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Commissioner Nelson said that it is taking money from the pot and there are other ways <br />to get money. This is not his preferred way of financial management. <br />Commissioner Jacobs pointed out that by the time the justice facilities construction is <br />done, the County will be in the period of expanded indebtedness and will have a lot more <br />flexibility. <br />Laura Blackmon said that the goal is to try to accept the bid tonight and the estimate is <br />three fiscal years to complete and pay for this project. <br />Chair Carey said that he understands the direction that staff is recommending. He <br />thinks that making the decision this way will give the County more time to replenish this fund or <br />look at other options for financing. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that he is sorry there are no illustrations of the facility. He <br />hopes that once they start construction, there will be signboards to share what is going to <br />happen on this corner in Hillsborough, especially the geo-thermal heating and cooling. He <br />made reference to the decision not to do the rainwater collection and said that the Board felt <br />strongly about this as a sustainable design element. He asked why this was different from the <br />Durham Tech project. <br />Pam Jones said that the estimation was that the payback was longer and there were <br />other significant sustainable design elements. <br />Commissioner Gordon said that one of the reasons this building is more is because the <br />Board of County Commissioners made the facility larger, but she does share Commissioner <br />Nelson's concern. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the County actually reduced the size of the justice <br />facilities because it was put all in one box instead of several buildings. Even though it is bigger, <br />it is actually smaller. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Foushee, seconded by Commissioner Gordon to <br />approve awarding a bid not to exceed $10,076,838 and approve a contract with Bordeaux <br />Construction, Inc., Durham, NC for the 40,227-square foot new construction and renovation of <br />the Orange County Justice Facility; to approve the withdrawal of a bid without forfeiture of <br />accompanying bid bond from DeVere Construction Company, pursuant to NC GS 143-129.1; <br />authorize the Manager to execute change orders as may be required; and authorize the Chair to <br />sign subject to review by the County Attorney. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />d. Comprehensive Housing Strategy <br />The Board considered the approval of a Comprehensive Housing Strategy prepared for <br />Orange County including the Towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough. <br />Housing and Community Development Director Tara Fikes said that in 2005 when the <br />County completed its last five-year consolidated plan for housing and community development <br />programs as is required by HUD, there was interest in extending this plan to gather more <br />information regarding affordable housing. At that time, the County engaged Training and <br />Development Associates to provide an overall hauling market analysis for Orange County. The <br />product of its work is in the packet. She prepared a snapshot of this strategy. <br />Analyzing the housing market is an important exercise for any community. However, it is especially <br />important for those communities that are experiencing tremendous growth in population and property <br />values. Assessing the health and fairness of the housing market helps a community to be sure that all of <br />its citizens have choices when it comes to purchasing or renting their living quarters. <br />