Minutes - 20080129 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Nelson said that when the Southern Human Services Center site was first built, he had concerns about accessibility, but moving the services to Hillsborough concerns him more. There are transportation issues to consider. Pam Jones said that there were no transit services at the Southern Human Services Center when the County moved in, but there are now. She said that the hope is that the transit system will improve between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. Health Director Rosemary Summers said that she is not proposing a smaller satellite site. There must be access at both ends of the County because 50% of the service population comes to each site. Commissioner Gordon said that she did not think that the Board made decisions at work sessions and questioned whether we were going to finalize plans for DSS and the Health Department. Laura Blackmon said that the staff is looking for direction to bring back the CIP on February 5th Commissioner Gordon said that what she passed out was additional information she would like to have added on to the charts presented on January16th. She went through her handout with questions for the staff. She pointed out that the Health Department stated a need for 30,000 square feet at the northern location, and if 59,000 square feet is renovated, then this is more than is needed. If only 30,000 square feet is renovated, then it would only cost $6 million as opposed to $11.8 million. Pam Jones said that it is not known what will go into the Whitted Building, but the rest of the building would be used. Commissioner Gordon asked if the upfit for Wal-Mart would be $35.50 per square feet. She said that this plan is attempting to meet 2020 needs by 2012, and this is not necessary. She asked about possible staging so that costs could be phased over a period of time. Commissioner Gordon asked about the appraised value at the tax office of the shopping center. Her main question is whether these are the right numbers for the costs. She said that if all of the space at Whitted did not need to be renovated right away, then $6 million would be saved. Laura Blackmon said that Pam Jones would have to look at numbers and there may be some reimbursements not included in Commissioner Gordon's figures. Chair Jacobs asked Laura Blackmon if she was looking for a response from the Board about what to include in the CIP and Laura Blackmon said yes. Commissioner Carey said that both the Social Services Board and the Board of Health came to the conclusion that the lease purchase option better served them. He said that this should be included in the direction to the staff about the CIP. Commissioner Foushee agreed. Commissioner Nelson said that he wants to hear from the public. Chair Jacobs said that he respected both boards' decisions. He also thinks that there is something to be said for doing some of the adaptation of a building that is not green, rather than disrupting a site that already has issues, such as the Southern Human Services Center. He said that Carolina North will also increase transit between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill by 2020. Commissioner Gordon noted the materials presented to the two boards, and the time constraints for making their decisions. Both boards wanted assurance that they would get additional space and also they heard that the building option would take five years. She also made reference to her question at the last work session about the option for an addition of 25, 000 square feet to the Southern Human Services Center, which would be available soon, and then 50,000 square foot of new space at a later time. She has not received a response to this question.