Special Meeting
Feb. 28, 2009
MINUTES
The
Board Members Present:
Staff Members Present:
The
purpose of the meeting was to hold a winter retreat to focus discussion on several
Town projects and issues as described in the summary below. The summary serves as the minutes of the 2009
Holly
Springs Town Council Retreat. Agenda topics were centered around the
Council’s five growth principles, adopted at the 2008 Winter Retreat: Economy; Investment; Managed Growth;
Innovation; and Partnerships.
2009
Economy – The economy today
and its impact on Town budget, operations.
Economy, Generally:
To
begin the retreat meeting, the Council discussed how the economy, which is in a
worldwide downturn, will impact the Town; the 2009 Capital Improvements Plan;
and the President’s economic stimulus plan that promises funding for shovel-ready
infrastructure improvement projects.
Mr. Dean reminded the Council that Finance Director
Mr. Simmons and Mr. Holland
projected what the revenue picture for the Town would likely be during the
remainder of this fiscal year and during FY 2009-10. General Fund and Enterprise Fund revenue
projections were addressed. They also
discussed factors that could quickly change the revenue outlook, such as
possible changes in State-collected revenues that are typically distributed to
local governments annually.
Mr. Charles Archer of the North
Carolina League of Municipalities addressed the Council and staff, advising
that the State of
The most likely remedy, he said,
would be for the State to consider keeping revenues it generally collects and
then disperses to counties and cities.
Mr. Archer said Gov. Perdue has said
publicly that this will not happen; however, what might happen is anyone’s
guess. In the meantime, he said, the
NCLM would be lobbying the General Assembly to protect the best interests of
municipalities.
Mr. Holland and Mr. Dean agreed that
the Town of Holly Springs protects itself from a budget standpoint by not
relying on State-collected revenue numbers.
“We budget very conservatively,” Mr.
Holland said, “for the very reason that we do not want there to be a Town
budget shortfall if the State decides to cut some of the Town’s funding.”
CIP 2009: Mr. Weeks and Mr. Holland presented the
Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) of the Town of
On an annual basis, the CIP is produced by the staff of
In addition to Capital Projects the
CIP also forecasts five-year departmental Capital Outlay needs. Capital Outlay expenditures (i.e. vehicles
and equipment) have a maximum cost less than that of Capital Projects. Capital Outlay requests are made by
departments and are then reviewed by the Finance and Administration Departments. After determining financial feasibility and
timing, projects are approved, delayed or denied. The FY 2009-10 is the fiscal year under
primary consideration and therefore the most accurate portrayal of what the FY
2009-10 Budget will depict.
Forecasted in the third section of
the CIP are departmental studies. Study
results offer guidance to town officials when formulating policy and town
employees when implementing that policy.
Furthermore, results produced during the studies are considered vital to
achieving goals set forth in each department.
This document was prepared by
employing the best information available, but is subject to change in future
years as financial and physical conditions fluctuate in the Town. Consequently, the CIP should be used as a
flexible plan that will evolve with every budget year.
Mr. Weeks pointed out that
staff has done something differently this year and that is they identified five
General Fund and nine Utility Fund projects that they would recommend completing
promptly. These projects are identified
in summaries later in these minutes.
Direction: No action needed.
Action: No action.
Economic
Stimulus Plan: Ms. Sudano said the Town has submitted seven
projects to various state agencies in hopes of being awarded some of the
Economic Stimulus Funding that is soon to be available.
Although the criterion for project
selection has not been clearly established as of this date, we are being told
that the money will be funneled through existing state programs and under those
regulations.
As soon as the manager and staff
became aware of the upcoming funding, projects were selected that it was felt
would best meet the “rumored” selection criteria. To date, work has been done to create project
mapping and summaries (some attached) and to secure required local approvals of
projects - such as the Stephens Grove Extension - to meet expected
requirements. Following is a list of the submitted projects.
·
Transportation
o
o
·
Wastewater
o
Utley
Creek Effluent Pump Station & Force
o
Friendship
Industrial Site Extension
o
Inflow
& Infiltration Rehabilitation
·
Water
o
o
Friendship
Industrial Site Extension
We will be very fortunate if we get
funding for even one project, as the competition is great for limited funds,
Ms. Sudano said.
Direction: No action needed.
Action: No action.
Investment
– Selecting the top 14 projects; community enhancement;
Top
14: Talk of the economy, budget and the CIP are the
foundation on which all other topics were based. Next, the Council entered discussions of
physical projects, investments in the Town from which taxpayers would benefit.
Payment for these investments can
come from several sources: grants,
general fund revenues, state revenues like Powell Bill, reserve funds, utility
fund revenues (fees), etc.
General Fund projects in the 2009
CIP total $60,657,200. Utility Fund
projects total $148,776,600.
In an effort to help the Council
narrow down the list and select top projects to receive priority attention in
the coming year, staff identified $6.86 million worth of projects in the
General Fund and must-do projects in the Utility Fund. Staff considered such things as which
projects are “ready to go,” which ones have studies or design work that is
complete or are otherwise “shovel-ready;” which ones can the town afford?;
which ones have grant funds that can be used; and which ones impact public
safety.
In no particular order, staff
recommends that the top five General Fund projects be: the Main Street Enhancement project at a cost
of $430,000;
It
should be noted that grant funding may be available for the
In the Utility Fund, staff
identified a large number of projects that are critical for continued
development and sustainability for the town:
the ongoing project to expand the wastewater treatment plant, $28
million; the Western Wake Regional water reclamation facility, $12.6 million; a
downtown stormwater master plan, $150,000; the
Also on the Utility Fund list of
priorities of staff is the extension of water and sewer utilities to the
Studies and design work that need to
stay on the front burner are the planned connection of
Direction: The Council agreed by consensus that it
agreed with staff’s recommendations for the Top 5 General Fund and Top 9 Utility
Fund projects that should be pursued.
Community
Enhancements: At the 2008 retreat,
Council received a report on Public Art and staff’s recommendation to formalize
the process for installation of public art in
- promote
activities to further distinguish
- establish
a master plan for art, features and amenities
- establish
a policy for approval of art and amenities
- capitalize
on opportunity to set up dedicated funding mechanism
- potential
to partner with HSDC in the program
- increase
public involvement in community enhancement activities
Action:
The Council approved a motion to endorse the concept of community
enhancements as described by staff and to direct staff to pursue a program of
providing the improvements; however, the Council also noted that it would also
like to see a break down of how the money would be collected and then spent,
and the Council desires definitions for “art,” “signs” and “decency.”
Motion
By: Sack
Second
By: Dickson
Vote: Unanimous.
At this time, the Council agreed to
deviate from the meeting agenda to entertain a topic that appears much later on
the original retreat meeting topic list.
A resolution supporting Novant
Health’s contested case petition for the proposed
“WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of
WHEREAS, Novant's proposal for a 47-bed, acute
care facility in southern Wake County nevertheless was denied last month by the
N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation; and
WHEREAS, the Town
Council believes state officials must not ignore the immense and immediate
benefit Novant’s proposal would hold for citizens of
Ø
providing readily accessible hospital-level healthcare
to residents who currently have none;
Ø
pumping $150.2 million into the regional economy over
the next four years;
Ø
creating or preserving nearly 200 jobs immediately
upon State approval as construction begins;
Ø
creating more than 500 healthcare and healthcare
support jobs in hospital operations over the next four years;
Ø
pumping millions of dollars into the peripheral
economy around the hospital as the ripple-effect impact on the economy would
include new doctor and other healthcare professional offices’ being attracted
to the facility; neighboring businesses seeing increased customer traffic;
realtors selling homes to new residents; contractors finding work in
constructing new homes and offices; etc.
Ø
providing the promise of a healing economy as a
company invests its own financial resources into a $110 million project with no
cost to taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, it has come to the attention of the
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the
Action: The Council approved a motion to adopt
Resolution 09-05 supporting Novant Health’s contested case petition for its
proposed
Motion
By: Sack
Second
By: Womble
Vote:
Unanimous.
At this time, the Council returned
to the regular agenda, resuming talks within the Investment segment of the retreat meeting.
At the direction of the Town Council
in November, discussions began for renovating the gym/cafeteria building and
the new construction of the classroom facility.
In order to reduce the interruption
of programs any more than necessary, the decision was made to construct a new
building behind the existing classroom building with a connection to the
gym. The renovation of the gym/cafeteria should happen
simultaneously with the new construction while programs remain active in the
classroom section.
With the completion of these
projects, the old classroom building will be demolished and replaced with a
parking lot to service the programs at the facility.
Over the past several weeks the
Parks and Recreation staff has had multiple meetings with the architect to
establish a floor plan to the project.
The plan replaces the 20,000 square
feet from the old building and adds approximately 2,000 square feet for a lobby
area. By efficiently using space, designers have added some
programs, including an indoor walking track, a game room and additional fitness
area to allow for growth in these programs.
The building will allow for two
entries, one in the front and rear of the building. The ability for
staff to control the facility has been enhanced greatly, while providing a nice
staging or waiting area in the lobby. The project will enable the Town to
better serve participants, while providing additional programs and parking for
events at the Center and
Mr. Bradley said he wanted Council direction
for staff to continue working on the project through construction design, with
preparations made for the budgeting of funds for the construction to begin soon
after July 1 of this year.
Representatives from Kling Stubbins
laid out for Council members two design scenarios for the W.E. Hunt Community
Center, a one-story option and a two-story option featuring an elevated indoor
walking track and extra upstairs square footage.
The project costs originally were
estimated at $3.3 million for renovation and $4.3 million for total
reconstruction. With that information
last fall, Council opted for the slightly more expensive $4.3 million cost of a
complete replacement of the facility as the smartest investment of money.
More precise estimates were provided
later by architectural drawings. Kling
Stubbins estimates costs at approximately $6.5 million for the one-story design
version and approximately $7.5 for the two-story version.
It appeared that the over-riding
sentiment of Council members during the retreat afternoon was, “Both are nice
plans, but how are we going to pay for either of them?” Another question was, “What can we get for
the $3 million to $4 million we originally expected the project to cost?” A major point in the conversations also was
the large number of variances and waivers that might be needed for the project.
During the retreat meeting, the
Council also discussed whether to fund the project with a bond referendum or
installment financing. After discussion
about how bonds might be difficult to sell as other governmental units are
learning in a down economy with reluctant investors and about how interest
rates at banks would likely reach historic lows, Council members agreed
installment financing offers the better option for the Town.
Direction: Council direction was for staff to pursue
renovation and construction plans for the two-story option to allow for
construction to begin after
Managed Growth – Thoroughfare Plan update; Substandard housing; Utility Extension
Policies;
Thoroughfare Plan
Update -- The
Council heard a quick report from the engineering department that it soon will
be updating the Town’s Thoroughfare Plan.
Ms. Sudano said The Vision
The update is proposed to be
undertaken in this coming budget year.
The plan will be updated to support the current Land Use Plan and its
geographic area, and will be expanded to cover not only thoroughfares but also
pedestrian, vehicular, transit, and bus routes.
This is consistent with what other municipalities have done, and will
tie in well to the CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization)
Transportation Plan, or CTP, for our region.
Funds have been requested in the
past for this update, but it has not been able to be undertaken until now. There will be a large element of public input
solicited for this plan, and the process will likely take from
Substandard
Housing -- The purpose of this discussion was to update the Town Council on
progress and processes associated with efforts to address properties that may
have structures/conditions categorized as substandard, failing to meet minimum
housing code, or anything that meets the definition of a nuisance as defined in
the municipal code.
Mr. Blackmon provided a Powerpoint
presentation of the past year of activities targeted at eliminating substandard
housing in areas of Town. Mr. Blackmon
and Chief Herring elaborated on collaborative efforts that are underway between
the police and code enforcement departments.
Mr. Schifano described to the Town
Council the merits to the community of a limited landlord registration
program. A similar program currently is
being implemented in a neighboring jurisdiction, and the merits of this program
from public safety and law enforcement perspectives was addressed.
Direction:
The Council directed that staff come
up with a program, policies and procedures for Council consideration and that
staff also conduct a public information campaign. The consensus of the Council was that it
would like the Town to be more proactive in addressing the problem of
substandard housing.
Utility Extension Policies – Ms. Clapp and
Ms. Sudano addressed the Council on this topic. In the past few years, as the
economy has been weakening, there have been several requests for the Town to
extend utilities to properties. Some
requests have been by developers to serve potential projects, and some by
property owners who need water. Ms.
Clapp and Ms. Sudano said they wanted to address this issue:
·
to
provide information on the history of
utility extensions in the Town over the past decade and a half (the “growth years of
- to
summarize the Town’s existing
written policies and ordinances covering utility extensions; and
- to
present discussion and
recommendations for changes to the Town’s utility extension policies
and ordinances.
History
of Utility Extensions:
The population growth of
- waterlines
shown in green are major transmission lines that were funded either by
grant or Town funds or a combination of the two. These lines deliver purchased water to
the Town from our water sources;
- waterlines
shown in purple are ones that were installed and funded by
developers. In many cases, the Town
contributed to these waterline extensions in the form of development fee
credits for over-sizing in accordance with Town policy (see more info on
this policy below);
- waterlines
shown in blue were funded mainly by grants secured by the Town and
supplemented with Town money.
If you consider
Existing
Policies covering Utility Extensions:
¨
¨
¨
¨ Policy Statement P-002
- This policy statement provides the option for the Town to use
development fee credits to cover additional developer’s costs associated with
“over-sizing” utility lines and other infrastructure needed for development.
(“Over-sized”
means that the infrastructure installed by developers is sized in accordance
with the Town’s Master Utility and Infrastructure Plans to serve whole
development basins or areas, but that it may exceed the size line needed to
serve the development project.)
A copy of this policy
statement is attached. In summary this policy statement requires
developers to extend and pay full costs of all water and sewer lines to their
developments; it then provides a
mechanism for Town assistance with over-sizing;
Evaluation/Conclusion:
During the past decade and a half,
Town utilities have been extended generally in compliance with the Town’s
existing policies and ordinances. This
has helped the Town to achieve a network of properly-sized utility lines that
supports its planned growth.
As developers have installed most of the infrastructure,
this network has been built in such a manner so as not to be a burden to
existing customers of
Larger developments are better for
the Town in many ways – certainly at the outskirts of Town – as they allow
master planning of land uses and infrastructure, open spaces, etc.
Within the existing policies and
ordinances is, of course, the opportunity for the Town leaders to fund
individual projects that are of specific strategic value for the Town, such as
enhancement of industrial development opportunities, etc. It is staff’s opinion that exercising this
discretion on a very limited number of projects is best, but that changing the
Town’s policies and ordinances much would be detrimental to the Town and inconsistent
with what has worked well for the Town to date. The existing policies and ordinances have
served the Town well so far in supporting its goal of managed growth.
Following is the Department of
Planning & Zoning perspective on this issue and its relevance to the Vision Holly Springs: The Town of Holly
Springs Comprehensive Plan.
Implementing
through Prioritization
of Infrastructure/Utility Extension Policies
The Planning &
Zoning Perspective
In 2007 the Town adopted Vision Holly Springs: The Town
of Holly Springs Comprehensive Plan.
As stated in the Executive Summary,
“Adopting the Comprehensive Plan
illustrates the commitment on the part of Town Council to enhance the overall
quality of life in
It is the Comprehensive Plan that
Staff, both Planning and Engineering, refer to when making decisions about
long-term policies that will affect the current and future development of the
Town.
The Comprehensive Plan is the
primary tool used by Town staff and Town Council to make decisions about the
location of land uses and community facilities, prioritize public investment
and the extension of public services, and business development, by prioritizing
future Town infrastructure projects, preventing sprawl, and ensuring that
community services and infrastructure are used strategically and
conservatively.
Section 7.0: Infrastructure and
Utilities
This
section of the Plan emphasizes the need to “prioritize future infrastructure
improvements and the dollars associated with those improvements to promote
growth consistent with its growth objectives while protecting the environment”
and clearly states the following Objectives:
2) Prioritize
infrastructure investments to promote desired development patterns consistent
with the planning elements of the Comprehensive Plan
3) Encourage
development in accordance with the
Section 1.0
The vision
for Holly Springs expressed in the Future Land Use Plan is based around
Community Growth Areas (CGAs), Business Parks, and Regional Centers. It is within these areas that the Town is to
encourage development to occur in order to contain sprawl. It is the areas outside of the CGAs that are
generally intended for a low-density level of development unless specifically
specified as
Section 1.4 of the Plan specifically
states that “The phasing [of the CGAs,
Currently, there are 3 remaining
growth areas designated on the Future Land Use Plan that do not have
water/sewer service. Based upon the
adopted Comprehensive Plan, Town investments in water/sewer service extensions
should be prioritized to these areas prior to extending utilities to areas with
a much lower density and development expectation due to the potential return on
the Town’s investment dollars:
The Town’s current
utility extension policies as presented above, are in keeping with supporting
the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan adopted by the Town Council
in November 2007, Ms. Sudano said.
Direction:
The Council directed that staff
retain current and existing policies to govern utility extension decisions.
Description
of possible project:
- In
order to provide public water service to the properties referenced above,
a 12-inch ductile iron waterline (sized in accordance with the Town’s
approved Long Range Water Plan) would have to be extended approximately
6,900 feet along Buckhorn-Duncan Road, Cass Holt Road and onto Rex Road
from the existing 8-inch waterline that the Town purchased from Harnett
County located on Buckhorn-Duncan Road.
(Note that in the waterline
purchase agreement between the Town and
- The
cost of this extension to serve these properties is estimated at $801,000,
excluding design and construction inspection (both assumed to be performed
by in-house staff.)
- Benefits
of this line extension would be service of water to those private homes
that have requested water service, plus providing water to undeveloped
properties such as the speculative soccer complex, thereby making it less
expensive for development to occur.
The waterline extension as proposed would not provide any other
benefit in this area; however, if the project were expanded – double to
triple its proposed length - it could be of benefit to existing customers
in developments along Avent Ferry Road as it would provide a system loop
to address needed redundancy and additional reliability in the town’s
existing water system.
Ms. Sudano said that it is very
unlikely that all property owners along this route would voluntarily annex and
agree to an assessment or that the developer of the soccer park would fund the
entire waterline extension (both of these are consistent with Town policy on
utility extensions). Staff recommends
the submittal of this project for Economic Recovery Stimulus funding (as part
of the larger expansion described above under “Description of Possible
Project/Benefits bullet”) and construct it if funded. Otherwise, let development in the area fund
the project as it occurs.
Action: The Council approved a motion to include the
Motion
By: Sack
Second
By: Dickson
Vote: Unanimous
Ms. Sudano described possible
project scenarios:
- In
order to provide public water service to these properties, an 8 inch 1160
ft ductile iron waterline would have to be extended along
- The
cost of this extension currently is estimated at $120,000 excluding design
and construction inspections (both assumed to be performed by in-house
staff). This estimate also assumes
that the waterline would be installed by the Department of Public
Works.
- The
benefit of this waterline is that it would provide water service to
properties (currently out of town) some of which have failing wells. A minor secondary benefit would be that
a small waterline system interconnection would be added to the Town’s
waterline network.
Ms. Sudano said staff recommends
that the Council consider undertaking this project by assessment if all 11
property owners file voluntary annexation petitions and sign a petition for
funding the project by assessment. This
recommendation is in accordance with the Town’s policies and ordinances on
funding utility extension projects.
Action:
The Council approved a motion to
undertake the extension of public water service along
Motion
By: Dickson
Second
By: Sack
Vote:
Unanimous
INNOVATION
& PARTNERSHIPS – FMI study; Western Wake partnership update; Fire
Station No. 3; and Habitat for Humanity potential.
As the day drew to a close near
FMI
-- Mr. Dean explained that over the last
two months, the firm of FMI has conducted a study relating to the Town’s
development processes. FMI completed the
internal and external review of processes and was prepared to share with the
Town Council some preliminary findings.
The final study, Mr. Dean said, is
expected to be presented to the Council at the
Adjournment: There being no further business for
the day, the 2009 Winter Retreat of the
Respectfully
Submitted on
_________________________________