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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 01-23-2014 APPROVED 4/1/2014 MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING January 23, 2014 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at the DSS offices, in Hillsborough, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Jacobs and Commissioners Mark Dorosin, Alice M. Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier, Renee Price, Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Interim County Manager Michael Talbert, Assistant County Managers Clarence Grier, Cheryl Young and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda Chair Jacobs called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm. He reviewed the following items at the Commissioner's places: - Buff sheet -Item 6-i: Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Member Agencies Memorandum of Understanding Revisions - Green sheet - Item 6-m: Update on Adjustments to Town of Hillsborough Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) - White sheet- Item 7-b: Rural Recycling Service District Implementation Planning - Pink sheet—Item 11 b: revised abstract for Arts Commission –Appointment -Yellow sheet- Item 11-c: revised face-sheet: Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee –Appointment - Purple sheet: Commissioner Rich's proposed petitions - Blue sheet: Jail Alternatives Work Group- memo -Annual Calendar from Housing, Human Rights and Community Development Chair Jacobs asked for a moment of silence for longtime Durham County Commissioner Becky Heron, who passed away. PUBLIC CHARGE The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge. 2. Public Comments a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda Tony Blake reviewed the following statement: Good evening commissioners, Thank you for your time, I will be brief. I am here to ask for a change to the most recent "FIRE PROTECTION AND EMERGENCY SERVICES AGREEMENT" as outlined in paragraph 19 of the proposed contract. We believe the purpose of the contract is to solidify the relationship between the county and the volunteer fire departments. Further, the purpose is to create a clear record of the mutual commitments and encourage the building of relationships and process to service the goals of fire protection, rescue and medical response. As officers of the White Cross Fire Department Corporation we performed our due diligence on the finalized contract after we received the final version on November 11 th At that time, I expressed some concerns raised earlier in November and contacted our attorney for comment. Our attorney confirmed our concerns were valid (see attached letter). The concerns are regarding the asymmetrical nature of paragraph 16. We believe this paragraph is not in the best interests of the citizens, the county or our corporation. We request that that the terms outlined paragraph 16 be revisited and amended to be mutual. Robert Ireland said he represented the Human Relations Commission (HRC). He invited the Commissioners to the HRC Forum on Sunday, January 26th to discuss an issue of public concern and involvement. He said this year is the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and that will be the main theme of this public forum. He said the question to be asked is "are we there yet?" He said the HRC has planned a forum and he named the three speakers on the agenda. Commissioner McKee said he attended the event last year, and he encouraged all of the Board members to attend. b. Matters on the Printed Agenda 3. Petitions by Board Members Commissioner Rich noted the purple sheet containing three petitions: She said the first is a petition to allow the Trash Terminators 2.0 to present the project that landed the Trash Terminators 1.0 the National Siemens "We Can Change the World" Challenge Award. She said some of the kids are back, hence the name 2.0. She proposed the presentation for the February 18th meeting in Chapel Hill, and she said their presentation is 5-7 minutes long. Commissioner Rich said the next petition is to have a conversation with the Visitor's Bureau about their rent and high administrative fees. She would like to talk about having those fees reduced. She said the final petition is regarding the "ban the box" issue. She has learned that this policy has been in place since 2012, but NACo is unaware of this. She is petitioning the Board to make sure NACo is made aware that Orange County is taking part in this process. Commissioner McKee requested that any transit issues be presented at a meeting where the public can be allowed to speak, rather than at work session. Commissioner Price said last year she had requested information about parking at Fairview Park. She would like an update from staff on this. Commissioner Price referred to the tax collector's report and asked if staff can provide a graph that gives a view of the trends regarding poverty and foreclosures in Orange County. She would like this report to be inclusive of the 2008 recession. Chair Jacobs petitioned staff to investigate the community involvement of the banks that the County does business with. He asked that a report be brought back to the Board for examination. 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations a. Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board Update Presentation The Board received a brief presentation from Tony DuBois, General Manager of the Orange County Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, and provided feedback Tony DuBois noted that Ron McCoy, finance director and Keith Cook, chair of the ABC Board were present. He said there are two board appointments coming in the next six months, for a chairman and vice chairman, and he read the ABC Board mission statement. He noted that the board has a new office and warehouse facility. He said a new store is being built at Chapel Hill North, and this will be completed in the fall. Tony DuBois said a copy of the annual report from the state ABC Commission is included in the Commissioner's packets, and Orange County continues to rank in the top 10 for revenue. He said the sales and profitability trend for the County is higher than the state average. He said there has been a heavy emphasis on maintaining a balance between control, revenue, and service. Finance Director Ron McCoy said part of the mission of the ABC board is to return profits back to the community, and the board contributed more than double the statutory requirements to law enforcement and education this past fiscal year. He said for the current fiscal year the board will contribute $155,000 toward alcohol law enforcement efforts. He said in this fiscal year a distribution of$400,000 is being paid to the Orange County General fund. He said the total distributions from the board for fiscal year 2013-14 equal $748,333 Commissioner McKee said he has always admired the professionalism of the ABC Board and organization. He said there are regular reports to make sure that alcohol law enforcement is a priority. 5. Public Hearings a. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment Related to Board of Adjustment Operation and Procedures — Public Hearing Closure and Action The Board received the Planning Board recommendation, considered closing the public hearing, and making a decision on a Planning Director initiated text amendment(s) to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) incorporating recent changes in State law related to the Board of Adjustment. Michael Harvey said the planning board is here to receive the planning board's recommendation. He said this item was heard at the November 25th QPH, where staff indicated the amendments were necessary to ensure recent changes to State law are incorporated into the UDO. He referred to following proposed text amendments as outlined in the packet: • Change the votes necessary for the Board to approve a Special Use Permit application from 4/5th of members to a simple majority, • Clarify procedure(s) for requesting and issuing of subpoenas, • Clarify appeals timeframe for Board of Adjustment decisions to be submitted to Superior Court, and • Clarify notification requirements with respect to who is notified of a Board decision. A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner McKee to: 1. Receive the Planning Board's recommendation; 2. Close the public hearing; and 3. Approve the text amendment package contained in Attachment 2. VOTE: UNANIMOUS b. Unified Development Ordinance Text Amendment Related to Telecommunication Facilities — Public Hearing Closure and Action The Board received the Planning Board recommendation, considered closing the public hearing, and making a decision on a Planning Director initiated text amendment(s) to the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) incorporating recent changes in State law related to the review and permitting of telecommunication facilities. Michael Harvey said this item was presented at the November 25, 2013 Quarterly Public Hearing where staff indicated Session Law 2013-185, adopted on June 26, 2013, has modified how local governments process new telecommunication tower applications, including: • A prohibition on requiring information related to the specific need for a proposed telecommunication facility, including the addition of additional wireless coverage or capacity, as part of the application package. While the County can still request this information we cannot require it nor can we find an application is `deficient' when it is not submitted. • Limits the fee local governments can collect for a third party consultant to review applications for co-locations. • Mandatory review timelines/deadlines for local governments to act on co-location applications. • Establishing standards allowing for increases in overall tower height under certain conditions as being `permitted by right'. Michael Harvey said the state also decided to allow modifications to telecommunication facilities mandating that local governing bodies accept that modification without additional permit review. He referred to page 40 of the agenda packet, which includes a definition of a substantial modification. He read this as follows: "The mounting of a proposed wireless facility on a wireless support structure that substantially changes the physical dimensions of the support structure." He said there have been questions about what constitutes a substantial modification. He said the answer is contained on pages 12-13 of the amendment packet. He said there are situations where the height of an existing tower can be elevated, not more than 10 percent of the existing height, and this is not a substantial modification. He said there are also additions of apparatus to the body of the tower, as proposed in 11-c on page 13, that do not constitute a substantial modification. Michael Harvey reminded the Commissioners that the Board approved processes for the modification special use permits. He said minor changes can be administratively reviewed and approved by staff, as covered in section 2-7-14. He said there are there are 10 criteria that establish the mechanism for staff to determine whether a proposed change constitutes a minor change or a modification, which must be reviewed by the board that issued the permit. Michael Harvey said a substantial modification is spelled out in section 2-7-14. He said the chief component is that any time a proposed change to a telecommunications tower causes changes to existing conditions or facts entered into the record in the issuance of the permit, the County has to re-review the project as a special use permit. He said the biggest concern is that the County has a graduated permitting process for telecommunication facilities. The Board of adjustment reviews towers between 76 and 199 feet, and the County Commissioners review tower requests of 200 feet or higher, which have additional setback and lighting requirements. He said the attempt is to guard against someone coming in with a 199 foot tall existing tower and then elevating it to 209 feet without the County Commissioners having to review it. He said this is what the language on page 13 does. Commissioner Dorosin asked for clarification about the thresholds. Michael Harvey said if you have a 180 feet tower and you add 15 feet to it, this will fall within the exemption and will not be considered a modification. He said the telecommunications provider will still have to show compliance with all facets of the County code; however, the County cannot require a special use permit. Commissioner Dorosin clarified that the same would be true if someone has a 220 foot tall tower and wants to go up another 10 percent. Michael Harvey said this is correct. Commissioner Dorosin asked if John Roberts feels this is rational and defensible. John Roberts said that is the planning department's position, and since there is no case law on this it may be defensible. Michael Harvey said the County bears the burden of proving that a substantial modification needs more review. He said it is not an all or nothing issue, and all determinations are made by staff and are appealable. Commissioner Dorosin questioned the fact that this is a second public hearing, but the public cannot speak. John Roberts said the ordinance states that the second public hearing is for the planning board recommendation and written comments only. He said the first public hearing is for oral comments only. Commissioner Dorosin said it is a bit of a misnomer to call this a public hearing. A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to: 1. Receive the Planning Board's recommendation; 2. Close the public hearing; and 3. Approve the text amendment package contained in Attachment 2. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs noted that at agenda review the Board asked staff to let the Commissioners know about upcoming telecommunication towers even if the towers are not coming up for review. He said the Board still gets emails and calls from the public about this, and it is good to be informed to respond. 6. Consent Agenda • Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda Items 6-h, 6-i, and 6-j were pulled from the consent agenda for discussion. • Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Rich to approve the remaining items on the consent agenda. VOTE: UNANIMOUS • Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda 6-h McGowan Creek Sewer Interceptor Project—Acceptance of State Revolving Fund Loan The Board considered approving and authorizing the Chair to sign the Resolution of Acceptance for the State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan for this project; and authorizing the Manager to sign the State Loan Offer and Acceptance letter on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners. PUBLIC COMMENT Mike Efland said he is a property owner on McGowan Creek. He said the sewer project has passed over this property once and will now pass over a second time. He is not opposed to the sewer line itself. He said the newest line is for the pump station is only to decommission a pump station on Cedar Grove Road, and it is not going to serve anyone but the pump station. He asked about the cost of putting the line in versus updating the pump station. He feels this whole process allows for no negotiation, because the land can be condemned if property owners don't allow easements. He said there should be a negotiation process when owners are asked to allow an easement. He said there was some discussion long ago about a green path through the property, and he placed his home right on the setback of the floodplain. He said this sewage line will come between his home and the flood plain. He said the County has only offered him $800, and he feels his rights have been violated. He said privacy is very important to him, and he paid taxes and bought the property. He said now there are trees being cut down, and there will be a big path beside his house. He said he wants something in writing to make sure this path does not become a greenway in the future. He does not feel he should have a tax increase on his property because he has access to the sewer when he does not need it. Mike Efland suggested a fence and a gate if the County needs to access this line for maintenance. He does not want the public using the path on his property as a public access to the creek. He wants something to protect his property, and he wants something in writing. He said he feels he has been railroaded and he has tried to negotiate, but it has fallen on deaf ears. Chair Jacobs asked Michael Talbert how this should proceed. Michael Talbert said this does not affect the revolving loan. He said the line has been approved and contracted, and this is just final approval of the loan package that helps pay for it. John Roberts said this will depend on how strongly the state will enforce its assurances. He said the County is required to make sure all easements are acquired. Chair Jacobs confirmed that as of now, Mr. Efland has not signed an agreement. John Roberts said this is correct. He said there has been a notification of intent to condemn. He noted that the condemnation process does not take the land, only the easement or right of way, and the land remains with the land owner. He said a notice of a condemnation of an easement has been sent, and this should satisfy state requirements. Chair Jacobs asked if there is a window of opportunity to still have negotiations with Mr. Efland. Craig Benedict said the easement being required is for utility purposes only, and it is not for greenway purposes. He said this can be specified, and he believes the County has agreed to have a gate. He said he will work with the attorney's office to put this in writing. He said if the County was ever to request a greenway, it would be a new process and the Board would have to approve this. He said this is not currently in anyone's mind. Commissioner Dorosin said it sounds like an agreement can be reached, with protections. He asked if the Board can wait on this item until Mike Efland receives his assurances in writing. Craig Benedict said there is timing to this process, and the first letter has gone out. He said there was no response, and this leads to a second letter implicating condemnation if the parties cannot come to terms. He said the state is holding funding for Orange County, and he does not want to forego the chance of this loan with the state. Commissioner Dorosin asked if this could wait until the February 4th meeting. Kevin Lindley said the acceptance of the loan resolution has more to do with when the reimbursements can start; however, not having the easements in hand could hold up the construction. He said this was bid back in November, and there is a certain timeframe during which companies honor the bid price. Commissioner Dorosin said he is not convinced yet. He said it would take longer to do a condemnation than to take the time to work it out the land owner. He said this could be done in the next week. John Roberts said it is not necessary to delay the project. He said Mike Efland's concerns can be addressed in the language of the terms of the easement agreement. Commissioner McKee asked if the use language can be written in the easement. John Roberts said it can be made clear in the agreement that the easement is solely for a utility, water, or sewer line, and it can be limited to that purpose. Commissioner Price asked if the Board can vote on this item, conditional to Mike. Efland's requests being met. John Roberts said a conditional approval is not an approval, and he advises against it. Commissioner Pelissier asked if there was a plan for a greenway. Chair Jacobs said this idea was considered about 15 years ago, but it was dropped and it is not part of any current plan. Commissioner Rich asked if there was anything in the Board's policy to help Mike Efland plant back some of his trees. Craig Benedict said there is some leeway for small trees, but there are no big trees allowed. He said a 10 to 15 foot path is necessary for access, and smaller trees and ornamental shrubs would be fine. He said there was effort to find a balance of the closeness to the house and the closeness to the stream. He said the engineer was asked to re-design the alignment to be as accommodating to Mike Efland as possible. Commissioner Gordon said it sounds like there is a solution, and it is time sensitive. She asked if John Roberts could suggest some language to accommodate the recommendation and Mike Efland's concerns. She said this would include: 1. Approve the recommendation; 2. Authorize the Manager to sign. John Roberts said they could possibly add language to the effect to authorize staff to include in the easement document that there will not be any type of greenway or green space on this easement area and some language about a gate being constructed. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner McKee to: 1. Approve the recommendation; 2. Authorize the Manager to sign; and 3. Authorize staff to include language in the easement document that clearly indicates there will be no greenway on this easement and language addressing a gate to be constructed. Chair Jacobs said the Board almost never lets someone come back up, but the Board is trying to address the concerns Mike Efland has articulated. He said there are some things, like the trees, that won't be addressed. Mike Efland said this has been discussed for a long time, and he should not be here. He said he has tried to negotiate twice, and this was a couple of months ago. He said he does not need the $800 and he would rather see that money put into a gate and a nice fence. Chair Jacobs said that is what the motion is attempting to do, and he apologized on behalf of the Board. VOTE: Ayes, 6 — Nays, 1 ( Commissioner Dorosin) Commissioner Dorosin said he felt the Board should have resolved the documents and the wording before taking action. 64 Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization Member Agencies Memorandum of Understanding Revisions The Board considered approving and authorizing the Chair to sign a final draft of an updated/revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among the member agencies of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO) Commissioner Price said she is concerned with the language establishing a quorum. She asked if the wording means that an official vote can take place with just one representative from Durham City and County. Bret Martin said that is correct with the way it reads. He said if the board chooses to invoke weighted voting, a quorum would consist of a majority of the voting members, whose votes together represent a majority of the possible weighted votes in the table. He said the City of Durham has 16 weighted votes, and Durham County has 4, which combines to be a majority of the 38 possible votes. Commissioner Price said she has a problem with this and the possibility of decisions being made with Orange County not at the table. Commissioner Pelissier said there has never been a case where there was not an Orange County representative there. She said there is either a voting member or an alternate who are always there. She said Chapel Hill also has a member and an alternate, so the likelihood of someone from Orange County not being there is very low. Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Pelissier, but she also agrees that this is ambiguous. She said this wording could mean that if enough members were there to constitute the majority of the weighted votes, which could be 2 people, then you could start. She said it has actually meant that there have to be 6 out of 9 people present, and those people have to represent a majority of the weighted vote. She said it should be specified that a quorum is met when: 1. a majority of the voting members are present; and 2. the weighted votes of those voting members, when added together, represent a majority of the possible weighted vote. She said, if you just use numbers, the statement would be added in to specify that there must be 6 of the voting members. Commissioner Gordon said she feels this is a serious ambiguity. She said there are other technical edits as well. Bret Martin said he would agree that the language is not clear. He said the way he reads it is that, "a quorum of the MPO Board shall consist of a majority of the voting members whose votes together represent a majority of the possible weighted votes identified in the weighted vote schedule below." He said the sentence is being modified in such a way that what really matters is the weighted votes; but it is true that if only Durham and Durham County are there, a quorum would exist. Commissioner Gordon said one way to fix it is to make it specific that the quorum is 6 people and those 6 people need to represent the weighted vote. Commissioner Price said her concern is the representation. She said she would like to see some language indicating the need to have more than two governments present. Commissioner Rich asked if each of the boards is voting on the same language. Bret Martin said yes. Commissioner Rich asked if any of the other boards have voted on this yet. Bret Martin said the Town of Hillsborough has approved it, and Chatham County has denied it. Commissioner Rich asked if this language will have to go back to all of the other boards if it is changed. Bret Martin said yes. He said there is a moderate chance that this will have to go back anyway, after the other governing bodies review it. Chair Jacobs suggested the delegates bring it back to their MPO meeting and share the Board of County Commissioners' concerns. He suggested the delegates recommend changes to go back to all of the other boards again for review and approval. Commissioner Gordon said she talked with Ellen Beckmen, a member of MPO staff, today. She said this item is out for discussion, and Chatham County has denied it. She suggested that the wording she specified above should be added. Commissioner Gordon also reviewed the technical items outlined in the memo below: 6-i - DCHC MPO Revisions to MOU There are minor edits that I would suggest for clarity. What would be the best way to handle these edits, if the BOCC chose to incorporate them? I will refer to Attachment 5, since this is the draft with line numbers. Page 1 of MOU (p. 31 of the BOCC agenda) - Line 42 Spell out TIP so that the line reads: ...and Transportation Improvement Programs (TIPs). It is customary to spell out the full name before using an abbreviation. Page 2 of MOU (p. 32 of agenda) - Line 17 Spell out MPO so that it reads: Each Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)... Page 3 of MOU (p. 33 of agenda) - Line 39 Add "policy" before "boards" so that it reads: ...include the policy boards of general purpose local government... The reason for this change is to clarify the reference to "policy boards" in paragraph 9 of the MOU (Line 32 on p. 4 of the MOU and p. 34 of the agenda.) She said if it is the pleasure of the Board not to pass this, then these changes would be brought to the future discussions of the concerns. She said if the Board wants to approve the agreement with the suggestion that these revisions be handled as technical changes, then that path can be taken. Commissioner Pelissier asked if a motion could be made to show intent to support this, but noting that clarifications and modifications are needed. Chair Jacobs suggested a motion that: suggests support of the MOU with revisions; accepts the technical changes by Commissioner Gordon and getting responses to the concerns of clarity and inclusiveness regarding definitions of a quorum. A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Rich of intent to approve, in concept, the MOU with technical revisions; accept the technical changes as expressed by Commissioner Gordon and ask for responses to the Board's concerns of clarity and inclusiveness regarding the definitions of a quorum. Commissioner Price clarified that this is not an approval, and that the Board's concerns would be sent back to the MPO. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 6-j Lands Legacy Action Plan for 2014-17 The Board considered adoption of the Lands Legacy Action Plan for the three-year period (July 2014 — June 2017). Commissioner Rich referred to page 2, bullet 2, and asked if the fact that there are no more N.C. tax conservation credits would dampen the plan. Rich Shaw said the longstanding N.C. conservation tax credit has expired by action of the general assembly. He said this credit is only used by landowners when they donate land or interest in their property with a conservation easement. He said it may reduce the opportunities for the County to work with some landowners, as it was an incentive. He said there are still some federal tax credits available. Commissioner Rich asked if the Board will be notified of properties that were missed because of this lack of tax credit. Rich Shaw said yes. Commissioner Gordon said the Board is being asked to approve pages 7-14 in the plan. She referred to the conclusion on page 14, and she read the following: "the first 12 years of the Lands Legacy Program saw tremendous strides in the protection of priority resource lands, with 3,077 acres permanently protected (as of December 2013) and several more projects in the works." She said the Board, staff and residents should be very proud of that. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to approve the adoption of the Lands Legacy Action Plan for the three-year period (July 2014 — June 2017). VOTE; UNANIMOUS a. Minutes The Board approved the minutes from October 8, 15, November 5, 19 and 25, 2013 as submitted by the Clerk to the Board. b. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Releases/Refunds The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release motor vehicle property tax values for sixty-seven (67) taxpayers with a total of seventy-two (72) bills that will result in a reduction of revenue in accordance with NCGS. C. Property Tax Releases/Refunds The Board adopted a resolution, which is incorporated by reference, to release property tax values for eleven (11) taxpayers with a total of (16) sixteen bills that will result in a reduction of revenue in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 105-381. d. Applications for Property Tax Exemption/Exclusion The Board approved six (6) untimely applications for exemption/exclusion from ad valorem taxation for six (6) bills for the 2013 tax year. e. Fiscal Year 2013-14 Budget Amendment#4 The Board approved budget ordinance amendments for fiscal year 2013-14 for: Department on Aging; Department of Social Services; Visitors Bureau Fund; Library; New Hope Volunteer Fire Department; Orange Rural Fire Department; Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) Trust Fund; and Animal Services Department. f. FY 2013-14 Budget Amendment#4-A—Approval of a 0.50 FTE Increase and a General Fund Intrafund Transfer to Establish a 1.0 FTE Agricultural Economic Development Coordinator The Board approved increasing the full-time equivalent (FTE) for a reclassified Agricultural Economic Development Coordinator from 0.50 FTE to 1.0 FTE and transferring budgeted, contract personnel funds from Cooperative Extension to Economic Development to cover the FTE increase. g. Request to Ratify the Renewal of the Emergency Solutions Grant Program Effective January 1, 2014 through September 30, 2014 The Board ratified the renewal of the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) contract with the State of North Carolina for $116,011 through September 2014 and authorized the County Manager to execute the sub-recipient contract with the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services upon review and approval by the County Attorney's Office. k. Bid Award — Hook Truck for Solid Waste The Board awarded a bid to Freightliner of Austin, 1701 Smith Road, Austin, TX for a Hook Lift Truck, at a delivered cost of$190,548, for the Sanitation Division of the Solid Waste Management Department. I. Changes in BOCC Regular Meeting Schedule for 2014 The Board approved two changes in the County Commissioners' regular meeting calendar for 2014, to: - Change the official meeting start time of the BOCC retreat, scheduled for Friday, January 31, 2014 from 9:00 am to 8:30 am, same location at the Solid Waste Administrative Offices. - Change the date of the Joint Meeting between the BOCC/Board of Health from April 8, 2014 at 5:30 pm to May 13, 2014 at 5:30 pm and change the location of this meeting from Link GSC to Southern Human Services Center, in Chapel Hill. M. Update on Adjustments to Town of Hillsborough Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) The Board received an update on the status of adjustments to the Town of Hillsborough Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ). 7. Regular Agenda a. Southern Branch Library Siting Criteria Update, Professional Services Agreement Award with Freelon Group Architects for Primary Phase Public Input Facilitation and Branch Programming The Board received an update on the Southern Library siting criteria process; considered awarding a professional services agreement to Freelon Group Architects of Durham, NC in an amount not-to-exceed $29,500 for the facilitation of the 120 Brewer Lane Site Primary Phase Public Input facilitation and southern branch programming; and considered authorizing the Manager to execute the necessary paperwork upon final approval of the County Attorney. Lucinda Munger said, at the November 5th meeting, the Board authorized staff to continue the preliminary due diligence phase and begin the primary public input phase for the assigned Brewer Lane site. She said staff then issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for a professional services firm to facilitate the primary phase. She said nine proposals were submitted; five were chosen for interviews; and it was the unanimous decision of the panel to award the contract to the Freelon Group of Durham, NC. She asked that the Board award a professional services contract to the Freelon Group in an amount not to exceed $29,500. She also asked the manager to execute the paperwork for this contract upon final approval by the County Attorney. She reviewed the timeline actions included in the abstract. Kathryn Taylor from the Freelon Group made a brief presentation. She said the Freelon Group is an architectural firm based in Durham; however the company works on a national level, focusing on libraries, cultural centers and museums. She said this project and process will include a series of public engagement meetings and staff meetings to find out the priorities of this branch. This information will be used to come up with a preliminary program. She said this program will be conceptual, but it will consist of the basic building blocks for whichever site is selected. Chair Jacobs stepped away. Commissioner McKee asked if there were any members of the public who wished to speak. A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to: 1) Receive an update regarding the Southern Library siting criteria process; 2) Award a professional services agreement to Freelon Group Architects of Durham, NC in an amount not-to-exceed $29,500 for the facilitation of the 120 Brewer Lane Site Primary Phase Pubic Input facilitation and southern branch programming; and 3) Authorize the Manager to execute the necessary paperwork upon final approval of the County Attorney. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Chair Jacobs asked if there are any scheduled dates yet for the public input meetings. KathrynTaylor said these are not set yet. She said there will be meetings with staff to get visions from the library side before engaging in the first public meetings. Chair Jacobs asked her to coordinate with the Clerk to make sure these meetings do not conflict with the Board of County Commissioners meetings. Commissioner Rich suggested that these meetings be held in or around Carrboro. b. Rural Recycling Service District Implementation Planning The Board reviewed and considered authorizing a plan for creation and implementation of a Solid Waste Collection and Disposal District for recycling in unincorporated Orange County and provided direction to staff. Gayle Wilson said the Board of County Commissioners has explored various options of replacing the 3-r fee over the past year. He said this was precipitated by the elimination of the rural 3-r fee previously assessed for rural curbside recycling services. He noted that this fee was $38 per household. He said in December the Board had expressed interest in the establishment of a service district to replace the lost 3-r funding. He said the Board had also acknowledged that the time to act on this was limited. Gayle Wilson said the Board requested that staff return with an implementation plan for proceeding toward the establishment of a service district. He said this requires a public hearing; notices to be sent to all property owners within the proposed district; a report including information on the proposed district to be filed in the clerk's office; the conducting of a public hearing; and ultimately a final decision by the Board. He said these steps must all be taken in a deliberate and timely manner if the Board wishes that the district be established and effective by July 1, 2014. He reviewed a map of the district, which was compiled to include the original 13,750 residents that are currently eligible for the service and previously paid the 3-r fee. He said additional parcels have been added to comply with the requirement in the statute that the parcels that comprise the district be contiguous. He said additional parcels that contain more densely populated areas, suitable for expansion, have also been included. He said the district also includes parcels and roadways that link these denser areas to the existing service area to create functional collection routes. Gayle Wilson said the district includes sufficient service points to allow for maximizing the efficiency of existing staff and equipment to allow for the addition of approximately 2,000 additional service points. He said the proposed district contains about 8,000 additional parcels from the existing service area. He said the current area was converted to single stream collection last year, and efficiency was gained in this transition. He said this efficiency will be further enhanced by new collection vehicles and roll carts. He said 1,715 tons were collected from the existing service area last fiscal year. He said phase 1 of the implementation plan consists of cart distribution and initiation of service to the existing service area by November of 2014. He said phase 2 would be to distribute carts and provide service to the newly added areas no later than the fall of 2015. Gayle Wilson said the preliminary cost estimates for the district are $630,000 or 1.5 cents per $100 of property value. He reviewed the manager recommendations outlined in the abstract. Michael Talbert reminded the Board of the past meetings leading to the consideration of district, while using solid waste fund reserve balances for the current fiscal year. He said there are many ways to pay for this, including: franchise, general fund taxing authority, or contracting with a third party to provide a similar service. Commissioner Gordon asked that the district be shown on a map of the entire County. She referred to pages 10 and 11 and said it should be clear that this is a recycling service. Michael Talbert said the district is primarily for the purpose of recycling, but the statute authorizes a Solid Waste Service district, so it needs to be called that. He said recyclable material is solid waste that has been removed from the solid waste stream for recycling purposes. Commissioner Price asked about the solid waste that is not recycled. Gayle Wilson said nothing is being proposed related to garbage as a part of this district at this time. Commissioner Price asked about the reference on page 2 to services provided to the elderly or disabled. Gayle Wilson said special service is provided for bin pickup for elderly or disabled residents unable to take it to the curb. Commissioner Dorosin said the summary gave a projected tax rate of 1.5 cents per $100 of property value. He asked if there has been any analysis of the values of the property in the proposed district to arrive at that number. Gayle Wilson said yes, this analysis was done. He noted that the total valuation of the district is shown at the bottom of the map, and this number is $4,452,893,165. Commissioner Dorosin asked Michael Talbert, if the Board wanted to fund this out of their general fund, what $630,000 would mean in taxable value for the whole county. Michael Talbert said this would equal .3 cent (1/3 of a penny). Commissioner Dorosin noted that the report shows the 2011-12 program cost was $506,000 for the program, and now the projected cost would be $630,000. Michael Talbert said in 2011-12 things were moving toward single stream, but trucks and bins were not purchased then. Commissioner McKee referred to the pre-existing rural curbside area where there were 13,700 customers, and 57 percent used curbside recycling service. He said this meant that about 6000 residents were paying the 3-r fee and not using the service. Gayle Wilson said that is correct. He said the 57 percent was calculated by the set out rate. He said there may be more participating at any one time, but only 57 percent set out bins on a given day. Commissioner McKee said the point was that there were thousands of people paying the 3-r fee while not using the service and opting to still take their recycling to the Solid Waste Convenience Center (SWCC). He noted that the curbside collection amount was 1,715 tons, and the convenience center collected 2,300 tons, though some of that were urban and other materials. He said this means there were still over a thousand tons coming into the convenience centers countywide. He said his point is that a lot of people on the curbside route were still taking their recycling to the SWCC and not using the curbside service. He said Orange County residents have been good about working toward the 61 percent goal. Commissioner McKee referred to the pre-existing set up with curbside. He asked if the exempt properties were paying the curbside fee. He said the proposed tax district will have 631 exempt properties that will not pay the tax although they will potentially still continue to receive the service. Gayle Wilson said this is correct. Commissioner Pelissier asked if there is comparable data for the towns. Gayle Wilson said there are surveys, and when the transition is made to roll carts that information will be provided in detail; but he can't recall it now. Commissioner Pelissier said it would be interesting to know the comparison. Chair Jacobs asked Gayle Wilson to repeat the information regarding the fact that people will not exclusively have to use the roll out carts. Gayle Wilson said due to the varied topography, the County will have to make accommodations for some homes. Chair Jacobs asked if there is any data on the effectiveness of an "opt-in" recycling program. Gayle Wilson said there is considerable data. He said the `opt in-opt out' situation that exists in 12-13 counties results in poor participation. He said Alamance County has an opt-in program and the participation rate is in the single digits. Chair Jacobs asked if it is possible to create a service district that includes the municipalities and the areas of the County that would receive curbside recycling. John Roberts said yes. He said the municipalities would have to approve being included in the service district. PUBLIC COMMENT: Norma White lives in Little River Township, and she is against a tax service district. She said the Board of Commissioners exists for the cause of the common good and general welfare of the people. She said everyone can agree that schools, libraries and many County services exist for the common good and general County welfare, even if these are located in town and far from rural households. She said everyone pays, and no one gets to pick and choose what the common good is. She said everyone agrees that solid waste/recycling is an issue that is for the common good of the County, but it is not true that everyone pays. She said the Board of County Commissioners is turning this upside down. She said data shows that the rural areas are doing a fantastic job of recycling, and these areas have been telling the County for years that rural people do recycling differently. She said these residents use the SWCC for the common good, yet the rural people pay more. She said this discrepancy shoots down the common good concept. She said the tax differential has all of the appearances of an implicit special tax district, with unequal application of taxation to the rural areas and exclusion of the urban areas. She said the County now wants to impose another tax applied only to the rural areas. She said the County's pretense that the rural areas need and will overwhelmingly use curbside recycling is a faulty premise, as these areas have never been polled or surveyed. She said this is a stab in the dark, and the issue is a shortfall of money in the Solid Waste Department. David Laudocina lives in Bingham Township, and he urged the Board to find an equitable solution for curbside recycling rather than implementing a district tax based on property valuation. He believes progressive taxation is appropriate for some services, but curbside rural recycling is not a good fit. He said his property tax bill includes a flat rate for the 3-r fee and a flat rate for the waste center fee, and these charges are dependent on where you live in the County. He feels that the flat rate system for curbside is more consistent with the method used for other waste services. He said the magnitude of the difference in total dollars paid between properties using a district tax tied to property valuation grows as the tax rate increases over time. He said he hopes the policy of allowing use of the orange bins for rural recycling will be a reality, regardless of what system is implemented. He noted that property values have not been re-valued since 2009 to provide true property tax assessments. He said the Board has done a good job of holding the line on property tax increases. He believes it is prudent for the County to find a fairer, more equitable way to pay for rural curbside recycling and hold off on any property tax increases until the valuations are fair and balanced. Alex Castro said he is a senior resident of Bingham Township, and it seemed to him that the Board is messing with something that is working. He said recycling is working in Orange County, and now the Board is looking to spend a lot of money for changes that don't fit. He said that people given a choice will not opt-in; therefore if residents are not forced to do it, the population will not exist to sustain what is put in place. He asked the Board to think strongly about whether this is a good avenue. Bonnie Hauser said she lives in rural Orange County. She uses the SWCC for trash and recycling, and she composts at home. She said families in the unincorporated areas overwhelmingly prefer a voluntary fee over a service district tax. She said % of the families in the rural community prefer to use the convenience centers for trash, and they bring their recycling too. She said this is not about recycling rates, it is simply about the fact that curbside services don't work in much of the rural area. She said people should be able to opt out if they are unable to use the services. She said if the Board decides to pursue the public hearings, she would like it made clear what else the Board hopes to learn about this process. She said she is also confused about equity. She said, according to UNC, County governments cannot make residents pay a fee for curbside collection services, and this was the basis for the end of the 3-r fee. She said the town residents see recycling as hand in hand with the curbside trash collection, which is provided to every household and funded by the town's general fund. She said the towns are expected to delegate their fee authority to the County. Bonnie Hauser said rural residents who want curbside services retain private haulers at their own expense. She said if equity is an issue, then convenience fees should be examined. She said everyone is concerned about the future of the County Solid Waste Department and recycling after the close of the landfill, and there is much to do to get the waste service fees right. She said it is a waste of time to hold public hearings for a service district tax. She advocated for a subscription service for rural families, with an option to opt out. Ken Robinson lives on Old Greensboro Road. He said he has tried to use curbside service, but there is no space in the right of way for bins, and it does not work for him. He asked what problem the Board is trying to solve. He said he uses the convenience center and sees lots of people using the recycling center. He said he takes his recyclables when he takes his trash, and this is quicker than carrying it to the street and bringing the bins back. He thinks the service district is a bad idea. Jan Sassman said the issue before them is whether or not to proceed with a public hearing. He encouraged the Board to vote yes on this, and he said he will defer his comments until that hearing. Terri Buckner said she appreciates the solid waste staff, and she appreciates her recycling being picked up. She is here to support this proposal and to encourage the Board to move forward with a public hearing. She said that a subscription service will reduce the recycling rate significantly. She said there are many people in the County who do not have long driveways and would use the service. She noted that she lives far from a convenience center and she appreciates the pickup service. Maria Tadd said she lives in Bingham Township. She thanked Commissioner Gordon for her years of service. She said she has lived in Orange County for 20 years and Commissioner Gordon is the finest Commissioner the County has ever had. She said environmental concerns are important to her and Commissioner Gordon has been a steward of the environment and a rational voice at the table. Maria Tadd said her love for the environment is what brings her here today, and she feels that curbside pick-up is a colossal waste of money and is bad for the environment. She said she lives on the corner of two private roads with a total of 14 households, and only one family uses this service. She said recycling must be driven to a designated area, and it is much easier to just drive another 1.5 miles to the recycling center. She said everyone has to drive to the recycling center anyway, so there is no benefit to curbside service when only recyclables are collected. She said the fact that Orange County has been ranked number 1 in the state is testimony to the fact that people are using the convenience centers. She said the elderly population in the rural buffer is increasing, and having to carry the bins to your car and possibly navigate stairs is a hazard for these people. She said the roll carts pose an issue for people like her with long driveways. She said the recycling trucks leave a large carbon footprint, knock down road signs, create ruts in the shoulders, and are a traffic hazard. She asked why curbside pickup is being provided to a community that still has to haul its own trash. She would rather see the money allocated to this program spent on improving the community. She said if the Board does decide to offer this service, she would ask for the subscription option to allow residents to opt out. Tony Blake lives in a rural community in Bingham Township. He said the problem is that everyone wants people to recycle more. He said people recycle less when garbage and recycling are separated, so the best way to encourage recycling is to have those two things together. He said this means that the trash needs to be picked up too; otherwise people should just use the convenience centers. Don O'Leary lives in Bingham Township. He said he preferred to use the convenience centers. He does not understand why the Board of County Commissioners needs to force this proposal down citizens' throats. Carroll Hawkins lives in Cedar Grove Township and has a very long driveway. He cannot imagine having a roll cart. He said from an equity standpoint, it is not fair to him to be charged a tax when it is not convenient to use the service, and he does not plan to use it. Commissioner McKee addressed Gayle Wilson and said that his department does an excellent job. He complimented the solid waste department on the excellent recycling rate. He said the abstract states that up to 14,000 roll carts will be purchased for the rural areas. He said if it is assumed that many folks will not use the service, there will be a surplus of carts. He said there is a cost of$212,000 for the carts. He said that a tax district with 20,000 parcels has a potential to have up to 8000 unused carts, and this is not a good use of funds. Commissioner McKee said he will concede that there may be a 25 percent reduction in recycling if the County goes to a subscription service. He said rural curbside is only 17 percent of the total recycling in Orange County, and if the 25 percent is applied to this rural rate and then extrapolated across the total volume of recycling, it brings the possible reduction down to 3 or 4 percent. Commissioner McKee said, with the tax concept, there will be 694 exempt properties that will not pay tax though they can continue to receive services. He said the possible number of medium and lower income residents that will be paying a tax for a service they may not need or want is an equity issue for him. Commissioner Price said she would like to see some comparable information and data showing the scenario if people in rural areas are not required to pay for pickup and instead use the convenience centers. She said people in the rural areas do recycle, and she has seen it at her convenience center. She questioned whether the Board needs to have curbside pick-up to accomplish their goals of recycling. She questions whether the Board is justifying the means or the end. She feels that the County should be giving citizens options, and the option of"opt- out" should be considered. She said there is no information on the effect of a subscription service, and she would like to see this. Commissioner Pelissier said the Board does not have a lot of information at this meeting. She said part of the problem is that there is no good data on many of the things being considered. She thought the purpose tonight was to decide whether or not to have a public hearing. She does not want to make a decision before a public hearing is held. She said the public needs to receive the big picture on this issue. Commissioner Rich agreed with Commissioner Pelissier. She said that, because this is not a public hearing, many people who are in favor of the tax just sent in emails instead of attending. She urged the Board to move forward with what is in the abstract. Commissioner Dorosin said the County has one goal, which is to maximize recycling in Orange County. He said the other shared goal is to maximize fairness to all in the residents in the County in achieving this recycling goal. He said the idea seems to be that paying a tax means people will put the bin out at the curb, but these same residents will not recycle if they have to opt, and this seems logically inconsistent. He said the only way to fairly do curbside recycling is to either have an opt-in service or to fund it out of the general revenue so that everyone bears the burden. He said, as to the question of a public hearing, it should be a public hearing to present a series of options. He said it can't be a public hearing on just a service district. He said he would only support curbside recycling if it is funded from the general fund or a subscription service. He said if the Board does not want to do curbside recycling, then other options need to be considered, such as more convenience centers. Commissioner Gordon said she would support going forth with a public hearing since tonight's meeting was not advertised as a public hearing, and the Board needs to get this information out to the public. She said a public hearing is required by statute in order to establish a tax district. She said other options can also be presented at this hearing. She said she does understand the issues of having a long driveway and paying a tax on vacant land. Chair Jacobs addressed John Roberts. He asked, if the Board went ahead with a public hearing and sent out notices to over 13,000 citizens, but then decided to use funding from general fund and include the municipalities, whether any notices would have to be sent if the urban areas were included after the fact. John Roberts said the public hearing process could be followed later by the municipalities if the elected boards chose to join in the service district. He said there is no statutory mandate that the public hearing happen at a later time, but it would be a good policy for those municipalities to have their own hearings. Chair Jacobs said he does think that a lot of this information is based on opinion, and it is useful but might not be applicable. He has concerns about all of the exempt properties. He said he has lobbied that people with long driveways be allowed to use bins, and he is concerned about the possible surplus of roll carts. Gayle Wilson said an assessment would be done prior to each phase and necessary adjustments would be made. Chair Jacobs said the two goals are the commitment to equity and the commitment to recycling and this balance is difficult. He said even the general fund use has an equity issue if roadside recycling does not provide service to all residents. He said the question is whether the Board feels that it is important enough to use the general fund or service district to support curbside recycling. Chair Jacobs said this should proceed to a public hearing, and all of the options should be put on the table. He said there should be two public hearings held in both ends of the County. He said the Board can come back on Feb. 4th to determine what information should be presented at these hearings. Commissioner Rich said if the general fund consideration is being put on the table, the Board also needs to talk with the towns about what that means for the agreement that currently exists with the County. Commissioner Price said she does want to move forward with the public hearing, but she wants to make sure that all of the options are discussed and time is used wisely. She would also like to see data on the subscription service and the costs to the department and the impact on revenue. Commissioner McKee said he voted against the motion the last time this was discussed. He said the previous wording finished with a statement that staff would proceed with a public hearing with the intent to move forward with a district tax. He said if the Board is going to have a public hearing he wants all options to be laid out, with both advantages and disadvantages of each. He said curbside works very well in a neighborhood style development, but it is not ideal for these longer driveways. He said he will oppose this again if it is done for just the service district. Commissioner Pelissier said that this public hearing would have to happen if there was intent to implement a tax district. She asked if this precludes having information available on the implications of not doing a tax district. John Roberts said no. He said a public hearing is to solicit many types of input. He said the notice would have to have certain information, but additional information is not prohibited. Commissioner Pelissier said she would like estimates on how much of a capacity increase would be needed at the Solid Waste Convenience Centers in the event that the County did not go with a tax district. Chair Jacobs said a few words can be added to the recommended motion tonight to bring everyone into agreement. Commissioner Gordon asked how these other options will be articulated. She suggested this could be brought back by staff. She questioned what options would be put back on the table. She said some options, such as franchises, have been eliminated by the Board, and she questioned how it would affect the interactions with the towns if these things were added back. She said the reintroduction of some of these options may have unintended consequences. Gayle Wilson said some of the topics include: the general fund option; Solid Waste Convenience Center-only option; district tax; and a subscription service. Michael Talbert said the County has already made a commitment to the towns saying that the urban curbside is moving forward, and some of these other options are in conflict and may have unintended consequences. He asked if the Board wants everything on the table at the public hearing, or if the general fund idea should be eliminated. He said this means the town residents would have to pay a tax to support the rural district, and this would be a problem with intergovernmental relations. Chair Jacobs said he has suggested that staff can vet the universe of options and come back with a statement on February 4th. He said this would allow the Board to review it and make an informed recommendation. Commissioner Dorosin said he disagrees with the idea that the two goals are in conflict. He said he feels that it is possible to have both environmental protection and social justice. A motion was made by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to move forward with: 1. Discussing potential public hearing(s) on the proposed District establishment and other options to be articulated, if inclined; determining the number and locations of public hearing(s) the Board would like staff to pursue scheduling, including whether the public hearings should be separate meetings or occur as part of regular Board meetings. (Note — Based on statutory requirements and time constraints associated with a July 1, 2014 implementation, staff believes public hearing(s) will need to occur in late March and early April). 2. Pending outcomes from #1 above, directing staff to bring back proposed public hearing dates, times, and locations to the February 4, 2014 regular Board meeting for approval. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Michael Talbert summarized the above motion. He asked for clarification on whether these hearings will be held at regular Board meetings or at separate meetings. He also clarified that the Board does not want staff to move forward with the criteria to establish a district, but that that process should stop at the fact that a district is possible, as well as the other three options. He asked that the clerk poll the Board for relative dates to possibly do two additional meetings. Commissioner Gordon said she thought it was articulated that staff should vet the four options, but possibly not bring back all four of them. Michael Talbert said the four options outlined by Gayle Wilson are what will be brought back with advantages and disadvantages, on February 4th, so that the Board can consider whether these should be included in a public hearing. Commissioner Gordon said she just wanted this to be clear to the towns. A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to hold two public hearings as stand-alone events; to review the options brought forward; and to receive public comment. Commissioner Dorosin questioned why the Board needs separate meetings. He said this is all supposed to be transparent, and it should be on the regular agenda. Commissioner McKee said the reason for his proposal of stand-alone events is due to concern about the possibility of a lack of time for this size of a public hearing. Commissioner Pelissier asked if staff could look at the calendar before this decision is made. Michael Talbert suggested starting the meeting an hour early. Chair Jacobs clarified that Michael Talbert will come back with scheduling recommendations if this fails. Michael Talbert said this is correct. Commissioner Price said if this fails she would like to have staff look for a meeting that is lean. Commissioner Gordon said she supports a stand-alone meeting with a work session afterward, just in case it ends early. VOTE: Ayes, 3: Chair Jacobs Commissioner McKee Commissioner Gordon; Nays, 4: Commissioner Dorosin, Commissioner Pelissier, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner Price MOTION FAILS c. Approval of Budget Amendment#4-113 to Purchase Rural Curbside Recycling Trucks The Board considered approving Budget Amendment#4-B, for a total of$581,314, authorizing the purchase of two (2) rural curbside recycling trucks from Southern Trucks of Charlotte, North Carolina utilizing the Sole Source exemption from the formal bidding requirement. Gayle Wilson said staff has been delaying the replacement of these trucks, and the current trucks barely function. He said the new trucks are designed to serve both a manual a fully automated system and are versatile for serving the rural area. He said these take about 8 to 9 months to build. He said he realizes that one of the options may not require these trucks; however, staff is going to recommend a similar truck next year in their budget for the multi- family program. He said this means the new trucks would still be used. Commissioner McKee expressed his support for this purchase. A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner McKee to: • Approve Budget Amendment#4-B for a total of$581,314 from solid waste enterprise fund reserves for the purchase of the two curbside recycling trucks; and • Approve a Sole Source exemption purchase from Southern Truck of Charlotte, North Carolina to procure the two curbside recycling trucks at a cost of for $287,076 each ($574,152). Commissioner Dorosin asked what would be done with the trucks if curbside recycling was not initiated. Gayle Wilson said he would not request a recycling truck in next year's budget, but would substitute one of these trucks instead. He said he would use the other as a backup for all of the other programs. He said these are the most adaptable trucks that can be found. VOTE: UNANIMOUS d. Potential Orange County Fair— Conceptual Plan and Follow-Up The Board received a report back to the Board on questions and follow-up information requested at the November 12, 2013 work session on the County Fair Working Group report and considered moving forward with the creation of a County Fair for the Spring of 2015, including the County Fair in the Fiscal 2014/2015 Annual Budget, estimated to be between $187,380 and $243,594, and including improvements to the Blackwood Farm Project. Dave Stancil presented the following PowerPoint slides: Potential Orange County Fair Follow-up Report Background oa Working Group Charged 6/18/2013 oa Meetings July-November, 10/30/2013 Information-Sharing Session oa Report 11/12/2013 oa Board asked for follow-up information Recommended Fair oa Spring 2015 oa Friday-Saturday ("soft" Thursday night?) oa Friday— schools? oa Blackwood Farm Park oa Evaluate after first run whether spring or fall Themes: o3 Agriculture, local foods and restaurants o3 Arts and local artists o3 Diverse history o3 Education and youth o3 Live music, Games o3 Economic Development Economic Development oa Primary audience is ALL County residents oa Event could draw from surrounding areas oa Spinoff sales and income for local businesses Dave Stancil reviewed maps of the proposed parking areas and the fair layout. He said the livestock events would be demonstration focused, rather than competitions. He said efforts will be made to encourage local food trucks and local restaurants to participate. Jeff Thompson continued the presentation and reviewed the following slides: Revenue and Costs oa First-time event— difficult to project revenues/costs oa General Budget Estimate: $189,000 revenues; ca $187,000 costs + 30% contingency of$56,000 (= up to $243,000) oa Proposed Events Planner would fundraise and manage revenues/costs. Costs do not include county staff time. oa Includes proposed funding from Visitors Bureau and General Fund (contingency/stop- loss) oa Around $9,500 in capital improvements to Blackwood Farm Park needed in FY 14-15 Cost/ Revenue Estimates oa Working Group Suggestions oa Receive and discuss the report and projected budget oa Authorize solicitation and hiring of professional events planner to coordinate fundraising, volunteers and fair planning/management. Manager's Recommendation oa Receive and discuss the follow-up information and either: A. Direct staff to move forward with creation of County Fair for Spring 2015, and agree to include funding in FY 2014-15 budget and CIP; or B. Direct staff not to move forward with the County Fair project. Jeff Thompson reviewed the schematic from page 8 of the packet. He said the working group recommends viewing these financial assumptions in a balance neutral format. He said this means looking equally at expenses and the generation of funds. He said the financial information assumes a modest midway. He said the midway is planned for the 1.3 acre area in the northeast corner of the map, but if the midway were not to occur, then that cost would not be included. Commissioner Dorosin said after the Board's last work session, the group took the cost concerns to heart, and work was done to address this and do the event in a revenue neutral fashion. He said the intent is to recoup the cost of an event planner as well. He said this event is designed to celebrate the County. He said the meetings reflect the diversity of people interested in this project, and this was inspiring to him. He said concerns about Hogg Days are no longer an issue. He emphasized that there is not currently an event for the entire County. He said the fair will focus on and highlight local events organized by local people. Commissioner Price said another goal is to help promote local businesses, as well as the County. She said the County needs to do more community building, and this will help with that. Commissioner Pelissier said the report does not tell how much future staff time is anticipated for this event. Dave Stancil said this is hard to answer. He said even with an event planner, there would need to be a liaison from a number of different departments to develop the activity. He does not have an estimate for this. He said this event will require about a half a year of activity for the event planner to pull everything together, make it happen, and close it out. Commissioner Rich asked who would be responsible for getting sponsorships. Dave Stancil said the proposed event planner would be responsible for this. Commissioner McKee referred to page 3 regarding upgrades to Blackwood Farm and said he feels that the $9,500 figure is extremely low. Jeff Thompson said there is no storm water permit issue unless more than 20,000 feet of gravel are scraped. He said it is assumed that his staff will put the gravel down. Commissioner McKee asked what trucks will be used to spread gravel. Jeff Thompson said the gravel will include 10 tandem loads for 19,000 square feet of surface gravel. He said this has been done before and it would be for vendor parking only. He said the electrical upgrade is really just updating the existing the electrical service on the farmstead. Commissioner McKee asked how everything else would be powered. Jeff Thompson said this would be done with 20kv generators from a rental vendor with power distribution for the agriculture site, the midway, and the farmstead site. Commissioner Gordon asked about the hours for the event planner and whether this position would be half or full time. Jeff Thompson said it is a 6 month commitment, and it would be a part time position. Dave Stancil said this would be negotiated as part of the contract, which could be based on either hours or the end product. He said this is not known yet. Commissioner Gordon said this impacts what the staff time will be. Dave Stancil said there will be a better idea of this framework after the solicitation process. Commissioner Pelissier asked about the possible installation of a fire hydrant and the cost of extending a water line to do this. Dave Stancil said there is water service to the house, and there is a 4 acre pond on the property. He said the fire marshal indicated that this could be used as a water supply, and a fire hydrant would not be needed. He said he does not have costs for a fire hydrant. Commissioner Price noted that there were people at the community meeting who volunteered to help with the event. Commissioner McKee referred to the pond as a source of water supply. He asked if this would require a fire truck to be on site for the event. He is concerned about the difficulty of egress and entrance. Dave Stancil said he has not talked with the fire departments yet, but the fire marshal said he would evaluate this, if and when this event goes forward. He said the driveway does have some limitation, and a fire truck would be the biggest vehicle that could be accommodated. Commissioner McKee noted that the cost projection is $187,000, and he asked for the cost figure from the last work session. Jeff Thompson said it was $250,000 because the site had not been collapsed. Commissioner Dorosin said the event planner would likely be part-time in the beginning and then grow to full time as the event gets closer. PUBLIC COMMENT Mark Marcoplos said he is pro fair, and he feels it would be a great celebration of the County's businesses, agriculture, history, and culture. He said it would be a great celebration for the schools. He said it would be fun, and he feels the budget looks doable. Mark Chilton said he agreed with Mark Marcoplos, and he feels this is a great idea. He said this is an opportunity to showcase the local food and value added stuff being produced by the County. He feels it would be more successful than the figures show, and people would be drawn to it. Dave Stancil said the proposed budget with cost on November 12th was $142,000, with another $42,000 in contingencies. He said there has been some refinement to this. Commissioner Rich noted that the abstract says the Visitor's Bureau is committing $10,000, but that is not what happened. She said the notes from that meeting show that the $10,000 would only be available after the event shows it is a viable fair. Laurie Paoceilli said there was a lot of circular conversation. She said the Visitors Bureau is in the events support business, and it seemed fair to many to support the idea of a County fair. She said the conversation got caught up with the realization that there was not enough information about this event yet to financially support it at this time. She said if the Board of County Commissioners vetted this and thought it was a viable event then it is her opinion that there would be a vote to support using that $10,000. Commissioner Rich asked Margaret Cannell, Executive Director of the Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce and producer of Hogg Day, to come up. She asked how much time Margaret Cannell spent on Hogg Day. Margaret Cannell said this would require a minimum of 6 months of full time work since it is a larger event. She said this takes a lot more time and dedication than the Board may think. She said the planner will have a sharp learning curve, and for this first time planning process the County would need a full time person for the full year. Commissioner Rich asked how much money Hogg Day made. Margaret Cannell said she has run Hogg Day for 12 years, and the most money it made was $30,000. She said that was a year when pork producers donated $13,000 worth of meat. She said that figure does not account for staff time. She, taking into account staff time, there was a profit of$7,000 this past year. Commissioner McKee asked if Hogg Day gets grants from corporations. Margaret Cannell said Hogg Day had sponsorships, but it was difficult to get them. She said for a start-up event, this would be the first task the event planner would need to do. She said this could be easy if the planner has good networking in place, but the economy also plays a huge role. She thanked the Board and other County staff members who have supported Hogg Days over the years. She noted that several organizations are trying to pick up the event. Commissioner Pelissier said there are a lot of possibilities set out here and a budget nobody really understands. She said while this is a great idea, her main concern is Blackwood Farm and how this would play out with moving Blackwood Park forward in the future. She would like to wait another year or two until Blackwood Park begins development. Commissioner McKee said costs with the schools are getting ready to come up again, and there are continuous state cuts to the school systems. He said he is concerned with how these cost factors will be accommodated, and he feels that this event will be a competing item in the budget. He said if there is going to be an increase in expenses it should be for school systems and core services. He is uncertain that that can even be done without a tax increase. Commissioner Rich said there was some conversation about this event at the Visitors Bureau end of the year meeting. She said one conversation was about the idea that this could start small with a music venue at the farm's amphitheater. She said there was also some concern expressed about some of the property on Blackwood Farm not being stable. Dave Stancil said that was true at one time, but there has been about $100,000 worth of building stabilization done over the past several years. He said this should not be an issue. Commissioner Rich said there was also concern about the integrity of Blackwood Farm being compromised with heavy machinery. Commissioner Gordon said what the Board is being asked to do is to move forward with a project costing $187,000 -$243,000 and include improvements to the Blackwood Farm. She said she has concerns about this financial commitment in the face of so many uncertainties. Commissioner Dorosin emphasized that this model is made to be revenue neutral or revenue positive event. He said the goal for tonight is to get the authority to hire an event planner to help determine the viability of this event. He noted that Hogg Day was revenue positive every year. He believes there will be a large volunteer base to help mitigate staff time. Commissioner Dorosin said a smaller event is possible, but at some point there will still be costs associated with improvements and other items, regardless of the size of the event. He said the event could be shortened, but there are economies of scale to consider. He said vendors would be charged less to come for only one day, and schools could not be involved if the event is only on a Saturday. He said the goal is to draw as many people as possible, so the diversity of the event is important. He said it would be better to scale everything down, than to pull just one section down. He said that the idea of having a park but not going into it is counterintuitive. He said this farm is a jewel of the county and this would be an opportunity to show it off. He said there is a lot of excitement about this, and it will be fun. He said County government has to be about more than just maintaining the status quo and this is a real opportunity. Commissioner Rich asked if any of the local vendors and restaurants were interested in being involved in this. Dave Stancil said some of the food trucks participated in the information session, but because there is so little concrete information, no one has committed yet. Chair Jacobs said he was part of the 250th celebration event, and he has been supportive of the fair idea. He said the event has promise; but he does not believe any of the numbers, and he does not want to make any commitments outside of the budget process. He would be supportive of hiring an event planner for 4 months until the budget process, to vet these numbers and see what the County's exposure will be. He said this can be evaluated in May, and the Board will see what their priorities are. He said community building is important, and this event will provide an opportunity for this; however, the Board heard today in the school collaboration meeting about extra school expenses. He said if someone is willing to do the job with the possibility that it will become a full time job if the numbers prove to be reliable, then he would be comfortable with this. He is less comfortable with doing an ad hoc approach. A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Pelissier to approve option 2 in the Manager's recommendation, which directs staff not to move forward with the County Fair Project, because of these uncertainties. VOTE: Ayes, 4: Commissioner Pelissier, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner McKee, and Commissioner Gordon; Nays, 3: Chair Jacobs, Commissioner Dorosin, Commissioner Price Commissioner Pelissier clarified that this motion does not mean the idea is totally dead in the long term, but there are too many uncertainties at the moment. A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Price to hire a part time event planner to develop and vet a plan, including costs, and to bring this back during the budget process. Commissioner Dorosin said this is the only way to provide the information that the Board is looking for. He believes that if this information was available, the Board would support this. Commissioner McKee said every idea does not need to move forward, and the Board sometimes has to make hard decisions. He said this may be a very good idea, but there are other considerations, such as education, that override it. He feels the Board has a hard time making a definitive decision. He is comfortable with the motion that was made, and the Board needs to have the backbone to stick with it. Commissioner Rich said she agrees with Commissioner Pelissier that this ought not to be a dead issue. She said she can go along with Commissioner Dorosin's proposal as long as it is kept in the budget cycle. Commissioner Pelissier said she does not want to revive this and spend money on it right now. She would like to re-visit this in the future, during the discussions for a full blown park at Blackwood Farm. Commissioner Gordon said this should come back for discussion during the budget cycle. She said there is no need to rush and pay money for an employee to keep this idea alive before the budget cycle. She said right now this expense is too large. Chair Jacobs asked for clarification on page 3, regarding the cost to hire an events planner. Dave Stancil said this was geared toward the hiring a person on a contract basis. Jeff Thompson said $15,000-$20,000 is a realistic number for the 4 month scope of services described. Commissioner Rich said she does not think this number is enough, but it does not matter at this point. Commissioner Dorosin said his motion is to hire someone now to help provide information and answers to all of the questions. Michael Talbert asked if this proposal is to hire a temporary person, or to have a firm hire someone to do this research. Chair Jacobs said this has not been specified. Michael Talbert said the timetable on this would put the hiring in mid to late March or April, which would be too late for the budget cycle for this year. Commissioner Price said there have been emails from interested parties regarding the event planner position. VOTE: Ayes, 3: Chair Jacobs Commissioner Dorosin Commissioner Price; Nays, 4: Commissioner Pelissier, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner McKee, Commissioner Gordon Motion fails. 8. Reports-NONE 9. County Manager's Report Michael Talbert said the North Carolina Association Group benefits pooled ceased to exist on December 31, 2011. He said, as a member of that pool, the County received a check for $157, 000 for their share in the risk pool. He said this went into the self-insurance reserves fund. He said the Board of Elections is moving forward with the idea of early voting, which will start on April 4, 2014 and will end on May 3, 2014. He said, by law this has to operate for 226 hours. He said 4 potential sites are being considered, including: The Seymour Center, Carrboro location, and the Hillsborough Board of elections. He said there are negotiations ongoing for a site in or around the Chapel Hill area. He said this site will be finalized by March 14th. He said there is adequate funding in place to make this all happen. 10. County Attorney's Report - NONE 11. Appointments a. Advisory Board on Aging —Appointment The Board was to consider making an appointment to the Advisory Board on Aging. DEFERRED b. Arts Commission —Appointment The Board was to consider making appointments to the Arts Commission. DEFERRED c. Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee —Appointment The Board was to consider making appointments to the Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee. DEFERRED 12. Board Comments Commissioner Price said there is an opportunity to have further input with Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization (TARPO) through participation in a district 7 meeting on Wednesday, January 29th from 4-7 pm. She said the MLK weekend celebrations were very nice this year. Commissioner Gordon — none Commissioner McKee said he finally made the MLK event this year in Chapel Hill, and it was very nice. He has been attending these for years in the northern part of the County, but this was his first in the southern portion of the County. Commissioner Dorosin — none Commissioner Rich referred to the comments on early voting and said there is concern that the early voting site will not be on campus. She said there are 4 sites being considered and there is concern with it being moved off campus. She suggested the Board get involved if they would like to keep it on campus. Commissioner Pelissier said she celebrated the MLK event in Durham and she cooked for residents who had not had a hot meal in awhile. She said this was a great service opportunity for her family. Commissioner Pelissier congratulated Colleen Bridger for being selected as the North Carolina Health Director of the Year. Commissioner Pelissier said, in reference to the jail alternatives work group, there is a memo at the Commissioner's places that outlines an extension on the report timeline from March 31 st to the May 13th work session. She said this delay will have no negative impact. She said it is more important to have a good, properly vetted report. Chair Jacobs said County staff continues to meet with representatives of the Morinaga project to move the project forward. He said the Burlington Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization adopted the access road program as a top priority. He said the plan is still for Morinaga to be in business by July 1, 2015. Chair Jacobs said Triangle Transit put together a summary of the Hillsborough train station project, and he had passed this on to Mr. Tata at the Triangle J meeting. 13. Information Items • December 10, 2013 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List • Tax Collector's Report— Numerical Analysis • Tax Collector's Report— Monthly Enforced Collections • Memorandum Regarding Major Fund Financial Statement for the Six Months Ended December 31, 2013 • BOCC Chair Letter Regarding Petitions from December 10, 2013 Regular Board Meeting 14. Closed Session A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Rich to go into closed session at 11:28 pm for the purposes listed below: "Pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(3) "to consult with an attorney retained by the Board in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the Board." and "To consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee;" NCGS § 143-318.11(a)(6). VOTE: UNANIMOUS RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to reconvene into regular session at 11:50 pm. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 15. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Rich to adjourn the meeting at 11:50 pm. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Barry Jacobs, Chair Donna S. Baker, CMC Clerk to the Board