Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
March 16, 2004 Task Force Issues Report <br />April 1, 2004 BOCC Work Session on Report <br />No later than August 31, 2004 -B000 Work Session on Animal Shelter Facility <br />John Link said that at their last meeting the staff was asked to bring back three variations of the <br />task farce composition. The staff will leave it up to the Board of County Commissioners for the final <br />composition of the task force and the charge. He recommends that the Board consider the functions. Most <br />specifically, since they will be taming back to the Board of County Commissioners with alternatives far <br />permanent governance and management of the shelter in March, that one of the first priorities of the task <br />force would be to provide input on governance and management. The Board must make a decision on the <br />final alternative so that there is sufficient time to carry it out before July 1St <br />Commissioner Gordon said that there are two different types of task forces and they seem <br />different from the one recommended by the HSUS. She asked for someone to explain the reasoning <br />behind the different task forces. Commissioner Carey said that it felt right to have ten people. He said that <br />the recommendation from the HSUS was just a recommendation and the Board should develop its own <br />ideas about what the task farce should look like. He thought that the list of areas put forth by the staff was <br />good and sound. <br />Jahn Link said that there should be a Board of County Commissioners representative as well as <br />representatives from the Towns. Also, there should be citizens that can represent the thoughts and <br />expressions of the Orange County population on this subject. The most important element is to meet <br />quickly and to come back with ideas on governance and management by mid-March. Other functions that <br />need to be addressed include euthanasia, adoption policies, and health needs. These do not have to be <br />addressed by mid-March. <br />Commissioner Carey said that if the other County Commissioners want to change the numbers <br />in his proposal then that is fine. <br />Chair Jacobs said that Commissioner Corey's proposal was the only one with the Sheriff's office <br />included. Commissioner Carey said that the Sheriff's office gets calls about animal issues, so he thought <br />they were a stakeholder. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that they could appoint a person from each Town and then invite the <br />Town governments to appoint an additional representative from their boards as they choose since it is <br />almost time far the winter break. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to amend the <br />task farce to include three at-large public representatives, three Town representatives appointed by the <br />Baard, and to invite the Town Boards to appoint someone or send staff. <br />Chair Jacobs asked if the charge was separate. Commissioner Carey said that his suggested <br />charge was included in the motion. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />d. Building Inspection Division -Report and Proposed Action <br />The Board received an update on building inspection activity and considered establishing three <br />new Code Compliance Officer {Building Inspector) positions effective January 1, 2004 with a time limited <br />ending date of two years from the date of initial hire and one new Plans Examiner position in the Planning <br />and I nspectians Department to address inspections and plans review workload, effective January 1, 2004; <br />and authorizing $175,00 appropriation from the County's General Fund balance. <br />Planning Director Craig Benedict said that there has been a steady increase of activity in <br />building and construction in Orange County. The amounts of inspections have increased from 11 to 18 <br />inspections per single-family home because of new building codes. The size of homes has increased also. <br />The average size of homes is over 3,000 square feet. In addition, there has been more multi-family <br />inspection activity. Regarding building codes, there is now an international building code with a North <br />Carolina component that has the inspections department adhering to a better set of guidelines to ensure <br />quality construction. Also, a bar was set with the last codes of inspection and now they are trying to <br />educate the public and additional information is needed to do this. In the past, they have increased their <br />