Orange County NC Website
11 <br /> money. She said she is 100% behind the bond but she wants to be responsible and good <br /> stewards of the citizens' money. <br /> Commissioner Price agreed with Commissioner Burroughs, saying if a consultant was <br /> to be used, it should have come first, not at the end of the process. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said the BOCC does not have a full understanding about these <br /> priority projects and the joint meeting in April will allow the BOCC to dig a little deeper with the <br /> school boards. <br /> Commissioner Rich agreed with this but she wonders at what point are the final <br /> decisions made on these projects. She asked if the need is to build a Cadillac or can a <br /> Chevrolet suffice. <br /> Commissioner Rich gave an example of the Eubanks Solid Waste Center which came <br /> in over budget. She said the Towns questioned the amount and the County did call in a <br /> consultant to review, which saved a lot of money, and no one was offended. <br /> Commissioner Burroughs said there are construction standards negotiated between the <br /> Districts and the County. She said it may be time to review these standards but that should be <br /> done separately from, or concurrent to, this bond process. <br /> Commissioner Pelissier said the priorities are different from questioning the costs. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said there is a bigger issue that this conversation has revealed, <br /> which is the nature of communication between the Board of County Commissioners and the <br /> school boards. He said there is a sense from the school boards that the County does not trust <br /> them, and a sense that the County questions why the schools boards should always be <br /> trusted. He said there is history there but this current Board of County Commissioners is <br /> starting to understand that the issues, on which everyone is focused, are interrelated. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said both school boards kept the Board of County <br /> Commissioners informed, but BOCC feedback was not necessarily desired. He said everyone <br /> must work together in sync. He said this bond is only going to fund a piece of all the schools' <br /> needs and they all have a different set of ideals as to how this process should go forward. He <br /> said, moving forward, there should be a real commitment to have dialogue about these <br /> projects. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin disagreed with Commissioner Pelissier, and said the goal of <br /> capacity should not be scaled back. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said the school construction standards tried to address a wide <br /> variety of issues. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said he had been saying all along that he would like to challenge <br /> assumptions. He said the centralized Pre-K program is a major leap, and the BOCC has not <br /> fully discussed it. He said CHCCS School Board member Margaret Samuels is an expert in <br /> this area, and is a valuable resource. He said a conversation about cost versus capacity <br /> versus safety needs to occur, and he is not sure why the safety issues in phase 3 are not in <br /> phase 1. He said the Board of Commissioners has not had this conversation. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said the Board has a work session on April 12th and he <br /> suggested inviting the facilities staff to attend. He said this conversation would occur prior to <br /> the joint meeting with the schools at the end of April. He said he was disappointed in the <br /> consultant proposal since it would not come to the BOCC until after it adjourned for the <br /> summer break. <br /> Commissioner Jacobs said he would be glad to have conversations with school staff or <br /> board members about this since $120 million is going to be spent, and he wants to feel <br /> comfortable about his fiduciary responsibilities. <br /> Commissioner Rich said she liked some of Commissioner Jacob's suggestions. <br /> Commissioner Rich referred to the issue of communication and said she is trying to <br /> meet with a school board, or administration, member monthly. She said the schools use scare <br />