Minutes 05-07-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Rich said she was initially concerned about the cost, but she feels it probably balances out in the end when considering the moving from place to place. She said she is encouraged with the idea of working with the Town of Hillsborough and OCS in one space that can be called home. Commissioner McKee said he was opposed to putting the meeting room at Link Government Services Center, but he feels different about this space. He said many of the costs associated with this meeting room have already been expended on other infrastructure and he is supportive of this meeting room. He is also supportive of other non- profits using the space. Commissioner Gordon said she has gone on record stating that a permanent meeting facility should be in downtown Hillsborough, near county buildings on the county campus and near the parking deck. She feels the Board needs a permanent meeting room. She supported it being built on the county campus but she sensed that her peers were not enthusiastic about this and the consensus is for the Whitted Building, so she is happy to be cooperative. She said that one needs to be sure this is a good facility for meetings, not only for the Board of County Commissioners, but for the public as well. Whether it needs to be in a residential area, she does not know. She said the ideal would be to have a space study update to know the county's office space needs before making decisions. She said the key for her is to have a good meeting facility and work out how to share. She said the question is to find out the details of how to work out issues with the OCCC and other community groups. She said she would prefer a downtown location, but given that this is not the will of the Board, the goal is to do the best possible thing for the Board. Chair Jacobs said one of the highest functions of government is to partner and to share. He said that to provide a facility that neighbors and partners can use is a good thing. He said that when doing the land swap with Town of Hillsborough at Fairview, Hillsborough was willing to forego building its own meeting space in a mature hardwood forest due to the possibility of a joint meeting space. He feels this is the fulfillment of a commitment. He said this is the most elegant public meeting space in this part of Orange County and it should be used as it was originally intended, as a public meeting space. He said the moving from meeting place to meeting place shows a lack of respect for the public and for themselves. He said that the right thing to do is to designate a consistent place with good technology and infrastructure for meetings. He said that if video streaming had been done over the past 20 years, it would have saved half a million dollars by not moving around. It allows all meetings to be streamed, making the Board more transparent and accessible to the public. He acknowledged Commissioner Gordon's concerns but said the idea of a community arts resource is attractive and the Board just needs to figure out how to make it work. A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Rich to 1) Authorize staff to move forward with the project of converting the Whitted 2nd Floor "A" building into a permanent meeting facility for use by Orange County. VOTE: UNANIMOUS A motion was made by Commissioner Pelissier, seconded by Commissioner Price to 2) Affirm that the meeting space is to be shared with the Town of Hillsborough and the Orange County Schools Board; VOTE: UNANIMOUS