Agenda - 10-18-2022; 8-a - Minutes

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20 1 to be. She said when you think about the complexity of different pieces, and the willingness to 2 talk, then the report reflects conversations from the work group. She said it could lead to other 3 efficiencies. 4 Commissioner Bedford said she read all of the report and appreciated all of the 5 information. She said she does not see taxpayers supporting a merger of facilities. She said 6 that she supports having a consultant. She said that consultants could help prioritize and show 7 different options for replacement and renovation. She said that she would also like the 8 consultant to review other ways to finance the needs. She said that for swing space as schools 9 are replaced, some schools are able to absorb more students if the school system has the 10 willingness to make the decision. She said that she is concerned about SAPFO, and the school 11 boards have different facility needs based on students. She said they can also talk about 12 construction standards. She said it will be helpful to know when a building is just obsolete and 13 there is no return on investment. She said the group should leave SAPFO alone because the 14 town's attorneys are ready to abandon it. She said they should also look at what land banking 15 looks like. 16 Commissioner Richards said the report came out in the previous week, and both school 17 districts lost students. She said that the county has the second and third highest resourced 18 districts in the state. She said that there are a lot of administrative staff in both districts, and she 19 did not understand why the staff could not figure out what the needs are. She said that she 20 would like to see a tight work plan and a cap on the amount that will be spent. 21 Commissioner Greene said looking at recommendations, she wonders about a 22 consultant that can navigate having two school systems. She said that it seems like a 23 challenge, but not an insurmountable challenge. She said that a consultant can be a neutral 24 third party. She said that the county should be able to produce a strategy. 25 Commissioner Hamilton said that the school systems have high operating resources, but 26 not for capital. She said this is an opportunity. She said that having fewer students might be 27 good timing so the county can focus on renovating. She response to Commissioner Greene's 28 comments, she said that the county has no policies on renovating buildings. She said they can 29 put in policies that say how much the county will spend on building a school. 30 Commissioner Fowler said some groundwork has already been done on this by Chapel 31 Hill Carrboro City Schools. She said the conditions have changed due to fewer students. She 32 said that a consultant can evaluate the existing plans and reprioritize. She said that providing 33 school facilities is an obligation of the county. She said that the need is high, and a priority list 34 would help the county. 35 Chair Price said that there are limits to what a consultant can do coming into a county 36 like Orange. She said that the school systems want to work together, but also remain 37 independent. She said that the consultant can help find efficiencies and economies of scale. 38 She said that they will need to look at a bond referendum in a few years, and the school districts 39 will have to come together on that. She said that she would like to see a scope of work on what 40 the consultant will do. She said that a third party will look at it differently than the Board. 41 Commissioner Bedford said that if there is enough funding then they could use joint 42 ordering for supplies and the architect was clear that you need to build for quality. 43 Commissioner Hamilton said the work group would help develop the scope of work for 44 the consultant, along with the information that comes out of the joint work session later in the 45 month. 46 Chair Price thanked Commissioner Hamilton for her leadership on the group and for 47 getting this along this far. She said this item is to be continued for discussion. 48 49 3. Animal Services Advisory Board —Appointment Discussion 50 The Board considered an appointment to the Animal Services Advisory Board. 51