Minutes-10-10-2023-Joint Meeting with Fire Departments and Work Session

Browse Search

33 consultant would be making sure that they do not go back on the decisions that have been made up to this point. Commissioner Fowler asked if the design team would present the design to the group. Cy Stober said the engagement consultant would have the dual responsibility of representing the public entities they have contracted with but also representing the Rogers Road input and values are reflected in in the design. Commissioner Greene said everyone in the Town of Chapel Hill meeting said they wanted to lower the cost. She said that the presentation at Chapel Hill was 14 months. Travis Myren asked Cy Stober if the discrepancy in time included the design work. Cy Stober said it does and the four months of presentations to the three bodies. He said if there is a need to present to the Planning Board, this also ensures there is enough lead time to do that. Commissioner Greene said to summarize what she heard in Chapel Hill, they said they wanted to make sure they were not starting over, and they wanted to ensure that they were talking about what type of housing to put there. She said they discussed how the process would work in tandem with the design process. She said that Chapel Hill was fine with it, except they said lower the cost and shorten the time frame. She said she is hopeful that if the scope is reduced, that it might shorten the time frame. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked how they would use the feedback they have received from the community and how that has been ranked. Cy Stober said the intention is to use the work and plans that have been done to create a plan of where attributes would be located. He said the community consultant would ensure that all the work already done is represented and when they finetune the detail, that the streets and land use reflect those wishes. He said it is really working to get a detailed master plan. Commissioner Portie-Ascott asked if the housing would serve the four priority populations, or if it would serve any population that needs housing. Commissioner Greene said the details of the mix of the housing was still on the table. Bonnie Hammersley said the mix would be decided by the three partners. She said that managing expectations is important. She said she is concerned that the $360,000 option would override the work that has already been done and they do not know who those partners would be. She said that it might also slow the process down. She said that the three owners need to start making decisions about the road. She said they do not need to ask the community about Purefoy and a four-lane highway, but the owners can start making decisions. Vice-Chair McKee said he is not really sure what they are trying to do with the community engagement consultant. He said he is always concerned about unintended consequences. He asked if the decision is the county's and the county's only. He said that it is concerning that the towns support their entering into the contract. Bonnie Hammersley said that the county would be administering the contract, and the other jurisdictions would pay the county. Vice-Chair McKee said the wording is a little bit off. He said he agrees with everything the managerjust said. He said he felt like it was opening it back up for another 12 years of discussion. He said he didn't understand what they were buying for$270,000. Cy Stober said that the presence would be dedicated staff to the project and the community to provide dialogue with the community and receive input. He said the intention of staff is to ensure that the project is successful and to do that expeditiously. He said staff feels that having a third party would provide a resource of communication, for feedback and updates, and would have someone dedicated to that purpose. He said as planners, it is important that they have an ethical interest in representing the needs of the Rogers Road community. He said the Greene Tract is not new to him and it is exciting to be part of that.