Minutes 09-10-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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11 1 Chair McKee said he realized this issue demanded more attention than just a brief 2 discussion. He said he hoped the Board is able to get enough dialogue to make an informed 3 decision. 4 Commissioner Burroughs said she agreed with Commissioner Dorosin that affordable 5 housing needs to be addressed. She said teachers know about these kids. She said the bond 6 is a way to demonstrate how the Board feels about affordable housing, but it is not how she 7 would propose to address the need. She said there are other options for funding outside the 8 bond to address affordable housing, and she is willing to look at the CIP more closely, shifting 9 priorities to release some more funding. She said she believes the Board of County 10 Commissioners can make the CIP changes to address affordable housing. 11 Commissioner Burroughs said sometimes bonds fail, but she believes a bond dedicated 12 to the schools would be certain to pass. She said she is willing to review the CIP process, and 13 shift their priorities. 14 Commissioner Burroughs said the Housing Director is supposed to be bringing back a 15 plan. 16 Bonnie Hammersley said specific areas are being reviewed before there is an actual 17 affordable housing plan. 18 Commissioner Burroughs said she does support affordable housing, but that the 19 schools' needs are so much greater. 20 Commissioner Price agreed with Commissioner Burroughs and said refraining from 21 putting affordable housing on a bond does not reflect the support the she and the Board has for 22 this issue. She said maybe there are other ways to fund affordable housing besides a bond. 23 She said there are ways to decrease costs for homeowners for lower income housing. 24 Commissioner Rich said a group of stakeholders has not been gathered to find out what 25 people in the community really want in a bond, and she has concerns about this whole process. 26 She said the message is out there that all of the funds were intended for the schools. She said 27 a bond may pass in the towns, but people in the County may not feel the same. 28 Commissioner Rich said she attended a recent Triangle J Council of Governments 29 (TJCOG) meeting, where they brainstormed about issues that were pertinent to their areas. 30 She said seniors were the unanimous issue. 31 Commissioner Rich said the County and the schools should take responsibility for the 32 neglected schools. She said the schools are really in need of$300 million. She said lessons 33 must be learned from the past. She said if seniors, housing and parks are ignored, or if monies 34 are eliminated from current CIP Projects, then another hole is being dug. She said no one 35 seems able to figure out how money would be found in the CIP. She said shifting money does 36 not solve the problem. 37 Commissioner Pelissier said she agreed with a lot of what Commissioner Burroughs 38 said. She said this bond discussion started with the discussion of aging schools over the years. 39 She said $125 million has been discussed. She said she feels the reason to do a bond is 40 because the schools capital needs are a big-ticket item. She said there is not $125 million 41 anywhere in the CIP. She said the conversation has shifted, and now everyone thinks that no 42 one will get anything unless it is on a bond. She said that is just not true. She said the bond is 43 not just a matter of asking the public what they want; rather it is the Board saying to the public 44 we need a particular thing. She said the budget process should not just focus on operational 45 needs, but should also include the CIP, as it did this year. 46 Commissioner Dorosin said his recollection is different. He said the schools had needs, 47 and one way to address them was with the bond. He said he never thought the bond was only 48 going to the schools until the BOCC meeting in April. 49 Commissioner Dorosin said there is consensus to do a $125 million bond, and the tax 50 burden will be the same regardless of where the money goes. He said not putting housing on 51 the bond does not reflect that the Board does not support affordable housing, but he does feel it