Minutes 02-19-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Frank Clifton said either party can opt out of a contract with a year's notice. He said the contracts were written back in the 90's and times and issues have changed, so the effort now is to standardize the contracts with each of the districts and towns and deal with some of the issues. He said that his recommendation is that a 5 year agreement be entered into and the town can opt out, if it so chooses. PUBLIC COMMENT: Mayor Kleinschmidt thanked Michael Talbert for his assistance with this matter. He said it was Michael Talbert who suggested that Chapel Hill do a two year contract. He said that Chapel Hill was mainly concerned about the planning implementations. He noted that all but a fraction of this property is in the ETJ of Chapel Hill and the town provides emergency services and inspection work in this area. He said the laws that govern annexation are so different now that these areas will probably never be annexed absent an incentive to encourage residents to seek membership. He said this discussion of fire districts sparked a desire of the Town Council to encourage these residents to want to become part of Chapel Hill voluntarily. He said these are Orange County residents that live near the town limits of Chapel Hill, and Chapel Hill is providing the services to the people in the ETJ and are paying the taxes for it. He said these residents believe that the properties built out on the edge of the community should become part of Chapel Hill. Mayor Kleinschmidt said it was decided to move to a two year agreement so that Chapel Hill could have this conversation about how to rationally plan for their area. He said the tools that created the map are no longer useable and the concept of Chapel Hill residents paying for services in the unincorporated areas is no longer workable because the area will never become part of the town. He said Chapel Hill will continue to service this area like they always have. He asked the Board to respect the only change that the Council asked for, limiting the number of years on the agreement and he encouraged the Board to engage with them in this conversation. He said if they were to contract with Carrboro to do this, Chapel Hill Town Council would be very disappointed. He said he has asked the Mayor of Carrboro to respect this as well. If it is Orange County's will to consider a 5 year term, to then to please send it back to the Council to consider this again, rather than declaring it to be true. Commissioner Dorosin asked why the opt-out provision would not accommodate the town's concerns. Mayor Kleinschmidt said this is basically a two year contract for five years and it may suffice, but it is not what the Council approved. He said that there are complicated political issues and an opt-out in the middle of a contract period is just another political decision in an already complicated environment. He said believes an agreement should be reached between the two parties. Commissioner Dorosin said the agreement as provided meets everyone's goals and even if everyone agrees to 5 years, the opt-out is still in the agreement. Mayor Kleinschmidt said the Town of Chapel Hill wants to provide fire services to this area because it is in alignment with the town's interest in annexation. He said it is rational for Chapel Hill to be the service provider but the town is asking for opportunities to continue to engage in a conversation that is unique to this area. He said that if there are times in which the conversation must be had because of renegotiation of a contract, then that provides an opportunity for discussion. Frank Clifton said the reason this issue exists is because the state made changes to the rules for insurance coverage and most of the people in the green area of the map were left