AG 2001 02 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 The Board of Co~issioners for the County of Cabarrus, North Carolina met in recessed regular session in the Multipurp0se Room at ~he Cabarrus CoUnty Governmental Center at 6:~0 p.m. on Friday, February 2, 2001~ fo~ s retreat and work session. Present - Chairman= A~ne L. Fennel Vice Chair~an= Robert W. Carruth Co~issioners: Robert M. Freeman Coy C. Privatte Richard D. Suggs Also present were Mr. Frank ' W. Clifton, ~r., County Manager; Mr. Fletcher ~.. Harteell, Jr., County Attorney; Mr. Blair D. Bennett, Deputy County Manager for Administration; Mr. John Day, Deputy County Manager for Operaticns~ Mr. Jonathan Marshall, Planning Services Director~ Mr. Mike DoWns, Development Services Diractor~ Ms. Pas Dubois, Assistant Finance DireUtor~ and Mrs. Frankie F. Bonds, Clerk to the Board. Chairman Fennel called ~he meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Commissioner Suggs was not present for the beginn/ng of the meeting. Pro~ect Ovarv4aw Briefing - ~-9o FSC41~ and Hotel~Conv~ntion Center Mr. Clifton gave an overview of the Fairground and Exposition Center to . be located on Highway 49 and Old Airport Road. Phase I of the project will include a multi-use events center, exhibit halls, Fair Midway area and associated site development. The architccus ara currently doing the design work with construction to be completed in time for the Fair in September 2002. Mr. Clifton discussed possible methods of financing, including the use of County reserve funds ancot a lease purchase arrangement. The architects will meat with the Board on February 15, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. to review the proposed Master Plan. Ms. Dabble Boat, County Bxteneion Director, responded to questions concerning the possible expansion of the Fair to a 10-day event and potential uses of the facility. Mr. Clifton gave a brief update on the statue of the hotel/convention center to be located off Speedway Boulevard. The project will consist of a publicly owned convention center adjacent to a 300-room hotel owned by John Q. Haeuuons Hotels. The estimated cost of the convent/on center is $15 million. Negotiations are continuing on ~he various agreements as outlined in the Memorandum of U~derstanding (MOU) among the County, the City o~ Concord, John Q. Ha~ons Hotels and the ToUriSm Authority. The ~U is to be completed by March 7, 2001. Commissioner Suggs arrived at 7:00 p.m. and was present for ~he remainder of ~ha meeting. There was discussion concerning the proposed convention center, including the method of financing, potential uses of the facility, the profitab..ility of ~ha project and concerns by other hotel/motel ow~e~s that ~he¥ ara collecting a tax to pay for a convention center to be located adjacent to a con, sting .hotel. Mr. Clifton proposed ~hat ~he County maximize commercial .revenues for both the Expo project and ~he Ccnvantiun Center through advertising and corporate sponsorships. After disCUssion, =he Board by consensus authorized Mr. Clifton to pursue the services of a consulting £irm to do a marketing analysis concerning sponsorships and nant~ ng rights options for both faci~ities. $40 N~11ion COPS ~inansin~ ~or New sahool ~ro~acts - Public Haarin~ Mr. Steve ~ords11, Attorney with Smith Helms Mulliss a Moore, gays a brief overview Of th~ proposed $40 million financing for the construction o~ l:.brec new schools. · Chairman Fennel ~xpressed disappointment ~t statements in a recent newspaper article concerning the school construction bids. He stated Mr. Joe Sides, Construction N~--ger for the three new schools, had been quoted as sayi~j, 'it is good to have extra money to play with.' For the record, Chairman Fennel stated that we are not going to have anybody 'playing around' with that .~oney and that it is to be used e~fectivaly and efficiently.