Minutes - 20070130 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the County Commissioners need to decide what needs to be put at the Homestead Campus and the Whitted Center, and then if there is space left over, he has no problem putting a men's shelter at Homestead Road. He also agreed with Commissioner Jacobs about Kidscope. Chair Carey said that the Manager did what she was supposed to do about care County functions. He said that he has a different definition of core County functions and a broader idea. He said that his job is to take into consideration people that cannot advocate for themselves. He would like to discuss other issues that need addressing such as the Heritage Center, Kidscope, the men's shelter, etc. He wants to address these needs because they are just as important as the courts and other things that the County is mandated to address. He said that he will take issue with Commissioner Jacobs' characterization of the Board of Health. He said that the County Commissioners ask the boards to develop visions, and all of them are visions until the Board of County Commissioners approves the programs. He said that the BOH has worked hard on the analysis of the needs and recommendations. Chair Carey made reference to the Homestead campus and said that the little white house needs to be deconstructed or moved. He would like the staff to come back with a plan in two meetings about how to do this and the timeline. Regarding the old past office, Chair Carey asked if the whole site was considered or just the building. The answer was the whole site, from corner to corner. Pam Jones said that the discussion was about the expansion of the building. The discussion was how to accommodate the growth out the back of the building and still accommodate the trailer truck that camas in to deliver at the post office every day. She said that the sense was that the post office was historic and it was not desirable to disrupt this. Commissioner Foushee said that expanding out the back of the building would mean that people would have to park in the parking deck, which would necessitate an agreement with the Town of Chapel Hill. Chair Carey would like to ask for a professional architect to look at the entire site rather than make a decision by default. He said that having a court facility downtown is good for economic development for this downtown area. If it were possible to use this space, then this would free up some space at Homestead to accommodate some of the vulnerable populations that are not considered core County functions. Chair Carey said that Mental Health does not generate money to fund facilities like Social Services, but their needs must be addressed. Commissioner Jacobs said that one of the things mentioned for the Homestead Campus is Aging, which is not a core County function, but it is treated as one. He agrees that there is a more generous interpretation of what the County is committed to, whether it is called a core County function or not. He said that the Board has not dealt much with homeless shelters, and this is the opportunity to be honest. Chapel Hill wants their space back and now is the time to push the conversation and determine whether or not it is viable to use the post office space. He agreed with getting a professional to look at the facility to see if it is viable for the County, making sure that Chapel Hill is amenable to it. Commissioner Jacobs said that he was on the Board of Health before Chair Carey and the Board of County Commissioners has always supported the BOH, but he does not think that the County Commissioners should take it as a given just because the BOH advocates it. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like a cost analysis of having justice facilities downtown versus the Homestead Campus. She would also like to consider transit issues, such as site access and the ability to travel back and forth between court facilities in Hillsborough and Chapel Hill.