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HomeMy WebLinkAbout021705 AbstractORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS HILLSBOROUGH BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS JOINT MEETING AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 17, 2005 SUBJECT: Joint Meeting Discussion Items DEPARTMENT: County Manager /Planning PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ERCD /Purchasing /Engineer/ Recreation & Parks /Library ATTACHMENT(S):. As noted in "Background" section INFORMATION CONTACT: John Link, ext 2300; Eric Peterson, 732- 1270; Craig Benedict, ext 2592; Margaret Hauth, 732 -1270; Rod Visser, ext 2300; Greg Wilder, ext 2300; Dave Stancil, ext 2590; Pam Jones, ext 2650; Paul Thames, ext 2303; Lori Taft, ext 2673; Brenda Stephens, ext 2525 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732 -8181 Chapel Hill 968 -4501 Durham 688 -7331 Mebane 336- 227 -2031 PURPOSE: To discuss topics of mutual interest between the governing boards of Orange County and the Town of Hillsborough. BACKGROUND: 1. Fairview a) Park Plans In the late -fall of 2004, both Boards adopted the Fairview Memorandum of Agreement. Preliminary planning for the Master Plan design is underway, with a topographic and cultural survey being conducted between now through March. Solicitation for the Master Plan committee is also underway. The current proposed timetable would have appointments made to the Committee in April, with the Master Plan work getting underway in May (contingent on other park design projects staying on schedule). Attachment 1 -a -1— Fairview Park and Public Campus Draft Project Timetable Attachment 1 -a -2 — Town /County Fairview Memorandum of Agreement 2 b) Hillsborough Public Works Facility Town of Hillsborough staff requested that this item be placed on the agenda so that various issues related to future planning could be discussed. Town and County staff will provide any materials and /or maps at the meeting. No Attachments 2. Urban Transition Area Task Force Draft Report At the last joint meeting between the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Hillsborough Town Board of Commissioners on March 22, 2004, a topic of discussion was the formation of a task force to study the County's Transition Areas (located adjacent to the Town's planning jurisdiction) and make recommendations on the location of Transition Areas and the provision of public services. Therefore, on May 4, 2004, the County Commissioners adopted a Resolution Authorizing the Creation of a Joint Orange County/Town of kilsborough Urban Transition Area Task Force and Appointment of Members to Serve on the Task Force. The Hillsborough Town Board adopted a similar resolution on June 14, 2004. The Task Force met four times between September 23 and December 15, 2004 to evaluate land use and service area issues pertaining to growth potential within the urban influence of the Town of Hillsborough and develop their recommendations and compile a report. Staff will present the Task Force's draft report and respond to questions. Attachment 2 — Orange County/Town of Hillsborough Urban Transition Area Task Force Draft Report (UNDER SEPARATE COVER) 3. Water Resource Topics a) Conservation Easement Acquisition Collaboration for Watershed Protection Over the past four years, Orange County has - through its Lands Legacy Program - succeeded in working with 10 landowners on conservation easements totaling 648 acres of land, most of which is within water supply watersheds (consistent with the criteria and priorities for conservation easements). The County has partnered with Triangle Land Conservancy, USDA and the Orange Soil and Water District, and the Orange Water and Sewer Authority on some of these easements. In recent months, OWASA and the County have split the cost of acquiring easements in Cane Creek and University Lake watersheds that will serve to protect drinking water supplies. A letter was sent to the City of Durham and the Town of Hillsborough in 2004 asking about the potential for similar partnerships for watershed protection- oriented conservation easements (a copy of the letter to Hillsborough is attached). Attachment 3 -a — 11112104 BOCC Chair Letter to Hillsborough Mayor b) Coordinating Releases/Withdrawals from West Fork and Lake Orange Reservoirs Since the drought of 2002, the BOCC and residents of the Lake Orange communities have expressed a desire to develop a methodology for coordinating flow releases from Lake Orange and Hillsborough's West Fork reservoir that avoids completely draining Lake Orange while allowing the West Fork reservoir to remain full or nearly so. However, stipulations of the Eno River Capacity Use Agreement tie water allocations (for Hillsborough, Orange Alamance, Piedmont Minerals and in- stream flow) to water levels at Lake Orange. Any modification to release procedures will require major technical modifications to the Capacity Use Agreement as well as developing supplemental agreements as to ownership of the water in both reservoirs. No Attachments 4. Update on Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College Siting and Access Town and County staff will provide an update on recent and upcoming activities regarding siting and access issues related to the Orange County Campus of Durham Technical Community College. The Town Board was scheduled to discuss this topic at its meeting earlier this week. No Attachments 5. Updates on Development a) Waterstone Town of Hillsborough staff will provide the two governing boards with any updates regarding the Waterstone development and will respond to any questions. No Attachments b) Proposed Development on US 70A East The Town Board received information at its meeting earlier this week from The Design Response, Inc. regarding the annexation and development of 119 acres of property located on the north side of US 70A across from the Meadowlands Business Park. The Town Board and staff can share any relevant information from its meeting and the two boards can discuss any potential benefits, concerns, and other issues related to the annexation and development of this property. Attachment 5 -b — Portion of 2114105 Hillsborough Board of Commissioners Meeting Materials Concerning Proposed Annexation and Development c) Potential Economic Development Area on US 70 West The two governing boards will have the opportunity to discuss a potential economic development area on US 70 West and provide any direction to staff based on the discussion. 4 No Attachments 6. Items of Mutual Interest a) Recreation and Parks The two governing boards will have the opportunity to discuss any matters of mutual interest related to recreation and parks. No Attachments b) SportsPlex County staff will be prepared to update the two governing boards regarding the ongoing assessments of the infrastructure and financial condition of the Triangle SportsPlex, and the timeline and considerations associated with a possible decision by the Orange County Commissioners to acquire the SportsPlex and pursue the co- location of a senior center on that property. No Attachments c) Library Facilities in Hillsborough The two governing boards will have the opportunity to discuss library facilities in Hillsborough. Attachment 6 -c — Library Services Task Force Report, Reconvened 2004 and Long- Range Library Facility Planning Document from Library Consultant Dale Gaddis 7. Additional Topics a) Compressed Natural Gas Facility In the summer of 2004, the County received a grant in the amount of $25,000 from the Clean Cities Coalition to .aid in the installation of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling station in Hillsborough. Recommendations from a siting committee in January were adopted to locate the facility at the County's Public Works site. CNG vehicles are among the most - advanced alternative fuel vehicles available commercially. CNG vehicles reduce emissions of carbon monoxide by 50% and nitrogen oxides (NOx, a primary contributor to ozone) by up to 87 %. The County plans to acquire CNG vehicles and introduce them into the County fleet. The station will have a card reader system (funded by another grant from the State Energy Office) that will enable private vehicles or other government or commercial CNG vehicles to use the fueling apparatus. The Town of Chapel Hill, Duke University and PSNC Energy are among other jurisdictions or utilities currently using CNG vehicles. The station is expected to be completed by the fall of this year. Attachment 7 -a — Fairview Campus Vicinity Map b) Transportation Issues The two governing boards will have the opportunity to discuss any transportation- related concerns or issues. County Planning staff has provided information below for one transportation issue for potential discussion — the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant for a new intra Hillsborough transit service. On December 14, 2004, the BOCC endorsed an application for a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant for a new intra Hillsborough transit service to be operated by Orange Public Transportation (OPT). The route is intended to reduce traffic /vehicle miles traveled in downtown Hillsborough and associated air pollution by shuttling people from perimeter park and ride lots near 1 -40 and north of town to the downtown area as well as to various other community, service and employment nodes. The application was included in the Durham - Chapel Hill - Carrboro (DCHC) Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO) CMAQ grant requests approved by the Transportation Advisory Committee in January 2005, and submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. If the CMAQ grant is awarded to Orange County, the County and any other partners are responsible for a local match for 50% of the operating costs for three years, and will be responsible for all operating costs for the service thereafter. If Orange County is awarded a CMAQ grant, the proposed new route is not programmed to start until 2008. This will permit the opportunity to discuss the potential route with the Town of Hillsborough and community stakeholders. Changes can be made during the. next update of the Transportation Improvement Program (later this year). The Town of Hillsborough has indicated by resolution its willingness to participate in the required local match for the service, but has not indicated the amount of such participation, nor pledged financial support for continued operation of the service after three years. A copy of the CMAQ application is attached. Attachment 7 -b — Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Grant Application c) Courtesy Review Town of Hillsborough and County Planning staffs will provide the two governing boards with any updates related to courtesy review activities and will be briefly discussing implementation procedures. No Attachments d) Homelessness At Hillsborough's request, the two governing boards will have the opportunity to discuss homelessness and any current or possible future activities to address this issue. No Attachments FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no direct financial impact associated with discussion of these topics. There are no action items requiring formal Board decisions. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Boards discuss the topics listed and provide appropriate direction to the respective staffs.