Minutes 09-12-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Rich asked why the Board should invest in sites with no guarantee that the town or the public want them. She would like to see more public comment first. She asked if staff is considering that Brewer Lane has close proximity to a lower-middle class neighborhood. Jeff Thompson said yes. He said this is true for Brewer Lane as well as Fidelity. Commissioner Rich said the Brewer site fits into a lot of criteria. She said she wants to keep this an urban library, and she keeps hearing this from others as well. Her current preference is for the Brewer Lane property. Commissioner Pelissier said she prefers the Brewer Lane site too; however there need to be multiple sites for the public to compare and discuss. She still has concerns about the Hillsborough Road site because this would require conditional use re-zoning. She noted that if Carrboro were building a library it would not need re- zoning, and she asked why Orange County has to have it. Jeff Thompson said when staff says yes to a site this is just part of the technical phase. He said the technical site overview is not just about engineering, but it also includes planning and zoning, and it takes about 60 days. Commissioner McKee said he has no particular objections to any of these sites. He does have a concern about the Brewer site's lack of visibility and accessibility. He also has a concern about the shift in the discussion from building a County library for Orange County residents in the southern part of the County, to a focus on building a Carrboro town library. Commissioner Price said her concerns are similar to Commissioner McKee's. She thought this was for the southwest region of the County. She said, when it is time for public input, all of the sites need to be presented, along with the applicable pros and cons. Commissioner Rich said she does not think the Brewer site is a problem. She said her intention is to build a County branch library in an urban setting in Carrboro. She feels this is a unique setting, and it is a step in the progression of what a branch library should look like. She feels this should be brought back to the public before spending $15,000 on a site that may not be used. Chair Jacobs said the Fidelity Street site is owned by Carrboro. He asked if Carrboro intends to give it to the county. Frank Clifton said the town board has not officially said that, but it is on the table for consideration. Chair Jacobs said the county has three sites and then one that needs Carrboro's collaboration. He this means there are multiple options to take to the public. He said there are some urban and some suburban. He said that it may turn out that one site is superior, but this cannot be pre-determined. He said, bringing people to Brewer Lane will enhance the economic development in Carrboro, which will benefit Orange County. Chair Jacobs said, if there are too many sites, this will confuse people. He said the County has set expectation levels too high in the past with regard to what kind of facility this will be. He said the Board wants to be clear that the County is not going to duplicate the Chapel Hill library. He said the goal is to establish a library that serves the southwest portion of the county and does not duplicate either central library. He said these criteria should be established before this goes to the public so that there are realistic expectations. Chair Jacobs reviewed the Boards' thoughts thus far. He said there are 3 sites that need to be investigated. He said the library is to be a branch library and public expectations need to be tamped down to a realistic level. He said it needs to be stressed that this library is to serve a specific segment of Orange County. Frank Clifton clarified that all of these sites were recommended by the Town of Carrboro.