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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-07-2005-10bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: September 7, 2005 Action Agenda Item No. M-6 SUBJECT: Update on Orange County Schools Facility Use DEPARTMENT: Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No ATTACHMENT(S): 6/30/05 Staff Meeting Summary INFORMATION CONTACT: John Link or Rod Visser, ext 2300 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 PURPOSE: To receive an update related to County and public use of Orange County Schools facilities. BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners has had a long-standing expectation that school facilities should be available for public use to the maximum extent possible. The County and Orange County Schools have for many years cooperated regarding the use of school facilities for recreation purposes, but the BOCC has also indicated that it would like to increase the accessibility of OCS athletic facilities to the general public. County and OCS staff met over the summer to resolve some outstanding facility use issues and to discuss a process for updating one or more agreements that would govern County use and public access to athletic facilities. A summary of that meeting discussion is attached. County staff will provide a verbal report on progress to date regarding enhanced access to OCS facilities. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with receipt of this report. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report for information only at this time. ORANGE COUNTY SCHOOLS FACILITY FEES MEETING SUMMARY JUNE 30, 2005 ATTENDING: Shirley Carraway, Pat Harris, Gwen Harvey, Paul Laughton, John Link, George McFarley, Lori Taft, Rod Visser, Ardra Webster, Ann Wilkerson Orange County and Orange County Schools staff met on Thursday, June 30 to discuss: outstanding facility use fees owed by the County to OCS for 2004-05; possible collaborative arrangements for County use of, and financial support for, OCS facilities in 2005-06; and ways to enhance public accessibility to school facilities, especially tennis courts, in the future. The following were some of the major points of discussion: • The group identified a list of major issues/interests, from both the OCS and County perspectives, and systematically reviewed how, by whom, and to what extent those might be addressed • OCS staff will take the next step at examining how security at Cedar Ridge HS might be reworked to expand tennis court and track access to the public while minimizing the potential for vandalism • OCS and County staff will review the 2004-05 fees, make sure they are mathematically accurate and legitimate, figure out what's due, and the County will get the bill paid • OCS staff explained in general terms the energy management contract that is in place that requires them to achieve certain utilities cost reductions or pay penalties to the energy management contractor; this is one reason why OCS staff must be so particular about managing activities in or on school facilities outside of normal school hours OCS staff estimate that the cost to completely redo the Orange HS tennis courts will run from $45,000 to $60,000; OCS has $30,000 budgeted for this; in keeping with the long-standing agreement that the County and OCS will split tennis court maintenance costs, the Manager will recommend that the BOCC consider at their August 16, 2005 meeting appropriating funds for the County's share of this project; OCS staff will work out with school teams the 7-10 days of downtime that will be needed for the court repair project to be completed later this summer OCS staff will examine the degree to which OHS staff might be able to relieve Rec & Parks staff of some responsibility (and cost) for opening OHS tennis courts on school days OCS staff will take the lead in checking with the electric company the feasibility of putting OHS tennis court lights on timers (the bill for OHS court lights comes directly to Rec & Parks staff and is paid by the County) OCS staff will rework and update the previous contract governing OHS facilities and send it to County staff for comment; County staff will then send the contract back to OCS staff, so they can have OCS Attorney finalize the contract for Board of Education action Other contractual work will be needed (e.g. governing athletic facilities at Cedar Ridge and other schools), but that can be done later than and separate from the OHS facility contract; at some point, it may make sense to roll all such arrangements into one overall contract, but staffs recommend that the OHS contract matter not be held up pending efforts to pursue one comprehensive contract Contract(s) need to emphasize building cleanliness, security, and energy management considerations Staffs will pursue the establishment of an annual contract that would set a flat compensation amount (essentially, a retainer) from the County to OCS for the planned and scheduled use of OCS facilities by all County departments (not just Recreation & Parks); this will require County departments to identify each summer their requested uses of OCS facilities for the upcoming academic year; OCS staff would then coordinate those requests with school principals to determine what requests can be worked into the individual school schedules; once the master schedule is set at the beginning of the year, changes would be worked in as it is possible to do so; OCS staff could prepare a revised bill at year end if they believe actual use by the County of OCS facilities deviated significantly from what was covered by the retainer • County staff understand the OCS staff need to recoup their utility, operating, and custodial costs; the retainer should be determined to fall somewhere between the calculation of measurable hard costs plus other softer/less quantifiable costs • The County Manager plans to discuss the status of arrangements with OCS for facility use at the August 2005 Department Head meeting