BC 2006 11 27 RECESSED - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 27, 2006 (Recessed Meeting) The Board of Commissioners for the County session in the Commissioners' Meeting Room Governmental Center in Concord, North Carolina o at 6:00 p.m. Page 182 o£ Cabarrus met in recessed at the Cabarrus County n Monday, November 27, 2006, Present: Chairman: Robert W. Carruth Vice Chairman: Joni D. Juba Commissioners: Carolyn Carpenter Robert M. Freeman Coy C. Privette Also present were Commissioners Elect Grace Mynatt and Jay White; John D. Day, County Manager; Richard M. Koch, County Attorney; Mike Downs, Deputy County Manager; Pam Dubois, Deputy County Manager; Kay Honeycutt, Clerk to the Board and Amy Griffith, Deputy Clerk to the Board. (A) Call to Order Chairman Carruth called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. (A-1) Approval of Agenda Commissioner Privette asked to have the following item added to the Agenda: (F) Appointment - Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. UPON MOTION of Commissioner Privette, seconded by Commissioner Freeman and unanimously carried, the Board approved the Agenda as amended. (B) Sheriff's Office fi Detention Center John Day, County Manager, reported individuals filed a lawsuit challenging the ruling of Superior Court Judge Erwin on the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) issued by the City of Concord to Cabarrus County. With litigation pending, he said the Local Government Commission (LGC) is unwilling to approve financing for the project, the project has stopped and costs will escalate while the County is waiting for a decision. Chairman Carruth read the following statement to the Board of Commissioners concerning the jail project: On November 20, 2006, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners was poised to vote to approve a contract with Turner Construction to proceed with the completion of a new jail and justice center for Cabarrus County. Unfortunately, earlier that day, unbeknownst to members of this board and staff, an appeal was filed by several residents of downtown Concord against the city of Concord, as a result of the court decision in late September by Judge Robert Erwin to uphold the city's zoning decision concerning the new county jail and law enforcement facility. This is unfortunate for the citizens and taxpayers of Cabarrus County. Although a rezoning and conditional use permit were approved by the Concord Planning & Zoning Commission, as well as the Concord City Council, and upheld in Superior Court, the appeal will effectively halt the second phase of the project until the case is ruled upon, settled, or withdrawn by the plaintiffs. Financing cannot be approved with this legal action pending, and no contract can be signed with Turner Construction to proceed with the project. The appeal, unfortunately, could take anywhere from 6-18 months to be heard, and as a result, the potential effects on the citizens and taxpayers of Cabarrus County are staggering: 1. Even with the legal cloud hanging over this project, the board of commissioners and county sheriff is still not relieved of their duty to secure and house inmates as a result of our criminal and civil justice system. Further delays will not save money for the county - it will only cost more in the future. Already, the county has incurred close to $1 million to send inmates to other parts of the state. 2. The county's tax base is the primary source of capital funds for construction of new schools for our children. Already, the year long delays since the project was first presented to the