Minutes 01-24-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 16, 2013 Dear Orange County Commissioners: On Thursday, December 6, many Justice United members attended the Assembly of Governments meeting in great anticipation of affirmation of the resolutions adopted by the Rogers Road Task Force. The Task Force has been working for six months to move forward with fulfilling the last remaining items from the Mitigation Plan. We have been working with RENA for four years to fulfill the promises made to the community. The Task Force recommended that plans move forward with the community center construction with costs not to exceed $700,000. Habitat will be providing the two lots and guidance with the design of the structure. The County will lease the land to RENA who has prepared a business plan for ongoing maintenance of the building and program development. What remains is working out the lease agreements and memorandum of understanding before bidding can begin and the money allocated. The Task Force reported back to each jurisdiction during the six months to discuss how the costs would be divided by the County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro with agreement that the Green Track payments could continue with the same percentages currently in place to recoup the funds for the community center and the sewer line costs. The sewer lines are the largest expenditure and an agreement with the managers needs to be in place to move forward with funding and to provide direction to OWASA. In addition, the cost of connecting the lines to homes in the Rogers Road neighborhood must be determined otherwise we are not fulfilling the purpose of the Mitigation Plan which is to provide water and sewer service to this neighborhood that has lived with our garbage for the past 40 years and will continue for the next 30 years or more. The Task Force recommended that they remain in place for six more months to make sure that the projects are moving forward as planned. The Task Force would then report back to each jurisdiction the recommendation of the managers and lawyers once they have met and determined the legal and monetary requirements. There is no question that this is a complicated project. The most positive outcome of the meeting on December 6 is that you, the Commissioners, understood the complexity and the urgency of moving forward. We sincerely appreciate the leadership of Pam Hemminger and Valerie Foushee on the Task Force and agree with the recommendation that the Task Force remains in place for the sole purpose of assuring the Community Center and sewer plans are in place. As you heard, Task Force leaders believe that this will take no longer than six months. If possible, former Commissioners Hemminger and Foushee should be invited to act as the County representatives to assure continuity and to maintain the timeline. We look forward to your continued dedication to finally complete the mitigation plan and provide this community the services they deserve. On behalf of the Strategy Team of Justice United and Members of the Environmental Team, Tish Galu, Strategy Team Chair Margaret Misch read a prepared statement: