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<br />He said that it is the same amount of money as one elementary school to take care of the needs <br />of Orange County government and Orange County citizens for a long time. <br />Commissioner Gordon spoke about the pros and cons of this project. She said that the <br />County does have pent up needs, there will be a fixed cost for this project, it is in a central <br />location, and there is an opportunity to revitalize this area. The cans are that there has been <br />too little time for public comment and most of the planning has been in closed session; the <br />meeting to decide exactly what goes into the new facilities and the facilities that are vacated will <br />not be held until November 9t"; the design of the buildings is done after and not before public <br />comment. She said that she would be much more comfortable if there were more time and the <br />public had time to do due diligence. Regarding the overall capital budget, there has been no <br />opportunity for a public hearing on the projects in the capital budget and the debt issuance <br />schedule. She said that she requested that there be a hearing an October 17t", and this request <br />was not granted. There is $92 million worth of debt scheduled for issuance in the capital <br />budget. This is more than any bond referendum that has been issued and there are significant <br />tax implications. She said that this is a tremendous obligation and the list of projects is pretty <br />well finalized. She thinks that this is noteworthy and she does not understand why it is so <br />rushed regarding public comment. She is torn as to what to do about this proposal. She <br />strongly objects to the rush of this process and said that this is not the way business is done in <br />Orange County. She said that to bring this to a vote this evening puts her, as a county <br />commissioner, in an untenable position. <br />Commissioner Foushee said that she is in support of the project. She advocated for <br />school buildings for more than eight years, and now she represents a larger constituency. She <br />said that she has seen the conditions in which employees were working and she was taken <br />aback. She said that this project will address the employees and the citizens of Orange County. <br />She would hope that the issue of allowing the public ample time for comment, although <br />important, will not stop the progress of this proposal. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that every school project that the County has ever bid <br />since 1988 always seems to magically come in at exactly the amount of money that is <br />advertised that the County has to build a Schaal. Then the State and the legislature in the past <br />session provided the Construction Management at Risk piece, which the private sector has <br />been using for years. This allows the County not to broadcast how much money is available. <br />This is what is different and why there have not been so many public hearings. He said that the <br />CMR process is different and it is not well understood yet. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she has not decided what to do because the project is <br />attractive since it will provide needed facilities for county staff but the process is terrible. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said to Commissioner Gordon that historically she has been <br />very conservative about projects and he respects that. He said that they all have different <br />perspectives. He does not see anything wrong with using the private sector. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that if she votes for this, it is because she will take a leap of <br />faith that it will work out okay. If she votes against it, it is because they should have a public <br />hearing before the county endorses the programming for the $92 million of debt, including this <br />project being discussed tonight. <br />Chair Jacobs thanked staff for working on this. He said that the approval process will <br />be a very public process with the Town of Hillsborough. He said that he sees a big difference <br />between asking the public to comment about a senior center and an office building. Mast of the <br />project includes office buildings for County government, which will make it more efficient. He <br />said that the library is an outgrowth of the Library Services Task Force in which he also served <br />in 2000 and 2004. The task force report referred to a central library in Orange County. He said <br />that he and Commissioner Halkiotis, along with other staff, looked at sites in Carrboro within the <br />last few years trying to find a site for a freestanding library so that there could be a partnership <br />with Carrboro like there is at the Cybrary and the Adams Tract, in which each entity put up half <br />