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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-27-2002 - 9b 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 27, 2002 Action Agen�tad Item No. SUBJECT: Durham Technical Community College Satellite Campus in Orange County Site Selection DEPARTMENT: Purchasing and Central PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No Services and Durham Technical Community College ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: John Link, (919)245-2300 Pam Jones (919) 245-2652 Dr. Phail Wynn and Barbara Baker, Durham Technical Community College TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732.8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To Consider a site selection process for a Durham Technical Community College satellite campus in Orange County. BACKGROUND: The Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) has previously approved a resolution of intent to site a satellite campus of the Durham Technical Community College (DTCC) in Orange County. The site selection process is at the discretion of and under the direction of the County Commissioners. Following the Board's deliberations on June 18, 2002 and follow up staff discussions, the following selection process is recommended to the Board: 1) The County Commissioners (BOCC) and the Orange County representatives of the DTCC Board of Trustees (BOT)will serve as the site selection committee. 2) Public input will be solicited at various points within the process. Suggestions as follows: a) A public hearing/public meeting will be held at the beginning of the process. During this meeting, any member of the public is invited to suggest a specific site that is available for sale in central Orange County. Central Orange County was identified by the Community College Task Force as the area in which the Community College would be best located. b) Based on the criteria agreed upon by the BOCC, staff of the County and Durham Tech provide evaluation data for BOCC and BOT deliberations. c) BOCC/BOT would agree upon one or two priority sites. BOCC may choose to negotiate an option to purchase for one or more sites to establish agreeable terms of purchase at this point. d) To receive input on the finalist sites, the SOCC/BOT may choose to do one or both of the following: 2 i) Present evaluation results on the preferred sites to a focus group. The focus group could be tasked with reviewing the overall evaluation process and the preferred site(s) that have resulted and providing feedback as may be appropriate. While the focus group could be appointed at the beginning of the process, under this scenario, it may be advisable to appoint the members after the preferred site(s) has been identified. This will ensure that the focus group will include all areas of expertise needed to provide quality and comprehensive feedback on the site. For example, if the preferred site(s) should be an existing building, it may be helpful to appoint an architect/engineer and/or contractors to the membership to more fully understand the implications and potential complications of retrofitting the site to meet the needs of the satellite campus. ii) Hold a public hearing/public meeting for the general public to comment on the preferred site(s), prior to making the final decision about where the site should be located. 3) The number of meetings for this group will be predicated upon the number of sites that require evaluation. In order to protect the development timeline, however, acquisition should be nearing completion by early summer 2003. Criteria The following criteria have been previously suggested for selection of the site. While the Board may certainly amend the criteria, the items listed below reflect the recommendations of the original Task Force as well as those raised by the County Commissioners during various discussions: • 20-acre minimum to accommodate on-site parking and future expansion (as requested by Durham Tech) • Centrally located within the County • Close to public transportation and/or major roadways • Cost of land to the County • Site development costs o Does the site present development challenges that would drive up construction costs? • Environmentally acceptable site Compatible with surrounding uses of land FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with the appointment of the Site Selection Advisory Committee. However, the 2002-2012 Capital Investment Plan includes a total of$4 million, funded over two years, to meet any cash match requirements associated with the satellite campus development. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board take the following action: 1. Endorse the selection process with any modifications as deemed appropriate; and 2. Direct staff to schedule a public hearing/public meeting by mid-September 2002 to solicit input from the public regarding potential sites that may be available for the satellite campus.