Orange County NC Website
5 <br /> 1 Chair McKee asked if the proposed $9 million is the total cost for the centralized <br /> 2 transportation center. <br /> 3 Pam Jones said yes. She said the assessment estimated $7 to $8 million, but a bit more <br /> 4 has been added to take site acquisition into consideration. <br /> 5 Commissioner Burroughs thanked the school districts for their collaboration on this <br /> 6 presentation. <br /> 7 Chair Piscitelli said she attended the last Board of County Commissioners' meetings, <br /> 8 about what may be on the bond and the meeting where the public was able to make comments. <br /> 9 She said hearing the word "neglected", in reference to the older schools, bothered her. She <br /> 10 said the Board should remember that the schools always try to be good stewards of all funds, <br /> 11 and that needs have simply outpaced annual capital dollars. <br /> 12 Chair Piscitelli said technology is now an integral device to provide instruction to all <br /> 13 students (ESL, visual learners, etc.). She said this is the reason why both districts are <br /> 14 committed to funding technology, as well as facility and maintenance costs. She said another <br /> 15 issue is the students with disabilities and accommodating them due to older schools' <br /> 16 infrastructure. She said school shootings have increased throughout the nation, and $2.7 <br /> 17 million is needed to address safety. <br /> 18 Tom Forcella said an important piece is the time and effort that has gone into the <br /> 19 assessments and prioritizations of the schools. He said great time and care has been taken to <br /> 20 address the needs effectively and most appropriately, for both districts. <br /> 21 Commissioner Jacobs said one other factor that has affected funding has been the <br /> 22 State's reduction in school construction funding over the years. He said the recent growth in <br /> 23 Orange County is also a factor, causing the schools to depend more on local funding. <br /> 24 Chair McKee responded to Chair Piscitelli's comments about the word "neglect", saying <br /> 25 it is benign neglect, not intentional. He said it is the result of trying to do the best with the <br /> 26 available resources. He echoed Tom Forcella's comments about the amount of effort and time <br /> 27 put into the assessment process. <br /> 28 Commissioner Dorosin asked if CHCCS has a timetable for Phases 2 and 3. <br /> 29 Todd LoFrese said in the information previously provided to the Board of County <br /> 30 Commissioners, there is have a 10-year construction plan for these phases. He said the first 4 <br /> 31 years would be for Chapel Hill High School, and 2 years for Lincoln Center. He said at that <br /> 32 point, finances would be assessed and hopefully more renovations could continue. <br /> 33 Commissioner Dorosin asked if Phase 1 would take 10 years. <br /> 34 Todd LoFrese said the CHCCS plan lays out projects that are both funded and not <br /> 35 funded. He said CHCCS is requesting for planned funding to be used to address current needs. <br /> 36 Commissioner Dorosin said the feedback he is hearing is not an issue of"neglect", but <br /> 37 rather criticism of the long range planning. He said it would be important to maximize existing <br /> 38 land. <br /> 39 Todd LoFrese said the schools adequate public facilities ordinance (SAPFO) process is <br /> 40 already in place, and similarly both districts review the CIP process each year. <br /> 41 Andrew Davidson referred to page 4 of the document and said Phases 1 and 2 are <br /> 42 where priority is placed on capacity. He said in Phase 3, there is less focus on capacity <br /> 43 increase. <br /> 44 James Barrett said the standard was to take all elementary schools to hold 585 students. <br /> 45 He asked if Commissioner Dorosin wants this number revisited, due to potential population <br /> 46 increases. <br /> 47 Commissioner Dorosin said that possibility should be on the table, and he anticipates in <br /> 48 five years that there will be need for a new elementary school. He said if continued growth can <br /> 49 be anticipated, capital plans could be re-visited to see if some school plans can be tweaked to <br /> 50 increase capacity. He said there must be flexibility. He said finding land to build new schools <br /> 51 would be a challenge, especially in Chapel Hill. <br />