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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-22-21 Work SessionMinutes Board of Commissioners Remote work session 7 p.m. March 22, 2021 Virtual meeting via YouTube Live Town of Hillsborough YouTube channel Present: Mayor Jenn Weaver and commissioners Mark Bell, Robb English, Kathleen Ferguson, Matt Hughes, and Evelyn Lloyd Absent: None Staff: Interim Human Resources Director Haley Bizzell, Budget Director Emily Bradford, Economic Development Planner Shannan Campbell, Interim Finance Director Keri Carnes, Assistant to the Manager/Deputy Budget Director Jen Della Valle, Interim Town Clerk/Human Resources Technician Sarah Kimrey, Police Chief Duane Hampton, Assistant Town Manager/Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Town Attorney Bob Hornik, Town Manager Eric Peterson, Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz, Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood and Public Information Officer Catherine Wright 1.Opening of the work session Mayor Jenn Weaver called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Interim Town Clerk and Human Resources Technician Sarah Kimrey called the roll and confirmed the presence of a quorum. 2.Agenda changes and approval Motion: Commissioner Kathleen Ferguson moved to approve the agenda as presented. Commissioner Evelyn Lloyd seconded. Kimrey called the roll for voting. Vote: 4-0. Ayes: Commissioners Mark Bell, Robb English, Ferguson and Lloyd. Nays: None. Absent: Commissioner Matt Hughes. 3.Items for decision ― consent agenda A.Miscellaneous budget amendments and transfers B.Miscellaneous Tourism Development Authority budget amendments and transfers Motion: Bell moved to approve all items on the consent agenda. Ferguson seconded. Kimrey called the roll for voting. Vote: 4-0. Ayes: Bell, English, Ferguson and Lloyd. Nays: None. Absent: Hughes. 4.In-depth discussion and topics A.Discussion about size and preferred uses for future train station building in preparation for RFQ for design services March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 1 of 7 April 12, 2021 Public Space Manager Stephanie Trueblood reminded the board that the scope of this project was discussed last May when staff presented two possible scenarios for the building. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work was delayed until now for preparing a request for qualifications for design of the site and building. Hughes joined the meeting at 7:04 p.m. Trueblood reviewed that 7,000- and 10,000-square-foot options had been presented to the board, with the smaller option as the original concept for a future train station and the larger allowing the town to contribute to the state project for a larger building it could grow into. She said the pandemic has changed thinking on space needs and the town’s budget. She noted that last year the board wanted to have both options designed and then pick one. She said that is not ideal for managing time and resources and there is a limit on the amount of project funding that can be used for design. Designing both options would require the town to contribute to design costs and to provide the funding immediately. Trueblood said construction costs also are higher now, and the project estimates were based on costs five years ago. She said it would be wise to assume the project will be more expensive. The public space manager said staff believe the building should have a community meeting space and daily presence of users to ensure safety. She also noted the town’s climate action work and said sustainability measures add costs to achieve energy savings. Given the various factors, staff’s current recommendation is to seek design services for the smaller building, she said. She asked for direction from the board on the size and use of the building. She noted a portion of the building has to be set up for the train station, but the rest can be utilized by the town. Board discussion included provision of restrooms with exterior access for the housing insecure, use of sustainable building practices, uses of a potential public meeting space, and pedestrian access. It was noted that design of the train station platform is not part of the primary budget for this project since work within the rail corridor is considered separate and must be approved by the rail corridor’s owner. Trueblood said staff have secured $100,000 for a design and feasibility plan for a greenway that includes the Collins Ridge development. She said there is no easy way to get from the site to downtown Hillsborough, given difficult topography, the river and railroad. There was discussion about the size options and vertical building. Assistant Town Manager and Planning Director Margaret Hauth reminded the board that a third of the 7,000-square-foot building would be the actual train station. While the town is accepting maintenance of the station, the state is paying to build an extra 4,000 to 5,000 square feet that the town would not otherwise build due to higher priorities. She said the station likely would be single story because of added costs when adding a story. There was agreement to include the use of sustainable building practices in the request for qualifications for design services. There was discussion about building for the future. Trueblood noted there may be other funding sources in coming years and the town owns additional land around the planned station. She said future sites can be infilled with the types of building the town wants, such as flex office space and cultural and arts institutions. There was discussion about any potential environmental concerns in building one story vs. multiple stories and the cost of building a carbon-neutral building. Trueblood said it would be better to build vertically for much bigger buildings due to the amount of impervious surface. She said prior to the pandemic, a net-zero building could add about 10% in costs with a good architect. March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 2 of 7 April 12, 2021 Motion: Ferguson moved to prepare a request for qualifications for the design of a net-zero building. Hughes seconded. Kimrey called the roll for voting. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: Bell, English, Ferguson, Hughes and Lloyd. Nays: None. The mayor asked for confirmation that the board wants the smaller building option. Ferguson asked to hear the town manager’s thoughts. Town Manager Eric Peterson noted that building projects generally do not come in under budget and that building a net-zero building will increase the cost. He said if the board wants the larger building, it should delay the vote and determine what can be removed from the budget. He reiterated that town land could be reserved for a particular use. He also noted that if extra space is built into the train station, it likely would need to be retrofitted later for actual use. English noted he would like to see the station’s outside space designed for public space use. Motion: Ferguson moved to prepare a request for qualifications for the design of a 7,000-square-foot building. Bell seconded. Kimrey called the roll for voting. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: Bell, English, Ferguson, Hughes and Lloyd. Nays: None. B. Budget “Mini” Retreat 1. Update on Utilities Projects Utilities Director Marie Strandwitz provided a detailed update of the town’s water and wastewater systems and preliminary findings of three consultant evaluations performed in the past year. Among updates, she said consumption averages for 2020 show the town remains below its permitted capacity for treating 3 million gallons per day each of water and wastewater. Wastewater treatment also remains below 80% capacity, the point at which the state requires systems plan for an increase. The preliminary consultant findings show an estimated $25 million in projected sewer system needs: Sewer collection system modeling ― Using projected growth through 2040 (including potential projects based on available land), the modeling shows a need for $18.5 million in improvements to handle peak capacity in dry weather. Of that, $17.5 million would be needed earlier to meet 2025 demand. Strandwitz said focus should be placed on improving pump stations and major interceptors in two zones, one of which is where growth is expected. She said the scenario used is for dry weather and does not account for inflow and infiltration. River Pumping Station ― The recommendation is to discontinue this pump station’s use and build a more efficient station outside the Eno River floodplain. The preliminary estimate is $7 million. Among issues, the station built in the early 1970s needs replacement pumps; replacement pumps would not fit; major improvements would require improvements to meet current electrical and structural codes; and the site presents safety hazards for employees. The consultant also recommends increasing the station’s capacity from 5.8 million gallons per day to 6.8 to handle 2040 growth projections and peak flow. Rainfall can greatly increase the flow. March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 3 of 7 April 12, 2021 Water system redundancy ― The top recommendations for additional valves or pipe connections to minimize service disruptions and to provide redundancy in an emergency would cost about $400,000. The evaluation also looked at the town’s water storage capacity and determined when service disruption would occur if the Water Treatment Plant failed. Strandwitz said she does not have estimated costs yet for improvements related to storage capacity and plant outages. She said standpipe tanks contain a larger ineffective volume of water than pedestal tanks. She would like to replace the standpipe tank on Hassell Street, which is the town’s smallest tank and likely built in the 1950s. Strandwitz noted the costs are high level estimates that include contingency funds and she is still analyzing the data. Some improvements could reduce other needs and costs. She noted additional recommended water system projects, including adding revised development data to the town’s water distribution modeling system and performing modeling similar to the sewer collection system modeling. That evaluation by a consultant likely would cost about $60,000 to $80,000. There was some discussion among staff and the board about potential sites for a new pump station and funding options for the recommended projects. The town manager said staff would return to the board in May with an initial proposal for how to approach the utility needs. 2. Departmental Services Discussion Town Manager Eric Peterson said this discussion was brought forth because of work to develop a strategic plan, which narrows focus. He said it is important to be mindful of how much staff are doing and what they can take on. He said that more services likely could have been added to the six-page listing of departmental services included in the board’s agenda packet. Assistant to the Manager and Deputy Budget Director Jen Della Valle said the town’s strategic plan ultimately may contain fewer initiatives than what might be in plans for larger organizations, but staff want to be confident they can deliver what is proposed. The mayor and several commissioners expressed appreciation for the work accomplished by the town’s small staff of about 100. There was discussion that: • Staff should let the board know when they can’t take on more or provide a timeline for getting to a requested task. • The board should consider whether a requested service strays out of traditional municipal offerings. • Some community members are moving from parts of the country with different divisions of labor and may not know what services to expect from the various levels of government in North Carolina. 5. Other business None. 6. Committee updates and reports Board members gave updates on the committees and boards on which they serve. 7. Adjournment Motion: Ferguson moved to adjourn at 9:52 p.m. Lloyd seconded. Kimrey called the roll for voting. Vote: 5-0. Ayes: Bell, English, Ferguson, Hughes and Lloyd. Nays: None. Respectfully submitted, March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 4 of 7 April 12, 2021 Sarah Kimrey Interim Town Clerk Staff support to the Board of Commissioners March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 5 of 7 April 12, 2021 BUDGET CHANGES REPORT TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH FY 2020-2021 DATES: 03/22/2021 TO 03/22/2021 REFERENCE NUMBER DATE BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET ORIGINAL BUDGET AMENDEDCHANGE USER 10-00-3200-3100-000 OCCUPANCY TAX 03/22/2021 27,000.00 5,419.00Adj to actual 20581 32,419.00EBRADFORD 10-10-4200-5100-010 OVERTIME COMPENSATION 03/22/2021 1,000.00 439.00To cover OT overage 20582 1,439.00EBRADFORD 10-10-4200-5100-020 SALARIES 03/22/2021 753,180.00 -439.00To cover OT overage 20583 748,410.00EBRADFORD 10-10-4400-5100-010 OVERTIME COMPENSATION 03/22/2021 700.00 229.00To cover OT overage 20584 929.00EBRADFORD 10-10-4400-5100-020 SALARIES 03/22/2021 329,568.00 -229.00To cover OT overage 20585 329,339.00EBRADFORD 10-20-5100-5300-320 SUPPLIES - OFFICE 03/22/2021 5,000.00 -1,000.00To cover in-car camera repairs 20574 4,000.00EBRADFORD 10-20-5100-5300-330 SUPPLIES - DEPARTMENTAL 03/22/2021 500.00 -250.00To cover new hire training bonus 20578 250.00EBRADFORD 10-20-5110-5100-030 BONUS PAY 03/22/2021 2,100.00 250.00To cover new hire training bonus 20579 6,836.00EBRADFORD 10-20-5110-5300-080 TRAINING/CONF./CONV. 03/22/2021 4,000.00 -600.00To cover in-car camera repairs 20575 100.00EBRADFORD 10-20-5110-5300-158 MAINTENANCE - EQUIPMENT 03/22/2021 2,000.00 2,400.00To cover in-car camera repairs 20577 3,900.00EBRADFORD 10-20-5120-5300-080 TRAINING/CONF./CONV. 03/22/2021 3,450.00 -800.00To cover in-car camera repairs 20576 2,650.00EBRADFORD 10-50-6250-5300-002 PAYMENTS - TDA 03/22/2021 27,000.00 5,419.00To cover higher than anticpated revenues 20580 32,419.00EBRADFORD 30-80-8220-5300-458 DATA PROCESSING SERVICES 03/22/2021 588.00 9.00To cover gate database overage 20564 704.00JDELLAVALLE 30-80-8220-5300-570 MISCELLANEOUS 03/22/2021 4,610.00 -9.00To cover gate database overage 20563 4,594.00JDELLAVALLE 71-00-3300-3301-000 EARNED REV-AFFORDABLE HOUSING 03/22/2021 91,000.00 -91,000.00To reverse budget amount 20565 0.00EBRADFORD 71-10-4900-5300-364 AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXPENDITURES 03/22/2021 91,000.00 -91,000.00To reverse budget amount 20566 0.00EBRADFORD 75-71-3870-3870-156 TRAN FR W/S US BUS 70 WTR PHASE I 03/22/2021 299,741.50 19,320.00To record Water SDFs 20586 580,525.50EBRADFORD 75-71-6900-5970-928 TRAN TO UTL CAP IMP-US 70 PHASE I 03/22/2021 299,741.50 19,320.00To record Water SDFs 20587 580,525.50EBRADFORD 76-71-3870-3870-155 TRAN FR W/S - COLLECT SYS REHAB 03/22/2021 1,008,106.50 10,810.00To record Sewer SDFs 20588 1,228,630.50EBRADFORD 76-71-6900-5970-927 TRAN TO UTIL CAP IMP FD - COLL SYS 03/22/2021 1,008,106.50 10,810.00To record Sewer SDFs 20589 1,228,630.50EBRADFORD -110,902.00 EBRADFORD 8:54:12AM03/17/2021 fl142r03 Page 1 of 1 GF- Revenue Admin. Admin. Accounting Accounting Police- Admin. Police- Admin. Police- Patrol Police- I&CS Police- I&CS Police- I&CS Economic Development WWTP WWTP GF- Cap Reserve Fund GF- Cap Reserve Fund Water SDFs Water SDFs Sewer SDFs Sewer SDFs APPROVED: 4/0 DATE: 3/22/21 VERIFIED: ___________________________________ March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 6 of 7 April 12, 2021 BUDGET CHANGES REPORT TOWN OF HILLSBOROUGH FY 2020-2021 DATES: 03/22/2021 TO 03/22/2021 REFERENCE NUMBER DATE BUDGET CHANGE BUDGET ORIGINAL BUDGET AMENDEDCHANGE USER 73-00-3200-3100-000 OCCUPANCY TAX 03/22/2021 27,000.00 28,000.00To account for higher than anticpated reve 20561 55,000.00EBRADFORD 73-51-6250-5300-040 AUDIT FEES 03/22/2021 5,000.00 3,090.00To cover early work on FY21 audit 20560 8,090.00EBRADFORD 73-51-6250-5300-998 3% HOLDBACK OCCUPANCY TAX 03/22/2021 810.00 1,565.00To cover 3% adj & Q4 FY20 pymt 20562 2,375.00EBRADFORD 32,655.00 EBRADFORD 4:21:15PM03/17/2021 fl142r03 Page 1 of 1 TDA TDA TDA APPROVED: 4/0 DATE: 3/22/21 VERIFIED: ___________________________________ March 22, 2021 Board of Commissioners Work Session Approved: ____________________ Page 7 of 7 April 12, 2021