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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - 03-29-2001-7 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 29, 2001 Action Agenda Item No. - - -~ SUBJECT: Possible Waiver of County/Municipal/Utility Development Fees for School Construction DEPARTMENT: County Manager/Budget PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): 3/22/01 Budget Director Memo Table: New School Construction Permits and Fees Chapel Hill Durham Mebane INFORMATION CONTACT: Rod Visser, ext 2300 Donna Dean, ext 2151 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 968-4501 688-7331 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To continue discussion of a proposal to pursue the waiver of local government and public utility fees related to the development and construction of new school sites and facilities. BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners and Boards of Education share an interest in constructing high quality school facilities at reasonable cost. To that end, the Commissioners have expressed a willingness to support the school boards in approaching the municipalities and public utilities with requests that they waive or minimize the fees that they impose for development review activities associated with school construction projects. County and school staffs have collaborated to compile figures that reflect development-related fees that have been paid (or are anticipated) by both school systems for school construction projects in recent years. The boards may wish to discuss steps that could lead to reductions or waivers in development related fees that would lower the direct casts of new school construction projects. This topic was scheduled for discussion at the joint work session on March 28, 2001, between the Board of Commissioners and the two school boards. The BOCC may wish to continue that discussion at this March 29 work session, as needed, depending on how the topic was concluded at the March 28 work session. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact directly related to the discussion of this proposal. However, if successfully implemented, the proposal could lead to lower upfront capital construction cost for school projects. It could also lead, in some cases, to lower County fee revenue for school projects where County fees are waived or reduced. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board discuss the proposal further, as needed, and provide appropriate direction to staff. ORANGE COUNTY BUDGET OFFICE 2 Donna Dean, Budget Director 208 South Cameron Street, Post Office Box 8181 • Hillsborough, NC • 27278 Phone: 919-245-2151 • Fax: 919-644-3324 E-Mail: ddean@ca.orange.nc.us To: Board of County Commissioners Jahn M. Link, Jr., County Manager From: Donna Dean, Budget Director Subject: Development Related l=ees for School Construction Date: March 22, 2001 At the December retreat, the Board raised concerns about the amount of money that local school districts are required to expend far local review fees and other requirements they plan and construct new schools. It is important to make the distinction between (1) fees that the County, the Towns and OWASA may charge for particular inspections or services and (2) costs for additional requirements to meet particular local ordinances or codes. Most local governments and public utility companies assess user fees to offset costs of providing those services -the majority of which are State mandated. Examples of these fees include plan reviews, use and building permits, and connection or tap fees. In addition, entities may also require that a construction project meet particular local codes or ordinances. Examples of these types of requirements include construction of sidewalks, road improvements, and installation of building sprinkler systems. Fees Assessed for Project Review and Approval I recently contacted representatives from local government entities and OWASA regarding typical fees that potentially could be assessed to a school system during a construction project. I am currently compiling this information and will have it available at the meeting with the School Boards next Wednesday night. Attachment 1 of this memorandum provides, by recent school construction project, the fees that each district has paid to local and State agencies. Additional Requirements to Meet Local Initiatives As stated earlier, in addition to review and permit fees, local, state and federal agencies may require each school system to meet particular requirements or codes. The requirements and costs for these elements vary with each construction project. Both school systems have provided specific examples for recent projects. Examples of local requirements associated with CHCCS Smith Middle School include $23,265 for upgrading existing sewer lines (required by OWASA) and $28,497 for roadway improvements required by NC Department of - 2 - March 26, 2001 3 Transportation. It is interesting to Hate that the Town of Carrboro requires that applicants reimburse the Tawn for 8p percent of its engineering services, and this cost is included in the Smith Middle School project. For East Chapel Hill High School, the Town of Chapel Hill required CHCCS to increase the number of parking spaces in order to accommodate potential overflow from a Town park located across the street. In addition, the school system was required to construct a pedestrian walkway located on property adjacent to the high school. While the school district did incur additional costs for these items, staff was not able to identify the specific costs of these additions. Other examples required during construction of new schools in both systems include installation of sprinkler systems, removal of site clearing debris (instead of burning), and installation of storm water management systems. Feel free to contact me if you have additional comments or questions. 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