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APPROVED 06!03!2003 MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />WORK SESSION <br />April 24, 2003 <br />7:30 p.m. <br />The Orange County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Thursday at <br />7:30 p.m. in the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina <br />COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Chair Margaret W. Brown, Moses Carey <br />Jr., Alice M. Gordon, Stephen Halkiotis and Barry Jacobs <br />COUNTY ATTORNEYS PRESENT: Geoffrey Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian <br />COUNTY STAFF PRESENT: County Manager John M. Link, Jr., Assistant County <br />Manager Rad Visser and Clerk to the Board Donna S. Baker (All other staff members <br />will be identified appropriately below) <br />NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS REFERRED TO IN THESE MINUTES ARE IN THE <br />PERMANENT AGENDA FILE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE. <br />The Board added North Carolina Moving Ahead as item 2-a. The other two items will be <br />moved to 2-b and 2-c. <br />1. Additional High School Space Proposal from CHCCS <br />Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board Chair Valerie Foushee read a written <br />statement. She said that the school board is committed to the southern location and is <br />willing to finance the additional funds necessary to acquire this site. She made <br />reference to the information that justifies the need for additional high school capacity <br />because it is projected that the district will exceed the 110% level of service during the <br />2004-2005 school year. Additionally, a count of present Stn 6tn 7tn and Stn graders <br />indicates that there are 1,041 future high school students currently living in the southern <br />area of the district. Two other locations were thoroughly assessed and carefully <br />considered. Each of these sites would necessitate compromising both equity and <br />access for the students in terms of programming and other opportunities. They believe <br />that once the Rock Haven site is acquired, with the cooperation of the Board of County <br />Commissioners, the Town of Carrboro, and the Town of Chapel Hill, they will be able to <br />open a facility that will bring pride to everyone. <br />Valerie Foushee spoke about the budget and said that the architects have been <br />instructed to design a school for 1,000 students. The square footage is approximately <br />182,710 feet -matching the Orange County construction standards. The total estimate <br />for the project budget is just under $34 million. This exceeds the budget standards by <br />$3.9 million. This excess is due to the land costs and the site development costs. The <br />rest is contributed to the increase in fees and contingency funds based on the site <br />development costs. She said that it is not the intent of the school board to fund this high <br />school at the expense of their existing and older facilities. This will impact their capital <br />investment program as it eliminates the new central office program for $5.8 million in the <br />2002-2012 CIP. <br />Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Superintendent Neil Pedersen made the <br />PowerPoint presentation. He emphasized the need far the new high school because by <br />2005 they will be 500 students over capacity. This is according to County projections. <br />Regarding the Rock Haven site, it was identified in the 1990 master plan as a potential <br />school site. It is within the urban services boundary. By building in the south, it would <br />