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Affordable Housing - A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by <br />Commissioner Gordon to include funding in the November 6, 2001 bond referendum of $4 million for <br />affordable housing. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />Parks and Open Space -Commissioner Brown suggested setting the amount rather than <br />being specific about the projects. Commissioner Jacobs agreed. <br />Discussion ensued with the County Commissioners and Bob Jessup about the configuration <br />of bond funding for parks and open space. <br />Commissioner Gordon suggested having one parks and open space bond that would <br />encompass everything we can do. If we cannot get farmland preservation an the bond we need to plan <br />to fund it in another way - CIP or certificates of participation (COP). Anything that cannot be funded <br />could be put in the alternative financing column. <br />Bob Jessup said that if financing by COPs was done for other projects, the County can add in <br />other money for other programs. Also, money can be put in the CIP in the Lands Legacy Program. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that a key component of the Lands Legacy program is the <br />acquisition of easements. It is a relatively inexpensive way for the County, often working with other <br />funding sources, to do some of the protection that we believe is so important. His concern is that to <br />leave something like that out of the bond package means that we are left with everything being outright <br />purchase which seems to be the most expensive way to go and limits our options. He would be <br />comfortable with proceeding but asking our staff to develop something parallel so that we can use some <br />of our Lands Legacy monies budgeted for the coming fiscal year toward easements and develop a plan <br />to gear up a more aggressive easement acquisition program to achieve some of the watershed <br />protection and some of the farmland preservation goals. He said that one possibility would be to <br />separate out an amount for easements. <br />Bob Jessup recommended making it as broad as possible. Instead of separating an amount <br />out for easements, state it as purchasing land for County purposes. <br />Commissioner Jacobs would like to take time to work it out in the bond package between now <br />and August if possible. He does not want to get people confused with a standalone bond. He would like <br />to identify it as a separate subset now but give staff some time to work it out. <br />Commissioner Brown said that the Lands Legacy Program was certainly not completely <br />devoted to easements or watersheds. She verified that Commissioner Jacobs was suggesting a parallel <br />funding mechanism far thane parts of the Lands Legacy Program that would not be applicable to a <br />category within these bands. However, the Lands Legacy Program would be left under Parks and Open <br />Space band. <br />Environment and Resource Conservation Director David Stancil said that in the Capital Needs <br />Advisory Task Force report it included $1.4 million for conservation easements and water supply <br />watersheds. He said that this is the only one of those types of acquisitions and the rest of them have <br />some component of open space and public use. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon to put the bond amount for Parks and Open <br />Space as $20 million and to have a placeholder for farmland at $1.4 million. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he supports the motion as $20 million if it included a subset <br />not to exceed $5 million for purchase of interest in land far County purposes, with the understanding that <br />we are not going above $20 million no matter what happens. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she does not want to ga above $2 million for the placeholder. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to have a <br />$20 million Parks and Open Space band. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to reaffirm <br />that the bond package will not exceed $75 million. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Carey to <br />designate an amount not to exceed $3 million far the purchase of interest in land for County purposes, <br />and that amount will be included in the total $75 million package. <br />