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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-09-28 Agenda Review NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 33 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 878 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met for Agenda Review on Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 4:05 p.m. in the Harrell Conference Room at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chairman Woody White; Vice-Chairman Skip Watkins; and Commissioner Patricia Kusek. Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr. and Commissioner Rob Zapple were absent. Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; County Attorney Wanda Copley; and Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell. Chairman White called the Agenda Review meeting to order and announced that the purpose of the meeting is to review and discuss the agenda items for the October 2, 2017 Regular Meeting with discussions as noted: Regular Item 13. Consideration of Project Grace Request for Proposal Recommendation. In response to Board questions, Cape Fear Museum Director Sheryl Mays and Library Director Harry Tuchmayer stated they were available to answer any questions the Board may have during agenda review. Regular Item 14. Appointment of a Representative to Serve on the Policy Committee for a Grant- Funded Joint Land Use Study for the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU). Chairman White stated that he would like to serve as the Commissioner representative on the Policy Committee for a Grant-Funded Joint Land Use Study for the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU). Consensus: By general consensus of a majority of the Board, it was agreed that Chairman White will serve on the Policy Committee and staff was directed to move Regular Item 14 to the Consent Agenda. Staff Updates: Carolina Beach Inlet Update. Chairman White asked Shore Protection Coordinator Layton Bedsole to provide the update on the Carolina Beach Inlet maintenance dredging. Shore Protection Coordinator Bedsole stated that efforts are being made to get a system in place for when hopper dredges are used to maintain Carolina Beach Inlet, they can use an inshore dredge material management site (IDMMS) inside the inlet throat as opposed to traveling two miles one way down the beach to dump. A three-day test stnd was done between August 31 and September 2, 2017 using the IDMMS. Mr. Bedsole stated that the goal was to compare travel time and time spent dredging. In 2015 over a four- day period using the nearshore site, 40% of the time was travel and 50% of time was dredging (35 hopper loads moved; 9,725 cubic yards of sand; approximately 280 cubic yards per load). The total cost for the event was $129,600, which equates to $13.33 per yard. In 2017 over a three-day period using the IDMMS, 15% of time was travel and 67% of time was dredging (24 hopper loads; 8,115 cubic yards of sand; approximately 341 cubic yards per load). The total cost for the event was $82,955, which equates to $10.22 per yard. In comparing the two data sets, travel was reduced by 62%, dredging was increased by 33% and average load was increased by 22% in 2017. In his assessment, Mr. Bedsole is leaving out the total cost because the 2017 event was three days, where the 2015 event was four days and there were no mobilization costs as the dredge was already traveling by the site. While the total cost is close, the more important factor is that using the same dollar and implementing the use of the IDMSS when possible, it seems to work in our favor. There are restrictions and access to the IDMMS is not available all the time. The IDMMS will be useful when it is an available scenario. In response to Board questions, Mr. Bedsole stated that side-cast dredge Merritt is being sent to the Memphis, TN shipyard for at least six months for repairs. There is potential that there will only be two hopper dredges available during that time to service the entire East Coast. If the Merritt does not return, everyone will be looking at alternate plans. This information being shared today does tell us when the Murden or Currituck can be utilized, the County now has the capability to make use of the IDMMS. Hopefully for the same amount of money, 30% more material can be moved to a location that in three years can be accessed and placed on the beach. The August 2017 event was only a test and showed more efficiency. The sand is used for the entire Coastal Storm Damage Reduction (CSDR) project. The next event is likely to be in November. Planning Staff Report on Traffic Information. County Manager Coudriet asked Planning Manager Ken Vafier to provide an update on how staff reports will be handled for rezoning and special use cases that deal with Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) information. Planning Manager Vafier stated that this new information will start being utilized by Planning staff during Monday’s meeting. As a result of discussions on a previous item related to traffic, staff has created a section in the staff reports to provide more information on TIAs that have previously been conducted in the vicinity of the area of a proposed development request. It is anticipated this will be an evolving method to determine how staff can more accurately convey the cumulative impact of traffic for the Board’s consideration of proposed developments. The staff report will include TIAs that are within a one-mile radius of the proposed development going back five years and will be shown visually on a map. Information will be included stating the status of the TIA, the improvements recommended at certain locations, the status of those improvements (whether they have been constructed or not), and NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 33 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 PAGE 879 other developments that may have been included within those TIAs. State Transportation Improvement Projects (STIP) in the vicinity, transit stops, and greenway plan recommendations will be included as well. This information has been provided historically, but the inclusion on the map is to provide more clarity. Going forward, staff intends to refine the presentation of this data as needed in order to provide the best available information as there are some variables, and some discretionary decisions that can be made. For example, staff may include a TIA for a large retail site just outside of a one-mile vicinity. In addition, staff intends to map all the TIAs spatially with their attributes so this information can be more readily available. Technical questions related to the TIAs as well as traffic engineering are still best left to the individual project traffic engineers, the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO) representatives, and the NC Department of Transportation representatives. In response to Board questions, Mr. Vafier stated that the life span of a TIA is decided at the scoping of the project. It is based on when a developer anticipates the full project buildout to be. It becomes ineffective or invalid once the anticipated buildout year has passed and the full buildout has not occurred. If that occurs, a developer would have to redo the TIA and have to take into consideration other projects that have been developed during that time. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Chairman White adjourned the meeting at 4:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting.