Minutes 11-11-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner porosin said he appreciated the frank analysis, but he does not want to see this as a no win situation. He would like to see them go beyond plugging the holes. He would like to prioritize what the next step after the holes are plugged. He would like for there not to be a waiting list. He thinks there should be a discussion of universal pre-k. He said the most successful tool for eliminating the racial achievement gap in schools than the availability of pre- k. He would like to know what the fantasy situation would be for going beyond plugging the holes. Nancy Coston said the situation is very discouraging, and these low income parents will never get off the waiting list without additional resources. She said it will take everything in the budget just to do this. She said there will be 300 kids on the waiting list by the end of the month. She said a price tag can be put on all of this. She said it costs about $6,000 per year per child and there are 300 kids, so that is $1.8 million. She said there are also a lot of needy children not on the waitlist, because the family has abandoned it. Commissioner McKee asked how much is left in the social safety net fund. Clarence Grier said the County put$350,000 into the fund this past year. Commissioner McKee said part of this could be used to work on this list. Nancy Coston said people come and go with child care, and much of it is an estimate. She said some people may get served because someone else drops out. Commissioner McKee said he agrees that these children represent the most critical need. Chair Jacobs said he would like to see a list of things that are considered essential. He said this is similar to the situation with Section 8, and it is impossible to do it all. He said he would like to see staff come back with a list of what is reasonable to take on, what would be nice to take on, and what might be dangerous but desirable to take on. He said once this information is provided, the Board can make an informed decision about how far they want to push it. Nancy Coston said there are choices about whether you try to make up the 133—200 percent, or whether it is more important to get everybody below 133 percent who is on the waiting list. Chair Jacobs said part of this consideration will be looking at the analysis of the professionals in the department as to which is regarded as the most effective or imperative. Nancy Coston asked if the 3 month rolling plan should continue in the meantime. Chair Jacobs said the Board needs to confer on whether this can wait until May or whether the $350,000 needs to be moved over to their budget right away. Nancy Coston said she does not want to turn these people away until she knows the Board's interest, so she will come back with information as quickly as possible. 4. Proposed Parameters for Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) Approval Craig Benedict reviewed the following information from the abstract. BACKGROUND: ETJs are afforded to cities in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 160A-360. These are areas where the county relinquishes its zoning, subdivision, and building code regulations to the adjacent city. These areas are outside the city corporate limits, but are likely urban growth areas and would develop more compatibly with nearby city/town regulations because of the proximity of existing or planned urban form. Counties have to review and act upon these request using General Statutes. The majority of the procedures and processing is done by the municipality. However, counties can develop their own review policies to assist in an orderly transition from rural to urban environments whether the area is annexed or not into the adjacent city.