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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 01-18-2001-9bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: January 18, 2001 Action Age da Item No. SUBJECT: Creation of Proposed Capital Needs Advisory Task Force and Approval of Task Force Charge DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Proposed Task Force Charge John Link, ext 2300 General Task Force Schedule One Sample Scenario.for Facility Improve- TELEPHONE NUMBERS: ments with November 2001 Bond Issue Hillsborough 732-8181 Current Recruitment Notice for Potential Chapel Hill 968-4501 Task Force Appointees Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To approve the creation of, structure, and charge to a proposed Capital Needs Advisory Task Force. BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners has discussed its intention to create and appoint a Capital Needs Advisory Task Force to review school and County capital needs and provide advice to the Board concerning the composition of a proposed November 2001 Orange County bond referendum. Items recommended to the County for inclusion in this possible bond issue will be referred to the Task Force for review and prioritization along with other proposed recommendations. In conjunction with the Chair, staff drafted 1) a proposed charge to the proposed Capital Needs Advisory Task Force and 2) a possible plan for the size and membership of the Task Force. As part of the Task Force's activities, the Board would direct that the Task Force focus on specific criteria and utilize current policies and documents to guide its work. These parameters for Task Force work are detailed in the. proposed charge, which is attached. The Board may wish to add to, or otherwise modify the suggested elements of the charge. Upon approval of the charge and appointment of the Task Force members, the charge will be delivered to the members so that they can begin reviewing the necessary information, applying the criteria, and formulating proposed recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. The Task Force will consider all recommendations and submit a prioritized list to the Board of Commissioners for consideration for bond issue. In its deliberations, the Board of Commissioners will consider the County Budget Office's initial estimate of the potential tax rate impacts from the debt service of approximately $70 million for the total bond package. Because of the tight timeframe, the Board of Commissioners may want to move forward with approval of the charge and structure for the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force during the January 18, 2001 meeting. If this occurs, the Board could likely appoint Task Force members at its January 29, 2001 work session (recruitment for potential members has already been initiated).' This would permit the Task Force to hold its initial meeting in February and provide adequate time for the meetings that may be necessary for the Task Force to complete its work by May 2001. A suggested composition of the Task Force is: • Two members nominated by'the Orange County Board of Education, • Two members nominated by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education; • One member nominated by the Orange County Parks & Recreation Advisory Council; • One member nominated by the Commission for the Environment; • One member nominated by the Advisory Board on Aging; and • Six-Eight members appointed at-large by the Board of Commissioners. In addition, the Board of Commissioners may consider 1) the appointment of one member each from the Affordable Housing Task Force and the Community College Mask Force, and 2) the appointment of one elected official each from the Town of Chapel Hill, the Town of Carrboro, the Town. of Hillsborough, and (possibly) the City of Mebane. The Board of County Commissioners may also want to consider creating sub-Committees of the Task Force to review specific areas associated with a bond issue. The sub-Committees could be classified into the areas of: Schools, Public Buildings, and Parks and Open Space Facilities. The sub-Committees could be limited to twelve (12) each plus staff. As was the case in 1997, the Board may also wish to consider retaining the services of an external facilitator to assist the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force. The Task Force received assistance from the Dispute Resolution Center, and that may be worthwhile again for the 2001 process. Three related documents are attached for informational purposes only. They are: 1) a general schedule for the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force; 2) a copy of one sample scenario for facility improvements supported by a November 2001 bond issue; and 3) a copy of the current recruitment notice for potential Capital Needs Advisory Task Force appointees. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no immediate financial impact related to.this item. Costs for administrative, logistical, and facilitator support for the Task Force would likely not exceed $10,000 and could be substantially less depending on the size and structure of the Task Force and the number of meetings required. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the charge to, and composition of, the Capital Needs Advisory Committee; and direct staff to arrange for the services of a qualified facilitator. ., . DRAFT CHARGE TO THE CAPITAL NEEDS ADVISORY TASK FORCE The Orange County Board of Commissioners has created a Capital Needs Advisory Task Force to review school and County capital needs and provide advice to the Board concerning the composition of a proposed November 2001 Orange County bond referendum. Items recommended to the County for inclusion in this possible bond issue will be referred to the Task Force for review and prioritization along with other proposed recommendations. As part of the Task Force's appointment and its efforts, the Board directs that the Task Force focus on specific criteria and utilize current policies and documents to guide its work. These parameters for Task Force work are detailed in the charge below. Upon approval of the charge, it will be delivered to the Task Force so that the members can begin reviewing the necessary information, applying the criteria, and formulating proposed recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. The Task Force will consider all recommendations and submit a prioritized list to the Board. of Commissioners for consideration for bond issue. In its deliberations, the Board of Commissioners will consider the County Budget Office's initial estimate of the potential tax rate impacts from the debt service of approximately $70 million for the total bond package. The Capital Needs Advisory Task Force will be charged with the following: • Review the immediate needs for new schools in the 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), as identified by the Orange County and Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools • Review the capital needs identified by County departments in requests submitted for the 2001-2011 CIP • Familiarize itself with long range school capital funding policies as adopted by the Board of Commissioners • Familiarize itself with recommendations developed by the School Construction Standards Task Force, the Space Needs Task Force, the Affordable Housing Task Force, the Community College Task Force, the Library Task Force, and the Master Aging Plan (MAP) • Familiarize itself with the Lands Legacy Program and future recommendations and plans 3 • Confirm the need for, and timing of, new school construction projects, considering current and projected student populations DRAFT • Provide'recommendations on the possible elements of a November 2001 bond referendum with the items listed in order of importance from most important to less important • Provide recommended sizes and estimated costs for each bond referendum element recommended by the Task Force as well as any portion of the costs shared by the proposing/recommending entities • Ensure that each recommended element complies with the appropriate adopted policies of Orange County for Joint Capital Facilities Development, the Orange County Debt Management Policy, and the Orange County Capital Funding Policy as well as all other relevant adopted policies of the County • Ensure that all elements are accessible to and serve residents throughout Orange County 4 0 Complete its work by May, 2001 DRAFT ORANGE COUNTY NOVEMBER 2001 BOND REFERENDUM Schedule for Capital Needs Advisory Task Force a) BOCC advertise for volunteers December 2000 and January 2001 b) BOCC review apps & appoint volunteers to task force No later than mid-February 2001 c) Organizational meeting of task force Late February-First week of March 2001 d) Task force & sub committee meetings March, April, May 2001 e) Task force recommendations to BOCC First meeting in June 2001 f) BOCC discussion of recommendations First & second meetings in June 2001 SECOND DRAFT ORANGE COUNTY NOVEMBER 2001 BOND REFERENDUM ONE SAMPLE SCENARIO FOR FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS SUPPORTED BY NOVEMBER 2001 BOND ISSUE Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Elementary School #9 (Meadowmont) $13 Million Elementary School #10 $13 Million Orange County Schools Middle School $18 Million Senior Centers (Two at $3 Million Each) $ 6 Million Public Buildings $ 5 Million Community College Justice Facilities Parks and Recreation $15 Million (including Soccer Fields, Open Space, Conservation Easements, Watershed Protection, and Parks) Affordable Housing $ 2 Million TOTAL: $72 Million (Please note that the items and numbers above were compiled by Commissioner Halkiotis, Commissioner Jacobs, and staff just to present a "possible case scenario" of what the November 2001 bond might look like and just to get the discussion going amongst ourselves.) 6 t VOLUNTEERS NEEDED. 7 CAPITAL NEEDS ADVISORY TASK FORCE PROPOSED NOVEMBER 2001 BOND REFERENDUM THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS IS RECRUITING CITIZENS TO SERVE ON A TASK FORCE WHICH WILL BE CHARGED WITH, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING ITEMS : • Review the immediate needs for new schools in the 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), as identified by the Orange County and Chapel_Hill-Carrboro City Schools • Review the capital needs identified by County departments in requests submitted for the 2001-2011 CEP • Familiarize itself with long-range school capital funding policies as adopted by the Board of Commissioners • Familiarize itself with recommendations developed by the School Construction Standards Task Force, the Space Needs Task Force, the Affordable Housing Task Force, the Community College Task Force, the Library Task Force, and the Master Aging Plan (MAP) • Familiarize itself with the Lands Legacy Program and future recommendations and plans • The Task Force will be divided into subcommittees to address specific areas associated with the bond issue • Confirm the need for, and timing of, new school construction projects, considering current and projected student populations • Provide recommendations on the possible elements of a November 2001 bond referendum with the items listed in order of importance from most important to less important • Provide recommended sizes and estimated costs, for each bond referendum element recommended by the Task Force as well as any portion of the costs shared by the proposing/recommending entities • Ensure that each recommended element complies with the appropriate adopted policies of Orange County for Joint Capital Facilities Development, the Orange County Debt Management Policy, and the Orange County Capital Funding Policy as well as all other relevant adopted policies of the County • Ensure that all elements are accessible to and serve residents throughout Orange County • Complete this work by May, 2001 Because of the tight timeframe, the Board of Commissioners will consider creation of the Capital Needs Advisory Task Force and appointment of its members at the Board's January 29, 2001 meeting. Therefore, please submit applications for the Task Force by noon, January 26, 2001. You may complete or download an application online, at the Orange County web site at www.co.orange.nc.us . Or, please contact the office of the Clerk to the Board at (919) 245-2125 Q %V 1DM0V1&TDak4&-A {.ym or 245-2130 or email npaciaaAco.orange, nc.us for more information or to request an application. We'll send you an application immediately.