HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 8-a - Minutes 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: April 2, 2019
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-a
SUBJECT: MINUTES
DEPARTMENT: Board of County
Commissioners
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
Draft Minutes Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board
(919) 245-2130
PURPOSE: To correct and/or approve the minutes as submitted by the Clerk to the Board as
listed below.
BACKGROUND: In accordance with 153A-42 of the General Statutes, the Governing Board has
the legal duty to approve all minutes that are entered into the official journal of the Board's
proceedings.
March 11, 2019 BOCC Legislative Breakfast
March 12, 2019 BOCC Work Session
March 19, 2019 BOCC Regular Meeting
FINANCIAL IMPACT: NONE
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: NONE
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve minutes as presented
or as amended.
1
1 Attachment 1
2
3 DRAFT MINUTES
4 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
5 Legislative Breakfast
6 March 11, 2019
7 8:30 a.m.
8
9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a breakfast meeting with the Orange
10 County Legislative Delegation on Monday, March 11, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. at the Solid Waste
11 Administrative Offices in Chapel Hill, N.C.
12
13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Penny Rich and Commissioners Jamezetta
14 Bedford, Mark Dorosin, Sally Greene, Mark Marcoplos, Earl McKee, Renee Price
15 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None
16 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
17 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager
18 Travis Myren, Clerk to the Board Donna Baker, Assistant to Manager for Legislative Affairs Greg
19 Wilder (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below)
20 LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION PRESENT: Senator Valerie Foushee, Representative Verla
21 Insko, Representative Graig Meyer
22
23 Commissioner Rich called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m.
24 Chair Rich said this year's Legislative Issues work group was comprised of
25 Commissioner Price and Commissioner Dorosin. She noted in the Board's agenda packet that
26 a lot of the stated goals have been around for a long time on the Board of County
27 Commissioners (BOCC) legislative agenda.
28 Chair Rich said the Board, in selecting its legislative issues, also looked at the priorities
29 of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC). She said the BOCC list
30 is in no special order.
31 Chair Rich said in a SAPFO meeting she attended last week, the group asked her to ask
32 the Delegation to support House Bill 251, and whether there is any chance of this bill being
33 approved. She said class size is a great concern for both school districts.
34 Representative Insko said she is still working with the Medicaid expansion bill, and their
35 goal is to identify different interest groups across the state that will be helped by this expansion.
36 Representative Insko said a public hearing to hear both bills has been requested; they
37 are confident one bill will pass in the House, but not sure about the Senate.
38 Representative Insko said a $72 million appropriation was given to the state to support
39 urban and small urban transit systems. She said she is working on this issue.
40 Representative Insko said more bills are coming forth to put additional funding into
41 mental health reform.
42 Representative Insko said she would like to hear about Cardinal Innovations, and there
43 is some interest on the GOP side about making changes to Cardinal. She said are they are
44 fortunate to have Secretary Cohen, and she said this is a big transition.
45 Representative Insko said they would be going live with 4 state and one regional state
46 wide pre-pay plan, and there will be a broker that will be responsible for this. Her concern is
47 about people that have moved, and this is supposed to go live in November. She said they are
48 enrolling clients now. She is concerned about not having enough senior staff at the Department
49 to fill in gap.
50 Senator Foushee said the letters go out in July, and clients need to sign up by
51 November.
2
1 Commissioner Bedford said (after the meeting she sent a letter to the BOCC about this
2 subject) the Secretary of NCDHHS has requested that NCACC coordinate and facilitate a
3 process, including consultation with LME-MCOs, to develop recommendations to NCDHHS
4 related to the establishment of regions for Tailored Plans; also that each LME-MCO has been
5 asked to appoint a county commissioner to serve on the committee. Once the committee is fully
6 constituted, it will begin work soon, as NCDHHS requests recommendations by June 1st. This is
7 an opportunity for all our counties to provide input on an important decision for our counties and
8 state.
9 Commissioner Bedford said it would be best for Orange County to be aligned with
10 Durham and Wake counties, instead of going to places like Charlotte.
11 Commissioner Price said the tailored plan shows Orange County in region 4 and that
12 includes Wake and Durham.
13 Representative Insko asked if Commissioner Price would forward that information (which
14 Commissioner Bedford provided to all after the meeting via email).
15 Commissioner Price said the maps came from the NCDHHS.
16 Commissioner Price said she will send the letter about the maps to the group (which she
17 did after the meeting).
18 Chair Rich asked Commissioner Bedford to please bring forth a petition anyway.
19 Bonnie Hammersley said staff will look into this as well.
20 Senator Foushee said her committees are healthcare, state and local government, IT,
21 etc. She said they do not have a coverage gap bill in the Senate, and it is clear there will not be
22 any movement on that bill — and it is likely an expansion bill will pass the House. She said the
23 Senate will be passing small bills that relate to insurance coverage to force compromise in the
24 budget about Medicaid expansion. She said it will be probably be influenced by Carolina Care,
25 if it passes the House.
26 Senator Foushee said she is working on calendar flexibility and both the GOP and
27 Democrats are filing these bills, as this affects a large number of counties.
28 Senator Foushee said in terms of the environment, there are no huge improvements to
29 report, but a general feeling of some negotiations in this session. She said there is more
30 engagement from residents, and she has seen the GOP reaching across the aisle for the first
31 time in her tenure. She said she has been asked to support two GOP bills lately, and she
32 hoped that the budget will be more advantageous for NC residents this coming year.
33 Chair Rich said in reference to the flexibility for the school calendars, she did look toward
34 the Visitor's Bureau for support, but the hotel industry, etc. is not supportive of it.
35 Senator Foushee said it will be a struggle over this bill, and hopefully they will see some
36 positive results. She said her bill aligns with the schedules of the community colleges.
37 Representative Insko said she asked some Republicans if they put the Medicaid bill in
38 the budget, and they said not yet, but it will probably end up in their budget.
39 Representative Meyer said he is glad Senator Foushee is optimistic.
40 Representative Meyer said he is less so, and to him, the Medicaid expansion is a 50-50
41 shot. He said his inclination, as of now, is that they may not even have a budget this year and
42 everything would stay at current funding levels.
43 Representative Meyer referred to the school funding issues, and he thinks HB 251 will
44 pass. He said this is an agency bill from the State Board of Education asking for flexibility with
45 the class size mandate, and would add two provisions for flexibility: one around the facilities,
46 and one around the availability of qualified teachers. He said if these two provisions are added,
47 the bill becomes neutered for every school district in the state. He said this will be voted on in
48 the next week or two.
49 Representative Meyer said they are working extensively on the Broadband bill.
50 Senator Foushee said there is also a county caucus that is comprised of past County
51 Commissioners, and they are working on a non-partisan bill for broadband.
3
1 Commissioner Greene asked if the expected improvements could be explained.
2 Senator Foushee said public-private partnerships are being pursued, whereby counties
3 and municipalities can provide the infrastructure for the telecommunications companies to
4 provide service.
5 Representative Insko said the Governor has a proposal for this, and also for hot spots.
6 Senator Foushee said the NCACC is still working on the counties' behalf.
7 Representative Meyer said he has trumpeted Orange County as an example of how to
8 work with the public private partnerships with broadband.
9 Representative Meyer said the Speaker's school bond has passed through all House
10 committees, with the exception of the Rules Committee who will review it today, and it will be on
11 the floor on Wednesday, and they will be introducing a democratic bill that is twice the size of
12 the GOP's. He said the State Treasurer released a debt affordability study that says that $2
13 million is the maximum amount that the State can issue, and that is why the GOP has limited its
14 bill to this amount. He said this study is based on policy decisions that were made by the
15 Treasurer.
16 Representative Meyer said the General Assembly should be making policy decisions,
17 and not the Treasurer.
18 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is a chance of this passing.
19 Senator Foushee said zero.
20 Representative Meyer said the House leadership thinks there will be hybrid bond; a pay-
21 as-you-go plan.
22 Senator Foushee said there will not be a pure bond bill that passes.
23 Commissioner Greene asked Representative Meyer if brand new state employees will
24 not have a retirement plan at all, in the fairly near future.
25 Senator Foushee said that started in 2017. She said as grim as some of these things
26 sound, the Governor has veto power now so there has to be negotiation on both sides. She
27 believes they are at a point where the people are going to force elected officials to represent
28 them. She said there are House Bills that pass, but not in the Senate, and that is where they
29 will see horse-trading. She does not think any of these issues will be resolved quickly, and
30 there will not be many special sessions anymore but they may recess to a date certain while
31 they negotiate what will happen.
32 Senator Foushee said she believes things will change significantly.
33 Representative Insko said an example is what will happen to Medicaid, and if the HB
34 gets to Senate and what will they demand back. She said stalemate is a possibility.
35 Senator Foushee said the 2020 elections will provide a push to take action (in hope of
36 re-election), and will be one of many factors to bring about positive changes.
37 Representative Insko said that is why they need activists on the ground.
38 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there are any prospects for bills for independent re-
39 districting and privatizing ABC.
40 Senator Foushee said referred to the first one, and said last week at the North Carolina
41 chamber, Phil Berger said this bill would not leave the Senate.
42 Representative Meyer said if there is a major court case that would result in judges
43 redrawing the districts, then there may some capitulation on this issue, in order to have control
44 over the redistricting.
45 Representative Meyer said he is on the ABC committee this year, and there will be some
46 modernization of the ABC, but not privatization. He said there will be some debate of some
47 hybrid liquor licenses, and it is likely best for consumers to simply expand the hours. He said
48 they are also working to have ABCs be more responsive to bars and restaurants with things
49 such as delivery etc.
50 Senator Foushee said in order for the modernization to occur, a number of restrictions
51 will need to be removed, which she thinks will happen.
4
1 Chair Rich asked if cost is being discussed.
2 Senator Foushee said there has been no discussion about cost or lowering the cost.
3 Representative Meyer said costs will stay high because, as a state, North Carolina has
4 one of the lowest usage and highest revenue rates. He said there is no desire to change that.
5 Representative Meyer said price revenue versus volume revenue may be a suggested
6 change, but he is not sure this will pass this year.
7 Commissioner Dorosin said last year they talked about changing the way BOCC
8 members are elected, and concluded that if they did anything it may get the attention of the
9 General Assembly, who may just do it themselves. He said the GOP does not have a super
10 majority, and asked if it would be a safer time to consider these changes.
11 Senator Foushee said the GOP still has the majority, and from her from her vantage
12 point, there could still be retribution.
13 Chair Rich asked if there is any interest in increasing minimum wage.
14 Senator Foushee said no.
15 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there is a general sense of the GA on climate change.
16 Representative Insko said the GOPs in the House are aware of climate change, but
17 there is not much talk about it. She said they are still concerned about communities still
18 needing clean up from last storms.
19 Representative Meyer said the Clean Energy bill has strong Republican allies in the
20 House.
21 Commissioner Marcoplos said it is a winning campaign stance.
22 Representative Insko said most are focused on the 2020 election, and those issues that
23 are most important.
24 Commissioner Marcoplos said he is involved in the light rail process, and noted what a
25 strange beast the railroad is for several reasons. He said he would like to see this change for
26 many reasons.
27 Representative Insko said that would be a good study bill for them to look at. She said a
28 lot of people do not know a lot about this issue.
29 Commissioner Marcoplos said it was created by the state, but it is a private company
30 with a lot of control.
31 Representative Meyer said former Durham mayor, Bill Bell, is on this NC Railroad board,
32 and the governor has some appointments coming up to this board.
33 Representative Insko said the State does create private agencies.
34 Commissioner Marcoplos said this particular case has so many implications, and the
35 more he learns, the more astounded he is about the power held by this entity.
36 Representative Meyer said most legislators do not pay attention to this, and most do not
37 have a background on transportation, which creates a large deficit in leadership.
38 Chair Rich referred to criminal justice reform, and asked if there is any update.
39 Representative Meyer said there is a new interim Executive Director of the
40 Administrative Office of the Courts, and the implementation of raising the age had been on hold
41 until this person was in place. He said some attention will be paid to this over the upcoming
42 session, but he is unsure how much.
43 Representative Meyer said there is the intention to fulfill the commitment to raise the
44 age.
45 Commissioner Price said bail reform is another part of the criminal justice issues.
46 Senator Foushee said there are still some differences in how this is handled in districts
47 across the state, and that is where the changes will come.
48 Chair Rich referred to voter ID, and Orange County may need to hold an election early,
49 and it is unclear how the ID issue would play out if this early election is needed.
50 Representative Meyer said Representative Lewis drafted a bill to delay voter ID
51 implementation until the primary elections of 2020.
5
1 Representative Insko said voter ID for college students is a problem too.
2 Commissioner Greene referred to item #16, bona fide farm use, and asked if there is
3 non-partisan support for this.
4 Senator Foushee said this is a very controversial issue in the Senate. She said she had
5 worked on this in the last session, and one of the Senators is no longer serving.
6 Representative Meyer said they thought they had some progress on this in 2017, but
7 they had three meetings in the interim and this did not come up. He said Senator Jackson and
8 Representative Dixon do not believe the government should be able to tell someone what they
9 can do on their land.
10 Representative Insko asked if the County could explain the problem with refunding the
11 Machinery act.
12 John Roberts said to fix judgement errors, and this has been on the list for years.
13 John Roberts said assessors measure a house, and measure it twice the size; they
14 cannot refund the tax.
15 Chair Rich said this happened to her, and she paid $14,000 excess tax over ten years.
16 Representative Insko said this problem needs solving.
17 Commissioner Dorosin said there are various issues on school education funding: use of
18 private taxes, surplus in voucher funds, etc. He asked if these funds can be used in other ways.
19 Representative Meyer said he sees no significant increases in education funding. He
20 said there will be a bill introduced to take surplus voucher money and put in school capital
21 funding, but this will not pass. He said the best-case scenario is around putting more money
22 into facilities and limited increases in teachers' pay and other issues.
23 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the pay-as-you-go funds could be described, and if it is
24 dependent on future legislators continuing to fund it.
25 Representative Meyer said it is a promise without a binding mechanism, and until 2008
26 7.25% of corporate tax went into a school facilities fund.
27 Representative Insko said over the years, she thinks $4 billion has been taken out of the
28 revenue stream.
29 Representative Meyer said they have taken out $3 billion out of revenue stream.
30 Commissioner Dorosin referred to Pre-K, and asked if there is a possibility to expand it.
31 Representative Insko said Republicans have come around on early childhood education
32 and early intervention.
33 Commissioner Dorosin asked if this will result in more funding.
34 Representative Insko said probably so.
35 Chair Rich asked if there is a place to put these children.
36 Representative Insko said Pre-K can be done in the private sector. She said they are
37 losing their childhood work groups.
38 Commissioner McKee asked if there is any discussion of picking up costs for charter
39 schools.
40 Representative Meyer said yes.
41 Senator Foushee said there is one senator pushing it, but it does not have large support.
42 Representative Meyer said the charter school issues come up at the end of their
43 sessions in May.
44 Commissioner Greene asked if that is a successful strategy.
45 Representative Meyer said no.
46 Commissioner Price asked if there is any chance of putting money into the census.
47 Representative Insko said no, they do not have the money.
48 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there are any bills that they can speak on.
49 Representative Meyer said school safety bills just passed, and there may be increased
50 education spending for social workers, nurses, counselors, etc. He said the school safety
6
1 omnibus requires all school resource officers (SROs) to have racial equity training, which was
2 cause for celebration.
3 Commissioner Marcoplos said the BOCC can pass a resolution in support of this.
4 Chair Rich said the County encourages its employees to also take the racial equity
5 training.
6 Representative Meyer said the standard SRO training does include issues of equity and
7 justice with youth of color, and this simply writes it in as a statute requirement so that it cannot
8 go away.
9 Representative Insko asked if Orange County sends resolutions to other counties to
10 garner greater support.
11 Chair Rich said yes.
12 Commissioner Dorosin said if the BOCC wants to get other counties to sign on to
13 resolutions, it is best to reach out directly.
14 Commissioner Price said if anyone can be part of the NCACC process, such as steering
15 committees, that would be helpful.
16 Representative Meyer said the BOCC could pass a resolution for comprehensive
17 training of SROs for racial equity training (HB 76).
18 Commissioner Price referred to the raise the age issue, and said it is one of the
19 NCACC's top priorities, and it is helpful to talk to their peers across the state.
20 John Roberts referred to item #6 on page 4, and asked if this is still on the table.
21 All legislators said they have not heard anything about that.
22 John Roberts referred to item #23 on page 6, and said there has been a bill filed and
23 asked if it has any chance.
24 Senator Foushee said the shooters are in the House.
25 Representative Meyer said the House leadership is not interested in any gun bills, and
26 may not do any abortion bills either.
27 Commissioner McKee asked if there is any chance of impact fees coming back,
28 Senator Foushee said no.
29 Commissioner Bedford asked if the Governor's budget will include any increase for an
30 innovations waiver. She said there have been 200 slots previously, with a large waiting list.
31 Representative Insko said that is in the works.
32 The meeting adjourned at 9:40 a.m.
33
34 2019 ORANGE COUNTY PRIORITY LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
35 Broadband/Digital Infrastructure— Support legislation, funding, and other efforts that provide
36 counties with flexibility and opportunities to support options for increasing access to high-speed
37 internet connectivity and expanding digital infrastructure/broadband capability to the un-served
38 and under-served areas of the state. Access to high speed internet connections will reduce
39 disparities, enhance quality of life for all the State's residents, and broaden opportunities in
40 areas such as education, jobs creation, small business development, health care, civic
41 participation, and growth in farm enterprises.
42
43 Priority School Issues— Support legislation to address the following issues related to schools:
44 a) Provide local school systems with calendar flexibility, including the opportunity to align with
45 nearby community college schedules;
46 b) Provide full funding for State allotments including Average Daily Membership (ADM) growth,
47 and support legislation to provide for an overall increase in funding based on average daily
48 memberships outside of the current formula system;
49 c) Impose class size reductions commensurate with State funding for staffing; and
7
1 d) Provide additional revenue options, including a statewide bond and lottery proceeds, to
2 equitably address statewide public school and community college capital challenges and meet
3 identified needs.
4
5 Expansion of Medicaid Program — Support legislation to increase access to the Medicaid
6 program to make health insurance available to approximately 500,000 more North Carolina
7 residents and as additional support for rural hospitals.
8
9 Minimum Wage Increase— Support legislation to raise the minimum wage to enhance people's
10 economic security, improve access to safe and secure housing, boost the economy with
11 increased spending, decrease dependence on government assistance programs, and improve
12 the lives of families.
13
14 Mental Health Funding — Seek legislation that:
15 a) provides adequate State-funded mental health, developmental disability, and substance
16 abuse services and facilities at the local level, accessible and affordable to all residents and that
17 sufficient state resources fund service provision costs inclusive of sufficient crisis intervention
18 and treatment, and to structure appropriate county participation in governance; and
19 b) provides funding to develop and implement a plan to reduce the number of people with
20 mental health issues in county jails (See EXHIBIT A— National Association of Counties (NACo)
21 Stepping Up Initiative);
22
23 Non-Partisan Redistricting Process for Elections — Support legislation to establish a process
24 for an independent, non-partisan redistricting process after each United States Census for the
25 election of representatives from North Carolina to the United States House of Representatives,
26 the North Carolina House, and the North Carolina Senate;
27
28 Criminal Justice Reform/Juvenile Jurisdiction — Support legislation to develop and fund a
29 plan to:
30 a) help reduce unnecessary charges and arrests by expanding the use of pre-arrest diversion
31 and the issuance of citations or summons, replace reliance on money bail with non-financial
32 conditions of release such as written promises to appear, or the least restrictive available
33 conditions, and restrict detention to the small number of people for whom no condition or
34 combination of conditions can reasonably assure appearance in court and public safety, reduce
35 disparity within the pretrial justice system; support the collection of local data regarding pre-trial
36 release outcomes; and increased funding for pre-trial release supervision programs that utilize
37 evidence-based best practices; and
38 b) address developmentally inappropriate limits on juvenile court jurisdiction, demographic and
39 geographic disparities, inadequate representation in juvenile court, unnecessary juvenile
40 detention, lifelong collateral consequences stemming from juvenile court involvement, and
41 punitive school policies and practices that push students into the court system.
42
43 Other Orange County Legislative Interests
44 In addition to Orange County's Priority Legislative Issues, other legislative items of importance
45 to the County for 2019 are as follows:
46
47 1) Child Care - Seek legislation to reverse changes made to the childcare subsidy program
48 available to working families, including establishing eligibility for all children at 200% of the
49 federal poverty level, to help many working parents who are trying to become more financial
50 self-sufficient, and to prorate fees for children attending based on the hours attended;
51
8
1 2) County Jail System/Housing State Inmates Reimbursement—
2 Support legislation to protect the fiscal viability of the county jail system by reinstating
3 reimbursement for state inmates housed in county jails sentenced to 90 days or less;
4
5 3) Machinery Act— Support local governments' need for more flexibility to remedy
6 measurement and/or condition property appraisal errors related to local property tax functions.
7 North Carolina property tax law substantially limits the ability of local governments to address
8 property tax discrepancies, such as prohibiting the refund of prior years' taxes paid after a
9 measurement and/or condition property appraisal error is discovered. Just as local governments
10 can recoup prior years' property taxes from owners for "discoveries", local governments should
11 likewise be authorized to refund prior years' taxes paid when situations such as measurement
12 and/or condition property appraisal errors are discovered;
13
14 4) Homestead Exemption — Support revisions to the Homestead Exemption provisions of the
15 Machinery Act to:
16 a) provide greater opportunities for low-income seniors to remain in their homes and not be
17 displaced due to property tax burdens by approving a one-time ten percent (10%) increase in
18 the base income qualification standard; and maintaining the current provisions which increase
19 the income qualification standard each year based on any cost-of-living adjustment made to the
20 benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act for the preceding calendar year; and
21 b) diminish the discriminatory features of the current exemption provisions relating to married
22 couples by establishing graduated income qualification standards for single individuals versus
23 married couples;
24
25 5) Sales Tax Distribution Formula — Support legislation directing that all sales tax be
26 distributed on a per capita basis as it is fair and more equitable for counties with less economic
27 development as compared to the point of delivery basis. The UNC School of Government has
28 indicated that a per capita basis tax "would indeed be a more even distribution of LOST revenue
29 across the state";
30
31 6) Maintain Local Government Authority over Solid Waste Management— Oppose any shift
32 of solid waste management and recycling services away from local governments;
33
34 7) Electronics Recycling — Support legislation to provide additional funding to local
35 governments for electronics recycling to cover significant increased costs for recycling these
36 materials and to oppose the lifting of restrictions on disposal of electronics in landfills;
37
38 8) Re-instatement of Earned Income Tax Credit— Support legislation to re-instate the State
39 Earned Income Tax Credit which greatly benefitted low wage earners until its elimination after
40 the 2013 tax year;
41
42 9) Voter Registration and Voting — Support legislation to restore straight party ticket voting
43 and provide public financing of judicial elections and eliminate any requirements for photograph
44 identification;
45
46 10) Abolish State Death Penalty— Support legislation to abolish the State of North Carolina's
47 death penalty;
48
49 11)Fulfillment of Constitutional Duties — Oppose any legislation, that seeks to exempt any
50 government employee or agent from fulfilling his/her constitutional duties, including but not
51 limited to guaranteeing the right to marry for same-sex residents of North Carolina;
9
1
2 12) Oppose any shift of state transportation responsibilities to counties— Oppose
3 legislation to shift the state's responsibility for funding transportation construction and
4 maintenance projects to counties. Counties cannot afford to assume costs for maintaining
5 secondary roads and/or funding expansion projects;
6
7 13) Expansion of Protected Classes — Seek statewide legislative action to provide all North
8 Carolina local governments with the authority to include sexual orientation and gender identity
9 as protected classes in order to protect these classes from discrimination and discriminatory
10 practices; and authorize complaints for discrimination to be brought in North Carolina Courts by
11 any Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recognized protected class;
12
13 14) Eminent Domain —Oppose adding language to a constitutional amendment on eminent
14 domain that extends any further preemption of county authority to regulate the placement of
15 telecommunication towers;
16
17 15) Fees-In-Lieu — NCDOT as Additional Recipient— Support legislation amending North
18 Carolina General Statute 153A-331 to add a provision allowing counties to transfer fees
19 collected as part of subdivision development, and in lieu of required street construction, to be
20 transferred to and held by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for the
21 future construction of roads intended to be added to the State Maintained system. Presently
22 there is no mechanism where a county can collect fees in lieu of transportation improvement
23 construction based on conditions agreed to by both parties during a conditional zoning process.
24 These fees may be for a developer fair share of a future comprehensive intersection
25 improvement but would not be built by NCDOT until other funding could be assigned to do a
26 complete improvement;
27
28 16) Bona Fide Farm Use — Support legislation clarifying that the farm use and agriculture
29 exemption of 153A-340 that restricts local zoning authority applies only to property on which the
30 production of crops or livestock is the primary use. Clarify that marketing and agri-tourism
31 activities must be secondary uses of the property and do not qualify for the exemption in the
32 absence of the production of crops or livestock;
33
34 17) Revenue Options for Local Government— Support efforts to preserve and expand the
35 existing local revenue base of counties and authorize local option revenue sources already
36 given to any other jurisdiction to all counties. Oppose efforts to divert to the state fees or taxes
37 currently allocated to the counties or to erode existing county revenue streams;
38
39 18) E-911 Funds — Support protection and broader applications of the NC 9-1-1 Fund to be
40 used primarily for assuring that 9-1-1 systems are able to upgrade existing performance levels
41 in order to pay for 9-1-1 operations or 9-1-1 related upgrades such as the infrastructure needed
42 to migrate to next-generation (NG911) technology. Orange County has appreciated past efforts
43 and supports future initiatives to assure our citizens are provided continued access to
44 emergency services from all sources;
45
46 19) Renewable Energy— Support renewable energy initiatives available to residential,
47 commercial, industrial and agricultural activities to create a market for energy credits. This
48 support will provide incentives to produce renewable energy, which will become increasingly
49 important to preserving and strengthening the economy and infrastructure, and in the case of
50 agriculture help maintain rural heritage and culture;
51
10
1 20) Land, Water and Agricultural Preservation Funding — Support Park, Agricultural
2 Preservation, Clean Water Management and other existing trust funds established for the
3 protection of the State's land, water, biological resources, agriculture, and special places before
4 they are irreversibly lost, and request that these funds receive additional funding, preferably
5 through dedicated funding sources;
6
7 21) Agriculture—Support Conservation of Working Lands and Farmland Preservation —
8 Support a revision to the revenue and acreage requirements of the Use Value Program to
9 reduce acreage requirements, balanced by increasing the income threshold;
10
11 22) Aquatic Vegetation Control — Support legislation to provide for and fund a comprehensive
12 statewide approach to noxious aquatic vegetation control in public water reservoirs;
13
14 23) Concealed Weapons in Parks —Seek legislation re-authorizing counties to fully regulate
15 the carrying of concealed weapons on county-owned playgrounds and in county-owned
16 parklands and authorize counties to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons on county and
17 county funded college/university campuses, in addition to playgrounds;
18
19 24) Opioid Epidemic Efforts — Support adequate funding for programs to provide and expand
20 access for individuals with opioid use disorder to seek and complete treatment, and sustain
21 recovery, as well as increased funding to collect data regarding opioid overdoses and to provide
22 for additional law enforcement to investigate and enforce drug laws;
23
24 25) Agricultural Economic Development— Support state funding and staffing for agricultural
25 research, Cooperative Extension services and other agriculture-related efforts to support the
26 largest economic driver in North Carolina;
27
28 26) Transportation Funding — Support increased state funding for transportation construction
29 and maintenance needs, and support legislation to ensure that the STI funding formula
30 recognizes that one size does not fit all and that projects in both rural and urban areas are
31 prioritized and funded, and eliminate the cap on light rail funding;
32
33 27) Behavioral Health Services — Support increased state funding for behavioral health
34 services and facilities at the state and local level, including dedicated resources for community
35 paramedicine projects. Support Medicaid reimbursement to EMS for behavioral health transport
36 to crisis centers and structure appropriate county participation in behavioral health program
37 governance;
38
39 28) Adult Protective Services — Support increased funding and legislation to strengthen adult
40 protective services;
41
42 29) Court Funding — Support increased state funding for NC courts, including reinstating
43 funding for drug treatment court;
44
45 30) Crime Intervention Services — Support legislation and state funding to provide early
46 intervention services through the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, and support increased
47 state funding for the prevention, intervention and treatment of adolescent substance abuse,
48 gang involvement and domestic violence;
49
50 31) State/County Partnership for Education —Seek legislation to establish a new state-
51 county partnership to address statewide public school capital challenges--including but not
11
1 limited to maintenance, renovation, construction and debt--through a dedicated, stable funding
2 stream that is consistent from county to county and sufficient to meet the school facility needs of
3 all 100 counties;
4
5 32) Economic Development Efforts — Support legislation to grow North Carolina's statewide
6 economy through sound state investments, including public infrastructure funding, competitive
7 incentives, and coordinated efforts with county economic development services;
8
9 33) Exemption to 180 Day Temporary Electricity Connection Limit for Recreational
10 Vehicles in a Campground or Other Similar Park— Support legislation to provide an
11 exemption to the current 180 day temporary utility connection limit as contained within the
12 building code for individuals utilizing campers and/or recreational vehicles as temporary housing
13 units while supporting/visiting family members undergoing treatment in local hospitals;
14
15 34) School Impact Fee Authority— Support legislation authorizing all North Carolina local
16 government jurisdictions providing funding for public education to levy impact fees on new
17 residential development to help pay for school construction. The North Carolina General
18 Assembly approved legislation in the 1980's for some jurisdictions to levy these impact fees to
19 support public school infrastructure. The authority to levy the fee to support school facility needs
20 should be available to all local government jurisdictions providing funding for public education;
21
22 35) Dangerous Dogs Determinations — Support legislation to change current law so that dogs
23 from dog fighting investigations and seizures are not automatically deemed dangerous without
24 further determination that the dogs alleged to have been owned or harbored for fighting
25 demonstrate an increased potential for unprovoked attacks on persons or domestic animals, in
26 order to alleviate the requirement to destroy these animals "sight unseen". Additionally, clarify at
27 what point in the legal process a dog is "owned or harbored...for fighting," be it upon seizure,
28 arrest, indictment, or conviction;
29
30 36) Legislative Leadership Term Limit—Support legislation that limits the length of time a
31 North Carolina General Assembly member can serve in the same leadership position to eight
32 consecutive years;
33
34 37) Smart Start and NC Pre-K— Support legislation to increase and ensure secure and stable
35 funding, enhanced quality early care and education, and family access and benefits in settings
36 public and private; and
37
38 38) Census Funding —Support legislation to provide statewide funding for a comprehensive
39 2020 Census process that proactively facilitates and encourages participation by all North
40 Carolina residents.
41
42 Penny Rich, Chair
43
44
45 Donna Baker
46 Clerk to the Board
1
1 Attachment 2
2
3 DRAFT
4 MINUTES
5 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
6 WORK SESSION
7 March 12, 2019
8 7:00 p.m.
9
10 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March
11 12, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
12
13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Penny Rich and Commissioners
14 Jamezetta Bedford, Mark Dorosin, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, Mark Marcoplos and Renee
15 Price
16 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None
17 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
18 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County
19 Manager Travis Myren, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will
20 be identified appropriately below)
21
22 Chair Rich called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
23
24 1. County Commissioners: Boards and Commissions —Annual Work Plans/Reports
25
26 External Boards (to which the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) appoints):
27 Carrboro Northern Transition —Anahid Vrana, Amy Jeroloman (Chair) and Deb Rich
28
29 Amy Jerolman referenced new material at the Commissioners' places, and said she
30 would address this at the end of her presentation.
31 Amy Jeroloman reviewed the information below:
32 The primary purpose of the Northern Transition Area Advisory Committee (NTAAC) is to
33 review and make recommendations about development and planning concerns in the area of
34 Orange County under Carrboro's jurisdiction. The following annual report highlights the work of
35 the NTAAC from November 2017-November 2018. Please note that the NTAAC has not met
36 since November 2018 because there were no items brought to the committee for consideration.
37
38 (1) Proposal for Light-Industrial Land Uses on Town-Owned Property at 7917 Old NC 86
39 The rezoning and development of the Town owned property at 7917 Old NC 86 to light
40 Industrial would provide businesses with affordable and quality space to grow, positively
41 affecting our local economy. The NTAAC represents the interests of residents and adjacent
42 property owners of the Northern Area in these discussions.
43
44 Areas of interests include:
45 Traffic impacts on Old NC 86 and Twin Creeks Park entrance as well as mitigation
46 strategies
47 Impacts on adjacent properties with regards to noise, lighting, scenery and view
48 obstruction, water quality, buffers
49 Terms and definition of light-industrial in regards to the surrounding rural landscape
50 Consideration for multi-use paths, sidewalks, and greenhouses
2
1 • The Towns dual roles of developer and enforcer of the process (Land Use Ordinance, etc.)
2 • Funding details for development of the property, potential funding partners, and cost
3 projections
4 • Flooding and Stormwater impacts. Recently Hurricanes Florence and Michael brought
5 significant and swift flooding to this area, making Old NC 86 briefly impassable, both at
6 7917 Old NC 86 and the future entrance to Twin Creeks Park (across from 8021 Old NC
7 86.)
8
9 NTAAC requests that the Commissions have NCDOT Engineers review the area with
10 the above specific considerations. The NTAAC also requests that residents and interested
11 parties, such as Town commissions and boards, be emailed in advance in a timely manner
12 when this project is to be discussed. The NTAAC continues to seek information on the project
13 and we would appreciate any update on this project from the Commissioners.
14
15 (2) Trash and Traffic Concerns on Old NC 86 & Eubanks Roads
16 The NTAAC remains concerned about the excessive trash along Old NC 86 (i.e., from
17 Calvander to Eubanks Rd). With the close proximity to the County's Solid Waste Center, trash
18 and debris often fall from vehicles on Old NC 86 and garbage accumulates along this road at a
19 more rapid rate than at other locations. The NTAAC again recommends to County
20 Commissioners that the collection schedule be revised given that the road is too dangerous for
21 community groups to sponsor or adopt for cleanup.
22
23 The NTAAC remains concerned with the traffic along Old NC 86 and Eubanks Road. On
24 school mornings, traffic backs up on Eubanks Road by Morris Grove since the traffic circle does
25 not have a dedicated right turn lane into the school. During weekday mornings, residents can
26 no longer safely make a left turn onto Old NC 86 on the stretch of Old NC 86 from Calvander to
27 Eubanks Rd given the amount of cross traffic on Old NC 86. In November 2017, the NTAAC
28 reported to the BoA these concerns and recommendations for mitigating traffic. In April 2018,
29 the same concerns and recommendations were reported to the County Commissioners. The
30 NTAAC requests that any information be shared with us about traffic studies or car counts done
31 by the NCDOT and/or any plans for road infrastructure improvements.
32
33 Additionally, as part of the Way Finding Project (see #2 under "Additional Items of
34 Interest") NTAAC recommended that directional signage at the intersection of Eubanks Road
35 and Old NC 86 would be helpful, particularly as the area grows and motorists less familiar with
36 that intersection need to ascertain directions to Hillsborough and Carrboro.
37
38 (3) North-South Connector Road via Lake Ho_pan Farms Extension
39 The NTAAC continues to advocate for the completion of the North-South Connector
40 Road, using Lake Hogan Road Extension, northward to Eubanks Road and Morris Grove
41 School, as a solution to traffic and safety issues. This connector road would provide an
42 alternate route to Old NC 86 as well as improve traffic circulation and safety for the surrounding
43 area including Hogan Farms and the future Twin Creeks Park. Carrboro Planning Staff
44 confirmed the last phase of the development Ballantine / MI Homes has stalled, but an
45 engineering review of bridge crossing is underway. (The connector's current path requires two
46 bridge crossings.)
47 The NTAAC recommends that the Orange County Board of Commissioners and Board
48 of Aldermen discuss the North-South Connector Road project at their next joint meeting. We
49 are concerned that these joint meetings have been cancelled for the past two years. We also
3
1 request an update on what funding, if any, the County has allotted to the Twin Creeks Parks
2 and the completion of the connector road.
3
4 Amy Jeroloman addressed the additional information that she handed out to the Board.
5 She said, as a committee, they objected to the flex zoning, and an applicant has come to
6 accept this site as a flex land site, and Carrboro has asked all of their boards to provide
7 comments. She said they are worried about density, and would like the help of the Board of
8 County Commissioners (BOCC) with this campaign.
9 Chair Rich said at the last BOCC meeting she petitioned the Board about this issue, and
10 asked questions about the flex zone. She said Orange County staff was working with Carrboro
11 staff, and will bring back information. She said the BOCC cannot tell the towns what to do;
12 however, the County can provide information and recommendations, but ultimately it is up to
13 the individual towns whose jurisdictions these concerns come to.
14 Deb Rich said they cannot vote for the Board of the Alderman because they are in the
15 extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). She referred to the Bubble sheet, which is at their places, to
16 outline and understand the flex process. She said it is very confusing.
17 Deb Rich said there will not be a site plan on the front end and the density is mixed use,
18 but they do not know what the market will hold. She said it seems to be limited to the County
19 area of about 25 acres. She said she is concerned that people are not aware of this, and they
20 are not noticing people except within 1000 feet. She said this seems like a blank check.
21 Amy Jeroloman said this level of notification works in Carrboro, but not for those living in
22 the County.
23 Commissioner Dorosin clarified that a preliminary draft of ordinance has been done.
24 Deb Rich said yes, and she will share with the BOCC. She said they are going to be
25 meeting every other week, and it is on an ambitious timetable.
26 Commissioner McKee said the BOCC may be able to meet with the Department of
27 Transportation (DOT), and talk to them about trash and traffic on Old NC 86.
28 Deb Rich said a development with that level of density and car impact can only have a
29 negative effect.
30 Commissioner McKee said the traffic mitigation is a DOT issue.
31 Deb Rich said a dedicated turn lane into Morris Grove Elementary School would help,
32 and this property goes right up to the traffic circle. She said they have requested a site visit as
33 some of this land used to be wetlands, but may not be anymore. She said this change has led
34 to changes in the possible density.
35 Commissioner Price said she had hoped to work together again as they have in the
36 past.
37 Deb said no one on the Board of Aldermen (BOA) understands Old NC 86, as none of
38 them live in Hogan Farms. She said she has talked with Hogan Farms residents and they do
39 not feel represented either.
40
41 • Carrboro Planning Board - unable to attend but sent attached report (Susan Poulton)
42
43 • Chapel Hill Parks, Greenways and Recreation Commission - unable to attend but
44 sent attached report (Alice Armstrong)
45
46 Internal Boards Representative(s)
47
48 Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee Michael Zuber, Chair
4
1 Michael Zuber said they make unannounced quarterly visits to adult care communities,
2 and annual visits to family care homes (6 or less beds), and one of their purposes is to foster
3 collaborative relationships with facility administrators and managers.
4 Michael Zuber said they are up to 13 volunteers.
5 Michael Zuber said in Chapel Hill and Carrboro they are blessed with strong facilities,
6 such as Carol Woods, but the living conditions in the lower level facilities are appalling. He said
7 they frequently see bed bug cleanups, smell of feces, lack of funding, and high staff turnover.
8 He said the facilities receive the reports, but there is a lack of desire to make changes. He said
9 there is legislation on the table to increase public assistance up from $66. He asked if the
10 BOCC would support this effort. He said they are trying to set up committees with local
11 government leaders and the administrators of these facilities. He said many of these facilities
12 are for-profit, and may not be able to receive government funding, but he does think there are
13 areas where improvements can be made.
14 Michael Zuber said the committee feels that local leaders have become apathetic and
15 pessimistic about improving the living conditions for the elderly in Orange County assisted living
16 homes.
17 Commissioner Bedford asked if all 12 facilities are licensed.
18 Michael Zuber said the State licenses and regulates them, and they work with their
19 Triangle J Council of Governments' (TJCOG) Ombudsman. He said there is a real lack of
20 incentive for Administrators to make any improvements.
21 Commissioner Bedford asked if the County has any ability to enforce standards.
22 Janice Tyler, Department on Aging Director, said the family care homes and assisted
23 living facilities are monitored by the local Department of Social Services (DSS), which is
24 different from the report the Board will hear from the Nursing Home Committee, and those
25 facilities are monitored by the Division of Health Services, which is a State organization. She
26 said locally they do have a bigger stick with the Adult Care Homes and the Assisted Living
27 facilities. She said all are for-profit entities, except for Carol Woods.
28 John Roberts said DSS does help with regulations, but the County does not have any
29 regulatory authority to pass ordinances. He said DSS is inspecting and enforcing based on
30 State rules and regulations.
31 Commissioner Bedford said her daughter lives in a group home that is run by the State,
32 and it is immaculate. She said reports need to be filed, and the press needs to be brought in;
33 whatever it takes.
34 Commissioner Price asked if the completed reports carry any weight.
35 Michael Zuber said the reports are put on the County website and are mailed to
36 administrators, but there is not much push for change.
37 Commissioner Price asked if Janice Tyler reports findings to DSS.
38 Janice Tyler said DSS is typically the connection or the Ombudsman.
39 Michael Zuber said the Ombudsman usually follows up, and it is usually the same
40 facilities that have recurring problems.
41 Chair Rich asked if there is high turnover due to low pay.
42 Michael Zuber said probably, and he was part of a recent visit where he saw an
43 unattended med cart in the hallway, which he brought up to the staff who did not seem at all
44 concerned. He said these are issues that cannot be swept under the rug. He said many
45 counties are struggling with similar issues, but there needs to be good, affordable, quality care.
46 Commissioner Marcoplos said he would like to have a Board of County Commissioners
47 representative at these meetings.
48 Michael Zuber said they meet at 4 p.m. every two months, and are trying to have more
49 field meetings with the administrators.
5
1 Janice Tyler said these committees meet onsite, and these meetings are back to back
2 with the Nursing Care Homes meetings. She said Commissioners are welcome at both
3 meetings.
4 Commissioner Greene referred to the list of emerging concerns and improving
5 regulatory expectations, such as resident to staff ratio and handicap accessible door
6 requirements. She asked if these are State issues or if the County could intervene.
7 Michael Zuber said DSS may know more. He said there is one facility without handicap
8 accessible doors, and he was told there is insufficient funding.
9 Commissioner Greene said the body with authority should be lobbied to address this.
10 Janice Tyler said there are handicap accessible doors, but they do not have the ability to
11 open automatically.
12 Commissioner Greene said the lack of resident-to-staff ratio is insane. She referred to
13 the statement about local leaders being apathetic about improvements, and asked if this
14 referred to the BOCC.
15 Michael Zuber said no. He said there is some discussion in the Master Aging Plan
16 (MAP) program about projects related to the assisted living facilities.
17 Commissioner Bedford thanked all of the committee members for serving, especially
18 given the considerable training requirements.
19 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the question about lobbying, and asked if there are
20 some organized advocacy groups that are pushing for changes.
21 Janice Tyler said the Friends of Residents of Long Term Care is a statewide
22 organization that is having an advocacy day on the first Wednesday in April. She said there is
23 some legislature going forward to raise the amount for the personal care allowance.
24 Commissioner Dorosin asked staff to get the name of the bill so the Board can pass a
25 resolution of support.
26 Commissioner Price encouraged her colleagues to participate in these meetings or
27 visits. She said both are very informative.
28
29 Advisory Board on Aging Peggy Cohn, Chair
30 Peggy Cohn said the most outstanding accomplishment is the success of the Master
31 Aging Plan, and its ability to bring our community together to successfully serve our growing
32 aging population. She said the Aging board is especially proud of its work on advocating for
33 affordable housing. She said the Senior Housing Report was updated and is used as a
34 resource for the community in developing senior housing initiatives. The development of the
35 Home Preservation Coalition has improved the communication among agencies and will
36 ultimately help in getting clients served in a more coordinated and efficient manner.
37 Peggy Cohn said the MAP plan has brought the community together. She highlighted
38 the following:
39 o Programs developed for older adults seeking employment. Commodity Senior
40 Food Program served 243 low-income older adults in five locations (Seymour,
41 Passmore, Efland Cheeks Community Center, Cedar Grove Community Center,
42 and Carolina Spring).
43 o Rural Orange Action Partnership (ROAP) Steering Committee: Together with the
44 UNC Center for Health Equity Research, DoA formed the ROAP Steering
45 Committee, comprised of ten individuals from the Efland-Cheeks and Cedar
46 Grove communities. This committee will serve as a platform for meaningful
47 community action and change, and its development was financially supported by
48 the Detroit-Academic Urban Research Center, and the University of Michigan
49 School of Public Health.
6
1 o Continuation of two award programs to promote high quality services within long-
2 term care organizations —the Direct Care Worker Award and the Long Term Care
3 Quality Service Award.
4 o Supporting 52 Project EngAGE Leaders serving on 13 Senior Resource Teams.
5
6 Peggy Cohn said they were sorry to see OC Cares end, and it was so successful that it
7 has been wrapped into the work being done by the Department on Aging. She said staff
8 deserves credit for expanding dollars and keeping these services going. She said the Senior
9 Employment program has also been successful.
10 Peggy Cohn said her favorite program is Project EngAGE, which has been
11 extraordinarily successful in training them about community resources, and enabling them to
12 develop and execute projects within the community. She said there are 13 senior resource
13 teams, with another starting next fall, and they are amazing.
14
15 Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee Vibeke Talley, Chair
16 Vibeke Talley invited the Board to attend their meetings.
17 Vibeke Talley said there is a new Nursing Home Center on Legion Road, and its
18 opening fortunately coincided with the evacuations from the coastal areas, which provided a
19 great service to displaced residents. She said the Committee is still working with all nursing
20 homes to increase the quality of life, meeting with patients for exit interviews and also with the
21 activity directors. She said they are involved with Project EngAGE as well, and trying to get
22 these volunteers to go into the nursing homes to provide activities and that way they know more
23 about the nursing homes. She said the Committee is working with Chapel Hill High to get
24 students to come in and assist and get hands on experience with seniors.
25 Commissioner Price asked how many high school seniors have been involved.
26 Vibeke Talley said 4-5, and this was the first time they had done this.
27
28 Affordable Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) Keith Cook,
29 Chair
30 Keith Cook said he works closely with Sherrill Hampton, Housing Director, and the board
31 is in agreement with their charge, and has a few topics they want to work on this year.
32 This year AHAB held one subcommittee meeting as it relates to planning for a joint meeting
33 with the other affordable housing advisory boards in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Other
34 subcommittees will be formed and meetings will be held as AHAB plans to enhance its role of
35 advising the Board of County Commissioners. He said the board plans to attend more
36 meetings that can assist them (in report) to increase their working knowledge.
37 Other activities they are engaged in:
38 • Begin designing a resource clearing house, in terms of what people can use for support
39 in housing and additional sources for non-profits to seek funding. This activity will be
40 completed over several years. Phase I will begin in 2019.
41 • Have various County funding recipients return throughout the calendar year to provide
42 updates on their progress.
43 • Expand outreach to the community, such as meeting with representatives of school and
44 religious institutions; identify potential partnership opportunities with other affordable
45 housing-affiliated organizations; and scheduling AHAB meetings at various locations in
46 the community.
47
48 Keith Cook said their first Status of Affordable Housing report will be coming out this
49 summer.
50
7
1 Emerging Issues:
2 • Gentrification
3 • Rural Buffer Review
4 • Manufactured Home Park Potential Closures
5 • Acquiring New Sources of Funding to Mitigate Affordable Housing Challenges in the
6 County
7
8 Commissioner Price asked if the board's conversations include tiny homes.
9 Keith Cook said yes.
10
11 Housing Authority (HA) Tammy Jacobs, Chair
12 Tammy Jacobs is the new Chair, but has been on the board for a while. She said the
13 charge for this board is to be the citizen oversight of the County's Housing Authority and its
14 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program. She said they need more information about the
15 Rural Buffer and how that will involve their department.
16 Some accomplishments this year:
17 • Participated in sponsored activities, events and workshops that help build HCV
18 participants' self-sufficiency.
19 • Participated in OCHA's outreach events and activities for existing landlords and other
20 interested rental property owners in an effort to increase landlord participation in the
21 HCV program.
22 • Review and provide input on the Consolidated Plan/Annual Plan Update and
23 Performance Report.
24 • Review and approve changes to the Housing Authority policies, including revisions to
25 the Administrative Plan in order to enhance program efficiency, compliance with U.S.
26 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements, as well as meet
27 program participants' needs.
28 • Review of the Section 8 Management Assessment (SEMAP) before its submission to
29 HUD.
30 • Continue participation in landlord engagement events and activities in an effort to
31 increase landlord participation in the HCV Program.
32 • Work with staff to increase HCV participants utilization of the voucher for
33 homeownership opportunities.
34 • Continue educating County residents and the BOCC on the changing landscape for
35 Housing Authorities, various new regulations and their ramifications on the County's
36 HCV Program.
37 • Ongoing advocacy on behalf of low-income individuals and families in need of
38 sustainable housing solutions
39
40 Commissioner Dorosin said there is some overlapping membership with the Housing
41 Authority and the AHAB, which is somewhat redundant, and asked if there is any thought to
42 consolidating these two boards.
43 Tammy Jacobs said that was one of their reasons for meeting with the AHAB, in order to
44 identify what they do individually and what they can do collectively.
45 Commissioner Dorosin said Carrboro and Chapel Hill both have housing boards, and if
46 the goal is a unified vision, then the County should be speaking with a unified voice. He said he
47 knows there are different statutory issues.
48 John Roberts said the HA is a non-profit organization, and not an advisory board. He
49 said all local jurisdictions could work directly with the HA, but the AHAB and HA cannot be
50 combined as they are not two boards.
8
1 Commissioner Dorosin said the County can abolish the AHAB, and the BOCC appoints
2 the members of the HA.
3 Tammy Jacobs said she is not saying that any entity does not need to exist, but there
4 are so many disjointed housing authorities and organizations in the County.
5 Commissioner Dorosin said generally the County is trying to operate more efficiently,
6 and affordable housing is a priority for the BOCC. He said housing resources are stretched
7 thin, and it is especially important to be work wisely.
8 Commissioner Greene said she did not realize that the HA was a separate entity, and
9 she said would like to understand why the County's entity operates independently as opposed
10 to the Towns.
11 Commissioner Greene said when Chapel Hill created its current Housing Advisory Board
12 it merged the function of the advisory board to support the public housing. She said there
13 should be a way to make the County's operations more streamlined, efficient and effective.
14 Commissioner Marcoplos said both Tammy Jacobs and Keith Cook mentioned the Rural
15 Buffer, and the BOCC is trying to make progress on the Greene Tract area of the rural buffer.
16 He said this would be a great boost for affordable housing.
17
18 Human Relations Commission (HRC) Deborah Stroman, Chair
19 Deborah Stroman said despite the current cultural climate, they believe a large majority
20 of the County wants to connect and are good people.
21 Deborah Stroman said her board is made up of true patriots, and it is the role and
22 charge of the Commission to bring issues to the Board of Commissioners.
23 Deborah Stroman said the Commission is moving toward reducing their board
24 membership from 18-12, and are doing better with marketing and social media. She said their
25 annual Community Read ("Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City."), will be on April 3
26 at 6pm at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill.
27
28 Emerging Issues
29
30 1. Ensuring that the membership of the HRC reflects racial, cultural and gender diversity.
31 2. Recruiting even more representation from Northern Orange for the HRC.
32 3. Creating an open line of communication between the HRC and other residents in order
33 to keep up-to-date on social justice issues impacting all parts of the County. Promote
34 the new communication tools: Chapelboro.com blog and Facebook page.
35 4. Engage the community in frequent conversations to promote positive communication
36 and understanding. We decided to move against the promotion of a civility program due
37 to the charged language of the word `civility'.
38 5. Being mindful that UNC-Chapel Hill social justice issues are Orange County social
39 justice issues.
40 6. Coordinate a community-wide social justice meeting whereby all leaders of these
41 organizations will be invited to share their purpose and best practices.
42 7. Continued engagement with Government Alliance on Race & Equity (CARE) sponsored
43 by the Haas Institute and Race Forward.
44 8. Learn more about immigration laws and ICE to gauge the impact on the community.
45
46 Deborah Stroman added a few more items: Orange County Remembrance Coalition,
47 specifically lynching, and concern about Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools' (CHCCS) equity
48 advocacy and implementation.
49 Commissioner Price asked if the Commission will look at the Orange County Equity
50 policy.
9
1 Deborah Stroman said yes.
2 Commissioner McKee thanked the HRC for bringing in more rural voices.
3
4 Board of Adjustment (BOA) Craig Benedict, Planning Director
5 Craig Benedict emphasized the training that is now provided for BOA members.
6 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is an update on reviewing the BOA.
7 Craig Benedict said a series of educational videos from the School of Government
8 (SOG) have been purchased. He said the training covers quasi—judicial procedures, which the
9 Planning Board often conducts. He said there has been turnover and new board members are
10 completing orientation. He said every time there are regulatory changes, staff works with the
11 Attorney's office to be more specific, to avoid confusion of interpretation.
12 John Roberts said staff asked the BOA if it needed outside and separate legal counsel,
13 and the BOA said no. He said he has given it great thought, and his opinion has fluctuated
14 over time. He said in the event that the staff's recommendation is in conflict with the BOA, the
15 staff would need separate representation. He said if the Board would like to explore separate
16 representation for the BOA, staff can certainly do so.
17 Chair Rich asked if the education and training are helping.
18 John Roberts said yes, and he and James Bryan also did an overview of the BOA's
19 responsibilities.
20
21 OUTBoard (Orange Unified Transportation Board) Art Menius, Chair
22 Art Menius said they have Abigaile Pittman and Tom Altieri and others that support their
23 Board, and he thanked them and said they are able to provide extensive orientation to their new
24 members and it is also on their website.
25 Art Menius said the OUTBoard has a strong interest in multi-modal transportation, and
26 would love to be known for this around the state and country. He said the bike safety task force
27 is exciting, and safety videos and other media, are being circulated effectively. He said the
28 website is up and operating, and the OUTBoard continues to see open communication between
29 the government entities about how to create the best conditions for transportation safety in non-
30 motorized modes. He said the safe routes to school are an important piece of this, with the
31 route to Grady Brown Elementary and Cedar Ridge High School still being of concern.
32 Art Menius said public transportation is a priority and the OUTBoard is excited about the
33 progress made by Transportation Director, Theo Letman. He said ongoing conversations about
34 providing better transportation to the rural parts of the community are exciting and allowing the
35 County to be on the cutting edge of innovation. He said of special concern is effective
36 communication of their public transportation offerings to the public who most need these
37 services.
38 Art Menius said staff continues to support the OUTBoard in dealing with all of the tasks
39 that comes to it from TARPO and the MPOs. He said the OUTBoard is observing the Highway
40 54 project closely, and opposes widening it to 4 lanes. He said an area that has sparked great
41 citizen interest is the Efland/Buckhorn/Mebane access area. He reviewed the following
42 highlights:
43
44 Activities for 2019:
45 In 2018, the OUTBoard has:
46 1. Received and reviewed information regarding Orange County's SPOT 5.0 project lists
47 and scores submitted by the DCHC MPO, the BG MPO, and the TARPO and NCDOT
48 for ultimate consideration of inclusion in the 2020-2028 Statewide Transportation
49 Improvement Program (STIP).
50 2. Received and reviewed regular updates regarding NCDOT Division 7 projects located in
10
1 the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO),
2 (Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization) BG MPO, and (Triangle Area
3 Rural Planning Organization) TARPO.
4 3. Initiated a quarterly effort to assist Planning staff with the identification of small
5 transportation projects, to be submitted to NCDOT when there are opportunities to
6 submit requests to fund Orange County projects. Potential funding sources for these
7 projects include the High Impact— Low Cost Project Program, the Resurfacing Program,
8 and the Spot Safety Program.
9 4. Received updates and commented on the NC 54 Corridor Study.
10 5. Received updates and commented on the revised Efland-Buckhorn-Mebane Access
11 Management Plan.
12 6. Reviewed and commented on updated OUTBoard orientation materials.
13 7. Received reports from the Bicycle Safety Implementation Subcommittee, and
14 participated in review and comments at OUTBoard meetings.
15
16 In 2018 the Transit Advisory Services (TAS) effort led by Orange County Public Transportation
17 (OCPT) Department, has addressed transit topics at OUTBoard meetings relating to public
18 transit.
19 Some activities planned for 2019:
20
21 1. Continue quarterly meetings with OCPT regarding Transit Advisory Services (TAS) to
22 discuss new bus routes, unmet needs in the service area, service design and
23 scheduling, marketing, billing rates and fares, resolve complaints; and to monitor
24 compliance with federal regulations and the status of any deficiencies noted in any
25 official federal, state or local review or report (BOCC Goal 3, Priority 20). Related staff
26 time is a part of staff's current work plan.
27
28 2. Review, comment and make recommendations on the B-G MPO CTP/ MTP (BOCC
29 Goal 3, Priority 20). Related staff time is a part of staff's current work plan.
30
31 3. Participate in the development and review of transportation projects as part of the
32 TARPO, DCHC MPO and B-G MPO STI local input processes for SPOT 6.0. (BOCC
33 Goal 3, Priority 20). Related staff time is a part of staff's current work plan.
34
35 4. If required, review, comment and make recommendations on final recommendations of
36 the NC Hwy 54 west study being in DCHC MPO, TARPO and B-G MPO jurisdictions
37 (BOCC Goal 3, Priority 20). Related staff time is a part of staff's current work plan. Out
38 Board is recommending four laning.
39 5. If referred by the BOCC: Implementation efforts related to the Safe Routes to School
40 (SRTS) Action Plan (BOCC Goal 3, Priority 20). Related staff time would be a part of
41 staff's current work plan.
42
43 Emerging Issues:
44 1. Continue to explore implementation opportunities for Safe Routes to School (SRTS)
45 projects, including prioritizing the county and the Town of Hillsborough working out an
46 agreement for sidewalk construction and maintenance to facilitate sidewalks to the
47 schools that are outside the Town limits; and traffic calming measures along Orange
48 Grove Road in the vicinity of New Grady Brown Road and the schools.
49 2. Coordinate connectivity and infrastructural changes with the towns in order to create
50 better conditions for bicycling and other alternate forms of non-motorized transportation.
11
1 3. Work with NCDOT to promote funding of pedestrian and bicycle projects in rural areas to
2 a greater degree.
3 4. Examine multi-use path planning in the county.
4 5. Promote efforts to communicate with underserved populations about transportation
5
6 Planning Board (Orange County) Lydia Wegman, Chair
7 Lydia Wegman said the Planning Board is focusing on coordination with the other
8 advisory boards, and doing an update to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. She said it is
9 particularly important for the Planning and Economic Advisory Boards to be in close
10 communication and cooperation. She said there has been extensive work done on the Table of
11 Permitted Uses, and staff has done an excellent job. She said there will be work done on
12 affordable housing issues, as well as greater access to services in the rural parts of the County.
13 She said cluster developments are being strongly considered, along with climate change and
14 sustainability in the County.
15 Craig Benedict said the 2030 Comprehensive Plan was approved in 2008, with a review
16 scheduled every ten years. He said, during this process, the Commissioners came up with 8
17 planning principles to guide all the different elements from land use to transportation to housing,
18 etc. He said the process that was established to create the 2030 plan brought together all the
19 lead advisory boards to work together. He said when the 2020 census data becomes
20 available; they will look at the trend lines and adjust accordingly.
21 Lydia Wegman said Commissioner involvement would be welcomed in this process.
22 Commissioner Price said the Planning Board met with all the other advisory boards
23 previously, and asked if this information was still available.
24 Craig Benedict said all this information is still available, but an update would be good as
25 some things have changed.
26 Lydia Wegman said to use the same process, and revise as needed.
27 Commissioner Dorosin said one of the Planning Board's top emerging issues is listed as
28 the removal of uninhabitable housing. He said he was unaware this was an issue, and asked if
29 any investigations have been conducted, and, if so, what is the scope of the problem.
30 Craig Benedict said when staff did the inventory of mobile homes (individual and in
31 mobile home parks), a lot of abandoned homes were found. He said there used to be grant
32 monies to remove these homes but those funds have dried up. He said these abandoned
33 homes are not only a safety hazard, but are eyesores when showing areas for potential
34 economic development. He said the nuisance regulations available to cities, are not as
35 available to the County, but staff is seeking a higher level of enforcement to try and treat this
36 problem.
37 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the number of abandoned homes is known, or if there is
38 an area of greater concentration.
39 Craig Benedict said these homes are scattered throughout the County, and likely
40 number between 100-200 homes.
41 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the County could have a similar regulatory/enforcement
42 authority as the cities.
43 Craig Benedict said enabling legislation would be needed.
44 Commissioner Price asked if there is a place to take the uninhabitable mobile homes.
45 Craig Benedict said part of the issue is moving them, as well as where to move them.
46 He said the C&D facility is not equipped to take a lot of the mobile home materials.
47 Chair Rich asked if the original 8 principles could be sent to the BOCC.
48 Bonnie Hammersley said staff will do an information item on this topic.
49 Chair Rich said a climate change committee has just been created, which will involve all
50 of the towns in the County. She said Lydia Wegman may want to tap into this.
12
1 Chair Rich said to include Commission for the Environment as well.
2 Lydia Wegman said this is absolutely happening, and its omission was a mistake.
3 Craig Benedict said the 2030 Comprehensive Plan includes a sustainability chapter,
4 which connects environment, economy and social equity. He said the goal in planning is to
5 push these circles as close together as possible, to create a sweet spot, in order to address all
6 the goals at the same time.
7 Craig Benedict said they will provide an information item on the history of the 2030
8 Comprehensive Plan.
9
10 2. Durham-Orange Light Rail Project Update
11 John Talmadge, GoTriangle, presented this item.
12
13 PURPOSE:
14 To receive an update from GoTriangle on recent developments with the Durham- Orange Light
15 Rail Project. The update will not include proposed changes to the Interlocal Cost Sharing
16 Agreement or the Orange County Transit Plan as project financing and feasibility conditions
17 evolve. Any proposed changes will be presented and considered by the Board at future
18 meetings.
19
20 BACKGROUND:
21 On April 27, 2017, the Board of Orange County Commissioners adopted the Interlocal Cost
22 Sharing Agreement for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Project as well as the Orange
23 County Transit Plan. These agreements allowed GoTriangle to provide updated financial
24 information to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in support of GoTriangle's application to
25 enter the engineering phase of the Durham-Orange Light Rail Project. On July 28, 2017,
26 GoTriangle received approval from the FTA to enter the New Starts Engineering phase of the
27 Capital Investment Grant Program.
28
29 Since the adoption of these agreements, several new developments will require changes to the
30 Interlocal Cost Sharing Agreement between Orange County, Durham County, and GoTriangle
31 as well as to the Orange County Transit Plan. This presentation is intended to describe the
32 changes that have occurred. Any proposed amendments to the Interlocal Cost Sharing
33 Agreement and/or the Orange County Transit Plan will be presented and considered at future
34 meetings of the Board of Orange County Commissioners. The presentation from GoTriangle
35 will offer the most recent information regarding:
36 • Negotiations with Duke University to participate in a Cooperative Agreement and
37 contribute land to accommodate the light rail alignment;
38 • Negotiations with the North Carolina Railroad on a lease agreement and other
39 considerations to accommodate the light rail alignment;
40 • Financial requirements resulting from the Federal Transit Administration's Risk
41 Assessment Report;
42 . Environmental analysis requirements for the engineering changes in downtown Durham;
43 and
44 . Schedule for future consideration of any proposed changes to the Interlocal Cost
45 Sharing Agreement and the Orange County Transit Plan.
46
47 FINANCIAL IMPACT: A new financial plan for the project has not been finalized. However,
48 Orange County's contribution to the project is capped at $149.5 million.
49
50 John Talmadge made the following PowerPoint presentation:
13
1
2 GoForward
3 A Community Investment In Transit
4 Orange County BOCC
5 March 12, 2019
6
7 Light Rail Project Update
8 • Recent Accomplishments
9 o Execution of nine critical agreements
10 o $190 million of State funding in STIP
11 • Recent Updates
12 o Letter from Duke University president
13 o Letter from NCRR Board Chair
14 o Draft Risk Assessment Report from Federal Transit Administration
15 o Environmental analysis requirements for downtown Durham changes
16 o Transit Plan Update in development
17
18 Light Rail:
19 • 17.7 Miles, 18 stations between UNC and NCCU.
20 • Serves three of the top ten employers in North Carolina.
21 • Direct access to Duke Hospital, UNC Hospital, the Durham VA Medical Center and
22 downtown Durham.
23 • Create tens of thousands of new jobs and infuse billions into the local and state
24 economies
25
26 Light Rail Route Map
27
28 Connectivity, Opportunity, and Job Creation
29 • Provides direct connection to three major universities.
30 • Serves three major hospitals: UNC Hospital, Duke Hospital, VA Medical Center.
31 • Directly connects three of the top 10 employers in the State.
32 • Creates tens of thousands of new jobs and infuses billions into the local and state
33 economy.
34
35 Project Funding
36 • Project remains eligible for approximately $1.25 billion in federal funding (Full Funding
37 Grant Agreement anticipated Fall 2019).
38 • Durham County confirmed its intent to provide an additional $57.6 million in dedicated
39 transit revenue.
40 • Impacts of FTA Risk Assessment Report under evaluation
41 . Updated cost-sharing agreement and transit plan anticipated March- April 2019.
42
43 Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit Protect Timeline - graph
44
45 Recent Updates
46 - Letter from Duke University president: exploring options to proceed without that cooperative
47 agreement.
48 - Letter from NCRR Board Chair: indicated that NCRR was not prepared to execute a lease of
49 February 28, but are willing to resolve the remaining issues and complete the agreement.
14
1 There has since been communications with their CEO about the timing issue, and there may be
2 some flexibility with that. The attorneys are working on the negotiation of those remaining
3 terms. There are 2 agreements: a lease agreement with NCRR, and a project agreement with
4 NCRR, Norfolk-Southern RR, and GoTriangle.
5
6 John Talmadge said there is a path to resolving the remaining issues on a timeline that
7 works for submitting the FTA grant application.
8 John Talmadge said the FTA application is a process, and it is the last step in the
9 process. He said GoTriangle has been providing materials to the FTA for many months, and
10 once the FTA agrees that the agency is ready, GoTriangle will send a letter requesting to apply
11 for the full funding grant, and the terms of the grant are negotiated.
12 John Talmadge said another step, in being ready to apply for the FTA grant, is the
13 environmental documentation. He said GoTriangle released a supplemental environmental
14 assessment draft in October, and had public comments on it. He said this document contained
15 a plan for downtown that required the closing of Blackwell Street, and a signature civic space
16 span across the railroad there. He said in December, because of communication from the
17 railroads that the shared crossing in the plan was not acceptable, as well as feedback from
18 downtown stakeholders regarding the closing of Blackwell Street closing, and an
19 encouragement from the FTA to deal with the RR objections, GoTriangle created an alternative
20 design that includes underpasses, the tunnel section in the middle, and a bridge on the east
21 end of that stretch.
22 John Talmadge said GoTriangle is waiting on final direction from the FTA about the
23 environmental review requirements, but is anticipating a revised supplemental environmental
24 assessment. He said this would be a document including the updated downtown changes, and
25 technical corrections to the October supplemental environmental assessment; followed by a 30-
26 day public comment period. He said it is unknown when this will occur, and GoTriangle expects
27 to hear from the FTA momentarily.
28 John Talmadge said the FTA is asking for a Draft Risk Assessment Report, which is
29 something the FTA requires of every single project applying for large capital improvement
30 grants. He said the FTA is looking at the scope of the project, the cost estimates, and the
31 schedule for delivering the project through construction. He said a team from the FTA has
32 submitted a number of changes to the budget that it would like to see in the final budget that
33 would go through the application. He said these changes are as follows:
34
35 • Pettigrew Street Changes
36 $128.8 million additional needed for real estate lease fees for the railroad; contract or
37 overhead.
38 • Construction escalation (inflation during construction period) needed to be more
39 conservative. It was at 3.1% annual rate, and FTA said it should be 3.6% based on
40 what the FTA has seen in construction costs nationally. This is an impact of adding
41 $47.8 million in year of expenditure to the project.
42 • Contingency#- how far has the design progressed, and the FTA does a statistical
43 simulation to see how much they want to see to have a good robust budget. This was
44 an additional $60.4 million.
45
46 John Talmadge said this totals $237 million in addition to the budget in year of
47 expenditure dollars.
48 John Talmadge said GoTriangle has been working with this information during the
49 recent weeks, and information about borrowing rates, and has had conversations with the cost-
50 sharing partners and the City of Durham, in order to create a final financial plan.
15
1 John Talmadge said the final financial plan would have to be reflected in both the
2 Orange County and Durham County transit plans. He referred to the Orange County side of
3 things, and said the working assumption is that there will be no changes to the transit tax
4 revenues that would be committed to bus services, vehicle purchases, bus stop improvements,
5 BRT and Hillsborough train station from the 2017 adopted transit plan. He said the capital
6 dollar commitment of$149.5 million, of Orange County transit tax to the light rail project,
7 remains the same. He said the financing costs associated with the $149.5 million would be at or
8 below the levels that are in the 2017 transit plan levels.
9 John Talmadge said the changes would reflect the new cost of the LRT project, and the
10 changes to the other sources of revenue: the state funding, and the other local funding
11 (Durham share and private capital campaign share).
12 John Talmadge said the private capital campaign only has $15 million currently, and
13 there would have to be a backstop committed at this point in time, which has been part of the
14 conversation with the cost-sharing partners and the City of Durham.
15 John Talmadge said the conversations have reiterated that there will be no changes to
16 the $149.5 million Orange County commitment, and that the financing costs would be at, or
17 below, the 2017 transit plan levels.
18 John Talmadge said the final work on this, due to the April 30t" state deadline for the
19 non-state/non-federal funds, requires all entities to come together and finish these transit plans,
20 release them for public comment, and come back to the elected boards for presentations,
21 details, and a vote.
22 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the backstop funding could be explained.
23 John Talmadge said the private fundraising does not have a clock on it, and it can
24 continue throughout the project. He said GoTransit Partners (non-profit organization) was set
25 up to do the private fundraising, and has a consultant working for it to conduct outreach and
26 fundraising. He said the consultant has heard a lot of positive interest from corporations that
27 will sponsor the project once it is definitely going to move forward. He said at this point in time,
28 the financial plan must be finalized, and a commitment shown to the FTA that the money is
29 secure, even if the private fundraising is not as successful as expected. He said the backstop
30 is the commitment that the money will be there, but it gets reduced with every private dollar that
31 comes in.
32 Commissioner Price said Orange County's costs will be the same, but the finance
33 charges will be lower.
34 John Talmadge said the financing charges would be at, or below, the 2017 levels
35 because the long term borrowing uses the federal loan program that has very favorable terms
36 for transportation projects. He said the estimated rate that was used was very conservative
37 (5%), and as the time has come closer and closer, it seems the rates will be lower than
38 estimated, and the federal rate is currently 3%.
39 Commissioner Price asked if options to move forward without cooperative agreement
40 with Duke could be identified. She asked if the routes would be altered.
41 John Talmadge said the options do not include changing the alignment because of the
42 timeline and costs associated with making those changes. He said the station location in
43 between the Duke and VA medical centers is the second highest ridership projection, due to the
44 proximity of jobs in this area. He said all other mechanisms to proceed without a cooperative
45 agreement are being explored, and it is unclear how this will all work out.
46 Commissioner Price asked if it will be same with the railroads should they say no.
47 John Talmadge said they are much more confident of reaching an agreement with the
48 railroads, and timing is the bigger issue.
49 Commissioner Price referred to the additional monies that are needed, and asked if
50 Durham County will pick that up.
16
1 John Talmadge said his staff is talking with Durham about this, but Durham has made
2 no commitments at this time.
3 Commissioner Dorosin said there are deadlines in April and November, and asked if the
4 specifics for each of these deadlines could be clarified.
5 John Talmadge said those timelines were set in place last summer by the State
6 legislation, and are tied to the access to the $190 million. He said the first deadline calls for all
7 of the non-federal and non-state funding to be committed to the project. He said the November
8 deadline calls for all the federal money to be committed, the full funding grant agreement.
9 John Talmadge said in the 2017 plans, the negotiations about the cost split included
10 private fundraising to close the gap between the two counties, but because that money is not
11 going to be committed in time, the conversation with the City of Durham and Durham County is
12 whether these two entities can back stop that gap, while the fundraising continues. He said the
13 hope is that that Durham City and County will never have to pay any of that money, but the
14 commitment must be in place now in order to meet the state deadline, and have a complete
15 financial plan for the federal government to review.
16 Commissioner Dorosin asked if the deadline for the non-federal and non-state funds in
17 April include any of the private fundraising, and the commitment for the funds has to be there,
18 even if the private entities have not yet committed.
19 John Talmadge said yes.
20 Commissioner Dorosin asked if Duke had participated and donated the land, would that
21 have counted in that pot.
22 John Talmadge said yes. He said this pot would include property donations, including
23 the $16 million value of the Duke land, and private corporate sponsorships. He said the
24 fundraiser has indicated that the private landowners and donors are looking for a signal that the
25 project will go forward prior to making a commitment. He said many donors were waiting to see
26 what Duke would do, which has delayed other donations and made them unreliable.
27 Commissioner Bedford asked if outside counsel is going to be hired, and, if so, is there
28 a timeline for doing so.
29 John Talmadge said outside counsel is already on board and under contract, and have
30 been approved by the GoTriangle board. He said now it is a matter of finding the best
31 individuals within those teams to take on the work. He said there are daily consultations with
32 the legal counsel, and it will hopefully be resolved within days.
33 Commissioner Bedford asked if the GoTriangle board has the authority to decide
34 whether or not to pursue imminent domain.
35 John Talmadge said the decision would be to authorize going forward with the private
36 property acquisition process. He said it always starts with doing an appraisal of the property
37 value, making a fair market value offer to the property owner, trying to negotiate for a period of
38 time, and if all fails, then proceed to a condemnation process. He said the GoTriangle board
39 has to authorize both the initiation of the purchase and condemnation processes.
40 Commissioner Bedford asked if an application can still be made to the FTA if the
41 property is not secured.
42 John Talmadge said they have to show that they have the authorities to acquire the
43 property.
44 Commissioner Bedford asked if GoTriangle is expecting more information from the FTA,
45 and if the order for the cost sharing agreements and the FTA report could be explained. She
46 asked if the closing of the federal government has had any impact.
47 John Talmadge said there is on-going communication about all of these processes, and
48 there is an annual submittal of data about the project that goes into an annual report that the
49 FTA creates. He said this annual report is scheduled to come out this month or next. He said
50 they do expect communication from the FTA about the specific expectations and requirements
17
1 on the environmental documentation to be required for the downtown and the revised
2 environmental supplemental assessment. He said the FTA sent a draft risk assessment report,
3 and GoTriangle provided comments, and the FTA issues a final report. He said no material
4 changes are expected, but GoTriangle will be communicating with the FTA as it finds out
5 options that exist with Duke.
6 John Talmadge said once a final financial plan is submitted, the FTA will bring on a
7 management consultant to review the financial plan and provide feedback, which takes about 4-
8 5 weeks.
9 Commissioner Bedford asked if there will be more partner meetings, and if it is up to
10 Durham County to decide if they can afford it.
11 John Talmadge said this sounds right to him.
12 Commissioner Bedford said she appreciates the protection for the 2017 levels of the
13 Chapel Hill transit for the buses, etc., and it would be nice if there were an inflationary
14 percentage attached to that.
15 John Talmadge said on the operating side there is 3.1% inflation built into the transit
16 plans that were adopted in 2017.
17 Commissioner McKee said there is $237 million increase, and asked for clarity on the
18 $67.5 million changes on Pettigrew Street.
19 John Talmadge said if they start from the western side of Pettigrew Street corridor, at
20 Duke Street, it would pass under Duke Street in order to get out of the interaction with the gates
21 at Duke Street. He said this would be a cut and cover underpass. He said the station would be
22 at grade at Durham Station, and immediately east of Durham Station it would begin to go down
23 in a trench, so that it is in a tunnel that is covered by Pettigrew Street, under Blackwell Street
24 and under Mangum Street. He said it would come up in a trench just before Roxboro Street.
25 He said if there is bridge grade separating the trains from the street, it can pass by at street
26 level without interacting with the Amtrak. He said east of Roxboro, going up onto a bridge
27 structure to get over Dillard Avenue and Fayetteville Street. He said near Grant Street, there
28 will be a realignment of Pettigrew Street and the local streets in that vicinity.
29 John Talmadge said the $67.5 million is net of the $20 million that was in the budget for
30 this signature civic space/pedestrian span. He said adding up how much these cost equals
31 $87.5 million, and that is in base year dollars.
32 Commissioner McKee said this is the net of the $81 million that was previously given for
33 that exact same configuration three weeks ago.
34 John Talmadge said the $67.5 million in base year dollars equals the $81 million in year
35 of expenditure dollars.
36 Commissioner McKee said he does not see anything in the $237 million to account for
37 the elevated track at Duke.
38 John Talmadge said that was already in the base year budget that was given to FTA as
39 part of the project definition and cost. He said these are things that are being asked for on top
40 of that.
41 Commissioner McKee referred to the additional contingency, and clarified that this is
42 only $60.4 million. He asked if the total contingency could be identified.
43 John Talmadge said total contingency is roughly half a billion dollars, or 22%.
44 Commissioner McKee said basically they have $237 million + $88 million = $325 million
45 shortfall.
46 John Talmadge said there are savings associated with the lower TIFIA interest rates.
47 Commissioner McKee said he realizes there are savings, but he still sees $300+ million
48 that local entities will have to pick up and guarantee by April 30.
49 John Talmadge said that is not the number. He said the total number is north of$200
50 million, and yes, that must be guaranteed by April 30.
18
1 Commissioner McKee said he does not understand how the number can be north of
2 $200 million when the FTA is saying $237 and there is an additional $88 million shortfall on
3 private funding.
4 John Talmadge said the model is a complicated tool, and the number is not $237 + $88
5 million.
6 Commissioner McKee said he distinctly remembers, when the idea of private funding
7 first came up, being told that this would be raised privately, and it was stated with confidence.
8 He said there was no "maybe" or"hopefully" involved. He said he questions that it will come to
9 fruition.
10 John Talmadge said the indication he is getting from his fundraiser is that the
11 corporations need to know that the project is going to go forward and be completed. He said as
12 the necessary steps are taken to get there, the fundraiser believes this will be the signal needed
13 to get the donors to commit.
14 Commissioner McKee said there are new costs associated with capital expense, and he
15 knows Orange County has set a hard limit of$149.5 of capital, and in order for this to hold
16 someone else will have to pick up all the new costs. He asked if there is any guidance available
17 on who will pick up the interest on the new capital costs.
18 John Talmadge said that is part of the conversation with Durham County and the City of
19 Durham.
20 Commissioner McKee asked if Orange County were to pick up the new interest on the
21 new capital costs, would the $149.5 not change.
22 John Talmadge said because of the commitments made in the 2017 transit plans and
23 cost sharing agreements, it is like the capital dollars from the two counties are held separately.
24 He said $149.5 is the commitment from Orange County, which is held the same, then the
25 borrowing that is needed for additional costs is not coming from the Orange County side or the
26 financing of the Orange County $149.5 million. He said it is all coming form the other side, and
27 that is part of the conversations with Durham County and the City of Durham.
28 Commissioner McKee said that is an interesting reply.
29 Commissioner McKee asked if the risk assessment from FTA is the last correspondence
30 GoTriangle has received from FTA.
31 John Talmadge said he would have to check.
32 Commissioner McKee asked if the absolute last date, by which the BOCC would have to
33 endorse a new plan and cost share agreement, could be identified.
34 John Talmadge said the last regular BOCC meeting in April. He said the April 30 is a
35 real deadline, and it would need to be in advance of that.
36 Commissioner McKee said there have been two delays in getting information with hard
37 numbers to the BOCC, and asked if there is any expectation for the BOCC to sign off on either
38 one of these agreements before receiving complete information, if there is another delay of
39 additional information.
40 John Talmadge asked if Commissioner McKee is only referring to the financial
41 information.
42 Commissioner McKee said he is asking if there is any expectation of the BOCC signing
43 off on a new transit plan, or cost sharing agreement, prior to receiving all completed
44 information. He asked if the BOCC will have all completed information before April 30.
45 John Talmadge said the expectation is that a completed financial plan, the updated
46 language to the transit plan, and updated language to the cost sharing agreement would come
47 forward to the BOCC, Durham County, the MPO and GoTriangle once for a meeting to explain
48 it, and a second meeting for action.
49 Commissioner McKee asked if the information comes forward, and Durham declines to
50 accept all of the new costs, will the BOCC be asked to move past the $149.5 million boundary.
19
1 John Talmadge said that would be an option.
2 Commissioner Dorosin said that will all be negotiated in the cost-share negotiating
3 process, which will be brought to both Boards. He said if no consensus is reached, then there
4 will be no cost-sharing agreement. He said Orange County has been very clear that it will not
5 go beyond $149.5 million.
6 Commissioner McKee said he is trying to get to the point of, if Durham does not pick up
7 the money, then who will, and does the project die.
8 Several Commissioners said yes, if there is no money the project cannot proceed.
9 Commissioner McKee referred to information about cost savings, and asked if the
10 elimination of stations, single car trains, running at grade, etc., is being considered.
11 John Talmadge said GoTriangle brainstormed these ideas, and they did not come from
12 the FTA. He said none of these ideas would be easy, and all stakeholders would have to be
13 consulted. He said these ideas would only be utilized once the invitation for bids go out, and
14 contractors come back with costs that are higher than estimates, and higher than the parties
15 believe to be affordable. He said it would be most effective to have these conversations, and a
16 plan in place, prior to this happening.
17 Commissioner Bedford referred to the current cost figures, and asked if GoTriangle has
18 already included the cost to ameliorate the electromagnetic interference (EMI) and the vibration
19 at Duke, or will this be an additional cost.
20 John Talmadge said GoTriangle does not expect there to be additional costs at this
21 time, and the vibration construction estimates assume that the contracts will include terms to
22 manage vibration. He said the only equipment potentially affected by the electromagnetic
23 interference is one electron microscope, and the estimate says that this could be protected with
24 a $40,000 EMI cancellation device. He said if Duke brings forth other concerns, GoTriangle will
25 assess them accordingly.
26 Commissioner Marcoplos clarified that Duke said it was dissatisfied with the solutions for
27 the EMI, and only provided the location of one microscope.
28 John Talmadge said Duke gave a list of assets that was reviewed by the EMI consultant,
29 who identified two electron microscopes and six magnetic resonance imaging machines that
30 may be affected by EMI. He said only one of these items is in a building that would be close
31 enough to the trains for there to be a potential impact. He said there may be other equipment
32 that is of concern to Duke, but GoTriangle is not aware of any at this time.
33
34 John Roberts referred back to the mobile home ordinance, and said the County does
35 have the authority to have an abandoned mobile home ordinance. He said that authority expires
36 in 2023, and the State has a competitive grant program, and Orange County would only qualify
37 for $1000 per mobile home. He said the State has given a little over$1 million from 2008 to
38 2018, which was only good for 594 homes at about $2000 per home. He said the County does
39 have the authority, and as it is a nuisance type issue, it would probably be best under the Solid
40 Waste Ordinance.
41 Commissioner Price said she would like the Board to consider this.
42
43 The meeting adjourned at 9:38 p.m.
44
45 Penny Rich, Chair
46
47
48 Donna Baker
49 Clerk to the Board
1
1 Attachment 3
2
3 DRAFT MINUTES
4 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
5 REGULAR MEETING
6 March 19, 2019
7 7:00 p.m.
8
9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, March 19,
10 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
11
12 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Penny Rich and Commissioners Jamezetta
13 Bedford, Mark Dorosin, Sally Greene, Earl McKee, Mark Marcoplos, and Renee Price
14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: None
15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts
16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Bonnie Hammersley, Deputy County Manager
17 Travis Myren and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members will be identified
18 appropriately below)
19
20 Chair Rich called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
21
22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
23
24 Chair Rich said Item 4-a will be deferred, due to staff illness.
25 The Board agreed by consensus to move Items 11-a and 11- b up to Items 4-b and 4-
26 c, since Bob Marotto, Animal Services Director, was in attendance to address any questions.
27
28 PUBLIC CHARGE
29 Chair Rich acknowledged the public charge.
30
31 Arts Moment
32 Orange County Arts Commission Member Ashley Nissler introduced Joan Barasovka:
33
34 Arts Moment—Joan Barasovska grew up in Philadelphia and lives in Chapel Hill, North
35 Carolina. She is an academic therapist in private practice. Joan co-hosts the Flyleaf Books
36 Second Thursday Poetry Series at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. She serves on the Board of
37 the North Carolina Poetry Society. "Birthing Age", from Finishing Line Press, is her first book of
38 poetry.
39 Joan Barasovska read three poems:
40 First reading: Early March
41 Second reading: The Tower of my Adult Aloneness
42 Third reading: Orange County
43
44 Chair Rich referred to the tragedy in New Zealand, and read some comments about
45 the need to stand up against hatred and acts of violence in any form.
46
47 2. Public Comments
48
49 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda
50 Myra Dodson said she is here to continue her conversation about sewage and
51 sludge/toxic waste that is dumped on farmland in Orange County. She said she is president
2
1 and founder of two non-profit environmental groups: Sewage Sludge Action Network and
2 North American Alliance for Clean Land. She said both groups are dedicated to the
3 elimination of dumping toxic waste on land, and promoting alternative methods of toxic waste
4 disposal. She said Orange County is the 5th most sludge county in the state. She said when
5 sludge is dumped gases are emitted indefinitely from the land. She said the Orange Water
6 and Sewer Authority (OWASA) dumps millions of gallons of toxic sludge annually through
7 Orange and neighboring counties. She said the gases are dangerous to the environment and
8 to the population. She said if Orange County wants to play a conscientious role in slowing, or
9 halting, climate change, this sludge would be a good place to start. She said Orange County
10 should take the lead in researching alternative methods to its disposal.
11 John and Kristen O'Daly submitted the following petition electronically, and asked if it
12 would be added to the minutes:
13
14 A Petition to the Orange County Board of Commissioners to End Participation on
15 Durham-Orange Light Rail (DOLRT)
16 The 1980's concept of connecting the whole Triangle region - Raleigh, Durham, RTP, RDU,
17 and Orange County - with integrated light and commuter rail that would instigate nearby
18 affordable housing, adjacent commercial development, and an ever-diminishing need to use
19 personal vehicles was a good intention. What remains in 2019 is the Durham-Orange Light
20 Rail Transit (DOLRT) project; 17.7 miles of track that come 2030, if completed on schedule,
21 will take an hour each trip from NC Central University to UNC Hospitals. With the most recent
22 development, DOLRT will not be able stop at or near Duke/VA Medical Centers, making it less
23 of an option as alternative transportation. When considering the modest amount of territory
24 covered, and the multi-billion dollar price tag, it appears clear DOLRT retains little of the good
25 intended 30 years ago. Especially to Orange County where there will only be five stops, three
26 of which are on UNC property. All that seems to remain is the passion of a few to construct
27 DOLRT at all cost.
28
29 The cost to plan and build DOLRT is significant. As you are well aware the current estimate of
30 DOLRT's total price with interest is $3.3 billion. With recent changes to Durham sections this
31 estimate will increase before construction begins as planned next year, and experience
32 informs us all that expenses will overrun during the 10 years of construction. The project has
33 already cost Durham and Orange County taxpayers $130 million for pre-construction
34 expenses. This on-going burn rate of nearly $5 million per month for planning costs is hard to
35 justify considering how unlikely it now seems DOLRT will be built.
36
37 At this point there are several difficult hurdles to clear before DOLRT construction can be
38 started. Durham County homeowners being forced to sell their land by eminent domain for the
39 DOLRT maintenance facility are suing to keep their property. Duke University has flatly
40 refused, end of discussion, to accommodate DOLRT near its hospital. The State Legislature
41 deadline of April 30 for the DOLRT project to raise $102.5 million from private sources stands
42 (in early March) at only $15 million raised. Without sufficient private funds by April 30 the
43 project does not qualify to receive $190 million of North Carolina state funds. Without the state
44 or private funds the project does not qualify to receive $1.23 billion in federal funds.
45
46 Looking forward, let's consider the Davenport and Company report finding that Orange County
47 will at times have "a very, very thin margin" of cash to spend on the project through 2062.
48 Weigh such a risk against these pre-determined parameters - of the five DOLRT stations in
49 Orange County - three are on UNC property, Hamilton Road is already developed, and
50 Gateway station is mostly in Durham County - the potential reward does not justify the risk.
51
3
1 With the many legal, funding, and cost challenges now facing this project it does not make
2 sense to continue spending millions of dollars planning the light rail; in fact it does not make
3 sense for Orange County residents to build DORLT at all.
4 Instead we need to be spending this money on transportation, affordable housing, and economic
5 development programs that can be implemented right now, not 10 years from now. The poor
6 cost-benefit of regional light rail was plain enough for Wake County and RTP to abandon it in
7 favor of funding ready-to-go public transportation solutions such as high frequency buses, ride-
8 sharing, and bus rapid transit systems. It is time for Orange County to make this same strategic
9 shift
10
11 For all reasons discussed here we urge the Board of Commissioners to expedite the end of
12 Orange County's participation on DOLRT in order to use the cent sales tax, and other
13 appropriate revenue, to fund currently available mass transit solutions that will catalyze low-
14 cost housing, commercial development, and reduced carbon emissions.
15 Sincerely: John O'Daly and Kristen O'Daly; 3610 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, NC 27517
16
17 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda
18
19 3. Announcements, Petitions and Comments by Board Members
20 Commissioner McKee said he had no comments, except to keep in mind the neighbors
21 in the Midwest who are suffering extensive losses due to flooding.
22 Commissioner Greene said she just returned from the Climate Reality conference this
23 past weekend, where she learned a great deal. She said she learned about cyclone bombs,
24 which is one of the events that has happened in the Midwest. She said these massive
25 weather events are the result of global warming. She said the conference highlighted many
26 ways that global warming can be fought. She said Reverend William Barber was featured at
27 the conference, and she was extremely proud to be his fellow North Carolinian.
28 Commissioner Price encouraged everyone to do more to reduce waste, since the
29 markets for recycling are dwindling.
30 Commissioner Price said she attended the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan
31 Planning Organization (MPO) meeting, and Secretary Trogdon spoke about growth in the
32 Triangle, pointing out that the population growth will only continue in the next few decades.
33 She said there was consensus on working together on multi-modal transportation. She said
34 Secretary Trogdon also referenced light rail, but did not speak to the specific situation in
35 Orange and Durham counties.
36 Commissioner Price said she received a request from a constituent for staff to take a
37 look at the noise and nuisance ordinance.
38 Commissioner Price said there is an item on the consent agenda about foster care,
39 and she asked if staff would provide an update at some point about the status of the children
40 in Orange County.
41 Commissioner Price said that Bob Nutter passed away at age 90, and he had done so
42 much for the sustainability of rural Orange County and Maple View Farms.
43 Commissioner Bedford said she had no comments.
44 Commissioner Marcoplos said he had no comments.
45 Commissioner Dorosin said at the Board of County Commissioners' (BOCC) retreat,
46 the idea of revisiting the Eno Economic Development District (EDD) was discussed; in
47 particular, revisiting this before any additional resources were expended. He asked if staff
48 could provide an update.
49 Bonnie Hammersley said staff is developing criteria to evaluate each EDD, and is not
50 moving forward on the Eno EDD. She said there is currently a hard pause on the Eno EDD.
4
1 Commissioner Dorosin said in the last week or so he attended the Justice Advisory
2 Council meeting, and got information about the Chapel Hill Police Crisis department, as well
3 as a new pre-sentencing investigation pilot program. He said there was also information about
4 the District Attorney's driver's license restoration program. He said it was a good meeting.
5 Commissioner Dorosin said he also attended the Healthy Carolinians meeting. He said
6 Healthy Carolinians conducts an annual community health survey, which will occur in the
7 spring. He said there is a lot of great work being done, and the results will be very useful.
8 Chair Rich said a year ago the BOCC partnered with WCHL for a day long Economic
9 Development summit, and WCHL asked if the BOCC would be doing that again, and on the
10 same topic. She said she did not know if that was the plan, and she would not mind using that
11 as a topic again; but also suggested reviewing the summit from last year to see what the
12 County has achieved since then. She said a report about this would be nice, in order to start
13 talking about holding another one.
14 Chair Rich thanked the youth movement for being the generation that is active in
15 climate change.
16 John Roberts referred to Commissioner Price's comments about the noise ordinance,
17 and said this is a police power ordinance rather than a land use ordinance. He asked if more
18 clarity could be given on the issues raised by the constituent.
19 Commissioner Price said she received calls and emails about gunshots last week, and
20 she explained the limits of the BOCC, but asked if staff could keep this issue in mind as it
21 updates the comprehensive plan.
22 John Roberts said he will follow up.
23
24 4. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations
25
26 a. Update on Current Tax Base and 2021 Countywide Revaluation
27 The Board received an update on the current tax base and 2021 countywide
28 revaluation.
29
30 DEFERRED
31
32 b. Animal Services Advisory Board —Appointments (formerly item 11-a)
33 The Board considered making two appointments to the Animal Services Advisory
34 Board
35
36 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Bedford to
37 appoint the following to the ASAB:
38 • Casey Ferrell to the Non-Municipality position #6 for a First Full Term ending
39 06/30/2021
40 • Lucia Welborne to the Animal Welfare/Animal Advocacy position #10 to a First Full
41 Term ending 06/30/2021
42
43 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
44
45 c. Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool —Appointments
46 The Board considered making four appointments to the Animal Services Hearing Panel
47 Pool.
48
49 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to
50 appoint the following to the Animal Service Hearing Panel Pool:
5
1 • Dr. Laurie Smith to the Town of Chapel Hill position #3 for a Second Full Term ending
2 03/31/2022
3 • Bonnie Hauser to the At-Large position #9 to a First Full Term ending 03/31/2022
4 • Jean Austin to the At-Large Unincorporated County position #12 to a Second Full Term
5 ending 03/31/2022
6 • Amanda Schwoerke to the Animal Services Board Member position #18 for a Second
7 Full Term ending 03/31/2022
8
9 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
10
11 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Bedford to
12 appoint:
13 • Alan Pollack to position #11
14 • Meggie Romack for# 8 (designated for public safety, but can be filled since position
15 has been open for a year)
16
17 Commissioner Marcoplos asked to amend the motion and appoint Alan Pollack for#8
18 and Meggie Romack for#11 (At Large), since Alan Pollack is a certified search and rescue
19 dog handler.
20 Commissioner Dorosin and Commissioner Bedford accepted the amendment.
21
22 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
23
24 5. Public Hearings
25
26 a. NCDOT Public Transportation Division/Public Transportation —5307 Program
27 Grant Applications for FY 2020
28 The Board considered holding a public hearing to approve the Small and Large Urban
29 5307 Grant application for FY 2020 in the total amount of$1,069,154 with a local match total
30 of$534,577 to be provided when necessary.
31 Theo Letman, Transit Director, presented this item:
32
33 BACKGROUND:
34 Each year, the NCDOT Public Transportation Division accepts requests for operations and
35 capital needs for county-operated community transportation programs. OCPT is eligible to
36 make application for both operations and capital funding. The FY 2020 application includes
37 funding allocations from prior year apportionments that had not been applied for.
38
39 NCDOT is allowing the FY 2020 application to include the total funds unapplied for as outlined
40 in the table below:
41
Small Urban: FY's 2015 & 2017 Large Urban: FY's 2016 & 2017
Total $ 674,378 Total $ 394,776
Federal $ 337,189 Federal $ 197,388
Local $ 337,189 Local $ 197,388
42
6
1 Grant funds will continue to be used to support overall transit systems management and
2 operations and will continue to promote general ridership.
3
4 5307 projects/activities will include: in support of Hillsborough Circulator and Flexible fixed
5 service routes - salaries for 2 full-time equivalent (FTE) drivers, an operations manager,
6 maintenance technician (incumbent), occupational therapist for ADA functional assessments;
7 fare card reader system w/ mobile ticketing, new tablets for new dispatching software, id card
8 generator for patrons, marketing materials, and bus stop amenities (Simme seats); contracted
9 services for maintenance and training consultants, and ADA transition plan consultation.
10
11 The public hearing provides the opportunity for public comment before the Board takes action
12 on the Local Share Certification (Attachment 3). These grants were accepted / approved
13 previously by the State on June 1, 2017 for#18-SU-056A and June 29, 2017 for#18-LU-056B.
14
15 FINANCIAL IMPACT: The NCDOT 5307 Program —Operating, Planning, Capital Funding/
16 Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro Urbanized Area allocation (18-LU-056B) and Small Urbanized
17 Governor's Apportionment (18-SU-056A) require a 50% local match (18-SU-056A— $337,189
18 and 18-LU-056B —$197,388)for operating, planning, and capital expenses. The department
19 will utilize currently available carryover funds from Article 43 Transit Tax proceeds to cover the
20 required local match, and will address this in a future Budget Amendment for consideration by
21 the Board of Commissioners.
22
23 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if a simme seat could be defined.
24 Theo Letman said this is a new bus stop design with two seats that can fold out from
25 the post, and has the bus stop signage and schedule posted on it.
26 Commissioner Price referred to the staff positions, and asked if there is a plan to
27 sustain these in future years.
28 Theo Letman said the department gets allocations, but has not been applying for
29 funds. He said these positions are well within the funding sources available to the department.
30
31 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Price to
32 open the public hearing.
33
34 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
35
36 Public Comments
37 NONE
38
39 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin to
40 close the Public Hearing.
41
42 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
43
44 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Marcoplos for
45 the Board to approve the Small and Large Urban 5307 Grant application for FY 2020 in the
46 total amount of$1,069,154 with a local match total of$534,577 to be provided when
47 necessary; to approve and authorize the Chair to sign the 5307 Small and Large Urban
48 Program Resolution; and to authorize the Chair and the County Attorney to review and sign
49 the annual Certifications and Assurances documents when they are published and become
50 available from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
51
7
1 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
2
3 b. North Carolina Community Transportation Program Administrative and Capital
4 Grant Applications for FY 2020
5 The Board considered holding a public hearing to conduct a public hearing to receive
6 public comments on the North Carolina Community Transportation Program (CTP) grant
7 application by Orange County Public Transportation (OPT) for FY 2020;
8 Theo Letman presented this item:
9
10 BACKGROUND: Each year, the NCDOT Public Transportation Division accepts requests for
11 administrative and capital needs for county-operated community transportation programs. OPT
12 is eligible to make application for both administrative and capital funding. The total CTP
13 funding request for FY 2020 is $175,506 for community transportation administrative
14 expenses.
15
16 Grant funds for administrative purposes will continue to be used to support overall transit
17 systems management and will continue to promote general ridership. Administrative Grant
18 funds include a percentage of wages and benefits for the following positions: Transit Director
19 (60%); Transportation Administrator (60%); Business Officer 1 (60%); and Transit Dispatcher/
20 Scheduler (40%).
21
22 A public hearing provides the opportunity for public discussion and comment before the Board
23 takes action on the resolution (Attachment 1). The acceptance of these grant funds requires
24 compliance with the annual certifications and assurances, for which the signature pages are
25 attached. (Note: The attached signature pages are for the certifications and assurances for FY
26 2018 as an example. The FY 2019 certifications and assurances signature pages are very
27 similar to those for FY 2018. However, the County has not yet received those documents from
28 NCDOT. When received, they will be forwarded to the County Attorney and Chair for review
29 and signatures.)
30
31 FINANCIAL IMPACT: The NCDOT CTP FY 2020 grant requires a 15% local match ($26,326)
32 for administrative expenses. The indicated local match amounts for FY 2020 will be requested
33 in the upcoming FY 2020 budget cycle and must be committed from Orange County's budget
34 for the performance period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020, as indicated in the attached
35 Local Share Certification for Funding form. This will require Orange County to obligate funding
36 in its next budget cycle for expenses. A total of$26,326 would come from the County's general
37 operating budget.
38
39 A motion was made by Commissioner Marcoplos, seconded by Commissioner McKee
40 to open the Public Hearing.
41
42 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
43
44 PUBLIC COMMENT:
45 NONE
46
47 Commissioner Dorosin asked if this grant prohibits applying for capital funding.
48 Theo Letman said there were no capital funds allocated for this year.
49 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there will potentially be capital funds in other grants.
50 Theo Letman said there is another capital grant program that the North Carolina
51 Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is going to implement for all its replacement vehicles,
8
1 which is the 5339 program. He said 5311 is very restrictive regarding how the equipment is
2 used, but these same restrictions do not exist under 5339.
3
4 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Greene to
5 close the public hearing.
6
7 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
8
9 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Greene to
10 approve the Community Transportation Program Grant application for FY 2020 in the total
11 amount of$175,506 with a local match total of$26,326 to be provided when necessary;
12 approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Community Transportation Program Resolution
13 authorizing the applicant to enter into an agreement with the North Carolina Department of
14 Transportation (NCDOT) and the Local Share Certification for Funding form; and authorize the
15 Chair and the County Attorney to review and sign the 2019 Certifications and Assurances
16 documents.
17
18 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
19
20 c. Public Hearinq on the Financinq of Various Capital Investment Plan Protects
21 The Board considered holding a public hearing to approve the issuance of
22 approximately $25,985,000 to finance capital investment projects and equipment for the fiscal
23 year; and approve a related resolution supporting the County's application to the Local
24 Government Commission (LGC)for its approval of the financing arrangements. The financing
25 and transaction costs are included in the borrowing amount.
26
27 Gary Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer, and Bob Jessup, Bond Counsel, presented
28 this item:
29
30 BACKGROUND: County staff estimates that the total amount to be financed for capital
31 investment projects, vehicles and equipment will be approximately $25,985,000 including
32 financing costs.
33
34 The statutes require that the County conduct a public hearing on the proposed financing. A
35 copy of the published notice of this hearing is provided (Attachment 1). The notice of public
36 hearing was advertised in The Herald Sun and the News of Orange on March 3 and 6, 2019,
37 respectively.
38
39 After conducting the public hearing and receiving public input, the Board will consider the
40 adoption of the resolution (Attachment 2). This resolution formally requests the required
41 approval from the North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC) for the County's
42 financing, and makes certain finding of fact as required under the LGC's guidelines. County
43 staff has been in contact with the LGC staff, and staff expects no issues to receiving LGC
44 approval.
45
46 If the Board adopts the resolution indicating its intent to continue with the financing plan, the
47 Board will be asked to consider a resolution giving final approval to the financing plans at its
48 May 2, 2019 meeting. Under the current schedule, County staff expects to set the final interest
49 rates and close by the end of May.
50
51 Gary Donaldson made the following PowerPoint presentation:
9
1
2 FY 2018-19 Spring Financing
3 Installment Purchase Agreement
4 Gary Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer
5 March 19, 2019
6
7 Public Hearing Purpose
8 ➢ Board Approval for FY 2018-19 Installment Purchase Financing as authorized under
9 Section 160A-20 of North Carolina General Statutes
10 ➢ Issuance of approximately $25,985,000 to finance capital improvement projects,
11 vehicles and equipment
12 ➢ Approve Resolution supporting Installment Purchase application to the Local
13 Government Commission
14
15 Installment Purchase Terms
16 ➢ Security Pledge- County collateral of Southern Campus and the Meadowlands
17 emergency operations buildings
18 ➢ Maturity Term- 5- 20 Year maturities matches with the useful life of the assets
19 ➢ Estimated Interest Rates- 3%-4% subject to market conditions
20 ➢ Source of Repayment- Property Tax, Article 46 Sales Tax (for Hillsborough EDD Utility)
21 and Solid Waste Fees (for Vehicles and Equipment)
22 ➢ Subordinate Lien to General Obligation Bonds
23 ➢ Current and Projected Ratings- AA1/AA+/AA+ from Moody's, Standard & Poor's and
24 Fitch Ratings
25 ➢ LGC Approval required
26
27 List of Projects to be Financed (chart)
28
29 Financing Calendar
30 Key Dates Task
31 March 3rd and 61h Public Hearing Notice Advertisement in Herald-Sun and News of
32 Orange
33 March 191h Public Hearing and Board Action Adopting Resolution supporting
34 LGC application
35 April 15th — 30th County submits LGC application and credit reviews
36 May 2nd Board action adopting final resolution and financial terms
37 May 7th LGC approves installment purchase financing
38 Week of May 27th Installment purchase closing
39
40 Questions/Comments
41
42 Bob Jessup said he is here to answer any questions.
43 Commissioner Dorosin said the Board will be approving a Capital Investment Plan
44 (CIP) as part of the upcoming budget, and asked if these projects are from past CIPs.
45 Gary Donaldson said yes.
46 Commissioner Dorosin clarified that the projects coming off the list will be placed on a
47 new list in the fall.
48 Gary Donaldson said yes, and once the GMP comes before the Board in the fall, staff
49 will present that to the LGC at its October meeting.
50 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there will be two separate financings sent to the LGC.
51 Gary Donaldson said yes.
10
1 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the Link Center and Government Services Annex
2 remediation, and asked if these are items that have emerged more recently, or were these
3 parts of the original CIP.
4 Gary Donaldson said those are the exceptions that needed budget amendments.
5 Commissioner Price asked if the way this financing fits into the budget could be
6 clarified.
7 Gary Donaldson said staff utilizes a debt model that goes out 20 years, and one of the
8 metrics is a 15% debt service to revenues. He said that is taken into consideration when
9 preparing and updating the CIP. He said this information is shared with the LGC and the
10 rating agencies, which are very comfortable with the County's metrics.
11 Chair Rich clarified that the Board is not approving a $29.5 million number tonight.
12 Gary Donaldson said that is correct, and it is a "not to exceed". He said at the May 2Id
13 meeting, the BOCC will have the refined downsized amount, which is roughly $15.9 million.
14
15 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Price to
16 open the public hearing.
17
18 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
19
20 PUBLIC COMMENT:
21 NONE
22
23 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner McKee to
24 close the Public Hearing.
25
26 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
27
28 A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Commissioner Dorosin for
29 the Board to adopt the resolution supporting the application to the Local Government
30 Commission for approval of the financing
31
32 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
33
34 6. Regular Agenda
35
36 a. Approval of a Financial Assistance Award to Community Home Trust for the
37 Landings at Winmore Apartment Complex
38 The Board considered adopting a resolution to approve a $60,000 financial assistance
39 award to Community Home Trust (CHT) to assist in ensuring adequate operational and capital
40 reserves as it relates to the Landings at Winmore Apartment Complex; and authorize the
41 County Manager to execute the necessary agreement with Community Home Trust (CHT) as it
42 relates to the $60,000 financial assistance award and include the necessary reporting
43 requirements in order to periodically review performance and ongoing improvement of the
44 identified challenges at the Landings at Winmore Apartment Complex.
45 Sherrill Hampton, Housing Director, presented this item:
46
47 BACKGROUND: On February 15, 2019, CHT Executive Director Robert Dowling submitted a
48 request to the County Manager for financial assistance to aid the recently acquired Landings
49 at Winmore Apartment Complex as it relates to the complex's operational and capital reserves.
50 See below for additional information points:
51
11
I Information Points
2 • On May 4, 2011, Orange County made a $300,000 loan to the Landings at Winmore
3 for the development of the 58-unit apartment complex. The loan came from the federal
4 HOME Program funds and the interest rate is 2% per year. The loan matures in May
5 2041.
6 • Community Home Trust (CHT) bought the apartment complex on December 29, 2017
7 and assumed the loan from the County.
8 • The balance of the capital structure for the Landings is as follows:
9 ■ An AHP $1,440,000 First Loan originated by Bank of America with a 2% interest rate
10 and matures in December 2030.
11 ■ An AHP $550,000 Second Loan originated by Bank of America with a 7% interest rate
12 and matures in December 2030.
13 ■ An NC Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA) $4,995,112 loan, provided in lieu of tax
14 credits with no interest and no payments required. The note matures in December
15 2025. If the property remains in compliance until that time, the note will be forgiven.
16 ■ An NCHFA $332,997 Loan that matures in February 2040. The note bears no interest.
17 ■ A United Housing Associates $250,000 Loan that is now assigned to Bank of America.
18 This loan matures in December 2030 and the note bears no interest.
19 • Community Home Trust (CHT) hired Partnership Property Management (PPM) as the
20 property management company in January 2018.
21 • When CHT acquired the property in 2017, the Operating Reserve was $81,938 and the
22 Replacement Reserve was $85,352.
23 • The expenses incurred that were paid from the reserves since CHT's ownership
24 include the following:
25 ■ $22,896.90 of operating reserves for property insurance in October 2018
26 ■ $9,743.66 of operating reserves to pay for a variety of normal maintenance activities,
27 i.e. pressure washing and apartment turnover costs.
28 ■ $17,794.69 of replacement reserves for miscellaneous replacements, i.e. appliances
29 and sprinkler heads.
30 ■ All transfers from both reserves were approved by the NC Housing Finance Agency
31 (NCHFA).
32 • CHT cites three (3) factors that caused the challenges being confronted. Those factors
33 are:
34 ■ The property lost money in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
35 ■ Six (6) apartments were vacant when they acquired the property and vacancies
36 remained high for most of 2018. However, by December 2018, there were only three
37 (3) vacancies.
38 ■ Some apartments, especially two (2), were very expensive to turnover and rent.
39 • Based on an application from CHT, the Orange County Housing and Community
40 Development Department provided $3,500 in Risk Mitigation funds in late
41 January/early February 2019 for one of the aforementioned units.
42 • The Town of Carrboro recently provided $30,000 of a $50,000 request. CHT will submit
43 another request this spring for the remaining $20,000 needed.
44 • The property management company, PPM, has worked hard to address the causes of
45 the losses, i.e. reducing the vacancies and holding tenants accountable to their leases.
46 The financial performance of the property was turning around at the end of 2018. As of
47 today, there are only two (2) vacancies and the rental income is more stable.
48
49 Robert Dowling, Executive Director of CHT, said he came to the Board in the fall of
50 2017, and did not think he would have to come back, but CHT does need more help, and he
12
1 has come back to the Board for that reason. He thanked staff for its ongoing support. He said
2 they will lose money this year, but he hopes to stabilize in 2020. He said the reserves will not
3 be at the levels needed to support 58 units, hence the need for the injection of capital. He said
4 Carrboro has approved $30,000 and he is asking the County for$60,000. He said he will ask
5 Carrboro for an additional $20,000 next week. He said he is also trying to raise money from
6 the private sector.
7 Commissioner McKee said the worst thing would be for this property to operate on a
8 razor's edge, and if things go badly, the reserves will be burned through quickly. He said a
9 lack of investment will lead to further deterioration of this project, which is counter to the
10 County's desires for affordable housing. He said he heartily endorses this request.
11 Commissioner Dorosin said he was the County's representative on the CHT board
12 when taking on this project was being debated, and he said it was a real challenge and
13 represented a change in the way things had previously been done. He said the decision was
14 not made lightheartedly, but with gravitas, as it reflected the priorities set by the BOCC for
15 affordable rental housing in the community.
16 Commissioner Dorosin said he would endorse approving the $60,000 plus more, and
17 asked if the shortfall could be identified.
18 Robert Dowling said his board has directed him to raise $138,000, so he has a $48,000
19 shortfall after funds from the County and Carrboro.
20 Commissioner Dorosin said he is feeling magnanimous, and the importance of the
21 project outweighs the relatively small amount of money that is being requested. He
22 appreciates the presentation, but feels it soft-pedaled the danger this community was in, and
23 the real dangers left by the former owners and managers.
24 Commissioner Dorosin said he would like to see the County put in another$20,000, for
25 a total of$80,000. He said if CHT is able to raise the funds privately, then CHT can return
26 funds to the County. He said this project represents exactly what the Board has been calling
27 on providers to do.
28 Commissioner Price thanked CHT for taking this project on, asked if CHT knows how
29 much more funding it will request next year.
30 Robert Dowling said he does not yet know, and CHT is trying to do valid 20-year
31 projections but it is not yet completed.
32 Commissioner Price asked if the $60,000 being requested now will ensure some
33 security.
34 Robert Dowling said the $60,000 from the County and $30,000 from Carrboro puts
35 them in good shape for the next year.
36 Commissioner Price asked if all the units will be habitable by next year.
37 Robert Dowling said all units are habitable now, and they still have $50,000 in
38 operating reserves and $78,000 in capital replacement reserves. He said the latter replaces
39 HVAC systems, refrigerators, hot water heaters, roof, etc. He said $78,000 will not go very far
40 for four buildings with 58 units.
41 Commissioner Price said the units are currently safe, but asked if there will be
42 replacements needed next year.
43 Robert Dowling said it is a nine-year old property, and replacements will be on an
44 ongoing basis, as the buildings have not been well maintained. He said the replacements will
45 accelerate in the next 5-10 years as the major items will need replacing. He said his board
46 directed him to get the reserves to $138,000, but he is trying to get this right so that his
47 successor does not get left with a problem next January.
48 Commissioner Price said she does not want to see people have to move out due to a
49 lack of funds.
50 Robert Dowling said that will not happen.
51 Commissioner Price said he should be asking for more money.
13
1 Commissioner McKee thanked Commissioner Dorosin for making that suggestion as it
2 aligns with what the Board has said for years. He agreed that $80,000 would be better.
3 Commissioner Greene said she agrees with this suggestion, and she was the Town of
4 Chapel Hill representative on the CHT when its mission expanded to include non-rental
5 housing, which was an example of the CHT evolving to respond to the needs of the
6 community. She said affordable rental housing is the current need, and, again, CHT is trying
7 to respond accordingly.
8 Commissioner Greene said she is now on the CHT as a community member, and has
9 appreciated the process. She said she is glad the issue has come before the Board.
10 Commissioner Bedford asked if there is an additional $20,000 in the County's risk
11 mitigation and housing displacement fund, or should the funds be found elsewhere in the
12 County budget.
13 Sherrill Hampton said there is $20,000 available, but it will take that money from the
14 housing stabilization, risk mitigation and displacement needs.
15 Commissioner Bedford said it may be wise to leave the motion open, and allow staff to
16 work out the best way to secure the source of the funds.
17 Commissioner Marcoplos said he is persuaded by the discussion, and he said this
18 project is in a wonderful location, close to the populated urban area.
19 Commissioner McKee asked if the Board can take the $20,000 from the social justice
20 fund.
21 Bonnie Hammersley said she does not know the current balance of the social justice
22 fund, but staff will find the $20,000 somewhere, if that is the will of the Board.
23 Commissioner Price said she wants to add the additional $20,000 to the request, but if
24 taking it would jeopardize other housing needs, she would like to see the funds come from an
25 alternate source within the County.
26 Chair Rich said she is hearing Board consensus to approve the requested $60,000
27 plus an additional $20,000; and to not take the $20,000 out of the housing fund described by
28 the Housing Director, but rather ask the Manager to find an alternate funding source.
29
30 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Price the
31 Board to adopt a resolution:
32 1) Approving the requested $80,000 in financial assistance for the Landings at Winmore
33 Apartment Complex as it relates to assisting in ensuring that there is adequate
34 operating and capital reserves; and
35 2) Authorizing the County Manager, after consultation with the County Attorney, to
36 execute the necessary agreement with Community Home Trust (CHT) to include the
37 necessary reporting requirements for periodic review of performance and ongoing
38 improvement of the identified challenges at the Landings at Winmore Apartment
39 Complex.
40
41 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
42
43 b. Approval of Proposed Changes to the Affordable Housing Bond Program
44 The Board received a reviewed and considered approving the second phase of
45 proposed changes to the Orange County Affordable Housing Bond Program.
46 Sherrill Hampton presented this item and recognized members from the Affordable
47 Housing Advisory Board (AHAB) and Housing Authority (HA):
48
49 BACKGROUND: On June 6, 2017 the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) awarded $2.5
50 million in Affordable Housing Bond funds to projects that had submitted proposals through a
51 request for proposal (RFP) process. The County received six (6) proposals from affordable
14
1 housing providers. All respondents were local non-profits. One (1) of the proposals was
2 incomplete and therefore was not scored, so five (5) of the six (6) proposals were scored using
3 the original standard scoring criteria.
4
5 Based on the scoring criteria and available funds, four (4) of the five (5) remaining projects
6 were recommended for Affordable Housing (AH) Bond funding. One of the projects submitted
7 by EmPOWERment (606 Bynum Street) was not recommended for funding due to non-
8 availability of AH Bond funds in the applicable funding round. The Board of Commissioners
9 funded this project using other affordable housing funds appropriated in the Capital Investment
10 Plan. See Attachment 1 for an update and information on the funded projects.
11
12 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the CASA projects, and asked if these are moving
13 forward at this point.
14 Sherrill Hampton said CASA submitted an application, and were not funded in 2017;
15 but has re-submitted a revised application, which is in the process of being reviewed, with
16 some additional documentation being submitted in May 2019. She said CASA will receive a
17 decision in August 2019.
18
19 During discussion on June 6, 2017, the Board requested an analysis of the scoring criteria to
20 determine why some projects scored higher than others. On September 19, 2017, County staff
21 proposed recommended changes to the Affordable Housing Bond Scoring Criteria, which were
22 approved by the BOCC. The approved changes and programmatic refinements are highlighted
23 in "yellow" on Attachment 2. Note that items "underlined" on Attachment 2 are the new
24 proposed changes outlined below.
25
26 Staff is requesting approval for additional programmatic changes to ensure that identified
27 County needs are being met, as well as to enhance the operational efficiency and optimization
28 of the Affordable Housing Bond Program. It is recommended that these proposed changes
29 also be applicable to the disposition of County surplus properties for affordable housing
30 projects.
31
32 The proposed changes are as follows:
33 • Add the phrase "or other" to Footnote 1 on Page 1 as it relates to including all types of
34 vouchers in the definition of Special Needs Populations, especially since the County
35 approved the new Local Voucher Program.
36 • On Page 2 of the Scoring Criteria, the following changes are proposed:
37 • Reorganize Section D for clarification purposes and enhance maximum points to be
38 awarded for Questions 2 and 4, as well as reduce the points awarded for Question 5.
39 • Reorganize Section E for clarification purposes and enhance maximum points to be
40 awarded for Question 2, as well as add a new question and points awarded for the
41 project being located in an area of the County that is traditionally underserved.
42 • Under the Scoring Criteria section on Developer Experience on Page 3, add a
43 Question 4: /s the project sponsor a non-profit?The proposed number of points for this
44 new question is "15'. This helps negate an inequitable total score between nonprofits
45 and for-profit developers given earlier changes to the section on Leveraging on Page 1.
46 • The total available score has been increased to 235 given the aforementioned changes
47 to the Scoring Criteria.
48 • Establish application requirements for bond funding based on project size. For future
49 applications, the projects must have a project size of five (5) or more units. If a
15
1 proposed project has less than five (5) units, it must utilize other appropriate County
2 funding sources.
3 Establish maximum grant periods for Affordable Housing Bond-funded and Surplus
4 Property projects:
5
6 Affordable Housing Bond Projects
7 For projects of 5-10 units that involve acquisition only, acquisition/rehab or any
8 combination of eligible activity type, the grant period will be established at the time of
9 the grant award based on the details of the project but should be no more than three
10 (3) years. For projects of more than 10 units that involve any combination of eligible
11 activity type, the grant period will be established at the time of the grant award based
12 on the details of the project but should be no more than five (5) years.
13
14 Surplus Property Projects
15 For projects of 1-4 units that do not involve new construction activity, the grant period
16 will be established at the time of the grant award based on the details of the project but
17 should be no more than one (1) year. For projects of 5-10 units that involve new
18 construction or rehabilitation, the grant period will be established at the time of the
19 grant award based on the details of the project but should be no more than three (3)
20 years.
21 Implement a quarterly reporting requirement for all Affordable Housing Bond-funded
22 and Surplus Property projects.
23 Note that all requests for grant period extensions and/or needed re-authorizations or
24 grant award rescissions will require approval by the Board of County Commissioners.
25
26 Sherrill Hampton said quarterly reporting is required to keep staff and the Board
27 updated on progress, and to also keep a better handle on all the efforts being made towards
28 affordable housing, and a move towards greater coordination of those efforts.
29 Sherrill Hampton said staff held a community grantee and partners' workshop in
30 November 2018, and these changes were presented then, as well as before the Coalition and
31 the Orange County Housing Authority, which allowed staff to gather input and continue to
32 make adjustments. She said staff plans to hold a developers roundtable in the future, in hopes
33 to spur more developers to consider affordable housing.
34 Sherrill Hampton said this is a living breathing process, and staff will continue to come
35 back before the Board.
36 Commissioner McKee referred to the adjustments made on the point scoring system to
37 make a more level field for non-profits and developers, and asked if there has been much
38 interest from the private sector.
39 Sherrill Hampton said not at this point, but she hopes to encourage this.
40 Commissioner McKee said it is important to find a way to attract the private developers.
41 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if there is a process by which staff verifies that these
42 projects are doing what they have said they will do.
43 Sherrill Hampton said when projects get funding they carry affordability restrictions
44 throughout the life of the project.
45 Commissioner Marcoplos said he was thinking about things like the energy efficiency
46 requirements and handicap accessibility. He asked if staff will go back and double check that
47 these things were done.
48 Sherrill Hampton said staff monitors the development and construction of these
49 projects, and the development agreement can include periodic updates after the completion of
16
1 the projects. She said, otherwise, there has been no monitoring of these projects, and she
2 and her team are trying to put such checks in place.
3 Commissioner Marcoplos referred to the transportation category and the point value
4 assignments, and asked if it would be worth assigning more points to those projects that
5 provide transportation to residents.
6 Sherrill Hampton said it could be, and that is at the pleasure of the Board. She said
7 staff likes to work with the transportation department to see how projects coincide with
8 available public transportation. She said it is important to look at the totality of the
9 transportation needs (bus, on demand, etc.), and how the County can meet those needs.
10 Commissioner Marcoplos said if a development has its own transportation, then the on
11 demand services may not be necessary.
12 Commissioner Greene said she wants to know how serious the Board is about
13 investing in new affordable housing that is transit accessible, as transit costs are a huge
14 burden to many people. She said she would like the Board to think about only investing in
15 new projects that have access to transit/transportation, and she proposed that#5 in section E
16 say, "the project is located in the area of the County traditionally underserved by housing
17 development, and if it is a new development, has proximate access to transportation, whether
18 public or provided by the new development."
19 Commissioner Dorosin said there are some challenges here, and asked if that would
20 mean that affordable housing is only built where there is access to transportation. He said the
21 Board would need to be clear as to what it meant, and just because a development provides a
22 van does not mean it offers on-demand service. He said it would be good to have more
23 discussion about the point Commissioner Greene is making, and at some point the cost of
24 building housing in areas traditionally underserved by housing development is going to be
25 significantly cheaper than building it in Chapel Hill or Carrboro. He asked if there is a way to
26 factor in the transit costs, whatever type it may be, to do that.
27 Commissioner Greene said it would not be cheaper to build in the County, and then
28 have to drive into the towns to work.
29 Commissioner Dorosin said it might be comparable, and if the desire is to disperse
30 some of the housing throughout the County, then it is a consideration. He referred to #5 in
31 section E, and said the wording "traditionally underserved by housing development' is fairly
32 ambiguous, and he would like to see more specificity.
33 Commissioner Dorosin referred to the question of the non-profit and for-profit, and said
34 he appreciated adding the points for the non-profits, but the points that go to a project that
35 repays the funds and pays property taxes should be at least equal. He said right now a
36 developer would get 12 points, and a non-profit would get 15 points.
37 Sherrill Hampton said both should be 12, and staff will correct this.
38 Commissioner Dorosin said the change in the number of units is good.
39 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is a timeline for implementation and putting out
40 the request for proposals (RFP) and the next round of money.
41 Sherrill Hampton said the second phase of$2.5 million will be put out between August
42 and September, and she said these will be brought to the BOCC by December, with letters
43 going out in time to sync with an applications being made for low income housing tax credits.
44 Commissioner Greene said transit is an environmental issue, and asked if item D-4
45 could include access to transit as an environmental impact. She said D-5 refers to projects
46 that are connected to a water and sewer community, and asked if the Board would ever
47 support a project that did not meet these criteria.
48 Sherrill Hampton said the board had this in the original plan, and she did not want to
49 delete it.
50 Commissioner Greene said this seems to be a given.
51 Sherrill Hampton agreed.
17
1 Commissioner Greene asked if there was an example of a project not receiving these
2 points.
3 Commissioner Dorosin said if it is a single lot built in the county and needs a private
4 well.
5 Commissioner Greene asked if it this was acceptable, and that type of project would
6 have a hard time meeting many of the other requirements.
7 Sherrill Hampton said a project would need to prove that the size or capacity of the
8 system is adequate to support the development, which would involve talking to environmental
9 organizations and the State.
10 Commissioner Greene said that makes sense, but she thinks one would have to prove
11 that any way and is unsure that points should be awarded.
12 Bonnie Hammersley said she recalled that this came up in discussions about
13 affordable housing being more in urban areas and not rural, and this was added to account for
14 that.
15 Commissioner Greene referred to section H-1, which states, "the experience of the
16 applicant in carrying out projects of comparable scope and nature," and H-2, which states,
17 "applicant has proposed a team with demonstrated development, managerial and financial
18 management capabilities in prior projects," and asked what might happen if an applicant is a
19 church or a community center that is proposing a cluster of small houses or tiny homes. She
20 said that applicant may have no prior experience, but may bring in partners with such
21 experience. She suggested those points should be equal at 10 or possibly 5.
22 Sherrill Hampton said normally an applicant with some experience will carry a weighted
23 score, but the weight can be changed. She said if the applicant does not have direct
24 experience, but their team or partners do this would be of equal value if the point assignments
25 were the same amount.
26 Commissioner Greene said she would change H-3 to, "the applicant and team
27 members collectively have a successful record of meeting proposed budgets and timetables."
28 The Board agreed by consensus.
29 Commissioner Price said she agreed.
30 Commissioner Price referred to transit, and said she would caution limiting projects to
31 where transit is now as staff can work together to create new, or adjust existing, bus routes as
32 development appears.
33 Commissioner Dorosin echoed Commissioner Greene's point of transit being
34 environmental, but he would like them to be separate. He said the other environmental
35 impacts are worth highlighting, and he would not want people to get points twice.
36 Commissioner Dorosin said this is a good revision.
37 Chair Rich referred to the extensions, and asked if there is a limit to the number of
38 times one can come for an extension.
39 Sherrill Hampton said if it is three years, there can be a one-year extension, and it is 5
40 years, there can be a one-year extension.
41 Sherrill Hampton referred to Commissioner Greene's points about experience, and said
42 experience is really the key and she would hate to cut H-1 to just 5 points. She asked if it
43 would be acceptable to keep H-1 at 10 points, and increase H-2 up to 10 points. She said
44 experience is key to the success of the projects.
45 Chair Rich said a lot of changes were made, and asked if the Board was comfortable
46 voting tonight.
47 Commissioner Dorosin suggested bringing it back as a consent agenda item so that
48 the Board can see it one more time.
49 The Board agreed by consensus.
50 Sherrill Hampton said she would like to add in the suggestions about the monitoring,
51 with there being interval monitoring every 5 years, after the completion of the project.
18
1 The Board agreed by consensus.
2
3 c. Recommendations for Employee Health Insurance and Other Benefits
4 The Board considered approving the Manager's recommendations regarding employee
5 health and dental insurance and other employee benefits effective July 1, 2019 through June
6 30, 2020. The Manager is recommending no increase in appropriations for the FY2019/2020
7 Health and Dental budget and is also recommending that the County continue to participate as
8 a member of the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool (NCHIP).
9
10 Brenda Bartholomew, Human Resources Director, introduced David Costa from
11 Gallagher.
12 Brenda Bartholomew is recommending no increase. She reviewed the information
13 below:
14
15 BACKGROUND: The County provides employees with a comprehensive benefits plan,
16 including health, dental and life insurance, an employee assistance program, flexible
17 compensation plan and paid leave for permanent employees. Additionally, the County
18 contributes to the Local Governmental Employee's Retirement System and a supplemental
19 retirement plan.
20
21 The County has been self-funded since January 1, 2014 for medical and pharmacy plans and
22 continues to be self-insured for the dental plan. The County also transitioned from a twelve-
23 month calendar plan year to a twelve-month fiscal plan year in 2015 aligning with the County's
24 fiscal year. In February 2015, the Board of County Commissioners approved Gallagher Benefit
25 Services (GBS) as Broker of Record for the administration of the benefit programs, which
26 include health, dental, vision, and other voluntary programs for employees and retirees.
27
28 In FY2016/2017, the Board of County Commissioners approved the County Manager's
29 recommendation to continue with UnitedHealth Care (UHC) as the County's Third Party
30 Administrator for health insurance programs and granted authority to the County Manager to
31 renew the Third Party Administrator contract with UnitedHealth Care. UnitedHealth Care also
32 provided $25,000 for wellness programs.
33
34 In FY2017/2018, the Board of County Commissioners approved "carving out" pharmacy
35 coverage from UnitedHealth Care and contracted with Envision Rx as the County's Pharmacy
36 Benefit Manager (PBM). This resulted in an expenditure reduction of$141,000 annually for
37 FY2017/2018. The FY2017/2018 total County budget for health insurance for employees and
38 pre-65 retirees was approximately $11.6 million dollars.
39
40 For FY2018/2019, the Board of County Commissioners approved the County's participation in
41 the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool (NCHIP), which included Blue Cross Blue Shield as
42 the health care provider, and approved increasing Health Insurance funding (County share) by
43 $750,000 and the Dental Insurance funding (County share) by $125,521. The County
44 maintained current premium equivalent rates for health insurance and dental coverage for
45 employees and pre-65 retirees. The total FY2018/2019 budget was projected to be
46 approximately $13.3 million (including health savings account contributions) based on
47 increases to current enrollment of 1,068 employees and pre-65 retirees. The County
48 contribution was projected at $11.9 million; representing a 5.9 percent increase.
49
50 Health Insurance
51
19
Current PPO Plan Premium Monthly Monthly Semi Monthly Semi Monthly
Equivalent County Employee County Employee
FY2019/2020 Cost Share Cost Share Cost Share Cost Share
Employee Only $806.59 $806.59 $0.00 $403.30 $0.00
Employee+Child(ren) $1,267.24 $1,037.34 $229.90 $518.67 $114.95
Em to ee+S ouse $1,631.71 $1,222.51 $409.20 $611.26 $204.60
Employee+Family $2,293.71 $1,558.87 $734.84 $779.44$ 367.42
Current HDP Plan Premium Monthly Monthly Semi Monthly Semi Monthly
Equivalent County Employee County Employee
FY2019/2020 Cost Share Cost Share Cost Share Cost Share
Employee Only $680.51 $680.51 $0.00 $340.26 $0.00
Em to ee+Child ren $1,065.16 $916.04 $149.12 $458.02 $74.56
Employee+Spouse $1,369.49 $1,109.29 $260.20 $554.64 $130.10
Em to ee+Famil $1,922.26 $1,441.70 $480.57 $720.85 $240.28
1
2 The total FY2019/2020 budget is projected to be approximately $13.3 million (including health
3 savings account contributions) based on current enrollments for employees and pre-65
4 retirees. The County contribution is projected at $11.9 million assuming that no changes are
5 made to the current employee contribution structure. This represents no increase to the
6 FY2019/2020 budget.
7
8 Through December 2018, Orange County is in a very good position from a reserve perspective
9 with NCHIP. Reserve levels are recommended at 1.25 times total monthly claims; $6.4 million
10 has been funded by Orange County through December 2018; $819,000 has been paid in fixed
11 costs; and $3.9 million paid in claims which results in a $1.7 million reserve. This is well over
12 the recommended reserve level.
13
14 Comparatively, $21.4 million has been funded by all participants of NCHIP through December
15 2018. A total of$16.9 million has been paid for claims resulting in a $4.5 million reserve. Of
16 these reserves, $1.7 million is tied to Orange County.
17
18 The following represents total health care appropriations over the last five years (County and
19 Employee shares):
20
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Health Insurance $11,082,953 $11,784,305 $12,585,606 $13,333,299 $13,333,299
Budget
Health Budget% 6.33% 6.80% 5.94% 0.00%
Increase
21
22 It is recommended that the premium equivalent for the high-deductible plan be decreased by
23 $118 per month for each plan tier. The $118 per month represents 1/12th of the Health
24 Savings Account County funding of$1,416 annually. A total of$363,912 is funded for Health
25 Savings Accounts for FY2018/2019 and is 100% paid by the County. These funds are
26 currently not paid to NCHIP and therefore not necessary to include as part of the high-
27 deductible premium equivalent. The Health Savings Account funding is budgeted separately in
28 the Health Insurance 70 Fund.
29
30 Dental and Vision Insurance
31 Delta Dental is the County's Dental provider and Community Eye Care provides the County's
32 vision plan. The County will continue to provide coverage with Delta Dental and Community
33 Eye Care. Vision premiums are paid 100 percent by employees and to date no increase has
34 been proposed by Community Eye Care. There is no recommended increase to the
35 FY2019/2020 Dental budget. Dental budget and the funding is proposed as follows:
36
20
Projected 2019-20 Dental Costs
$594,604
Proposed EE Contributions $227,532
Proposed OC Cost $367,073
1
2 Monthly rates for dental coverage are listed below:
Premium Tier Monthly Premium Monthly Orange Monthly Employee Semi Monthly
Equivalent County Cost Share Cost Share Employee Cost Share
Delta Employee only $30.49 $30.49 $0.00 $0.00
Dental Employee children $82.32 $34.58 $47.74 $23.87
Employee spouse $73.17 $33.85 $39.32 $19.66
Family $106.71 $36.51 $70.20 $35.10
3
4 David Costa made the following PowerPoint presentation:
5
6 Orange County
7 BOCC Meeting
8 March 19, 2019
9 Action Agenda Item #6-c
10
11 Medical Review YTD
12
13 Monthly Report— Medical / Rx (chart)
14 Budget Comparison I Orange County
15
16 Preliminary Renewal (chart)
17
18 Orange Countyl Rx Rebates (graphs)
19
20 Monthly Report— Dental (chart and graph)
21 Budget Comparison I Orange County
22
23 A motion was made by Commissioner Bedford, seconded by Commissioner Price for
24 the Board to approve no increase to the Health Insurance 70 Fund for FY2019/2020,
25 maintaining the County's current level of health, dental, and other employee benefits, and
26 approve the County's continued participation as a member in the North Carolina Health
27 Insurance Pool (NCHIP).
28
29 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
30
31 7. Reports
32 NONE
33
34 8. Consent Agenda
35 • Removal of Any Items from Consent Agenda
36 None
37
38 • Approval of Remaining Consent Agenda
39
40 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner McKee to
41 approve the items on the consent agenda.
21
1
2 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
3
4 Discussion and Approval of the Items Removed from the Consent Agenda
5
6 a. Minutes
7 The Board approved the minutes from March 7, 2019.
8 b. Fiscal Year 2018-19 Budget Amendment #7
9 The Board approved budget and grant project ordinance amendments for fiscal year 2018-19
10 to Department on Aging; Visitor's Bureau Fund; Orange Rural Fire Department; and
11 Department of Social Services.
12 c. Eno River Farmer's Market— License Agreement Renewal
13 The Board approved the renewal of a license agreement, for a period of three years, between
14 Orange County and the Eno River Farmers Market (ERFM) for Saturday use of the David
15 Price Farmers' Market Pavilion.
16 d. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) — Receipt and Transmittal
17 of 2019 Annual Technical Advisory Committee Report
18 The Board received the 2019 Annual Report of the SAPFO Technical Advisory Committee
19 (SAPFOTAC) and agreed to transmit it to the SAPFO partners for comments before
20 certification in May.
21 e. Marketing Communications Management Agreement with Clean Design, Inc.
22 The Board approved a professional services agreement for tourism marketing and advertising
23 with Clean Design, Inc. of Raleigh, NC.
24 f. Approval to Purchase Real Property— Knight Property, and Approval of Budget
25 Amendment#7-A.
26 The Board authorized Orange County's purchase of approximately 13 acres of land on NC 54
27 near Mebane Oaks Road from Eric Knight, owner of Steel String Brewery, for a NC Mountains-
28 to-Sea Trail corridor and trailhead or "hub," and approved Budget Amendment#7-A.
29 q. Acceptance of Real Property Donation — Future Millhouse Road Park Addition
30 The Board authorized Orange County's acceptance of the donation of approximately 10 acres
31 of land from the Dorothy Gochnauer Heirs for an addition to the future Millhouse Road Park.
32 h. Adoption of a Prequalification Policy for Contractors
33 The Board approved a contractor prequalification policy as part of the bidding process for the
34 Orange County Northern Campus development as required by North Carolina General
35 Statutes.
36 i. Approval of a Construction Contract for the Remediation, Repair, and
37 Reconstruction of the Phillip Nick Waters Emergency Services Building
38 The Board approved a construction contract with Sasser Companies for the remediation,
39 repair, and reconstruction of the Phillip Nick Waters Emergency Services Building.
40
41 9. County Manager's Report
42 Bonnie Hammersley asked if the Board would review the information items, especially
43 the one pertaining to the library's strategic planning process.
44
45 10. County Attorney's Report
46 NONE
47
48 11. *Appointments
49 a. Animal Services Advisory Board —Appointments - DONE ABOVE
50
51 b. Animal Services Hearing Panel Pool —Appointments - DONE ABOVE
22
1
2 c. Arts Commission —Appointment
3 The Board considered making one appointment to the Arts Commission.
4
5 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Greene to
6 appoint the following:
7
8 Delia Keefe to the At-Large position #15 for a Second Full Term ending 03/31/2022
9
10 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
11
12 d. Board of Equalization and Review—Appointment
13 The Board considered making ten appointments to the Board of Equalization and
14 Review.
15
16 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Bedford to
17 appoint to the Board of Equalization and Review:
18 Hunter Beatie as a Regular Member with a term ending 9/30/2021
19
20 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
21
22 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Bedford to
23 appoint:
24
25 Daron Satterfield as a Regular Member with a term ending 9/30/2021
26
27 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
28
29 A motion was made by Commissioner Marcoplos, seconded by Commissioner Bedford
30 to appoint:
31
32 Pam Davis as a Regular Member—with a term ending 9/30/2021
33
34 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
35
36 A motion was made by Commissioner Dorosin, seconded by Commissioner Bedford to
37 appoint the following as Alternate Members:
38 • Barbara Levine as an Alternate Member with a term ending 9/30/2021
39 • Reginald Morgan as an Alternate Member with a term ending 9/30/2021
40 • Blaine Schmidt as an Alternate Member with a term ending 9/30/2021
41
42 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
43
44 A motion was made by Commissioner Marcoplos, seconded by Commissioner Bedford
45 to appoint Pam Davis as the Chair.
46
47 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
48
49 e. Historic Preservation Commission — Appointments
23
1 The Board considered making three appointments to the Historic Preservation
2 Committee.
3
4 A motion was made by Commissioner Price, seconded by Commissioner Greene to
5 appoint the following to the Historic Preservation Commission:
6
7 • Susan Ballard to the At-Large position #5 for a First Full Term ending 03/31/2022
8 • Art Menius to the At-Large position #6 to a Second Full Term ending 03/31/2022
9 • Todd Dickinson to the At-Large position #7 to a Second Full Term ending 03/31/2022
10
11 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
12
13 12. Information Items
14 • March 7, 2019 BOCC Meeting Follow-up Actions List
15 • Memo Regarding Highlights of Library Accomplishments for Summer/ Fall 2018
16
17 13. Closed Session
18
19 A motion was made by Commissioner Greene, seconded by Commissioner McKee to
20 go into closed session at 8:58 p.m. for the purpose below:
21
22 "To discuss matters related to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in
23 the area served by the public body, including agreement on a tentative list of economic
24 development incentives that may be offered by the public body in negotiations," NCGS § 143-
25 318.11(a)(4).
26
27 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
28
29 RECONVENE INTO REGULAR SESSION
30
31 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Greene to
32 reconvene into regular session at 9:25 p.m.
33
34 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
35
36 14. Adjournment
37
38 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Greene to
39 adjourn the meeting at 9:25 p.m.
40
41 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
42
43 Penny Rich, Chair
44
45
46 Donna Baker
47 Clerk to the Board