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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 04-29-2002 - Agenda AbstractASSEMBLY OF GOVERNMENTS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 29, 2002 SUBJECT: Assembly of Governments Discussion DEPARTMENT: County and Towns PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): As Noted in "Background" INFORMATION CONTACT: County and Town Managers COUNTY TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 9684501 PURPOSE: To discuss topics noted in the background section. BACKGROUND: FY 2002 and FY 2003 Local Government Budgetary Concerns Orange County and its municipalities are facing budgetary challenges in the current and upcoming fiscal years that are unprecedented in recent memory. The Governor's announced withholding of millions of dollars of revenue due to the County and Towns is exacerbating a situation already adversely impacted by the slowed economy in North Carolina and the corresponding reduction in some major categories of local government revenue. Managers will provide a brief outline of the impacts these factors have had and are likely to have on FY 2001-02 and FY 2002-03 budgets. Elected officials will have the opportunity to discuss what measures that the governments might pursue individually or collectively to deal with the situation. No Attachments Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan Amendments a. Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan Amendments for the Northwest Area At the Joint Planning Area Public Hearing on April 11, 2001, a series of amendments in Chapel Hill's Northwest Area were presented. The purpose of the amendments was to promote consistency with the new Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan adopted on May 8, 2000. The amendments were: 1. Changing the designation of land south of Eubanks Road from "Open Space" to "Low Residential" 2. Changing the designation of land north of Eubanks Road, between the existing landfill and Millhouse Road, from "Mixed Use, Office Emphasis" to "Open Space." 3. Changing the designation of parcels between Millhouse Road and Interstate 40 from "Mixed Use, Office Emphasis" to "Rural Residential." Adoption of the amendments by Orange County was delayed pending completion of discussions on the final disposition of the Greene Tract which is also located in the Northwest Area. Attachment 2a -Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan Amendments for the Northwest Area b. Southern Portion of Chapel Hill Transition Area Within Joint Planning Area Though not an area considered at the April 2001 public hearing, the Chapel Hill Southern Triangle Transition Area was also affected by the new comprehensive plan. This area is bordered by Chatham County to the south, Old Lystra Road to the east, and the Chapel Hill extraterritorial planning jurisdiction (ETJ) and US 15-501 to the north. Adoption of the new Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan in May, 2000 resulted in a northward shift of the Urban Service Boundary away from the Southern Triangle Transition Area. A report on progress toward adoption of the amendments by Orange County and a review of the land use, zoning, and jurisdictional context for this area will be provided. Attachment 2b -Southern Portion of Chapel Hill Transition Area Within Joint Planning Area Refresher on Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement a. Greene Tract Disposition/Reimbursement The Greene Tract Work Group (comprised of Moses Carey, Margaret Brown, Kevin Foy, Bill Strom, Jacquie Gist, and Alex Zaffron) has met six times thus far to discuss options for the future disposition of the 100+ acres of the Greene Tract that remain in joint ownership. They also sponsored a public forum in November 2001 during which comments received from citizens essentially confirmed three proposed basic uses for that property -open space, affordable housing, and recreation -that had been suggested last fall by the governing boards of Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill. The Work Group has made substantial progress towards a recommended concept plan for the remainder of the Greene Tract. The Work Group adopted a resolution (with a map incorporated by reference) at their March 21, 2002 meeting that reflects that progress, and requests that the three governing boards agree to a 60 day extension of the bargaining period to permit additional Work Group effort to reach full consensus on a concept plan. Work Group members and staff will report briefly and entertain questions from other elected officials regarding the status of discussions to resolve the disposition of the Greene Tract. A Work Group document reflecting approximate dollar amounts that each jurisdiction will ultimately owe to the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund is provided for information. Attachment 3a-1 3/21/02 Greene Tract Work Group Resolution w/Concept Plan 4 Attachment 3a-2 Estimated Greene Tract ReimbursementAmounts b. Commercial Solid Waste Collection/Disposal The Towns are considering, and in some cases, have made various decisions regarding possible changes to the approaches they employ for collection of commercial solid waste within their jurisdictions. Elected officials may wish to discuss commercial solid waste collection and disposal in the context of the 1999 interlocal agreement regarding solid waste management. No Attachments c. Other Significant Provisions of Interlocal Agreement Staff will briefly review a number of provisions in the 1999 interlocal agreement that help guide staff and elected officials in carrying out various County and Town responsibilities under the agreement. Attachment 3c - 8/17/99 Agreement for Solid Waste Management 4. Mental Health Reorganization Tom Maynard, Director of Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health, will provide a short update on the status of mental health reorganization at the state and county level. Attachment 4a -February 2002 OPC and System Reform Newsletter Attachment 4b - Apri12002 OPC and System Reform Newsletter Shaping Orange County's Future Update The SOCF Task Force began its work in December 1996 and completed a set of Provisional Recommendations in April 2000. The Task Force met on September 12, 2001 concerning the completion of the project. They agreed by consensus to: a. Declare the Provisional Recommendations to be the completed report, except for some style and format changes; b. Make final style and format changes to improve readability of the report; c. Issue the final report with press release as a newspaper insert; and d. Take steps toward creation of a "Citizen's Roundtable," as a continuing legacy and mechanism for community building. Also, the County Commissioners suggested that County departments prepare reports on progress toward Task Force recommendations. County departments completed their status reports during the fall of 2001. This was followed by a request that municipal governments do likewise in January 2002 (see County Manager correspondence). Responses have now been received from all of the towns and are attached. Remaining steps are to re-package the report into a more reader-friendly version and publish it as a newspaper insert. It has been suggested that a specialist in graphics 4 and text layout be utilized in the final design of the report. Funds remain in the project budget for final editing and printing of the report. Completion of the SOCF Report is very timely as it coincides with work currently underway on a new Land Use Element of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan. Many issues that the new plan will address were thoroughly reviewed in the SOCF process. As such, SOCF strategies will factor strongly into the development of goals, objectives, policies, and implementation tools to be incorporated into the new Land Use Element. Attachment 5a - 1/17/02 County ManagerLetter to Town Managers Attachment 5b-Chapel Hill Comments on SOCF Report Attachment 5c - Carrboro Comments on SOCF Report Attachment 5d-Hillsborough Comments on SOCF Report FINANCIAL IMPACT: As noted above, or explained in meeting discussion. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Managers recommend that the Boards discuss the topics noted and provide appropriate direction to staff.