Orange County NC Website
9 <br /> 1 Commissioner Pelissier said she agrees that the 48.1 percent target needs to be <br /> 2 discussed, but that discussion does not need to be just tied to this project. She said she is <br /> 3 struggling with allocating the whole 48.1 percent, because when it is actually distributed, the <br /> 4 attribution should be to the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS). She does not think the <br /> 5 entire attribution can be made to one school system, because it is not all expended in one <br /> 6 school district. <br /> 7 Bonnie Hammersley said staff is not saying that the entire 48.1 percent is going to <br /> 8 CHCCS. She said the current policy says that whenever the revenue goes up in the budget, <br /> 9 48.1 percent goes to all education. <br /> 10 Commissioner Jacobs noted that the number is approximately 48.1 percent, but there is <br /> 11 not a cap. He noted that Village Apartments has already been approved for this site, so there <br /> 12 will be additional students. <br /> 13 Commissioner Jacobs said all of this information is hypothetical, and he does not trust <br /> 14 projections. He said if this is going to be based on hypothetical information about revenue <br /> 15 generation, then it is reasonable for the County to generate hypothetical expenditures. He said <br /> 16 it should be proposed that the municipalities take these expenditures and impacts to the County <br /> 17 into consideration. He said staff is working to try and articulate these impacts. He said there is <br /> 18 no coefficient where the municipalities worry about how this will hit the County, but there will be <br /> 19 complaints if County taxes are too high. He said better communication and cooperation can <br /> 20 help people know upfront what the cost will be for a County taxpayer who happens to live in the <br /> 21 municipality <br /> 22 Commissioner Burroughs asked if it is correct to say that when you first look at this, you <br /> 23 see a deficit because there is no revenue yet. She said this is an exercise in revenue foregone. <br /> 24 Commissioner Rich said she thinks that the 175 students forecast in the first phase is an <br /> 25 outrageous number if you consider the history of developments in Chapel Hill. She said this <br /> 26 makes the education number high, and she thinks this is why there is a large deficit. <br /> 27 Paul Laughton said the total number is still 284 students over the three phases, so the <br /> 28 cumulative cost is still going to be there. <br /> 29 Commissioner Rich said there is an impact fee for students, plus the 48.1 percent <br /> 30 allocated for education, and then there is $3,500 per student. She said it seems that this is <br /> 31 double charging. <br /> 32 Paul Laughton said these scenarios have the 48.1 percent separate outside of the <br /> 33 growth, and then the growth is added on. He said this is because experience has shown that <br /> 34 the number goes over 48.1 percent as a result of growth. <br /> 35 Commissioner Rich asked if schools have gotten more than 48.1 percent for multiple <br /> 36 years. <br /> 37 Paul Laughton said yes. <br /> 38 Commissioner Jacobs said 48.1 percent is the floor, not the ceiling. He said, with the <br /> 39 coefficient that Craig Benedict used, there are almost 19 students from the first approved <br /> 40 apartment complex. He said blank assumptions cannot be made, and he does not know <br /> 41 enough about these 265 apartments. He said the Board could shoot holes into each of these <br /> 42 assumptions, but he is trying to take this as staff's first try at working with Chapel Hill on <br /> 43 providing metrics to start the conversation on this project. <br /> 44 Commissioner Price said she agrees with Commissioner Jacobs. She said she also <br /> 45 questions the number of proposed students. She said unless you have an idea of who will be <br /> 46 attracted to these accommodations, this is hypothetical, and it is scary to see such a huge <br /> 47 deficit at the end. <br /> 48 Commissioner Burroughs said design will also determine the housing with form based <br /> 49 code projects. She said the bigger point is to determine the philosophy for this project and <br /> 50 whether it is to bring in less revenue than you might have had. She said it is not about losing <br /> 51 money, but it is about getting less money. She is open to continuing a discussion about this. <br />