Minutes 02-12-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Chair of Board of Elections Jim White said that most of their board is here and they are enraged that they would consider moving the Board of Elections. He said there may be only four employees but there were 12,000 voters in that building in November. He compared this to the idea that the Commissioners' new meeting room is underutilized because there is no office space in it. He said this is not a storage space but a voting space, and early voting site. He said there are multiple uses for it and setting up cubicles there does not seem like a good use for it. He expressed concern about voter parking and space in the plans and the need for analysis of use studies before moving forward. Chair Jacobs said there will be no decisions tonight and the point has been made that more engagement needs to be made with the constituents, including the Board of Elections and other cooperative extensions. Commissioner Gordon said this underscores her point that unless you do the space need studies she cannot make an informed decision. She said these decisions need to be grounded in more data. She said it is helpful to have an analysis of the buildings; but there is no data on departmental space requirements, usage, co-location, or chance for occupants to make their case and these things are needed. Chair Jacobs asked if it is more feasible to move folks from Revere Road to another space better suited to their needs, rather than continuing to put money into that facility. He said maybe the board should see the master plan for Blackwood Farm at New Hope because that group envisioned an agriculture related park with demonstration plots and programming that cannot be done at Revere Road, either. He said that, to Commissioner Gordon's point about determining space needs and co-location questions, that might go far in determining whether to continue investing in Revere Road; or recognize its limited life expectancy and put money aside for a facility to be brought online at a future date when Revere will be for sale or deconstructed. Frank Clifton said that of all the buildings the county owns, Revere Road is the biggest liability. He said it's a great space for its use today but the roof is going to fail. He recommends spending the barest amount possible on it if it is kept. He said the goal is to upgrade all county facilities to a consistent level. He said the other discussion is to show properties that are, through prior decisions of the board, now available and to determine best potential uses for them. He said with Revere Road, they have simply made use of it. Farm Service Agency pays rent in other counties, but the space here has been given to them in Orange County because it was not being used for anything else. He said both interim and long term steps are being looked at. It is a dilemma to consider spending money to replace air conditioning on a building that's Iifespan may only extend 2 more years. He noted that plans were designed for this building two years ago and the decision was made not to move forward. Chair Jacobs clarified that part of that decision was financial rather than design. Commissioner Gordon said she did ask for an addition to the Link Government Services Center and it could be made more high tech with better acoustics. She said does not know what it will cost to add on this building, but she would like to put it on the table. Frank Clifton said they have put geothermal wells, power, and air conditioning at the end of the building and this was seen as a fairly extensive expense that would shut the building down while those things were moved. Commissioner Gordon said there was a lack of long term planning because those wells were just put in and if a plan had been in place regarding a meeting room this wouldn't have been done. She said she is getting more determined that a long term plan needs to be done. Commissioner McKee said he does not believe any engagement was made with services in the agri-building and their constituents. He said some of the wording in the abstract regarding the deconstruction bothered him. He said this is a 50 year old building, the same age as Orange High. He said he is aware of problems with the roof leaking in place but he referenced the abstracts statement that the building has poor appearance and condition. He has