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21 <br /> Commissioner Dorosin left the meeting at 9:03 p.m., and returned at 9:04 p.m. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton asked if the amount by which the debt payment would be <br /> lessened if this project were moved out to years six and seven of the CIP. <br /> Commissioner Bedford said the principal payment would be $1.277 million without <br /> interest. <br /> Gary Donaldson said the debt service on $25 million issue is $1.5 million. He said over <br /> the next couple of years in the CIP, there is about $1-$2 million rolling off, and in FY24, there is <br /> about $2 or $3 million rolling off. He said staff will follow up with the precise numbers. <br /> Commissioner Fowler said she shares some of the same concerns as Commissioner <br /> Bedford. She asked if there is a way for the County to find funding for a diversion facility. She <br /> said CIP does not truly reflect real school needs, because anything related to expansion does <br /> not appear there. She said K-12 facilities are a County obligation. She said if the Board funds <br /> this Durham Tech project, the County is not going to be able to make headway on any school <br /> related projects within the next 10 years with this debt service. She said in an ideal world she <br /> would love to build this building, but sees other things as obligations that the County has to <br /> meet. She said there are other creative ways to address the needs of the students that will not <br /> require building this right now. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said it would be a terrible mistake to move this project back five <br /> years. He said this Board has talked consistently about its commitment to education, and it is <br /> shortsighted and narrow to separate K-12 and post-secondary education in the County's <br /> obligation to students. He said it is disingenuous to analogize the facility to a boat, as a luxury <br /> item that is wanted, but not needed. He said the County does not have options for students <br /> graduating high school who will not attend a four-year university, except telling them to go to <br /> Durham or Alamance counties. He said there is also an obligation to adult learners who are <br /> seeking vocational skills. He said this project is an economic development tool. He reminded <br /> the Board about a letter received from CEO of the Hillsborough UNC Hospital that this new <br /> facility has opportunities for important synergies for training students, but also growing health <br /> care needs. He said it is problematic to distinguish the needs of K-12 and K-16 education and <br /> discuss sacrificing one to fund the other. He said in his 10 years on the Board, one of the <br /> persistent issues among Commissioners was the desire for parity for Durham Tech, and it was <br /> a long fight to get the first facility here at all. He said there have been ongoing struggles, and <br /> many feel Orange County has always gotten short end of the Durham-Tech stick. He said, over <br /> the past five years, there has been a push for greater acknowledgement of needs in Orange <br /> County and the Commissioners were instrumental in pushing through the scholarship program. <br /> He said it would be a betrayal of the work already done to not build the building. He said <br /> Durham contributes more money than Orange, and has a bigger student base, but Orange <br /> County has worked hard to seek more resources for the residents of Orange County, and for <br /> there to be more opportunities here. He said it is important to understand that Durham Tech <br /> serves a part of population not served well as K-12 students. He said the traditional K-12 <br /> model does not serve the folks seeking alternative education opportunities, vocational training, <br /> re-education, GED, etc. He said the economic arguments Commissioner Bedford mentioned <br /> could be laid out for any project in the CIP. <br /> Commissioner McKee said moving the project back to years six and seven is not a push <br /> back, it reestablishes its position in the plan to where it was before it changed last year. <br /> Commissioner Greene said she is in agreement with Commissioner Dorosin for all of the <br /> reasons he stated, including the email from UNC Hospital. She said if the project is pushed <br /> back, money spent for planning in the last year will virtually be lost, because it will have to be <br /> redone. She said a lot of the training proposed in this facility cannot be taught online, as it is <br />