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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09-07-2017 1 APPROVED 10/3/2017 MINUTES BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION September 7, 2017 7:00 p.m. The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a work session on Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Dorosin and Commissioners Mia Burroughs, Mark Dorosin, Barry Jacobs, Mark Marcoplos, Earl McKee, Renee Price and Penny Rich COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager Travis Myren and Deputy Clerk to the Board David Hunt (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below) Chair Dorosin called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Closed Session A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Rich to adjourn into closed session at 7:06 for the purpose of: "To discuss matters related to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the area served by the public body, including agreement on a tentative list of economic development incentives that may be offered by the public body in negotiations," NCGS § 143- 318.11(a)(4). VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Commissioner Burroughs, seconded by Commissioner Rich to reconvene into open session at 8:19 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 1. Board of Commissioners DRAFT Meeting Calendar for 2018 1. For the Board to consider and discuss a petition request by Commissioner Jacobs from the May 2, 2017 BOCC meeting about previous dinner meetings with Health, Social Services and other advisory boards that are no longer scheduled on the BOCC meeting calendar. Staff recollections on this issue were that these were removed during discussion in Chair/Vice Chair agenda reviews (about meeting calendar) because of: • Lack of agenda items from Advisory Boards/Departments • Insufficient agenda packets (sometimes only an agenda sheet) 2 • Low attendance from BOCC members at some meetings or late arrivals • Reduction of BOCC meetings • Advisory board meetings could always be added to the meeting calendar on an "as needed" basis 2. For the Board to consider and discuss a petition by Chair Dorosin from the May 2, 2017 BOCC meeting that staff and the Board begin thinking about the Board's annual meeting calendar and potential opportunities to reduce the number of meetings. Attachment 4- Email from Chair Dorosin (8/10/17) Chair Dorosin said he would like to review the BOCC meeting calendar, noting there are over 50 meetings a year. The Clerk said the BOCC has nine public meetings between now and June 20th, and two closed sessions. Chair Dorosin encouraged the Board to be conscientious of the time it takes to hold a meeting, including the amount of prep work. After discussion/discussion by the Board, and any proposed changes made, this item will be on the consent agenda at an October/November BOCC meeting for approval. In an effort to have a thorough discussion about the number of meetings we have, the following ideas are offered for your consideration: 0 Move the 4 quarterly public hearings from separate meetings into regular meetings each quarter. According to John R., this is a perfectly legitimate alternative and can be done without any changes to the UDO. (If we wanted to go further and change the UDO however, we would have even more flexibility and planning items requiring a public hearing could be considered at a public hearing during any of the 20 or so regular board meetings annually. o Reduction: 4 meetings O Move the joint town meetings (Hillsborough/Mebane/Chapel Hill/Carrboro) to the first portion of a BoCC work session. Following the joint meeting portion, our colleagues could leave, with the rest of the work session dedicated to BoCC issues. We may also want to discuss whether we still need to have all of these joint sessions. o Reduction: 4 meetings O Move the 2 meetings for personnel evaluations (clerk/attorney, manager) to closed sessions at the end of regular meetings. We did this with the manager's evaluation this year and I think it worked fine. o Reduction: 2 meetings O Move the legislative breakfast to a regular meeting or work session. It might be ideal to do this at the regular meeting where we discuss/vote on our legislative goals and agenda. o Reduction: 1 meeting 3 Of course, if we determine during the course of the year that we need to add a meeting back, we always have the option to do so. END OF EMAIL Chair Dorosin said there are two versions of the proposed 2018 Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting calendar at the Commissioners' places. He said the Board has been discussing the option of reducing the number of meetings. He said the BOCC currently meets 48 times per year. He said the number would reduce by 25%, if all proposed changes are accepted, to 37 meetings. He said the meetings that are prosed for removal include: quarterly public hearings (QPH); Fire Department meetings; Legislative Delegation Breakfast meeting; meetings with Towns, Schools, etc. Commissioner Price asked if these meetings would be made up in any way, or rolled into other meetings. Chair Dorosin reviewed the changes he suggested in his email from May 2nd. He said a meeting can always be added to a calendar, if needed. Commissioner Burroughs asked if the Board can be more disciplined, and keep conversation at the policy level, as opposed to micro managing. Commissioner Burroughs said she asked Steve Brantley, Economic Development Director, if he could identify the percentage of the community that is self-employed, and he told her 7%. She said more than half of the Commission is self-employed. She said the more meetings that occur; the more difficult it is to have a broad range of people on the Board. She said if the number of meetings is not going to be reduced, then the pay must be increased in order to attract a more diverse pool of Commissioners. Commissioner Price said the Legislative Breakfast is still on both proposed calendars as a separate meeting in March. She asked if this would be put with another meeting. Chair Dorosin said it is the pleasure of the Board, and his only consideration is that it would not be a separate meeting. Commissioner Price said she agreed about the QPH and meeting with the Towns, but she is hesitant to do staff evaluations after meetings as that seems unfair to staff. She said some meetings run very long. Chair Dorosin said the goal would be have evaluations after very short meetings. He agreed with Commissioner Burroughs that there would need to be a level of discipline. Commissioner Jacobs said he is receptive to change, but he does not think a more public Legislative Breakfast will be productive. Commissioner Jacobs said the Board is not taking advantage of meetings that start at dinnertime, and he does not want to give up time in work sessions to meetings with other boards. He said work sessions are the most flexible space, and allow for in depth conversation. He said if meetings are going to be combined into work sessions, then the work sessions should begin earlier. Commissioner Jacobs said the Board has a policy of automatic adjournment at 10:30 p.m., which has been ignored for years; and if one Commissioner declines to extend a meeting, it is supposed to end. He said the addition of a QPH to a regular meeting runs the risk of a very long meeting. He said he wants to be sensitive to staff being able to leave. Commissioner Jacobs said he would prefer to stick with a 10:30 p.m. end time at meetings. Commissioner Rich said moving QPH to regular meetings could work, but agrees that the agenda review would have to attempt to schedule items with timeliness in mind whenever 4 possible. She said the meetings with the Towns could be attached to a work session, and begin a bit earlier. Commissioner Rich suggested moving personnel closed sessions prior to a meeting instead of at the end of a meeting, and that it could be a dinner meeting. She said staff deserves the Board to be fresh and engaged. She said she is unsure about the Legislative Breakfast, and agrees that the conversation may not be as full if it occurs during a BOCC meeting. She understands that the Board setting goals prior to the Legislative Breakfast seems a bit backwards. Commissioner McKee said the QPH slows down the whole process for those submitting paperwork, and he agrees with moving QPH items into regular meetings, as evenly spaced as possible. Commissioner McKee said the Board needs to set legislative goals, and encourage the legislature to support them when possible. He said he does not want to eliminate the Legislative Breakfast, and does not want to combine it into another meeting either. Commissioner McKee said he was not satisfied with having the Manager's evaluation at the end of a meeting, such as occurred on June 20th. He said he was tired and unfocused. He said he is amenable to conducting evaluations at the beginning of a meeting. Commissioner McKee referred to the Fire Department meetings, and said these meetings keep communication open with the Fire Departments, and maintains good relations. He said the removal of these meetings would be insulting to the Fire Departments. He said to keep these meetings attached to a work session. Commissioner McKee said he is unsure he can be any more disciplined, as he feels he must always speak his mind. He said the Board needs to focus on policy and not micromanagement, but if he sees an item of concern, he will speak up. He said he would like to reduce the overall number of meetings, but thinks the Board must be very careful not to cut into the quality of the product. John Roberts said the QPH can be designated into a regular meeting on a quarterly basis, and the Planning Department would need to know ahead of time. He said a problem may arise when there are a large number of items, such as this November, and the meeting will run very long. John Roberts said he looked at the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), and the Board can amend the text to delete the word "quarterly", and have public hearings held at any regular Board meeting. He said this would allow items to be spread out over several regular meetings. He said this change could be made this year. Commissioner Marcoplos said this is a great suggestion for the QPH. He said he would support staff evaluations being at the beginning of a meeting, and he would like to keep the Legislative Breakfast meeting on the meeting calendar. He said he hates to put a cap on the one interaction a year that the BOCC has with the Towns. Commissioner Marcoplos said he would like work sessions to be stand alone meetings. He said discipline sounds like a code word, and he wonders who would meter out the discipline. He thinks self-discipline is a good idea. Commissioner Jacobs said he has served on this board for many years, and has never heard complaint that the BOCC micromanages. He said he does not want to be hurried through meetings. Commissioner Jacobs suggested moving the Manager's annual review ahead of the Clerk and Attorney, in order to get any input from the Manager. Commissioner Jacobs said he hopes that the Planning Board will be clearly informed about what the BOCC is considering, and if there were public hearing items at a regular meeting. 5 Commissioner Jacobs said he had mixed feelings on the Town meetings because elected officials need to maintain relationships. Commissioner Jacobs said he regretted that the Town of Mebane was allowed to cancel the September 14th meeting. He said Steve Brantley told him that Mebane is shifting all its residential development to Orange County and all its commercial development to Alamance County. He said he does not like this, and he wants to be able to tell the Town as much. Commissioner Price said the more development there is, the more the Board needs to meet with the Towns. She also agreed with Commissioner McKee about the Fire Departments. Commissioner Price said the comment about meeting with the legislative delegation without cameras present seems irrelevant, as the breakfast is an open meeting, and the public is welcome to attend. Commissioner Marcoplos said the fewer meetings that occur, the greater the chance for longer meetings. Commissioner McKee said the entire Board knew the expectations when running for public office, and should acknowledge that responsibility. He said the Board all spent a lot of time begging for votes, and it is not acceptable to complain about spending time now. He said he appreciates Chair Dorosin's intent, but sometimes the meetings just have to be frequent and long. Chair Dorosin said there seems to be consensus on amending the UDO to include QPHs into regular meetings. He directed staff to make these changes and return to the Board. Chair Dorosin said the decision about the Legislative Breakfast is still open. He said it would allow for greater transparency to have this meeting at a time when more of the public can attend. He said he would be happy to seek input from the legislators. Chair Dorosin said the idea of automatic adjournment sounds appealing, but sometimes extending the meeting in order to complete an item is appropriate. He said he does not think the Board needs to meet 49 times to efficiently run the County, and more items can be moved to the consent agenda. Chair Dorosin agreed with having staff evaluations before a work session or meeting. Chair Dorosin said the best element of the meetings with the Towns is the back and forth dialogue, not just getting a report or update. He said he would like to facilitate such dialogue. Chair Dorosin said if the Board feels he is rushing at meetings, to please let him know. Chair Dorosin said meetings are a tremendous strain on staff, and he agreed with the suggestion of moving the Manager's evaluation prior to the Clerk and Attorney's evaluations. Commissioner Jacobs said in reference to the Consent Agenda, the public does not always know what is going on with items that are placed on that agenda. He said this is an invisible part of government, and that needs to be fixed, despite the fact that most items on the consent agenda are very routine things. Commissioner Jacobs said if the BOCC does not plan to follow the 10:30 p.m. rule of stopping a meeting at that time to ask the full Board if they want to continue or adjourn the meeting, then this rule should be removed from the rules of procedure. Commissioner Jacobs said he would like time to think about all of the comments made tonight, before making any decisions. Commissioner Marcoplos said he supports keeping meetings with the Towns and work sessions as separate meetings in order to have the highest quality meetings. Commissioner McKee referred to the meeting with Towns, and said he gets more information from watching the body language of all attendees. Chair Dorosin said there should be more agenda details when meeting with the Towns. 6 Chair Dorosin said to move forward with removing the four QPH meetings from the draft 2018 calendar; he will follow up with the legislators regarding the breakfast; and the Board can think some more about the "proposed" changes. Commissioner Rich said there are seven items on the November QPH, and the flood insurance item needs to be moved into a regular meeting, as it must be voted on prior to November 20th. She asked if there is any procedure that needs to be followed to move this into the November 14th meeting. John Roberts said this item needs to be at a QPH because of the language of the UDO. He said the QPH could be moved up a week to November 13th, or move the QPH to the 14th; open the public hearing; handle that issue only; and continue the rest of the public hearing until November 20th John Roberts said at least one member of the Planning staff preferred handling everything on November 13th, but the other option is available. He said the Planning Department does need to know the Board's pleasure so that appropriate notice can be given. Commissioner Price said Hurricane Irma may be in the area as early as Monday, September 11th, and asked if it is wise to have a meeting on that Monday. Chair Dorosin said that decision can be made closer to the time. 2. Board of Commissioners - Boards and Commissions Discussion Discussion Points for BOCC 1. Statutory Boards- By-laws vs state statutes: Chair Dorosin requested at the February 21, 2017 meeting that information be provided about internal bylaws vs. state statutes in reference to statutory boards: By Laws/NCGS for Statutory Boards: Board of Health- Under NCGS- 130A-35 but also has their own internal bylaws. DSS-only under-GS § 108A-1 —there are no internal by laws. ABC Board operates under the General Statues as a political sub-division of the state. No internal bylaws General Statutes are below: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/statutes/statutelookup.pl?statute=188 E&R Board—There are no internal bylaws for the Board of Equalization and Review. The primary statute that governs the Board is G.S. 105-322. BOA- Under -NCGS 153A-345.1 And 160A-388 and also has internal Rules of Procedure (revised 2015). Chair Dorosin said he had requested this information, which indicates the statutory board that has their own bylaws versus state statutes that govern their work. He said this request was made in response to the Board of Health issues that arose earlier in the year. Chair Dorosin asked if the Board of County Commissioners can approve bylaws, or require that bylaws be approved by the BOCC. John Roberts said it depends on the board, and for the Department of Health and the Department of Social Services, he would say no. He said the BOCC does approve the operating procedures for the Board of Adjustment. Chair Dorosin suggested that the Attorney review and summarize anything of note within the Board of Health by laws. 7 Commissioner Jacobs said he would like to review the Board of Health bylaws, and amend the rule about previous employees not being able to serve on the Board of Health (BOH), especially if the employee served under a different director. Chair Dorosin clarified that the BOCC can only make requests of the BOH, and cannot make any requirements. John Roberts said that is correct. He said he reviewed the bylaws of several Boards of Health, and they generally follow the School of Government recommendations, which does not include the previous employee stipulation. He said he spoke with the a professor at the School of Government, who recommended that the Attorney speak to the BOH asking them to specify that this is not mandatory as applies to Commissioner appointments. He said he did so, but does not know if the BOH followed through. Commissioner Jacobs said the BOCC has a representative on the Board of Health who can follow up on this issue. Chair Dorosin asked John Roberts if he would review the bylaws of the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the BOH, and report back to the Board. 2. Partial Terms Attachment 2-Advisory Board Eligibility- for Partial Terms Chair Dorosin said Attachment B in their agenda abstract shows a flow chart of the appointment process that the Clerk's office uses and Attachment C explains how terms are set. He said the policy currently states that one can serve two 3-year terms. He suggested that appointments to partial terms should not count towards that allowance. Thom Freeman said anything less than two years is considered partial service, and if one serves two years or more, it counts as the first of the allowable two 3-year terms. He said this is written in the policy. Commissioner Jacobs said he had a concern with the Board of Health since it decided to follow state statute and go from two 3-year terms to three 3-year terms. He would like to see consistency, unless the Board of Health (BOH) comes to the BOCC to ask for an exception. Commissioner Burroughs said the Board of Health made this change somewhat recently. She said three terms is consistent with other BOHs around the state. Commissioner Price said she thought there were a few other boards that are not aligned with the County policy. Thom Freeman said the Adult Care Home Advisory Committee has three two-year terms and others have two three year terms. John Roberts said there are some state boards that set the term limits, and other advisory boards set their own policy that may differ from the main policy. Chair Dorosin said the purpose of the discussion was to try and bring some consistency. He said two 3-year terms, or three 2-year terms both equal 6 years, but the boards that fall under BOCC domain should have some consistency. He asked if staff would provide a list of all current term policies for all boards. Commissioner Burroughs asked if there is a reason that consistency is needed. Chair Dorosin asked if there is any merit in having shorter or longer terms. He asked if the goal is consistency so that people can get up to speed on the board on which they serve, or is the goal turnover. He said he would favor two 2-year terms. 8 David Hunt said some boards have training requirements that must be met prior to being able to serve on the board. Thom Freeman said the Adult Care and Nursing Home Care boards have a training period that must be completed prior to being recommended for appointment to the board. He said the state made this change recently. He said the training period does not count towards the term. Commissioner Marcoplos said if changes were made to 2-year or 3-year terms, then a change would need to be made to the 2-year minimum as well. Chair Dorosin said the BOCC needs to decide if consistency is desired, and, if so, what that consistency should be. Commissioner McKee cautioned against terms that are too short due to the steep learning curve that comes with some boards. Thom Freeman said the majority of the advisory boards have two 3-year terms for appointees. 3. HRC Request to review verbiage on Advisory Board application: The HRC requested that the word "Caucasian"be replaced with "White" Commissioner McKee asked if there is a reason for this request from the HRC. Thom Freeman said that the HRC felt the term "Caucasian" was outdated. The Board agreed by consensus to change to the term "white". Chair Dorosin said to not capitalize the word "white". 4. For the Board to consider and discuss Commissioner Price's concern brought up at the May 16th meeting about not having more minority representation on the boards and commissions and how to develop a strategy to address this issue. Excerpt from May 16th APPROVED Minutes below in reference to the discussion about appointments to the Chapel Hill Orange County Visitors Bureau: Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the other elected boards appoint their representatives to the Visitors Bureau. Commissioner Rich said no, the other elected boards recommend a name, but the final choice is at the discretion of the BOCC. Commissioner Jacobs asked if any other elected boards are asked to contribute money from the taxes being collected for hospitality purposes. He knows this is an ongoing conversation, but wondered if there has been any movement. Bonnie Hammersley said an email was sent to the Managers of the non-contributing municipalities, and the response indicated a willingness to talk about it. She said conversations are happening, but nothing has come to fruition yet. Chair Dorosin asked if it would be worthwhile for him to reach out to the Mayors of Hillsborough and Carrboro. Bonnie Hammersley said yes. Commissioner Price said the board of the Visitors Bureau fails to represent the multicultural population of Orange County. Commissioner Rich said diversity goes in and out on this board. Commissioner Price said diversity needs to be maintained. Commissioner Rich said this is a well taken point, but there is not always diversity among those willing to serve. 9 Chair Dorosin said there is an upcoming work session where boards will be discussed. Chair Dorosin said diversity and seniors Discussion on this item was integrated with the item below: Attachment 3 —Orange County Demographic Report-Another Aspect of Equity: Composition of Our Town and County Advisory Boards Chair Dorosin said Attachment 3 is a report from Allison DeMarco, FPG Child Development Institute, that was sent to the County and the Towns. Commissioner Price said when people of different cultural backgrounds apply they are often overlooked in favor of applicants that have personal connections to the BOCC. She said diversity must include the willingness to have people who think differently than the BOCC, even if it means disagreeing. Commissioner Marcoplos said more applicants are needed in general. Commissioner Jacobs said just because an applicant has certain characteristics does not mean they are qualified. He said he reviews many variables when considering applicants. He said the review in Attachment 3 shows the BOCC does a fairly good job representing the population. He said the BOCC tries to diversify whenever possible. Commissioner Rich said she will sometimes call applicants and ask why the applicant wants to be on the board. She said if the applications are not put forth it is difficult to facilitate diversity. She said she does not know the solution. Commissioner Jacobs said the pool of candidates is small. He said the Clerk's office does a lot to advertise, but maybe there are more creative ways. He said Twitter may be a good resource. Chair Dorosin said the BOCC gets recommendations from some of the boards, and wonders if the board chairs have been told of the BOCC's commitment to diversity and inclusion. Commissioner McKee said he and Commissioner Jacobs met with the board chairs three or four years ago, and highlighted that topic. Commissioner Burroughs said those conversations cannot happen often enough. Thom Freeman asked if it would be helpful to notify the BOCC when an opening is available. Chair Dorosin said the Board members are trying to drum up applicants any time they can. He said he shares the PSAs with his university students. Commissioner Marcoplos said he tries to spread the word often as well, and there is no magic bullet to improve the diversity. He said the need must be repeatedly put forth to the public. Commissioner Jacobs said for a few years the Chair/Vice Chair, the Manager and the Clerk met annually with the advisory board chairs, which was useful. Commissioner Jacobs said the Master Aging Plan included a request for seniors to be more present on advisory boards. John Roberts said the applications are public records, and birthdays are confidential information. He said it may be appropriate to ask someone's age for a youth/senior designated position. Chair Dorosin said existing boards could be surveyed to assess current age diversity, but having birthdates/age on the application is likely problematic. Commissioner Price said it is important to let people know that all meetings are open to the public. 10 Thom Freeman said he receives a lot of phone calls about the boards, and he suggests that all potential applicants read about each board and attend meetings. Chair Dorosin said to talk with Todd McKee, Public Information Officer, about visiting board meetings. He said there are County departments that have more contact with diverse communities, and perhaps these departments can help spread the word. Bonnie Hammersley said staff can work with department directors. She said another option is a citizen's academy, where local government is explained in detail to educate the public. Commissioner Jacobs said Project Engage is a resource for seniors. 5. For the Board to consider and discuss Commissioner Jacobs'suggestion at the May 16th meeting of how to engage more seniors in community activities, such as BOCC meetings and to consider day meeting(s) Excerpt from the APPROVED May 2 BOCC Minutes (Acceptance of the 2017-22 Orange County Master Aging Plan) Commissioner Jacobs referred to the suggestion of involving more seniors on County advisory boards, and asked if this topic could be added to a work session in September. He said perhaps a statement could be added to the applications to encourage seniors to apply. Commissioner Jacobs said it would be easier to garner more civic engagement by having meetings during the day for seniors, but it is hard for many elected officials that work during the day to attend meetings. He said the BOCC may need to try harder to address this, and maybe there is a different time of day that would get more seniors to attend a BOCC meeting. This item was addressed in the discussion of Item 4. 6. For the Board to consider and discuss Commissioner Price's request to have the BOCC Advisory Board chairs submit reports/updates/concerns to the BOCC via agendas. Commissioner Price said she was just reporting back to the BOCC what she heard in an advisory board. Thom Freeman said in the spring, the BOCC invites the advisory boards to a BOCC meeting to provide information on their annual reports. Chair Dorosin said to stress the Board's priority of inclusion when interacting with any board. Commissioner Rich said there is a hand out at their places from Marabeth Carr in reference to the Intergovernmental Parks Work Group. A motion was made by Commissioner Rich seconded by Commissioner Burroughs to remove the Chapel Hill Greenways Commission representative and add a representative from the Advisory Board on Aging to the Intergovernmental Parks Work Group. VOTE: UNANIMOUS 11 Commissioner Rich said when the BOCC chooses the boards on which they would serve on for the following year, it has been suggested that Commissioners not remain on boards for a long period of time. She asked if this would be a good time to have further discussion. She said it was discussed in the spring, but no changes made. Chair Dorosin said he will need to see minutes from the previous meeting. Commissioner Marcoplos referred to positions on advisory boards that are vacant for more than six months, and where no one meets the requirement, and asked if this would be discussed further. Chair Dorosin said any position that is not filled after six months can be filled by any appointment of the BOCC. Commissioner McKee referred to the earlier discussion of the BOCC calendar, and said this evening's meeting should be taken as an example of an effective meeting. He said he wonders if it would have been as effective a meeting if there had been another meeting at the beginning, such as a meeting with a town. He said the quality of the product cannot suffer. Chair Dorosin said there was an hour long closed session prior to this meeting. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner McKee to adjourn the meeting at 9:58 p.m. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Mark Dorosin, Chair Donna Baker Clerk to the Board