THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

 

Monday, April 5, 2004

 

9:00 A.M. Worksession

 

AGENDA

 

1.     Citizen Comments—Ralph McKinney Jr.                                                                  5 min.

 

        Mr. Ralph McKinney Jr. has requested time on the agenda to speak to the County Commissioners.

 

2.     ABC Board Report                                                                                                   25 min.

 

        The Durham County ABC Board has filed a financial report with the County for the past three fiscal years, as well as the first eight months of FY 2004.  The Chairman and General Manager will be present to answer questions and discuss long-term strategies to increase the system’s financial viability, real estate initiatives, and new nonprofit agency grant policies.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): E’Vonne Coleman, Chairman, Durham County ABC Board, and Randy Mills Jr., General Manager, Durham County ABC System

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report and advise staff if any additional action is necessary.

 

3.     Presentation by Threshold—A Clubhouse Model Rehabilitation Program               20 min.

 

        Since 1985, Durham County Advocates for the Mentally Ill, a private nonprofit organization, has provided an expanding network of coordinated support and rehabilitation services to Durham County adults with serious mental illness.  Threshold is the name of the clubhouse model rehabilitation program that provides this network of vocational and social/recreational opportunities.  The mission of Threshold is to improve the quality of life for adults in Durham with serious mental illness by facilitating meaningful work and meaningful relationships.  In the spirit of that mission, the organization offers the following programs and services:  an ordered day program, vocational programs, social and recreational programs, educational activities, case management, and community support services.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S):  Susie Deter, Director, Threshold

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report and advise staff is any additional information is necessary.

 

4.     Annual Report of the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission                     20 min.

 

        The Durham Board of County Commissioners and Durham City Council established the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) through an Interlocal Agreement.  The Annual Report for 2003 is in conformance with the requirements of that Interlocal Agreement.  The BPAC is charged with integrating bicycling and walking to local transportation practices.  The Annual Report outlines the BPAC’s activities for the past year in accomplishing that mission.  These activities include, among other things, reviews of the proposed Durham Unified Development Ordinance, the proposed Durham Comprehensive Plan, and many proposed transportation improvement projects. 

 

        A BPAC representative will be available to speak about the Annual Report.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Andy Henry, Transportation Division of Durham Public Works

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The County Manager recommends that the Board hear the comments of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee representative and receive the Annual Report for 2003.

 

5.     Community Health Assessment                                                                                20 min.

 

        Durham Health Partners and Durham County Health Department recently completed a Community Health Assessment.  Data in the assessment were gathered and summarized in accordance with a field model of health and well-being, which used nine domains to provide a framework:  social environment, physical environment, genetic endowment, individual response, health and function, disease, health care, well being, and prosperity.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Tom Gambill, Executive Director, Durham Health Partners, and Brian Letourneau, Health Director

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report and advise staff if additional action is necessary.

 

6.     Fiscal Year 2004-05 Tax Base                                                                                           25 min.

 

        The Durham County Tax Base Estimation Team will make a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners regarding the tax base for the upcoming budget year.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Kenneth L. Joyner, Tax Administrator

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board of County Commissioners receive the presentation from the tax valuation working group.

 

7.     Governance Extension for the Mental Health Area Authority (The Durham Center)

                                                                                                                                       35 min.

        The Durham Center has worked to fulfill state requirements to be certified as an LME effective July 1, 2004.  Among the many items to be accomplished were:
1) finalizing a local business plan; and 2) divesting all direct services.  To date, The Durham Center has divested of 14 programs.  However, at this point, the largest program, Adult Mental Health Services, remains to be transferred to the provider network.  Due to the number of people served, this process could take an additional six months beyond July 1, 2004.

 

        The Area Authority requests that the Board of County Commissioners extend the Area Authority status until July 1, 2005, to complete the divestiture of all direct services.  The additional year will also provide the time and flexibility necessary to transition and establish the LME’s roles and responsibilities in managing the system of services for Durham citizens who have mental illness, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse issues.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S):  Ellen Holliman, Interim Area Director, and Doug Wright, Area Authority Board Chair

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the presentation on extending the Mental Health Area Authority for one year and provide direction to staff.

 

8.     Briefing on Little River Corridor Acquisition Priorities                                           15 min.

 

        The Little River Corridor Open Space Plan was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners in August 2001.  The Plan included several recommendations for important open spaces to preserve within this watershed.  The Plan recommended a flexible approach to open space preservation in this area, including voluntary land management, acquisition of conservation easements or purchase by the County.  Based on the adopted plan priorities, staff has been in contact with several property owners within the planning area to gauge their interest in working with the County on permanent open space measures.  Experience has shown that it may take several years for an owner to be ready to make a decision on preservation options, thus requiring a flexible approach that works with each landowner’s interests, needs, and time frame.  As a result, staff will be working with multiple landowners simultaneously.  The Board has been provided a table with background regarding current acquisition and preservation priorities.  They were identified based on the plan priorities, parcel characteristics, and potential threat.

 

        The County has set aside $300,000 for open space in the FY 2003-04 budget.  An agenda item will be presented at the April 12 Board meeting to appropriate these funds in a capital project account for use for open space and farmland preservation acquisitions.  The funds are needed for preliminary land acquisition expenses, such as appraisals, and for specific acquisitions the Board may consider later.  Due to the limited amount of available County funding, staff has also considered opportunities to leverage additional funding using grant programs or other funding sources.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Jane Korest, Open Space & Real Estate Manager

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the briefing and direct staff as appropriate.

 

9.     Briefing on Federal Farmland Protection Program

                                                                                                                                       15 min.

        Since 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has an annual Farmland Protection Grant Program that awards competitive funding to assist with the purchase of permanent conservation easements on eligible farmland.  The federal notification of the grant availability was issued on March 17, 2004, with an application deadline no later than May 3, 2004.  Funds for $2,293,600 are available this cycle for North Carolina.  Conservation easements are increasingly used around the country to preserve farmland in a cost effective manner.  A farmer voluntarily placing a conservation easement on his/her property restricts the property to agricultural or forestry purposes and successive owners are held to that same restriction.    

 

        Federal grant funds provide up to 50 percent of the value of a purchased conservation easements on eligible farmlands.  The easement’s value is determined by an appraisal.  The remaining 50 percent is provided in local matching funds or a combination of local match and up to 25 percent in landowner donation, provided through a “bargain sale" where the landowner agrees to sell the conservation easement rights for less than the appraised value.  The difference between the two comprises the value of the donation.  With a federal farmland grant, if the landowner is willing to provide a 25 percent bargain sale, the County could obtain the agricultural easements by funding 25 percent of the easement’s fair market appraised value, enabling Durham County to purchase agricultural easements very cost effectively.

 

        Durham County established agricultural priority areas in November 2003, which identified priority areas within which to target the expenditure of funds for permanent agricultural conservation easements.  To date, the County presently holds two agricultural easements—55 acres on Herndon Farm in southern Durham obtained with a state farmland grant and 32 acres within Quail Roost Farm in northern Durham, which was a donated easement.  The Durham County Farmland Protection Board and staff have been working with several farmers regarding their potential interest in placing conservation easements on their properties.  Many farmers have expressed interest but indicated their need to receive compensation for the value of their lost development rights.  

 

        In anticipation of this spring funding cycle for the federal grant, staff has been working with a northern Durham County farmer interested in participating and applying for the federal grant.  A separate item will be presented to the Board regarding this proposed grant application and necessary approvals at the April 26 meeting.  Funding for Durham’s portion of the grant match would be open space funds available in the FY 03-04 budget that are proposed to be appropriated to a capital projects account at the Board’s April 12 meeting. 

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S):  Jane Korest, Open Space & Real Estate Manager, and Mike Giles, Open Space Land Manager  

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION:  The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report and requests that staff present an item on the proposed grant application at the April 26 meeting.

 

10.   Closed Session*                                                                                                      1 hr.

 

        The Board is requested to adjourn to closed session to discuss matters relating to the location or expansion of industry pursuant to G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(4).

 

11.   Budget Presentation for Nonprofit Agencies Applying for FY 2004-2005 Funding

                                                                                                                                       2 hrs.

        The Board is requested to hear presentations from several nonprofit organizations regarding their requests for funding in the Budget Year 2004-2005.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Pam Meyer, Budget Director, and presenters from nonprofit organizations

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager’s recommendation is that the Board receive presentations from various nonprofit applicants and incorporate in the funding priorities into the deliberations prior to finalizing next fiscal year’s budget.

 

12.     Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Recommendations for New Sources of Revenue to Implement the Long-Range Transportation Plan

                                                                                                                                       30 min.

        Commissioner Becky Heron has requested the opportunity to review a March 10, 2004 Transportation Advisory Committee recommendation to support legislation that would create two additional sources of revenue to assist with the implementation of the long-range transportation plan.  The two additional sources are a five-percent (5%) increase to the gasoline tax and a $20 increase to the motor vehicle registration fee, both of which would be phased-in over a period of years.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Becky Heron, Durham County Board of Commissioners’ representative to the Transportation Advisory Committee; Mark Ahrendsen, Transportation Manager, City of Durham

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board review the TAC recommendation and advise Commissioner Heron regarding its position on the two additional sources of revenue.

 

13.   Discussion of Legislative Goals                                                                              30 min.

       

        Legislators will reconvene for the 2004 Session of the 2003 General Assembly (“Short Session") at noon on Monday, May 10. 

 

        The Board is requested to discuss the proposed legislative goals to present to the Durham County Legislative Delegation.  Following the direction of the Board, staff will develop the package, organize the Board’s priority legislative items, and bring back for approval.

 

        RESOURCE PERSON(S): Deborah Craig-Ray, Public Information/Governmental Affairs Director, and Chuck Kitchen, County Attorney

 

        COUNTY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board discuss the proposed items and direct staff.

                                                                                                                                       _______

                                                                                                                                          7 hrs.

*NOTE:    The Closed Session will be held during lunch break between 12:00 noon and 1:00 p.m.