Orange County NC Website
4 <br /> School Long Range Optimization Plan <br /> The County invested over$980,000 to create a plan to address unmet school facility needs. These <br /> needs were identified based on the condition of the facilities and whether spaces were adequate <br /> to meet modern educational standards. A consulting firm identified the total cost of addressing <br /> all school needs at this time is over $1 billion. The Board of Commissioners carefully balanced <br /> correcting those facility deficiencies with the financial responsibility that would be passed on to <br /> taxpayers to pay for those projects. Ultimately, the Board chose to seek voter approval to issue <br /> a $300 million general obligation bond and coupled that with $100 million of cash or pay as you <br /> go funding over a ten (10) year period. <br /> The General Obligation Bond is currently represented in the CIP in three equal tranches occurring <br /> in FY2026-27, FY2028-29, and FY2031-32. The County is currently working with the school <br /> districts to develop a more detailed bond plan that will delineate the specific projects that would <br /> be funded. The additional pay as you go funding could be used for planning, design, and high <br /> priority facility needs. The funding that has historically been included for school projects in the <br /> CIP, approximately $12 million annually, can also be used to correct high priority deficiencies. <br /> Assuming that the bond is approved in November, next year's plan will contain the specific <br /> projects and their sequencing over the course of the ten (10) year planning period. <br /> County Long Range Facility Plan <br /> The FY2024-34 CIP also includes new County projects as recommended by the County's Long <br /> Range Facility Plan. A consulting firm recommended a total ten-year plan that totaled $130 <br /> million. The Board again balanced needs and costs and chose a funding plan totaling $90.1 <br /> million. The CIP recommends projects totaling $86 million in County costs. <br /> County Long Range Facility-Man Projects <br /> Recommended 1 ' <br /> Year of Construction Project I County Cost <br /> FY2025-26 Justice System Space Needs $15,479,233 <br /> FY2027-28 Cedar Grove Conditioned Storage $2,635,200 <br /> FY2027-28 Emergency Services Headquarters $31,871,484 <br /> FY2028-29 AMS Office Conversion $3,641,385 <br /> FY2029-30 Recreation Facility $21,630,703 <br /> FY2030-31 Deconstruct Old Recreation Facility $1,095,784 <br /> FY2031-32 Southern Human Services $9,628,672 <br /> TOTAL $85,982,461 <br /> The first project in this table, Justice System Space Needs, was not specifically included in the <br /> County's Long-Range Facilities Plan. Since that Plan was finalized, justice system stakeholders <br /> asked County leadership to work together to take a more comprehensive view of criminal justice <br /> system operations and to create a facilities plan that more seamlessly integrates those <br /> operations. In response to this request, Asset Management Services is organizing a Justice <br /> System Space Needs Workgroup with the appropriate County staff and criminal justice <br /> Page 1 2 <br />