Orange County NC Website
• Plans complete by summer 2004 <br />• Construction begins spring 2005 <br />• Orange County Satellite campus of the Durham Technical Community College opens for <br />students in fall 2006 <br />Pam Jones said that the site selection is a critical component that must be determined. The <br />site needs to be a minimum of 20 acres and close to public transportation. The cost of the land to the <br />County must be considered as well as site development costs, development challenges, and cost of the <br />facility. The site should be environmentally acceptable, near public facilities, and near businesses or <br />business parks. They will also look at analyzing any co-location opportunities they may have with other <br />facilities being constructed with County funds. The site will be selected by a site Selection Work Group <br />appointed by the County Commissioners. The group could include two County Commissioners, County <br />Manager, two representatives from DTCC living in Orange County, and a Hillsborough and Chapel Hill <br />Chamber of Commerce representative. Some recommended staff for the work group include Director of <br />Purchasing and Central Services, County Engineer, Economic Development Director, Planning Director, <br />Orange County Schools representative, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools representative, and two <br />employer representatives. <br />The task group will be responsible for recommending the criteria and establishing a matrix that <br />would weigh the criteria based on the criticality. The decision will be brought back to the Board of County <br />Commissioners no later than the spring of 2003. She outlined the financial responsibilities of Orange <br />County and those of Durham Technical Institute. Orange County will contribute $4 million in matching <br />funds in cash and/or property. DTCC will be responsible for ensuring that the building is constructed. <br />DTCC will own the facility and the grounds as long as the facility remains a satellite campus. It would <br />revert back to County ownership if it ceases to be a satellite campus. The County is also responsible for <br />some ongoing operational costs. Examples include buildings and grounds maintenance staff, building <br />and property security personnel, utilities, telephone service, funding capacity improvements to buildings, <br />and vehicles for maintenance staff. DTCC would submit an annual budget to the County Manager, similar <br />to the schools and County departments. <br />Commissioner Carey made reference to the construction process and asked that the County <br />Commissioners have an opportunity to review the construction plans before they go out to bid. <br />Public Comment <br />Allen Spalt said that as a member of the bond task force last year, he totally supports the <br />expansion of Durham Technical Institute in Orange County. He supports the site selection process, which <br />will set criteria for this campus. Public transportation is very important for this campus and it should be on <br />a bus line to start with, not eventually. He said it was important that the campus be centrally located <br />rather than being located away from population centers. <br />No one else was signed up to speak. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked about the Board of Trustees and if it was going to be possible for <br />the Board of County Commissioners to have more of a role than what was described. Dr. Phail Wynn <br />said that the Durham Tech Board of Trustees has agreed to expand the Board of Trustees to 14, which <br />will allow two to be appointed by the Orange County Board of Commissioners. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked how many students go to the Skills Development Center and the <br />Northern Durham campus now per year. Dr. Phail Wynn did not know the numbers. He said that they <br />have at their northern campus programs for criminal justice, basic law enforcement, fire protection, and <br />environmental health and safety. If the program with the high schools were expanded, they could have a <br />program whereby students could complete the first year of any of these programs and then travel to the <br />northern campus to complete their second year to get an associate degree. They envision the northern <br />Durham campus as augmenting what could be done in Orange County through the Skills Development <br />Center as well as the new satellite campus. They envision the Skills Development Center playing a <br />