
8
9 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to
10 approve the legal advertisement in attachment 1,with revisions as discussed, and that staff be
11 directed to put in bold the key phrases for items to be presented at the joint Board of County
12 Commissioners/Planning Board Quarterly Public Hearing scheduled for February 24, 2014.
13
14 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
15
16 a. Minutes
17 The Board approved the minutes from November 21 and December 2, 2013 as submitted by
18 the Clerk to the Board.
19 b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Releases/Refunds
20 The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release motor vehicle
21 property tax values for twenty-five (25) taxpayers with a total of twenty-five (25) bills that will
22 result in a reduction of revenue in accordance with the NCGS.
23 c. Property Tax Releases/Refunds
24 The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release property tax
25 values for twenty-one (21) taxpayers with a total of thirty-six (36) bills in accordance with North
26 Carolina General Statute 105-381 that will result in a reduction of revenue.
27 d. Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion
28 The Board approved six (6) untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad valorem
29 taxation for eight (8) bills for the 2013 tax year.
30 e. Advertisement of Tax Liens on Real Property
31 The Board received a report on the amount of unpaid taxes for the current year that are liens on
32 real property as required by North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 105-369 and approved a
33 request that March 19, 2014 be set by the Board as the date for the tax lien advertisement.
34 f. Orange County Arts Commission Annual DCP Renewal with NC Arts Council
35 The Board authorized the Orange County Arts Commission and staff to apply by the March 3,
36 2014 deadline for annual Designated County Partner (DCP) renewal with the NC Arts Council in
37 order to receive state Grassroots Arts Program funds for Orange County.
38 g. Application for North Carolina Education Lottery Proceeds for Chapel Hill —
39 Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) and Contingent Approval of Budget Amendment# 4-.
40 C Related to CHCCS Capital Project Ordinances
41 The Board approved an application to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
42 (NCDPI) to release funds from the NC Education Lottery account related to FY 2013-14 debt
43 service payments for Chapel Hill — Carrboro City Schools, and authorized the Chair to sign and
44 to approve Budget Amendment#4-C (amended School Capital Project Ordinances), contingent
45 on the State's approval of the application.
46 h. Amending the County Manager's Employment Contract
47 The Board amended the County Manager's employment contract to allow for a three month
48 extension of employment and a thirty month extension of health insurance coverage.
49 L Request for Road Additions to the State Maintained Secondary Road System
9
1 The Board made a recommendation to the North Carolina Department of Transportation
2 (NCDOT), and in turn the North Carolina Board of Transportation (NC BOT), concerning a
3 petition to add a total of four (4) subdivision roads in Wyndfall Subdivision to the State
4 Maintained Secondary Road System.
5 j. Impact Fee Reimbursement Request
6 The Board approved an impact fee reimbursement request from Habitat for Humanity of
7 Orange County, NC, Inc. for $114,053 for eleven (11) homes recently constructed in the
8 County.
9
10 7. Regular Agenda
11
12 a. Triangle Transit Update on Implementation of the Orange County Bus and Rail
13 Investment Plan
14 The Board received an update on Triangle Transit's (TT) annual report on the Orange
15 County Bus and Rail Investment Plan (OCBRIP), a preview of Plan updates, and additional
16 revenue from the one-half cent sales tax for transit.
17 Triangle Transit Executive Director David King said the Commissioners are being given
18 the annual report of the Orange County Bus and Rail Investment Plan. He noted that the tax
19 collections began in April; so there was very little financial activity, and Orange County's intake
20 was just under $1 million. He said a full year's tax collection should equal around $6 million.
21 He said John Tallmadge has been leading a staff working group, which consists of
22 Orange County staff, as well as folks from Chapel Hill and Carrboro to do all of the detailed
23 work. He said John Tallmadge will review this information, as well as the financial plan
24 assumptions and some of the work that has been done with Orange County and the northern
25 rural areas.
26 John Tallmadge said there is an inter-local implementation agreement between the
27 County Commissioners, Triangle Transit's Board of Trustees and the Metropolitan Planning
28 Organization (MPO) Transportation Advisory Committee. He said one of the provisions is that
29 the plan will be reviewed every 4 years unless someone has a concern prior to that time, in
30 which case the group can convene to review the issue.
31 John Tallmadge said this plan was adopted in 2012, and shortly after this the federal
32 government adopted a new funding law that changed how bus capital funding was to be done.
33 He said the N.C. General Assembly also recently changed how state funding of transportation
34 is done.
35 He said the changes mean that all federal funds for bus projects are done through a
36 formula that funds at a much lower level. He said the 2012 plan assumed that 80 percent of
37 every vehicle purchase would be available in federal grants, with a 10 percent match from the
38 state. He said there is a lot more competition at the state level, and there are different rules
39 now. He said there was concern that waiting for the above assumptions before spending local
40 dollars would result in a long wait, and the promises of the plan would not be delivered.
41 He said for that reason Triangle Transit (TT) decided to revisit those assumptions with their
42 partners. He said the receipts of sales taxes levied last year were higher than the original
43 assumptions in the adopted plan. He said all parties involved were asked to weigh in on
44 whether those assumptions should be adjusted. He said these were the drivers for the process
45 of looking at the plan now, instead of waiting 4 years to do a revision.
46 He referred to a table with three columns shown in the abstract attachment 1(b), labeled
47 Comparison of Draft Financial Model Update Assumptions to Adopted Plans.
48 Chair Jacobs asked if this could be put on the screen for the public to view.
49 John Tallmadge reviewed this sheet. He said TT is expecting less federal and state
50 dollars to provide these services, and this is offset by better tax revenue receipts and the
10
1 forecast of higher than expected growth of the sales tax throughout the period of this plan. He
2 read through these changes on the chart.
3 He said the federal participation expectation has been dropped from 80 percent to 30
4 percent, and the state assumption has been dropped to 5 percent for vehicles and 8 percent for
5 other projects. He said this provides more local tax dollars from the sales tax and the vehicle
6 registration fees to move forward with projects on the schedule and pace laid out in the plan.
7 He said the other assumptions did not include any changes to the light rail project, the MLK Bus
8 way, or the Hillsborough Train Station.
9 John Tallmadge referred to attachment c - Western Triangle District Annual Cash
10 Balance, and said the balance is still above the floor that was set for annual closing cash
11 balances. He said the other test is the minimum 1.25 debt coverage ratio with reserves. He
12 said this is at 1.52, which means there is a lot of room to examine how much borrowing needs
13 to happen to get this number closer to 1.25.
14 Commissioner Gordon asked about the calibration of the model and the exponential
15 growth in the cash balance. She asked if this is necessary for debt capacity.
16 John Tallmadge said the growth rate of the sales tax dollars is a fixed percentage of the
17 3.6 percent, but this is also combined with Durham, which has a higher growth rate. He said
18 this shows that the costs go down while revenues are still growing, so this builds capacity to do
19 other projects. He said this is out in 2028, after the construction period.
20 John Tallmadge said there is a more detailed table in attachment 1-d — Updated 5-Year
21 Bus Revenue Forecast Compared to Adopted Plan. He said this shows that TT can still deliver
22 the service at the same pace as promised in the plan, and there is more local revenue for bus
23 capital than in the past. He read through the numbers in that chart.
24 Chair Jacobs noted that one chart listed fiscal year and one listed calendar year.
25 John Tallmadge said this was a transition that had to be made from the adopted plan.
26 He said a comparison can be made by looking at the average of those two values. He said
27 everything will go to fiscal year in the future.
28 John Tallmadge referred to Attachments 1-e and 1-f, which list all of Orange County
29 plan's revenues. He said this comparison shows the tradeoff between lower grant dollars and
30 higher sales tax values. He said this is offset with more borrowing.
31 Commissioner Gordon said the revenues include the half cent sales tax and the new
32 projected revenue of$223 million. She asked if it is possible to provide more bus hours,
33 instead of just offsetting the lost bus capital revenue. She said the County was concerned with
34 getting more bus service hours.
35 John Tallmadge said at one level there is a link between the capital and the operating, in
36 that the capital is buying the buses. He said there would be some flexibility if Orange County,
37 Chapel Hill or TT saw an opportunity to move money from the capital side to the operating side.
38 He said this will be discussed and considered within the working group.
39 Commissioner Gordon asked if it is possible for him to tell the Board what the additional
40 sales tax dollars will be used for.
41 John Tallmadge said this is being used to replace the lost grant funds (both state and
42 federal). He said the first priority is to make the plan whole so that promises can be delivered.
43
44 John Tallmadge said the process involves a discussion at the staff level, and last week
45 a decision was made to move this to the manager for consideration. He said it is also
46 necessary to review and revise the text of the plan to incorporate the changed assumptions.
47 He said this would then come to all of the involved boards in the April/May timeframe. He said,
48 in the meantime, these revised assumptions are being used for fiscal year 2015 to tell all of the
49 partners how much money will be available in the upcoming year.
11
1 Commissioner McKee said he is assuming the reduction at the state and federal levels
2 was not expected.
3 John Tallmadge said that is correct.
4 Commissioner McKee said what makes him uneasy is that the projected growth rate in
5 sales tax revenue has increased by almost 25 percent. He asked how he can feel confident
6 that this is concrete when past projections on federal and state percentage have been thrown
7 out the window with massive reductions.
8 John Tallmadge said there are different forces acting on these current assumptions. He
9 said one is political policy and the other is economic. He said when the assumptions were
10 being worked on in 2011, it was during a deep recession, and there had been negative returns
11 in sales tax. He said this meant it was a very conservative budgeting time. He said the values
12 then still recognized that the longer term growth rate would be different than the first couple of
13 years. He said this new growth rate is consistent with long term growth rates in Orange County
14 in the last decades. He said more time can be spent on the analysis when this is brought to the
15 Board for a decision.
16 Michael Talbert said he would second what John Tallmadge said. He said these original
17 estimates were done coming out of the great recession. He said Clarence Grier has reviewed
18 these, and he feels these numbers are very realistic. He referred to the yellow sheet, and said
19 the revenue estimates are increasing by more than 5 percent, which should provide an
20 opportunity for the Board to approve a change in the plan.
21 Michael Talbert referred to attachment 1-e and 1-f and noted that the grand totals after
22 2035 increase by $100 million. He said a large percentage of that increase is the removal of
23 federal and state money and the issuing of bonds. He said there is an issuance of$126 million
24 in bonds and debt in 2012 that was not part of the original plan. He said much of the gap is
25 being filled with bonds.
26 Commissioner Price asked how the projected growth rate of the sales tax translates with
27 regard to the buses and hours for the Hillsborough and northern Orange bus routes and park
28 and ride. She asked for clarification on whether the earlier discussion was about buses on 1-85
29 or Highway 70.
30 David King said he specifically said the 1-85 corridor, but Highway 70 is also included.
31 Commissioner Price asked how this change in the funding formula affects the timeline
32 for getting buses in the northern part of the County.
33 John Tallmadge said the goal was for the financial plan not to be the driver. He said the
34 dollars will be there. He said this will depend on when the planning is done, when the park and
35 ride lots are leased or built, and when the vehicles are available for the service. He is hopeful
36 that this can start at the end of this calendar year.
37 Commissioner Price noted a reference to DR Commuter Rail, and she asked for an
38 explanation of this.
39 John Tallmadge said this is the Durham Raleigh Commuter Rail, and this is part of the
40 Durham plan.
41
42 Commissioner McKee referred to the operating costs per revenue hour listed on page 6.
43 He asked if Triangle Transit's cost increase of 11 percent is projected to be a continuous
44 increase at this rate, or if it is an anomaly.
45 John Tallmadge said an adjustment was made to the fiscal year 2013 actual values and
46 everyone is then inflated on a 3.1 percent rate. He said this is a recalibration and then in the
47 model, each future year grows 3.1 percent. He said these values are used to generate how
48 much service will cost, and then this backfills once a determination is made of how much local
49 money is needed to provide service. He said the set split agreement between Chapel Hill, TT,
50 OPT and Orange County means there is no advantage to an agency inflating its cost per hour.
12
1 Commissioner McKee said his concern centers on whether the available pot of money
2 remains steady. He said if it does an increase in the per-hour cost will reduce the number of
3 hours available. He is concerned that this will require an ever increasing amount of money to
4 fund that continuous level of bus hours at an increasing rate per hour. He wonders if the
5 available pot of money for buses will remain the same or increase at the same level of cost. He
6 is concerned with maintaining the original number of bus hours proposed in the plan.
7 John Tallmadge said that is what is still affordable in the model. He said the growth in
8 revenues is shown to keep up with the growth in cost.
9 Commissioner Pelissier said, as she understands it, there is also money in reserve that
10 can be used in the event of a dip in revenues in one year. She said this prevents services from
11 being cut.
12 John Tallmadge said that is one of the purposes of the reserve. He said the other
13 reality is that if there is an abnormal situation all parties will get together to decide how to
14 handle the situation.
15
16 John Tallmadge reviewed the following PowerPoint slides:
17
18 What is the Central and Rural Orange County Bus Service Expansion Program?
19 ❑Joint five-year program between Orange County and Triangle Transit
20 ❑Year-by-year list of bus operating and capital projects for services provided by Orange
21 County (OPT) and Triangle Transit to areas outside of Chapel Hill/Carrboro
22 El Bus program will be referenced in updated Orange County Transit Plan (Spring 2014)
23
24 Public Involvement
25 ❑Held four joint County/TTA public outreach meetings in Hillsborough, Cedar Grove, Efland,
26 and Mebane
27 ❑83 attendees total
28 ❑Received 230 surveys at public meetings, on-board buses, and online
29 ❑Conducted survey of Duke employees who live in Orange/Alamance Counties
30 ❑Met with various stakeholders:
31 ❑OUTBoard
32 ❑Department on Aging
33 ❑Department of Social Services
34
35 Bus Services and Projects
36 ❑Continued funding of Hillsborough Circulator
37 ❑New OPT services and bus stop improvements
38 ❑New Triangle Transit service connecting western Orange County, Hillsborough and Durham
39 ❑Narrowing short and long term options for a Park-and-Ride facility along US-70 in
40 Hillsborough
41 ❑Still determining potential stop location(s) in western Orange County/eastern Alamance
42 County
43 ❑Potential funding/service coordination opportunities with PART and Burlington-Graham MPO
44
45 Timeline
46 February: Completion of draft Five-Year Bus Service Expansion Program
47 March: Presentation of draft Program to BOCC, TTA Board, and Hillsborough Town Council
48 April: Requested approval or endorsement of final Program by BOCC and TTA Board
49 Fall 2014: Earliest implementation of services
50
13
1 Commissioner McKee asked if John Tallmadge could identify the potential locations of
2 park and ride sites in western Orange County. He wants to make sure that the park and ride
3 lots are located where it is convenient for the residents who will access the service.
4 John Tallmadge said locations are being considered in the vicinity of central to eastern
5 Mebane, Efland and Buckhorn.
6 Commissioner Gordon asked about the draft 5 year bus service expansion plan. She
7 asked how this relates to what is called for in the implementation agreement.
8 John Tallmadge said the plan now creates an envelope of how many hours or dollars
9 are available to implement service, and it describes it as expanding rural access to job centers
10 or activities. He said this describes a commuter connection from Mebane to Hillsborough to
11 Durham. He said this refines that and then puts it into specific services to be delivered on a
12 specific timeline.
13 Commissioner Gordon said the revenues have changed, and the plan is being reviewed
14 and revised. She wants to know when this will be done.
15 John Tallmadge said things should be aligned so that information is being brought at the
16 same time.
17 Commissioner Gordon said it would be helpful to look at the original bus and rail
18 investment program and then look at how the numbers have changed in the amended plan.
19 She said it would be better to have a comparison with the actual numbers in the same format.
20 John Tallmadge said he will try to do this.
21 Commissioner Price asked if Durham Tech is being considered in the plan.
22 John Tallmadge said he received an email today asking about the possibility of more
23 mid-day service connecting the campus and the new medical clinic to Chapel Hill. He said this
24 is part of what will be considered in the program of services.
25 Commissioner Rich thanked John Tallmadge for this update. She is excited to move
26 forward with this project.
27 Chair Jacobs said there had been some discussion about the Graham park and ride lot.
28 He said there is no local funding and only one route to UNC and Duke. He said public
29 transportation is needed in this area. He asked if the option of anchoring the Highway 70 route
30 in Graham is still an option.
31 John Tallmadge said there are some concerns about the Graham location, but there are
32 other options being considered with PART in that area.
33 Chair Jacobs referred to Commissioner Price's earlier question, and he said there was
34 no UNC Hospital at Waterstone when these conversations started. He mentioned the issue of
35 transportation options for students from Chapel Hill and Carrboro who are taking Middle College
36 classes at Durham Tech in Durham. He said there will be a huge change in the commuter
37 patterns between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill when and if Carolina North takes place. He said
38 these things will change the plan even more. He said there is really no way to make
39 predictions, and he thanked everyone involved for keeping things on track.
40 David King said financial projections make him queasy, and that is why there is an
41 implementation agreement. He said everyone is discovering how to do this, because this has
42 never been done in North Carolina before. He said the group budgets one year at a time and
43 corrections can be made as things move forward. He said this is a self correcting dynamic
44 process, and the early results are quite good. He said changes will always come back to the
45 various entities to review and approve.
46 He introduced several staff and committee members. He said the hourly cost for bus
47 service was down from $107 to $103.
48 David King said, with regard to the train station in Hillsborough, the town owns the
49 property, and it is the right property in the right place. He said the Town of Hillsborough funded
50 an environmental process to lock down any environmental issues. He said up to $150,000 has
14
1 been pledged out of Orange County money. He said a capacity study must be completed in
2 order to get started, and this began about a month ago. He said once this is done later this
3 year there will be a clear picture of how many tracks will go past that point and where they will
4 go. He said this will then define where to put the platform and the station. He said the
5 competitor for federal and state money for this project is Lexington. He said $8 million has
6 been budgeted for the Hillsborough project, and 10 percent or $800,000 of that is from Orange
7 County's funding. He said Lexington's project is much higher, which provides an advantage to
8 Hillsborough. He said it will be possible to have a functional train station at half that cost, with a
9 modular unit and less landscaping. He said there are ways to get this project done, and TT will
10 keep the Board posted. He said the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) has this as part
11 of their ranking at the state level and that comes out in early summer.
12 David King said there is a new program called Tiger that contains over $600 million in
13 funds. He said funding could be requested from this program for the Hillsborough station if
14 preparation and planning can be completed.
15 David King said work is also being done on the Durham Light Rail project. He said a
16 request to enter project development was submitted in December. He said once a submission
17 is allowed in the Start process, the environmental process must be completed within a 24
18 month window. He said TT hopes to hear about this within the next 10 days.
19 Commissioner Gordon asked if the application and letter could be made available to
20 Orange County.
21 David King said yes, this is public information.
22 Commissioner Gordon asked if there could be an emphasis on bus hours for the transit
23 dependent population as the plan is modified. She thanked Triangle Transit for presenting
24 tonight and for bringing staff that have worked on this project.
25 David King said the staff working group is functioning smoothly.
26 He said one of the issues that needed fixing was the $3.00 vehicle registration fee. He
27 said Commissioner Gordon and Commissioner Pelissier joined with others on the Special Tax
28 Board last week to work on this. He said the intent is that their board will be able to levy this tax
29 in both Durham and Orange County starting in March. He said there will be a public hearing in
30 February. He said Wake County has not moved forward, so authority was requested and
31 gained from the legislature to levy the tax in the other two counties.
32 Commissioner Pelissier said in the future it would be good to hear about the
33 implementation of some of the other bus services from Chapel Hill Transit.
34 Commissioner Pelissier said she would also like a report on what is happening on MLK.
35 Patrick McDonough said he participates on the steering committee for the MLK
36 alternatives analysis. He said a consulting firm was selected in the summer. He said Chapel
37 Hill was also looking at an ongoing fiscal capacity exercise for Chapel Hill Transit, due to the
38 age of their fleet. He said the goal was to start the MLK work in November, but this has been
39 postponed into 2014, and the exact date is not known. He said work will begin as soon as
40 Chapel Hill Transit is ready to move.
41 Commissioner McKee expressed thanks for the updated plan and the prioritization of
42 providing geographical equity. He said this is important to him, as someone who lives in the
43 northern rural part of the County. He said there was an announcement yesterday about a major
44 redevelopment project in Research Triangle Park. He read a statement regarding this and said
45 this may be a factor moving forward.
46 David King said the Research Triangle Foundation is creating a master plan for the next
47 50 years. He said this includes 3 mixed use development zones, and 2 of these are at
48 commuter rail stations. He said the Durham/Raleigh/Garner commuter rail system is part of the
49 regional plan, but it is not part of the Orange County plan. He said the point that was made in
15
1 the RTP announcement was that the RTP master plan requires rail service in order to be
2 successful.
3
4 PUBLIC COMMENT:
5 Alex Castro is a resident of Bingham Township and he said he had an answer to
6 Commissioner McKee's question. He said he has page 24 of the RTP master plan, which
7 covers the two proposed commuter rail stops and shows an internal light rail that would run
8 through the development.
9 Chair Jacobs said having a comprehensive report on the entire bus plan would be good.
10 He said it is important to refer to the corridor as 1-85/Highway 70, instead of just 1-85 to avoid
11 causing concern on an issue that is important to the Board. He said a partnership is being built,
12 and it is good to see that progress is being made.
13
14 b. Scheduling Public Hearings — Proposed Unincorporated County Recycling
15 Service District
16 The Board considered dates and locations for two public hearings on the proposed
17 Recycling Service District for unincorporated Orange County and provided a summary of
18 possible financing alternatives for rural area recycling.
19 Gayle Wilson said this is a follow up to the January 23 meeting. He said the Board of
20 County Commissioners asked for more information on the four recycling options:
21 He referred to the proposed district map on the screen, and listed the following four
22 options:
23 • Tax district
24 • Subscription service- opt in or opt out— covers same area as the service district
25 • Rely exclusively on a network of existing and new Solid Waste Convenience Centers
26 • Fund rural recycling through the general fund (district, or combined urban and rural)
27
28 Gayle Wilson said the proposed tax district statutorily requires a public hearing and the
29 proposed dates are:
30 - March 18th at 6pm at Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill
31 - April 1- at DSS in Hillsborough starting at 6pm
32
33 Gayle Wilson said it was suggested to him by a resident that the mailing should include
34 a simpler single color map.
35 Michael Talbert said he would like for the Board to consider limiting the options to have
36 at these public hearings. He said these options have been discussed many times before, and a
37 couple of them are unrealistic. He said funding through the general fund is an insult to the town
38 partners. He said it is not fair for town residents to assist in paying for rural curbside.
39 He said the other idea that he feels could come off would be the idea of moving forward
40 with just convenience centers and eliminating curbside recycling. He said this would harm the
41 County's goal of moving toward 61 percent.
42 He said this would leave the tax district and the subscription service as the two options.
43 He noted that the subscription service was also discussed in detail in December, and the Board
44 decided not to go that route. He said a public hearing with four options would be difficult for the
45 Board and the citizens. He said he would like to bring closure to this discussion and move
46 forward to the public hearings.
47 Michael Talbert said these meetings would begin an hour early. He said this needs to
48 move toward a decision by April 15 in order to move toward implementation July 1.
16
1 Chair Jacobs said he and Michael Talbert have discussed this, and both of them feel
2 that in an effort to be accommodating, options were included that the Board of County
3 Commissioners has already rejected (the general fund and eliminating rural recycling).
4 He said there will be two public hearings. He encouraged the public and the Board of
5 County Commissioners to send factual questions to the manager ahead of time. He said this
6 will come back at the February 18th meeting, so that these questions and factual responses can
7 be shared with the Board and the public in a consolidated fashion.
8
9 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to
10 remove the following two options from consideration:
11
12 - Item #1. Eliminate Rural Curbside Recycling Services and rely on convenience centers for
13 all rural recycling; and
14
15 - Item #4: General Fund Support for.
16 a. Rural Curbside Recycling for the 13,700 existing customers.
17 b. Existing Urban, Rural Curbside, and Multifamily Recycling. Programs
18
19 Commissioner Gordon asked if this should be done before the Board has heard the
20 public comments.
21 Michael Talbert said this has already been done at prior meetings, but public comment
22 can be heard before making a formal vote.
23 Chair Jacobs agreed with Michael Talbert.
24 Commissioner Rich said she recalled that when the Board discussed the public hearing
25 there was a heading of only one option, and that was the tax service district. She said all
26 comments on other options would still be welcome, but she feels that the public hearings should
27 be only on the one item the Board had voted on.
28 Commissioner McKee said he would prefer to keep his motion as is.
29 Commissioner Pelissier suggested calling the question.
30 Commissioner Gordon said her friendly amendment would be to state that this is
31 because the Board of County Commissioners has already rejected these options
32 Commissioner McKee agreed to this amendment.
33 Commissioner Price agreed to this amendment.
34
35 PUBLIC COMMENT:
36
37 Bonnie Hauser said at the Assembly of Government meeting, the towns were clear that
38 they were looking at a five year projection on fees and there was an indication that there would
39 be pressure on the County's cost. She said Chair Jacobs assured the towns that the County
40 would work with them. She said those negotiations have not occurred, and she asked if it is
41 possible that the towns will now put pressure on the County to provide this service at a higher
42 fee. She asked how the County would subsidize the service if this happens.
43 Chair Jacobs said there is an agenda item coming up soon on this issue.
44 Gayle Wilson said the cost for service for the urban programs is a separate cost center
45 from the rural curbside program. He said these are not subsidizing each other. He said, with
46 the 3-r fees, the solid waste department was instructed to keep very meticulous accounting of
47 those expenditures and those funds. He said those fees are set independently and have
48 nothing to do with each other. He cannot imagine that this would ever happen in the future.
49 He said the Town of Chapel Hill has asked for a five year price guarantee, and this is
50 being worked on. He said those numbers will include full funding for those services.
17
1 Michael Talbert said the County is working with all three towns to move this issue
2 forward.
3
4 VOTE: 6-0
5
6 Chair Jacobs said what was decided in December was to move forward with a public
7 hearing to place before the public the option of having a service tax district to pay for rural
8 curbside recycling. He said, in that public hearing process, the Board can hear comments on
9 the option of opt in/opt out. He said if the Board is being consistent with the motion made in
10 December, then this is simply a reaffirmation of their previous decision to move forward.
11
12 A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to
13 move forward with the intent to create a service tax district for roadside recycling.
14
15 Commissioner Pelissier said she agrees with Commissioner Rich, but this does not
16 preclude the public from making any comments that they wish to make. She said there is a big
17 difference between providing information and having a public hearing that is focused on a
18 particular proposal.
19 Commissioner Gordon asked how this affects what the Board does tonight. She
20 referred to the notice on page 10 which talks about the hearing being on the creation of a solid
21 waste service district. She noted that the public can bring up other options. She asked if the
22 next to last paragraph on page 9 in the draft letter should be eliminated if this motion is passed.
23 Commissioner Rich said yes.
24 Commissioner McKee said most of the points made are correct. He said the last
25 meeting effectively supplanted the December motion with another motion stating that a public
26 hearing would be held to present all options. He said he again objects to the use of the word
27 intent, as it conveys a pre-conceived outcome prior to the public hearing. He thinks that the
28 public input received so far makes it fair to put both options in the public hearing.
29 Commissioner Gordon said she thinks there should be one motion handling the
30 substance and another motion handling the details. She asked to hear the motion again.
31 Chair Jacobs repeated the motion to move forward with the intent to create a service tax
32 district for roadside recycling and take it to public hearing.
33 Commissioner Rich asked if there was a vote at the last meeting to bring all four
34 options. She thought this was just a direction, but not a vote. She would like to go back to the
35 original motion in December. She said that is what her motion is for.
36 Michael Talbert said the four options were read off by Gayle Wilson at the end of his
37 presentation. He said there was no motion or vote, only an agreement that these items should
38 be considered. He said a motion to move forward with intent was made, voted on, and
39 approved. He said the process to establish a service district includes a public hearing. He said
40 if the Board wants to hold additional public hearings on other options, these would be
41 advertised in a separate fashion and a separate process. He said the other options can be
42 done with 10 days notice, like a normal public hearing.
43 Chair Jacobs clarified that the Board can still consider other options if the
44 Commissioners decide to do something different in April, based on the public hearings,
45 Commissioner Price read the unofficial summary regarding the recommendation. She
46 said she is concerned about this, because 98 percent of the people she has heard from are
47 against this tax district.
48 Commissioner Gordon asked if a decision to do an opt-out subscription service could
49 not be a result of the public hearing. She asked if this would require another public hearing.
50 Michael Talbert said there are separate processes for a service district. He said there
18
1 could be a separate advertisement to add a second item for consideration, and these public
2 hearings could be held concurrently.
3 John Roberts said there is no legal requirement for a public hearing for a subscription
4 service.
5 Commissioner Gordon clarified that if the Board chooses to move forward with public
6 hearings on the intent to create a tax service district, others can come and comment as they
7 want on any option, and then the Board can vote on any of these options on April 15th.
8 Michael Talbert said yes.
9 Commissioner Gordon said she just wants to make sure there is time to do other
10 options. She wants to make sure the public can come forward to make comments on all
11 viewpoints.
12 Commissioner Rich said the Board has not really heard from the public yet, only a few
13 members of the public. She called the question.
14
15 VOTE: Ayes, 4 (Chair Jacobs, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner Pelissier, and Commissioner
16 Gordon); Nays, 2 (Commissioner Price and Commissioner McKee)
17
18 Commissioner Gordon said it is okay with her to start the meetings at 6:00 p.m.;
19 however she would like a backup plan in case this hearing goes so long that it interferes with
20 the regular meeting.
21 Chair Jacobs said that was the pleasure of the majority of the Board and the backup
22 plan will be discussed.
23
24 A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier seconded by Commissioner Rich to hold
25 the following two public hearings:
26
27 Public Hearing #1 Public Hearing #2
28 Date: March 18, 2014 Date: April 1, 2014
29 Time: 6:00 PM Time: 6:OOPM
30 Location: Southern Human Services Location: OC Department of Social
31 Center, Chapel Hill Services, Hillsborough
32
33 Commissioner McKee said he feels that a decision has already been made. He said the
34 motion was the intent to create a service district. He said residents can come to talk about
35 other options, but the Board just walked past another very viable option to have included in the
36 public hearing.
37 Commissioner Pelissier said they went astray at the last meeting when she asked for
38 some background information about the various options in a public hearing about a service
39 district. She said a decision has not been made yet.
40 Chair Jacobs said staff understands that the Board wants to be as open as possible and
41 there are other options that will be brought to the table. He said he wants to consider what he
42 has heard from the public, and he still has an open mind about both options.
43 Commissioner Gordon said she has not made up her mind.
44 Chair Jacobs encouraged the Board to submit any factual questions to the manager.
45
46 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
47
48 PUBLIC COMMENT:
49 Don O'Leary said he suggests that there be law enforcement at these public hearings.
19
1 Bonnie Hauser said the public has spoken out clearly on this item. She does not believe
2 the public is interested in spending this much time on a topic that is so obvious to them.
3
4 8. Reports - NONE
5
6 9. County Manager's Report
7 Michael Talbert said the Clerk will pass out information related to a process that he just
8 became aware of regarding Guidelines for Commissioner Requests For Information from
9 County Staff, which was adopted by the Board in 2002. He said this is for information only, and
10 it could be added to a future work session if the Board would like to discuss it in more detail.
11 Chair Jacobs said he had asked the Clerk to include this process in the Board's
12 Procedure Book.
13 Donna Baker said this will be included at the very end of the Procedure Book.
14
15 10. County Attorney's Report
16
17 NONE
18
19 11. Appointments
20 a. Advisory Board on Aging —Appointment
21 The Board considered making an appointment to the Advisory Board on Aging.
22
23 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Price to
24 appoint Ms. Margaret Cohn to a first full term in the At-Large Position to the Advisory Board on
25 Aging, with an expiration date of 6/30/2016.
26
27 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
28
29 b. Arts Commission —Appointment
30 The Board considered making an appointment to the Arts Commission.
31
32 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon seconded by Commissioner Price to
33 appoint Natalie Ziemba to a first partial term in the At-Large position, with an expiration date of
34 3/33/2014.
35
36 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
37
38 c. Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee—Appointments
39 The Board considered making appointments to the Nursing Home Community Advisory
40 Committee.
41
42 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
43 appoint the following to the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee:
44
POSITION NAME SPECIAL EXPIRATION
NO. REPRESENTATIVE DATE
5 Ms. Sandra Jones At-Large —Training 01/23/15
7 Ms. Sandra Lemons At-Large —Training 01/23/15
11 Dr. Joanne Wilson At-Large —Training 01/23/15
45
20
1 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
2
3 12. Board Comments
4
5 Commissioner Rich said last night she went to the Restaurant Association Awards,
6 which was held in Durham. She said it was very enjoyable and the board of directors from the
7 Visitors Bureau was well represented. She said one statistic was that there would be 83,000
8 new restaurant jobs in the next 10 years, and she found this pretty amazing.
9 Commissioner Pelissier said the legislative goals committee of the North Carolina
10 Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) met and narrowed down the priorities already
11 identified. She said the number one priority for this legislative session is to reinstate the lottery
12 funds for school construction.
13 She said the environmental steering committee met 2 weeks ago and received a
14 presentation from the Division of Water Infrastructure. She said there was a lot of talk about
15 the master plan for infrastructure needs for water and sewer.
16 Commissioner Pelissier said the ridership on Triangle Transit went up 11 percent from
17 December 2012 to December 2013.
18 Commissioner Pelissier said Project Engage is a project of the Advisory Board on Aging
19 and the goal is to develop a network of informed and engaged citizens. She said the goal is to
20 train these citizens to provide support to communities around the County, especially those with
21 low resources. She requested that the Board receive a report and provide some recognition for
22 this project.
23 Commissioner McKee said the 4-h event has been re-scheduled for February 6, from 6-
24 8 pm.
25 Commissioner Gordon — none
26 Commissioner Price attended the Board of Elections Board meeting today. She said the
27 board is still looking at sites on campus, and suggestions are still being accepted for sites near
28 or on campus. She said the library is also being considered, and the area between
29 Hillsborough and Efland. She said there were thoughts of northern Orange County, but Wi-Fi is
30 a concern. She said the goal is to find sites that could be permanent. She asked
31 Commissioner McKee for suggestions for northern sites. She said the board will make
32 decisions on March 4th for submission to the state on March 14th. She said there is funding
33 available for 4 sites.
34 Chair Jacobs said the Board has a meeting on March 11 th if the BOE needs the
35 Commissioners to discuss other resources at that point.
36 Chair Jacobs said the majority of the Board attended the Chapel Hill Chamber of
37 Commerce annual event. He said this was a nice event with good recognition.
38 Chair Jacobs said there had been a school collaboration meeting that dealt with some
39 items that had been simmering. He said there was a report on charter schools.
40 Chair Jacobs said if people want to register for the Agricultural Summit on February 25th
41 they should call cooperative extension.
42
43 13. Information Items
44 e January 23, 2014 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List
45 e Tax Collector's Report— Numerical Analysis
46 e BOCC Follow-up Regarding Commercial Disposal at Convenience Centers
47
48 14. Closed Session
49 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Rich to go
50 into closed session at 10:08 pm for the purpose below:
21
1
2 "To discuss matters related to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the
3 area served by the public body, including agreement on a tentative list of economic
4 development incentives that may be offered by the public body in negotiations," NCGS § 143-
5 318.11(a)(4);
6
7 And
8
9 N.C.G.S. 143-318.11(a)(5)] : "To establish or instruct the staff or agent concerning the
10 negotiation of the price and terms of a contract concerning the acquisition of real property."
11
12 RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION
13 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to
14 reconvene into regular session at 10:44 pm.
15
16 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
17
18 15. ADJOURNMENT
19 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
20 adjourn the meeting at 10:44 pm.
21
22 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
23
24
25 Barry Jacobs, Chair
26
27
28 Donna S. Baker, CMC
29 Clerk to the Board