Agenda - 02-04-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

15 1 Alderman Johnson asked if the council is aware that this was discussed in the task force 2 meeting, and the County said it would not be financially feasible. She would like to move 3 forward with what was actually recommended. 4 Mayor Kleinschmidt asked if it was true that it was financially impossible for the County 5 to participate in the larger district. He said he doesn't want to discuss the option if it is a no-go. 6 Michael Talbert said he is not sure it is an absolute no-go, but the price tag on the larger 7 district was $17 million. He said the County would have to be the lead agency, and this is not in 8 their CIP or on their radar screen. He said this would make it a very difficult sell. He said sewer 9 for the 86 parcels was seen as the priority, as discussed by the task force 10 Michael Talbert said when this was being discussed, the issue of the ETJ and the 11 question of Chapel Hill's participation came up. He said there was a great deal of uncertainty at 12 the time as to whether the Town could participate. 13 Mayor Kleinschmidt said right now the discussion is not about the larger district. 14 Michael Talbert said it was his understanding from talking to Roger Stancil that this is 15 what the Town Council wanted him to pursue. 16 Roger Stancil said it was pursued as a vehicle for creating resources for the Town of 17 Chapel Hill to participate in the funding of the extension of sewer. He said the priority was to 18 serve the identified properties of the Rogers Road neighborhood that have been affected by the 19 landfill. He said there was a preliminary meeting of the managers, including OWASA, to 20 discuss what it would take to establish that district. He said that district is one way to make this 21 happen, but the ETJ is also being pursued. 22 Mayor Kleinschmidt said it is not an absolute no to have a utility district to provide sewer 23 to the 86 properties. Alderman Johnson said she is referring to the $17 million district. 24 Mayor Kleinschmidt said this is not what is being discussed. 25 Chair Jacobs said there is some confusion because Michael Talbert referred first to the 26 recommendation of the task force; but then he put forth the idea of looking at the larger 27 universe of options. He said the task force recommendations are only a sub-set in this larger 28 universe. He said guidance would need to be given on this, as well as the disposition of the 29 Greene Tract. 30 Chair Jacobs said it is fine to keep talking; but it should be remembered that there are 31 two options on the table. 32 Council Member Ward said there may be additional strategies that come about when 33 discussing this suite of options. 34 Roger Stancil said proposed participants would be Orange County, OWASA, the 35 Jackson Center, the Credit Union and RENA. He said the main priority is to provide sewer as 36 quickly as possible. He said one idea was for the school board to purchase a school site on the 37 Greene Tract, and those proceeds could go into the utility district. 38 Council Member Ward said that is why the manager was asked to pursue other options. 39 He said it seemed like this may provide some other funding opportunities. He said another idea 40 is to establish some affordable housing on the Greene Tract. He said if a developer could be 41 found for this, then that project could also produce funding for water and sewer. 42 Mayor Chilton said this would presumably also be split 43-43-14. 43 Council Member Lee Storrow said what is important to remember is that the council also 44 has an interest in doing this work as soon as possible. He believes the second 45 recommendation is the most important. He said the timeline and the money are ambitious, but 46 continued discussion delays the original goals. He said the boards have an obligation to end 47 this budget process; however he wants to be realistic that having a broader conversation about 48 whole budget priorities will put things in a better place to make this kind of investment. 49 Council Member Lee Storrow said the district idea has been discussed, and the larger 50 district allowed Chapel Hill's participation. He said if a district were to be defined solely as the