AGENDA #10a

MEMORANDUM

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:       Resolution Affirming a Process for Resolving the Disposition of the Remaining 109 Acres of the Greene Tract

DATE:             August 27, 2001

Attached is a copy of correspondence received from Orange County Manager John Link and a resolution adopted by the Orange County Commissioners, requesting that the Council affirm a process for resolving the disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract (Attachment 1).

Adoption of the attached resolution, modeled after the resolution approved by the Orange County Board of Commissioners, would affirm a process for resolving the disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract.

The resolution adopted by the County Commissioners requests that two elected officials from each of the three entities, Orange County and the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, be appointed to a working group that will develop recommendations for the ultimate uses and disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract.  Agenda #11e provides a resolution that would appoint two members of the Council to this working group.  Orange County Commissioners Moses Carey and Margaret Brown have been designated as the County’s two representatives.  We understand from the Mayor that Council Members Kevin Foy and Bill Strom have volunteered to work with this group.

We recommend adoption of the attached resolution.

ATTACHMENTS

1.      Letter from John Link (p. 3).

2.      Resolution adopted by the County (p. 5).

A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING A PROCESS FOR RESOLVING THE DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINING 109 ACRES OF THE GREENE TRACT (2001-08-27/R-14)

WHEREAS, Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill acquired the 169 acre property known as the Greene Tract in 1984 as an asset of the joint solid waste management system; and

WHEREAS, title to 60 acres of this property was deeded exclusively to Orange County in 2000 under provisions of the 1999 interlocal “Agreement for Solid Waste Management”; and

WHEREAS, under the same interlocal agreement the County and Towns agreed to bargain in good faith during the two year period following the effective date of the agreement to determine the ultimate use or disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract; and

WHEREAS, the end date of the “bargaining period” as defined in the agreement is April 17, 2002, the second anniversary of the date upon which the County assumed overall responsibility for solid waste management in Orange County;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby affirms that it will consider the following general uses of the Greene Tract: open space, affordable housing, school sites, and other non-solid waste public purposes.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council does hereby affirm the following points as the process to be pursued jointly with Orange County and the Town of Carrboro to resolve the disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract:

·        All three governing boards adopt a formal resolution affirming the general proposed uses of the property they would be willing to consider.

·        Consideration of uses should be based on the cultural and biological resources assessment reports that were produced regarding this property.

·        Jointly appoint a working group comprised of two elected officials from each of the three entities.

·        Each Manager assigns specific staff to support the work group in planning different options, consistent with the general direction from the three governing boards.

·        Hold a public forum on the general uses affirmed by the three governing boards during the early part of the process.

·        Consider the use of consultants to assist in developing a realistic site analysis and preliminary land use plan.

·        Refer the options developed to each of the three jurisdictions’ Planning Boards for comment.

·        Try to develop options that provide as much specificity as possible (e.g. roadbeds, utility lines, drainage, building footprints, buffers, etc.).

·        Target completion of the work group recommendations during September-October 2001.

·        Target reaching agreement among all three governing boards on the disposition of the remaining 109 acres between October-December 2001.

This the 27th day of August, 2001.

ATTACHMENT 1

May 18, 2001

Mr. Robert W. Morgan, Town Manager

Town of Carrboro

301 West Main Street

Carrboro, NC 27510

Mr. W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

Town of Chapel Hill

306 North Columbia Street

Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Dear Bob and Cal:

There was brief discussion at the April 19 Assembly of Governments meeting about moving forward with a process whereby the governing boards of Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill would agree to the future disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract.  At their May 1 meeting, the County Commissioners approved the accompanying resolution affirming a process for deciding how to use the balance of the Greene Tract.  Commissioners Moses Carey and Margaret Brown were designated as the County’s two representatives to work with municipal representatives to propose an agreement for consideration by the full governing boards of all three entities.

In adopting that resolution, the Board of Commissioners asked that several related documents be transmitted to the municipal governing boards, along with the resolution itself.  These documents include:

·        a March 24, 2000 letter from the Chair to the Mayor regarding the Greene Tract, including 3 maps

·        the “Agreement to Amend the Agreement for Solid Waste Management”, Section 5 of which describes relevant points regarding the disposition of the Greene Tract

·        an excerpt from the Interlocal Agreement for Solid Waste Management that reflects the definition of “Reimbursement amount” in the event that the owners decide to do something with the Greene Tract other than use it for solid waste system purposes

·        copies of the Biological Resources and Cultural Resources Surveys that were prepared in 2000 by consultants as part of the process for determining which 60 acres of the Greene Tract would be reserved for solid waste system purposes

I would appreciate your conveying copies of the County Commissioners’ resolution and accompanying documents to your governing boards so they may consider the adoption of similar resolutions and the appointment of two elected officials to serve on the working group that will develop recommendations for the ultimate uses and disposition of the Greene Tract.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

John M. Link

County Manager

ATTACHMENT 2

Approved

ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING A PROCESS FOR RESOLVING THE DISPOSITION OF THE REMAINING 109 ACRES OF THE GREENE TRACT

WHEREAS, Orange County and the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill acquired the 169 acre property known as the Greene Tract in 1984 as an asset of the joint solid waste management system; and

WHEREAS, title to 60 acres of this property was deeded exclusively to Orange County in 2000 under provisions of the 1999 interlocal “Agreement for Solid Waste Management”; and

WHEREAS, under the same interlocal agreement the County and Towns agreed to bargain in good faith during the two year period following the effective date of the agreement to determine the ultimate use or disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract; and

WHEREAS, the end date of the “bargaining period” as defined in the agreement is April 17, 2002, the second anniversary of the date upon which the County assumed overall responsibility for solid waste management in Orange County;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby affirm that it will consider the following general uses of the Greene Tract: open space, affordable housing, school sites, and other non-solid waste public purposes; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby affirm the following points as the process to be pursued jointly with the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill to resolve the disposition of the remaining 109 acres of the Greene Tract:

·        All three governing boards adopt a formal resolution affirming the general proposed uses of the property they would be willing to consider

·        Consideration of uses should be based on the cultural and biological resources assessment reports that were produced regarding this property

·        Jointly appoint a working group comprised of two elected officials from each of the three entities

·        Each Manager assigns specific staff to support the work group in planning different options, consistent with the general direction from the three governing boards

·        Hold a public forum on the general uses affirmed by the three governing boards during the early part of the process

·        Consider the use of consultants to assist in developing a realistic site analysis and preliminary land use plan

·        Refer the options developed to each of the three jurisdictions’ Planning Boards for comment

·        Try to develop options that provide as much specificity as possible (e.g. roadbeds, utility lines, drainage, building footprints, buffers, etc)

·        Target completion of the work group recommendations during September -October 2001

·        Target reaching agreement among all three governing boards on the disposition of the remaining 109 acres between October – December 2001

This, the 1st day of May, 2001.

                                                                        ______________________________

                                                                        Stephen H. Halkiotis

                                                                        Chair