Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
22 <br /> access intersection, and he feels far enough along in the process, that he can characterize the <br /> Ben Johnston Road realignment as necessary to get full final permitting from NCDOT. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked if all road improvements will be at Buc-ee's expense. <br /> Stan Beard said yes, all proposed improvements to date, and in the future, would be at <br /> Buc-ee's expense. <br /> Commissioner McKee said that would be a cost savings of millions of dollars to NCDOT. <br /> Stan Beard said yes. <br /> Commissioner Greene recalled a similar road shift at Whitfield Road and 86. She said <br /> she would like Ben Johnston Road to be a full access interchange, and asked if the Applicant is <br /> open to this being a condition. <br /> Beth Trahos said yes, it is the Applicant's intention to do so. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if more information could be provided on water usage, as <br /> the graph in packet is hard to read. <br /> Stan Beard said the estimated water usage has been provided from day one, based on <br /> operating data from current similarly sized projects. He said this has never been an issue to the <br /> Planning Department. He said he has plenty of data to share that will show the water usage <br /> has been the same since day one. <br /> Kelsey Hall, engineer with Applicant, shared a graph with water usage estimates, which <br /> is in the BOCC packet. She reviewed the contents of the graphs. She said the car wash has <br /> been removed from the project. She said average daily water use is about 20,000 gallons a <br /> day for Buc-ee's, with increased use for Phase 2 development. She said total average daily <br /> demand is 45,000 in Phase two, plus 20,000 gallons in Phase 1. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if the current Buc-ee's site is a standard site or an efficient <br /> site. <br /> Kelsey Hall said Buc-ee's uses low flow fixtures, and, is thus, an efficient site. <br /> Commissioner Fowler asked if confirmation of how the data was collected could be <br /> provided. She asked if all three sites that were reviewed were of a similar size. <br /> Kelsey Hall said yes. She said fixtures for phase 2 are assumptions, based on typical <br /> uses of light industrial or a restaurant. <br /> Kelsey Hall said the water usage graphs all show the same information, just in a variety <br /> of ways. She said assumptions were made for phase 2 because there is no real data. She <br /> said actual flows were taken from the EPA website. <br /> Commissioner Fowler clarified that the total usage at full build-out if 65,000 gallons and <br /> sewage is 54. <br /> Kelsey Hall said yes. <br /> Commissioner McKee referred to wages and working conditions at Buc-ee's, and asked <br /> if the Applicant could respond to these concerns. <br /> Stan Beard said Buc-ee's will employ around 200 full time people per year, and part- <br /> time positions are not included in that number. He said the starting wage is $15/hour minimum, <br /> which includes 3 weeks paid time off, which can be paid out, used at time off or rolled over to <br /> another year. He said the health benefits are a standard package with health, dental, and eye <br /> after 60 days of employment. He said there is also a 401 k and life insurance. He said full time <br /> employees are the bulk of business, but one can request to be part-time if so desired. <br /> Commissioner McKee asked about claims of abusive employment practices, such as 5- <br /> minute breaks and employees having to work overtime for 10-12 days. <br /> Stan Beard said these claims come from reviews online. He said Buc-ee's employs <br /> 4000 people, on whom the company relies, as they are the face of Buc-ee's. He said a shift is <br /> 8 hours, with a few breaks per shift, up to 10 minutes. He said it is not an easy job, but <br /> employees are paid for all 8 hours of the shift. He said there is a lunch made on site, and <br />