Minutes 09-20-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Gordon said that the County Commissioners have an email before them that included her questions about this item and staff response. Her email is incorporated in these minutes by reference. She wanted clarification of the Manager's recommendation and asked if this is just executing agreements or deciding where the substations are going. Her suggestion is that they should recommend passing this first part of the recommendation, but for the second part to ask for the Attorney and Manager to come back with more clarifying language. Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Gordon and said that he also wanted to bring up the subject as it relates to the respect and the South Orange Rescue Squad. He said that he knows that the South Orange Rescue Squad has some concerns about Orange County's entering into this agreement. He would like to suggest, and he has talked to the Emergency Services Director, that this be revisited in a year and give the rescue squad an opportunity to make comments about changes that will make it more effective. Commissioner Gordon said that the motion could be to authorize the County Manager to sign the UNC Substation Agreement and any amendments or renewals to that agreement and ask the County Manager and County Attorney to bring back more precise language for the negotiations and signatures for the Emergency Service Substations. John Roberts asked if the purpose of that motion was that the Manager not be permitted to engage in negotiations without consent of the Board of County Commissioners or without informing the Board or whether it was that the Manager not be authorized to select a location for a site for a substation without the consent of the Board. Commissioner Gordon said that she has no objection with the Manager having the authority to negotiate but she did not think the language was precise. Commissioner Yuhasz said that the Manager should have the authority to negotiate the potential sites without having permission of the Board. He said that if the purpose is to be clearer on this language, then he does not have a problem. He is not comfortable with the Manager not having the authority to enter into negotiations without consent of the Board. Commissioner Jacobs said that he understood Commissioner Gordon's point to be that the language needed to be clarified to authorize the Manager to negotiate, but that it should come back to the Board of County Commissioners to locate the substations. Commissioner Gordon said that this is very close to what she meant. John Roberts said that the Manager could negotiate a site and then present the site to the Board of County Commissioners for approval, and then the County Commissioners could veto the site if they did not like it. Commissioner Gordon agreed. Commissioner Yuhasz said that it is not entirely clear to him when siting substations is policy and when it is operational. He thinks that there needs to be some clarification on these two different situations. Commissioner Foushee said that it would seem to her that this is an operational issue that comes before the Board as a recommendation. If there is a policy conflict, then the Board has the opportunity to discuss it as an item. A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz to authorize the County Manager to sign the UNC Substation Agreement and any amendments or renewals to that Agreement. VOTE: UNANIMOUS Commissioner McKee said that he does not want to hamstring the staff in the day to day operations. A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to forward the second bullet to the County Attorney to differentiate between the Manager's