Minutes 06-01-2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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� Commissioner Gordon said that they need to come up with a response to Chapel Hill based on what the Board thinks it can do at this time. She said that the County Commissioners should not assume what Chapel Hill wants and to respond to them the best they can. She said she thought that we should do something more in terms of funding for the Chapel Hill Library, and that a good starting point is the proposal from the Manager. Commissioner Pelissier said that she is not sure what she wants to do this year because of the budget, and she is not sure what she would want to do next year either. She said that she has a hard time deciding what to do for Chapel Hill without looking at the big picture, including a southwest library. She would like to engage Chapel Hill and do joint library planning. Commissioner Nelson said that for him the budget presentation colored how he feels as to what the County can do right now. He said that the Chapel Hill Library did not receive a cut in the County's budget and virtually everything else did. He said that this is a clear case that the County has not kept up its commitment to the Chapel Hill Library. He agreed with looking at the big picture when addressing all of the library needs and he would like to continue the conversation with Chapel Hill. He said we needed to have a good, broad library plan which would be completed in about six months. Commissioner Jacobs said that he would be willing to defer making a definitive statement until after the budget discussions. He does not want to cut the Orange County system while increasing funding for another system. He said that the premise of any increase in funding is to treat our system as well as we treat another library system. He distributed a handout with a suggestion of something to put on the agenda for June 15th, and read from the handout. "Direct staff to start during the summer break to investigate the feasibility of establishing a consolidated southwest Orange branch library to maintain optimal public access in a fiscally constrained manner. - Consider use of the Skills Development Center as a library branch - Systematically weight the Skills Development option along with other available, cost- effective alternatives - Measure each possible site against siting criteria recommended by the Carrboro Library Workgroup as part of the 2004 Orange County Library Services Task Force report - Report back to the BOCC in a timely manner prior to the late-fall break The investigation should include: - Soliciting comments about plans and uses of the Skills Development Center by DTCC and other partners, along with the advisability and difficulty of changing their status - Interest by the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill in possible collaboration on developing and/or operating a southwest Orange branch library - Costs of rental, construction (estimated $2.6 million for 10,000 square feet, per 2007 report), or renovation of new or existing buildings that might house a southwest Orange branch - Speed to bring various sites online to begin serving the public. Commissioner Jacobs said that what is done in southwest Orange could have a significant impact on how the Chapel Hill Library is used. His understanding is that the bus service to the Chapel Hill Library is going to be reduced. Commissioner Gordon said that it makes sense to have a plan. She noted that taxpayers all over Orange County pay for library services in the county, and that includes residents from Chapel Hill and Carrboro, Hillsborough, and rural Orange. We need to have a