Minutes 04-02-2019 Regular Meeting

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19 Rural Fire Department and the Town of Hillsborough to collocate an EMS substation with a fire station and police substation in the Waterstone development in Hillsborough. New construction cost estimates suggest an additional $350,000 will be needed to fund the County's share of construction. This project also adds a total of$100,000 for furniture, fixtures, and equipment in both the Waterstone Station and the Buckhorn/Efland Station. • Economic Development— Hillsborough EDD Water and Sewer Project - $1,060,000 In FY2017-18, the Board authorized funding to conduct an analysis of the County's Economic Development Districts (EDD's). This report highlighted the importance of having sites that are prepared for development including the availability of water and sewer service. The County has previously appropriated over$5.5 million to build out water and sewer infrastructure in the economic development districts to stimulate commercial and industrial development and job creation. The recommended CIP for FY2019-20 adds $1,060,000 to the Hillsborough EDD project due to rising construction costs and additional rock discovered in the subsurface that was not anticipated when this project was initially budgeted. Debt service on water and sewer projects is paid using the portion of Article 46 sales tax revenue dedicated to economic development. • Orange County Southern Branch Library—$750,000 In October of 2017, the Board approved a development agreement with the Town of Carrboro to jointly develop a new facility at 203 South Greensboro Street. The facility would include space for the County's Southern Branch Library as well as Town offices. Funding for the construction phase of this project was approved in FY2018-19 at $5.6 million. The additional $750,000 recommended in FY2019-20 is intended to fund the furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the new library. The CIP also continues to recognize the additional operating expenses that will be required to operate this new branch. The net new operating costs are currently estimated at approximately $650,000 annually after deducting the operating costs associated with the two existing County funded library resources in the Town of Carrboro. • School Capital Improvements - $34.4 million The recommended CIP includes a total of$34,377,500 to finance a variety of school capital improvements and deferred maintenance. This total amount includes approximately $20 million in general obligation bond funds for Orange County Schools. This $20 million project will include the construction of a classroom wing at Cedar Ridge High School, roofing projects, and mechanical system replacements at several schools. This allocation to Orange County Schools represents the second of three bond fund allocations for Orange County Schools. The third installment for both Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools is scheduled to occur in FY2021-22. This allocation will total approximately $14.5 million and will exhaust the $120 million in bond funds approved by voters in 2016. The Recommended CIP also includes $3 million in funding for deferred maintenance projects. When the County issued $85.4 million in general obligation bonds in FY2017- 18 primarily for Chapel Hill High School, it received a bond premium from investors seeking the favorable tax exempt status of these bonds. The County received a total of just over$6 million in bond premium. The majority of this premium is recommended to be reinvested in school deferred maintenance over the next two fiscal years. The remainder of the funding for school capital projects comes from a mix of sources including lottery proceeds, Article 46 sales tax proceeds, and $1 million in debt financing specifically targeted at facility improvements in older schools.