Minutes 02-12-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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nighttime peak use, where normal peak use is during the day. She said she did not attend any of these neighborhood meetings but feedback was concern for noise, traffic, how often would facility be used, etc. She said they all need a joint meeting to discuss this in more detail. She said that the County has a role as building owner; the town has a role as regulator; the cultural center has a role as potential user; and the neighborhood has a role. She said that each government user needs to communicate their usage needs and then the remaining time shown to the arts group to determine if it is enough and how much of it they will use. Once this is established, the usage can be presented to the neighborhood. Chair Jacobs said at some point there will need to be an open house to give all an opportunity to speak on the pros and cons of this proposal. He said Hillsborough's regulations also must be accounted for as well as an awareness of the space that each department needs. Commissioner Pelissier said she does not want to close the door to the cultural center or presume what will or won't meet their needs. She said they need to have meeting space there too, and since it is a unique space and it would be a shame to turn it all into office space. She said they do need more information on some of the other buildings, and there is a need for an assessment on the use of the offices. Commissioner Dorosin said it appears there is available space to make use of: Whitted and Link Government Services Center; with the Annex, is there a deadline to get out of it or invest in it. Frank Clifton said there is no deadline but if one of the HVAC systems failed, that would be costly to replace. He said it is a very large building being used by a small group and has an operational cost of$25,000 per year. Commissioner Dorosin asked about the Revere Road facility and its short anticipated life span. Frank Clifton said that building is 60 years old, needs a replacement of roof and it is energy inefficient due to additions made over time. Commissioner Dorosin said whatever happens with a meeting space, the idea is that they will still meet at Southern Human Services Center and northern Orange County. He said initially he liked the idea of co-locating the meeting room with the arts center since governmental buildings are underutilized, especially on weekends. He said the idea of having a viable art/performance space similar to the successful arts space in Carrboro. He said that perhaps the space could serve as an incubator for the arts group, who could find another space elsewhere if their needs increased. He said he feels they can make it work and there is a nitch to be filled. He would like to know the alternative ideas for Link Government Services Center too. Commissioner Price said the cultural community was instrumental in trying to save the Whitted space years ago. She said the arts business plan in their packet is an old plan and they need an updated business plan that accurately portrays how they would use it. She said there has been an investment from the community too. Chair Jacobs said there will be a meeting with the Town of Hillsborough on 2/21 and then a joint meeting with all interested parties could be suggested. He said they are going to have a CIP work session in March and a work session in April, so they need to schedule a meeting with the public soon. He said they need to discuss where this project fits in the que of capital projects with the county. Chair Jacobs said he was part of the last space needs study work group and they decided not to put all of their facilities in one area, because it was too much traffic impact for downtown Hillsborough. Chair Jacobs said the majority of Board of County Commissioners are interested in continuing to look at this as a possibility for joint usage and he said the next step is to see how this fits into the neighborhood and town ordinances. Commissioner Price said they need to get more updated information from the cultural center to make sure they will fit.