HomeMy Public PortalAbout09-14-2009 Regular Meeting
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 1 of 48
MINUTES
HILLSBOROUGH TOWN BOARD
September 14, 2009 September 14, 2009
7:00 PM, Town Barn 7:00 PM, Town Barn
PRESENT: PRESENT:
Mayor Tom Stevens, Commissioners EvelMayor Tom Stevens, Commissioners Evelyn Lloyd, Frances Dancyn Lloyd, Frances Dancy, Brian Lowen, y, Brian Lowen,
Mike Gering, and L. Eric Hallman. Mike Gering, and L. Eric Hallman.
STAFF PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT:
Town Manager Eric Peterson, Assistant Town Manager/Public Works Town Manager Eric Peterson, Assistant Town Manager/Public Works
Director Nicole Ard, Town Clerk/Director of Administration and Human Resources Donna F. Director Nicole Ard, Town Clerk/Director of Administration and Human Resources Donna F.
Armbrister, Planning DirArmbrister, Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Enginector Margaret Hauth, Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel, eer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel,
Police Chief Clarence Birkhead, and Town Attorney Bob Hornik. Police Chief Clarence Birkhead, and Town Attorney Bob Hornik.
Mayor Stevens called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.Mayor Stevens called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
1. PUBLIC CHARGE1. PUBLIC CHARGE
Mayor Stevens did not read the Public Mayor Stevens did not read the Public Charge but noted it would be followed. Charge but noted it would be followed.
2. PUBLIC HEARING 2. PUBLIC HEARING
A.A.Consider public comment regarding the potential closing the unopened right-of-way Consider public comment regarding the potential closing the unopened right-of-way
running northeast off Lawndale Avenuerunning northeast off Lawndale Avenue between 125 and 152 Lawndale Avenue between 125 and 152 Lawndale Avenue
7:01:54 PM7:01:54 PM Mayor Stevens noted that the public hearing was to consider public comment
regarding the potential closing of the unopened right-of-way running northeast off Lawndale
Avenue between 125 and 152 Lawndale Avenue.
Planning Director Margaret Hauth stated that everyone related to this application had not yet
arrived, and suggested leaving the public hearing open for a short period and in the meantime go
on to the next item on the agenda.
Mayor Stevens suggested continuing the public hearing discussion between Items 5 and 6. There
was no objection from the Board.
3. PRESENTATIONS
A.Presentation of Innovation and Customer Service Awards to Town Employees
7:02:48 PM Mayor Stevens stated that Mark Twain had said “Always do right. It will gratify
some people and astonish the rest.” He said they wanted to honor those employees who were
really doing right in an exceptional way, particularly in an era where there was too much press
about government not doing anything well or anything right. Mayor Stevens said he hoped that
everyone present would find the presentations refreshing.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 2 of 48
7:03:24 PM Mr. Peterson stated that this was the first annual Innovation and Customer Service
Awards Program ceremony, and thanked the Town Board for providing the funding and support
to develop the program. He said that throughout the year department heads and other employees
had nominated their coworkers for excellence in the two areas of customer service and
innovation. Mr. Peterson said a review committee had had reviewed and selected the winners in
each category, noting that the review committee included Commissioners Dancy and Hallman.
He said the committee had also developed an additional recognition, which was the Innovator of
Distinction, which would be announced tonight. Mr. Peterson said that the department heads
would be called up to introduce the employee or employees and describe what the employees’
accomplishments were, and then present them with their awards.
Mr. Peterson said those employees receiving the Gold standard would receive a $500 cash award
and a day of vacation leave; Silver standard recipients would receive $250; and, Bronze standard
recipients would receive $100. He noted they also had an Honorable Mention to announce.
Mr. Peterson said in addition to the awards and recognition, they had what was called a perpetual
plaque where everyone who received awards would have their names on the plaque to serve as
an inspiration to and to recognize the excellent work of employees. He noted that the plaque
would hang in the Town Barn where Board meetings were held.
7:05:25 PM Mr. Peterson said that in the Customer Service category, the Honorable Mention
went to Jenny Overman, who was not able to attend tonight.
Finance Director Greg Siler stated that Ms. Overman had received the Honorable Mention
because of superior service to an out-of-State landlord/customer who was fined $250 for meter
tampering. He said the customer did not know who had tampered with the meter but had
accepted the reasoning provided by Ms. Overman. Mr. Siler said the customer had
acknowledged her courtesy and openness by sending a letter thanking Ms. Overman for her
“kind words and wonderful customer service.”
7:08:27 PM Town Clerk/Director of Administration and Human Resources Donna Armbrister
presented a Bronze Award in the Customer Service category to Catherine Wright. She noted that
Ms. Wright had taken on the responsibility of setting up programming and training for the
Town’s government access Channel 18, even though she had no prior knowledge about that type
of broadcasting. Ms. Armbrister stated that through Ms. Wright’s efforts citizens now had easier
access to key information, and she had also trained other employees on how to maintain the site.
She said Ms. Wright’s work had also accomplished some of the goals get out in the Town’s
balanced scorecard, and she had done a very good job that they could all take pride in.
Mr. Peterson stated that Julie Lindley was the recipient of the Gold Award in the Customer
Service category.
7:08:31 PM Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel said that Ms. Lindley had assisted
out-of-Town citizens, whose private well system was contaminated with E-coli, to get connected
to the Town’s water system. He said that the citizens could not afford the associated connection
fees so Ms. Lindley had worked with the NC Department of Health and Natural
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 3 of 48
Resources/Division of Environmental Health-Public Water Supply section to secure a 100%
grant in the amount of $156,000 to pay the customers’ share of capital facility fees, lateral fees,
and meter fees for each of the 47 lots. Mr. Keel said that Ms. Lindley’s actions had addressed a
severe public health threat for those 47 families as well as provided additional customers for the
water system that generated about $24,000 in additional revenue each year. He said that the
review committee had determined that Ms. Lindley displayed a great deal of caring, compassion,
dedication, and tenacity in serving as an advocate for those families in need of safe and clean
drinking water.
Mr. Peterson stated that the Bronze award in the Innovation category would be presented to
Shawn Maines.
7:10:17 PM Mr. Keel stated that Shawn Maines had developed the idea of purchasing an
industrial grade tricycle for about $1,200 instead of a small motorized utility vehicle at about
$6,200 for transporting samples, tools, supplies, and conducting inspections around the
Wastewater Plant. He said in addition to Mr. Maines’ idea saving about $5,000, operators
benefited from the additional exercise, and it helped to reduce the carbon footprint of the plant’s
operation.
Mr. Peterson said in the Innovation category, three employees in the Police Department had
participated in a team effort and were receiving the Silver Award for Innovation.
7:12:31 PM Police Chief Clarence Birkhead stated that Lisa Lee-Phillips, Tashia Mayo, and
Zina Long had implemented efficiency and process improvements that totally redesigned the
way the Police Department conducted administrative business and how the accreditation process
was carried out. He said prior to those improvements, few processes, manuals or directives
existed. Chief Birkhead said the employees had converted forms to electronic on-line processes,
had created Standard Operating Procedures for proper entry of crime reports, had created a new
criminal warrant process, had created processing manuals for all divisions to ensure efficiency
and continuity, had overhauled the accreditation process, had rewritten 89 general orders, and
had set accountability objectives for all Police employees.
7:16:23 PM Mr. Keel stated that Will Baker, Jeff Mahagan, Sammy Lankford, James Jones,
Ray Knight, and Alvin Robertson were being awarded the Gold award for restructuring of water
distribution, wastewater collection and wastewater plant divisions to create a utility maintenance
crew. He said the result had improved the performance of the 25 sewage pump stations, the
distribution booster pump stations, the water tanks, and plant equipment. Mr. Keel said that
work would save the Town money over time through reduced repair costs, improved mechanical
efficiency, decreases in the number and severity of sewer overflows, and less overtime for
emergencies.
7:22:57 PM Mr. Peterson stated that the Innovator of Distinction award was created to
recognize exceptionally creative ideas and encourage similarly bold thinking by employees. He
stated that there was one particular action that disembodied what they were trying to encourage
among employees, and the award was being presented to Shawn Maines due to his idea
regarding the purchase of an industrial grade tricycle rather than a motorized utility vehicle at a
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 4 of 48
substantial cost savings. Mr. Peterson said that was the type of “out of the box” creative thinking
that had prompted the creation of the award. He said that Mr. Maines would receive one day of
vacation and a check for $250, in addition to the $100 he had received with his Bronze award.
Mr. Peterson said he was excited about the program and the opportunity to recognize a lot of
really good, dedicated employees. He said he had found through working with municipal
employees over the years that they were dedicated and hardworking and got little recognition,
and hoped that this program would be sustained for some time to come.
7:24:58 PM Mayor Stevens said he imagined the program would continue, and he believed he
spoke for the entire Board that Mr. Peterson’s leadership had helped to bring that all about. He
said the work that all employees did for the Town was absolutely incredible.
B.Frank Cohen, Site Manager for Coachwood Apartments to address the Board
regarding pricing, deposits, and timing of service availability
7:26:04 PMFrank Cohen stated that he was a candidate for a vacancy on the Water/Sewer
Advisory Board, and he had wanted to become involved with that advisory board because he
believed there was quite a bit of unevenness between the money that could be paid by
organizations and businesses such as Coachwood Apartments that was not being paid, and that
there was still money coming from the individual tenants and residents of Hillsborough in an
uneven manner. Mr. Cohen said you had an organization that supported 15 employees and then
you had one retired person living in an apartment but both were paying the same for water
service. He said he believed there was a way that money coming from larger organizations could
pay for additional services for some of the Town’s residents who may be struggling to pay for
water.
Mr. Cohen said that Coachwood Apartments was home to many low-income and retired persons
and could use any help they could get in today’s economy. He said that was his motivation to
speak to the Board tonight, and he wanted to make a difference and add to the consciousness of
what the Water/Sewer Advisory Board was trying to accomplish.
INTERVIEW CANDIDATES FOR TO FILL VACANCY ON THE WATER/SEWER
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
7:28:34 PM Mayor Stevens thanked Frank Cohen for volunteering to serve on the
Water/Sewer Advisory Board.
Commissioner Hallman stated he believed Mr. Cohen would be a positive addition to the
Water/Sewer Board and would provide a fresh prospective that they had not had in a while.
4. AUDIENCE COMMENTS REGARDING MATTERS NOT ON THE PRINTED
AGENDA
7:29:22 PMNo comments were offered.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 5 of 48
5. AGENDA CHANGES & AGENDA APPROVAL
7:29:36 PM Mr. Peterson remarked that there was a typo in the Consent Item under Item J,
which said “Consider Adoption of an Ordinance establishing a development moratorium for a
period of 18 months.” He said the Item should read that it was a denial of a development
moratorium, and that the ordinance itself was worded correctly.
Commissioner Gering added an item regarding appointment of a volunteer to the Tourism Board
as Item 6.B. He also removed Item K from the Consent Agenda to be considered after Item
11.H.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the Board moved
to adopt the Agenda as amended by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
Item 2A. PUBLIC HEARING Continued – Consider public comment regarding the
potential closing the unopened right-of-way running northeast off Lawndale Avenue
between 125 and 152 Lawndale Avenue
7:31:33 PMMayor Stevens opened the public hearing.
Ms. Hauth stated that the Town had received a request from the owners of the day care center on
Lawndale Avenue that was operated by the Chapel Hill Training Outreach, Inc. and an adjoining
property owner. She said there was an unopened right-of-way between the two parcels that did
not provide access to any particular parcel, and it dead ended into a parcel owned by Orange
County that had access elsewhere. Ms. Hauth said these were the only two property owners that
would be impacted by the closing, and all standard notification procedures of the public hearing
had been followed.
Commissioner Hallman asked had the property owners agreed to the standard division of
property. Ms. Hauth responded yes, that it would be equally divided between the two.
7:33:19 PMUpon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the
Board moved to close the Public Hearing by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
Mayor Stevens noted that the Board would consider taking action on this issue later tonight
under Item 11.C.
6. APPOINTMENTS
A.Consider appointment to fill a vacancy on the Water/Sewer Advisory Board
7:34:21 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the
Board moved to appoint Frank Cohen to fill a vacancy on the Water/Sewer Advisory Board by a
vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 6 of 48
Added Item B. Consider appointment to fill a vacancy on the Tourism Board
7:34:56 PM Commissioner Gering stated that this appointment would fill the vacancy as the
Alliance for Historic Hillsborough representative. He said the Tourism Board had met earlier
today and considered an application from Jerry Workman to fill that vacancy, and the Tourism
Board had voted unanimously to recommend that Mr. Workman be appointed.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the Board moved
to appoint Jerry Workman to the Tourism Board as the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough
representative by a vote of 5-0.The motion was declared passed.
7. COMMITTEE REPORTS
(Critical)
7:36:01 PMNo reports were offered.
8. REPORT FROM THE TOWN MANAGER
7:36:21 PM Mr. Peterson stated the Town was now the owner of a new facility that would
house the Assistant Manager, the Town Clerk and other staff and hoped to be ready to move their
offices in the next few months. He said another Hillsborough University course was currently
ongoing, as well as a practical writing class being taught by Catherine Wright over the next two
months. Mr. Peterson said that an update had been prepared on the Energy Audit, with good
progress being made over the last two years as far as implementing items from that audit. He
said the savings they had realized on their electricity bill at the Water Plant had been remarkable,
as well as some good work done at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mr. Peterson said they had
been so efficient in checking items off that list that they had not found anything to be eligible for
as far as federal stimulus money. He said the good news was that they were making good
progress.
Mr. Peterson said they had conducted a meeting with downtown merchants regarding parking,
and Planning staff was working on conducting surveys and analyses as well as interviews with
the various businesses and governmental entities to try to determine if they had enough spaces or
needed more, if more signage was needed, and the like. He said that meeting had been well
attended, and it would take a couple of months to gather all the necessary data, develop findings,
and provide feedback. Mr. Peterson said they would then come back to the Board and determine
what the next steps would be to address parking issues.
Mr. Peterson said in regards to the Hotel/Motel tax concept, he had been in touch with
representatives of the League of Municipalities who provided a listing of cities who had adopted
a similar local bill. He said there had been about 20 over the past two years, and the language in
the bills were all exactly the same. Mr. Peterson said he would be working with the Town
Attorney to determine if that was the language they wanted and then bring a recommendation to
the Board. He said they would also engage local hotel/motel representatives in talks to
determine how to make that work, and they would do that in plenty of time for the next session
of the General Assembly.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 7 of 48
7:39:18 PM Commissioner Gering said the Tourism Board had discussed earlier this evening
changes it would like to have in local legislation to its bylaws, noting they had just revised the
bylaws but they were fairly tightly constrained in some areas and overly constrained by enabling
legislation. He said they had thought that it might be a good idea that if they were going to
progress both ideas that they be done at the same time.
Mr. Peterson said it may be that the Tourism Board would be the governing body to determine
how such funds were used, but that was one of the details that would need to be worked out.
Commissioner Gering said they definitely needed to talk about how such funds would be
administered.
7:40:00 PM Mayor Stevens said it seemed that that might be included as a Hot Topic for an
upcoming workshop.
Commissioner Gering agreed, noting that some strategizing was needed. He said there was some
level of concern about opening up such issues, and they needed to review any implications of
such a program.
Mr. Peterson said they would develop a brief of what was known as well as recommended
options and provide that to the Town Board and the Tourism Board.
9. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
A. Receive report on Water Audit for FY09
7:40:37 PM Mr. Keel provided a brief overview of the Water Audit which continued to show
good results, although it had gone up 1% over last year. He said that their percent water loss had
tended to be close to 20% if not over that, and last year they had made significant strides to bring
that down to 12% last year and 13% this year. Mr. Keel stated their goal was to reduce their
unaccounted-for water percentage to 10%.
Mr. Keel said the other measure they had taken was to input their numbers in the AWWA
(American Waterworks Association) infrastructure leakage index spreadsheet, which attempted
to be a standardized way of measuring unaccounted for water in the system. He said for their
type and size or system they should be in the target range of 1 to 3, and they were at 1.51 this
year which was right where they needed to be. Mr. Keel said they had made tremendous efforts
to get there and staff had really concentrated on identifying where the leakages were and end
their losses to the extent possible.
Mr. Keel said regarding the Engineering status report, they had received word a few weeks ago
that the Wastewater Treatment Plant would be awarded the 2009 NC Central Region Operation
and Maintenance Excellence award by the NC American Waterworks Association, which
translated into the Wastewater Treatment Plant of the year. He said the State was broken down
into three regions, so three such awards were given by the State each year. Mr. Keel said that
award would be presented at the annual conference in Raleigh on November 17. He said after
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 8 of 48
that official presentation was made the plan was that representatives would attend an upcoming
Board meeting to make an official presentation to the Town.
Mr. Keel said their trihalomethane numbers had been moving in the right direction over the past
three quarters. He said last year they were right at the annual average limit at 79½ parts per
billion with the limit being 80 parts per billion. Mr. Keel said each quarter since then their
efforts had shown significant results, noting that they had dropped at least 5 percentage points on
their annual average each quarter to the point that they were now at 62 parts per billion. He said
that was phenomenal results, and noted that many systems throughout the State were close to or
out of compliance and possibly receiving fines. Mr. Keel said much of that progress was due to
the hard work of the staff at the Water Plant through brainstorming and talking with staff at other
plants, then implementing ideas on how to change chemicals and where the chemicals were
injected. He said they had been supported greatly by the maintenance crew who had gotten an
award tonight for implementing many of those ideas.
Mr. Keel said that the Wastewater Quality Annual Report was available on the Town’s Website
was well as in hard copy form at Town offices. He said the report provided a review of the
wastewater system and progress that had been made.
Mr. Keel displayed a section of log that had been discovered during work at the Courthouse, and
asked Will Baker to explain its significance.
7:47:06 PM Will Baker stated that the log Mr. Keel had displayed was one of the very first
water mains in Town. He said the crew was conducting excavation at the Courthouse on
Margaret Lane and had found a void. Mr. Baker said the next thing they knew that section had
been exposed. He explained that it appeared to be a repair section where repairs were made by
taking logs and burning out a hole, and water was transported through it. Mr. Baker said crews
had found similar sections in Graham, and when you found perfect holes in the middle of logs
you knew you were looking at a piece of history. He said that section was a piece of
Hillsborough’s history, and from looking at it you could see what a long way they had come.
B. Update on Community Policing Opportunity
7:48:32 PM Chief Birkhead provided an update on progress made on the Community Policing
front. He said one of their goals was to have more officers living within the Town, and he and
the Manager had brainstormed ways to make that happen. Chief Birkhead said they had actually
had one community watch group disband due to lack of leadership in the neighborhood, and one
way to prevent that was to have officers who could step in and lead the community watch
meetings, or have an officer who actually lived in the community. He said he hoped that in the
near future they would have officers residing in communities to support community watch
groups and perhaps have take home vehicles.Chief Birkhead said having officers living in
communities would expand their outreach and would connect them more closely to those
communities. He said they were working to identify an apartment to provide housing for an
officer, and from his viewpoint he would like to be able to provide a vehicle and some flexibility
in scheduling for that officer.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 9 of 48
7:50:44 PM Mr. Peterson said at the end of October when the scorecard was discussed, he
hoped to have some ideas or options in a general concept to put before the Board. He said one
apartment complex representative had approached the Chief about providing an apartment for an
officer, and he and the Chief had discussed the advantages of that officer having a take home
vehicle that would be parked in the complex and that announced the presence of law
enforcement. Mr. Peterson said if an apartment was offered, they would like to seize that
opportunity. He said because cars were in great demand for patrol, they would need to purchase
an additional Police vehicle for that officer. Mr. Peterson said if there were no objections from
the Board and if an apartment was made available, he would work to identify funds to purchase a
new or almost-new vehicle in order to take advantage of that opportunity. He said he would then
come back to the Board with a budget amendment, noting he believed it would be adding an
asset to the Department.
7:52:10 PM Mayor Stevens said one of the top, key objectives on the scorecard was safe
neighborhoods, and it appeared that this would serve as a pilot project in a neighborhood that
could really use some Police presence. He said they were not just talking about a benefit for an
officer, but a program that would engage the community. Mr. Peterson agreed, noting there were
benefits to the officer but more important were the benefits to the community. He said it would
be an experiment, and if it did not work then they would change course and try something else.
Mayor Stevens said he had heard no objections from the Board, so encouraged the Manager and
the Chief to move forward.
Commissioner Lloyd said in regards to the log that had been excavated at the Courthouse, was
that an original part of the water main. Mr. Keel said he was not sure, but believed it dated back
to the late 1800’s. He said it was certainly a part of one of the firsts if not a part of the first water
main system.
Commissioner Lloyd said she would not want it to disappear since it was a part of the Town’s
history.
7:54:26 PM Mayor Stevens said they would make sure it was preserved.
10. ITEMS FOR DECISION – CONSENT AGENDA
A.Consider Approval of the Minutes of the June 22, 2009 Monthly Workshop; the June 22,
2009 Monthly Workshop Closed Session; the July 13, 2009 Regular Town Board
Meeting; the July 13, 2009 Regular Town Board Meeting Closed Session; the July 16,
2009 Public Hearing; the July 27, 2009 Monthly Workshop; and the August 20, 2009
Special Meeting Closed Session
B.Consider adoption of 2007 Local Water Supply Plan
C.Consider Award contract for I-85 Water Line Project to Shiloh Utilities
D.Consider approval of piggybacking on City of Lexington’s contract with Carolina
Environmental Systems Inc., to replace rear loading garbage truck
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 10 of 48
E.Consider Approval of an Ordinance to amend Chapter 4 – Personnel, Section 4-58
Workers Compensation Benefit amended to state that the Town will endeavor to provide
light duty or restricted duty assignments in an effort to facilitate early return to work
F.Consider Approval of an Ordinance to amend Chapter 4 – Personnel, Section 4-54
Insurance amended to state that the Town will endeavor to make dependent coverages
available at the Employee’s expense
G.Consider Approval of consistency statement and ordinance to amend Section 8 of the
Zoning Ordinance to clarify the ordinance applicability to off-premises signs and clarify
when there is a change in message to a sign
H.Consider Approval of consistency statement and ordinance to amend Section 21 of the
Zoning Ordinanceto establish a 12 month period of validity for an approved Certificate
of Appropriateness
I.Consider Approval of an order to record documentation of the de-annexation of the
previous alignment for Cates Creek Parkway
J.Denial of an Ordinance establishing a development moratorium for a period of 18 months
K.Consider Adoption of an Ordinance amending Section 3-50 of the Hillsborough Town
Code to designate town parks as tobacco free zones beginning January 2, 2010
Item K removed for separate consideration.
7:54:51 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the
Board moved to approve the Consent Agenda, amended to remove Item K for separate
consideration, by a vote of 5-0.The motion was declared passed.
11. ITEMS FOR DECISION – REGULAR AGENDA
A.Consideration of an ordinance to rezone .83 acres on the west side of Nash Street at
Latimer Street from R-15 and MHP to R-10, thereby changing the minimum lot size
to 10,000 and removing the mobile home park designation (TMBL 4.28.B.9)
7:55:10 PM Ms. Hauth said that this item was discussed at the July 16 public hearing, and the
Planning Board had recommended approval of the rezoning request at its August meeting. She
said an ordinance was provided in the packet for the Board’s consideration.
Town Attorney Bob Hornik noted that this was a two-step process, in that a Statement of
Consistency would need to be adopted prior to action on the ordinance.
7:55:52 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering seconded by Commissioner Hallman,
the Board moved to approve the G.S. 160A-383 Statement of Consistency by a vote of 5-0. The
motion was declared passed.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the Board moved to
adopt the ordinance to rezone .83 acres on the west side of Nash Street at Latimer Street from R-
15 and MHP to R-10, thereby changing the minimum lot size to 10,000 and removing the mobile
home park designation, by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 11 of 48
B.Consideration of an ordinance to rezone 12.24 acres on the north side of East
Corbin Street from R-20 to R-15, thereby changing the minimum lot size from
20,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet (TMBL 4.37.A.2, 3b, 9, 10)
7:56:44 PM Ms. Hauth said this item was discussed at the July 16 public hearing, and the
Planning Board had recommended approval of the rezoning at its August meeting. She noted
this was also a two-step process, in that a Statement of Consistency would need to be adopted
prior to action on the ordinance.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the Board moved
to adopt the G.S. 160A-383 Statement of Consistency.
Commissioner Gering commented that this was the second time this application had been
considered, and the details were very different this time around. He commended the applicant
for taking care to allay his and the Town Board’s fears about what would be developed on the
property. Commissioner Gering said it was a commendable application.
The vote was 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
7:58:24 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the
Board moved to approve the ordinance to rezone 12.24 acres on the north side of East Corbin
Street from R-20 to R-15, thereby changing the minimum lot size from 20,000 square feet to
15,000 square feet, by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
C.Consideration of an order closing the unopened right-of-way running northeast off
Lawndale Avenue between 125 and 152 Lawndale Avenue
7:59:08 PM Ms. Hauth said the Board had received this request at their July meeting and the
public hearing had been held earlier this evening.
Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Lloyd, the Board moved to
close the unopened right-of-way running northeast off Lawndale Avenue between 125 and 152
Lawndale Avenue by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
D.Consideration of a resolution to amend the Waterstone Master Plan to amend the
land use for pods 12, 13, and 22 of the Waterstone development from Retail and
Mixed Use to Medical Campus
8:00:08 PM Ms. Hauth said materials included a draft resolution approving the amendment, a
draft resolution denying the amendment, minutes from the August Planning Board meeting, as
well as a Questions & Issues document prepared by the Town Manager. She said that all of the
ten conditions recommended by the Planning Board were attached at the end of the resolution to
approve the amendment, labeled as Appendix A beginning on the bottom of the second page of
the resolution.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 12 of 48
8:01:27 PM Commissioner Dancy remarked that the resolution to deny contained an error in
the “Now, Therefore, Be It Resolved” paragraph. Ms. Hauth stated she had been made aware of
that and apologized for the error.
Commissioner Lloyd said she had a concern about interconnectivity, noting the materials
indicated that would be addressed at the Special Use Permit stage, including access to the
triangular lot adjacent to I-40. Ms. Hauth said that was simply carrying forward a condition that
already rested with those parcels.
Commissioner Gering said on the last page of the resolution, Condition #2 said in part “…that
adequate fire protection can be provided to the requested height at no net cost to the Town…”
He asked for an explanation of what that meant. Mr. Hornik said that referred to the possibility
that fire equipment may need to be purchased in order to provide proper fire protection to the
buildings, and that the Town should not incur any cost to accomplish that.
Commissioner Gering wondered what that was above and beyond exactly, and wondered if that
was something he needed to be concerned about. Ms. Hauth said she believed that both sides
needed to understand what that meant and agree to it, and if it needed further clarification then
that should be done prior to adoption.
Commissioner Gering said they had a current plan for fire protection for Waterstone that was
addressed by the current Master Plan. Mr. Peterson said that Waterstone was making a $600,000
contribution to the Town for capital equipment. Commissioner Gering said if “no net increase”
meant nothing above what was already planned to be expended for fire protection with the
current zoning, then that may be clearer. Mr. Peterson said if the Board voted to amend the
Master Plan then between now and when the SUP was brought before the Boards, then especially
in the areas of police and fire protection they would need to work out whatever arrangement that
was needed to provide that protection. He said the SUP would need to carry a condition that
everyone understood that the Town would need to figure out the general costs of providing those
services so that citizens did not subsidize the project in the short term. Mr. Peterson said staff
was already working on surveying similar sized hospitals in the State, figuring out the demand of
fire calls and related information, and that Chief Birkhead and his staff was doing similar
research. He said that Chief Birkhead had similar concerns regarding the security levels at the
hospital, and at this point they did not know if those were adequate or inadequate, but they
needed time to research that and partner with the hospital. Mr. Peterson said they would need to
sit down with the hospital between now and the SUP process to determine what would work for
all concerned, noting they needed to identify what the potential cost exposures were as well as
some solutions.
8:07:33 PM Commissioner Gering said it appeared then that the current resolution may not be
precise enough to require that they work out a methodology to assign a cost that could be
negotiated as to how it was borne by the hospital so that there was no net cost to the Town for
fire and police protection. Mr. Hornik said they could rephrase that language to provide some
clarification.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 13 of 48
Ms. Hauth agreed, noting that at this point they had no basis as to how to calculate the net cost.
She suggested the language previously quoted could be deleted except for the phrase “at no net
cost to the Town.” She said then an additional sentence could be included that said “The
improvements and the cost-sharing of necessary improvements would be mutually agreed upon
jointly during the Special Use Permit process.”
Mr. Hornik suggested that the sentence read “The details of any cost-sharing arrangement shall
be a condition of any Special Use Permit.”
8:09:43 PM Mayor Stevens explained that what they were saying was that there was a
condition that they have mutual agreement on cost-sharing for necessary improvements. Mr.
Hornik said the concept of the Planning Board was that what was proposed was a 6-story or 90
foot tall building, and the Town was unsure that the existing fire equipment could provide fire
protection to a structure of that height. He said the Planning Board’s concept was that if the
Town had to retrofit or purchase new equipment in order to safely serve a 90-foot tall building,
then there were two options to consider. Mr. Hornik said the first was someone had to pay for it,
and the second was not to allow a building of that height. He said the maximum height now
allowed was 60 feet in that district.
Commissioner Gering said there were other major differences between the current use as big box
retail versus a hospital.
Mayor Stevens said the other side of that was the ability to evacuate, and that was being
researched. He said they were trying to figure out how to make this work and to make sure that
citizens did not subsidize the added protection that may be needed for a building of that size.
Mr. Hornik said one of the findings the Town Board must make before granting the Special Use
Permit was that the public health, safety, and welfare were adequately addressed. He said during
the hearings for the Special Use Permit, there would have to be sufficient evidence of that in
order for it to be granted. Mr. Hornik said if not, then it would have to be a condition of
approval. He said the best way to address that would be during that SUP process, so that it
would be a condition that everyone was comfortable with and that had been properly researched.
8:12:03 PM Commissioner Gering asked Mr. Hornik to repeat the suggested change to
Condition #2. Mr. Hornik said his suggestion was to eliminate the phrase “at no net cost to the
Town of Hillsborough”, with a proviso added that said “provided that there was competent
evidence in the record of the Special Use Permit proceedings to be conducted. Before any
construction is to be allowed on the parcels, that adequate fire protection can be provided to the
requested height, it being the Town Board’s contention that the maximum height of any
buildings on the property should not exceed the ability of fire protection equipment available to
serve the facility. Details of a cost-sharing arrangement shall be a condition of any Special Use
Permit approval.”
8:12:42 PM Mayor Stevens said that would be where they would want to say that there was no
additional net cost to the Town as opposed to a mutual agreement.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 14 of 48
Commissioner Hallman agreed, noting they did not want to box themselves in with cost sharing.
Mr. Hornik said cost sharing could be anywhere from 0 to whatever. Mayor Stevens said the
intent was that if there were additional costs, they would be borne by the applicant. He said they
did not want to have citizens subsidizing that additional protection needed because it was a
different kind of use than had been approved originally.
Mr. Peterson asked would it be helpful to define it with a timeline, such as no net cost to the
Town for “x” number of years, perhaps four or five. Ms. Hauth said they had not established a
base cost yet, so they could not estimate what a period of time might be or what the net might be.
Mr. Hornik said he was not positive they needed that level of detail in that particular condition,
noting it was obvious that the applicant would have to satisfy everyone that the hospital would be
safe. He said some may say that it was not satisfying the requirement that the hospital did not
affect the general welfare of the community if the community had to subsidize the hospital, with
the welfare being the revenue portion.
8:14:54 PM Commissioner Gering said then would that wording with a slight adjustment also
cover police protection and traffic. Ms. Hauth said it might lend itself better to another condition
since #2 was specific to the building height.
Mr. Hornik said yes, or they could say that there had to be competent evidence in the record of
the Special Use Permit proceedings to be conducted before any construction was allowed on the
parcels that adequate public safety and transportation services can be provided to the facility”
rather than saying “adequate fire protection can be provided.”
RECESS
The Board agreed by consensus to take a brief recess in order to allow the Town Clerk to address
an issue related to the audio recording of the meeting. The meeting was then resumed by a
consensus of the Board.
The Board briefly discussed with Mr. Hornik rewording of Condition #2 to encompass all of the
concerns expressed by the Board.
8:37:25 PM Mayor Stevens said he believed there were actually three different conditions
which he thought stated that those issues would be worked out during the Special Use Permit
process, so that they would have a common understanding about where they were going with that
and that covered everyone’s interests.
Mr. Hornik said after all the discussion, he believed what had been tentatively agreed upon was
that Condition #2 would be revised as follows:“The maximum building height on parcels 12,
13, and 22 shall not exceed 6 stories or 90 feet above grade as defined in the Town of
Hillsborough Zoning Ordinance, whichever is less.”
Mr. Hornik said then directly under that would be a Condition #2a which would read “There
shall be a mutual agreement on a plan for the provision of public safety at the facility.” He said
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 15 of 48
that Condition #2b would read “There shall be a mutual agreement on a contribution or capital
and equipment necessary for the provision of fire and public safety services at the facility.” Mr.
Hornik said that Condition #2c would read “There shall be mutual agreement on tax or interim(?)
payments on pods 12 and 13 should those pods become office or commercial uses.”
8:38:45 PM Mayor Stevens said he believed that addressed the issues which would be worked
out in detail during the Special Use Permit process. He said they certainly wanted to see the
hospital on the ground at no additional cost to current taxpayers, and to work around the fact that
the proposed use was not a tax-generating use. Mayor Stevens said the first item talked about
having a plan for public safety, so there was a cost in that plan for police officers. He said some
may be provided by the hospital and some by the Town, so they certainly needed to have an
agreement on the cost of that. He said the second issue was that there was an expectation that
there would be some capital or equipment contribution because they anticipated there would be
some additional cost associated with protection for a 90-foot tall building, and they would need
to figure out what that cost might be. Mayor Stevens said the third issue was that they saw a
possibility that if pods 12 or 13 became commercial or office, that the pods remained in the tax
base. Or, he said, there could be some in-lieu payments worked out if those pods were put to
those kinds of uses.
,
8:40:38 PM Raymond R. LafrenayeVice President of Facilities Planning and Development at
University North Carolina Hospitals, said the three issues were understood, noting they had
believed all of the details would be worked out during the Special Use Permit process.
Mayor Stevens said basically that was exactly what they were saying, in that they all had to come
to agreement on that. Mr. Lafrenaye said they had not even started design yet, so they did not
yet know if the building would indeed by 90 feet tall. Mayor Stevens agreed they did not know
that level of detail, but that those were issues that needed to be satisfied. Mr. Lafrenaye agreed.
Mr. Hornik said the point of those conditions was to make sure they were memorialized in the
conditions of approval of the Master Plan, that those were items that the Town expected to be on
the table and ironed out as part of the Special Use Permit process. He said the Town did not
want any of that to be a surprise to anyone when they reached that point.
Commissioner Lloyd suggested that they keep in mind that equipment other than a fire truck may
be necessary, since firefighters had to be outfitted with personal safety equipment as well. Mr.
Hornik stated the language said “capital and equipment” so he believed that was aspect was
covered.
8:43:43 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Hallman, seconded by Commissioner Lowen,
the Board moved to approve the resolution to amend the Waterstone Master Plan to amend the
land use for pods 12, 13, and 22 of the Waterstone development from Retail and Mixed Use to
Medical campus, with the conditions amended as stated by the Town Attorney, by a vote of 5-0.
The motion was declared passed.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 16 of 48
E.Discuss proposal to annex two parcels on Valley Forge Road currently owned by
Orange County
8:44:41 PM Commissioner Gering said that the packet included an email he had sent to Town
staff with additional detail that they researched regarding the two parcels. He said when the
Town Board had met previously with the County Board the same issue had been brought up, in
that the two parcels were in the ETJ but not within the Town limits and zoned General Industrial.
Commissioner Gering said since the parcels were County-owned they were tax exempt, but at
some point in the future it was reasonable to expect that the County may divest those properties
to someone who would make some use of it that General Industrial zoning would allow. He said
at that point the Town would want those parcels to be in the Town limits and paying taxes, but it
may be problematic since it might be an involuntary annexation which was difficult if not
impossible to achieve. Commissioner Gering said because it would cause no damage to the
County to request annexation and for the Town to annex the parcels, he was suggesting that they
move forward with annexation now.
Commissioner Gering said he believed from their previous meeting with the County Board that
they would be amenable to doing that, but just to make sure he was asking the Town Board to
send a letter to the County Commissioners outlining the Town Board’s desire and requesting that
they being the process by seeking voluntary annexation.
Mayor Stevens agreed that it was a good idea, and believed the County would be amenable to
doing that.
8:46:41 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the
Board moved to send a letter to the Orange County Board of Commissioners requesting that they
initiate the voluntary annexation of two County-owned parcels on Valley Forge Road by a vote
of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
F.Discussion and Request for Staff Guidance regarding Special Events and Parks
Usage
8:47:23 PM Chief Birkhead stated that with the opening of Gold Park, it was receiving a lot of
use and along with that use was management. He said that he and Ms. Hauth had discussed
sharing responsibility of facilitation of events, not only in Gold Park but in all parks to make
them safe and not disruptive to the Town. Chief Birkhead said that was not always the case, and
the number of events was increasing. He said they were attracting many groups such as cycle
clubs, parades, car shows, motorcycle rallies, birthday parties, and family reunions. Chief
Birkhead said that they wanted to be able to manage those events, and the question was how the
Town would be reimbursed for its services. He said that for large events, it took many hours of
planning for his staff and sometimes Planning staff, and then staffing of the event was sometimes
a direct cost to the organizers, but sometimes not. Chief Birkhead said they were not suggesting
that they stop the events from occurring, but were trying to get a handle on how to manage them
and not incur too much cost.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 17 of 48
8:50:03 PM Ms. Hauth said what they were asking from the Board was some time on a
Workshop agenda to provide guidance to staff on some of the questions that had been
highlighted in the staff report, such as what constituted an event, and at what point did an event
close a park and who had the authority to allow that impact. She said they wanted to schedule
some time sooner rather than later to talk through the issues, noting there was a gap in the Town
Code as to how such events should be handled, and how and who would pay for incurred costs.
8:51:37 PM Commissioner Lowen said it appeared they were not to discuss it tonight, but to
discuss it at a future date. Ms. Hauth said because of the length of tonight’s agenda, the thought
was to schedule it for a future Workshop where more time was permitted for that discussion.
Commissioner Lowen suggested that when the issue came back to the Board, that she and Chief
Birkhead provide some ideas or options on how to effectively charge for group events and how
the costs would be calculated. Ms. Hauth said the event planned for this Saturday at Gold Park
would be a good opportunity for anyone interested to visit the park to see what such an event
looked like, as well as to look at the event as if you had come to the park just to enjoy it and how
the event affected your enjoyment of it. She said at times, large events using the shelters and the
playground made it feel as if the park was closed to the public.
Commissioner Dancy said since there were no items on the Workshop agenda for September 28,
perhaps this could be discussed at length at that time. Ms. Hauth said they already had some
ideas in regards to options, so those could be brought forward at that time.
8:54:04 PM Chief Birkhead said one of the difficulties was that requests for use of facilities
came in on a daily basis, noting there were three that had come in since last Thursday. He said
one of the things they struggled with was where to draw the line, what was too much, and at
what point did they begin to say no to requests. Chief Birkhead said every request for an event
set a process in motion that took hours of planning.
Commissioner Gering said he hoped that they were collecting data so that when they got down to
quantifying what the costs were to the Town to allow those events that there would be a rational
basis for the costs. Chief Birkhead said the second page of the staff report contained data of
events collected so far this year that they could actually calculate. Commissioner Gering said
responding to the other questions, such as what constituted an event, would be important to
clearly define so that events were administered fairly. He said one thing in the staff report that
concerned him was that there were people who either were requested or had agreed to reimburse
the Town, but did not. Commissioner Gering said that certainly needed to be addressed, policy-
wise, so that it did not happen.
8:56:27 PM Chief Birkhead said they had an outstanding debt in excess of $7,000 for a
previous large event that they had so far been unable to collect. He said each event carried costs,
and it took many man hours to ensure that such events were safe.
Mr. Peterson said there were two issues here. He said the new park was bringing with it a new
set of challenges, and then major events such as Hog Day and parades resulted in event
organizers requesting that they not have to pay because they were community events. Mr.
Peterson said that was where the concept of the occupancy tax came in, that it was the informal
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 18 of 48
opinion that the Town would pay the costs until the occupancy tax on larger events was put in
place. He said those two things were running parallel, and believed it was good to have a
discussion on both in order to compliment how they might use the occupancy tax to address
them. Mr. Peterson said he did not believe they would be able to quickly adopt something and
begin charging for major events until they addressed the occupancy tax issue.
8:58:14 PM Mayor Stevens said getting a handle on the issue was important while still
encouraging such events, but they also did not want it to spin out of control where events would
conflict with others using the same park or area.
Commissioner Lloyd said she was concerned that the Chief had to use up his overtime budget to
supply officers to events. She asked had the Speedway event organizers offered to pay anything
at all. Chief Birkhead responded no. Commissioner Lloyd said something that expensive should
carry a cost and event organizers should understand that those costs would have to be paid. She
said the Speedway was the most expensive event with attendees coming from many areas, and
costs incurred should be reimbursed. Commissioner Lloyd said it would take time to put an
occupancy tax in place, and in the meantime costs incurred by such events should be reimbursed
to the Town. She said there may be events that the Town might want to exclude from paying
costs, such as Hog Day, but that could be determined later.
9:00:22 PM Mayor Stevens said part of the issue was making judgments of who would pay
and who would not, and that would have to be discussed at length. He said the Board would
have to look carefully at any exclusion because that would have to be justified to those who were
not excluded.
Commissioner Dancy reiterated that they could discuss all of those issues at the Workshop, and
the Board could formulate ideas based on their own experiences and information. She suggested
that they all write down their ideas so that they could be discussed at the Workshop. Ms. Hauth
said staff would bring forward some options to get through the interim period, as well as options
of what it would look like if the Town got the occupancy tax so that people could see that it was
an interim measure as well as what it would likely be if that funding stream became a reality.
9:01:38 PM Commissioner Hallman said for future discussion, on Churton Street people
occasionally would set up a vegetable stand or flea market without contacting the Town. Ms.
Hauth said that would be covered in the rewrite of the Zoning Ordinance, and there would be a
discussion at some point of how that should be handled.
Mayor Stevens said there may be ways to mitigate expenses, and asked Commissioner Gering, as
the Board’s liaison to the Tourism Board, to talk to that Board to see if they had any input or
ideas that could be brought forward at the Workshop. He said this was a complex situation and
there were several ways it could be addressed, and they may have several iterations before they
identified solutions.
9:02:51 PM Commissioner Lowen said having some good discussion now would be the right
time, because other than the holiday parade and the Candlelight Tour, events would likely be
fewer during the colder months. He said that would allow them to put some policies in place
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 19 of 48
before events picked up, and at the same time they would be moving forward with requesting
legislation to allow the Town to charge an occupancy tax.
Mayor Stevens said it appeared the Board was in agreement to place this issue on the Workshop
agenda for September 28 for more detailed discussed.
G.Discussion of Water/Sewer Leak Adjustment Recommendation
9:04:00 PM Finance Director Greg Siler said for some time, the Town for the most part had
absorbed all loss associated with water leaks. He said after much discussion with staff, it was
their recommendation that the water customer share in that loss. Mr. Siler said in order to be
more efficient and save the Town money, staff was recommending changing their practice to
give water leak adjustments once per calendar year rather than the customary two. He said that
most customers repaired leaks promptly and the second bill that was affected was typically
minimal.
Mayor Stevens asked did they run into situations where people were not prompt in doing repairs.
Mr. Siler said yes, and those customers ended up having to pay for that third, fourth, or fifth
additional month. He said it was not common but it did happen. Mayor Stevens said for the
record, they did have a plan to alert customers to the change in practice. Mr. Siler said if the
Town Board accepted the staff recommendation, they planned to place an article in the
newspaper and they would place a statement in the water/sewer bills. He said they had planned
to make the new practice effective on January 1, 2010, and at that point everyone would begin
the year with a clean slate. Mr. Siler said if the Board wanted to proceed, an agenda item would
be brought back with an ordinance to amend the Town Code to add the new policy.
Mr. Hornik said theoretically, a customer could have a leak adjustment in November and get
another one in February of 2010. Mr. Siler said that was correct, because they felt that was fairer
since they were cutting back on the number of adjustments each calendar year.
Commissioner Lowen said in addition to the notification methods Mr. Siler had mentioned, he
suggested they also post the information on Channel 18, the local government access channel, as
well as the Town’s Website. Mr. Siler agreed. He said tonight he was asking for the Board’s
approval of the recommendation, and if given he would place the issue on an upcoming agenda
for action.
The Board agreed by consensus to direct Mr. Siler to bring back his recommendation with an
ordinance to adjust the Town Code for action at an upcoming Board meeting.
H.Discuss proposed changes to the Student Generation Rates used in the Schools
Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and forward any comments to Orange County
Planning Staff
9:09:59 PM Ms. Hauth said that the Orange County Board of Commissioners had asked for
comments regarding some technical changes related to the Schools Adequate Facilities
Ordinance. She said the County had conducted further analysis to see how many students were
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 20 of 48
actually coming from different types of dwelling units and were recommending a number of
changes to that annually changing figure.Ms. Hauth said before taking action the County
Commissioners wanted to provide each jurisdiction with the opportunity to comment. She said
in the attached memo you could see that there were more students coming from all the different
housing types based on 2007 numbers than there were in the original 2001 numbers. Ms. Hauth
said unless there were significant comments from the member jurisdictions the County
Commissioners would likely adopt those new numbers. She said the result would be that the
numbers would be accurately reflecting the enrollment that they were seeing at the schools.
9:11:15 PM Mayor Stevens said it was empirically-based information, so it appeared to be
straightforward. There were no comments offered by the Board. Ms. Hauth stated she would
advise the County that the Town Board had no comments.
Item 10.K Removed from Consent: Consider Adoption of an Ordinance amending
Section 3-50 of the Hillsborough Town Code to designate Town parks as tobacco free
zones beginning January 2, 2010
9:12:33 PM Commissioner Gering stated that his problem with the proposed ordinance was
the same issue discussed previously, which was smokeless tobacco. He said he felt strongly that
any legislation that the Board adopted should be based on objectively evaluating what the
impacts were and the Board’s motivation. Commissioner Gering said in regards to no smoking
in parks and in the future on government-owned property, it was clear to him that the main
interest was public health which was primarily the secondary effects of cigarette smoke. He said
the other main interest was maintenance costs associated with cleaning up the litter left behind
by smokers.
Commissioner Gering said he had heard no one explain why smokeless tobacco really should be
covered under those two objectives, public health and maintenance. He said he did not think it
was appropriate for the Town Board to try to legislate personal behavior for things that did not
affect others or affect the Town’s operations. Commissioner Gering said if you wanted to make
the argument that smokeless tobacco was a matter of public health, then you may as well try to
legislate junk food. He said regulating the use of smokeless tobacco was abusing their power.
9:14:24 PM Mayor Stevens asked was Commissioner Gering advocating removing the
language regarding smokeless tobacco from the ordinance. Commissioner Gering said that was
correct. He said he believed the arguments regarding the effects of second-hand smoke,
particularly on children, were valid as well as the additional maintenance as a result of discarded
cigarettes.
Commissioner Lowen said he understood the point, in that if someone was sitting next to him at
a park smoking a cigarette or cigar that would affect him, but if they were chewing tobacco it
would not unless they spit it on the ground. He said even then it would not have a second-hand
health concern for him, so he understood Commissioner Gering’s concern. Commissioner
Lowen said at the present time they had no recourse if someone was smoking near them other
than to leave, and he was disappointed that they would have to wait until January 1 to enforce the
ordinance.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 21 of 48
9:16:25 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Gering, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the
Board moved to adopt the ordinanceamending Section 3-50 of the Hillsborough Town Code to
designate Town parks as tobacco free zones beginning January 2, 2010, amended to remove
language in the last sentence regarding the use of smokeless tobacco, by a vote of 5-0. The
motion was declared passed.
Added Item: Waste Transfer Station Site to be added to upcoming workshop for
discussion
9:17:00 PM Mayor Stevens stated that there had been some confusion as to whether the
discussion regarding the waste transfer station would be held during a future Workshop. He said
he and the Town Manager had indicated that the Board had the opportunity to go on record to
either recommend a site or to state what their preferences might be. Mayor Stevens said there
would certainly be fiscal impacts of a waste transfer station to the Town, and suggested placing
the issue on the agenda of the upcoming Workshop on September 28.
Commissioner Lloyd asked if that issue would be voted on soon. Mayor Stevens replied it was
scheduled for a vote on December 7. Commissioner Lloyd stated that Remus Smith, who
represented the Town on the waste transfer station committee, had said he believed the trucks
would be too heavy to travel on Orange Grove Road, so they would have to travel 16 miles to get
to the NC 54 site plus there would be costs for gas and time. Commissioner Lloyd said that Mr.
Smith had indicated the committee had supported the Millhouse Road site, with the City of
Durham site as third. She said since the transfer station would not be at the Town’s back door,
she wondered if they had the right to comment or lobby for one site or another.
Mayor Stevens said he believed part of the issue was whether and in what way might the Board
th
weigh in on the issue, and that would be discussed at the Workshop on the 28.
9:19:42 PM Commissioner Lowen said the staff report indicated that staff would provide
information at the meeting regarding distances, costs, and travel time between the various
options. Assistant Town Manager Nicole Ard said some information had been provided at the
Board members’ places tonight.
Mr. Peterson said what they did not yet have was the distances, so that would have to be
provided later.
Commissioner Gering said he had read in the newspaper that County Commissioner Nelson
wanted to get consensus from the County Commissioners about asking Hillsborough to consider
hauling its trash to Durham as a way to extend the life of the landfill. He said he did not believe
that motion had passed, but asked would the data provided at the Workshop allow the Town
Board to consider whether a proposal like that made any sense for them, or for what they might
ask the County to reimburse the Town for doing something like that. Mr. Peterson said they
could get some initial data, but did not know if it would answer those questions.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 22 of 48
9:21:04 PM Mayor Stevens said they may want to look at how to answer that question if it
were to come to the Board as a request.
Commissioner Gering said he did not want to have to create a lot of work to consider that, but
seeing as how they were all in the mix of trying to find solutions to the waste situation, an idea
had emerged that he believed they should give some consideration to. Mr. Peterson said ideally,
if they were able to provide at the Workshop a cost estimate or projection to haul Hillsborough’s
trash to Durham, then they could provide the County with that estimate and let them discuss it.
Commissioner Gering said or alternatively, if the County was willing to pay the Town to haul its
trash to Durham for a period of time until a waste transfer station was built.
Mayor Stevens said it could be that the cost would be less to haul their trash to Durham, in which
case they would not need permission to do that. He said they should look at every option. He
said they should not necessarily be trying to tell the County what to do, but they were involved
and should certainly have a voice and join the conversation because they were participants.
I.Discuss possible “Hot Topics” for the September 28, 2009 Workshop
9:22:51 PM Mayor Stevens said they now had two Hot Topics for the September 28
Workshop, the waste transfer station and the discussion regarding special events and parks
usage.
Ms. Hauth said she had one more that should be very short, which was that the Rail Station Task
Force needed some prioritization of the land use for the Collins tract, and the Board had looked
at those at its last meeting but they were not in any kind of priority order. She said she would
prepare them in priority order and asked that the Board look at them at the Workshop. Ms.
Hauth said that would help to keep that Task Force on track.
Commissioner Gering said when they had discussed that, he believed the idea was that Town
staff might have a better idea of the priorities for future requirements the Town would have on
that property. He said Town staff would be in a better position to determine if, for instance, a
police or fire station should be located there.
9:24:10 PM Commissioner Hallman agreed, noting he did not feel comfortable making those
kinds of determinations. Ms. Hauth said that she and the Town Manager had laid it out, and it
was basically based on the budget document and when they anticipated meeting different
priorities. She said if the Board was comfortable, staff could set those priorities and circulate the
list to the Board.
Mayor Stevens suggested circulating the completed list by email and then it could be discussed if
necessary at the Workshop.
Commissioner Hallman asked would it be of value to update the Board on the Cornelius Street
Small Area Plan. Ms. Hauth said she could provide an update at the Workshop.
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 23 of 48
The Board agreed by consensus to have an update on the Cornelius Small Area Plan added to the
Workshop agenda.
9:25:48 PM Mayor Stevens reminded the Board that they had an Assembly of Governments
meeting coming up, and the main topic was the library. He said he believed there was an effort
being made not to fill the agenda with a lot of different topics. Mayor Stevens said he was
interested in how they could a more cohesive library system, noting there were essentially two
systems in the County which was the Chapel Hill system and the County system. He wondered
if there were ways to move forward in terms of getting those systems funded.
Commissioner Gering said he believed that was a discussion that should take place between the
County and Chapel Hill.
Commissioner Hallman stated Carrboro was leading the meeting, and they had placed it on the
agenda unilaterally, from what he understood.
Commissioner Lowen asked when the Assembly of Governments meeting was. Mayor Stevens
responded it was on September 24.
J.Discuss possible “Hot Topics” for the October 26, 2008 Workshop
9:26:50 PM Mr. Peterson stated that for the October Workshop they would add a discussion
regarding the scorecard and the survey.
12.ADJOURN
Upon a motion by Commissioner Dancy, seconded by Commissioner Lowen, the Board moved
to adjourn the meeting at 9:27 p.m. by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna F. Armbrister, MMC
Town Clerk
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 24 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 25 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 26 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 27 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 28 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 29 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 30 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 31 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 32 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 33 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 34 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 35 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 36 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 37 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 38 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 39 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 40 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 41 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 42 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 43 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 44 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 45 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 46 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 47 of 48
September 14, 2009 Regular Meeting
Approved: November 9, 2009
Page 48 of 48