Orange County NC Website
22 <br /> Commissioner Fowler said 6% a year was planned for Chapel Hill High School and actual <br /> inflation was around 30%. She asked how is 3% adequate. <br /> David Sturtz said 3% is a low number but it is what average was prior to COVID. He said <br /> that inflation can be adjusted and acknowledged that 3% is low, but it includes hard and soft costs. <br /> He said if higher inflation needs to be modeled, it can be. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he appreciates what the consulting team has done. He said <br /> he is not interested in taxing residents out of the county. He said the Board will have to find some <br /> middle ground. He said that he lived through 20-25 years of increases and that he remembers <br /> what that did to homeowners. He said they are sitting in an old school building, and it was made <br /> to be very nice and useful. <br /> David Sturtz said that middle ground is practically the top priority in both districts. He said <br /> if phase one needs to be 10, 15, 20 years, that it needs to be top priority. <br /> Commissioner McKee said that they are in a catch 22. <br /> David Sturtz said they have worked with others on revenue streams. He said that frankly, <br /> they need help from the state coming in. He said that he understands they are in a conundrum. <br /> He said major renovations, major construction, and bumping up the maintenance and operations <br /> spending as much as they can. <br /> Travis Myren said on December 12th the Board will run scenarios through debt models <br /> and provide the tax equivalent analysis. He said they will show how that impacts debt to general <br /> fund policy. <br /> Commissioner Richards said at that point there will be a not to exceed number and then <br /> they can go back and reprioritize to see what fits. <br /> Chair Bedford said in early April the County Manager's CIP budget will be considered. <br /> Commissioner McKee said the last time the Board talked about bonds there was a $125 <br /> million limit. He said it was difficult because they had to decide if they focus it all on schools or <br /> how it would be used. He said it ended up the need was so great for the schools, they majority <br /> focused on using it at all for the schools. <br /> Chair Bedford said it would be nice to see the schedule again to see revenue from <br /> economic development. <br /> Travis Myren said revenue assumptions are built into the debt model and they will go <br /> through all of those assumptions. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton thanked the Woolpert team for the presentation. She said a plan <br /> is needed to try to start digging the county out of a hole. She said that she wants to get the full <br /> number so the community can understand how much it really costs. She said that the Board still <br /> needs to advocate to the state for more investment in school capital needs. She said this report <br /> helps them make decisions while having all of the information. She said that investing in children <br /> saves money in the future on other items. She said this starts them on the road to meet the needs <br /> of children. <br /> Chair Bedford asked if Phases 1 and 2 were part of option D. <br /> David Sturtz said the difference between option C and D is timing. He said that once there <br /> is a hard number to plan to, they can funnel down option D within that time. <br /> Chair Bedford said she wants to see the state of the facilities conditions report. She said <br /> she would also like to see the background report. She said that would help her understand the <br /> recommendations better. She asked if they looked at taking Glenwood offline and place housing <br /> for teachers there. <br /> David Sturtz said no. <br /> Chair Bedford asked if they would be willing to sit with a group of commissioners to go <br /> over needs at each school. <br /> David Sturtz said they could do a remote meeting. <br />