Minutes 05-14-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Rich said there were discussions with the Town of Chapel Hill regarding the Ephesus Fordham project and asked if that fits into this part of the CIP. Bonnie Hammersley said the Ephesus Fordham project would be an eligible use of Article 46 funds as it is Economic Development. She said the Town of Chapel Hill was requested to show data from the performance evaluation. Commissioner Rich asked if the performance evaluation will be available before the end of the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Bonnie Hammersley said no, the evaluation will come after the development is performing. Chair McKee asked if the Carrboro sewer project received Article 46 funds. Commissioner Jacobs said yes for Roberson Street. Commissioner Rich said that was a project in the past and she is thinking about the future. Chair McKee said that is correct and acknowledged funds have been used as needs have arisen. Craig Benedict said certain amounts of money are pay as you go funds which can be used on a case by case basis. Chair McKee asked if the water/sewer infrastructure coming out of Durham is smaller, and if it is only coming down Route 70. Craig Benedict said it would parallel I-85, in the far northeast quadrant, north of Route 70 and up to I-85. He said a consultant, hired by both Durham and Orange Counties, has shown the overall system is too much for Durham to handle. He said Orange County is seeking to avoid overloading Durham's system with any sewers that are sent there. Craig Benedict said there is a 13 acre proposal adjacent to Durham that will hopefully allow a gravity system into Durham without a lift station. Chair McKee said the properties that front to the southern side of Route 70 are in need of repairs and upgrades. He asked if these properties are outside of the service area for this sewer. Craig Benedict said these properties would most likely be outside this service area. He said a gravity system cannot work on that side of Route 70. He said a mobile home park in the area has an emergency sewer line into Durham. Chair McKee said he is referencing the businesses directly across from the old Skyland Inn. He said there should be effort made to include these businesses even if it is at the County's expense as they are prime properties. Craig Benedict said the process thus far has looked at this quadrant of land. He said problems arose on the Durham City side with the risk of over capacity. He said the original proposal showed the need for a 3-mile forced main costing about $5 million, to go into Durham, bypassing the over capacity gravity lines. He said there is a master plan and it is hoped that Durham will start making improvements near the Orange County border. Chair McKee said if large amounts of money are going to be spent it should be insured that the return is effective. Commissioner Jacobs asked if the County assesses once the lines are put in. Craig Benedict said the Durham agreement is a bit different than the one with City of Mebane. He said when development comes in there is a frontage charge which goes towards paying down the debt incurred by Orange County for work done in the ground. Commissioner Rich said she wanted to bring the discussion back to how the southern part of the County gets economic development funding. She asked if the process for Towns requesting money could be explained. Bonnie Hammersley said these funds are open to the entire County and as projects come forward, it is the Board's decision where the funding is used.