Agenda - 04-23-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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19 1 fraction of this property is in the ETJ of Chapel Hill and the town provides emergency services 2 and inspection work in this area. He said the laws that govern annexation are so different now 3 that these areas will probably never be annexed absent an incentive to encourage residents to 4 seek membership. He said this discussion of fire districts sparked a desire of the Town Council 5 to encourage these residents to want to become part of Chapel Hill voluntarily. He said these 6 are Orange County residents that live near the town limits of Chapel Hill, and Chapel Hill is 7 providing the services to the people in the ETJ and are paying the taxes for it. He said these 8 residents believe that the properties built out on the edge of the community should become part 9 of Chapel Hill. 10 Mayor Kleinschmidt said it was decided to move to a two year agreement so that Chapel 11 Hill could have this conversation about how to rationally plan for their area. He said the tools 12 that created the map are no longer useable and the concept of Chapel Hill residents paying for 13 services in the unincorporated areas is no longer workable because the area will never become 14 part of the town. He said Chapel Hill will continue to service this area like they always have. 15 He asked the Board to respect the only change that the Council asked for, limiting the number 16 of years on the agreement and he encouraged the Board to engage with them in this 17 conversation. He said if they were to contract with Carrboro to do this, Chapel Hill Town 18 Council would be very disappointed. He said he has asked the Mayor of Carrboro to respect 19 this as well. If it is Orange County's will to consider a 5 year term, to then to please send it 20 back to the Council to consider this again, rather than declaring it to be true. 21 22 Commissioner Dorosin asked why the opt-out provision would not accommodate the 23 town's concerns. 24 Mayor Kleinschmidt said this is basically a two year contract for five years and it may 25 suffice, but it is not what the Council approved. He said that there are complicated political 26 issues and an opt-out in the middle of a contract period is just another political decision in an 27 already complicated environment. He said believes an agreement should be reached between 28 the two parties. 29 Commissioner Dorosin said the agreement as provided meets everyone's goals and 30 even if everyone agrees to 5 years, the opt-out is still in the agreement. 31 Mayor Kleinschmidt said the Town of Chapel Hill wants to provide fire services to this 32 area because it is in alignment with the town's interest in annexation. He said it is rational for 33 Chapel Hill to be the service provider but the town is asking for opportunities to continue to 34 engage in a conversation that is unique to this area. He said that if there are times in which the 35 conversation must be had because of renegotiation of a contract, then that provides an 36 opportunity for discussion. 37 Frank Clifton said the reason this issue exists is because the state made changes to the 38 rules for insurance coverage and most of the people in the green area of the map were left 39 without insurance coverage. He noted that Michael Talbert spent a lot of time trying to find a 40 solution. He said that when Chapel Hill was first approached, the response was that annexation 41 needed to happen or service would not be provided. He said that this was when Carrboro was 42 contacted and the staff indicated a willingness to move forward. He said that one of the issues 43 at a staff level, is that 6,000 letters will be sent out explaining this situation to residents in this 44 district and a two year agreement would necessitate that process be done all over again. He 45 said that Carrboro is giving up territory and Chapel Hill is gaining territory and in the end, the 46 county nets zero and is trying to do the most logical thing to service the citizens. He said that 47 mutual aid is the nature of emergency services. He said that there is no intention to create 48 disagreements between the two towns. He said that a public hearing date cannot be 49 established until a consensus is reached and the notification process can move forward. He