Loading...
2012-08-30 Work Session NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 32 WORK SESSION,AUGUST 30,2012 PAGE 468 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met for a Work Session on Thursday,August 30,2012, at 3:00 p.m. in the Harrell Conference Room at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington,North Carolina. Members present: Chairman Ted Davis, Jr.: Commissioner Jason R. Thompson; Commissioner Brian M. Berger:and Commissioner Richard G. Catlin. Vice-Chairman Jonathan Barfield,Jr.arrived at 3:25 p.m. Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet County Attorney Wanda Copley; and Clerk to the Board Sheila L. Schuh. Other officials present: Carolina Beach Mayor Ray Rothrock; Kure Beach Mayor Dean Lambeth: Kure Beach Town Councilwoman Emilie Swearingen:and Carolina Beach Town Manager Timothy W. Owens. DISCUSSION OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH THE UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FOR BEACH NOURISHMENT FOR CAROLINA BEACH AND KURE BEACH AND CONTRIBUTING AUTHORITY Chairman Davis called the Work Session to order and announced that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss a Memorandum of Agreement with the United States Army Corps of Engineers for beach nourishment for Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. County Manager Chris Coudriet provided the following information: • The Federal government has authorized a beach nourishnnent project for Carolina Beach and has authorized finding in the amount of $4,400,000; the estimated project cost is approximately $7,700,000. New Hanover County's portion will be approximately $2,120,000 and will be paid from the Room Occupancy Tax (ROT) finds and the State of North Carolina's share will be $1,180,000. The existing permit for this project expires in 2014. • The Federal government has authorized a beach nourishnnent project for Kure Beach:but no finding is being provided from either the federal or state governments. The entire cost of this project will need to come from local finds. Carolina Beach has agreed to transfer the State's portion to Kure Beach for the project. The estimated cost of this project is $6,400,000. The existing permit for this project expires in 2043. • In order to reduce the overall costs, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) plans to bid both projects as one. If these projects are bid separately then there could be increased mobilization costs. • Concerns: • In previous arrangements the County was liable for 17.5% of costs above the estimated project amount. These additional costs could be the result of bids coming in higher than estimated, dredged sand being of inferior quality, lawsuits,insurance claims, etc. • In the proposed Memorandum of Agreement(MOA) the County is responsible for 100%of costs above the estimated project amount. As previously mentioned, these additional costs could be the result of bids coming in higher than estimated, dredged sand being of inferior quality, lawsuits, insurance claims, etc. • Contributory Authority: Previously, projects were designed to a minimum standard which did not allow for an expanded project scope. Under this arrangement, the federal government paid 65%of the cost with the remaining 35% being shared by state and local governments. Under contributory authority, which was approved by Congress, projects can now be designed with an expanded scope. Under this design, the federal government is only responsible for 65% of the costs of the minimum standard and the state and local governments are responsible for the remaining 35% of the minimum standard plus 100%of the costs above the minimum standard. The rivo beach nourishment projects as designed are expanded scope projects. The approximate cost of the minimum project for Carolina Beach is $6,900,000. Since the Federal government is not finding the Kure Beach project, it can be assumed that the minimum project costs for Kure Beach is zero dollars. • This new arrangement will require the County to enter into a MOA with the USACOE which will expose the county to additional liability. Because of changes in the contract language, the State of North Carolina is not willing to continue to be the signatory on the MOA. • The potential liability is estimated to be as much as$3,525,000 excluding any unforeseen risks. • The estimated beginning balance of the Room Occupancy Tax Fund for FY 2013-2014 is$40,165,475. It is estimated that approximately$2,600,000 will be added to the fiord during FY 2013-2014. The Board held a discussion voicing concerns that if the County does not enter into the MOA with the USACOE, the fiords allocated by the Federal and State government will be lost, and it could be another three years before Congress and the State allocate beach nourishnnent finds for projects at Carolina and Kure Beaches. Both beaches are on a three-year cycle; Wrightsville Beach is on a four-year cycle; fixture potential savings may occur if all three beaches are placed on the same year cycle. In response to Board questions about the MOA, County Manager Coudriet stated that the proposed MOA will not bind the County to the same finding parameters for fixture projects. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 32 WORK SESSION,AUGUST 30,2012 PAGE 469 Commissioner Catlin stated that if the County moves forward with the contingency plan then the permits would be the County's and we would have control over the bid process, oven-uns, etc. County Manager Coudriet reported that the contingency plan was submitted to the State and the USACOE last week for review,but it will take several months for the process and in the meantime, if the County doesn't proceed, then the current Federal and State allocation will be forfeited;November 2012 through April 2013 is the project window. In response to Board questions, Mayors Rothrock and Lambeth, Councilwoman Swearingen and Manager Owens provided comments thanking the Board for considering the request to enter into the MOA. ADJOURNMENT After a brief question and answer period, and there being no further discussion, Chairman Davis adjourned the Work Session meeting at 3:45 p.m. Respectfirlly submitted, Sheila L. Schult Clerk to the Board