Orange County NC Website
Commissioner Halkiotis asked if one-stop voting had to be in a specific place. Carolyn <br />Thomas said that one has to be at the Board of Elections office. <br />2. Southern Orange Senior Center Plans Review <br />Purchasing and Central Services Director Pam Jones said that the seniors along with <br />Commissioners Halkiotis and Gordon have been planning the senior center for several months. <br />The program is now under review by the Town of Chapel Hill. The Town Council should have a <br />public hearing on the program on June 20t" and consideration for approval on June 27tH <br />Richard Gurlitz, the architect, was in attendance and made a presentation. <br />Richard Gurlitz said that there have been several meetings with a 16-20 person <br />committee in southern Orange made up of staff, Commissioners Gordon and Halkiotis, and <br />many seniors. The site is at the Southern Human Services campus area off of Homestead <br />Road. He described the site plan map. The building has as courtyard that extends in the <br />direction of Homestead Road. There is a bus turnaround far city buses and excursion buses, <br />with a covered entryway. It is a two-story building, and because of the slope, both floors are <br />accessible at ground level. <br />There is a health area with an aerobic room and weight training, and they are working <br />with UNC an developing an assessment clinic that would be staffed by UNC to do health <br />assessments for seniors on a routine basis. There is also a massage room with bathrooms that <br />have showers. There are also classrooms, a computer training facility, and offices for visiting <br />agencies (i.e., helping with taxes, senior volunteers). <br />On the lower level is an open area far ping pong tables; affixed-seat meeting area where <br />the acoustics, sound, and lighting can be more controlled; another conference room; afull- <br />service kitchen; cafe and amulti-purpose room. <br />He then showed some sketches of the building. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis added that Edith Wiggins was representing the Chapel Hill Town <br />Council on this planning group. <br />Commissioner Jacobs verified that this is the only time the Board of County <br />Commissioners will get to look at this before Chapel Hill's development process and Richard <br />Gurlitz said yes. Commissioner Jacobs said that he objects to a process where the Board of <br />County Commissioners is supposed to approve the plans fora $2 million building they have <br />never seen before. Regarding the building itself, he asked why the courtyard area would be <br />paved, since the pavement is almost unusable in the heat. Richard Gurlitz said that the need <br />far paving is that the seniors wanted to keep it wheelchair accessible far activities. It is usable <br />outdoor space. Commissioner Jacobs asked how much would be shaded and Richard Gurlitz <br />said that a balcony shades half of it and there is also an eight-foot overhang. There is also a <br />tree line going through the middle of it. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked if there would be any vegetative buffer between <br />Homestead Road and the building and Richard Gurlitz said that there is a required 30-foot <br />buffer. Chapel Hill has allowed it to be thinned in places so that the building is visible, since it is <br />a public building. <br />Chair Carey said that this process is inconsistent with the normal process the Board <br />pursues when it is planning to approve a project of this magnitude. He is not sure about the <br />time constraints, but he knows there are some. He expected to get some hard copies of the <br />presentation and any information. He asked for an explanation of the timeline. <br />Richard Gurlitz said that currently the seniors are in a facility at the Galleria and their <br />lease runs out June 30, 2006. The planning group has been working on this planning stage <br />until a month ago, and images went to Chapel Hill for expedited review. There is a 12-month <br />construction process and the bids need to be taken no later than the BOCC August 16t" meeting <br />in order to get the seniors into a building when their lease runs out. <br />