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??REVISED (Consent Agenda
Item No. 5[d]) THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA Monday, January 28,
2002 7:00 P.M. Regular
Session AGENDA 1. Opening of Regular Session—Pledge of Allegiance 2. Agenda Adjustments 3. Minutes December 3,
2001 Worksession Minutes 4. Recognition of Special Efforts of Durham County
Departments during Snow Event Deputy County
Manager Carolyn P. Titus will present an update about the extraordinary work
done by dedicated Durham County employees during the January 3 snowstorm and in
the days that followed. Many employees
left the comfort and safety of their own homes and families to provide critical
services and much-needed assistance to Durham County residents. County Manager's Recommendation: Receive the
report and extend congratulations to all of the Durham County employees who
performed beyond the call of duty during the snow event. 5.
Consent Agenda a.
Property Tax Releases and Refunds
(accept the property tax release and refund report as presented and authorize
the Tax Administrator to adjust the tax records as outlined by the report); b.
NCDOT Community Transportation Grant
Approval Request (approve the resolution authorizing Durham County Cooperative
Extension Center to submit the FY 2002-2003 Community Transportation Program
Grant to the North Carolina Department of Transportation; Board of County
Commissioners commit $29,795 for inclusion in the County’s FY 2002-2003 budget
to meet local match requirements); c.
Offer to Purchase County Property (0
Kenmore Road) (pursue the upset bid process at this time; the Board has the
authority to accept or reject any offer at the conclusion of the upset bid
process); d.
Final Offer to Purchase County Property (0 Alben Street) (approve the
offer of $2,622.50 submitted by Mr. William McMillan and prepare a nonwarranty
deed for the Chairman’s signature; this action is consistent with the Board's
policy of recovering the County’s investment and returns the property to the
tax rolls); e.
Application to the Public School
Building Capital Fund--Durham Public Schools (the County Manager recommends
approval of this project application to the Public School Building Capital
Fund); f.
Budget Amendment No.
02BCC000045--The Durham Center--to recognize additional state allocations
(approve in the amount of $393,644 as requested); and g. Appoint
New Member to the Board of Equalization and Review (appoint 6. Public
Hearing on Occupancy Tax Hold a
public hearing on the imposition of an additional 1-percent occupancy tax. The public hearing has been advertised as
required by law. The Resolution would
impose the additional tax. In addition,
if the Board wishes to impose the additional Resource
Person(s): Chuck Kitchen, County Attorney County
Manager's Recommendation: Hold the public hearing and pass
the resolution if the Board decides to impose the additional 1-percent
occupancy tax. 7. Public Hearing—Mark Galifianakis, Applicant (Rezoning
Case P01-38) Mark
Galifianakis will present to the Board of County Commissioners a request to rezone 135.8 acres north of Chin Page
Road, east of Silicon Drive (no public street frontage), PIN 0748-04-94-2121
(Tax Map 581, Block 2, Lot 21). Request: RD (Rural
District) to I-2 (Light Industrial District).
The proposal is in general conformance with the small area plan. Staff recommends denial. The Zoning Committee of the Durham Planning
Commission conducted a public hearing on December 11, 2001 and voted 7-0 to
recommend denial. The public
hearing for this request was advertised on January 11 and January 18, 2002 in
the Durham Herald-Sun. Resource
Person(s): Nazeeh Abdul-Hakeem, Acting Planning Supervisor, and Dick
Hails, Interim Planning Director County Manager's Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is that the Board hold
the public hearing and deny the rezoning application, if appropriate, based
upon public comment. 8. Public
Hearing--RDSK LLC, Applicant (Rezoning Case P01-44) RDSK, LLC will
present to the Board of County Commissioners a request to rezone 57.64 acres on the south side of the intersection of
NC 98 and Sherron Road; 16 parcels identified as: 0860-01-19-0146,
0860-01-19-5874, 0860-01-19-0955, 0860-01-09-5743, 0860-01-09-4512,
0861-03-10-6292, 0861-03-10-5204, 0861-03-10-6119, 0861-03-10-0086,
0861-03-00-8412, 0861-03-00-9256, 0861-03-00-8100, and 0861-03-10-3321
(partial), 0861-03-19-6550 (partial), 0861-03-10-2245 (partial);
0861-03-00-3231 (partial); corresponding to Tax Map 665 Block 1, Lots 3
(partial), 6 through 9, 11 (partial), 14 (partial), 16, 17 & 18; and Block
2, Lots 38, 39, 40, 41 51, (partial), & 70. Request: RD, R-20 & NC to NC, NC(D), SC(D),
GC(D) & R-10, F/J-B. The proposal
is in general conformance with the small area plan and 2020 Plan. However, it adds commercial in locations not
supported by the small area plan. Staff
does not support the added commercial and therefore, recommends denial. The Zoning Committee of the Durham Planning
Commission conducted a public hearing on November 13, 2001 and voted 7-0 to recommend
denial. The plan amendment supports the
land uses proposed in the rezoning request. The
public hearing for this request was advertised on January 11 and 18, 2002 in
the Durham Herald-Sun. Resource
Person(s): Nazeeh Abdul-Hakeem, Acting Planning Supervisor, and Dick
Hails, Interim Planning Director County Manager's Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is that the Board hold
the public hearing, receive public comment and, if appropriate, deny the
rezoning request. The Planning Commission
voted to deny approval 7 to 0. 9. Public Hearing on the Community Development Block Grant—2002 Scattered
Site Housing At the
November 5, 2001 Worksession, staff informed the Board of an opportunity for
Durham County to apply for $400,000 in grant funds for the purpose of
rehabilitating low-income housing through the 2002 Scattered Site Housing
Program. The primary objective of the
Community Development Block A Request
for Proposals was published in the newspapers on Sunday, December 9, 2001. Proposals were solicited until January 10,
2002 for the purposes of hiring a consulting firm to administer the Scattered
Site Housing Program. Two proposals
were received. The Board is requested
in an associated agenda action to award a contract for consulting
services. Under the North Carolina
Community Development Block Grant Program Regulations, two public hearings must
be held to comply with the Citizen Participation requirements. Staff is
requesting that this first public hearing be held tonight for the purposes of
receiving citizen comments on the County’s intentions of receiving these grants
and awarding a contract to one of the consulting firms for purposes of
administering the Scattered Site Housing Program in Durham County. Resource
Person(s): Wendell M. Davis, Deputy County Manager County Manager's
Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the Board hold the
first of two public hearings on the 2002 CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program,
receive public comment, and hold the second public hearing at the February 11
Board meeting. 10. Awarding of Consulting Contract for
the Preparation of the Application for the CDBG—2002 Scattered Site Housing
Program The Board is
requested to award a contract to Benchmark LLC for consulting services for the
preparation of the County’s 2002 Community Development Block Grant Scattered
Site Housing Program. A Request for
Proposals was published in the newspapers on Sunday, December 9, 2001, and
proposals were solicited through January 10, 2002 for the purposes of hiring a consulting
firm to prepare the application and administer the program. The County received proposals from Holland
Consulting Planners Inc. with a bid of $53,310 and from Benchmark LLC with a
bid amount of $49,937. The State
Division of Community Assistance allocates $3,500 for the preparation of the
application. Benchmark agreed not to
charge the County $3,500 for preparing the Scattered Site Housing Program
application. During the
November 5, 2001 Worksession, staff informed the Board of the availability of
$400,000 in grant funds for the purpose of rehabilitating low-income housing
from the Department of Commerce--Division of Community Assistance. The primary
objective of the Community Development Block Grant Scattered Site Housing
Program is to improve the housing conditions of very low-income households with
incomes at or below 50 percent of area median income. Eligible
counties receive these funds every three years on a noncompetitive basis. The funds can only be used in the
unincorporated areas of the County. As
lead agent, the County will receive the funds by submitting a detailed plan
describing how the funds will be distributed to meet housing priorities. The application deadline for receiving funds
from the State Department of Commerce--Division of Community Assistance is
February 28, 2002. Once the contract is
awarded, the consulting firm of Benchmark LLC will be responsible for preparing
the County’s application for the funds as well as the administration of the
program. Resource
Person(s): Wendell M.
Davis, Deputy County Manager Heidi Duer, Assistant to the County Manager Glen Whisler, County Engineer Delphine Powell, Compliance Officer Yolanda Moore-Gaddy, MWBE Coordinator Karen Wimbush, Purchasing Director County
Manager's Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is that
the Board award a contract to Benchmark LLC for purposes of preparing the
application and later administering the 2002 Community Development Block Grant
Scattered Site Housing Program. Once
the application is complete, the state is scheduled to award grants by June of
2002. At this time, the County will
award the administrative portion of the contract to Benchmark LLC. 11. Durham
County Tax Department Extended Hours
The Tax Department
is proposing a four-day workweek for the staff and extended office hours. The Department proposes to begin on February
4, 2002, opening one hour earlier and remaining open one hour later each
day. The new office hours would be 7:30
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 5 days per week. By extending the hours, the
department would allow the general public additional time to take care of
tax-related business. Attorneys, real
estate agents, appraisers, and other professionals would also have additional
hours to access the office and obtain information. And, with staff going to a 4-day workweek, the department is
assisting in the compliance of the travel reduction plan. The staff will be traveling at non-peak
times and one less day per week. The proposed schedule is as
follows: Group
A
Group
B
Group
C
Off Monday Works Tuesday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Wednesday - Friday 7:30 AM – 6:30 PM Off Friday Works Thursday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Monday-Wednesday 7:30 AM – 6:30 PM Works Monday – Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Groups A & B will alternate Mondays and Fridays allowing
them to have a four-day weekend every other weekend. All groups will continue to work 37.5 hours per week. This proposed schedule would also allow
staff the opportunity to cross-train in different areas of the office. Resource
Person(s): W. Steven Crysel, Tax Administrator County Manager's
Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is
that the Tax Department be allowed to extend its office hours and to allow some
staff members to change to a four-day workweek. |
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