Minutes 03-01-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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County Debt Service and Debt Capacity— based on the Manager's recommended funding, the County's annual debt service as a percent of the General Fund budget would remain under 15% until FY 16-17, when it would reach 15.35%. Note: An additional summary is provided in the Appendices section, which reflects the debt service percent if all the Recommended and the Requested, but Unfunded projects were included during the FY 2012-17 CIP period. This would increase the percentage to 16.97% in FY 16-17, and would approach 20% by FY 17-18. Active County Capita/Projects—also included in the Appendices section is a list of all currently active County Capital projects with available balances as of January 31, 2012. Paul Laughton made reference to the old Ag center and the cost of updating this for $1.5 million. He said that this should be discussed before renovating this building. Frank Clifton said that this money could be used to update the Blackwood property instead. Commissioner Gordon encouraged this type of thinking and having a long-term space needs plan. She said that it important to get out of rental space and consolidate County offices. Commissioner Yuhasz asked if there was adequate space in the office buildings to accommodate the staff that are currently located in the Environmental/Ag space. Frank Clifton said that there is not enough space right now in one place to be functional. He said that his concern for suggesting this was the cost of maintenance and operation of the older buildings. The Blackwood property would be an opportunity to invest the $1.5 million into this. Commissioner Jacobs said that he agreed with Commissioner Gordon in that they need to have some basic principles on how to analyze space needs. He said that there are finro different Blackwood Farms—one is near Hillsborough and one is not. He thinks that one of the principles is to try and keep the services as close together as possible. He thinks that this should still be a priority. Either way, there are buildings for sale that are not being used. There is also the Annex, the Whitted Building, and downstairs of the Link Building. He said that there needs to be a systematic way to analyze space needs. There are two space needs plans and he suggested starting with these plans first and see what changes need to be made. He wants to make the best of the County's resources. Chair Pelissier asked Frank Clifton when something might come before the Board. Frank Clifton said that the staff could do some analysis and come back next fall for Board review. Commissioner McKee said that he realizes that the costs of maintaining a building can sometimes exceed the cost of doing something new, however, he would caution the County Commissioners to remember the fiscal constraints the County has faced, and that the services to their citizens should come first. Commissioner Gordon said that there was a notebook at one time with all of the County buildings and the space analysis. She said that before Pam Jones retires, she hopes that this information will be updated. Paul Laughton continued going through the components of the CIP notebook. Northern Human Services Center: