Minutes 04-04-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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lot. He is ready for some peace and quiet. He said three minutes is not much time to talk about something that may impact the rest of his life. Kathy Alberta lives across the parking lot from this facility. She supports the arts and she thinks there can be a use for it here, but there needs to be a solution for storm water runoff. There is already storm water runoff affecting her house. She is looking forward to having a contact person related to landscape architecture to help her. Chair Jacobs referred her to Jeff Thompson. 5. Board Comments (Hillsborough, Orange County Schools, County) Commissioner Rich asked about any opposition to having government meetings here. Steve Gardner said the County does own the building and it is fair for the County to utilize the building for meeting purposes. Andrea Riley said the OCCC is listening to the concerns and they take them very seriously. She wants to work with the County and the Town to figure out ways to solve the traffic problems. She asked for a chance to work on these things. She said they do not want to make this a neighborhood eye sore and concert venue. She wants to work with neighbors and not against them. Paul Mitchell pointed out that the community feels that they were not invited to the neighborhood meeting. Very few people got an invitation. He is against having things such as dancing in the gym. He said this is a place for small scale projects such as arts education instead of dancing and reunions, since such large scale events are inappropriate for this space. Citizen — said the building is in use currently from 8:00 in the morning and the proposals could extend hours of usage to 12-15 hours a day every day. She said it is not just the usage, but it is the amount of usage that is not appropriate. Margo Pinkerton said they understand the concerns. She said they want to start modestly and grow slowly with the input of the neighbors. If there was a rare large event, there would be law enforcement hired for parking and traffic. Commissioner McKee said he also attended school here and he remembers school events in this room. He said he was adamantly opposed to the bottom of the Link Center being used for a Commissioners' meeting room because the facility is not adequate and was too expensive to renovate. He supports the idea of using this facility for a multi-use purpose for three different boards and other events. He wants to get as much use out of the facility as possible. He thinks everyone is willing to listen to the neighbors' concerns. Mayor Stevens said this building has a lot of opportunity. There is some creative tension that comes with that opportunity. There are many issues not resolved such as the permanence of this building. He wants to see more engagement with the neighborhood because it has not happened yet. Chair Jacobs said the Board of County Commissioners appreciates everyone coming and it is the obligation of the Board to listen to everyone. He suggested that the OCCC engage the people that were in opposition to this use. There is potentially in the CIP $1.43 million for a meeting room in this space if the Board of County Commissioners decides to proceed. The hope is that the facility will be of use to more than just the Board of County Commissioners. There would be an agreement that would express limits. If this becomes a meeting space, the parking lot will be paved so there will not be the crunch of gravel or dust. Deborah White said most county offices have been clustered around the courthouse area. She said there should be more balance of uses between the historic district and the office district. She is not against the arts, but she has a problem with some of the proposal. Deryl McGuire said the County and the Town should get together first to come up with the policies so that everyone knows them before moving forward.