Minutes 01-24-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Upon the recommendation and guidance of the WRC and North Carolina Forest Service, OWASA also commissioned development of a draft plan for sustainable management of our remaining forest lands. We hosted a community meeting in November 2010 to present and receive comments on the draft plan prepared by our consulting forester, and we received extensive comments from citizens, local elected boards, several State agencies, and others. We will make presentations and receive comments from the local elected boards before the OWASA Board considers formal action on a management plan for our remaining forest lands. Commissioner Jacobs asked if he was misinformed that OWASA was going to withdraw from the WSMPBA. Gordon Merklein said that this is an option that the board does not consider until it is a last ditch effort. The focus is working with the towns to get the agreement in place and not to try to predict what may happen there. Commissioner Jacobs asked for a heads up before this discussion. Gordon Merklein said that it would be a very public process. Commissioner Jacobs said that when they originally signed this agreement, they had wanted to recruit Mebane and Durham to participate. Commissioner Gordon said that she hopes that the agreement is kept. Chair Pelissier agreed. b. ABC Board Update Presentation �'� The Board received a brief presentation from Orange County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board representatives on recent ABC Board activities and operations. Tony Dubois, General Manager of the ABC Board, said that he and Ron McCoy, the Finance Director were here tonight and their Chair Keith Cook is under the weather tonight. He said that there is a really good working relationship between the County and the ABC Board. He said that the mission of the board is to serve the County responsibly. He said that all of the board members, including him and the Finance Director, have gone through the Ethics and Responsibility training for the State. There is currently a partnership with the Durham Technical Community College Orange County Campus and CAI (HR firm in Greensboro) to give management and customer service training to all employees. There is also a partnership with the Town of Hillsborough Police Department. There is now ABC law enforcement in the community for the first time. He said that there are negotiations with the Town of Hillsborough to purchase the property on Valley Forge Road for administrative offices and a warehouse. Ron McCoy, Finance Officer, said that he has been at this position since March. He made reference to the annual report on pages 24-25. He said that the sales have increased and the profitability has increased. Orange County consistently runs in the top 10 of all the agency boards in the State. The sales in 2011 increased 3.62% over the previous year and continue to grow. The increase in sales has outpaced the rest of the State by about 1%. Regarding challenges, there are some expenses such as a proposed office and warehouse relocation. The board has planned for these expenses and everything should go well. There has also been a great increase in taxes. There has also been a substantial increase in the costs of healthcare provided for retirees. He said that this board far exceeds the State requirements and they intend to continue this. Commissioner Yuhasz made reference to the report and asked about the mixed beverage only location. Ron McCoy said that this is attached to the Carrboro location and they just sell to the restaurants.