THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DURHAM, NORTH
CAROLINA
Monday, February 14, 2005
AGENDA
“Public Charge"
The Board of Commissioners
asks its members and citizens to conduct themselves in a respectful, courteous
manner, both with the Board and fellow citizens. At any time, should any member of the Board
or any citizen fail to observe this public charge, the Chairman will ask the
offending person to leave the meeting until that individual regains personal
control. Should decorum fail to be
restored, the Chairman will recess the meeting until such time that a genuine
commitment to the public charge is observed.
As a courtesy to others, please turn off cell phones during
the meeting.
7:00 P.M. Regular Session
1. Opening
of Regular Session—Pledge of Allegiance
2. Agenda
Adjustments
3. Minutes
a. January 10, 2005
Regular Session
b. January 24, 2005
Regular Session
4. Resolution
In Support of Medicaid Relief for Counties
Medicaid Relief is one the
legislative priority items approved by the Association.
Jim Blackburn, General Counsel of the North Carolina Association, is requesting
that all counties approve a resolution in support of Medicaid Relief as part of
the Association’s comprehensive strategy to seek legislation to phase out
county participation in Medicaid costs.
Staff has prepared a resolution for the Board’s consideration.
5. Consent
Agenda
c. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 05BCC000030—EMS—Authorization
to Receive Reimbursement for Wrecked Emergency Medical Services Vehicle (accept
the $50,000 reimbursement and $3,000 salvage amounts);
d. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 05BCC000031—Social
Services—Recognize Additional Revenue (represents funding changes in Crisis
Intervention Prevention, Energy Administration, LINKS (Independent Living),
State Adult Day Care, TANF Domestic Violence, Work
First Block Grant, Work Force Investment Act Grant, and Child Care (approve for
a total increase of $2,043,364);
f. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 05BCC000033—Public Health—Recognize Grant Funding for
$33,328 from Temporary Aid to Needy Families Through
the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services;
g. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 05BCC000034—Public Health—Recognize Funds for the Health
Education Division for $15,000 for the Syphilis Elimination Project from the
N.C. Department of Health and Human Services;
i. Budget Ordinance
Amendment No. 05BCC000036—Criminal Justice Resource
Center (approve a discretionary grant from the NC Department of Corrections,
Criminal Justice Partnership Program for $4,700);
j. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 05BCC000038—General Services—Contract Award to Precision Walls
Inc. for the Cleaning and Repainting of the Exterior Steel and Masonry on the Detention Center (approve the appropriation of
additional property tax revenue totaling $96,008);
k. Bringing Income Maintenance Salaries Up to
Market Rate (approve the recommended increase in the hiring rate, adjust
existing IM staff salaries effective February 28, 2005 [March 24, 2005 payroll],
and amend the education and experience requirements for Income Maintenance
positions);
l. Final Qualifying Bid to Purchase County Property
(accept the offer from Michael P. Jackson to purchase 2100 Charles Street for $3,000 and have a
non-warranty deed prepared for the Chairman’s signature);
m. Street Annexation Petition—Terry Brook Lane
and River Forest Drive (adopt the resolution to approve the addition of South
Forty Road to the state’s road maintenance system subject to the certification
of eligibility by the appropriate officials of the NC Department of
Transportation);
n. Property Tax Releases and Refunds for
Fiscal Year 2004-05 (accept the property tax release and refund report for
January 2005 and authorize the Tax Assessor to adjust the tax records as
outlined by the report);
o. Contract Award to BFI
Waste Services, LLC for the Hauling and Disposal of Solid Waste from County Facilities
and Residential Convenience Centers (RFP 05-013) (approve for the hauling and
disposal of solid waste from 12 county facilities and four residential
convenience centers for $292,183); and
p. Extension of Civic Center Management and
Catering Agreements (approve authorization to enter into the Agreements with
the City of Durham and the Shaner Hotel Group Inc.
extending the term of the current Agreements to May 31, 2005 to allow for the
completion of the contractual agreements).
6. Advance
Public Hearing on the FY2005-2006 Budget
7. Public Hearing on the Community
Block Grant—2005 Scattered Site Housing
The State Department of Commerce Division of
Community Assistancehas made
available to the County
of Durham $400,000 in
grant funds for the purpose of rehabilitating low-income housing. The funds can only be used in the
unincorporated areas of the county. The
primary objective of the Community Development Block Grant Scattered Site
Housing Program is to improve the housing conditions of very
low-income households at or below 50 percent of area median income. Recent changes by the General Assembly now
provide that all eligible counties receive these funds every three years on a
non-competitive basis. As lead agents,
counties will receive funds by submitting a detailed plan describing how funds
will be distributed to meet housing priorities.
The application deadline for receiving funds from the Sate Department of
Commerce Division of Community Assistance is February 28, 2005. Staff has moved forward with the application
process.
An informal RFP was posted on the County
website. Proposals were solicited until
February 10, 2005 for the purpose of hiring a consultant to administer the
Scattered Site Housing Program.
Staff is requesting that the first public hearing be
held for the purposes of receiving citizen comments on the County’s intentions
of receiving this grant and awarding a contract to one of the consulting firms
for purposes of administering the Scattered Site Housing Program in Durham County.
County
Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the Board hold the first of two public
hearings on the 2005 CDBG Scattered Housing Program,
receive public comment, and hold the second public hearing at the February 28 Board
meeting.
8. Closeout of the 2002 CDBG
Scattered Site Housing Program
The County
of Durham contracted with
Leah Consulting Group to administer the
2002 CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program. The CDBG grant was
for $400,000 from the State Department of Commerce Division of Community
Assistance. The purpose of grant funds
was to repair homes in the unincorporated portion of Durham County
for residents whose income was very low, meaning at or below 50 percent of area
median income. The administrator of the
program, Mr. Brian Crawford of Leah Consulting Group, will discuss the results
of the 2002 CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program, thus
closing out the grant.
County Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager’s recommendation is
that the Board receive the closeout report for the
2002 CDBG Scattered Site Housing Program and
congratulate our Program Administrator on a job well done.
9. Budget
Ordinance Amendment No. 05BCC000037—Interlocal Agreement with the City of Durham for the Implementation of the Cultural
Master Plan
The Board is requested to approve
the Interlocal Agreement for Implementation of the
Cultural Master Plan with the City of Durham. Both the City Council and County Commissioners have
approved a Cultural Master Plan implementation strategy. The implementation strategy calls for the
establishment of an Advisory Board and a full-time project manager to be
located within City offices (within OEED). The two-year implementation plan will be
funded with $500,000 from the Occupancy Tax that was approved in 2001 and has
already been collected by the County.
The Interlocal Agreement establishes the relationship
between the City and County in implementing the Cultural Master Plan.
The Board is also requested to
approve a budget amendment to appropriate the portion of first year’s budget
that will be needed for the remainder of current
Fiscal Year 2004-2005. Funding totaling
$29,887 will be appropriated for the remainder of the year that represents four
months of salary and benefits, an estimated $22,100, and operating expenses
estimated at $1,787, plus one-time expenses of $6,000. The County’s FY2005-2006
budget will include full funding for the salary, benefits, and operating
expenses estimated at $71,660.
Background: The Cultural Master Plan was a
result of an extensive process to establish specific goals and recommendations
for cultural development in the City and County. The assessment process included six community
meetings, 114 individual interviews,
33 small group meetings, and 15 committee meetings. The County Commissioners approved
the Cultural Master Plan on August 23, 2004.
Because of the Plan being approved, the 17-member Executive Committee
and the 63-member Steering Committee established an implementation strategy
utilizing the $500,000 in occupancy tax funds dedicated for this project.
The Implementation Strategy called
for the establishment of an advisory board to execute and monitor
administration of the strategy and recommended that a full-time project manager
be located in the City’s Office of Economic and Employment Development. It was determined that the relationship between
economic development and cultural development was critical to the success of
the strategy. The Implementation
Strategy was presented to the City-County Joint Task Force and approved. The
City-County Joint Task Force directed City and County staff to negotiate an interlocal agreement to execute administrative details.
The Interlocal
Agreement contains the following substantive provisions:
§
An
Advisory Board is established to advise the governing bodies of the City and
County regarding the implementation strategy.
The powers and duties of this Board are also established.
§
The
Advisory Board shall consist of 12 members, six appointed by the County Commissioners and six
appointed by the City Council. These 12
members were selected from the Durham Cultural Master Plan Steering Committee
and Executive Committee. The Advisory
Board can appoint up to three non-voting student representatives from area
schools to advise regarding youth’s interests in cultural planning. The Advisory Board membership was approved by
the County Commissioners
at their December 13, 2004 meeting.
§
A
full-time project manager will be hired by the City and be housed in the
offices of OEED.
The responsibilities of the project manager are outlined in the
agreement.
§
The
County will provide an amount not to exceed $500,000 to be used for expenses
related to implementation, such as costs of salary and benefits of the Project
Manager, operating expenses as provided in the budget,
and grants that will be separately approved by the County Commissioners to
community agencies to launch primary initiatives for the Plan.
§
The
agreement also contains a sunset clause that states that if the 1% occupancy
tax is repealed, the Interlocal Agreement terminates.
§
Budgets
will be presented to the County
Commissioners
for approval. The first year’s budget is
part of the Interlocal Agreement and outlines a
salary for the project manager and reasonable operating expenses, including
one-time expenses such as computers and furniture. The second-year projected budget includes salary
and benefit adjustments and operating expenses, but will be brought back before
the Board for approval around January 2006.
All grant funding to community-based organizations must first be
approved by the Advisory Committee and then approved by the County Commissioners as a
separate item from the above budget process.
§
The
City will receive 12 monthly payments of the amount indicated in the approved
budget.
§ The term of the agreement is 24
months.
