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decide how serious it is about library services. He has always thought that there should be a <br />branch library and a heritage center in downtown Hillsborough. He thinks the Board can start <br />to look at this in terms of space needs and talk about who is going to work on the long-range <br />plan. <br />John Link confirmed that the Board wanted to have this as an item for discussion on <br />October 25th as part of the discussion of looking at the funding policy for capital. He said that, <br />if you take 40,000 square feet for a proposed library, not taking into account where it would be, <br />and multiplied it by $150 per square foot, it would be $6 million. <br />8. Public Hearings <br />a. Orange County Hazard Mitigation Plan -Public Hearing and Decision <br />The Board held a public hearing and considered adoption of the Orange County <br />Hazard Mitigation Plan and directing staff to submit it to the State in compliance with the <br />November 1, 2004 deadline. <br />Planning Director Craig Benedict introduced Perdita Holtz, Planner in the Planning <br />Department, who has been heading up this project for about a year and working with the towns <br />and Emergency Management Services. <br />Perdita Holtz said this is a joint effort with the Towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough. <br />She said that local hazard mitigation plans are required by federal legislation passed in 2000, <br />and also in North Carolina legislation that was passed in 2001. If a jurisdiction wants to be <br />eligible for post-hazard public assistance funding, an approved hazard mitigation plan is <br />required to be on file. A plan previously came before the Board in 2002 and was adopted in <br />June 2002. Subsequently, FEMA issued new criteria for hazard mitigation plans and the <br />submission deadline is now November 1, 2004. The Orange County Hazard Mitigation Team <br />has been working with state reviewers to incorporate revisions, and there is preliminary <br />approval from the state. The staff is asking that the Board hold the public hearing and <br />consider adoption of the plan. <br />Public Comment: <br />NONE <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Carey to <br />close the public hearing. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked that the County Commissioners speak as part of the <br />public hearing. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked why the Town of Chapel Hill was considered separately. <br />Perdita Holtz said that it was her understanding that back in 2001 when the jurisdictions got <br />together to discuss the plan that Chapel Hill opted to produce their own separate plan. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she saw that most of the events were natural events, <br />but there are some that were not. She asked about the absence of a nuclear event. Perdita <br />Holtz said that the ones that were not natural events were included as part of the 2002 <br />discussion. Nuclear events are not required to be in the hazard mitigation plan, but any type of <br />hazard can be included at the jurisdiction's discretion. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she is not sure if they mentioned this in time to get it <br />into the plan, but the Board has certainly talked about nuclear events and have been worried <br />about nuclear disasters. She considers this a serious omission. <br />