Orange County NC Website
noted that there were 20 years when there were no schools built in Orange County. She said <br /> there are inequities when there are older and newer buildings, and she feels the money needs <br /> to be spent to fix up the older schools. She said some of these are health and safety issues <br /> that must be addressed. <br /> Commissioner Gordon said there needs to be a meeting with the schools to determine <br /> the primary needs. She suggested that the amount of money for the two school systems could <br /> be balanced out in a bond referendum if the older schools were fixed up. She does not feel <br /> that SAPFO should be abandoned. <br /> Chair Jacobs referred to Commissioner Dorosin's comments and said the school <br /> systems could be informed of the Board's preference. He suggested that the school board <br /> could be made aware that the Board would like to place the highest priority on capacity. <br /> He said he did not hear Commissioner Dorosin say SAPFO should be abandoned. He <br /> referred to the past decision with Gravelly Hill. He said his experience is that the school <br /> systems do a good job of anticipating which facilities are needed next. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said she is interested in equity; however she thinks the most <br /> difficult issue is the wish list and the amount of money. She thinks there will already be an <br /> inherent motivation in both school systems to renovate older schools to increase capacity. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he feels it is more important to get this right than to hit a <br /> specific target date. He said there will be interest from many groups, and this decision needs <br /> to be well vetted. <br /> Chair Jacobs said the Board should find out how the committee was put together in <br /> 2001 and how long it took them to get a recommendation to the Commissioners. <br /> Clarence Grier said this took about 18 months. <br /> Chair Jacobs said this makes Commissioner McKee's point. <br /> Clarence Grier said there will be a meeting on Thursday with LGC to discuss the future <br /> bond referendum and the impact on the LGC buyoff. <br /> Chair Jacobs said the October 15 agenda has an item about the preliminary debt <br /> issuance of$10 million, which is what Clarence Grier is referring to. <br /> Commissioner Rich asked if this committee is starting to meet. <br /> Clarence Grier said the Board would have to go first, and then people would be chosen. <br /> Chair Jacob said this is why the 18 month timeline is important. He said the schools <br /> have finished an analysis of needs, and this just leaves Affordable Housing and Emergency <br /> Services. He said the Board could choose to expedite things. <br /> He noted the upcoming discussion about changing the Quarterly Public Hearings (QPH) <br /> to a non-differentiated meeting date. He said there are QPH's scheduled in February and <br /> May. He said these could be used to move the process forward so that a dollar amount is <br /> established by June. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if the Chair and Vice Chair have locked in a November 14th <br /> date. <br /> Chair Jacobs said no. <br /> 5. Orange County Strategic Information Technology Plan Update <br /> IT Director Jim Northrup gave an update on the strategic plan and reviewed the following <br /> PowerPoint slides: <br /> Update — Orange County Strategic Information Technology Plan <br /> Abstract <br /> • Website Redevelopment <br />