Agenda - 10-17-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

Browse Search

20 1 Bonnie Hammersley said all towns can request Article 46 funds from Orange County, 2 and she said the challenge with that is the debt service is being used with most of the Article 46 3 funds. She said staff would evaluate any requests as they come in, and weigh them against 4 the priorities of the BOCC. 5 Commissioner Rich asked if the percentage of Article 46 monies that have been spent 6 on the towns is known. 7 Steve Brantley said the EDD's infrastructure takes 60% annually, and the loan and grant 8 programs are almost exclusively in the Towns. He said some funds go to the LaUNCh program 9 in Chapel Hill. 10 Commissioner Rich said she is interested in funds that have gone to infrastructure. 11 Steve Brantley said some funds paid for a sewer line repair in Carrboro. 12 Bonnie Hammersley said there have been no other infrastructure projects in the urban 13 areas. 14 Steve Brantley said the original core use for Article 46 funds was debt service for utilities 15 in the EDDs. He said the use of the money, since the referendum was passed in 2011, has 16 essentially followed that intent. He said it is at the discretion of the BOCC to maintain or 17 change this intent as it sees fit. 18 Chair Dorosin said he thought Commissioner Jacobs' comments were unfair to the 19 Town of Carrboro, and if the BOCC is not receiving requested information, it should be 20 following up. He said this project is on the agenda for the BOCC's joint meeting with the Town 21 of Carrboro. He said the Golden LEAF opportunity came about very recently. He said he would 22 support the recommendation, but noted it is important to the Board's relationship with the Town 23 to move forward. He said residents' concerns should be heard and considered, but they are 24 under a tight timeline. He said he doubts that two EDD projects will be funded, and the 25 Carrboro project is valid and worth exploring further. He said he will not support a motion that 26 does not include the Carrboro project. 27 Commissioner Jacobs said he is not being unfair to Carrboro, and rather Carrboro is 28 being unfair to Orange County. He said Carrboro has had 12 months to get this information to 29 the County and the public, but Carrboro is not paying close attention. He said the BOCC would 30 be irresponsible to agree to put water and sewer in a rural area, without knowing the 31 consequences. He said the best way to limit its applicability to other parcels is to size it so 32 small that it will not be that effective to spend the money on it. He said if it is going to be big 33 enough for other development, then the BOCC must consider the consequences before signing 34 off. He said if Carrboro wanted to be inclusive, it could have asked to be put on the BOCC 35 agenda to provide information prior to the BOCC needing to make a decision. 36 Commissioner McKee said his intent is not to disparage any of the projects, but he finds 37 two are not fully cooked. He said all of this is a long shot, as Orange County is seen as a 38 wealthy county. 39 40 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs for 41 the Board to authorize the Manager to submit Letters of Inquiry to Golden LEAF for the 42 following three projects totaling $1.5 million: 43 1. Piedmont Food &Agricultural Processing Center (PFAP) Proposal Regional Cold-Chain 44 and Co-packing Initiative - $280,000 45 2. Hillsborough Economic Development District Water and Sewer Infrastructure - $400,000; 46 3. Buckhorn-Mebane EDD - $820,000; and 47 48 Chair Dorosin said it is not fair to penalize Carrboro because of the timing of the Golden 49 LEAF opportunity. He said there is a broader disagreement among the BOCC about extending 50 water and sewer generally.