Orange County NC Website
1 <br /> 1 Attachment 1 <br /> 2 DRAFT MINUTES <br /> 3 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> 4 WORK SESSION <br /> 5 April 16, 2013 <br /> 6 7:00 p.m. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 The Orange County Board of Commissioners met in a work session on Tuesday, April <br /> 9 16, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Link Government Services Center in Hillsborough, N.C. <br /> 10 <br /> 11 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Barry Jacobs and Commissioners Alice M. <br /> 12 Gordon, Earl McKee, Bernadette Pelissier Renee Price and Penny Rich <br /> 13 COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Mark Dorosin <br /> 14 COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: John Roberts <br /> 15 COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager Frank Clifton, Assistant County Managers <br /> 16 Michael Talbert, Clarence Grier and Clerk to the Board Donna Baker (All other staff members <br /> 17 will be identified appropriately below) <br /> 18 <br /> 19 NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE PERMANENT <br /> 20 AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. <br /> 21 <br /> 22 1. Northern Human Services Center Project Update <br /> 23 <br /> 24 Chair Jacobs said discussion of this first item was moved to Hillsborough to make it <br /> 25 convenient for residents who live nearby to attend. He said this will continue to be done while <br /> 26 this item is under discussion. He will ask staff to give a timeline for discussions and decisions <br /> 27 on this issue; and the public will be notified when these meetings will occur and when there will <br /> 28 be opportunities for public comment. He gave a reminder that there is no public comment <br /> 29 during work sessions. He said the Board wants to insure that, during this process, people who <br /> 30 have invested in this project are aware of and participating in what is happening. <br /> 31 Commissioner McKee noted that the meeting room does not have good acoustics, and he <br /> 32 asked everyone to speak loudly. <br /> 33 Jeff Thompson said tonight will be an update on the Northern Human Services Center, and <br /> 34 he referred to the November 8th abstract. He said that in November of 2012 the Board of <br /> 35 County Commissioners authorized staff to move forward with option 2, which is an adapted re- <br /> 36 use of 10,000 square feet of the facility. He said this facility has significant cultural, historical <br /> 37 and social significance in the community, and there have been several meetings to gain <br /> 38 feedback from the residents. <br /> 39 Dave Stancil said he would give a brief history of discussions regarding the facility. He <br /> 40 said this building has been looked at by a variety of different groups over the last twenty years. <br /> 41 He said the building was rapidly becoming unoccupied and was very costly to heat and cool. As <br /> 42 part of the CIP discussions, the board asked that the community be engaged to determine what <br /> 43 the residents would like to see done to this facility. He said two meetings were held in 2012; <br /> 44 during the first meeting all 10-12 potential uses of the building were listed out. He said that this <br /> 45 list boiled down to community center type uses, reunion locations, wireless internet access, and <br /> 46 catering and commercial kitchen access. He said that in September two options moved <br /> 47 forward: 1) Start from scratch building a new facility; or 2) Keep the core rooms and then build <br /> 48 and memorialize around those, keeping the history. He noted that the building has a long <br /> 49 history as a school, dating back to 1950. He said the Board of County Commissioners chose <br /> 50 option 2. <br />