Minutes 03-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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to be a new way of thinking about schools that considers urban schools, school revitalization and making schools work in a different way. She said land is running out, and it is expensive. She said Chapel Hill will keep growing, and the town has determined that it needs to grow up. She said she is not worried about having enough schools for the next 10 years; she is worried about having enough schools for the next 5 decades. Michael Talbert said if the town continues to go up, it will increase the density. He said if 1000 residential units are built out, that would bring about .3 children under the current rules of the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Act (SAPFO). He said this would cost around $1 million per year in operating cost. He said the County funds just under $3,200 per pupil now. He said this could also put pressure on the building capacity and may move future schools up in the schedule. He said the revenue side of this was laid out, but the expenditures were not mentioned. He said other County services would be impacted, and staff needs time and energy to review this; but the biggest impact would be the schools. Michael Talbert questioned whether there would be a catch up proposal at the end if the County gives 50 percent of the increase in the tax value in the early years, and then development didn't happen for 3 years. He asked if the town would fund it immediately and then the County would fund through the remainder of the debt service. Mayor Kleinschmidt said there is no catch up proposal. Michael Talbert said the County is required to do revaluation every 8 years, and the next one is in 2017. He said these revaluations may have an impact on the values. Mayor Kleinschmidt said this is a very conservative look at this project, and it assumes today's tax rates and property values at lower than current market rate. Michael Talbert said the school population issues need to be felt out in the meeting with Todd Lofriese. Chair Jacobs said the County has already changed their school standards, and there are no more large acreage standards. He said Northside Elementary School is a model of a school that was brought into the city, as opposed to being at the edge. He said this movement inward is the new model, and the County has looked at doing things differently. He said the County needs time to do its due diligence. He asked about the town's expected time frame. Council Member Ward said it is imperative that the Chapel Hill staff is available to answer any questions the County has about this project. He said it makes a difference to him where the County lies in this decision, and it is not an A plus project without them. Roger Stancil said town staff is available to the County. He said the finance staff will share a timeline with Michael Talbert. Chair Jacobs said the Board would need to add this to a work session, and there would also need to be public comment as part of the decision making process. Council Member Harrison thanked Commissioner McKee for his comments regarding staying on message. He said he has heard from a Durham City Council member, and the conversation is pretty broad. Council Member Ward said he would like feedback from the Orange County economic development director as well. Mayor Kleinschmidt said this feedback would be welcome. Commissioner Rich asked Mayor Kleinschmidt about the time frame. Mayor Kleinschmidt said he would like it done this fiscal year. He said, depending on the County's participation, this could be going out for a bond sometime after the potential mid- April zoning approval. He said a well paced timeline would have the zones activated in July to go ahead and begin new construction on roads, as well as work on storm water facilities. Roger Stancil said the April time frame is the re-zoning date, which is the major date. He said the town would like to move forward with the financing right after that. He said the town would ideally be looking at an April/May time frame for the County.