Orange County NC Website
Chair Jacobs said that he thought it would be good to come back to the two boards to <br /> see if there was enough interest to have staff look at this possibility. He said that he has used <br /> the Waterstone Boulevard as a shortcut to get to Old NC 10. When Wal-Mart was first <br /> proposed, the County had proposed changing the whole intersection at Old NC 10 and NC 86. <br /> If you think of Waterstone Boulevard as a southern bypass and then get on NC 86, then it would <br /> be easy to get right on Lawrence Road if Old NC 10 were improved. This would be, in effect, an <br /> existing bypass. <br /> Craig Benedict agreed that this is an important connection between Old NC 86 and NC <br /> 86. This is similar to the realignment that the County discussed in 2002. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that the County got a copy of a letter about having a railroad stop in <br /> Hillsborough, but that one of the crossings in west Hillsborough would have to be eliminated. <br /> He said that if there was discussion about lining up Mayo St. and Eno Mountain Road, where it <br /> comes out is not a satisfactory conclusion. He said that there is money to close railroad <br /> crossings. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that the question is whether Hillsborough wants to change <br /> its priority and say that Elizabeth Brady Road is not as important as some of these other things. <br /> Eric Hallman said that he would like to know if the money could be reprogrammed. It is <br /> not worth talking about if the money cannot be reprogrammed. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that, if the money was available, it would be good to discuss what it <br /> would actually be used for. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said that for the priorities to change at the MPO level, the <br /> changes would need to be discussed and approved by the MPO. <br /> 7. Green Building Standards Resolution Proposed by Hillsborough's WaterlSewer <br /> Advisory Committee and Adopted by the Town Board <br /> Eric Peterson said that James Watson, a member of the WaterlSewer Advisory <br /> Committee and former chair, was present to answer questions. The committee made a <br /> recommendation to the Town Board, which is reflected in the resolution in the packet. The <br /> resolution was passed on to the County, and the recommendation of the committee was <br /> encouraging Orange County to adopt general green building standards. The Town Board is in <br /> support of this. He said that he called Ed Kerwin of OWASA and asked him about what <br /> OWASA was doing regarding the drought. OWASA has been doing a lot of research about <br /> making policy recommendations that would be much more aggressive. As Waterstone comes <br /> on, the amount of flush can be controlled and can have a huge impact on water conservation. <br /> James Watson said that there is a very finite capacity of water. <br /> Chair Jacobs said that the renovation of the SportsPlex involves changing out all of the <br /> water fixtures to make them more efficient. He asked about the County facilities. <br /> Laura Blackmon said that most of the changes involve the buildings being renovated. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about the building code now. Craig Benedict said that <br /> Orange County uses the State building code, which has minimal standards for water <br /> conservation techniques. Based on the priorities set by the Board of County Commissioners <br /> last April, staff has been dialoging with Hillsborough, Piedmont Electric, and other water <br /> providers to discuss having a standard for Orange County. If that is the case, there would have <br /> to be a specific idea for a new standard written in the form of a resolution and sent to the State. <br /> Margaret Hauth said that the Inspections staff has written a fairly aggressive and <br /> inclusive process to be able to reach out to other jurisdictions and see if there is any interest in <br /> developing local standards. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked about a realistic timeline for this. <br /> Craig Benedict said that staff could bring presentations to the Board in the next couple of <br /> months. The question is whether the standards should be voluntary or mandatory. <br />