THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DURHAM, NORTH
CAROLINA
Monday, March 27, 2006
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
5 min.
2. Agenda Adjustments 5 min.
3. Announcements
5 min.
4. Minutes
5 min.
a. March 6, 2006 Worksession
b. March 13, 2006 Regular Session
5. Resolution Celebrating April 2-8 as
“Week of the Young Child”
5 min.
Durham’s Partnership for Children, a Smart
Start Initiative, along with local collaborating organizations, will celebrate
April 2-8 as “Week of the Young Child”. These organizations are working in a
coordinated fashion to support families of young children, to increase the
quality and quantity of childcare programs, and to increase school readiness
for pre-kindergarten students to help close the achievement gap.
Resource Person(s): Marsha Basloe, Executive Director of Durham’s
Partnership for Children, A Smart Start Initiative, and Jeremy
Evans, Community Development Coordinator, Durham’s
Partnership for Children
6. March
Anchor Award Winner—Brenda Childress
5 min.
Brenda Childress, a Computer
Operations Supervisor in the IT Department, was selected to receive the March
Anchor Award. Ms. Childress was
recognized for this honor because of superior work, and particularly for her
thoroughness in maintaining mainframe systems and critical backup technology.
·
Brenda
has been a faithful county employee for 9 years, routinely working weekends,
early mornings, and late nights.
·
Brenda
has cross-trained her staff as the need for computer operators decreased and
the need for network and applications support increased. She has prepared her staff to transition
positions keeping these valued employees, while increasing their knowledge
base.
County Manager’s Recommendation: The Manager recommends that the
March Anchor Award be presented to Brenda Childress along with congratulations
of the entire organization.
7. Consent Agenda 20
min.
a. Property
Tax Releases and Refunds for Fiscal Year 2005-2006 (accept the property tax
release and refund report for February 2006 and authorize the Tax Assessor to
adjust the tax records as outlined by the report);
b. Durham City-County
Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for Inspections (approve the revisions and authorize the Manager to execute);
f. Change in Time for the Monday, May 1, 2006 Worksession (approve the time change for the worksession from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.).
8. Public Hearing—Zoning Map Change—US Hwy. 70 Property
(Z06-07)
15
min.
The Board is requested to approve a
request for a zoning map change for 0.742-acre site located on the south side
of US 70 and west of Page Road Extension (PIN 0759-04-54-7393), with a condition of rezoning property to the east of the
site (PIN 0759-04-64-0249). Request:
RR and CG to CG
To approve as support for its action
on the above ordinance amendment the findings that the ordinance is consistent
with the Comprehensive Plan and that the request is reasonable and in the
public interest considering the determination and facts as set forth in the
accompanying staff report.
Staff recommends approval, based on
the consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and the information contained
within the staff report. The Durham
Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on February 14, 2006 and
recommended approval with a vote of 9-2, based on the consistency with the
Comprehensive Plan and the information contained within the staff report and
testimony provided at the public hearing.
Resource Person(s): Frank M. Duke, AICP,
City-County Planning Director
9. Public
Hearing to Consider Allocating Economic Development Investment Funds to United
Therapeutics
15
min.
United Therapeutics is a
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of
therapeutic products that address chronic, life threatening illnesses. The company is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland,
but currently houses its 25 research employees in Research Triangle
Park, where it was
initially founded. United Therapeutics
is considering buying a parcel of property in the Durham County portion of RTP
and building a 125,000-square-foot facility for research and development and
solid dose manufacturing. The new
facility would house 175 employees in the areas of clinical research,
regulatory affairs, quality assurance/control, administration, purchasing, and
manufacturing. Additional expansion
plans for a fill/filling operation could add another 100,000 to 150,000 square
feet of manufacturing space and more jobs to support that operation.
The proposed new investment for the
RTP campus is estimated to be approximately $54.3 million, with an estimated
net depreciated taxable value of approximately
$30 million. Upon completion, United
Therapeutics would manufacture a new solid dose medication that is used in the
treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.
United Therapeutics is in the
process of making the final decision as to where to locate the new
manufacturing facility. Staff is aware
that the company is also considering Silver
Spring, Maryland, as
property has already been purchased for the plant. United Therapeutics has communicated to
Deputy County Manager Carolyn Titus that
Durham County’s
financial support for this project will be a key consideration in the final
decision. United Therapeutics is
requesting that the County
participate in the costs of site preparation activities, such as site clearing
and grading, and extension of utilities.
Staff is recommending that the County participate in this economic development
project by reimbursing United Therapeutics up to six hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($650,000.00) for the costs of site preparation activities and
extension of utilities.
This public hearing was advertised
on Friday, March 17, 2006, as required by Statute.
Resource Person(s): Carolyn P. Titus, Deputy County Manager
10. Public Hearing on Two-Thirds Bonds
for Holton School
10
min.
On
February 27, 2006, the Board of Commissioners
opened the public hearing on the issuance of two-thirds bonds for the Holton School
project. The public hearing was
continued until tonight’s meeting in order to receive additional information
from the Durham Public Schools Board of Education, which is meeting on
Thursday, March 23, 2006, to adopt a resolution asking for the issuance of
these bonds. Adoption of this resolution
by the School Board is a conditional precedent to the Board of Commissioners adopting the Order Authorizing
$4,022,000 School Bonds.
County Manager’s Recommendation: Provided the School Resolution
has been received by the County,
hold the public hearing and adopt the Bond Order if desired by the Board based
on comments received.
11. Board and Commission Appointments
10
min.
·
Adult
Care Home Community Advisory Board
·
Area
Mental Health Board
·
City-County Appearance Commission
·
Library
Board
·
Raleigh-Durham Airport Noise Abatement Committee
_________
1 hr. 40 min.
