Minutes 09-29-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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