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Commissioner Gordon moved #1 on the Manager's recommendation, which recommended awarding <br />a bid and approving a contract to Romeo Guest, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $706,166, for construction <br />of the Little River Park. Motion died for lack of a second. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Halkiotis, seconded by Commissioner Brown to approve <br />awarding a bid and a contract to Romeo Guest, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $706,166, for construction <br />of the major elements of Little River Park; and approve a funding plan for Phase I of Little River Regional <br />Park and Natural Area, a joint project of Orange County, Durham County, Triangle Land Conservancy and <br />the Eno River Association; and approve the expenditure of an additional $272,000 to cover costs associated <br />with the completion of the Little River Park development; and direct staff to include this amount in the <br />updated five-year plan for the issuance of County bonds and alternative financing, to be presented during a <br />BOCC meeting later this spring. <br />VOTE: Ayes, 3; No, 1 {Commissioner Gordon -debt issue) <br />Chair Jacobs asked about the proposed completion date for this park and Lori Taft said August 1St <br />Chair Jacobs would be interested in seeing a cost per acre for Orange County taxpayers for the 391 <br />acres. <br />e. Lease Approval: Storage Facility and Emergency Management Overflow Office Space; Efland <br />The Board considered leasing a building in Efland, NC, beginning April 1, 2004 through June 30, <br />2009 with Efland Leasing Company, for a building at 3501-A Forrest Avenue, Efland, NC, in which to house <br />certain Emergency Management functions and storage, as well as to provide storage far bulky institutional <br />items for all County departments; contingent upon Attorney and staff review; and authorizing staff to prepare <br />a floor plan and corresponding policy governing storage in the facility, complete with cost estimates far up- <br />fit, which overage, if any, shall be included for consideration in the 2004-2005 budget process; and <br />authorizing the Chair to sign an behalf of the Board. <br />Pam Jones said that the building is 23,000 square feet and is one mile north of I-85II-40 and about <br />one black south of US 70. If the Board approves the lease, the staff would look to the 2000 space study <br />and lay out a floor plan with the existing needs. The first priority would be the bulky equipment {voting <br />equipment, EMS overflow). The second priority would be the permanent records. The last priority would be <br />the non-permanent records. She noted that there would be a purge plan and it would not be a graveyard for <br />old records. The building has 1,000 square feet of office space and EMS Director Nick Waters would like to <br />move the Fire Marshall and the Emergency Medical Units to this facility. This would also allow someone to <br />be on-site to monitor who is coming in and out of the storage space. The rent is $53,000 per year for the <br />entire facility. I n addition, the owner would be reimbursed for the taxes and insurance. Last year, this was <br />$5,000. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that they have talked about the need for storage space but he has a <br />problem with spending $250,000 far five years far a rental. He thinks this money should be spent for a <br />permanent building far storage. He would like to purchase this facility. Pam Jones said that the Efland <br />family currently owns this and they do not want to sell it now. The best option is to negotiate the Right of <br />First Refusal. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked about the storage far EMS and said that it might be better to have all of <br />it spread out instead of all atone location. Pam Jones said that one of the benefits of this facility is the <br />proximity to the major roadways. It would be easy to access in an emergency. <br />Commissioner Brown suggested that this item be moved to a work session to clarify the goals about <br />this issue. <br />Chair Jacobs asked if there was a time element as far as the negotiation. Pam Jones said that with <br />any real estate property, there is always the possibility that it will not be available. <br />John Link suggested that the Board endorse a letter to the owners, saying that they are interested in <br />pursuing this lease. He agrees that the best option is to have a site and build a building, but the financing is <br />not in place for that. The staff could come back with a report on April 1 St on the options. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that the building has been empty for two years. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Brown, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to put the issue <br />of storage and EMS on a work session for April 1 ~ and to send a letter to the Efland family expressing <br />interest and inquiring about the purchase of the building. <br />