Minutes 09-13-2022 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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19 If both school boards and the County agree, and the County moves forward with the consulting assessment, the work group should shift to an advisory role working with the consultant. School districts and the County should appoint board and staff leaders to continue. Chair Price said this report would be discussed with the schools at the upcoming joint work session. Gary Donaldson, Chief Financial Officer, said that a consultant is recommended for creating a matrix. He said they looked at funding sources. He said staff worked with the school systems for a need-based capital grant. Commissioner Hamilton said it was a pleasure to work with the work group, which included commissioners, school representatives, and staff. She said that over the years, a backlog has developed of buildings that need to be renovated or replaced. She said because of the cost, the county needs to be smart about it and prioritize. She said it is a complex issue and a consultant would help. Commissioner Fowler asked if Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools already had a consultant. Commissioner Hamilton said they are doing a facilities review. Commissioner Fowler asked how that would relate to this project. Commissioner Hamilton said that a consultant would pull together all of the different plans and help the county prioritize what schools would be done first and how it could be paid for. Chair Price said that Commissioner Hamilton had discussed how the funding could be determined by the needs of the schools rather than a split in the total number of students. Commissioner Greene clarified that the prioritization would cross school system lines to determine which schools are in greatest need. Commissioner Hamilton said yes. Commissioner Greene asked what consultants would be qualified to make that assessment about a county with multiple school districts. Commissioner Hamilton said it does not matter if there is one district or two because this examines school by school to determine the needs. Commissioner Greene asked if there are consultants that can provide estimates on how to remodel schools. Commissioner Hamilton said yes, and that Greensboro schools recently used a consultant to determine this. Commissioner Richards asked for clarification on how the schools would be reviewed. She asked who would prioritize the schools. Commissioner Hamilton said the consultants would help determine the needs and then priorities would come from that process. Commissioner Richards said that a combined look at the facilities may be difficult because of the culture of the two systems in place. Commissioner Hamilton said she felt that the capital needs task force showed that the school systems could work together. Commissioner Richards asked if the districts could not figure it out, a third outside party would be helpful. Commissioner Hamilton said that existing maintenance staff are having difficulty managing projects. Commissioner Richards said a combined maintenance facility department across the county could be more efficient. Commissioner Hamilton said this is an opportunity to pull the districts together around facilities and there would probably be a separate project manager to oversee this. She said that