Minutes 01-26-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Michael Talbert said that a church is trying to develop this site at this time and it is now at the Town of Chapel Hill staff level. The Town of Chapel Hill is requiring the church to submit an approved remediation plan for the existing landfill located in the wetlands prior to fhe issuance of the zoning compliance permit. Commissioner Hemminger asked what the towns think about the community center aspect since it is not on County property and if the towns would be willing to participate. She would like to make this community center happen. Mayor Chilton said that he needed to know the financial scale of this site and what is being contemplated. Commissioner Hemminger said that there is currently a community center for children run out of a house during afterschool and weekends. The anticipation is a bigger facility that would be similarly run, but it would have to be decided with the neighborhood. Mayor Chilton said that the idea of a community center is a good substitute for what was promised in the 70's. He asked where the funding would come from to pay for these various remediation items. Only a small portion of the neighborhood is in Carrboro and he wants the financial responsibility to be fairly portioned out. He said that there are some legal constraints about the extent to which Carrboro tax dollars can be used to build something that is in the Town of Chapel Hill. Council Member Storrow~echoed a lot of Mayor Chilton's comments. He said that he has been able to participate in some of the activities of the community center. He said that people from all over the County attend things here. He hopes that everyone will make an investment, at least Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County. Alderman Gist said that Carrboro and Chapel Hill are in the County and their taxes are paid predominantly by Chapel Hill and Carrboro. She does not want the citizens of the municipalities to be in a position where they are being asked to pay twice for something. Commissioner Hemminger said that she would like to put together a task force to look at this process made up of elected officials and citizens to address this one issue. Mayor Chilton said that part of the issue of the last task force was water and sewer issues and there was a lack of clarity about how these sewer lines are expected to be built. Michael Talbert reminded everyone that the Rogers Road community is split equally between the ETJ of Chapel Hill and~the actual Town limits of Carrboro. Council Member Ward said that he is in favor of a community center but he still has a lot of questions. • Chair Pelissier suggested asking staff to ask OWASA staff for clarification about these issues. Chair Pelissier said that the question before them is what kind of process is needed to ensure that some concrete actions and decisions be made about the community center and water and sewer. She said that the first thing is to have a deadline. Commissioner Hemminger suggested having two separate groups - one for the sewer and one for the community center. Commissioner McKee said that the County is about $3.5 million short on closing the landfill now and it is also liable for 30 years on all costs related to the closing. If something happens within that time, the County has to pay for it. He said that he does not have a problem with the community center, but he has some reservations on the sewer because of the expense. Commissioner Foushee said that she supported the comments that Mayor Kleinschmidt and Commissioner McKee made. She said that if they move toward a task force to determine what can be done, then they need to prioritize the issues. She said that a community center is a good first step. The sewer can be considered later.