HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 08-19-2008 - 4aSUBJECT: MINUTES
DEPARTMENT:
ATTACHMENT(S):
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: August 19, 2008
Action Agenda
Item No. 4 -a
PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Donna Baker, 245 -2130
PURPOSE: To correct and /or approve the minutes as submitted by the Clerk to the Board as
listed below:
April 15, 2008
BOCC Regular Meeting
April 17, 2008
BOCC Budget Work Session
April 22, 2008
BOCC Joint Meeting with School Boards
May 1, 2008
BOCC Regular Meeting
May 19, 2008
Quarterly Public Hearing
BACKGROUND: In accordance with 153A -42 of the General Statutes, the Governing Board
has the legal duty to approve all minutes that are entered into the official journal of the Board's
proceedings.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: NONE
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve minutes as
presented or as amended.
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1 DRAFT
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3 MINUTES
4 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
5 REGULAR MEETING
6 April 15, 2008
7 7:30 p.m.
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10 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, April 15, 2008
11 at 7:30 p.m. in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
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13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Moses
14 Carey, Jr., Valerie P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson
15 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT:
16 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill
17 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County
18 Managers Willie Best, Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff
19 members will be identified appropriately below).
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22 NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT
23 AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
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25 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
26 Chair Jacobs went over the items at the County Commissioners' places. The packet
27 was from John Delconte. The yellow sheet was an additional item, 3 -a1 concerning the
28 Recognition of Jay Bryan and Jean Earnhardt for their work to obtain North Carolina Scenic
29 Byway designation for the Scots -Welsh Scenic Byway, which the majority of the Board agreed
30 to add to the agenda. There was a PowerPoint for item 6-e, related to the development. There
31 was also a letter from Margo Pinkerton related to the Whitted Building.
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33 PUBLIC CHARGE
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35 The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge.
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37 2. Public Comments
38 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda
39 Tinka Jordy read a prepared statement:
40 "Hello. My name is Tinka Jordy. I am a professional artist and Chair of the Hillsborough
41 Arts Council. I am here in support of using the Whitted building as a cultural center for
42 Hillsborough and northern Orange County. I'm speaking on behalf of a Steering Committee
43 that arose from an Art Summit that the Arts Council hosted in December of last year, also
44 known as the Cultural Center Committee. Over 70 people arrived at 8:30 on a Saturday
45 morning during the Christmas season to envision what the Town of Hillsborough's cultural life
46 could be like five years from now. This is the vision statement the group chose:
47 Our vision for Hillsborough by 2013 is to reach and serve every member of our
48 community by providing opportunities for expression, appreciation and participation with the arts
49 that will appeal to and engage members of the local and global community.
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Towards that end, a Steering Committee, comprised of a broad coalition from our
community, was formed to implement this vision. Some members of that committee are here
tonight. These groups represent the interests of historic Hillsborough, business leaders, the
arts community, tourism, education, and native culture. This amazingly broad coalition feels
strongly that the Whiffed building could serve as the much - needed cultural center for the benefit
of our entire community, both culturally and economically. Nonprofit arts and culture
organizations do more than enrich our lives and imaginations. They also help fuel the region's
economic engine. We have provided you with comprehensive studies that prove that the
community investments in the arts bring a three to one return on the investment.
The groups on the steering committee that are working to create a cultural center for,
Hillsborough and northern Orange County, in addition to the arts council, include:
- Orange County Community Players
- The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough and its member organizations
- The Hillsborough Tourism Board
- The Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County
- The Orange County Arts Commission
- Culture Zone
- Orange County Artist Guild
- Orange County Department of Human Rights and Relations
- The Occanneechi - Saponi Tribe
- The Friends of Orange County Public Library
- Arts Advocates, Inc.
- More groups will be added soon, representing parks and recreation and education
This vibrant coalition of organizations are dreaming of a cultural center that could
provide:
- A performance center
- Art galleries
- Historical Archives
- Arts programming for adults and children
- A space for local drama group as well as business convention usage
The final use of the Whiffed building is to be determined. The need for a community
cultural center is absolute. Thank you for your time."
Deryl McGuire was representing the Orange Community Players as the Artistic Director.
She read a prepared statement: 'This was the auditorium of Hillsborough High School, with a
large stage and seating for about 300 people. Plays, concerts, variety shows, school
assemblies, recitals, speakers, and many other events were enjoyed in that space for many
years.
Visualize the Orange Public Library — rows of shelves, filled with books, lowered
ceilings, modem lighting, tables; chairs filled with adults, teenagers, youth, and children. This is
a place to learn, share, discover, experience, exchange, cultivate, and provide cultural
opportunities for our community.
As we all know, the Orange Public Library is going to a beautiful new home, leaving a
wonderful space — a space that can be filled with a large stage, and seating for 150 -300 people
to enjoy all the events that were once the center point of Hillsborough. Imagine community
theatre, youth/children theatre, musical concerts, new works presented by talented artists,
writers of this wonderful community, visiting artists, and many other events — something for
everyone.
Let us and generations to come 'Inherit the Future' with such a center."
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1 She also said that she just left the second night of auditions for the summer production
2 of The Music Man, and she said that there have been over 72 people come in for auditions.
3 Space is being rented, again, from Orange High School, because there is no facility.
4 Richard Hicks read a prepared statement:
5 "1 am Richard Hicks, Chair of The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, here tonight with
6 Vice -Chair Beverly Payne -Betts. The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough is a non - profit umbrella
.7 organization comprised of groups here tonight, such as the Hillsborough Arts Council and the
8 Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County, as well as groups not here tonight
9 such as the HHC, the Preservation Fund of Hillsborough, and the Hillsborough/Orange County
10 Chamber of Commerce. In addition, the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough contracts with the
11 town to run the town's tourism program, pertaining visitors' center seven days a week providing
12 visitor services. Hillsborough already can offer the tourist historic sites, natural beauty, and
13 great vibrant and diverse community to our visitors. The Downtown Merchants Association,
14 with whom the AHH collaborates, also strongly supports to movement, with the belief that arts
15 and cultural events contribute the economic well -being of a small town. It is also possible that
16 this new cultural center could be the home for the county heritage center, as our heritage
17 contributes so greatly to our community's cultural vibrancy."
18 Linda Schmitt read a prepared statement:
19 "1 am representing the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County. The
20 foundation operates the Historical Museum.
21 1 have attended several of your meetings in the past. Each time it seems as though
22 individuals or groups have come before you to ask for funding for their particular project/cause.
23 Our group is different! We are not asking for any money, but rather we ask that you
24 consider the wisest and best use for an existing space owned by Orange County.
25 For the past five years, the museum's main fundraiser has been a musical /dramatic
26 performance. Finding a site for these performances is extremely difficult in this area. Two
27 years we used the Big Barn, which is a very rustic setting. The stage is surrounded by a fence!
28 There is neither stage lighting nor sound equipment and this very site may soon be razed for
29 new development. The other three years we held our fundraiser at Stanback Middle School .... a
30 very nice site but again no proper lighting or sound equipment and limited seating.
31 We have attempted to use the wonderful space at one of our high schools, but
32 principals are very reluctant to schedule outside group events for fear some of their school
33 groups may need the auditoriums. In addition, janitorial staff members are needed at these
34 school sites and they are not willing to work extra evenings.
35 The Historical Foundation believes the wisest and best use for the Whitted Building is to
36 return the current library space to its original intent — an auditorium for public performances.
37 Let us inherit our future!"
38 Margo Pinkerton read a prepared statement:
39 "To the Orange County Board of Commissioners:
40 Regarding the Whiffed Building in Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina
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42 My name is Margo Pinkerton of Hillsborough, North Carolina. I am a freelance
43 photographer who has been involved in the arts community for many decades. Currently, I am
44 President of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers
45 (ASMP /NC) and serve on a steering committee for the arts in Orange County.
46 1 have a dream for an Orange County Cultural Center that would provide resources and
47 education for adults and children alike in Northern Orange County as well as the Hillsborough
48 area. This cultural center would have studios for ceramics and pottery, two -and three -
49 dimensional art, photography, jewelry, dance and motion, several galleries, historical
50 information, et cetera.
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1 It would include at least one stage for theater and oratory and a place where acting
2 troupes could hold rehearsals. There would be classroom space for lectures and other forms of
3 cultural education.
4 Yes, this is a dream, but without this dream, we become a cultural wasteland. Alas, we
5 live in an era in which the arts are not only woefully and embarrassingly under - funded, but
6 increasingly ignored and debased in both our schools and our daily lives.
7 There is talk that the Whiffed Building is being considered for office space, but office
8 space can go virtually anywhere. However, with its large auditorium and plethora of rooms, the
9 Whitted Building is an ideal, ready -made building for a center that could provide our extended
10 community with the cultural resources it so desperately needs.
11 Thank you for your time and consideration."
12 Gordon Jameson read a prepared statement:
13 "I'm an artist living in Hillsborough. I'm on the board of the Orange County Artists Guild,
14 which has 119 artist members. and holds the popular Open Studio Tour every November. I am
15 also on the board of Arts Advocates, a small group working to establish a non - profit,
16 professionally -run gallery to promote Orange County visual artists. In addition, for six years,
17 from 2000 to 2007, 1 served on the Orange County Arts Commission Board and was Chair for
18 two of those years.
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20 Mission of Culture Zone:
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22 Right now I am Chair of a new arts organization called Carolina Culture Zone. The
23 mission of Culture Zone is to promote the corridor encompassing Hillsborough, Carrboro,
24 Chapel Hill, and Pittsboro as a premier arts destination. In order to market the area to a
25 regional and national audience there must be synergy between the partners — the arts
26 organizations, the business sector and local governments. Culture Zone seeks to bring these
27 entities together for our mutual benefit and to better serve our growing population. A cultural
28 center in Hillsborough would be a welcome addition to broad vision of making Orange and
29 Chatham County a destination for the cultural tourist.
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31 Benefit of our cultural assets:
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33 There is a wealth of cultural capital in our community. Over 1,400 artists of all kinds are
34 listed in the Orange County Arts Commissioner's database. We have painter, photographers,
35 film- makers, poets, writers, musicians, dancers, fine craft artists. We have an opera company
36 specializing in American opera, a distinguished pottery industry, and a number of nationally
37 known artists. We also have valuable historic buildings and sites in the area that are often
38 open to the public and require the support of the community.
39 Appreciation to these cultural assets has a significant economic impact on Orange
40 County. According to the Orange County Office of Economic Development, total visitor
41 spending in the county was $127.2 million in 2007. A study by Regional Technologies
42 Strategies last year found that of all the factors with potential influence on the level of
43 expenditures by tourists, ONLY the percentage of arts and design workers was found to have a
44 significant positive impact. Arts and historical attractions help to express what is different about
45 our area. Visitors come here looking for authenticity, for the character of a place, for unique
46 attractions. A vibrant cultural center would act as a magnet for visitors.
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48 Needs of artists and performers, building use:
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1 There is a perennial need for space when it comes to the arts. Specialized performance
2 and rehearsal space, gallery and studio space is hard to come by as is enough meeting and
3 teaching facilities. Locating multiple entities focused on culture, history and heritage in one
4 building, such as the Whiffed Building, would encourage a dynamic exchange of ideas and
5 consolidate resources. Revenue from ticket sales and commissions from artwork could help
6 such a facility sustain itself. Visitors attending performances or an exhibit in a community
7 gallery space would patronize local restaurants and other businesses downtown. But beyond
8 immediate benefits to the town, a cultural arts center in Hillsborough would also provide more
9 access to the arts for the growing and currently under -served northern part of the county.
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11 Final Pitch for Center in Hillsborough:
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13 As an artist and arts advocate in Orange County, I strongly support the creation of a
14 cultural arts center in Hillsborough. The time is right. The momentum for developing a cultural
15 center is not coming from the arts community alone. Speaking for the mission of Culture Zone
16 to increase the visibility of the cultural resources of our community to a national audience, and
17 for the many local artists who would certainly benefit from such a facility, I urge the
18 Commissioners to recognize the serious economic benefit of the cultural arts and to join with us
19 to help expand the possibilities in Orange County.
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21 Michael Malone said that he has been working with the numbers of the groups to help
22 bring about the use of the Whiffed Building as a cultural center. He asked those in support of
23 this endeavor to stand. He is a novelist and he teaches at Duke and lives in Hillsborough. He
24 wrote an article about a year ago for the Orange County Tourism Board called "Falling in Love
25 with Hillsborough," which has happened to him. He said that there is wonderfully long and rich
26 history in Hillsborough. There are a lot of local arts. He said that one of the reasons to love a
27 place like Hillsborough and all of northern Orange County is its diversity. He spoke of different
28 events in Hillsborough such as parades and Last Fridays events, etc. He said that it would be
29 wonderful to have a place in which to have art. He said that what this group has talked about is
30 possible.
31 Renee Price announced that the Orange County Historic Preservation Commission, in
32 conjunction with the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough are celebrating Historic Preservation
33 Month next month, and they are sponsoring a photography contest. The winners will be
34 announced next week at Last Friday and the photography will be on exhibit at the museum
35 through the month of May.
36 Rev. Robert Campbell began reading the same letter that he read at the previous
37 meeting at 5:30 p.m., but Chair Jacobs stopped him. Rev. Campbell said that when the
38 neighborhood was discussing construction in the Rogers Road - Eubanks neighborhood, they
39 were asking that when construction began on any project, that the neighborhood would be
40 notified. There are several projects going on, and the neighborhood has not been noted of
41 construction. He asked that the County go back to the promises that were made.
42 Chair Jacobs asked what construction Rev. Campbell was referring to and he said the
43 Solid Waste Administration Building and the Animal Services Center. He said that there is
44 increased traffic now, but no increased patrol, and he is concerned about the safety of the
45 streets.
46 Chair Jacobs made reference to the Whiffed Building and said that there will not be any
47 moving from the building for at least a year because the new library must be built first. Social
48 Services will be moving also, and the space must be renovated before this department can
49 move. He said that the Board certainly heard the concerns and will take it under advisement.
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1 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda
2 (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda
3 below.)
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5 3. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations
6 a -1. Recognition of Jay Bryan and Jean Earnhardt for their work to obtain North
7 Carolina Scenic Byway desianation for the Scots Welsh Scenic byway
8 Chair Jacobs said that Jean Earnhardt instigated this item and Jay Bryan was
9 instrumental in completing this. There was an unveiling ceremony last week and these two
10 people could not be present, so the Board of County Commissioners wanted to thank both for
11 their efforts to make this happen.
12 Jay Bryan said that it would not have been possible without the support of the Board of
13 County Commissioners, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, and County staff, specifically David
14 Price, who wrote a letter, which helped this come to fruition.
15 Chair Jacobs said that this would be added to the new maps of the scenic byways of
16 North Carolina.
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18 a. National Safe Kids Week Proclamation
19 The Board considered a proclamation recognizing the week of April 26 — May 4, 2008 as
20 SAFE KIDS Week in Orange County and authorizing the Chair to sign.
21 Sharron Hinton with Department of Social Services introduced Lt. Angela Carmen with
22 the UNC Department of Public Safety. Lt. Carmen serves as Chair of the Orange County Safe
23 Communities Coalition as well as the Orange County SAFE Kids Coalition.
24 Lt. Carmen read the proclamation.
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26 National Safe Kids Week 2008
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28 April 26 - May 4, 2008
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30 WHEREAS, unintentional injury is the number one killer of children ages 1 —14 years in the
31 U.S.; and
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33 WHEREAS, each year, more than 5,000 children 14 and under die from unintentional injuries;
34 and
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36 WHEREAS, for children ages 14 and under, the leading causes of unintentional injury deaths
37 are motor vehicle - related injuries, drowning, residential fires or bum injury, suffocation and
38 pedestrian injury; and
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40 WHEREAS, 90 percent of these injuries and deaths are preventable; and
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42 WHEREAS, reducing the barriers to attaining safety devices (such as smoke alarms, bicycle
43 helmets, car seats and booster seats), increasing educational efforts directed toward children
44 who are at high risk for injury, and improving the overall safety of the child's environment are
45 preventative strategies to keeping kids safe from unintentional injuries; and
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47 WHEREAS, Safe Kids USA and Orange County Safe Communities promote childhood injury
48 prevention strategies by uniting diverse groups into local and state coalitions, developing
49 innovative educational tools and programs, initiating public policy changes, distributing safety
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1 devices to families in need, promoting new technology and raising awareness through the
2 media; and
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4 WHEREAS, Safe Kids USA, with the support of founding sponsor, Johnson & Johnson,
5 launches Safe Kids Week 2008 "Gear Up for Safety," which focuses on celebrating 20 years of
6 creating a safer world for kids and promoting efforts to make further progress to protect children
7 from accidental injuries.
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9 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners,
10 do hereby proclaim the week of April 26 — May 4, 2008 as Safe Kids Week in Orange County
11 and encourage and call upon all the residents of this County to support the efforts and activities
12 of Orange County Safe Communities to prevent childhood injury.
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14 This, the 1 e day of April 2008.
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16 A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Carey to
17 approve a proclamation recognizing the week of April 26 — May 4, 2008 as SAFE KIDS Week in
18 Orange County and authorize the Chair to sign.
19 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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21 b. Evans and Bond Award for Outstanding Toxicity Reduction Program
22 The Board considered recognizing the Solid Waste Management Department for its
23 efforts in reducing hazardous waste in Orange County and commending the department for
24 receiving the 2007 Bill Evans and Carol Bond Award for Outstanding Toxicity Reduction.
25 Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that she is recognizing Rob Taylor and
26 Blair Pollock with the Solid Waste Department. This is an award that is provided on an annual
27 basis by Carolina Recycling Association. This is named for Bill Evans and Carol Bond, who
28 were very active in the reduction of hazardous waste materials. She said that what Orange
29 County has been doing is very significant, very empowering, and award - winning.
30 Blair Pollock said that they were honored to receive this award. Orange County is the
31 county with the highest recycling per capita in electronics than any county in North Carolina.
32 Orange County also has a broad cooperative relationship with private businesses for recycling.
33 Rob Taylor thanked the Board of County Commissioners for its support of the programs
34 that make this award possible and the citizens that use their program for disposal of these
35 hazardous items.
36 Chair Jacobs said that the Board of County Commissioners appreciates all that the staff
37 does in being environmentally sound.
38 A motion was made by Commissioner Carey seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
39 approve recognizing the Solid Waste Management Department for its efforts in reducing
40 hazardous waste in Orange County and to commend the department for receiving the 2007 Bill
41 Evans and Carol Bond Award for Outstanding Toxicity Reduction.
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43 C. NCACC Outstanding County Proaram Awards Presentation
44 The Board received the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC)
45 Outstanding County Program Awards for Orange County's Spanish Language Assessment Tool
46 and the Inspect Plus field computer initiative.
47 Laura Blackmon introduced Michelle Love from NCACC, who was here to honor Orange
48 County for two awards for outstanding programs.
49 Michelle Love said that the NCACC solicits nominations for this program each year and
50 this year there were 50 programs nominated. Out of those, 12 were chosen, and Orange
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1 County won two of them. One is for the Inspect Plus program to help inspectors go paperless
2 in the fields, from their laptops. The program was developed in- house, thanks to the staff.
3 Orange County staff Susan Mellot and Dan Bruce were present to receive the award.
4 The second award is one for "Embracing our Diversity", a Spanish- speaking proficiency
5 tool. Working with the Chapel Hill Institute of Cultural and Language Education, the County
6 developed this assessment tool. The purpose of the tool is to further accessibility to all County
7 services for Spanish- speaking residents by helping to assure that County employees have
8 sufficient knowledge of the language and culture of the Hispanic community. The Human
9 Rights and Relations Department accepted the award.
10 Human Rights and Relations Director Shoshannah Smith thanked Marlena Valeiko who
11 developed and implemented this program.
12 Susan Mellot thanked the Board of County Commissioners, Craig Benedict, and the field
13 inspectors.
14 Commissioner Carey said that former County Commissioner Steve Halkiotis raised the
15 possibility of this paperless system several years ago.
16 Chair Jacobs thanked the NCACC for recognizing that Orange County has creative staff
17 that is willing to be innovative in providing services to the residents of Orange County.
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19 d. Presentation on Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Report
20 The Board received a report from Donald B. Eager & Associates, LLC on the Analysis of
21 Impediments to Fair Housing Choice study commissioned by the BOCC on May 16, 2006.
22 Shoshannah Smith said that April is Housing Month, and as part of that effort, there is a
23 housing fair on April 19"' from 11:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. in the parking lot of the Food Lion at 600
24 Jones Ferry Road. She said that this report is required for the CDBG grants. She introduced
25 Donald Eager, who prepared the report.
26 Donald Eager said that they are celebrating a 40 -year history of fair housing on the
27 federal level, and he has been doing this for 30 years. He said that the abstract gives a good
28 outline. He said that one point is that he has been doing these analyses of impediments for
29 about 15 years all over the country, and the Planning Department website and the County's
30 website were two of the key resources that were used in this report. He said that this really cut
31 the research time. He said that Orange County is no better or no worse than any other
32 communities that he has researched. The issues and problems that Orange County faces are
33 the same issues and problems that other communities face. Regarding foreclosures, there are
34 not near as many in Orange County as there are in Ohio where he lives. He said that there are
35 a number of impediments and for every one they found, they gave a response as to how the
36 impediments can be addressed. Most of the impediments came from a survey that HRR staff
37 generated. Regarding fair market rents, he found that for someone to be able to afford to live in
38 a two-bedroom apartment in Orange County, they would have to make $15 an hour. He said
39 that it becomes a major issue when the very people that work for the County to protect it can no
40 longer afford to live here. The issue of having affordable housing available is extremely
41 important.
42 The other issue is that there are over 200 lenders in Orange County for mortgages,
43 which is a lot of lenders. Over 68% of applications received came from Caucasian people, just
44 over 14% came from African Americans, and less than 3% came from Hispanics. He said that
45 this shows that education and outreach within these communities become more and more
46 important. Predatory lending in the area has not been as bad as it was five or six years ago.
47 Commissioner Foushee asked staff about recommendations and how that would come
48 back to the Board of County Commissioners. Laura Blackmon said that this came through HRR
49 and will go through the Housing department for a resolution to bring back to the Board of
50 County Commissioners.
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1 Chair Jacobs asked staff if they had done any phone testing for renting properties to see
2 if there is any discrimination against certain ethnic groups. Shoshannah Smith said that this
3 has not been done yet, but she can get something together by 2009.
4 Chair Jacobs said that the Board is acutely aware of the problem of providing affordable
5 housing to people who work here and who do the many jobs that the community depends on.
6 He said that almost no members of the Chapel Hill Police Department can afford to live here,
7 and only 32% of the University's employees live in Orange County. Orange County is one of
8 only two counties in North Carolina that passed an affordable housing bond.
9 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
10 receive the "Analysis of Impediments" report. Staff noted that there are several instances in the
11 report where the use of the term "race" as opposed to "ethnicity" may not be appropriate. Staff
12 will work with the consultant to resolve the appropriate use of these designations.
13 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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15 4. Consent Agenda
16 A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
17 approve those items on the consent agenda as stated below:
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19 a. Minutes
20 The Board approved the minutes from February 12 (5:30 and 7:30 p.m.), 19 (5:30 and 7:30
21 p.m.) and March 18 (5:30 p.m.), 2008 as submitted by the Clerk to the Board.
22 b. Appointments
23 (1) Arts Commission — Reappointment
24 The Board reappointed Mary Kruter, Bronwyn Merritt, and Alice Levinson to the Arts
25 Commission to second full terms ending March 31, 2011.
26 (2) Carrboro Planning Board — Reappointment
27 The Board reappointed Susan Poulton to the Carrboro Planning Board to a full term ending
28 February 28, 2010.
29 (3) Historic Preservation Commission — Reappointment
30 The Board reappointed Leonard Vogel to the Historic Preservation Commission to a second
31 full term ending March 31, 2011.
32 (4) Recreation and Parks Advisory Council — Reappointments
33 The Board reappointed Floyd Bridgwater to a second full term ending March 31, 2011; and
34 Laurie Lee, and Ingrid Medcalf to first full terms ending March 31, 2011.
35 c. Motor Vehicle Property Tax Release /Refunds
36 The Board adopted a refund resolution, which is incorporated by reference, related to 37
37 requests for motor vehicle property tax releases or refunds in accordance with North Carolina
38 General Statutes.
39 d. NC Criminal Justice Partnership Program (CJPP) Continuation Grant Application
40 The Board approved the state grant application for the continuation of program services
41 provided through the NC Criminal Justice Partnership Program (CJPP) for FY 2008 -2009 and
42 authorized the Chair to sign contingent upon final review by staff and the County Attorney.
43 e. Renewal of Visitors Bureau Contract with Jennings Advertising
44 The Board approved contract renewals for the Orange County Visitors Bureau with Jennings
45 Advertising of Chapel Hill to provide tourism marketing materials in the form of advertising,
46 website design and management, promotions and collateral materials used to grow tourism in
47 Orange County and authorized the Chair to sign.
48 f. 2008 Audit Contract
49 The Board approved the contract to perform the annual County audit for the fiscal year ending
50 June 30, 2008 and authorized the chair to sign.
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g_ 2008 Statement Preparation Contract
The Board approved a contract with Cherry, Bekeart & Holland for the preparation of the
Schedule of State and Federal Financial Assistance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008
and authorized the chair to sign.
h. Contract for Documentation of Orange County Fiscal Processes
The Board approved a contract to the firm of Cherry, Bekaert & Holland for the provision of
accounting services to document the County's major systems in preparation for the audit and
authorized the Chair to sign.
1. Orange County Speedway 2008 EMS Coverage Contract
The Board approved a contract between the Orange County Emergency Services Department
and the Orange County Speedway management that provides for Emergency Medical Services
coverage at Speedway public events and authorized the Chair to sign.
L Bid Award: One (1) Recycling Truck for Recycling Operations to Serve Multi - Family
Residential Units
The Board awarded bid number 269 to Triad Freightliner of Greensboro, North Carolina for one
recycling truck for recycling operations to serve multi - family residential units at a delivered cost
of $132,403; and authorized the Purchasing Director to execute the necessary paperwork.
k. Fiscal Year 2007 -08 Budget Amendment #9
The Board approved budget, capital and grant project ordinance amendments for fiscal year
2007 -08 for Department on Aging, Parks and Recreation Department, Commissioner
Contingency, Health Department, Housing and Community Development, and Carrboro High
School Capital Project Ordinance.
I. Adoption of Reimbursement Resolution for the Office Building and Library
The Board adopted a reimbursement resolution, which is incorporated by reference, authorizing
the County to reimburse itself for non - general obligation bond project expenditures incurred for
the Office Building and Library capital project prior to the actual issuance of debt.
m. Change in BOCC Regular Meeting Schedule for 2008
The Board amended its regular meeting calendar by changing the JPA meeting, originally
scheduled for Tuesday, April 29"' at 7:30 p.m. at Southern Human Services Center in Chapel
Hill, to a Joint Greene Tract Work Session with the Town of Chapel Hill and the Town of
Carrboro.
VOTE ON CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS
5. Public Hearings - NONE
6. Regular Agenda
a. Potential UNC Landfill Gas Project — Update and Request to Proceed
The Board received an update from the County and UNC teams — the third and final
report as specified under the Memorandum of Understanding dated January 17, 2008 — on the
development feasibility of a landfill gas to energy project on Eubanks Road to benefit Carolina
North, and to request BOCC authorization to proceed towards final contract negotiations.
Gwen Harvey said that on January 15, 2008, the Board agreed to a 90-day period
wherein the County could work with UNC regarding the feasibility of a landfill gas to energy
project to serve UNC or Carolina North. She said that the partnership has prevailed and
presentation is the finished interim project, and the staff is asking the Board's permission to
move forward over the next several months, with the target of bringing back a final contract in
August that would bring this project into being. This is an extensive team staff effort. She said
that there were three different perspectives — engineering, commercial, and legal aspects. She
11
1 said that the Rogers Road community will have a real interest in what this physical plant will
2 look like and what it will entail from a planning and construction perspective. There is not a
3 graphic presentation ready yet, but this will be built in to whatever happens next, if the Board
4 approves moving forward.
5 Ray Dubose, Director of Energy Services for UNC, said that there is a very good
6 working relationship between the County and the University. He introduced the people that are
7 working on this project. He said that it is very important to the University to have a successful
8 project and he believes that this will be a win -win situation with the University and the County.
9 Laura Blackmon highlighted the timeline and said that a lot of effort has been put into
10 this. She asked for feedback from the Board.
11 Chair Jacobs said that Commissioner Nelson brought up at a work session that when
12 ' the County Commissioners get blacked out graphics, it is hard to read.
13 Commissioner Nelson thanked all for their work on this project and on the specialized
14 legal services. He said that it is important to have this and is warranted in this case.
15 A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Carey to
16 formally authorize the County and UNC teams to move forward in the development of a final
17 contract to be brought back for BOCC consideration, targeting the meeting of August 19, 2008.
18 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
19
20 b. Water Conservation Priorities and Initiatives
21 The Board received the "Collaborative Water Conservation Strategies for Joint
22 Consideration by Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County," considered approving the
23 resolution regarding general support for interlocal water conservation strategies, including
24 OWASA's pursuit of water use efficiency conditions of service and authorizing the Chair to sign,
25 and directing staff to continue collaborative work on these water conservation initiatives.
26 Planning Director Craig Benedict said that this has been a collaborative effort between
27 Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and OWASA, and Pat Davis is here from OWASA to answer any
28 questions concerning the strategies. These strategies were described more elaborately at a
29 work session in March. The droughts over the last 5 -6 years have prompted these
30 conservation efforts. The strategies are both short- and long -term. The resolution suggests
31 that this collaborative effort continue and that an implementation plan be brought forward. The
32 recommendation is approval of the resolution and to direct staff to continue the collaborative
33 work.
34 Commissioner Foushee said that she is in support of this, but as these efforts are made
35 known, everyone should be aware of the impacts of some of these requirements on future
36 affordable housing. She said that in order for the affordable housing stock to remain affordable
37 when the houses are up for resale, the costs of maintaining the houses must remain affordable.
38 Chair Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Foushee and said that he would like to see the
39 costs for a single - family home to retrofit to be in compliance with #2 at the top of page 3. He
40 thinks that a source of funding will have to be identified to replace the fixtures.
41 Craig Benedict said that the discussion about affordable housing recently has been the
42 cost of maintenance. This will be considered.
43 Chair Jacobs suggested that these strategies, especially the long -term ones, be shared
44 with the Planning Board. He wants to receive a recommendation back to the Board about
45 proceeding with incorporating some of these standards into the ordinance. The Board agreed.
46 Commissioner Carey asked if local school systems were included and Pat Davis said
47 that the CHCCS is OWASA's second largest water user, so it is important for OWASA to
48 pursue whatever partnership approach that it can with the school system to increase water use
49 efficiency, not only in the schools, but by the students that are in the schools. There are
50 discussions with the Superintendent about these issues and cost - effective retrofit opportunities.
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OWASA has been in touch with one of the makers of efficient toilets, Corona, and it has said
that it would provide OWASA 350 high - efficiency toilets, complete with lifetime warrantee and
flushing mechanisms for a really great price. OWASA will pursue whatever arrangements that
it can to make these strategies cost effective for local governments and for those in the
community that truly need the financial support.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
receive the "Collaborative Water Conservation Strategies for Joint Consideration by Carrboro,
Chapel Hill and Orange County," approve the resolution regarding general support for interlocal
water conservation strategies, including OWASA's pursuit of water use efficiency conditions of
service and authorize the Chair to sign, and to direct staff to continue collaborative work on
these water conservation initiatives. This motion takes into account the discussion by the
County Commissioners above regarding affordable housing.
RESOLUTION OF GENERAL SUPPORT FOR INTERLOCAL WATER CONSERVATION
STRATEGIES INCLUDING OWASXS PURSUIT OF WATER USE EFFICIENCY
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE, AND DIRECTING STAFF TO CONTINUE COLLABORATIVE
WORK ON THESE INITIATIVES
WHEREAS, an adequate and high quality water supply is fundamental to the well -being and
sustainability of our community; and
WHEREAS, Orange County desires to continue working collaboratively with the Town of
Carrboro, the Town of Chapel Hill, and OWASA to ensure the quality and adequacy of our local
water resources; and
WHEREAS, water conservation and water use efficiency are cornerstones of Orange County's
commitment to protect water resources and encouraging sustainable growth and development;
and
WHEREAS, on February 14, 2008 the OWASA Board of Directors received and strongly
endorsed Recommendations regarding Water Conservation Priorities and Initiatives for
collaborative action by the Town of Chapel Hill, Town of Carrboro, Orange County and
OWASA;
NOW THEREFORE, the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby:
1. Express support for the OWASA Board of Directors' February 14, 2008 recommendations
to local governments regarding collaborative water conservation strategies including
OWASA's proposal to consider establishing water use efficiency requirements as
conditions of receiving OWASA water and sewer services for all new development and
redevelopment; and
2. Express support of the additional recommendations in the report entitled "Report on
Collaborative Water Conservation Strategies for Joint Consideration by Carrboro, Chapel
Hill, Orange County and OWASAA dated January, 2008; and
3. Direct the County's staff to work with staff from the Town of Carrboro, Town of Chapel Hill,
and OWASA to more fully develop and evaluate potential implementation strategies, a list
of proposed water use efficiency standards and conditions of service, appropriate roles and
responsibilities, resource needs and timetable for implementation, etc.
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2 4. Request that OWASA provide a report on the proposed approach and implementation plan
3 for the water use efficiency conditions of service strategy.
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5 This Fifteenth day of April 2008.
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7 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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9 C. Summer Day Camp Proposal
10 The Board considered appropriating funds for sponsorships for certain summer day
11 camp programs in lieu of continuing the County's summer day camp program.
12 Laura Blackmon said that in March the Board of County Commissioners asked her to
13 come back with a recommendation as to how to assist families with summer day camp costs.
14 She said that the County Commissioners have before them a suggestion, but this has not come
15 before the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council yet. The abstract is summarized below:
16 At the March 6, 2008 BOCC Regular Meeting, the Board asked County Manager Laura
17 Blackmon to review and provide information regarding the discontinuance of Orange County's
18 summer day camp program. The County Manager responded to the Board's request with a
19 memorandum dated March 18, 2008 which included information on the number of participants
20 for the County's 2007 summer day camp, the County's 2007 activities related to scholarships or
21 "camperships" for the County's summer day camp, and a recommendation that the County
22 remain on its present course with the discontinuance of the County's summer day camp
23 program. The Board subsequently asked the Manager to develop a scholarship /campership
24 proposal that could be considered concurrently by both the BOCC and the Recreation and
25 Parks Advisory Board (RPAC). (Note: RPAC is not scheduled to discuss this item until its April
26 24, 2008 meeting. Therefore, any information /feedback/recommendations from RPAC will not
27 yet be available at this April 15, 2008 BOCC meeting.)
28 Based on staff discussions, Department of Social Services (DSS) Director Nancy
29 Coston will place on the April 21s` DSS agenda a request for the Social Services Board to agree
30 to use one -time funding to subsidize summer day camp participants whose families fall at or
31 below the 200% federal poverty level. This is the same guideline used for DSS childcare
32 subsidy. Since more federal and state funds were received by DSS this year, some of the
33 County funds designated for childcare could be utilized this year to pay for camp. An amount
34 up to $10,000 from DSS's Fiscal Year 2007 -2008 budget could be utilized for this purpose. As
35 in past years, other funds such as donations received through the "Send A Kid to Camp" would
36 be used to send foster children to camp.
37 Last summer, the "Sun Fun" camp program cost Parks and Recreation $40,692 in total
38 direct expenditures; this amount does not include indirect costs such as administrative and
39 oversight costs associated with running the program. Revenue generated from fees for the
40 summer camp program totaled $37,053. The County's camp program provided approximately
41 80 camper slots per week over a seven -week period. Some campers were one -time
42 participants while others attended multiple weeks. The weekly cost to the campers ($80) was
43 reduced by up to half by Parks and Recreation for 223 of these campers, in addition to the 53
44 camperships granted by DSS. Although Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents were
45 not precluded from benefiting from the summer programs, most of the participants came from
46 the unincorporated areas of the County.
47 The $10,000 from DSS would be principally used to partially offset higher costs
48 associated with alternative camps and, as in the past, would be allocated on a sliding scale
49 basis. To address the loss of the low -cost Parks and Recreation program, the monies
50 proposed would be used for the Cooperative Extension 4 -H summer day camp program and the
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1 SportsPlex and Orange County Schools summer day camps programs. The Orange County
2 Parks and Recreation Summer Camp cost was $80; cost for the summer 4 -H (Summer Sizzle)
3 is $100; SportsPlex Summer Camp costs $185 and the Orange County Schools camp program
4 costs $100. The recommended funds would be provided on a first come basis to those
5 individuals meeting DSS guidelines.
6 The Planning Department has reviewed, at the request of the BOCC, any summer
7 camps that are in violation of County zoning ordinances. At this time, only Spence's' Farm has
8 been identified and that issue is currently scheduled for discussion with the Board of
9 Adjustment at its April 14, 2008 meeting.
10 It is important to note that this proposal addresses the summer day camp scholarship/
11 campership questions for the current fiscal year. Funding solutions beyond the current fiscal
12 year will need to be addressed in the upcoming 2008 -09- budget process.
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14 Commissioner Carey said that this is a substantive way to accomplish the same
15 objective of providing summer day camp, and if the staff can assure him that there are enough
16 funds for childcare subsidies, then he could support this. He said that in the years to come this
17 will have to be addressed.
18 Social Services Director Nancy Coston said that there is not a waiting list for childcare
19 and there are sufficient funds for this fiscal year. This plan would involve taking available funds
20 through June 30"', and her expectation would be to budget in the $50,000 for next year.
21 Commissioner Gordon said that this would be taken up by the RPAC on April 22nd and
22 Laura Blackmon said that staff would bring this back on May 1st.
23 Commissioner Carey asked about deadlines for these camps and Commissioner
24 Foushee said that it looks as if there is enough time if the Board of County Commissioners
25 takes action at its May 1s` meeting.
26 The Board agreed for the staff to proceed.
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28 d. Draft Interim Solid Waste Plan
29 The Board considered accepting, as information only, the Draft Interim Solid Waste Plan
30 as reviewed by Solid Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) at its April 3, 2008 meeting; authorizing
31 the Solid Waste Management Department with SWAB to establish the May 1, 2008 SWAB
32 meeting as a public meeting for input to the Plan; and further, authorizing staff to set meetings
33 with all three towns to present the draft plan that includes the public input from May 1 8t.
34 Blair Pollock said that they are coming to the end of the initial phase of putting this plan
35 together. Every three years, the State requires an update of the 10 -Year Solid Waste
36 Management Plan. In the fall, the staff requested a three -month period to prepare a draft
37 interim plan, and tonight this is an information piece only. This plan will bring the County into
38 compliance and will allow for State grants.
39 Chair Jacobs requested that since the SWAB is holding a public hearing the same night
40 of the Board of County Commissioners' meeting, he would like to have complete minutes from
41 the SWAB meeting when this comes back to the Board of County Commissioners. Blair
42 Pollock said that they would provide all of the minutes.
43 Chair Jacobs made reference to the requirement of having a plan that is in compliance
44 with the State requirements. He asked if the State awards grant money based on having a
45 compliant plan, or if there was incentive for counties to be in compliance. Blair Pollock said that
46 the County is able to apply for and receive grant monies by being compliant.
47 Chair Jacobs made reference to page 6 and the last sentence, "Orange County
48 estimates that is over 75% of the weight received at its C &D landfill that must now be diverted
49 to MSW." He asked if that is the State law that is requiring this or if this is a rule and regulation.
50 Blair Pollock said that he thinks that it is a stipulation and interpretation of the law.
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Chair Jacobs suggested that staff do a one - paragraph summary of the impact on
Orange County and that this be ready for the legislative breakfast on April 21'd. He said that
this is an unfortunate interpretation.
Commissioner Gordon said that it should be highlighted that Orange County is trying to
do the right thing and that there was a 48% waste reduction. She suggested having a one -
page summary of what Orange County has been doing in solid waste.
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Carey to
approve accepting, as information only, the Draft Interim Solid Waste Plan as reviewed by Solid
Waste Advisory Board (SWAB) at its April 3, 2008 meeting; to authorize the Solid Waste
Management Department with SEAB to establish the May 1, 2008 SWAB meeting as a public
meeting for input to the Plan; and further to authorize staff to set meetings with all three towns
to present the draft plan that includes the public input from May I".
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
e. Swallow's Ridge — Preliminary Plan
The Board received the Administration and Planning Board recommendations on the
Preliminary Plan for Swallow's Ridge.
Robert Davis made this presentation.
Request - Preliminary Plan
Applicant: ENT Land Surveys, Inc., (Steve Yuhasz) Agent for owner.
Owner: Buzzlitz, LLC
Subdivision follows the Conservation - Cluster Option of Flexible Development.
Total acreage is 60.09 acres including proposed right -of -way.
Subdivision Type ;Lots 'Gross Density
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% Open Space! Acres Open
i S ace
:4.29 acres proposed
37.84% 22.23 acres
Conservation-
proposed proposed
Cluster .14 .92 acres required
34.28 acres
Flexible Option
33% required 119.8 acres
Density
required
Gross Subdivision Land Area
60.09 acres
Area in public road R.O.W.
2.23 acres
Area outside of public road R.O.W.
57.86 acres
Platted lot area
34.28 acres
Area in common open s ace
22.23 acres 37.84%
Density
1 dwelling unit/4.29 acres
Location
• West side of University Station Road, 1,300 feet south of intersection with Old NC 10 in
Chapel Hill Township.
Existing and Proposed Conditions
Existing:
• Zoning: Agricultural Residential (AR) (min. lot size = 0.92 acres)
• The property is in the Lower Eno Protected Watershed
• Located in a Rural Designated Area in the Growth Management System. For fewer than
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21 lots the normal subdivision process is followed. (le. Concept plan, Preliminary Plan to
the Planning Board and BOCC)
• Parcel is located within the Hillsborough Courtesy Review Area
Physical Features:
• The two streams on the tract as well as the wetland in the northwest comer will be will
be part of the open space.
• The site is entirely wooded with a mixture of pines and hardwoods, with the exception of
the power line easement that runs along the northwest comer of the property, which has
been cleared. Some timbering has occurred in the central area of the site.
• The topography is gently rolling with a steeper slope along the streams and toward the
northeast comer.
Adjacent Land Use:
• The property is surrounded to the north and west by undeveloped property
• To the south and across University Station Road are single family residential parcels
Proposed
Roads:
• Access to the subdivision is from a proposed 1,580 foot long cul -de -sac, Swallow's
Court, which intersects with University Station Road.
• The road is proposed to be constructed to NCDOT (and County) standards.
• NCDOT has approved the road intersection subject to receipt of final engineering plans
and an application for a driveway permit at final plat submittal stage. More technical
engineering plans will be required prior to final plan approval.
• Non Vehicular easements along the entire lot frontage of University Station Road will be
labeled on the final plat.
• The Planning Board considered a stub out to the west during concept plan approval.
Due to topography issues and a stream running along the western property line, the
Planning Board did not recommend a stub out. It was also found that the tract west of
the subdivision had direct road frontage on Old NC10 (see August 1, 2007 Planning
Board Minutes).
Open Space /Buffers: .
• A Type A, 30 -foot land use buffer is shown on the preliminary plan.
• The developer proposes 22.23 acres (37.84 %) of open space, which the Homeowners
Association will own and maintain. All of the open space is wooded with hardwoods and
pines except for the area along the power transmission lines through the northwestern
portion of the property. 13 of 14 lots have direct access to open space.
• 14% of the open space is primary conservation areas. (IV- C -3 -b)
• No wildlife corridors are located on the property per ERCD and the Orange County
"Inventory of Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats ".
Water - Sewer:
• Individual wells and septic tanks shall service all lots.
Recreation:
• Eno Chapel Hill Hillsborough Community Park (per the Recreation Service Area
17 ,`
Boundaries Map)
No public parkland dedication is recommended because there are no county recreation
and /or open space sites as designated in the Comprehensive Plan on the property. The
payment -in -lieu option is recommended (14 lots x $422/lot = $5,908.00).
The Recreation and Parks Advisory Council is recommending payment -in -lieu of publicly
dedicated land.
All lots but one have direct access to open space. Lot 13 is across the road from a
direct access point.
Development Process, Schedule, and Action
• First Action: A Neighborhood Information Meeting was held on July 17, 2007.
Second Action: The Concept Plan was approved by the Planning Board on August 1,
2007 with the following conditions:
1. The intersection and road alignments on the Preliminary Plan shall meet NCDOT
standards.
2. A dedication of an additional 5 feet of Right of Way, or 35 feet from the
centerline of the Right of Way, whichever is greater, will be required along
University Station Road.
3. Homeowners Association documents that provide for maintenance of the Open
Space shall be submitted with the preliminary plan. Provisions shall be included
in the Homeowners Association documents that would prohibit tree cutting in the
Open Space except for maintenance purposes.
4. Show location of subdivision sign on Preliminary Plan, and reserve an easement
for the sign.
5. Show the Type A land use buffer along University Station Road.
6. Show the location of all public and private recreation areas.
7. Any lighting shall meet Orange County Lighting Standards.
The Planning Staff recommended approval of the Preliminary Plan, in accordance
with the attached Resolution of Approval which includes items E.3 and EA.
• Third Action: Planning Board reviewed the Preliminary Plan on March 5, 2008 and
unanimously recommended approval with the deletion of items E.3 and
EA from the Recommendation of The Orange County Planning Board.
Steve Yuhasz, the agent for the owner, pointed out that the proposal had 14.95 acres of
open space which was 3.81 acres more than the 33 percent or 11.14 acres required. He
indicated that this additional open space should count toward the required recreation
space and improved recreation space should not be required. He also indicated they
were paying the payment in lieu of parkland dedication. The Planning Board agreed with
this and deleted items E.3 and EA from the Recommendation of The Orange County
Planning Board (see attached Planning Board Minutes).
The Planning staff recommends approval with items E.3 and EA included in the Resolution
of Approval.
1 Steve Yuhasz, land surveyor and agent for the owner, said that they are satisfied with
2 the Planning Board's recommendation and the Administration recommendation, with the
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1 exception of adding back in the two conditions that the Planning Board dropped. He said that at
2 the Planning Board meeting, the developer agreed to put in a walking trail through the open
3 space. The issue is not whether or not a walking trail will go in there, but exactly how it goes in
4 and how much area it will encompass. He said that, in general, part of the zoning ordinance
5 that is being applied here to create this requirement of private recreation space is being
6 misapplied in subdivisions of this variety. He said that what is being calculated for this
7 subdivision does not make sense, particularly if what the staff is saying is that none of the open
8 space that is being provided counts towards that private recreation space area. If that is the
9 case, then this subdivision is being penalized for providing open space and creating lots bigger
10 than the minimum.
11 Chair Jacobs said that the issue Mr. Yuhasz is referring to is on page 7, items 3 and 4.
12 Robert Davis said that if the developer provided more open space under this plan, then
13 recreation space would be less. What drives the number is the 2.8% of the total.
14 In answer to a question from Commissioner Nelson, Geof Gledhill said that the
15 Homeowner's Association could prohibit any active use of the open space
16 requirement in the regulations that says that the recreation must be active. He thinks that it is
17 not reasonable for the staff to say that the 35% open space cannot be counted as recreation
18 space.
19 Geof Gledhill said that the focus is on making sure the property is put into the
20 Homeowner's Association (HOA) agreement, and that it remains open space. The priority in
21 regulations with respect to open space is not active recreation.
22 Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 7, # 3 and # 4, and asked if this was
23 passed, could the HOA put it into the open space. She said that it is not a lot of acreage.
24 Robert Davis provided some additional information.
25 Steve Yuhasz said that the developer has already committed to a trail, and the
26 question is how many trees have to be cut down to make this trail. The developer does not
27 want to have to make a commitment to cut down an acre's worth of trees to create the trail.
28 Robert Davis said that only the limbs will be cut.
29 Steve Yuhasz said that the Planning staff is saying to the developers that they have to
30 provide 33% open space, but none of it will be counted as recreation space. This does not
31 make sense, but penalizes them for providing open space. Geof Gledhill said that the issue is
32 whether the open space will count toward active recreation space. If the open space is only for
33 visual amenity, it is not active recreation space. He said that one way to get resolution of this is
34 to have the applicant come back with a plan about what the trail system might look like.
35 Chair Jacobs said that he does not see anywhere where it says "improved trail ". He
36 said that the whole issue of how to count the open space is something the Planning Board
37 should look at. He said that there should be some recognition or incentive that the developer
38 went above and beyond the open space requirement.
39 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon to refer this back to staff to work with
40 the developer to resolve the issue about active recreation, open space and the trail system.
41 Chair Jacobs made reference to page 25 and the DOT letter regarding accepting the roads for
42 public maintenance. He asked if this had been addressed. Steve Yuhasz said that, as a
43 general rule, detailed road construction plans are never submitted to DOT until there has been
44 preliminary plan approval because the road alignment and other things might need to change.
45 Chair Jacobs asked clarifying questions about the stub out issue.
46 He said that there is plenty of language in the ordinance that talks about the importance of
47 connectivity. Chair Jacobs verified that the Planning staff recommended the stub out, but the
48 Planning Board did not.
49 Geof Gledhill said that the reason that the administration is ok with the
50 recommendation about the stub out is not because of ordinance problems, but because of the
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1 way this property lines up with the adjoining property. There are environmental issues with
2 pushing the road west through this property.
3 Chair Jacobs encouraged the developer to write in some things for the HOA that are
4 energy efficient (i.e., grass that does not need to be watered, allowing clotheslines, etc.).
5 Mark O'Neil with Pickett- Sprouse Real Estate was representing the developer. He
6 encouraged the Board of County Commissioners to look at the color diagram and the
7 greenways. He said that it has always been the intent of the developer to put in a nice trail
8 system. He said that, generally, there would be a big piece of equipment that would be driven
9 through, dodging the bigger and nicer trees, but there will always be choices about which trees
10 to cut. He said that the point is that the ordinance penalizes someone who is trying to do the
11 right thing.
12 Chair Jacobs said that this item would be put on the consent agenda for May 1t.
13 Commissioner Foushee seconded Commissioner Gordon's motion above, with the addition
14 about the road system.
15 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
16
17 7. Reports - NONE
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19 8. Board Comments
20 Commissioner Gordon congratulated Commissioner Foushee on her retirement from
21 the Town of Chapel Hill on March 31't.
22 Commissioner Gordon said that the Board gets green sheets about the completeness
23 of the agenda packets and all was complete this time, so the staff is to be commended.
24 Commissioner Gordon said that the Commission for the Environment met recently and
25 discussed the question of bio-solids, and their application on land in Orange County.
26 Commissioner Gordon said that the Hollow Rock Design Committee met and one of
27 the design issues is that Pickett Road goes through the middle. Staff will be making a report on
28 this issue.
29 Commissioner Foushee — no comment.
30 Commissioner Nelson — no comment.
31 Commissioner Carey — no comment.
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33 Chair Jacobs pointed out the agenda for the April 17"' meeting at their places.
34 Chair Jacobs said that the County Commissioners no longer seem to be getting the
35 pending items or any summary on all of the pending items that have not been addressed. He
36 would still like to see this.
37 Chair Jacobs said that the Library groundbreaking is on April 17�' at 11:30 a.m.
38 Regarding the open house of the Gateway Center, he did hear complaints from citizens about
39 having to pay for parking. He said that he does not want people to have to pay to park in order
40 to exercise the right to pay taxes.
41 Chair Jacobs apologized and said that somehow it got past him that the legislative
42 breakfast with our legislative delegation is on Monday and the legislative committee has not
43 been asked to meet to prepare recommendations for the discussion. At the breakfast, he
44 would like to bring up the issue of C &D waste as well as the possibility of counties taking on
45 more responsibility for road construction.
46 Commissioner Gordon said that the TAC of the DCHC -MPO did get a report about the
47 possibility of a %.-cent sales tax for transportation. At their next meeting, the MPO is going to
48 try and work out some principles for how to proceed with this issue.
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50 9. County Manager's Report
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Laura Blackmon said that the agenda packets for Thursday night have an agenda item
for pay and benefits and it was not complete today. This will be emailed to the County
Commissioners.
She said that the County has hired an Emergency Services Director who will be starting
next Monday. Also, the County has begun advertising for an in -house staff attorney, and they
are getting very close to choosing an Economic Development Director.
10. Appointments
a. Affordable Housing Advisory Board — New Appointment
The Board considered making a new appointment to the Affordable Housing Advisory
Board.
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Carey to
appoint Lynda Baker to a partial term ending June 30, 2010.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
b. Arts Commission — New Appointment
The Board considered making a new appointment to the Arts Commission.
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
appoint Gordon Jameson to a full term ending March 31, 2011.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
C. Human Services Advisory Commission — New Appointment
The Board considered making a new appointment to the Human Services Advisory
Commission.
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
appoint Suzanne Deobald to a partial term ending March 31, 2009.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
11. Information Items -NONE
12. Closed Session -NONE
13. Adjournment
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
adjourn the meeting at 10:28 pm.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Donna S. Baker, CMC
Clerk to the Board
Barry Jacobs, Chair
1
2 DRAFT MINUTES
3 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
4 BUDGET WORK SESSION
5 April 17, 2008
6 7:30 p.m.
7
8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Work Session on
9 Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill,
10 North Carolina.
11
12 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners
13 Moses Carey, Jr., Valerie P. Foushee, Alice Gordon, and Mike Nelson
14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
15 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill
16 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon and Assistant County
17 Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker. All other staff
18 members will be identified appropriately below).
19
20 Chair Jacobs asked about the educational information for the Land Transfer tax and
21 Laura Blackmon said that the website should be up and running tomorrow.
22 Chair Jacobs asked about a press release when the website is up and Laura Blackmon
23 - said that this could be done.
24
25 1. Discussion of Fiscal Year 2008 -09 Capital Budget
26 Laura Blackmon said that the hope was to have this done in December but it was not
27 ready. She said that it is at a point now that the staff needs the Board's direction on the CIP
28 and any changes that may need to be made. The school boards would like this information as
29 early as possible. This will be on the May 1t agenda for ordinance adoption -
30 Commissioner Gordon said that she looked, through the budget notebook and there are
31 additional items compared to those that are in the pay -as- you -go budget. She would like to
32 have the Board approve the County Capital Budget and not just the pay -as- you -go revenue,
33 including items 49, 50, and 55. She would also like to see the debt issuance schedule.
34 Donna Coffey said that these are debt - funded projects that debt has not been issued for.
35 The capital project ordinances for these projects are not done until after the debt is issued. The
36 debt funded projects will be brought back as a separate item when the debt is issued.
37 Chair Jacobs asked for clarification on the ten -year plan.
38 Laura Blackmon said that the ten -year plan is the actual plan of what the Board wants to
39 do in the coming years, but because the debt has not yet been issued, the staff is asking the
40 Board to approve the pay -as- you -go projects that will be in next year's budget.
41 Commissioner Foushee clarified that it is an excerpt from a ten -year plan for one year,
42 using pay -as- you-go funding.
43 Commissioner Gordon would like to see what the debt issuance is going to be. Donna
44 Coffey said that she could include a list of projects that need debt financing in the next debt
45 issuance when she brings it back on May 1 st.
46 Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Animal Services facility at $8 million and
47 that it is not on this list. She asked about the conclusion of the funding for Elementary School
48 #11. She wants to settle whether or not the school board will take advantage of the lease
49 purchase program, which will allow a longer timeframe for funding.
50 Regarding the Land Transfer Tax, Commissioner Gordon said that it would be helpful to
51 indicate that the money would be used for Elementary #11, and if it does not pass, then it will
PAI
1 have to be added to the Ad Valorem tax. She said that if SAPFO kicks in and Elementary #11 is
2 not built, then CAPS will not be issued. 'She wants to be more specific with the public.
3 Laura Blackmon said that in a previous work session the staff provided the Board the
4 projects that would be funded with the transfer tax and she can bring that back again.
5 Commissioner Gordon said that the Board has done a lot of work on the CIP and she
6 does not want it lost, so she would like staff to go back and get the excerpts from the minutes
7 and what was flagged, so that when the Commissioners come back in the fall, they will not have
8 to start over again. She remembers clearly spending an entire meeting flagging issues and
9 otherwise discussing specific items in the CIP.
10 The Board agreed.
11 Chair Jacob's asked that it be done deliberately and not just put in a packet somewhere.
12 Commissioner Gordon said that the first step is the excerpt from the minutes, and the
13 second step is a summary of events.
14 Commissioner Foushee said to date the sheets.
15 Chair Jacobs suggested that Commissioner Foushee look at the information before it
16 comes to Board of County Commissioners since she has expertise in this area.
17 Commissioner Carey said that he is okay with the lists on colored sheets, but the totals
18 are different from the ones they received before and Donna Coffey said that is because both
19 school boards have just given the most recent updated information.
20 Chair Jacobs pointed out that there is only $5,000 for public art, which is a pity. He
21 would like to put in at least $10,000.
22 Commissioner Nelson said that this came up briefly in another work session but the staff
23 was not specifically directed to set an agenda item to talk about this. He would like to discuss
24 this further.
25 Laura Blackmon said that she would like to bring back information about art and how it is
26 purchased. Art could be purchased or there could be an art rotation program.
27 Chair Jacobs said that in the next fiscal year the Board will be talking about a lot of new
28 buildings coming online, and there is a tremendous opportunity for art.
29 Commissioner Gordon asked if there was any capital item in the budget for the old Wal-
30 Mart facility for DSS. Donna Coffey said that there is $500,000 for the DSS space, which would
31 offset some of the renovation costs. The total amount is not yet known.
32 Commissioner Gordon made reference to the reserves and said that those are not in this
33 list either. She said that the library reserve has $2.7 million for the Carrboro Library and it was
34 discussed to put in an extra $300,000. Also, she has a note about Information Technology and
35 that there needs to be a plan. She asked about the status of this. There also needs to be a
36 plan for the Link Center renovations.
37 Laura Blackmon said that the architect has only done preliminary discussions with the
38 Information Technology Department for technological needs and some structural requirements.
39 There have not been any meetings about space needs yet.
40 Commissioner Gordon said that the items that the she had flagged were #5, #8, #11, and
41 #14 on the orange sheet, "FY 2008 -09 County Capital Budget."
42 Chair Jacobs asked about the Information Technology budget and Laura Blackmon said
43 that this is a strategic list and Information Technology does what the funds allow them to do up
44 to the limit. She said that staff could develop a strategic plan but there are still things to be
45 pushed out if the County cannot afford them. The County does not spend that much money on
46 technology. Chair Jacobs asked Laura Blackmon to bring the budget back next time for IT.
47 Commissioner Carey said that this is why a plan for Information Technology would be
48 helpful so that the Board knows what is being deferred.
49 Commissioner Carey asked about the status of the ruggedized laptops that other
50 departments can use. Laura Blackmon said that this has continued, and positions and
3
1 departments are being added into that system. The other side is that, every time something is
2 added, staff has to be added to service it.
3 Chair Jacobs said that this discussion pre -dates Laura Blackmon's arrival and the Board
4 found that there were 2.5 positions in one department that were responsible for just transcribing
5 data. One of the thrusts of using the laptops was to try and save in terms of efficiency and in
6 terms of positions. He thinks that the Board tried to set some priorities for efficiency, and the
7 Board would like to have a better picture of what is going on.
8
9 Commissioner Gordon said that she does not have a clear idea of the schools' needs.
10 Laura Blackmon said that this year, the staff is providing information in a different
11 sequence than last year. She said that the staff meets regularly with the schools to talk about
12 updated numbers.
13 Commissioner Foushee said that since these are the most recent figures supplied by the
14 schools, then both school boards should bring the reasons for the new figures when all three
15 boards meet next week.
16 The Board agreed.
17 Donna Coffey said that the staff would ask the schools to bring this with them to the
18 meeting since the agendas are going out tomorrow.
19 Commissioner Foushee said that it just needs to be a brief summary.
20
21
22 2. Human Services Advisory Commission (HSAC) Recommended Outside Agency
23 Emily Adams, Chair of the HSAC, introduced Vice Chair Vivette Jeffries - Logan, Michael
24 Owen, and Jerry Passmore. She thanked County Commissioner liaison Valerie Foushee and
25 various staff. She said that the HSAC brought in Margaret Henderson from the School of
26 Government, who is a specialist in working with non - profit funding and non - profit government
27 relations, to help with this process. She said that the Board of County Commissioners has
28 received the recommendations and the process was different this year. The HSAC did an in-
29 depth review of all applications and weighted the outcomes. There were 52 applications. The
30 HSAC also worked with the Triangle United Way to help train board members, etc. Not all
31 applications were human services related. She was impressed with the quality of proposals.
32 Commissioner Nelson said that a few proposals that caught his attention were the
33 Historic Hillsborough Commission, Piedmont Wildlife, and others that are not really human
34 service needs. He does not understand how things will be different next year. He would hate to
35 see money that is supposed to be set aside for human services going to things that are not
36 human services, even though these are really worthy causes.
37 Laura Blackmon said that, in the future, the staff needs to see the amount of money the
38 Board of County Commissioners wants to provide for non - profits and categorize them.
39 Chair Jacobs said that he would defer to Commissioner Gordon and Commissioner
40 Carey, but he remembers that the funding was not earmarked for only human services, but was
41 under the umbrella of all non - profits that were requesting monies from the County. It was just
42 funneled through human services. He noticed that the only three organizations that got less
43 money than requested did not fit under human services, except for Orange Enterprises. He
44 wants the Board to think about whether it should separate some of these entities. He does not
45 think that the Board has had this conversation yet.
46 Commissioner Carey agreed and said that the category is called Outside Agencies,
47 which is general.
48 Commissioner Foushee said that some of the outside agencies are beginning to request
49 that their requests be considered outside of this process because there is concern that they will
50 be left out since they do not fit under human services.
4
1 Commissioner Gordon agreed that this was all under Outside Agencies, but the problem
2 was that the category was increasing a lot, and the Board decided to have a targeted dollar
3 amount. She appreciates the work of the HSAC and that it was so thorough.
4 Chair Jacobs said that part of the problem is that if people perceive that they do not want
5 to be in the human services category, then the Board needs to think about how to categorize.
6 Laura Blackmon said that the County needs to make sure that what agencies ask for is
7 used for what they want to achieve.
8 Emily Adams said that the HSAC recognized this as the first phase in a process. The
9 goal is to refine the criteria.
10 Chair Jacobs said that the HSAC did a good job of noting the pitfalls of the current
11 process, which is a valuable contribution.
12 Laura Blackmon asked for feedback from the Board on the recommendations.
13 Chair Jacobs said that he would like to fully fund the requests of HYAA, Orange
14 Enterprises, and Piedmont Wildlife. He would also like to see an explanation when there is a
15 recommendation not to fully fund. Commissioner Foushee agreed.
16 Emily Adams said that Orange Enterprises asked for $10,000 less this year because it
17 asked for an additional $10,000 last year to cover a specific cost. Regarding Piedmont Wildlife,
18 the service area included areas outside of Orange County. Although they value this
19 organization, there was discussion about getting other county agencies, specifically Durham
20 County, to support their portion of the services. Regarding Hillsborough Youth Athletic
21 Association, there was a concern that this organization was not reaching the entire community.
22 Chair Jacobs asked if there was any communication with the non - profits regarding the
23 preliminary conclusions. Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey said that they sent a notice
24 to agencies today with a link to the web with this recommendation information.
25 Chair Jacobs said that if there were only two that were being cut, then it would be easy
26 for staff to contact them. He said that all of the County Commissioners got an email from HYAA
27 about their efforts to try and recruit more minority participants. He said that it might be helpful to
28 have this communication to the non - profits that got cut before this comes back to the Board.
29 Laura Blackmon said that the Board of County Commissioners could make a decision
30 that it will fund them in full, but send a letter to let them know about the problems associated
31 with funding them in full in the future.
32 Commissioner Carey said that he likes this approach about funding and then informing
33 the agencies of the issues of concern next year.
34 Emily Adams said that the HSAC would be willing to work with HYAA on the recruiting
35 efforts.
36 Commissioner Gordon made reference to the UNC -CH Department of Psychiatry and
37 said that it was not exactly an outside agency. Usually, this funding would be on a contract
38 basis. She would like a justification for the $100,000 recommendation. Emily Adams said that
39 this funding is for the STEP Clinic, which works with schizophrenics in the community and it is
40 specifically for Orange County residents. She said that the HSAC asked the OPC -LME to
41 review the mental health applications.
42 Commissioner Gordon asked staff to look at this question as a precedent.
43 Commissioner Carey asked that OPC be involved in the process of designing the
44 performance standards for the mental health requests.
45 Gwen Harvey said that there is one outside application from Club Nova for outsourcing
46 their database and client management system. This request is not to be confused with the
47 previous request for service subsidy funds.
48 The Board agreed to fund all and then communicate with HYAA and Piedmont Wildlife
49 about the deficiencies and indicate that could mean they would not be funded for next year.
50 Staff will come back with information on the UNC -CH Department of Psychiatry.
51
1 3. Proposed Fiscal Year 2008 -09 County Fee and Occupancy Tax Changes
2 Laura Blackmon said that last year the County Commissioners ended up making some
3 changes to the fee schedule the last meeting in June. This creates a problem from a budgeting
4 perspective because there needs to be time to inform the public. This will be on the May 1St
5 agenda for approval.
6 Commissioner Gordon made reference to items in Personal Health Fees, "drainage of
7 skin abscesses," and asked for clarification about the ones that have the same description but
8 charge different fees. Health Director Rosemary Summers clarified that these were two
9 different procedures. Commissioner Gordon asked that there be a notation to tell the difference
10 between the two.
11
12 4. Update Fiscal Year 2008 -09 Employee Pay and Compensation Plan
13 Human Resources Director Michael McGinnis made a PowerPoint presentation. He
14 introduced Benefits Manager Diane Shepherd and Pay and Classification Manager Korena
15 McArdle. He said that this presentation was designed to give discussion points for the Board
16 that will help the staff prepare the budget recommendations.
17
18 Pay and Benefits Planning
19 for FY 08 -09
20 BOCC Work Session
21 4117/08
22
23 Topics for Discussion
24 ■History of Pay Plan
25 ■Status of Current Classification, Pay and Benefits Study
26 ■Budget Considerations for FY 08 -09 Pay Plan
27 ■History of Benefits
28 ■Budget Considerations for Employee Benefits Plan
29 ■Budget Considerations for New Employee Retiree Benefits Plan
30
31 History of Pay
32 2003 Classification and Pay Study
33 ■Phase 1- implemented April 14, 2003
34 —implemented new Classification Plan and Salary Schedule
35 —Moved salaries below new minimum to new minimum and increased all salaries by
36 2.5%
37 ■Phase 2- implemented December 8, 2003
38 — Increased salaries by 2.5% if 4 or more years of service
39 ■Phase 3- implemented April 26, 2004
40 — Increased salaries by 2.5% if 7 or more years of service
41
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48
49 History of Pay Plan
50 FY 04 -05 through FY 07 -08
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24
C.1
Pay Element
2004 -2005
2005 -2006
2006 -2007
2007 -2008
COLA
2% Effective
None
4%
3%
10/11/04
In -Range
None
4%
None
1 -2%
Increases
Meritorious
Discontinued
Service Awards
with
implementation
of previous
classification and
pay study.
Status of Current Classification, Pay and Benefits Study
■The Archer Company was approved 10/2007 to begin study
■Questionnaires completed
■Job Description DRAFTS returned to employees for editing
■Once all DRAFTS edited and returned to Archer, desk audits for positions of "concern"
commence
■Individual positions and general classes will be analyzed, titles confirmed, and internal equity
determined, with respect to gender and minority status
■External survey comparison for internal and labor market comparability
■Development of a valid and reliable pay plan which includes career ladders
■Presentation of recommendations and a Final Report by The Archer Company
Budget Considerations for
FY 08-09 Pay Plan
■Cost of each 1% COLA effective July 1, 2008 is approximately $400,000
■Cost of In -Range Salary Increase (2% for exceptional and 1 % for proficient) effective with
employees' anniversary date is approximately $220,000
■Cost of each additional 1% In -Range Salary Increase is approximately $190,000
History of Benefits
■Health Insurance Plan
— Implemented $250 deductible — January 2006
25 — Increased office visit co -pays — January 2008
26 $10/$20 to $15/$30 (primary/specialist)
27 0401 (k) Plan
28 — Increased County contribution from $20.00 per pay period to $25.00 per pay period —
29 July 2005
30 — Increased County contribution from $25.00 per pay period to $27.50 per pay period —
31 July 2007
32
33
34
35
36 Status of Current
37 Health Care Plan
38 ■Employee Monthly Health Care Plan
1
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3
4
5
6
7
8
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43
7
Plan Design
HMO I
PPO
I Total
Participation
764(94%) 148(6%)
76(42%)
1812(100%)
County Cost
$434,401
1$25,989
1$460,390
■Retiree Monthiv Health Care Plan
Plan Design
HMO
PPO
Medicare
Supplement
Total
Participation
76(42%)
12(7%)
92(51%)
180(100%)
County Cost
$39,741
$6,445
$19,342
$65,528
Budget Considerations for
FY 08 -09 Health Care Plan
■Continue Current Health Care Plan
— 11 -13% premium increase
An 11 % annual increase is expected if current trends remain the same ($607,716
County; $725,856 Total)
■Options to Minimize Increase in County Costs
— Increase prescription co -pays and /or deductible
— Implement employee contribution for employee -only coverage
—Decrease County contribution for dependent coverage
— Increase distinction between the two health care plans
Budget Considerations for New Employee Retiree Benefits Plan
■Continue Current Retiree Health Care Plans for New Employees
■End Health Care and Medicare Supplement Coverage
■Increase the Requirements for Retiree Health Care Eligibility
■Discontinue the Retiree Dependent Coverage
■Set Up Health Savings Account (HSA)
Commissioner Nelson asked about the philosophy behind doing COLA one year and in-
range increases the next. Laura Blackmon said that it was for a number of reasons (cheaper,
budget crunch, etc.). She said that when the staff brings forth the Archer study, implementing it
over a three -year phase -in plan as well as going back and forth creates problems with
compression and competitive market salaries. The biggest problem is compression.
Commissioner Foushee said that in 2005 -06, the 4% in -range was given because of
compression.
Laura Blackmon said that the staff may need to guesstimate the amount needed for the
equalization of the pay plan for the competitive market since the final information will not be
available before the summer break. The goal is for a January 16t implementation of this plan.
The significance of this is that if this plan is not implemented on July 1s`, then the Board may
want to consider a COLA at this time.
Continuation of presentation.
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0
Laura Blackmon asked for feedback from the Board on these various options and she
said that there need to be changes in the health care costs of employees and retirees.
Commissioner Foushee said that she would like to consider benefits for people that
worked 20, 25, or 30 years instead of at 10 years.
Commissioner Carey said that he has a hard time with re- trenching on retirement and he
would like to look at other ways to save money.
Laura Blackmon said that there are changes that would be made for current employees
and changes that would be made for new employees.
Commissioner Foushee agreed that any changes should apply to new employees. She
thinks that for any information that comes back, the Board should know how it is affected by
GASB 34, because there are financial implications.
Commissioner Gordon agreed with not retrenching for existing employees and retirees.
She would like to keep the benefits for the current employees as much as possible. She would
not want to increase the distinction between the two health care plans any more than they are
now, but she wants to see how this affects our employees.
Mike McGinnis said that the health care needs of the employees are so different, yet the
County pays the same for them all. He said that he is not looking at decreasing the value, but
increasing the options available.
Commissioner Nelson said that it is hard to give feedback because he needs more
information from staff. He said that last year the Board discussed the general issue of the 401 k.
He asked staff to expound on this. Diane Shepherd said that the County contributes $715 to the
fund per year for full -time employees. Most other counties pay 5% of salary to 401 k. Paying a
percentage of salary to 401 k would help with employee retention. This has been a complaint of
exiting employees.
Laura Blackmon said that there are options and Commissioner Nelson said that he
would like to know more about the options.
Chair Jacobs said that his reaction to all of this is that this is not in context of the pay
plan and the full range of benefits. He thinks that Orange County's health plan may be one of
the greatest attractions to work for Orange County, so before he feels comfortable pulling things
or choosing other things, he wants to put it in the overall context of the total benefits plan. He
would also like to see the $4.1 million figure in the list of budget drivers.
Commissioner Carey and Commissioner Gordon agreed about this not being in context.
Commissioner Gordon pointed out that Orange County also has two personal leave days
per year that employees can take anytime they want.
Commissioner Nelson said that the last presentation that was given to the Board was
given verbally and he did not retain it. These are complicated issues, and when this comes
back, he would like the narrative to be woven together.
Mike McGinnis said that any changes in the health plan would not take effect until
January.
Commissioner Gordon asked that this information about any changes be in written form
and ahead of time in agenda packages.
Chair Jacobs made reference to the wellness program and said that there are at least
two Commissioners that want it. Laura Blackmon said that the staff will bring a program back,
but it will not be in time for the budget.
Chair Jacobs asked the Manager to keep reporting back to the Board.
5. Transition of Long Term Temporary Funding to Meet Permanent County Staff
Needs
1 Chair Jacobs said that he wanted to make it clear that these are not new positions, but
2 the County's attempt to stop exploiting people who are temporary employees who do not get
3 benefits even though they are working full -time for the benefit of Orange County citizens.
4 Laura Blackmon said that these are employees that are getting paid out of a temporary
5 staffing line, which the County funds. There has been discussion about making these positions
6 permanent. She reviewed the background on this issue. The blue sheet is a list of requested
7 positions to be moved to permanent status. There will continue to be some temporary
8 employees, categorized as follows:
9 - Seasonal Employees
10 - Student Intern
11 - Temporary Employees
12 - Time Limited Part-Time Employees
13
14
15 Commissioner Gordon asked about the cost impact and if that was completely due to
16 benefits. Donna Coffey said that it is mainly for benefits and staff will bring back the cost
17 projections in May.
18 Commissioner Nelson asked about the Construction Manager position because he has
19 always perceived this as not a permanent position. Laura Blackmon said that right now there
20 are so many projects in the foreseeable future that this position would be more permanent
21 versus a contractual position.
22 Commissioner Nelson asked if other counties have construction managers and Laura
23 Blackmon said yes.
24 Commissioner Foushee said that this position should be reconsidered to be re- titled as a
25 Value Engineer or some slash title. She said that the County will always need someone to
26 manage construction projects.
27 Laura Blackmon said that this position is really a project manager.
28 Commissioner Gordon said that she would like this information to be clarified.
29 The Board agreed to consider these positions becoming permanent positions.
30 Chair Jacobs said that he would like to see the net change in the temporary budget.
31
32 6. Requested New Staff Resources Fiscal Year 2008 -09
33 Laura Blackmon said that she wanted the Board to see what the departments are asking
34 for. The County will not be able to fund all of these positions and thus, there may have to be a
35 reduction of the level of service. Some of these positions are tied to the opening of new
36 facilities.
37 Chair Jacobs asked that the County Commissioners just flag positions for now.
38 Commissioner Foushee said that it would be helpful to know which positions were
39 requested last year and not funded.
40 Commissioner Gordon agreed that the County cannot afford to fund all of these. She
41 made reference to Category 2, under Planning and Inspections, and asked about the .475
42 position. She flagged this item.
43 Also, under Category 3, Emergency Services, she asked how many Assistant Fire
44 Marshals there are currently. She also suggested that department heads be asked to reassign
45 certain positions and determine what does not get done if these positions are not filled.
46 Chair Jacobs said that at some point Laura Blackmon will need to pinpoint those
47 positions that are unavoidable because of actions the Board of County Commissioners has
48 made.
49 The meeting was adjourned at 9:57 pm.
50
51 Barry Jacobs, Chair
10
Donna S. Baker, CIVIC
Clerk to the Board
I DRAFT
2 MINUTES
3 WORK SESSION
4 Orange County Commissioners
5 Orange County Board Of Education
6 Chapel Hill - Carrboro Board of Education
7 April 22, 2008
8 7:30 p.m.
9
10 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a joint session with the Chapel
11 Hill — Carrboro Board of Education and the Orange County Board of Education on Tuesday, April
12 22, 2008 07 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
13
14 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Valerie
15 P. Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson
16 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Moses Carey, Jr.,
17 COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill
18 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Laura Blackmon, Assistant County
19 Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff
20 members will be identified appropriately below)
21 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Ted
22 Triebel, Vice -Chair Debbie Piscitelli, and Board members Anne Medenbleck, Susan Hallman,
23 and Al Hartkopf. Superintendent Patrick Rhodes was also present.
24 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS ABSENT: Elizabeth Brown
25 CHAPEL HILL - CARRBORO CITY SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS
26 PRESENT: Chair Pam Hemminger, Vice -Chair Lisa Stuckey, and Board Members Mia Day
27 Burroughs, Jean Hamilton, Annetta Streater, Jamezetta Bedford, and Mike Kelley.
28 Superintendent Neil Pedersen was also present.
29 CHAPEL HILL- CARRBORO CITY SCHOOL BOARD OF EDUCATION MEMBERS
30 ABSENT:
31
32 1. Opening Comments
33 Chair Jacobs said that Commissioner Foushee and Commissioner Carey would be a few
34 minutes late, and he assumes Commissioner Gordon will be here shortly.
35 Commissioner Gordon arrived at 7.41 pm.
36 Chair Jacobs said that Andy Sachs from the Dispute Settlement Center used to run
37 these meetings because there used to be an opinion that the Board of County Commissioners
38 was lording over the two school boards. He said that it is nice to say that this was discussed at
39 the last school collaboration meeting, and everyone said that the County Commissioners could
40 run the meeting. He thinks that this is a good sign of how well the three boards have been able
41 to work together the last few years. This is a testimony to the members of both school boards
42 and the superintendents.
43
44 2. Presentation of 2008 -09 Boards of Education Approved Budgets
45 a. Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Presentation
46 CHCCS Chair Pam Hemminger thanked the County Commissioners for starting the
47 budget process early and for the increased communication. She said that the board submitted
48 a continuation budget that took into account keeping current services, projected State salary
49 increases, increased populations, inflation of utilities, and adding enough ESL teachers to cover
50 the growing English language learner student population. Starting the process earlier will
51 hopefully avoid the stress and panic of each year. She said that they tried to keep the
I expansion budget to a minimum, knowing the tight budget concerns. Elementary School #10,
2 Moms Grove Elementary, is slated to open in August, and the school system will already need
3 another elementary school in two to three years. Carrboro High School will be adding a senior
4 class this year, and the middle school growth is starting to show the impact of adding all of the
5 elementary schools. This growth has caused a change in the diversity of children and their
6 needs. There has been a significant increase in Latino students, exceptional needs students,
7 and a new group of Korean students. More resources are needed to serve these students.
8 The school board also spent time reorganizing and aligning the district with the
9 professional learning communities. This has helped the district achieve increased achievement,
10 a lower dropout rate, and a decrease in the teacher turnover rate.
11 CHCCS is behind the curve when it comes to technology in the classrooms. Students
12 will have to be proficient in computer tools to be successful. At least 10% of students do not
13 have computer technology at home. They do not want any students to be casualties of the
14 digital divide.
15 She said that she truly believes that collaboration makes for a better government.
16 Superintendent Pedersen made the PowerPoint presentation.
17
18 Presentation of 2008 -09
19 Budget Request
20 Orange County Board of Commissioners
21 April 22, 2008
22
23 High achievement and challenge
24 ■ 1249 students enrolled in AP courses )—East=#105, CHHS =#231 on Newsweek list
25 ■ 40 National Merit Scholarship Finalists
26 ■ The highest SAT score of any district in NC at 1185. (93% participation rate)
27 ■ 91.7% attending 2- or 4 -year colleges after graduation
28 ■ 31 % of student population identified as gifted students
29
30 Graduating with a sound education
31 ■ 87.3% Graduation rate
32 ■ 97.4% completing college /university or collegeftech prep courses of study
33 ■ 93.2% proficient on reading EOGs and 83.3% proficient on math EOGs
34 ■ 879,66 proficient on EOC tests
35 Disaggregated Data —EOG percent proficient
36 African Americans – 43.9%
37 Latinos – 53.5%
38 Whites – 93%
39 Disaggregated Data —EOC percent proficient
40 African Americans – 50.9%
41 Latinos – 62.9%
42 Whites – 95%
3
1 Disaggregated Data —Plans to attend college
2 African Americans – 80%
3 Latinos – 69%
4 Whites – 93%
5 Disaggregated Data -- Graduation rate
6 African American – 70%
7 Latinos – 55%
8 Whites – 94%
9 Disaggregated Data --SAT scores
10 African American – 901
11 Latinos –1081
12 Whites - 1202
13 Disaggregated data – number of graduates
YEAR
African American
Latino
2001 -2002
86
11
2002 -2003
99
19
2003 -2004
120
24
2004 -2005
126
19
2005 -2006
133
11
14
15 Safety and security – Long - Term /Short -Term Suspensions
16
17 What are we doing to improve students' experience?
18 ■ Academic success, challenge, and engagement
19 ■ Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
20 ■ Classroom walkthroughs
21 ■ Culturally proficient practices
22 ■ Technology
23 What are we doing to improve students' experience?
24 ■ Sound education
25 . First School and pre - school
26 . After - school programs
27 . Summer school opportunities
28 . Scheduling support within regular day
29 . Dual Language
30 . Proposed Welcome and Newcomer Centers
31 . Support for exceptional education students
2003 -04
2004 -05
2005 -06
2006 -07
Number of
599
498
366
363
Suspensions
Number of
376
338
266
209
Students
Suspended
16
17 What are we doing to improve students' experience?
18 ■ Academic success, challenge, and engagement
19 ■ Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
20 ■ Classroom walkthroughs
21 ■ Culturally proficient practices
22 ■ Technology
23 What are we doing to improve students' experience?
24 ■ Sound education
25 . First School and pre - school
26 . After - school programs
27 . Summer school opportunities
28 . Scheduling support within regular day
29 . Dual Language
30 . Proposed Welcome and Newcomer Centers
31 . Support for exceptional education students
4
1 What are we doing to improve students' experience?
2 ■ Students excited about learning
3 ■ Starts in the classroom
4 . Use of technology in classwork
5 ■ On -line learning opportunities
6 . Academies
7 . Middle College
8 . Phoenix Academy
9 ■ Career and Technical Education
10
11 What are we doing to improve students' experience?
12 ■ Safety and security
13 ■ Relationships - Equity
14 ■ Positive Behavior Support
15 ■ Boomerang
16 ■ Phoenix Academy
17 ■ Security resources (guards, cameras, fobs)
18 Retaining our best teachers
19 Staff members feel valued
20 95.3% report that they enjoy their work (Hams)
21
22 91.6% report that their supervisor feels their job is valuable (Harris)
23
24 87.4% feel that they are an important part of their school (Harris)
25 Teacher Qualifications
26 ■ 42% of CHCCS teachers hold advanced degrees versus the state average of 25%
27 ■ 193 CHCCS teachers have now received National Board CertifIcation
28
29
30
31
C
Turnover rate
• The turnover rate for 2006 -2007 was 8.5 %, down from a high of 16.43% in 2002 -2003.
• The state average is 17.0.
Supplements and the Competition
District
0 years
10 years
25 years
Guilford County
14.73%
10.75%
10.75%
Wake County
13.25%
14.25%
16.25%
Durham County
12.5%
13.5%
14.5%
CHCCS
1 12%
1 12%
25%
33 What are we doing to retain high quality staff?
34 ■ PLCs, planning time
35 ■ Local supplement
36 ■ Working conditions
37 ■ Access to technology
5
1 ■ PAR
2 ■ Increasing pressures and time commitment are concerns
3 Schools are well supported financially
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Per -Pupil Expenditures
Top 15 Districts in the State
(2005 -2006)
• Hyde— $14,798.60
• Tyrrell— $13,168.16
• Weldon — $11,191.00
• Asheville — $10,855.60
• Jones — $10,514.89
• Washington — $10,354.13
• Pamlico—$9,713.21
• Alleghany—$9, 665.59
• Graham—$9,590.13
• Avery —$9, 555.45
• Dare—$9,526.73
• Perquimans— $9,470.36
• Northampton — $9,44.87
• Swain—$9,392.21
• Chapel Hill- Carrboro— $9,190.85
Per -pupil Expenditures in Triangle School Districts
15. CHCCS-- $9,190.85
25. Orange County—$8,795.46
32. Durham County—$8,570.16
84. Wake County—$7,385.09
CHCCS Per - Pupil Expenditures
Year
Per Pupil, Expenditure
2000 -2001
$8,486
2001 -2002
$8,822
2002 -2003
$8,984
2003 -2004
$9,106
2004 -2005
$9,170
2005 -2006
$9,470
2006 -2007
$9,779
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
0
Impact of inflation
So what does that nickel mean?
CHCCS serves 6,000 cartons of milk each day
Follow the nickel
6,000 X 5 cents = $300 PER DAY
Follow the nickel
$300 X 180 school days = $54,000 PER YEAR
2008 -2009 Budget Drivers
• Salary increases for certified (5%) and classed (4%) staff
• Fringe benefit increases: state retirement (49/6) and health insurance (69,66)
• Expenses related to student enrollment growth: new teacher and support positions
• Start-up costs for Moms Grove Elementary
• Senior class at Carrboro High School
2008 -2009 Budget Drivers
• Utility cost increases
• Inflationary increases
• Class size requirements for Exceptional Children's program
• Child Nutrition Services
7
1 Student Growth for 10 Years (bar graph)
2 2008 -09 Student Enrollment Growth Projection
3 2008 -2009 State Projection
11,666
4 Less: Out -of- County Students
(78)
5 Plus: Charter School Students
140
6 Total County Resident Students
11,728
7 Student Growth
8 2008 -09 Projected Enrollment 11,728
9 2007 -08 Budgeted Enrollment 11.405
10 Projected Enrollment Charge 323
11
Dollar value of the enrollment change at the current County per student rate of $3,069 -
12
$991,287
13
14
Continuation Budget
15
State Mandates
16
■
5% certified staff pay increase $ 859,130
17
■
4% classified staff pay increase 591,885
18
■
Supplement for State paid teachers 295,488
19
■
6% health insurance increase 209,014
20
■
.4% increase in state retirement 114,677
21
■
Graduation Project 143,000
22
■
Exceptional Children's Program 205,504
23
■
District Policy: 5% Incr. in Board Stipends 990
24
Total State Mandates $Z419,688
25
Continuation Budget
26
Student Enrollment Growth
27
■
Supplement for 9 new teacher FTEs $ 64,358
28
■
5 new locally funded TAs 16Z395
29
■
2 half -time office assistants for elem. schools 37,783
30
■
.3 Occupational Therapist 21,082
31
■
Completion of CHS 312,860
32
■
Moms Grove Elem. Start -up costs 1,780,834
33
■
Per pupil4eacher expenses 20,437
34
■
6 new ESL teacher FTEs 421,638
35
■
Dual language textbooks and materials 22.500
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
0
Student Enrollment Growth Total $ 2,843,887
School Board Commitments Total $244,164
Continuation Budget Subtotal $6,389,779
CONTINUATION BUDGET SUMMARY
18 Continuation Budget Subtotal $6,389,779
19 Less Budget Reallocations:
20 Reduction in Summer School (105,000)
21 Non - recurring Staff Dev. — CHS 25,000)
22 TOTAL CONTINUATION BUDGET $6,259,779
23
Continuation Budget
Expansion Budget
Current Services
• Utility Increases
$464,051
• Addt'l Child Nutrition Subsidy
87,650
• Other Employee Benefits
153,340
• Middle School After School
105,000
• Inflationary increase — 3%
72,000
Current Services Total
$882,041
■
Continuation Budget
School Board Commitments
• Exp.of Dual Lang. to Middle Sch.
$129,273
• First School Program
114,891
School Board Commitments Total $244,164
Continuation Budget Subtotal $6,389,779
CONTINUATION BUDGET SUMMARY
18 Continuation Budget Subtotal $6,389,779
19 Less Budget Reallocations:
20 Reduction in Summer School (105,000)
21 Non - recurring Staff Dev. — CHS 25,000)
22 TOTAL CONTINUATION BUDGET $6,259,779
23
Expansion Budget
24
25
■
Hospital School tutors $
5,000
26
■
Increase K -2 Literacy position to 1.0
7,045
27
■
Employee Wellness Services
14,400
28
■
ESL Welcome and Newcomer Centers
100,245
29
■
Dual Language instructional materials
10,800
30
■
Elem. Math lead teacher (11 mos.)
77,300
31
■
Exceptional Children's Curriculum Coord.
70,890
32
■
Boomerang Program (expired grant)
30,000
33
Serving a growing and increasingly diverse student population
34
Increasing
special populations
35
■
The number of autistic students in the district has nearly tripled in 10 years, from 51 in 1997-
36
1998 to 149 in 2007 -2008.
E
1 ■ ESL population has doubled in four years, from 9.9% in 2004 -2005 to 22.2% in 2007 -2008.
2 ■ 98 additional Karen students this year with more expected next year
3 Expansion Budget
4
5 ■ Principals' Peer Assistance position 128,920
6 ■ Technology — 2.0 Support positions 76,743
7 ■ Technology — Online Learning Resources 35.000
8 Expansion Budget Total $556,343
9 Total Operating Budget
10 ■ Continuation Budget $ 6,259,779
11 ■ Expansion Budget $ 556.343
12 ■ Total $ 6,816,122
13 Anticipated Revenue from Growth, Inflationary Increase in District Tax, and Other
14 Revenue Sources
15
16 ■ 323 students @ $3,069 $ 991,287
17 ■ .8% inflationary increase in
18 District Tax base $ 132,112
19 ■ Net change in other
20 revenues $ I Z 943
21 Total $1,110,456
22 (Appropriated fund balance reduced from $1,021,421 to an even $1,020,000)
23 Full Funding Scenario
24 Using the District Tax
25 ■ Budget Request $6,816,122
26 ■ Less: Identified Rev. (1.110.456)
27 Revenue Increase Needed $5,705,666
K]
29 District Tax Increase Required
30 $5,705,6661$808,738 = $.0706
31 Full Funding Scenario
32 Using Per Pupil Appropriation
33 and the District Tax
34 ■ Use district tax to fund CHS and Morris Grove: $Z093,694
10
Less: 132.112 — inflation increase
2 $1,961,582 -from tax increase
3 $1,961,5821$808,738 = $.0243 increase
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
■ Use per pupil appropriation to complete funding:
$61,193,360 - $18,423,052 — 3,106,212 = $39,664,096
(total budget) (district tax) (other revenues)
$39,664,096111,728 = $3,382 per pupil rate
$3,382 - $3,069 = $313 increase
Commissioner Gordon made reference to Pre-K and First School and said that this
needs to be taken into account for the operating and capital budget and how this will affect
SAPFO enrollments. She said that it would seem that if a room were used for pre -K it could not
be used for anything above pre -K.
Assistant Superintendent Steve Scroggs said that when there are Pre -K classes in a
building, and then a classroom is pushed into a mobile, the mobile does not count as capacity.
The school system has never asked for an increase in the school building's capacity based on
pre -K. In the past, when an elementary school starts to get overcrowded, pre -K classes have
been moved to another school that is less crowded.
Commissioner Gordon asked if pre -K classes always go to a mobile and Steve Scroggs
said no.
Superintendent Pedersen said that in the newer schools, they also build a Pre -K
classroom.
Lisa Stuckey made reference to Pre -K's and said that later, the school board will be
asking for suggestions that the collaboration group should take on. One of the suggestions of
the collaboration group is to talk about the relationship between Pre -K's, SAPFO, and the
districts.
b. Orange County Schools Presentation
OCS Chair Ted Triebel said that the Superintendent will present a different budget
tonight — one that recognizes and accepts the fiscal realities of the day. It is a very lean budget.
He said that the school board has high expectations and confidence that the Board of County
Commissioners will provide the students of rural Orange County with the resources they
deserve to meet their needs. He said that this new fiscal approach - this minimal budget -
comes with high expectations and confidence that the County Commissioners will favorably
respond to the citizens of the district and look at this responsible budget that provides the
necessary opportunities of the community's youth.
Superintendent Patrick Rhodes said that he asked each of the schools to come up with a
comprehensive needs assessment, and these were submitted. Once these assessments were
collected, senior staff went to each school and met with principals and reviewed the requests.
Commissioner Foushee arrived at 8:19 pm.
Superintendent Rhodes made the PowerPoint presentation.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
11
Orange County Schools Superintendent's Recommended Budget
2008 -2009
Investing in the Future
Average Daily Membership (ADM) FY 2002 -2009
Revenue Sources 2006 -07
Federal Sources — 5%
State Appropriations — 58%
Local Current Expense — 37%
OCS Funds are in Our People
Instructional Equipment -.4%
Others Goods and Services - .6%
Supplies and Materials — 6%
Purchased Services — 9%
Salaries and Benefits — 84%
Most OCS Funds are Used to Support Instruction
Community Programs -.5%
Charter Schools —1 %
Central Support — 2%
District Instructional Support — 7.5%
Business Support —14%
School -Based Instructional Support — 75%
How Local Funds Are Used in Schools
Charter Schools — 3%
Community Programs —1 %
Transportation — 3%
Central Support — 3%
District Instructional Support Staff — 5%
Business Support Services — 27%
School -Based Instructional Programs — 56%
Summary of County Appropriations — chart
Orange County Schools Per Pupil County Appropriation — bar graph
Orange County Schools Per Pupil Expenditure: $8,796
Federal Funds - $508 — 5%
Local Funds - $3,264 — 37%
02 -03
03 -04
04 -05
05 -06
06-07
07 -08
08 -09
Kindergarten
483
485
517
499
500
552
532
Elementary
2458
2454
2494
2512
2579
2596
2679
Middle
1670
1673
1594
1583
1569
1628
1603
High
1 1895
11891
2059
12128
12194
12197
12216
TOTAL
16506
16503
16664
16722
16842
16973
17030
Revenue Sources 2006 -07
Federal Sources — 5%
State Appropriations — 58%
Local Current Expense — 37%
OCS Funds are in Our People
Instructional Equipment -.4%
Others Goods and Services - .6%
Supplies and Materials — 6%
Purchased Services — 9%
Salaries and Benefits — 84%
Most OCS Funds are Used to Support Instruction
Community Programs -.5%
Charter Schools —1 %
Central Support — 2%
District Instructional Support — 7.5%
Business Support —14%
School -Based Instructional Support — 75%
How Local Funds Are Used in Schools
Charter Schools — 3%
Community Programs —1 %
Transportation — 3%
Central Support — 3%
District Instructional Support Staff — 5%
Business Support Services — 27%
School -Based Instructional Programs — 56%
Summary of County Appropriations — chart
Orange County Schools Per Pupil County Appropriation — bar graph
Orange County Schools Per Pupil Expenditure: $8,796
Federal Funds - $508 — 5%
Local Funds - $3,264 — 37%
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
12
State Funds - $5,024 — 58%
Ri uinat nrivprc
Salary and Benefit Issues (estimates;
Requested
%
actual changes will be determined by the
Received %
General Assembly
Percent of
Request
Received
Salary increases (average increases; actual
5% certified staff, principals, assistant
raises could be higher or lower based on
principals
grade /step)
4% non - certified staff and central office
2005 -06
administrators
Employer matching retirement rate increases
4% increase
$1,687,993
7.83% to 8.23% rate
Employer matching insurance rate increases
6% increase from $4,097 to $4,343
Superintendent's Recommended Budget for 2008 -2009
WhOnry of County Annronriations
YEAR
Requested
%
Requested
Amount
Received %
Received
Amount
Percent of
Request
Received
2004 -05
13.26%
$2,280,849
4.16%
$715,306
31.4%
2005 -06
18.26%
$3,272,180
9.42%
$1,687,993
51.6%
2006 -07
19.38%
$3,779,379
5.43%
$1,064,058
28.0%
2007 -08
17.99%
$3,720,806
6.13%
$1,26,352
34.1%
2008 -09
8.35%
$1,832,173
2008 -09 Budget Request Totals
Personnel
$3,238,584
Instructional
$ 677,210
Technology
$ 738,166
Building & Grounds
$1,838,400
Furniture & Equipment
$ 465,952
Athletics
$2,820,500
TOTAL
$9,778,812
Mandated Expenditures
Salary Increase 5% Certified, 4% Other
Personnel
$808,561
Matching Social Security
$61,855
Matching Retirement 7.83% to 8.23%
$133,596
Increase Matching Insurance from $4,097 to
$4,343
$61,037
Exceptional Children's Program (2 teachers, 1
teacher assistant
$160,952
TOTAL MANDATES
$1,226,001
21
22 Continuation of Current Services
23 Utilities Increases: Water - $33,000
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
13
Natural Gas - $48,000
Fuel
Inflationary Increases (Supplies & Materials)
TOTAL CONTINUATION OF CURRENT SERVICES
New Student Enrollment Costs
$81,000
$50,000
$63,443
$194,443
Local Supplement for State -Paid Teachers
$23,177
Per Pupil allocations for new students
$15,000
Charter Schools Growth
$75,000
Cost for Increased Enrollment
$113,177
New Initiatives Budget Requests
AVID Support (High School
$25,000
Dropout Prevention /Reduction Initiative
$25,000
Raising Achievement/Closing the Gap
$25,000
AIG Program Enhancement
$25,000
1 AIG Teacher
$66,184
2 ESL Teachers
$132,368
TOTAL EXPANSION BUDGET
$298,552
Proposed Expenditure Increase
2007 -2008 County Appropriation
$21,939,739
County Appropriation Increase Requested
$1,832,173
2008 -2009 Proposed Budget
$23,771,912
Total Proposed County Appropriation
Increase
8.35%
Chair Jacobs asked if this was $260 more per pupil and Superintendent Rhodes said
that it is $334 more per pupil.
Commissioner Nelson said that he appreciated the leanness of the budget. However,
OCS has a lot of older schools and he questions whether this budget helps move the County
towards renovating these schools.
Superintendent Rhodes said that this budget is for operations, personnel, supplies,
instruction programs, etc., and no capital requests are in the budget.
Commissioner Nelson asked about the $1.8 million in the building and grounds and then
the $2.8 million for athletics. Superintendent Rhodes said that the athletics are not driving the
budget, but an auxiliary gym is needed at Cedar Ridge, the tennis courts are in need of repair,
and the track at Orange High is in dilapidated shape.
George McFadey said that the staff visited each site in the district and their buildings are
older, but they approach the capital needs by asking the principals what actually needs to be
done in the facilities. He said that the pay -as- you -go money this year will not get everything
done and they will need to stagger out those projects that do not have the funding this year.
The safety and health needs were identified. He said that the issue of the HVAC systems in the
older buildings is the Achilles heel.
AI Hartkopf said that their budget request does not address the capital needs and that a
lot of the school board's requests have not been met over the years.
Commissioner Nelson said that his one concern is that the leanness of the budget does
not address these capital issues. He commended the school board on its efficiency study.
Superintendent Rhodes made reference to the Pre -K program and said that next year
they will use federal funds to open three Pre-K classes, located at Central Elementary,
14
1 Pathways Elementary, and Efland- Cheeks in existing rooms. Each class will accept 18
2 students. Orange County Schools will use its Title I funding allocation for Pre -K, and it will not
3 ask anything of the County Commissioners.
4 AI Hartkopf said that this is a prime example of the facilities limiting their ability to
5 respond to the goals for their students.
6 Commissioner Gordon commended the school board on the presentation and the
7 efficiency study. She asked if any of the classrooms for Pre-K affect the SAPFO and
8 Superintendent Rhodes said no, not for at least four years.
9 Commissioner Gordon said that she would like a list of schools and the sites that have
10 some Pre -K classes.
11 Commissioner Gordon said to both school systems, that the Board at one point got a list
12 of all of the schools, how many square feet, and when they were built, etc. She requested this
13 information from both school systems.
14 Chair Jacobs said that he appreciated the acknowledgement that the County is moving
15 this budget process up to everyone's advantage. He said that both school boards and staffs
16 have been responsive to the County's budget drivers.
17 Chair Jacobs said that there has been talk about a bond issue in the future. He said that
18 if the transfer tax is available to the County, then they can discuss using some of that to address
19 the capital needs of the school districts. He made reference to the "mandates" and the utility
20 increases. He said that the CHCCS increases for utilities are triple the projected increases in
21 OCS. He asked for an explanation of this.
22 Steve Scroggs said that CHCCS is opening a new school, so there is an exponential
23 increase in the square footage. Superintendent Pedersen said that CHCCS projected a 7%
24 increase in natural gas and electricity, and a 25% increase in water rates.
25 Ted Triebel made reference to parental concerns and emotional concerns, and said that
26 one of the things that the Central Office did was that their senior staff went to each school and
27 briefed each school improvement team as to the constraints facing the Board of County
28 Commissioners and the OCS. Because of that, OCS only had two public hearings for the
29 budget and very little attendance at each. He said that Cedar Ridge is going to need a new
30 wing and an auxiliary gym. He said that if it were up to him, he would build it now because
31 when it is needed in four years, it will cost a lot more.
32 Commissioner Gordon said that at some point the County Commissioners need to talk
33 with both systems about the CIPs. She wants to underscore the capital needs for both systems
34 for existing schools. She would like to see a concerted program to go through assessments and
35 improvements to all of the older schools.
36
37 3. Discussion of Possible Topics for Collaboration Work Group
38 Chair Jacobs said that Pre -K and capacity was one suggestion for a possible topic, as
39 well as ESL programs.
40 Jamezetta Bedford said that she also had ESL on her list, as well as technology.
41 Lisa Stuckey said that both districts are seeing explosive growth in different cultures and
42 ESL would be a choice topic to discuss.
43 Chair Jacobs suggested discussing lawns and xeriscaping to reduce the amount of
44 water usage, mowing, etc.
45 Al Hartkopf said that it is hard to use xeriscaping for ball fields, but there is some
46 Astroturf out there now. He would like to revisit this.
47 Chair Jacobs said that the Parks and Recreation Board will be bringing up the topic of
48 sharing facilities between the schools and Parks and Recreation.
49 Discussion ensued about Astroturf.
50 Ted Triebel said that the Durham Technical Community College campus is getting ready
51 to open and this may be an area to explore for future use and resources.
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Chair Jacobs said that there are two representatives from the County Commissioners on
the Durham Technical Community College Board.
4. Closing Comments
Additional Reports Provided for Informational Purposes
a. Draft School Districts Local Current Expense Fund Balance Policy
b. Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Site Selection Report
c. Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Memorandum Re: Elementary Number 11 and
SAPFO
d. Update: Land Transfer Tax Education Initiative
Commissioner Gordon asked someone to share information on the land transfer tax.
Laura Blackmon said that there is an information item that talks about the website that is
up and is being updated regularly. There is a direct mailing going out and public forums coming
up on April 23`d at Chapel Hill Town Hall and April 3& at F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in
Hillsborough. These are educational presentations with presentations from opposing groups.
Commissioner Nelson said that if this passes, it will radically change how the County
addresses the capital needs of both school districts. He asked everyone to use their own
personal networks to educate people.
Pam Hemminger said that they are sending out information sheets to all of their students
and there are citizen groups that are trying to get information to people with positive information.
Al Hartkopf made reference to item C and the SAPFO and said that the major drive for
the population increase in the whole district is in Mebane and the ETJ.
Chair Jacobs said that he had lunch with the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tern of Mebane
recently and this issue was brought up again. He said the Mayor was "understanding."
Commissioner Gordon said that the SAPFO ordinance does not take into account the
Town of Mebane's jurisdiction.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to Steve Scroggs' memo about Elementary
School #11 and that it will open one year later than expected. She asked if there would be a
cessation in the issuance of CAPS. Steve Scroggs said that at the present time, there is
available capacity with the opening of Moms Grove Elementary. There is no projection of any
denial of CAPS. In November 15, 2009, the cut off birth date for admission in Kindergarten
changes from October 16th to August 31s`, so there will be a reduction in the number of
kindergarten students. All of this is based on projections.
Mike Kelly said that eventually Orange County will have to address the issue of
controlled growth, because it is just not working.
Chair Jacobs said that Orange County is also asking for a reexamination of how
Mebane's growth may be affecting projections for new school needs.
Ted Triebel said that Mebane is not in the SAPFO formula, but the southern part of
Hillsborough is also having an increase in development.
Chair Jacobs said that SAPFO really operates to propel the construction of new schools
at the fastest rate that it can.
Chair Jacobs asked about the yellow sheet about school sites at Carolina North. He
read, "if required from UNC, land costs will be minimal." He said that he thought that UNC was
going to give Orange County the site. The school board agreed and indicated that UNC has
been very clear that it would be a nominal cost, such as $1.
Ted Triebel asked about the next step in the budget process.
Laura Blackmon said that the next budget work session is May e. The Manager will
present her budget on May 2e.
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Commissioner Gordon said that the County Commissioners were trying to adopt a CIP
program for a ten -year period, and it looks as if they will not be able to do that but will be
adopting a capital budget for pay- as- you-go projects for each school system and the County.
The County Commissioners recognized Steve Scroggs, who is retiring.
The meeting adjourned at 9:23 pm.
Donna S. Baker, CIVIC
Clerk to the Board
Barry Jacobs, Chair
I DRAFT MINUTES
2 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
3 REGULAR MEETING
4 May 1, 2008
5 7:30 p.m.
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8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Thursday, May 1,
9 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill North Carolina.
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11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners
12 Valerie P. Foushee, and Alice M. Gordon
13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Carey
14 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill
15 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager. Laura Blackmon, Assistant County
16 Managers Willie Best and Gwen Harvey, and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff
17 members will be identified appropriately below)
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19 NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT
20 AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
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22 1. Additions or Changes to the Agenda
23 Chair Jacobs said that there is one change to the agenda, which is a resolution to
24 Foster Genocide Remembrance, item 3 -a -1. The Board agreed to add this item.
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26 PUBLIC CHARGE
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28 The Chair dispensed with the reading of the public charge.
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30 2. Public Comments
31 a. Matters not on the Printed Agenda
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33 b. Matters on the Printed Agenda
34 (These matters were considered when the Board addressed that item on the agenda
35 below.)
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37 3. Proclamations/ Resolutions/ Special Presentations
38 a. National Historic Preservation Month
39 The Board considered proclaiming May 2008 as National Historic Preservation Month in
40 Orange County and authorizing the Chair to sign the proclamation.
41 Environment and Conservation Director David Stancil introduced this item and
42 introduced Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, Tom Allison. He said that the theme
43 this year is, "This Place Matters." He listed the activities of National Historic Preservation
44 Month.
45 Tom Allison read the Proclamation and spoke about the recent photography contest
46 called, "Heritage Corridors."
47 A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
48 approve proclaiming May 2008 as National Historic Preservation Month in Orange County and
49 authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation.
50 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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a -1. A Resolution to Foster Genocide Remembrance
The Board considered a resolution to recognize and remember the millions who have
perished through acts of genocide.
Chair Jacobs pointed out that the County Commissioners used to do something for
Armenian Martyrs Day, and then they stopped; and they were going to do something related to
the Holocaust, but they stopped. He heard something on the radio about Holocaust
Remembrance Day tomorrow and he thought about incorporating them all into one resolution.
Human Rights and Relations Director Shoshannah Smith introduced this item and read
the resolution.
A RESOLUTION
TO FOSTER
GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE
WHEREAS, throughout history genocide has been a tragic part of humanity's existence;
and
WHEREAS It is important to acknowledge that we are all partners in justice with a
shared legacy of intolerance; and
WHEREAS, Americans have contributed to historical acts of genocide, including the 10-
20 million black Africans who died during the 200 years of the international slave trade,
and the decimation of nearly 12 million Native American Indians in North America
between 1600 and 1850; and
WHEREAS, the country of Armenia recognizes April 24 as Genocide Remembrance
Day in recognition of the government- ordered deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915;
and
WHEREAS, May 2nd 2008 is recognized as Holocaust Remembrance Day, in honor of
the victims of Nazi genocide, including more than 6 million Jews and approximately 5.5
million other targeted groups including Gypsies, Poles, gays and lesbians, Jehovah's
Witnesses, and others; and
WHEREAS, other major acts of genocide have taken place during the past century,
including but not limited to Stalin's Forced famine: (1932 —1933: 7,000,000 Ukrainian
deaths); Rape of Nanking (1937 —1938: 300,000 Chinese deaths and more than
20,000 rapes); Pol Pot Cambodia (1975 -1979: 1.7 million deaths); Rwanda (1994;
800,000 Tutsis deaths); Bosnia - Herzegovina (1992 -1995: 200,000 Muslim deaths); and
most recently Darfur, Sudan (2003 - present; 200,000 deaths); and
WHEREAS, it is important to remember history so that mistakes of the past are not
repeated for future generations; and
WHEREAS, Orange County finds it equally important to remember the atrocities
committed against all peoples in the name of religious, racial and ethnic cleansing so
that we may recognize the inevitable outcomes of our daily intolerance;
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1 NOW, THEREFORE, do we, the Commissioners of Orange County, pass this
2 Resolution to Foster Genocide Remembrance, and encourage Orange County residents
3 to reflect upon all acts of genocide and intolerance.
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5 THIS THE 1s' DAY OF MAY, 2008.
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7 A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon
8 to approve the resolution recognizing and remembering the millions who have perished through
9 acts of genocide.
10 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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12 b. National Tourism Week
13 The Board considered proclaiming the week of May 10 through 18, 2008 as National
14 Tourism Week in Orange County and authorizing the Chair to sign the proclamation.
15 Communications Director of the Visitor's Bureau, Patty Griffin, introduced this item. She
16 thanked the County Commissioners for consideration of this proclamation. The theme is,
17 "Discover Great American Traditions."
18 Commissioner Gordon read the proclamation.
19 NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK PROCLAMATION
20 May 10 -18, 2008
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23 WHEREAS, the travel and tourism industry in Orange County is vital to our economic stability
24 and growth, and it contributes substantially to our cultural and social well being; and
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26 WHEREAS, travel benefits every person by substantially enhancing our personal growth and
27 education, while promoting intercultural understanding and appreciation of Orange County's
28 history, geography and culture; and
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30 WHEREAS, tourism is a growth industry in Orange County generating $137.6 million in
31 expenditures in 2006 — an increase of 8.2 percent over the previous year's figures — ranking the
32 County 24th in travel impact among North Carolina's 100 counties according to the Travel
33 Industry Association of America; and
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35 WHEREAS, state and local tax revenues from travel to Orange County amounted to $10.56
36 million in 2006, representing an $85 tax saving to each County resident; and
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38 WHEREAS, more than 1,710 jobs in Orange County were directly attributable to travel and
39 tourism in 2006; and
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41 WHEREAS, travel generated a $27.62 million payroll in 2006; and
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43 WHEREAS, our area attractions, welcome centers and tours hosted more than 1.68 million
44 visitors in 2007;
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46 NOW THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, recognize the efforts of
47 the Chapel Hill /Orange County Visitors Bureau and do hereby proclaim May 10 -18, 2008 as
48 NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK in Orange County, with the theme DISCOVER GREAT
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AMERICAN TRADITONS. Let's discover and appreciate Orange County's great tourism
traditions, which illustrate the importance of tourism to our community.
This the 1g day of May, 2008.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
approve proclaiming the week of May 10 through 18, 2008 as National Tourism Week in
Orange County and authorize the Chair to sign the proclamation.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
C. Resolution of Appreciation for Volunteers Serving on County Advisory
Boards and Commissions
The Board considered a resolution of appreciation for the volunteers who serve on
County advisory boards and commissions and authorizing the Chair to sign.
Vivette Jeffries -Logan introduced this item and read the resolution.
RESOLUTION
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION
IN ORANGE COUNTY
Whereas, the annual National Volunteer Week, a 35 -year tradition, with a theme of 'Volunteer
to Change the World" is April 27 —May 3, 2008; and,
Whereas, National Volunteer Week designates a special time to recognize and celebrate the
tremendous efforts of volunteers and is held to recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers
at the local, state and national levels; and,
Whereas, individuals and communities are at the center of social change discovering their
power to make a difference; and,
Whereas, between September 2006 and September 2007, nearly 60 million volunteers stepped
forward to make our communities a better place to live; and,
Whereas, during this week, all over the nation, service projects will be performed and
volunteers recognized for their commitment to service; and,
Whereas, thousands of volunteers give of their time, energy and expertise to Orange County
and other organizations to provide needed services to County residents; and,
Whereas, volunteers have greatly contributed to the enrichment of our communities to help
make Orange County a better place to live; and,
Whereas, our 416 volunteers on our various boards and commissions are an invaluable asset
to Orange County departments and they contribute to the cost effectiveness and efficiency of
government operations; and,
Whereas, the involvement of volunteers has strengthened and reinforced the democratic
process by volunteers contributing their time to help address community challenges; and,
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2 Whereas, during National Volunteer Week, the Orange County Board of County
3 Commissioners will show its appreciation to its dedicated volunteers by presenting each with a
4 gift;
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6 Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners sincerely
7 thanks its volunteers for their community spirit, expertise, dedication and commitment to the
8 residents of Orange County and hereby recognizes the week of April 27 through May 3, 2008 as
9 VOLUNTEER WEEK IN ORANGE COUNTY
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This the I" day of May 2008.
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
approve a resolution of appreciation for the volunteers who serve on County advisory boards
and commissions and authorize the Chair to sign.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
d. Presentation — New Hope Preserve
The Board received a special presentation of artwork displayed at a recent Durham
County celebration of the acquisition of property for the New Hope Preserve.
Chair Jacobs said that he represented the Board at an event a few weeks ago and it
was a pleasant and happy occasion with the Durham County Commissioners, because it is
another unusual example of multiple governments working together to do something across
county lines for the betterment of all of our citizens. This also helps to attract grant funds.
David Stancil echoed Chair Jacobs' comments: He said that this preserve meets a 20-
year old goal of trying to protect New Hope Creek where it leaves Duke Forest through Erwin
Road, all the way to the Durham County line. Orange County was also able to acquire about 41
acres at about $4,000 per acre, which is about 1/5 of the market value.
e. Rogers Road Community Enhancement Task Force — Recommendations
The Board considered the Historic Rogers Road Community Enhancement Plan
Development and Monitoring Task Force's recommended Historic Rogers Road Enhancement
Area Map delineation and list of proposed community enhancements.
Chair Jacobs said that Commissioner Carey and Commissioner Foushee worked
diligently on this and he wanted to share this with the rest of the Board.
Commissioner Foushee made reference to the abstract and said that the task force met
seven times between June and November 2007. The recommendations were agreed upon by
the members of the task force. There was a question regarding item #5, which is, "Institute a
moratorium on property taxes. Pay for /subsidize future taxes for the residents in the community
enhancement area for as long as any solid waste facilities remain in their community." She
wants to run this by the County Attorney. The task force did not discuss how these
recommendations would move forward to the other governmental entities.
Chair Jacobs said that he had a question about #10, "Bring the bus service down
Rogers Road..." He said that at one point he was approached by one of the Mayors about
whether Orange County would be willing to financially support an additional bus route on
Rogers Road and he said that it sounded reasonable, but he did not speak for the Board. He
asked the Manager to check with Chapel Hill Transit about this possibility.
Rev. Robert Campbell had signed up to speak to this item, and he thanked the Board
for the opportunity to speak. He said that the Board has had the recommendation for quite
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awhile, and he believes that the recommendation advises what Orange County speaks about in
regards to sustainability for community development and for maintaining affordable homes,
responsible growth, and preservation. He said that these recommendations, if implemented,
would preserve history for this community, and it would be a great service to the community.
He said that this enhancement list is almost a copy of the enhancement list that was developed
in the 90's and that was accepted in 2001, but not implemented.
4. Consent Agenda
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
approve those items on the consent agenda as stated below:
a. Minutes
The Board approved the minutes from the April 1 reconvened Quarterly Public Hearing and the
April 1, 2008 Regular Meeting as submitted by the Clerk to the Board.
b. Appointments
(1) Chapel Hill Planning Board — Reappointment
The Board reappointed James Stroud to a full term expiring June 30, 2011 to the Chapel
Hill Planning Board.
(2) Hillsborough Planning Board — Reappointment
The Board reappointed Arthur "Neil" Jones to a full term expiring April 30, 2011 to the
Hillsborough Planning Board.
c. Child Support Attorney Contract Renewal
The Board renewed a contract with Coleman, Gledhill, Hargrave and Peek to provide legal
representation for the Child Support Office and authorized the Chair to sign.
d. Housing Bond Program — Habitat for Human!ty
The Board awarded housing bond funds in the amount of $362,000 to Habitat for Humanity to
purchase land in the Northern Fairview community in Hillsborough and to provide nine deferred
second mortgages to first -time homebuyers in this community and authorized the Manager, in
consultation with the County Attorney, to enter into a development agreement detailing the
provisions of the award.
e. Housing Bond Program — Orange Community Housing and Land Trust
The Board awarded housing bond funds in the amount of $100,000 to Orange Community
Housing and Land Trust to purchase a dwelling and lot on Milton Avenue in Chapel Hill and
authorized the Manager, in consultation with the County Attorney, to enter into a development
agreement detailing the provisions of the award.
f. Consolidated Housing Plan Annual Update /HOME Program
The Board adopted resolutions, which are incorporated by reference, approving the 2008
Consolidated Housing Plan Annual Update and the proposed HOME Program Activities for
2008 -2009 and authorized the Manager to implement the HOME Program as approved by the
BOCC, including the ability to execute agreements with partnering non - profit organizations after
consultation with the County Attorney.
g_ Approval of Fiscal Year 2008 -09 County Civil Penalty, Fee and Occupancy Tax
Changes
This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
consideration.
h. Approval of Fiscal Year 2008 -09 School and County Capital Project Ordinances
This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
consideration.
1. Proposed Grant Application for Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
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This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
consideration.
L• Legal Advertisement for Quarterly Public Hearing — May 19, 2008
This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
consideration.
k. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (SAPFO) — Review of Annual Technical
Advisory Committee Report
This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
consideration.
I. Swallow's Ridge — Preliminary Plan
This item was removed and placed at the end of the consent agenda for separate
consideration.
VOTE ON CONSENT AGENDA: UNANIMOUS
ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA:
g, Approval of Fiscal Year 2008 -09 County Civil Penalty, Fee and Occupancy Tax
Changes
The Board considered approving proposed 2008 -09 civil penalty, fee and occupancy tax
changes and directing staff to begin public outreach campaigns to notify the public of the
increases during May and June 2008.
Chair Jacobs asked about the education effort on the animal fees. He said that, as a
citizen, he does not feel any more educated than he was when this was discussed in
December.
Animal Services Director Bob Marotto said that staff has followed the timetable that
accompanied the abstract for adoption of the changed fees and times. This was a timetable
regarding public relations and included some activities that have already occurred (i.e., display
ad in the News of Orange and Orange Extra, flyers in different locations, media advisories,
etc.). There is still a two-month period before the actual implementation, and education will
continue.
Chair Jacobs asked about public service ads and Bob Marotto said that he would
explore this and that there would still be media advisories. Chair Jacobs suggested including
information in the tax bill about why the changes are being made.
A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to approve
the proposed 2008 -09 civil penalty, fee, and occupancy tax changes and direct staff to begin
public outreach campaigns to notify the public during May and June 2008 of the changes.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
h. Approval of Fiscal Year 2008 -09 School and County Capital Proiect Ordinances
The Board considered approval of County and School capital project ordinances for
fiscal year 2008 -09 and reallocation of $100,000 in 2007 -08 approved capital funds to allow for
emergency purchase of Animal Control trucks.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to the first attachment and #27 on page 4 of 4,
Chapel Hill- Carrboro City Schools, and said that Carrboro High School addition should be
included in here; she noted that the addition includes an auditorium. She said that #32 should
read, "Southern Human Services Dental Clinic/Additional Space for Health Department."
Regarding #18 and the Renovation of Link Government Services Center, Commissioner
Gordon suggested that this be considered a reserve project as opposed to an authorized
project because it is not well- defined. It will still be in the budget.
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Laura Blackmon said that staff is in the process of working with the architect to develop
the plan and she is not sure what putting this in a reserve would do.
Chair Jacobs said that a lot of the items are for future discussion and the Board agreed
that in the fall, it would revisit the CIP. Hopefully, by the time the Board revisits these projects,
there will be more specific information on some of these projects.
Laura Blackmon said that the purpose of this item was to approve the ordinances, and
the rest is backup material that the County Commissioners requested.
Commissioner Gordon just wants to make sure that her concerns are noted.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to the Elementary School #11 project funds and
said that the County needs to be clear with the two school systems about exactly what must be
done to request projects. In the notebook dated September 20, 2007, there were a number of
projects brought forth by both school systems, and Elementary #11 was flagged for funding. It
seems that it is appropriate to consider how to fund the planning money, which is $640,130 for
fiscal year 2008. She hopes that the Board will give direction to the staff tonight because this
has been unfunded and on the list for a long time. She would like to see the Board direct staff
to work with CHCCS in getting the $640,130 planning money in the 2008 budget and direct staff
to work out a funding plan for Elementary #11 that will be included in the documents.
Donna Coffey said that, as CHCCS indicated on April 22nd, the timeline for the school is
not as pressing as it was and it is looking at opening Elementary #11 a year later. There is
more time to work on a funding plan. The staff can bring back a plan at the first meeting in
August.
Chair Jacobs suggested that the Board approve the County's capital requests and the
OCS capital requests and defer the CHCCS requests, until the Board of Education members
and the other County Commissioners can be present to discuss this request; direct staff to try
and find planning money within the monies that have already been requested by CHCCS.
There is no place to find $640,130 and the fact that the County Commissioners got a CIP that
did not include this is very perplexing. He said that it ought to have been part of the CIP. He
wants all five County Commissioners and the school board members to be present when this is
discussed again.
Commissioner Foushee said that she thought that the staff would be bringing back more
concrete numbers in August and this will keep CHCCS on the planning track. She agrees with
this direction.
Commissioner Gordon said that she asked Donna Coffey about the amount of the
lottery proceeds. This year, CHCCS got $988,000 and the County Commissioners said that it
could spend $624,000 on space for classrooms for Phoenix Academy and some other things.
In the fourth quarter, OCS is expected to get $200,000 and CHCCS $325,000. She wants to
get the lottery proceeds as soon as possible, just in case there is any movement to sequester
the proceeds by the State. She suggested approving capital project ordinances for all of the
projects and then go back and get more specific information. She would like to encourage both
school systems to think of projects that budget all lottery proceeds and get them as soon as
possible from the legislature.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
approve the capital project ordinances as written and tell the school systems that the County
has received their information and discuss how the projects are funded.
Chair Jacobs said that he is going to vote against this because he wants to know where
the money is coming from before he commits to fully funding the capital improvement plan for
the CHCCS system that has a $640,000 request hanging out there.
VOTE: Ayes, 2; No, 1 (Chair Jacobs)
I. Proposed Grant Application for Smart Growth Implementation Assistance
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The Board considered submitting an application to the Development, Community, and
Environment Division in the U.S. EPA's Office of Policy Economics and Innovation for
implementation assistance related to smart growth in the Efland area and authorizing the Chair
to sign prior the May 8, 2008 deadline.
Chair Jacobs asked what would be different about the application in 2008 that will make
it superior to the one in 2007 that was not funded.
Planning Director Craig Benedict said that there will be an emphasis on redevelopment
and vacant buildings, and there will also be a stronger emphasis on workforce housing.
A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to approve
submittal of an application for the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance program and
authorize the Chair to sign the application for submittal prior to the May 8, 2008 deadline.
In item 5-a below, Chair Jacobs requested that the Northern Suckhom/Central Efland
Sewer Expansion be incorporated into the grant proposal.
L Legal Advertisement for Quarterly Public Hearing — May 19, 2008
The Board considered the legal advertisement for items to be presented at the Board of
County Commissioners /Planning Board Quarterly Public Hearing scheduled for May 19, 2008.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to page 7, Zoning Ordinance Amendment, and
said that language should be included about what it is now and how it is changing.
Craig Benedict said that he would add more specific language.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
approve the proposed May 19, 2008 Quarterly Public Hearing legal advertisement, with the
additional language as requested above.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Geof Gledhill said that this relates solely to government projects.
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
reconsider the motion.
Geof Gledhill said that the advertisement will include the amendment that is being
proposed.
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
approve the proposed May 19, 2008 Quarterly Public Hearing legal advertisement as amended
above.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
k. Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance ( SAPFO) — Review of Annual
Technical Advisory Committee Report
The Board received for review the 2008 Annual Report of the SAPFO Technical
Advisory Committee and considered referring it to the SAPFO partners for comments before
certification in June.
Commissioner Gordon said that she sent an email to Craig Benedict stating questions
about this document. She wants some information about the text and numbers because there
appears to be some inconsistencies in the report.
Craig Benedict said that he researched the questions and 57 is the increase for OCS
middle school, and not 61. This will be corrected before documents are sent. He said that
2,533 is the capacity of the Orange County high school level, and this includes Orange High
School at 1,518; Cedar Ridge High School at 1,000; and 15 as part of the partnership school.
Also, the chart did say that the CHCCS high school expansion was scheduled for 2015 -2016
and in another part of the abstract it said 2016 -2017. He will confirm this with Donna Coffey.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
forward the corrected report to the SAPFO partners for review and comment before June
certification.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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I. Swallow's Ridge — Preliminary Plan
The Board received a recreation trail map from the developer concerning the
Preliminary Plan for Swallow's Ridge and considered a decision on subdivision application.
Craig Benedict said that this item was on the agenda a few weeks ago and there was
some discussion about the length of the trail that would be supportive of the private recreation
on the site. The applicant met with staff the next day, and they agreed upon a 6,000+ linear
foot trail with a corridor width that would be approximately 42,800 square feet. This language is
acceptable to the applicant and this is a reasonable accommodation to the condition of approval
and the resolution, section E4.
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
approve the preliminary plan for Swallow's Ridge, with the language for section E4 that, "the
developer has agreed to and will provide a minimum of approximately 42,798.5 square feet of
private recreation area."
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
5. Public Hearings
a. Authorization of Northern Buckhorn Community /Central Efland Sewer
Expansion Project and Conclusion of the Public Hearing for Preliminary Engineer's
Report
The Board will be completing the EPA - required (for State and Tribal Assistance Grant
funded projects) public hearing on the proposed project's preliminary Engineer's Report;
considered approving the project scope; and addressed the project's projected shortfall in
existing bond and grant funds.
Chair Jacobs said that there are some changes since last time related to a pump
station.
Laura Blackmon said that the public hearing for this item was on the last agenda and
was not closed. There is more clarification on the pump station.
Solid Waste Director Gayle Wilson said that a letter has been received from OWASA
saying that, as far as their system is concerned, the lifespan of the mechanical and electrical
equipment of a pump station is approximately 15 years. All of the County's equipment is 20
years old, so it has not been operating at capacity. There were plans to replace this system in
the CIP in two years, which overlaps this project and could achieve some economy of scale
savings. The new system would have the capacity flow of about 100,000 gallons per day. The
current system flows at about 30,000 gallons a day. The new system would take care of
everything that is existing in the proposed service area.
Commissioner Gordon made reference to item #31 on the County CIP, which says that
out of the $4.9 million project, the County has spent $2.2 million, and the available funding as of
October 31, 2007 is $2,663,162. Other documentation says that $2.5 million is left. She asked
for clarification on this.
Gayle Wilson said that the $100,000 is eaten up by administrative fees paid to the North
Carolina Construction Loans and Grants section.
Commissioner Gordon asked more clarifying questions about the funding, which were
answered by Laura Blackmon.
Chair Jacobs suggested changing the recommendation to include this sewer project in
the grant application for smart growth because it is replacing failing systems. He read his
suggested recommendation: "The Manager recommends that the Board approve funding of the
entire Northern Buckhom Community and central Efland sewer project, as well as the upgrades
to the McGowan Creek pumping station, with funding shortfalls, not covered by grants, to be
financed by funds advanced against FY 2010 -11 alternative financing."
PUBLIC COMMENT:
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It A
1 Aubrey Graham asked if this means that the procedure would start immediately.
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3 Chair Jacobs said that it still has to be reviewed by other entities before starting.
4 County Engineer Paul Thames said that there are several review processes, but bids
5 will be accepted about this time next year. The EPA will have to go through the bids, as will the
6 Attorney and the Engineers to make sure that everything is kosher. From then on, it is a 1 Y2 to
7 2 -year process.
8 Commissioner Foushee recommended that Mr. Graham get a copy of the abstract,
9 because it has a lot of information.
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11 A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
12 close the public hearing.
13 A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
14 approve funding of the entire Northern Buckhorn Community and central Efland sewer project,
15 as well as the upgrades to the McGowan Creek pumping station, with funding shortfalls, not
16 covered by grants, to be financed by funds advanced against FY 2010 -11 alternative financing.
17 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
18
19 6. Regular Agenda
20 a. Summer Day Camp Proposal
21 The Board considered appropriating $10,000 from the Department of Social Services
22 Childcare Program to fund sponsorships for certain summer day camp programs in lieu of
23 continuing the County's summer day camp program.
24 Laura Blackmon said that at the last Board meeting she brought forth the proposal for
25 the summer day camp of appropriating $10,000 for camperships for qualifying summer day
26 camp participants in lieu of the County's summer day camp, with the proposal that the funds be
27 used for three camps — 4 -H, Triangle Sportsplex, and Orange County Schools. The Social
28 Services Board would have to approve the $10,000 that it has in surplus this year in childcare
29 subsidy. There is a letter in the packet from the Recreation and Parks Advisory Council
30 regarding this. The staff is asking for approval to move forward with the camperships. The
31 Department of Social Services will qualify individuals with a sliding scale and a first -come, first
32 served basis. Should the Board decide to reinstitute the summer camp next year, there are no
33 funds budgeted.
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35 PUBLIC COMMENT
36 Steve Peck, Chair of the RPAC, said that the RPAC is unanimous in its opposition to
37 discontinuing the summer camp. There was a letter sent in February and the RPAC came and
38 spoke to the Board in March. He said that the RPAC is really dismayed about this and realizes
39 that it is too late to backup on this year. He appreciates the consideration of scholarship
40 money. The RPAC would strongly recommend this program going back in next year. He said
41 that many of the members of RPAC, past and present, actually attended this camp or were
42 counselors. He said that the RPAC members were not asked what they thought about this very
43 much, and when the opinions were voiced, nothing came back to explain the rationale.
44 Regarding financial implications, the camp had a $3,600 shortfall, and this could have been
45 made up in many ways. He hopes that the Board will reinstate the camp in the new fiscal year.
46 Commissioner Gordon made reference to the rationale and said that one of the things
47 that has been cited by the Manager is that the program costs the County money. She asked if
48 this was the only rationale.
49 Laura Blackmon said that the financial reasons were not why she was looking at
50 discontinuing the camp. Part of the reason is that as the County grows, as the Lands Legacy
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Program continues to add property to the County, and as parks are developed, she recognized
that parks are becoming a greater portion of what this department can focus on. The staff
cannot spread themselves too thin and she wants to focus on things that provide to the entire
County. There are other summer camps and after - school programs in the County. The goal
was to not duplicate what is already available, but to focus on more of what the County direction
has been.
Commissioner Gordon said that when the decision was made, it was in the rush of the
budget process, and if there was ever a vote to discontinue, it was in an overall vote to approve
the budget. She thinks that it is good that everyone has now heard the rationale.
Commissioner Foushee said that, given that the Board has approval from the Social
Services Board to use the $10,000 to provide subsidies for children to attend other camps, she
would like to monitor this new situation and see how it affects children who are not able to
attend a camp and reconsider if this is something that reflects the County's goals. Chair
Jacobs agreed.
Chair Jacobs said that he appreciates the RPAC's concerns. He thinks that the County
is going to move toward engaging RPAC and staff in more strategic thinking about the future
with Parks and Recreation. He said that if the County is going to consider eliminating tax
increases, then programs will have to be eliminated and this is just the tip of the iceberg. There
is a limit to what the County can fund. He agrees with looking at places where services are
duplicated. He is concerned about the proposed continued growth of exercise facilities at one
of the senior centers when there are people in the private sector who provide exercise facilities.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
approve the proposal and the designation of $10,000 from the Department of Social Services
Childcare Program to fund an Orange County scholarship /campership program to support
participants' attendance at the three summer day camp programs noted above. Also, the
Board will monitor the effect of this action and revisit this in the fall to see if goals are being
met.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Steve Peck asked for a written response about the rationale, and Chair Jacobs said that
he could have the minutes when they are available.
b. Naming of County Owned Buildings and Facilities Pollcy
The Board considered reviewing and discussing the Naming of County Owned Buildings
and Facilities Policy originally adopted by the BOCC on February 21, 1989 and revised on
November 9, 2005, and providing feedback to staff on any proposed changes.
Laura Blackmon said that there are quite a few new buildings coming online next year —
the Tweeter Building, an office building, the Orange senior center, etc. — and she wanted to
make sure that the Board was comfortable with the policy that was developed in 1989 and
revised in 2005.
Chair Jacobs said that, whatever is done, he would like to disseminate it to all advisory
boards and highlight that the naming of any facility is ultimately in the sole discretion of the
Board of County Commissioners. He thinks that a mixed message has been sent to some
advisory boards.
Laura Blackmon said that there are also some complications because some buildings
need to keep certain names because of the services offered there. For example, the Link
Center is also the Government Services Center.
Commissioner Gordon said that for general buildings with County services, her
preference would be to name the building as such, as opposed to naming it for a person.
Chair Jacobs suggested for #1 adding at the end, "Naming buildings and facilities is at
the sole discretion of the Board of County Commissioners."
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Laura Blackmon said that she would refine the policy somewhat.
7. Reports -NONE
8. Board Comments
Commissioner Foushee reminded everyone that it is Safe Kids Week. She and
Commissioner Carey attended the kickoff for this event yesterday. She said that tomorrow from
3:30 — 6:00 p.m. is the dedication for the Orange County Campus of Durham Technical
Community College.
Commissioner Gordon said that the Intergovernmental Parks Work Group met recently,
and one of the major things discussed was guidelines for siting recreational facilities at schools.
The principles will be forwarded to all bodies involved for feedback.
Commissioner Gordon said that the Transportation Advisory Committee and Triangle
Transit are looking forward to the report of the Special Transit Advisory Commission (STAC).
The last STAC meeting was on April 25"' and the report will be distributed soon. The report
provides a fresh look at transit in the Triangle and has recommendations for all jurisdictions to
adopt.
Commissioner Gordon said that the Environment Steering Committee that she is on for
NCACC gave a briefing on new air quality standards. A lot of areas have conformed to the air
quality standards, but a lot of counties are on threshold.
Commissioner Gordon said that after May e, she would like to see a report on what the
media effort ended up being and what was done regarding the Land Transfer Tax.
Chair Jacobs congratulated Cindy Rigsbee from Gravelly Hill Middle School, who is the
North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Chair Jacobs said that he spoke with the Manager of Chatham County today and the
agenda includes approving a resolution supporting a Value -Added Processing Center for
agriculture. He has a meeting tomorrow with Senator Kinnaird and Representative Faison to
see if the two bills that were introduced in the last legislative session can be passed so that
there can be funding.
Chair Jacobs noted that, after the primary election, the chances are excellent that for
the first time in history, the majority of the Board of County Commissioners will be women.
9: County Manager's Report
Laura Blackmon said that she and Donna Coffey would be meeting on Monday morning
with Durham Technical Community College on the budget.
A new Economic Development Director has been hired and will start May 1 e. Also, the
Health Department is completing site visits as part of accreditation program.
Commissioner Gordon said that, now that there is a new Emergency Services Director,
she would like the ES Department to work with other departments in the County to try and make
sure that the addressing system in the County is such that the ES can actually find people's
homes. There are several neighborhoods with strange numbering systems and that interferes
with the prompt provision of emergency services.
Laura Blackmon said that staff is looking at some upgrades to help with this.
10. Appointments
a. Chapel Hill Planning Board — New Appointment
The Board considered making a new appointment to the Chapel Hill Planning Board.
A motion was made by Chair Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to appoint
Robert Campbell to the ETJ seat, expiring June 30, 2009.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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b. Information Technology Advisory Committee — New Appointments
The Board considered making three new appointments to the Information Technology
Advisory Committee.
A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
appoint Susan Kom and James Walker to full terms expiring December 31, 2011; and Daniel
Oakley to a partial term expiring December 31, 2010 to the Information Technology Advisory
Committee.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
C. Workforce Development Board - Regional_ Partnership — New Appointment
The Board considered making a new appointment to the Workforce Development
Board - Regional Partnership.
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
appoint Patrick Rhodes to a partial term expiring June 30, 2009 to the Workforce Development
Board - Regional Partnership.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Chair Jacobs pointed out that the County does not communicate with the JPA, ETJ, or
Northern Transition Area board members, so he does not know how they are representing the
County's interests on these boards. He has suggested to the Manager that they get invited to
the Land Use Plan Update Public Hearing and meetings about the Land Use Plan so that they
understand Orange County's perspective.
11. Information Items
• Memorandum from Animal Services Director Regarding Nuisance Ordinance — Animal
Noises
• Memorandum from Commission for the Environment Regarding City of Burlington Biosolids
Permit Renewal
Chair Jacobs said that he saw that the Commission for the Environment is asking for
another public hearing in Orange County. Short of that, he thinks that it might be useful to have
someone from Environmental Health or the Health Department. He said that Burlington is #6 in
the State in the amount of sludge that is dumped.
Geof Gledhill said that the County's zoning ordinance prohibits biosolid applications in
water quality critical areas. He said that, because of this, someone on behalf of Orange County
should react to the permitting before the State process each time one of these sites comes up
for a permit again.
Chair Jacobs suggested that the Manager talk with the Attorney and David Stancil and
try to develop a strategy.
12. Closed Session -NONE
13. Adjournment
A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
adjourn the meeting at 9:47 p.m.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
Barry Jacobs, Chair
15
Donna S. Baker, CIVIC
Clerk to the Board
1 DRAFT
2 MINUTES
3 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
4 ORANGE COUNTY PLANNING BOARD
5 QUARTERLY PUBLIC HEARING
6 May 19, 2008
7 7:30 p.m.
8
9 The Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Orange County Planning Board
10 met for a Quarterly Public Hearing continuation meeting on Monday, May 19, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
11 in the F. Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, N.C.
12
13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Valerie
14 Foushee, Alice M. Gordon, and Mike Nelson
15 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Moses Carey, Jr.
16 COUNTY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Geof Gledhill
17 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: Assistant County Manager Willie Best and Deputy Clerk to
18 the Board David Hunt (All other staff members will be identified appropriately below)
19 PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Jay Bryan and Members Craufurd
20 Goodwin, Renee Price, Judith Wegner, Michelle Kempinski, Bernadette Pelissier, and Lary
21 Wright
22 PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeffrey Schmitt, Joel Knight, and Brian
23 Crawford
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26 The meeting was called to order at 7:37 pm.
27
28 A. OPENING REMARKS FROM THE CHAIRS - Barry Jacobs and PB Chair Jay Bryan
29 Jay Bryan welcomed everyone.
30 Chair Jacobs made reference to the special use permit.
31 Jay Bryan said that, due to an oversight regarding a notice, which is a legal requirement
32 for such matters, the special use permit will be postponed to a later meeting for a public hearing.
33 Geof Gledhill said that the County Commissioners would reschedule this public hearing
34 and there would be proper notice given far enough in advance.
35 Chair Jacobs said that if residents live within the area, they will get a written, official
36 notice from the County. If any residents are concerned that they might not get a notice, then
37 they should give their contact information to the Clerk.
38
39 B. PUBLIC CHARGE
40 The Board of Commissioners pledges to the citizens of Orange County its respect. The
41 Board asks its citizens to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous manner, both with the
42 Board and with fellow citizens. At any time should any member of the Board or any citizen fail
43 to observe this public charge, the Chair will ask the offending member to leave the meeting until
44 that individual regains personal control. Should decorum fail to be restored, the Chair will
45 recess the meeting until such time that a genuine commitment to this public charge is observed.
46 All electronic devices such as cell phones, pagers, and computers should please be turned off
47 or set to silenttvibrate.
48
49 C. PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS
50 1. Eno Small Area Plan: An appointed citizen Task Force has been working with
51 Orange County Staff to develop a Small Area Plan for the Eno EDD (Economic
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Development District) Area since June 2006. The draft of the plan is now complete
and contains Recommendations in the following topic areas:
• Water and Sewer
• Land Use and Zoning
• Transportation
• Housing
• Parks, Recreation and Open Space
• Communications
• Intergovernmental Issues
• Other Recommendations, including:
• Potential Strategic Growth and Rural Conservation (SGRC Program)
• Plan Updates
• Implementation
The draft Eno EDD Area Small Area Plan is available on the Orange County Panning
Department website at http: / /www.co. orange .nc.us /planning /index.htm.
Purpose: To receive public comment on the data, assumptions, and recommendations
contained in the Draft Eno EDD Area Small Area Plan and receive direction from the
Board of Commissioners as to subsequent steps.
Planner Perdita Holtz introduced this item. This planning effort began in late 2005 and
the task force is made up of eight citizens, a City of Durham representative, and a BOCC liaison
(Commissioner Foushee). The small area plan boundary is in the eastern portion of the County
around 1 -85 and US 70. The focus area boundary was designated as the Eno Economic
Development District and the commercial node that exists off of that district. The reserve area
(red outline) was added late last year for future utility planning purposes only. There are not any
recommendations made for this arba other than for future water and sewer purposes. Most of
the area is within the Orange County primary service area of the Water and Sewer Management
Planning Boundary Agreement.
The small area plan contains four sections and two appendices. The current major
issues are on pages 48 -58. The synopsis of recommendations is in the Executive Summary.
The task force spent the most time talking about water and sewer issues and land use and
zoning issues. She said that the implementation measures that would implement the small area
plan would be brought forth after adoption of the plan.
Water and Sewer:
The most important aspect of the plan is water and sewer, as an infrastructure is needed
if the area is to develop more intensely. One of the most important recommendations is the
negotiation of the interlocal agreement with the City of Durham to serve the area with public
water and sewer. This agreement would be the first thing to be done if the plan is adopted.
This would involve elected officials and municipal representatives.
Land Use and Zoning:
Regarding land use and zoning, Perdita Holtz said that the recommendation is to change
the existing future land use classifications from Economic Development and Commercial Node
to Economic Development (north of US 70) and Eno Mixed Use (south of 70). She made
reference to the map and said that the darker purple would remain as an Economic
Development designation and the lighter purple would become Eno Mixed Use. The Economic
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Development area would have more intense land uses such as manufacturing, industrial, and
warehousing uses. The Eno Mixed Use area would include retail /office /service and some
residential. It is recommended to revise the Zoning Ordinance text to be consistent with the
construct outlined in Appendix A (pp. 59 -60). Smaller scale projects would be permitted through
a staff administrative review and larger scale projects would require a special use permit. The
current designations of Economic Development District Primary and Secondary would no longer
be used, and properties would remain zoned as they are currently. Those properties zoned
Economic Development (new designation) would look to the land use classifications to
determine the permitted uses and approval procedures.
There would likely be some sort of annexation agreement reached with Durham.
Coordination with the City of Durham would be necessary for the zoning text changes.
Transportation:
There is a recommendation to approve an access management plan for the area. The
concept is on page 54. Any future implementation measures and approvals need to recognize
the anticipated redesign of the 1 -85 and US 70 interchange, which is in the State TIP but is not
funded yet.
Housing:
The plan is to make sure that future zoning text changes do not make existing
conforming residential uses in the EDD area non - conforming. In the mixed use, there would be
greater density as the distance from existing single - family houses or uses increase. The intent
of the mixed use area is for some residential, but mostly non - residential. The recommendation
in the plan is that future implementation measures should limit the amount of residential in that
mixed use area.
Perdita Holtz said that last Tuesday there was an open house style public information
meeting and 13 people attended. The recommendation is for the plan to go to the regular
Planning Board meeting on June 4"' for review and comment to be brought back to the regular
Board of County Commissioners' meeting on June 24"' for adoption consideration. She read
the Manager's recommendation.
Chair Jacobs asked if Durham's Urban Growth area conformed to the reserve area.
Perdita Holtz said that the reserve area is much larger than.Durham's Urban Growth Boundary
within Orange County, except that the Urban Growth Boundary extends a little bit further west
than where the Eno EDD line and small area plan line was drawn. The map is on page 45.
Renee Price asked how much the County was going to continue offering to other
counties. She said that it seems that this is giving away potential tax base.
Chair Jacobs said that the simple answer is that it is still in Orange County, so the taxes
are still captured.
Michelle Kempinski asked about Durham's Urban Growth Boundary and the intention of
Durham to extend into Orange County. She asked if there was any interlocal agreement
between Orange County and Durham. Perdita Holtz said that there is not an agreement for that
issue yet, but there is a Courtesy Review Agreement for projects within this area. One of the
recommendations of the plan is to establish an interlocal agreement.
Public Comment:
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Joe Griffin has lived in Eno Township all of his life. He is really concerned about the
annexation into Durham. He said that it seems like this has been set up to be annexed in this
process. He said that in the legislature this year, there is supposed to be a proposal to limit
municipalities' ability to annex. He asked the County Commissioners to support this legislation.
David Wolberg lives in Whispering Pines subdivision. He said that he appreciates the
attention that has been given to Whispering Pines and preserving this as a residential
neighborhood. He also appreciates that the land use plan keeps the commercial development
north of US 70 and has mixed use south of US 70. He is concerned that, given that much of the
land south of US 70 is already zoned commercial and is going to remain zoned commercial, and
given that annexation by Durham is likely, he is not convinced that the land use plan has much
in the way of teeth. Also, given what exists on Hillsborough Road /US 70 into Durham, he is not
really impressed with this kind of development continuing out into his backyard. He has nothing
against Durham, but he chose to buy land in Orange County. He has backyard poultry and this
would not be permitted under Durham ordinances. He sees an extra layer of government and
higher taxes if this is annexed. He has no objection to land being developed in this area, but he
is not in favor of annexation.
Chair Jacobs requested that staff provide a plain, simple map of the Durham Urban
Growth Boundary, the Eno EDD with the reserve area, the roads, and the streams.
Chair Jacobs commended the staff, citizens, and Commissioner Foushee for working on
this plan. When this began in December 2005, people who owned property in the Eno EDD
expressed their frustration that Orange County had done nothing for years. It is an achievement
that the plan has come this far. Regarding Durham's annexation policy, he said that there
should be something clearly written about this in the table of contents so that someone could
turn right to it. He suggested that the Board of County Commissioners sit down with the Mayor,
Mayor Pro Tem, the new Manager, and the Planning Director of the City of Durham to discuss
the annexation policy, water and sewer boundary interlocal agreement, etc. He said that it is a
fact that, since the County does not provide water and sewer, the municipalities that do provide
water and sewer have their own rules about how they provide it, and Orange County will have to
abide by those rules. It is a concern in looking at the rates, but it needs to be discussed.
Chair Jacobs made reference to the mixed use and asked if someone could come in
with a very large retail space with residential upstairs for the dark purple portion. Perdita Holtz
said that the recommendation is that no new residential would be permitted in that area and that
retail /trade would require a Planned Development.
Planning Director Craig Benedict said that in the light purple area, the mixed use area
would allow retail /office /service and residential.
Chair Jacobs said that there are very few areas within Orange County's planning
jurisdiction where there can be high - density residential.
Chair Jacobs made reference to page 53 and the improvements to 1 -85. He said that
there are recommendations every year in the TIP about how Orange County wants this
improvement to take place in regard to an underpass on New Hope Creek. He thinks that those
improvements that are requested every year should be incorporated in this document. Also, on
page 56, under item E -1 and the second bullet, he suggested taking out the word "small."
He made reference to Appendix A and the uses and asked where he would find an
asphalt plant. Perdita Holtz said that this table was not complete and this exact table would not
be adopted.
Commissioner Foushee said that for those persons involved in the permitted use table,
most of the efforts were geared to ensuring that what was permitted now would not become
non - conforming if the City of Durham were to annex the area. Also, the focus was economic
development and not necessarily residential development.
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Chair Jacobs made reference to page 66 and asked why amusement parks and arcades
were not allowed. He said that there is a golf driving range right up the road. He asked if there
was some reason why people did not want this. Commissioner Foushee did not recall this
conversation. Craig Benedict said that Durham's code does not allow this, so the
recommendation was consistent with Durham's code. Staff will research this.
Perdita Holtz made reference to the currently adopted future land use map and the area
south of US 70, which has some economic development district parcels. This would be in a
mixed use area, so it would allow residential.
Michelle Kempinski requested that for the June 0 Planning Board meeting, she would
like to invite any of the task force members and the community members. She would also like
for staff to provide a short summary of how this new plan would interact with the existing EDD
Design Manual
Renee Price asked about the industrial uses that are anticipated. Perdita Holtz said that
zoning would govern the specific uses in that industrial area. There is no specific zoning
amendment, at this time, but the chart on pp. 61 -67 shows the uses that the task force was
anticipating.
Commissioner Nelson asked at what point the County would take the necessary step to
create an Economic Development plan. For example, there could be a focus here on IT or
research, such as a spin -off of RTP. He said that these conversations should have already
taken place.
Commissioner Gordon agreed with Commissioner Nelson's point and said that it is
imperative that a list of target industries be developed.
Commissioner Nelson said that this conversation can begin now that there is a new
Economic Development Director.
Economic Development Director Brad Broadwell started work for Orange County today.
He said that he read through the plan today and he has a good feel for the intention of the
County and the intention of the people involved in these serious issues. He said that, from an
economic development standpoint, the County has assets, and one of them is the Research
Triangle Park. He said that this EDD is a natural extension of RTP. He said that this location
should be marketed to those tenants in RTP. He does envision a technology base here.
Jay Bryan said that he hoped that those involved in the task force would be able to
participate in the next step.
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
acknowledge that the public hearing will remain open until the Planning Board review and
comment at which time the public hearing is closed; refer the item to the Planning Board for
review and comment to be returned no later than June 9, 2008; and direct staff to place the draft
plan on the June 24, 2008 BOCC regular meeting agenda for adoption consideration.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
2. SUP -A -2 -08 Farm Montessori School: REVIEW of a Class A Special Use Permit
(hereafter 'SUP) application proposing the development of a private, Montessori,
school facility at 711 Terry Road (SR 1573) (TMBL 5.10..22 / PIN 0806 -76- 4683).
The property in question is located within the ENO Township, is approximately
fourteen and a half (14 %Z) acres in area, and is zoned Agricultural Residential (AR)
Lower Eno Protected Watershed Overlay.
The applicant, Montessori Farm School, is seeking a SUP in accordance with the
provisions of Article Eight (8) and Section 8.8.30 to develop a private school based on
the Montessori curriculum.
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The applicant intends to develop their school with a major emphasis on providing a
farm /agricultural and science emphasis including:
a. Farm and crop production,
b. Animal care,
c. Recycling, composting, and water conservation activities /projects.
Purpose: To receive public comment on the Farm Montessori School Class A Special Use
Permit
THIS ITEM WILL BE RESCHEDULED
3. Comprehensive Plan Update Phase II: The Comprehensive Plan is an official
public document that includes analysis of existing and predicted conditions and
provides guidance for future legal and policy decisions, as determined by Orange
County. The updated Plan will serve to guide development and the preservation of
resources within the unincorporated areas of the County, by addressing a multitude
of issues. The adopted Plan also serves as the statutory basis for many of Orange
County's land use regulations as well as the application of zoning districts, as zoning
must be in accordance with a comprehensive plan.
On October 3, 2006, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved a process
for updating the County's Comprehensive Plan in two phases as follows:
Phase I, to include the development of Comprehensive Plan goals and County Profile
Element; and Phase II, to include the remaining seven (7) Elements of the updated
Comprehensive Plan. Phase I was completed by the County in September 2007 and
Phase II was initiated immediately thereafter.
During October 2007 -April 2008, a Planning Consultant, County staff and the following
County advisory boards have worked together to develop the draft Comprehensive Plan:
Affordable Housing Advisory Board, Agricultural Preservation Board, Commission for the
Environment, Economic Development Commission, Historic Preservation Commission,
Orange Unified Transportation Board, Planning Board, and Recreation and Parks
Advisory Council.
The Comprehensive Plan includes the following eight Elements: 1) County Profile; 2)
Economic Development; 3) Housing; 4) Land Use; 5) Natural and Cultural Systems; 6)
Parks and Recreation; 7) Services (Utilities) and Community Facilities; and 8)
Transportation. Recommendations are also provided in the draft Comprehensive Plan
that addresses the administration, implementation, and monitoring of the Plan that will
need to take place following its adoption.
In addition to numerous citizen comprised County advisory board meetings, during
Phase II of the update process, the County conducted public input meetings on January
28"', April 3`", April 9"' and April 23`d.
The draft Comprehensive Plan is available on the Orange County Planning Department
website at hftp: / /www.co. orange. nc. us /planning /compre_cpupdate.asp.
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Purpose: To receive public comment on the updated Comprehensive Plan in its entirety
and receive direction from the Board of Commissioners as to subsequent steps.
Comprehensive Planning Supervisor Tom Altieri reviewed the attached items. He made
a PowerPoint presentation.
Public Hearing Purposes
- Receive formal public comment on the draft Comprehensive Plan and receive direction
from County Commissioners.
- Attendees hear in general what is in the draft Comprehensive Plan and how it was
generated.
Presentation Overview
- Purpose and Scope of Draft Plan
- Process and Timetable
- Opportunities for citizen access and input
- Availability of Draft Plan
- RolesMho has been involved
- Submittal of written comments
- County Administration's recommendation
- Consultant's general tasks
- Overview of Draft Plan
Comprehensive Plan Purposes, Scope and Process
Purpose:
- Framework for long -range decision making
- Guides growth and development
- Sets goals /objectives to guide policy decisions
- Serves as statutory basis for land use regulations
Scope:
- Planning period, 20+ years.
- Planning for Orange County's planning jurisdiction
- Covers 8 major areas, known as Elements
- Based on BOCC Guiding Principles
- Includes Goals and Objectives to guide County policies and implementation action
strategies
Update Process and Timetable
Phase I (Oct. '06 — Sept. '07):
- Goals (38 in total)
- County Profile (data) Element
- Public Hearing (August 27"')
Phase I I (Oct. '07 — August '08):
- Development of Comprehensive Plan
• Text for remaining 7 elements
• Objectives
• Public Hearing (May '08)
BOCC Guiding Principles
€1 MEN' :: _.ssc:,.,;:a ?.act
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0. ANA
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1. Efficient and fiscally responsible provision of Public Facilities and Services
2. Encouraging sustainable growth and development
3. Encouraging energy efficiency, lower energy consumption, and the use of non - polluting
renewable energy resources while promoting both air quality protection and the
development of an effective transportation system
4. Natural area resource preservation
5. Preservation of rural land use patterns
6. Water resource preservation
7. Promotion of economic prosperity and diversity
8. Preservation of community character
Roles in General
- BOCC — set stage; provide direction to advisory boards and staff; hear and consider
public comments; adopt plan
- Advisory Boards — direction to staff and consultants; provide input and feedback
- Consultants — Meeting facilitation; partner with staff and advisory boards to complete
draft plan
- County Staff — partner with consultants; support boards
- Public — attend meetings and hearings; provide input and feedback
Opportunities for Citizen Knowledge, Access, and Input
Meetings:
- Meetings of 8 Element Lead Advisory Boards
- Countywide Meetings (4)
- Open Houses (2)
- Public Hearings (2)
Accessing Information:
- Meetings, staff, advisory board members, Internet, mailing lists, County libraries, and
press releases
Availability of Draft Plan
- Online at:
www.co.orange.nc.us /planning /compre cpupdate.asp
- Public libraries: Carrboro, Cedar Grove, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough
- Planning and Inspections Department
Submittal of Written Comments
- Guaranteed that written comments submitted on or before June 4"' will be considered
during development of Planning Board's recommendation to the BOCC.
- All comments received will accompany the Planning Board's recommendation to the
BOCC.
- Submit comments directly to Planning Board at their June 4"' meeting or in advance to:
CompPlanUpdate (a%co.orange.nc.us OR
Orange County Planning Board
Attn: Tom Altieri, Comprehensive Planning Supervisor
Orange County Planning and Inspections Department
306 -F Revere Rd., P.O. Box 8181
Hillsborough, NC 27278
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Administration's Recommendation
In accordance with the BOCC approved timetable, County Administration recommends
referral of the Draft Plan to the Planning Board for a recommendation to be returned to the
BOCC August 19, 2008.
Clarion's General Tasks — Roger Waldon, Principal, Clarion Associates
Assistance During Phase II
1. Data and information collection
2. Meetings with Advisory Boards and staff
3. Advisory Board, staff and public input
4. Prepared Vt draft of Comprehensive Plan
5. Advisory Board and staff comments on draft
6. Developed a 2nd draft for public hearing
General Comments on Draft Plan
- Reflects no major changes to existing /current policy directions.
- Does not include specific implementation recommendations; work on those to start after
Plan adoption
- Draft Plan designed to:
• Establish a common data base;
• Pull together ideas and information heretofore scattered;
• Set the stage for subsequent community discussions about implementation
strategies
Comprehensive Plan Chapters
1. Plan Overview
2. BOCC Planning Principles
3. Economic Development Element
4. Housing Element
5. Land Use Element
6. Natural and Cultural Systems Element
7. Parks and Recreation Element
8. Services and Facilities Element
9. Transportation Element
10. Toward a Sustainable Future
Common Components of Elements
- Summary and overview
- Purpose of plan element
- Historic/current data and evaluation of trends
- Needs
- Goals and objectives
- Linkages to other elements
- Key documents
- Intergovernmental coordination
Chapter Highlights
Chapter 1. Plan Overview
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1 - Background information and plan organization
2 - Sustainability
3 - Administration and implementation guidelines
4 - Monitoring and evaluation procedures
5 - Amendments
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7 Chapter 2. BOCC Planning Principles
8 - Representative of the Board's values
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10 Chapter 3. Economic Development Element
11 - Economy anchored by institutional uses, RTP
12 - Importance of Agriculture to economy
13 - Need to encourage non - residential development
14 - Need to encourage development in targeted areas
15 - Focus on Economic Development Districts
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17 Chapter 4. Housing Element:
18 - Need more housing for future residents
19 - Affordability and "workforce" housing
20 - Wide -range of new housing in the right places
21 - .Network of non - profit housing organizations
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23 Chapter 5. Land Use Element:
24 - Coordination with municipalities
25 - Promote mixed -use development
26 - Promote development in targeted areas
27 - Protect environmentally sensitive land
28 - Preserve open space and agriculture
29 - Implementation will need to include amendments to land use plan and ordinances
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31 Chapter 6. Natural /Cultural Systems Element:
32 - Agricultural Resources
33 - Air and Energy Resources
34 - Cultural Resources
35 - Historic Preservation
36 - Natural Areas
37 - Water Resources
38 - Strategies to preserve and be good stewards
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40 Chapter 7. Parks and Recreation Element:
41 - Summarizes existing and planned facilities
42 - Recognizes a growing population
43 - Identifies need for countywide assessment of recreation and parks facilities, programs,
44 and resources
45 - Emphasizes coordination with municipalities and school districts
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47 Chapter 8. Services and Facilities Element:
48 - School facilities
49 - Solid waste management
50 - Stormwater /erosion control
51 - Libraries
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- Public Safety and Emergency Management
- Public water /wastewater systems and coordination
Chapter 9. Transportation Element:
- Emphases on multi -modal transportation
- Regional authorities for recommendations
- Three bus systems (Orange, Chapel Hill, Triangle Transit)
- Transportation and development closely linked
- County is within a non - attainment area for air quality and daily travel is increasing.
Appendices
- County Profile (Data) Element
- Glossary of terms
- Additional data and information
NEXT STEPS
- Receive public comment
- Referral to Planning Board
- Return to BOCC for action
Public Comment:
Allen Rosen read a prepared statement:
"Members of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan Coalition want the updated plan
to declare a preference for compact, walkable, mixed -use, and transit - supportive developments
within the County's planning jurisdiction. This development pattern is vital to achieving many
key components of sustainability including affordable housing, an increase in the commercial
tax base, reduced vehicle miles traveled, and improved prospects for local and regional public
transportation.
We are pleased that language throughout the plan emphasizes this preference. Overall,
the plan is a big step in the right direction, but there is still much room for improvement. In order
for compact, mixed -use developments to become the preferred mode of new development, the
planning elements of the updated comprehensive plan must complement each other and
sensible implementing ordinances need to be adopted.
Coalition members prepared comments on the goals and objectives from the first draft
for the Land Use, Transportation, Economic Development, and Housing elements. Since the
language of the Public Hearing draft is virtually the same, the comments are still current. These
recommendations (found on pages 38-47 of the agenda packet) provide examples of how the
current goals and objectives can be improved and how the linkages between the elements
enhanced.
The viability of compact, mixed -use developments depends on the availability of public
infrastructure, including water and sewer. Thus, the coalition recommends that the planning
document make affirmative and unequivocal commitments to providing the necessary public
infrastructure in a timely manner. Work remains to be done in this regard also.
I recommend a section of the plan be dedicated exclusively to the goal statements and
objectives that address both zoning for compact, mixed -use developments and planning for the
requisite public infrastructure. This section should assure the reader that work on these critical
objectives is coordinated and finished such that the infrastructure will begin to come on line
within the next 3 -5 years, if not sooner. As it stands now, it's not clear when and how this will
happen.
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1 Personally, I support the emphasis on compact, mixed -use developments not only
2 because it's a good conservation strategy, but because this is the best strategy for significantly
3 increasing the supply of housing affordable to working and middle class households.
4 To put it another way, if the plan's implementation does not result in an increased supply
5 of less expensive land — on a per lot basis — for residential development than currently available,
6 then the comprehensive plan update will have little or no impact on reducing the shortage of
7 workforce housing in the county.
8 This points to the main flaw with the plan's housing element. It almost exclusively
9 focuses on issues related to affordable and special needs housing; albeit an area of concern
10 which I fully support. However, the housing element should also address the systemic problems
11 which cause the county's housing market to skew towards upper - income housing and
12 recommend actions for bringing the market into a more equitable balance.
13 Finally, I encourage the Commissioners to ask themselves if they've heard from as many
14 stakeholders as they feel is appropriate for a policy document of this significance before voting
15 on the plan later this summer. I believe the compressed time schedule put a strain on the
16 planning advisory boards and diminished the opportunity — especially during Phase 11— for
17 widespread and continuous community input. As such, I encourage the Commissioners to
18 immediately solicit the written comments of each lead advisory board so that their comments
19 can be utilized by the Planning Board as they continue to refine the plan this summer. Indeed,
20 one or more joint advisory board meetings at this stage would be useful in assessing community
21 support for the proposal, as well as gathering constructive recommendations for final
22 improvements."
23
24 Holly Reid read a prepared statement:
25 "My name is Holly Reid and I am a co- founder of the Walkable Hillsborough Coalition, a
26 group of community volunteers who have worked the past seven years to advocate for
27 pedestrian and bike ways for Hillsborough, surrounding communities, and Orange County. 1
28 have been involved in the exploring the possibility of reopening a train station in Hillsborough. 1
29 am also one of the twenty-nine members of the Special Transit Advisory Commission, whose
30 charge was to recommend a regional transit system for the Triangle region to our joint
31 Metropolitan Planning Organization representatives. Our final report will be presented to the
32 MPO's this Wednesday, May 21, in Raleigh.
33 Over the years and especially through my involvement on the STAC, I have learned that
34 the Triangle area is one of the most sprawled regions in the country and that we expect a million
35 more people to Wake, Durham, and Orange Counties in the next 20 years. I have learned that
36 we are off - the -scale auto centric in our country, and that we are realizing the great costs of this
37 choice every day: poor health, poor community connections, dangerous and unattractive
38 alternative modes of getting around, disenfranchised young and old, loss of commerce in our
39 downtowns, and an irresponsible carbon footprint, to name a few.
40 1 believe our Unified Transportation Board recognizes these huge community costs.
41 They have listed many of these as key issues in a future Comprehensive Transportation Plan
42 that is recommended in Objective T -3.2, and they see this plan as addressing strategies for all
43 transportation modes, including bike, pedestrian, rail and all other critical transit facilities.
44 What is absolutely critical to righting our heavily over - weighted single modal car culture
45 is a new multi -modal transportation system that is well emphasized in Goal 3. What needs just
46 as much emphasis in Goal 3 is future development that is compact, walkable and in mixed -use
47 neighborhoods along transit corridors supported by transit. Transit and pedestrian - oriented
48 development is the critical nexus of transportation and land use and it needs to be highly
49 emphasized and cross - referenced frequently in our Comprehensive Plan. In my view and the
50 Coalition's view, this needs to be written right into the Overarching Goal as the most important
51 change in transportation and land use, a game- changer for our future.
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1 I am also going to emphasize a couple of other objectives that our Coalition
2 recommends to be added to the Comprehensive Plan. We recommend a new Objective T-4.4
3 to implement the Special Transit Advisory Commission's recommendations for regional transit
4 (including light rail, passenger /commuter rail, expanded bus and transit- oriented development at
5 a future Orange County train station in Hillsborough). Being very involved in Safe Routes to
6 School Initiatives I am also very interested in our Coalition's recommendation to add Objective
7 T -1.8 to coordinate with Orange County Schools to provide safe walking and biking routes within
8 1.5 miles of all schools for children during school hours and residents after hours. Connectivity
9 for our communities between key public institutions, commercial areas and neighborhoods will
10 bring the vitality and foot traffic back to our community lives that we have lost over years of
11 exclusively accommodating King Car.
12 Our County's Comprehensive Plan is our way to receive gratitude instead of disdain
13 from the next generations for our foresight. Let's make a difference now. Thank you."
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15 Adam Klein read a prepared statement:
16 "My name is Adam Klein, I am the Director Government Relations and Economic
17 Development at the Chapel Hill - Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and member of the Orange
18 County Comprehensive Plan Coalition. I am here to offer a few brief remarks on the second
19 draft of the Comprehensive Plan, specifically the economic development section.
20 In my professional opinion and the opinion of our Coalition members, the economic
21 development section is missing a major strategy _ namely working with UNC- Chapel Hill to
22 retain many of the businesses created at the University. UNC in many ways is our business
23 incubator. In the words of Chancellor -elect Holden Thorp, UNC's challenges in the coming
24 years will be to "Cure diseases.... find and invent clean energy ... feed seven billion people" to
25 name a few. As UNC strives to tackle these issues, researchers are generating cutting edge
26 products and devices that are spinning off into new businesses. These businesses are based
27 on innovation, pay good wages, and have little environmental impact — in a nutshell businesses
28 we want in Orange County. Yet, out of 29 UNC businesses spawned since the year 2000, only
29 3 are located here. The majority go to RTP because they can find readily available office and
30 lab space and a welcoming business environment. .
31 We can do much better than this and it can start with our Comprehensive Plan. I ask
32 that you consider including a new objective of "working closely with UNC's Office of Technology
33 Development to identify commercial space needs of businesses created by UNC research,
34 promote development of such space within the County, and actively encourage UNC
35 businesses to stay in Orange County after leaving the University." This should be one of our
36 primary strategies for economic development.
37 Lastly, in order for the County's commercial tax base to expand and for more businesses
38 to locate in Orange County, it is paramount that water and sewer be extended to all of the
39 Economic Development Districts. In the current Comprehensive Plan draft, extending water and
40 sewer to these districts is listed as a long -term goal. The Coalition strongly urges that this
41 objective be reprioritized as a short-term goal as so much of the other objectives within the
42 Economic Development element hinges on having the necessary infrastructure in place to allow
43 commercial and light industrial development.
44 Please consider these changes as you review and edit the Comprehensive Plan. I thank
45 you for your time and for the opportunity to give comment on this important document."
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47 Rev. Robert Campbell said that the members of the Rogers- Eubanks Neighborhood
48 Association and the Coalition to End Environmental Racism would like to bring attention to a
49 paper written by Allen Bernard of the Cedar Grove Institution of Sustainable Communities on
50 racial segregation in residential neighborhoods. Racial residential segregation remains a fact of
51 life in the south as well as in the Rogers- Eubanks neighborhood. Political exclusion, which it is
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1 labeled, occurs when Afro-American neighborhoods are kept just outside of a town's
2 boundaries, resulting in a low level of service, reduced access to infrastructure, and limited or
3 no political voice in land use and committee decisions. He said that they are requesting that
4 their recommendation from the Rogers Road Enhancement Task Force be included in the
5 Orange County Comprehensive Plan, and that the plan include specific recommendations and
6 actions to:
7 1. End the 35 -year burden of solid waste facilities in the Rogers- Eubanks neighborhood
8 and the Rogers Road historic area;
9 2. Provide public funding for provision of safe drinking water and sewer service to all
10 households in the Rogers- Eubanks neighborhood and the Rogers Road historic
11 area;
12 3. Provide funding for other basic municipal service to residents of the Rogers- Eubanks
13 neighborhood and Rogers Road historic area, including, but not limited to paved
14 roads, paved sidewalks, storm drains, street lights, public bus service (including
15 covered bus stops), and emergency protection service (such as fire, police
16 protection, ambulatory, and rescue squad).
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18 He said that in looking at the Comprehensive Plan and the inter - territorial jurisdiction
19 plan, the plan that was implemented in the 1800's specifically has a boundary between the
20 neighborhoods. He said that this plan excluded water from coming into the historic area. He
21 encouraged the County Commissioners to look at these papers.
22
23 Fred Black chairs the Community Action Network and also participates with the Orange
24 County Comprehensive Plan Coalition. He said that this has been an amazing process but also
25 a very difficult process. He said that since the second draft on May 2 "d, it has been hard work to
26 delve into it. One of the goals has been to help the coalition educate itself so that it could
27 educate the community and encourage them to participate in this process. He has concerns
28 that enough time has not been built into the schedule to allow the thorough review, study, and
29 evaluation that a plan of this magnitude requires. He asked the Board to consider how else to
30 receive input from people who are going to be hard pressed in the summer to pay attention to
31 this plan.
32 Ruby Sinreich said that she is still trying to learn about the plan. She agrees with all of
33 the other comments before her. She has two main concerns. One is about intergovernmental
34 cooperation. She does not see any evidence of this in the creation of the plan. She was the
35 Chair of the Chapel Hill Planning Board until about a year ago, and she did not even know about
36 this plan. She said that if the plan proposes doing intergovernmental cooperation, it needs to
37 model that in the creation of the plan. In addition, planning in a vacuum is not useful when the
38 borders are obviously contiguous. Her other concern is land use. She said that we have to
39 envision a future where gas is not cheap. She is very concerned when she sees disconnected
40 areas of development such as the economic development districts. This is not how
41 communities grow and it does not reinforce the support of land use. She is concerned that the
42 EDDs will encourage more sprawl. She would like to see how transportation and other
43 infrastructure will support economic development districts and wherever there will be growth and
44 activity.
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46 Robbin Taylor -Hall read an email from the Simpson Efland Heirs:
47 "The late Simpson Efland left six heirs. Siblings Ann E. Gandy and Mack P. Efland, Jr.,
48 were his Administrators. Both have power of attorney to dispose of the land.
49 Mack Efland and I hereby request, representing the heirs, that water critical be removed
50 from this property and that water and sewer be brought to land in the Efland Small Area Plan.
51 It is the intention of the heirs to effect an orderly disposition of the land holdings.
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We have the properties listed with Taylor -Hall Properties of Hillsborough. Ms. Robbin
Taylor -Hall is our agent, and is authorized to speak to you on our behalf.
This letter has been approved by Mack Efland. Thank you for your consideration.
Ann E. Gandy, PA
Simpson Efland Heirs"
Ben Lloyd said that 25 years ago the North Carolina Department of Commerce identified
the US 70 /Southern RR/1 -85 corridor through Orange County as the most potential area in the
state for good, clean, high - paying, low water using economic growth. As of today, not one brick
has been laid. Fourteen years ago, Orange County created three economic development
districts, and as of today there is no activity in any of them. In 2005, the County Commissioners
committed to creating 5,000 new commercial jobs and $125 million of new commercial tax base
in Orange County by 2010. Three years have gone by and nothing has happened. Today,
there is nearly 19,000 acres of Orange County land in the Water Quality Critical Area where no
sewage, commercial or industrial activity is allowed. He recommended that this water critical
area stigma should be removed so that some of the potential area can be utilized to provide
jobs for people in Orange County. He said that the Comprehensive Plan will determine the
future for a lot of Orange County citizens. People need jobs and the County needs money. He
said that this is a lot of information and he suggested that the Board go slow.
Jay Bryan read a prepared statement:
"At the previous public hearing on the update to the Comprehensive Plan, I requested
the Board of Commissioners to explore the idea of establishing another Element in the
Comprehensive Plan to addressing Planning Principle No. 8, Preservation of Community
Character. My proposed Element read:
Maintenance of Community and Preservation of Community Character
This request was forwarded to the Planning Board. In the fall of 2007, the Board formed
a subcommittee consisting of members Renee Price, Judith Wegner, Bernadette Pelissier, and
myself to examine the idea that had been proposed.
In March of 2008, the Subcommittee submitted a report to the Planning Board. The
report consisted of a history of community building efforts in the County, including a detailed
discussion of the report of Shaping Orange County's Future Task force, and the subcommittee's
recommendations concerning the establishment of a new Element and attending goals and
objectives.
The Planning Board discussed the report briefly at its monthly meeting in March. There
was no consensus or vote on the recommendations although there was some concern
expressed about how such an idea might slow down the overall process for updating the Plan.
Tonight, on my own, I am asking that instead of establishing a new Element for
community building and maintenance, certain Objectives be included in the Land Use Element.
These Objectives are attached to your copy of my remarks as Exhibit A. Also attached is a
copy of most of the recommendations of the Shaping Orange's Future Task Force regarding
Community Building.
Goal 6 of the proposed Land Use Element entitled, "A land use planning process that is
transparent, fair, open, efficient, and responsive," would be one possible location for some or all
of these objectives. I believe there are also other goals under which these objectives may fit.
In summary, I strongly believe that the ten principles of community building listed in the
Task Force's final report provide the glue and accountability that bind together each of the
Comprehensive Plan's Elements and their goals and objectives. The Task Force's overarching
goal of community- building connects the Comprehensive Plan's individual Elements to each
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other to create interdependency. This goal, coupled with the attached Objectives, also
transcends each Element and serves as a broad - spectrum vision by which the goals and
objectives of the Elements, as well as those of the social, economic and environmental sectors
of the County, can be better accomplished. Thank you."
EXHIBIT A
OBJECTIVES FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN'S LAND USE ELEMENT
a. Develop a process for using principles of community building (See p. 2, Report of
Shaping Orange County's Future Task Force) as a checklist for evaluating the
extent to which long and short-term planning and development builds and
maintain community in Orange County.
b. Establish the use of mediation, conflict resolution, public participation and
facilitation practices among Orange County and municipal boards, elected and
appointed (p. 25, Report of Shaping Orange County's Future Task Force).
c. Establish collaborative initiatives with municipalities within the County to work
together on a plan for community building and maintenance and how to
implement community- building strategies into their policies and procedures (p.
25, Report of Shaping Orange County's Future Task Force).
d. Create a community- building roundtable of County citizens to meet periodically
and discuss /evaluate the County's progress in building and maintaining
community.
e. Create ways for fostering collaboration toward community building and
maintenance between County government and for - profit and non - profit sector
leadership and members.
f. Develop opportunities for younger citizens to participate in the community
building and maintenance plan for future development of the County and State's
leadership.
g. Explore the idea of a position of an "extension" agent for community building and
maintenance.
h. Create a database of community events and celebrations, both within the county
and regionally, that builds community and preserve community character.
i. Establish an annual day to celebrate the County and its citizens and their efforts
and initiatives to build and maintain community.
j. Evaluate the recommendations of the Shaping Orange County's Future's Task
Force regarding "Put Community Building First" (other than any that already
stated in Objectives) for implementation.
k. Determine where principles of community building should be incorporated into
other Elements of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan.
Commissioner Foushee said that there is only one public hearing scheduled, and there
needs to be at least one more public hearing.
Chair Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Foushee. He said that Ruby Sinreich makes
an excellent point and that the County should model the behavior that it wishes to support and
should provide opportunities for all municipal boards to comment on the Comprehensive Plan.
Chair Jacobs thanked everyone involved in the creation of this document. He suggested
that the document say that it is printed on recycled paper. He also suggested putting the
document on a CD so that searching within it would be really simple. Regarding word usage, he
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1 suggested that someone look at the difference between "more than" and "over" and "less" and
2 "fewer" in dealing with quantities, because they are not interchangeable. Also, the City of
3 Durham is "it" and not "who." Also, Durham Technical Community College prefers to be called
4 Durham Technical Community College; and interchanging "manufactured housing community"
5 and "mobile home parks" would be easier.
6 Commissioner Gordon agreed with having more time to digest this. She suggested
7 working with the Planning Board and staff to adjust the timeline rather than trying to craft it
8 tonight.
9 Jay Bryan said that, on behalf of the Planning Board, it is ready to hear from the County
10 Commissioners about their thoughts. He suggested that the Commissioners should have a
11 work session or two before there is more public comment.
12 Chair Jacobs said that the County Commissioners break on June 20, and they could
13 consider two weeks in June where there are not two meetings. A work session could be
14 scheduled during one of those two weeks.
15 Commissioner Nelson suggested that it would probably take two work sessions, one in
16 June and one after the second public hearing.
17 Judith Wegner said that the Planning Board has been having almost weekly meetings
18 and the reality is that the Planning Board will change significantly soon.
19 Michelle Kempinski echoed Judith Wegner's comments and said that the Planning Board
20 has been having many meetings.
21 Renee Price said that she would like instructions and direction from the Commissioners
22 as to the revisions that are going to be made. There have been goal changes suggested by the
23 public, and she would like direction on whether the goals will be changed.
24 Larry Wright said that the transportation objectives are not in the current draft. Tom
25 Altieri said that they are referenced in the Comprehensive Plan and are included in the
26 appendices.
27 Geof Gledhill suggested that the Board adjourn this public hearing to the next public
28 hearing on August 2e and keep the public hearing open. The County Commissioners can hold
29 work sessions in the interim and invite the Planning Board to participate.
30 Chair Jacobs suggested that the Board make it a point to finish the business in one work
31 session.
32 A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
33 adjourn the public hearing to be reconvened at the next Quarterly Public Hearing on August 25,
34 2008.
35 Commissioner Gordon added a friendly amendment to the motion to instruct staff to
36 work with the Planning Board and others to develop a new timeline and also that the public be
37 notified of the BOCC Work Session.
38 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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41 4. Zoning Ordinance Amendment: REVIEW of a proposed ordinance amendment to
42 Article Six (6) Section 6.20.1 Large Ground Absorption System (3,000 gallons per
43 day) and Package Treatment Plants Prohibited in AR Districts and Rural Buffer
44 Districts clarifying the type of projects that are required to obtain a Special Use
45 Permit or Planned Development approval for a proposed ground absorption system
46 that has a design capacity over 3,000 gallons per day of sanitary sewage disposal.
47 Pumose: To receive public comment on proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance.
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49 Michael Harvey said that staff was reviewing several different projects, one of which was
50 proposing a large ground absorption system over 3,000 gallons per day. One of the concerns
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1 was that the existing ordinance was too vague. The County Attorney was also concerned that
2 there was a compliance issue because the County cannot issue itself an SUP. The purpose of
3 this amendment is to add language specifically referencing the section that the County will have to
4 adhere to. Also, the amendment will spell out that this requirement does not cover County
5 projects.
6 Commissioner Gordon asked clarifying questions about the language, which were
7 answered by Michael Harvey.
8 Jay Bryan asked if there was any opportunity for public comment. Michael Harvey said
9 that through the site plan review process, public comment will be accepted.
10 Commissioner Gordon made reference to 6.20.1 and said that the third line should say
11 "Orange County Govemment" instead of just "government." She also urged the Planning Board to
12 track all of this through to see if what is in section 8.8.3 is adequate to substitute for the special
13 use process.
14 No public comment.
15 A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to
16 refer the amendment package to the Planning Board for review and comment with a request that
17 a recommendation be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners no later than August 19,
18 2008.
19 VOTE: UNANIMOUS
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21 5. Sign Ordinance: REVIEW of a proposed ordinance amendment(s) seeking to
22 establish specific criteria governing the size, location, and number of permitted signs
23 that can be located within:
24 a. Parks, Public and Non - Profit (P14);
25 b. Recreational Facilities, Non - Profit (S34);
26 c. Recreational Facilities, Golf Course (S35); and
27 d. Recreational Facilities, Profit (36)
28 land uses per Article 4.3 Table of Permitted Uses of the Orange County Zoning
29 Ordinance.
30 Purpose: To receive public comment on proposed amendments to the Zoning Ordinance.
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32 Michael Harvey said that staff has been working with Orange County Parks and
33 Recreation to address sign needs. Given the fact that the Orange County Zoning Ordinance,
34 especially in residential districts, establishes a four square foot limitation on all signage, as part of
35 the comprehensive sign package, staff had proposed an overhaul to the existing regulations to
36 establish specific sign standards to govern the development and location of signs within Parks
37 and Recreation facilities.
38 The biggest distinction between the two proposals (Article 9 and the Economic
39 Development District Design Manual) is that Article 9 still proposes to maintain a limit on free -
40 standing pole- mounted signs at 20 square feet. In the EDD Design Manual, there is no limitation
41 technically on the square footage of a free- standing or a pole- mounted sign, which they are
42 recommending to be 32 square feet. The plan is to recommend 32 square feet when there is a
43 comprehensive amendment to the sign ordinance. This proposal will allow enough flexibility to
44 afford the developer of a park or recreation facility the necessary sign space to provide enough
45 detailed information.
46 Chair Jacobs made reference to 2.1 and said that a set -back is a noun, and setting
47 something back is an action. He said that "set back" should be two words. He made several
48 other language changes, which were noted by staff.
49 Chair Jacobs said that if it is an Orange County park sign, it does not need a light. If there
50 will be signs that have lights on County facilities, then he would like the lights to be solar - powered.
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No public comment.
A motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to
refer the amendment package to the Planning Board for review and comment with a request that
a recommendation be submitted to the Board of County Commissioners no later than August 19,
2008.
VOTE: UNANIMOUS
D. ADJOURNMENT OF PUBLIC HEARING
With no further items to address, the meeting was adjourned at 10:14 p.m.
Barry Jacobs, Chair
Donna S. Baker, CIVIC
Clerk to the Board