Minutes 03-03-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bonnie Hammersley said the facilitation of types of projects is always a very important part of the project, and internal facilitation can sometimes be less effective because they know too much about the issue. She said some of the best facilitators do not know the issue well. She said it is a good idea to hire someone who has experience in bond referendums, but not necessarily Orange County bond referendums. She said an objective view is good. She will take the Commissioners comments into consideration moving forward. Commissioner porosin referred to the proposed composition of the task force. He said if the school boards appoint members of the school board to sit on the task force, then it will not necessarily just be a group of citizens, as there will be elected people as well. He would suggest that the appointed people should not be elected officials. He thinks that there will be some critique of this process, and the more organic it can be the better. Commissioner Rich asked about the schedule. She questioned when the information will be requested from the schools. She said this is necessary before any discussion can start. Bonnie Hammersley said the information gathering is happening now, and the CIP will include all of this. She said staff has received lists from both school districts. She said these lists are not comparing apples to apples. She said Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools (CHCCS) has included the needs of all schools built prior to 1990, and the list from Orange County Schools (OCS) lists all schools' needs. She said CHCCS has prioritized their list, and OCS is working on this now. She said this information will be in the appendices to the CIP. Commissioner Rich asked where information regarding affordable housing will come from. She asked if this will just include Orange County's information or if it will include the needs of their partners as well. She is just wondering about the information flow. Bonnie Hammersley said the entities were invited to speak at the Capital Needs Task Force for the referendum in 2001, and that is how the information came forward then. Chair McKee said the schedule is just conceptual at this point, and nothing is set in stone. Commissioner Jacobs said in 2001 there were co-chairs who facilitated. He said people with leadership skills can be appointed, or there may just be advisory board members appointed who are noted for facilitating conversations. He said it is more organic to have the group settle out into who is going to facilitate, and then the Board can intervene if there is a problem. Commissioner Jacobs said it is a mistake to take the towns out of the composition. He said it is important to have either an elected official or an appointed person from the towns. He said this will help the process and it will create buy-in. Commissioner Jacobs said if there are going to be any elected officials there should be Commissioners on this task force. He said he has no problem with having elected officials from the schools. He feels it would be a mistake to have a group of citizens with other elected officials and no representation from the Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Jacobs said if it is a genuine process then the Board does not tell the task force what the Commissioners hope the outcome will be. He said this is an opportunity for the task force to talk about what is of interest and they can look at the CIP for guidance. He said it is better to let them work it out and bring it forth to be voted up or down. He said if there are Commissioners present, they would not be there to drive things in any direction. Bonnie Hammersley noted that there is a reference on page 2 stating that there is an appointment for each town. Commissioner Burroughs said she understands the value of buy-in and the desire for an organic process; however, she said there are already such clearly illustrated needs, including school needs, and affordable housing needs, and there is a limited pot of money. She said the sooner that the broader topics have been settled, the better the work of the committee will be, because there will be a focus. She said she comes from a background of