Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-02 Regular Meeting NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 424 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met in Regular Session on Monday, December 2, 2019, at 4:00 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the New Hanover County Courthouse, 24 North Third Street, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chairman Jonathan Barfield, Jr.; Vice-Chairwoman Julia Olson-Boseman; Commissioner Patricia Kusek; Commissioner Woody White; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; County Attorney Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell. INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Reverend Cheryl M. Walker, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Wilmington, provided the invocation and Commissioner Zapple led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ELECTION OF CHAIR AND VICE-CHAIR FOR THE ENSUING YEAR Members present were: Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr.; Commissioner Patricia Kusek; Commissioner Julia Olson-Boseman; Commissioner Woody White; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. County Attorney Copley opened the floor to receive nominations for Chair of the Board of County Commissioners for the ensuing year. Commissioner White nominated Julia Olson-Boseman for Chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Kusek seconded the nomination. There being no further nominations, County Attorney Copley declared the nominations closed and called for a vote on the nomination. Vote: The Board voted UNANIMOUSLY to elect Commissioner Olson-Boseman to serve as Chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners for the ensuing year. County Attorney Copley opened the floor to receive nominations for Vice-Chair of the Board of County Commissioners for the ensuing year. Commissioner White nominated Patricia Kusek for Vice-Chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. Chair Olson-Boseman seconded the nomination. There being no further nominations, County Attorney Copley declared the nominations closed and called for a vote on the nomination. Vote: The Board voted UNANIMOUSLY to elect Commissioner Kusek to serve as Vice-Chair of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners for the ensuing year. BREAK: Commissioner Barfield called for a break at 4:06 p.m. and Chair Olson-Boseman called the meeting back to order at 4:25 p.m. BOARD SEATED FOR 2019-2020 Members present were: Chair Julia Olson-Boseman; Vice-Chair Patricia Kusek; Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr.; Commissioner Woody White; and Commissioner Rob Zapple. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Chair Olson-Boseman requested a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion: Commissioner White MOVED, SECONDED by Vice-Chair Kusek, to approve the items on the Consent Agenda as presented. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Minutes – Governing Body The Commissioners approved the minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 18, 2019. Adoption of State Road Resolution – Governing Body The Commissioners adopted the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) State Road Resolution in support of adding the following roads to the state system:  Pine Hollow Drive and McGinnis Lane located within the Belle Meade (section 1) subdivision in New Hanover County (Division File No: 1270-N) A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 38.1. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 425 Adoption of Public Officials Bond Resolution – County Attorney The Commissioners, pursuant to General Statute 58-72-20, adopted a resolution approving the Surety Bond for the Chief Financial Officer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, and Tax Collector. The designation of approval is incorporated within the respective bond in its entirety. A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, 38.2. Approval of October 2019 Tax Collection Report – Tax Department The Commissioners accepted the Tax Collection Reports of New Hanover County, New Hanover County Debt Service, and New Hanover County Fire District as of October 2019. Copies of the tax collection reports are hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and are contained in Exhibit Book XLI, Page 38.3. REGULAR ITEMS OF BUSINESS APPROVAL OF CONTRACT AWARD FOR 2020 MASON INLET MAINTENANCE DREDGING EVENT TO WEEKS MARINE AND ADOPTION OF BUDGET AMENDMENT 20-021 Shore Protection Coordinator Layton Bedsole stated the Board is being asked to approve the contract award for the 2020 Mason Inlet maintenance dredging event for this winter to Weeks Marine. The cost, rounded up, is $6.6 million. The Board is also being asked to adopt a budget amendment to accept a grant from the North Carolina Division of Water Resources Shallow Draft Inlet Fund for up to $3.8 million that will be applied to the cost associated with the Mason Inlet Relocation Project (MIPG) North Wrightsville Beach stakeholder share for the project for both the contract and for the grant on both counts. In response to Board questions, Mr. Bedsole stated the construction estimate for the project is estimated to be $6.6 million. Figure 8 Homeowner’s Association share will be approximately $2 million, Mason Inlet Relocation Project (MIPG) North Wrightsville Beach share will be approximately $1.6 million, and the grant will cover approximately $3.2 to 3.8 million. The room occupancy tax (ROT) funds are being saved due to the grant. Once the assessments are complete the ROT fund will be made whole. The grant is a one-time grant. As to when these events are done, Mr. Bedsole stated the last event was 2016. Prior to that, the inlet was being relocated about every two years. Adjustments have been made in terms of how dredging is done and the permanent stripping allows the ability to spread the time frame out. The goal is to do this every four to five years as that is good for the property owners and also good for the resources. A grant was received in 2016 and if another grant became available, the County would submit an application for the funds. Hearing no further discussion, Chair Olson-Boseman asked for direction from the Board on the request. Barfield MOVED Motion: Commissioner , SECONDED by Vice-Chair Kusek, to approve the contract award of the maintenance dredging event to Weeks Marine for $6,575,000 and adopt Budget Amendment 20-021 to accept the grant contract with the NC Department of Environmental Quality for grant proceeds of $3,810,948.20, and reduce the amount needed from the Room Occupancy Tax Fund for project expenditures. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of the budget amendment is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, 38.4. APPROVAL OF CONTRACT AWARD FOR THE NEW HANOVER COUNTY SENIOR RESOURCE CENTER RENOVATION TO KEYSTONE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY AND ADOPTION OF BUDGET AMENDMENT 20-031 Project Manager Kevin Caison stated that the Board is being asked to approve the award of the construction contract to Keystone Construction Company for the renovation of the existing Senior Resource Center facility located at 2222 South College Road. Mr. Caison explained that the bids received on July 18, 2019 exceeded the available th budget so the project was re-advertised on October 8, 2019. During the second round, the lowest bid received allowed for a savings of $270,000 and items were identified that need to be addressed which include mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural issues that were not in the original scope. The new low bid still exceeds the anticipated budget but is $274,000 lower than the first round low bidder. Staff has worked with the low bidder to try and identify areas that could be done differently to save money while maintaining the integrity of the project. The current approved budget for this project is $2,010,162 and the estimate of project costs is $2,223,195. Staff is requesting a budget amendment be approved in the amount of $213,033. This budget amendment will be funded through a reallocation of currently budgeted expenditures. If awarded, construction will start in January 2020 and substantial completion will be achieved by December 2020. In response to Board questions, Mr. Caison stated there are several heat and air units in the building. A couple of the units identified were determined to not be connected to the water source heat pump and to the outside air machine. They are located in the attic. These are part of the issues discovered and were added as an alternate to the scope to help identify the cost. Doing this helped Property Management identify the amount needed. The largest item lost between the two bidding rounds were the partition walls that are used in multipurpose rooms. Other items that were changed were the piping type to be used and countertop types in the craft rooms. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 426 In response to additional Board questions, Mr. Caison stated the building was built in 1991. He confirmed that since being built, not much has been done to the building other than maintenance and repairs. One large issue this project will address is ADA compliance such as bringing the ramps up to current code and repairing sidewalks due to tree root damage. The sprinkler system will be completely replaced as well as all the piping. Hearing no further discussion, Chair Olson-Boseman asked for direction from the Board on the reqeust. Motion: Vice-Chair Kusek MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Barfield, to approve the award of construction contract to Keystone Construction Company to renovate the existing Senior Resource Center making much needed repairs and improvements, and adopt the ordinance for Budget Amendment 20-031. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of the budget amendment is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, 38.5. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED $44,000,000 FINANCING OF IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND ADOPTION OF APPROVING RESOLUTION Chair Olson-Boseman reported that at the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners on November 18, 2019, the Board adopted a resolution Authorizing the Negotiation of an Amendment to an Installment Financing Contract, Directing the Publication of Notice with Respect Thereto and Providing for Certain Other Related Matters Thereto. The Board determined that it is in the best interest of the County to enter into an installment financing contract to pay the capital costs of constructing a replacement juvenile justice facility, renovating and expanding the terminal at Wilmington International Airport, acquire and improve Echo Farms Park, improving the Senior Resource Center, and acquiring vehicles and equipment for various County purposes. A public hearing must be held concerning the Second Contract Amendment, the Notice of Extension, the proposed 2020 Projects and any other transactions contemplated therein and associated therewith. Chair Olson-Boseman opened the public hearing and stated that Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wurtzbacher would make a presentation on the matter. Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wurtzbacher stated in connection with questions about the debt from the November meeting, the amount of outstanding debt as of June 30, 2019 is $419,450,000. As to how much principal is paid down per year, in Fiscal Year 2020, $44.5 million is scheduled to be paid. The documents will be sent to the Local Government Commission (LGC) this week, the bonds will be sold January 23, 2020, and the closing will take place on February 6, 2020. This is not the only borrowing that is scheduled to take place this fiscal year. Due to the timing of the projects and the amount of items wrapped into the borrowings, towards the end of the fiscal year the Board will need to consider borrowing requests for the Healing Place and the budgeted amount of $3.7 million for general obligation bonds for school capital projects. The Healing Place guaranteed maximum determination number will be completed in March 2020 and at that time the Board will be asked to consider a budget amendment to move forward with construction and hopefully issue the debt before the end of the fiscal year. In response to Board questions, Ms. Wurtzbacher will obtain the construction schedule to report back to the Board when the ribbon cutting will take place. As to what the $44 million covers for the six projects, pieces of this debt have different amortization schedules. The estimated annual debt service for the County projects was $2,236,424 and because of the budget amendment that was just approved to increase the loan proceeds and expense for the Senior Resource Center, that will increase by approximately $50,000. The other projects which include the relocation of the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority raw water line and the Wilmington International Airport (Airport) terminal expansion have an estimated annual debt service of $2,715,935. In response to additional Board questions, Ms. Wurtzbacher stated the breakdown of the estimated average debt service is as follows:  Senior Resource Center Renovation: $343,542  Juvenile Justice Center Facility Rebuild: $1,072,702  Echo Farms Improvements: $173,782  County Equipment and Vehicles: $646,398 As to what is being invested into each project, Ms. Wurtzbacher stated the breakdown as follows:  Senior Resource Center Renovation: $1.8 million  Juvenile Justice Center Facility Rebuild: $16.9 million  Echo Farms Improvements: $2.7 million  County Equipment and Vehicles: $5.8 million  Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Project: $1.5 million  Airport Terminal Expansion Project: $14.4 million Hearing no further discussion, Chair Olson-Boseman reported that no one had signed up to speak on this item and requested a motion to close the Public Hearing and direction from the Board on the request. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 427 Motion: Vice-Chair Kusek MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner Zapple, to close the Public Hearing and adopt the resolution approving an amendment to an installment financing contract and a notice of extension to a deed of trust and delivery thereof and providing for certain other related matters. Upon vote, the MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. A copy of the resolution is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, 38.6. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS Chair Olson-Boseman reported that no one signed up to speak on non-agenda items. ADDITIONAL AGENDA ITEMS OF BUSINESS County Manager Coudriet stated that Assistant County Manager Kathy Stoute, Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wurtzbacher, and Property Management Director Sara Warmuth are going to Louisville, Kentucky to meet with Healing Place representatives at the corporate office to finalize the letter of intent. As to the question posed during today’s meeting, Healing Place will open on the current schedule in June or July of 2021. He asked Project Manager Kevin Caison to provide additional information on the project. Mr. Caison stated that the project is currently going through redesign with the Healing Place end user group. The bid should be ready to go out in April 2020 and if the duration stays the same, it will open at the end of 2021. Chair Olson-Boseman thanked the Commissioners for their support for her to be Chair for the ensuing year. Chair Olson-Boseman made a motion to cancel all agenda review meetings for next year. Commissioner White stated he would second the motion. Motion: Chair Olson-Boseman MOVED, SECONDED by Commissioner White, to cancel all agenda review meetings for 2020. Commissioner Zapple asked Chair Olson-Boseman why she wants to cancel the meetings. Chair Olson- Boseman responded that she feels the agenda briefings are not a good use of staff’s time. Senior staff is gathered together for a meeting where there are very few questions. As specific Commissioners have issues with the public and needing to ask more questions, they should be able to do that, but all the Commissioners have been doing this a pretty long time. She is good with reading through the agenda packet, calling the appropriate staff with any additional questions, and then listening to the presentations. She does not feel it is in the best interest of staff to congregate them together when they could be doing a lot more important things because this year they are being charged with a lot of tasks. Commissioner Zapple stated there is dual purpose to the agenda briefings and it allows the public to see what the process is like and raise questions. It is a matter of transparency. Chair Olson-Boseman stated the agenda is posted publicly, is accessible to everyone, and she does not think it is a valuable use of the staff's time to sit there and just listen to the Commissioners talk. Commissioner Barfield stated this is a motion he cannot support. There have been so many things that have been foundational in county government that over the past few years have been eroded and done away with. One of those is agenda briefings. One was having dinner with commissioners prior to the 6:00 p.m. meetings which built relationships and camaraderie. The agenda briefings are an opportunity for key staff that have an item on the agenda to present so the Board can ask questions, get clarity, and allow staff the opportunity, if needed, to go back and get the right information to bring forward during the meeting on the following Monday. Oftentimes, there are questions asked at agenda review and more of them have been canceled than have been held. He has seen on a number of occasions where questions were asked and staff was able to get the right answers for the following Monday meeting. It would put the Board and staff behind the eight ball and he stated that he would be voting against the motion. Vice-Chair Kusek stated that her experience has been that it is a huge burden on staff to get everybody together, and the Board asks pretty much the same questions at agenda review that it asks at a public meeting. It is on the Commissioners to be studious, research, and take advantage of staff time so that the Commissioners can be more productive in the actual commission meetings. She stated she will be supporting the motion. Commissioner Zapple stated he supports Commissioner Barfield’s comments. The discussion happening right now is a great example of what is missed by not having agenda briefings. This is just the kind of discussion that could come up, so the community could see the robust discussion, debate, and the Board has a chance to talk amongst itself. Eliminating 50% of the public meetings of the County Commission eliminates those times where the County Commission has a chance to interact with each other. He reiterated he does not support it and it is also confusing to him to have major changes come up as a motion at the end of a meeting. This has happened at least a couple of times now without having the discussion certainly amongst the Board or to allow the community to have a chance to try to absorb what it is and the changes that are happening. He asked that Chair Olson-Boseman rethink a complete loss of all of the agenda briefings. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 34 REGULAR MEETING, DECEMBER 2, 2019 PAGE 428 Chair Olson-Boseman stated that her motion does not mean when there are large issues such as the hospital issue and other items there will be no meetings, there will be. She is making the motion to have the regular agenda meetings canceled. Commissioner White stated for those watching, his comments are directed to them, the audience, not the Commissioners because they know this is not about transparency at all. The agenda review meetings are not on television. The public does not attend them. They are not typically present in the audience. They are not allowed to speak. On almost every occasion there are a couple of dozen of highly paid, highly competent, very busy staff members sitting there at the Board’s mercy, sometimes for hours wasting their valuable, precious time away from their families and their desks. Words like “transparency” and phrases like “cutting government meetings by 50%” are a spin. That is fake. If the Board has to have an agenda review, there will be one on big items that necessitate discussion. He also suggests that had there been an agenda review last week and had the Board discussed this last week, the public would not have even known about it. Instead, it is being discussed today on television in the full presence of the community and anyone that wishes to watch on television or listen on Facebook. Had it occurred last week, no one would have known, it was not on television and was not on Facebook. He certainly votes oftentimes in the minority on issues, sometimes in the majority on issues, and he is sure he has complained in the past about that. He tries to resist the temptation to complain when on the opposite side of a major vote. This is not about cutting transparency and not about cutting public meetings in half. That is illusory. It is about being effective, efficient, and being respectful of staff’s time and the public’s time and of the issues the Board does discuss here in a deliberative setting on television, in public being mindful of how important many of those decisions are so that the public can see it, can watch the Commissioners’ faces, can see the motions that are made, see the comments that are made, and the votes that are cast. You do not see that at agenda review. He stated he would support the motion. He called for a vote on the motion on the floor. Commissioner Barfield stated he knows the question has been called, but the media is always present at the agenda review meetings and had this come up on the Thursday, he is sure the media would have had a strong conversation about the Commissioners canceling agenda review meetings. The last time he checked, staff works for the Board, the Board does not work for staff and they have a job and duty to do. That did not start today, it started when his father served and before then. This is nothing new, there were agenda reviews then, back in the '80s and '90s, and they saw wisdom in continuing those things. Hearing no further discussion, Chair Olson-Boseman called for a vote on the motion on the floor. Upon vote, the MOTION PASSED 3 TO 2. Commissioners Barfield and Zapple dissenting. A copy of the amended New Hanover County Board of Commissioners 2020 Regular Meeting Schedule is hereby incorporated as part of the minutes and is contained in Exhibit Book XLI, 38.7. Chair Olson-Boseman stated that something needs to be done to address Wave Transit and requested that County Manager Coudriet arrange a meeting with him, herself, the City of Wilmington Mayor, City Manager, and Vice-Chair Kusek. It is time for the group to start talking about it instead of just passing resolutions or talking to the press. She would like to see what can be done by working together to help resolve the Wave Transit situation. She also requested the Board receive an update on Project Grace and a plan B for it. Chair Olson-Boseman thanked staff and stated that the status quo is not good enough anymore and it hasn't been this last year. All of the staff have been amazing and the Board challenges the staff this year for progressive ideas. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Chair Olson-Boseman adjourned the meeting at 4:41 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim record of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting. The entire proceedings are available for review and checkout at all New Hanover County Libraries and online at www.nhcgov.com.