Minutes 02-19-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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without insurance coverage. He noted that Michael Talbert spent a lot of time trying to find a solution. He said that when Chapel Hill was first approached, the response was that annexation needed to happen or service would not be provided. He said that this was when Carrboro was contacted and the staff indicated a willingness to move forward. He said that one of the issues at a staff level, is that 6,000 letters will be sent out explaining this situation to residents in this district and a two year agreement would necessitate that process be done all over again. He said that Carrboro is giving up territory and Chapel Hill is gaining territory and in the end, the county nets zero and is trying to do the most logical thing to service the citizens. He said that mutual aid is the nature of emergency services. He said that there is no intention to create disagreements between the two towns. He said that a public hearing date cannot be established until a consensus is reached and the notification process can move forward. He noted that in the meantime there are residents who may or may not be able to get insurance, re-finance, or sell property; so a delay in the decision is an issue. Michael Talbert said time is of the essence. He questioned the time frame if the issue is sent back to the town of Chapel Hill and Mayor Kleinschmidt said the item can be on the Town Council's agenda on 2/27. Michael Talbert said the item would then come back to the Board of County Commissioners' agenda on March 7th, pushing the public hearing date to April 23. He said time starts to run out if this date is missed or goes much further out. Mayor Kleinschmidt said the town of Chapel Hill Manager is not authorized to enter into a 5 year agreement with the county but only a two year agreement. He said if they want a 5 year contract and not a two year contract then it must go back to Chapel Hill. Michael Talbert said Town of Carrboro has not been asked yet; so if the two year contract is not agreed to, then one of the other boards will have to consider the issue, which will push it back several weeks. Commissioner Rich noted that people who cannot get insurance could be annexed and get insurance; the residents just choose not to. She questioned why the districts have to be connected every time something is changed. Michael Talbert noted that Greater Chapel Hill will be its own separate district. Commissioner Rich questioned why 6,000 letters would need to be sent out now and again in two years. Michael Talbert said property would be potentially be taken from the existing fire protection district which can't easily be done without an election. He said the way around instigating that change is to not levy the tax within the fire protection district and create a Fire Service District encompassing all of the area. He said that this means everyone in both affected districts must be notified. Commissioner Rich clarified that if these letters are sent out and a two year agreement is established, then these letters would not need to be sent out again. She noted that only the contracts with the town and county would need to be revised. Michael Talbert said that is mostly correct, if the county chose to leave the districts exactly as set up and only changed service providers. Commissioner Gordon said that she would like to provide some perspective on this issue. She noted that there are three new fire service districts and there are a lot of households in these districts. She said there is a dilemma with 112 homes that are outside of the 6 mile range and a lot of work has been done to address this issue. She referenced attachment two which shows the 112 homes and the attachments showing the old and new South Orange Fire District. She said that the claim is that there is fire protection, but there is no service provider and no contract after June 30th. She said there are many homes not in the Greater Chapel Hill Fire District that are caught up in this issue. She noted that a deadline of February 1 st was given to get this work done and still have time to get the new districts to the State Fire Marshall's Office and negotiate the contracts, and now this is delayed. She said