MINUTES OF A JOINT MEETING OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL

AND VARIOUS COUNCIL ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1995 AT 5:30 P.M.

Mayor Broun called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

Council Members in attendance were Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton, Pat Evans, Lee Pavão, Jim Protzman, and Rosemary Waldorf. Council Member Barbara Powell arrived at 6:55 p.m. Also in attendance were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Assistant to the Manager Greg Feller, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Loveman, Parks and Recreation Administrative Officer Bill Webster, Public Services Librarian Mark Bayles, Library Director Kathleen Thompson, Housing Director Tina Vaughn, Transportation Director Robert Godding and Transportation Administrative Analyst Scott McClellan.

Council Member Barbara Powell was expected to arrive late.

Mayor Broun stated that this was a work session to provide an opportunity for boards and commissions to address the Council on any issues they choose.

Mayor Broun inquired whether any Council Members were interested in serving on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District's Naming Committee. Council Member Chilton stated that he would be willing to do so. Mayor Broun requested that the Manager notify the School Board of Council Member Chilton's willingness to do so.

Parks and Recreation Commission

Commission Chair Martin Feinstein presented an overview of the Commission's activities, noting that the Northern Community Park and Hargraves Gymnasium projects were in process. He also noted that the Commission had been working with the Town of Carrboro regarding the possibility of joint facilities planning.

Mr. Feinstein said the Commission hoped that the Council would continue to provide annual funding of the Town's Small Parks Improvement Fund. He also noted that the Parks and Recreation Commission endorsed the continued funding of the Outdoor Nature Program for at least one more year.

Noting that funds from the 1989 Parks and Open Space bond sale were virtually exhausted, Mr. Feinstein stated that the Commission urged the Council to hold a bond referendum for land acquisition and park development. Mr. Feinstein said that population growth and increasingly scarce park land made this matter an important priority.

Council Member Pavão said he recalled that several years ago the Council had discussed the possibility of holding a bond election for parks and open space but had decided to defer to a later date. He inquired whether the Council felt that the near future was a good time to hold such a referendum.

Council Member Evans inquired whether the Parks and Recreation Commission had discussed a specific amount for the proposed referendum. Mr. Feinstein stated that although no fixed dollar amount had been discussed, the Commission did have a list of desirable capital projects with estimated costs of each.

Council Member Evans stated that there was a great need to preserve open space and the near future might be the right time to acquire open space. She stated that the Council should pursue the matter further.

Council Member Brown thanked the Commission for their hard work and for the important issues they had brought forward this evening.

Council Member Capowski asked whether it would be possible to hold a parks and open space bond referendum in November, 1995. Mr. Horton said he did not believe there was sufficient time to prepare a bond referendum proposal for the November election. Council Member Capowski noted that the Orange County School Districts had recently been able to borrow commercial funds at a lower rate than recently authorized general obligation bonds. He inquired whether

the Town could explore this funding mechanism.

Mayor Broun stated that rushing into a bond referendum too quickly might contribute to the failure of such an initiative. Noting his support for a future bond referendum, he urged the Council to think long and hard before moving forward. Council Member Chilton concurred, suggesting that the Council should identify specific priorities and projects so that the bond issue had a greater chance of passage. He said November, 1996 would probably be a more realistic time for a bond referendum.

Council Member Waldorf agreed that the Council should not propose a bond referendum at present. She inquired whether the Commission had met or discussed with other area recreation commissions the possibility of sharing facilities. Mr. Feinstein answered that possibility sharing of parks recreation facilities was being explored. Commission Vice-Chairperson Gary Barnes said he believed the chairs from all the parks and recreation commissions in the County were in close contact about the possibility of shared facilities.

Council Member Capowski inquired about the status of the proposed new Hargraves gymnasium facility. Mr. Feinstein stated that the Hargraves Gymnasium Project committee had conducted an open meeting and received information from the public and the architect. He said a more detailed proposal would be received in the near future and the committee would meet again to discuss the updated proposal.

Mr. Feinstein noted that the Commission hoped the facility could be completed within one year.

Council Member Brown inquired about the name of the project's architect. Mr. Feinstein said the architect was George Smart of Raleigh, a firm experienced in designing gymnasiums.

Mayor Broun said he knew there was some sharing of facilities with schools at present and asked whether this sharing would be increased. Mr. Feinstein said there had been discussion regarding this possibility.

Council Member Waldorf said she believed that anytime the school district constructed new facilities, the Parks and Recreation Commission should be consulted as a courtesy regarding the possibility of sharing these facilities. Mr. Feinstein agreed, saying he had a special interest in how gymnasium facilities were used and had discovered that the multi-purpose facilities built at elementary schools were too small to use for team sports.

Mayor Broun stated that if a bond referendum was eventually proposed the voters would want to know whether some of the efforts in planning could be combined so that school facilities could be shared by the entire community. Mr. Barnes emphasized the importance of good cooperation between the school district and local communities in properly equipping shared recreational facilities.

Commission Member Sherry Anscher asked that the Council request that the School Board including a swimming pool facility at the new high school. She stated that the existing swimming pool at the Town's Community Center was overcrowded. Council Member Waldorf said although this could possibly be included in a future bond issue, funds were not currently available for this project.

Greenways Commission

Chairperson Mark Broadwell said the Commission had four main issue to discuss this evening. Mr. Broadwell stated that the first was the use of $300,000 in 1989 Parks and Open Space Bond funds. He said that $175,000 of this amount had been transferred to the Bolin Creek Phase II project account, which left a balance of $125,000. Mr. Broadwell said the Commission planned to make a recommendation to the Council before their summer break for use of these remaining funds. Mr. Broadwell also said options currently being considered included: (1) reserving all or a portion of the funds until final bids for Bolin Creek Phase II had been received, (2) preparing a master plan for the proposed Morgan Creek trail and using the remaining funds to build a section of the trail, (3) preparing a master plan for the proposed upper Bolin Creek trail from Airport Road to Estes Drive Extension and using the funds to build a section of that trial, and using the remaining funds to purchase land for future projects. Mayor Broun inquired whether any of the unspent bond funds had been set aside for contingencies. Mr. Horton said no.

Mr. Broadwell also said the Commission requested the Council's support of a future bond referendum for a variety of greenway-related projects.

Commission Member Carol Pekar stated that the Commission supported interjurisdictional cooperation between the Town and surrounding communities. She said the Commission had participated in joint meetings with all Orange County parks and recreation advisory boards and was also actively working with the New Hope Corridor Advisory Committee.

Valerie Broadwell said the Commission encourages the Council to continue annual funding for the greenways program. She stated these funds had been used for preparing of master plans for the Battle Branch trail and both phases of the Bolin Creek Trial, consultants fees for preparation of the Special Use Permit applications and construction drawings of both phases of the Bolin Creek Trail, construction of the Tanyard Branch and Battle Branch Trails, promotional and information materials including the Greenways brochure, and land acquisition.

Mayor Broun noted that the New Hope Corridor Advisory Committee had recently requested funding from the Council. He asked if the Commission believed the amount requested would be better spent through the Town's Greenways Commission. Council Member Chilton stated that in the March meeting it was discussed that this $25,000 should not come out of the Commission's annual allotment. Mayor Broun asked whether the New Hope Corridor was closely related enough to warrant this expenditure. Ms. Pekar said the New Hope Corridor Advisory Committee was very active and welcomed more involvement from the Town. She said the Advisory Board would argue that the original greenway provided a corridor which benefitted the Town's and was therefore money well-spent. She said on the other hand it did not effect any property within the Town's limits.

Council Member Capowski said the City of Durham was building a greenways trail about twenty-four miles long, called the American Tobacco trail. He noted that the City of Durham had requested the Town's assistance in continuing the trail through the proposed Meadowmont development and along NC 54 into the Town. Council Member Capowski suggested that this matter be further investigated.

Ms. Pekar noted that the New Hope Corridor Advisory Committee was concentrating their efforts around the Lee Farm, which had been donated for the corridor.

Mayor Broun said he would like the Commission's reaction on how the available funds would be best spent.

Council Member Evans said most of the land the New Hope Corridor Advisory Committee was in Orange County, rather than within Town limits.

Council Member Waldorf said the Commission should make a recommendation as soon as possible as the budget for the new fiscal year since preparation of the new budget was well underway.

Council Member Brown said she felt the Greenways Commission had done excellent work on some difficult projects.

Housing and Community Development Advisory Board

Board Chairperson Velma Perry introduced Board Members in attendance.

Board Member Larry Daquioag stated that the Board had identified six goals it would like to pursue in the coming fiscal year. He said these included actively encouraging and promoting low-income housing in the Town. Mr. Daquioag said that each development proposed in the Town should be asked to provide some low-income housing opportunities. He also said the Board would appreciate the opportunity to review development proposals for this purpose.

Mr. Daquioag said another goal was ensuring that public housing residents had a means to take advantage of all services in the community that would help them to become self-sufficient, independent and more knowledgeable about public housing management and trends in public housing.

Velma Perry said another goal was to improve resident's awareness of the role of the Housing and Community Development Advisory Board and encourage more resident attendance and participation in Board meetings. She said it was important that the Board keep abreast of trends to remain knowledgeable of what was occurring in the housing market.

Board Member Dorcas Roberson said there were three items which were needed, as follows: (1) more training workshops for residents about the mechanics of public meetings, (2) establishment of more Residents' Councils in public housing communities, and (3) greater efforts to encourage residents to attend Residents' Council meetings.

Charles Zimmerli said the last goal identified by the Board was to actively encourage and promote community development activities which would result in the creation of wealth by developing and/or expanding business opportunities for low to moderate-income residents. He said the Board would come back to the Council this summer with firmer recommendations in this regard. Mr. Zimmerli invited the Council to visit public housing neighborhoods so the Council would have first-hand knowledge of what the Board was attempting to accomplish. Mr. Zimmerli also thanked the Council for involving the Board in housing issues. Mr. Zimmerli invited the Council to attend the Board's annual business meeting on June 27th.

Council Member Brown asked how the Board could be included in review of all public housing renovation and maintenance projects. Mr. Horton said it was generally a management function to review and make recommendations on bids based on available funding.

Council Member Brown inquired how the Board could be more involved in this process. She also asked how the Board proposed to get more residents involved with Residents' Councils. Board Member Dorcas Roberson stated that it might be helpful for the Housing Department to send out letters encouraging public housing residents to attend these meetings, and indicating the Department's support of the efforts of Residents' Councils.

Council Member Waldorf asked whether there was an active Residents' Council in each public housing neighborhood. Ms. Roberson said

efforts were underway to initiate Councils in each neighborhood.

She added that many residents were not familiar with the procedures of meetings and needed to be educated so they would not be afraid to participate in meetings.

Council Member Chilton, the Council's Board liaison, said he had attended a number of Housing and Community Development Advisory Board meetings and was impressed with how the Board had dealt with some very complex issues. He said it would be helpful if the Council Members who had not recently visited a public housing neighborhood could do so in order to familiarize themselves with issues being faced by the Board.

Library Board of Trustees

Board Trustee Clifton Metcalf noted that library circulation was up by 47% over the most recent quarter and had increased by 44% over the last ten months. He also said monthly circulation increases had ranged from 42% to 51% in the new library facility. Mr. Metcalf stated that at any given time, approximately one-third of the entire collection was checked out to patrons.

Mr. Metcalf expressed concern that the library would not be able to meet the community's needs with its present budget. Mr. Metcalf said the number of registered library patrons had increased 31.5% over the last five years, with per capita circulation of 20.8 books per year. He noted that dollar expenditures for books as a percentage of the operating budget had decreased from 11% in 1989 to 6% in 1994. Mr. Metcalf said the Board of Trustees urged the Council to examine options for increasing the library's budget, including selling the bookmobile or requesting additional funding assistance from the Orange County Board of Commissioners. He also noted that the Board had not agreed on whether to eliminate the Town's bookmobile program. Mr. Metcalf noted that this program served disadvantaged families, day care centers and senior citizens. He said one possibility to consider would be to induce Orange County to provide more support by donating the bookmobile to the County in exchange for greater financial support of the Town's library. Mr. Metcalf also inquired about the feasibility of establishing an endowment fund for the library.

Council Member Brown suggested that the Council formally request greater library funding from the Orange County Board of Commissioners. Council Member Capowski said although he had attended a number of Orange County Commissioners' meetings to make a bid for additional library funding, the County's vision in the matter appeared to differ from the Town's.

Council Member Capowski asked what percentage of materials circulating were books. Mark Bayles responded that approximately 90% to 95%, with the rest being tapes, games and other materials. Council Member Capowski said that along with the bus system the library was the most successful enterprise in the Town and encouraged the Trustees to look into funding from private sources.

Board Trustee Barry Roberts said the Board needed a commitment from the Council that if the Board raised private funds, that it would not replace funds earmarked by the Council.

Council Member Waldorf encouraged the Trustees to establish an endowment fund and said she would not want private funds raised to replace funds allocated from the Town. She also stated that the figures presented to the Council this evening should be presented to the Orange County Commissioners since these figures represented Orange County residents as well as residents of Carrboro and the Town.

Board Trustee Nina Wallace stated that over 40% of the patrons of the library were from outside of the Town.

Mayor Broun encouraged the Trustees to come back before the Council with a specific endowment proposal.

Council Member Protzman asked what materials other than books were circulated. Library Director Kathy Thompson said periodicals, children's games, records, compact disks, cassettes and records.

Council Member Powell asked whether the Trustees were suggesting that Orange County continue bookmobile services in the Town if this vehicle were turned over to the County. Mr. Metcalf said he did not know how the County would decide to use the bookmobile if it were turned over to them. Council Member Evans asked whether the Council would receive a recommendation from the Trustees about the bookmobile in the future. Mr. Metcalf said yes.

Transportation Board

Chairperson Richard Franck said the Board wished to concentrate its comments on three items. He said the first was the Transportation planning staff and the necessity of hiring an additional transportation planner. Mr. Franck said the reduction of the Transportation planning staff to two planners limited the staff to reviewing traffic impact statements submitted by developers and submitting plans required by law to receive transit and roadway funding. He said transportation issues must also be considered in land- use planning and development review, and plans for pedestrian and bicycle facilities must be current and monitored. Mr. Franck said based on this, the third transportation planner was essential to good operations.

Board Member Ruby Sinreich said that the Council must reject projects which did not measure up to the design principles which improved the prospects of reducing single occupant vehicles. She said the Council had never disapproved a project, despite in the some cases the negative recommendations by one or more advisory boards and considerable negative reaction by the public.

Board Member Ken Robinson asked that the Council give the Manager specific guidelines for approval of Transportation Management Plans. He said there were no mechanisms which assured that approved plans were being carried out. Mr. Robinson said the only penalty for failing to have a Transportation Management Plan was that the development could be found to be in noncompliance with the Special Use Permit. He said this was not enough of a deterrent to developers. Mr. Robinson said one of the Board's recommendations was that the Council develop a program of incentives for voluntary submittal of a Transportation Management Plan for employers not under obligation to submit plans, such as offering reduced permit fees or some form of recognition award. He said another Board recommendation was to ask the General Assembly for legal authority to enforce Transportation Management Plans with fines and/or require Transportation Management Plans for some subset of existing businesses based on size and location. Mr. Robinson said another recommendation would be to develop methods to verify that Transportation Management Plans were actually being implemented, such as a spot check program.

Mayor Broun thanked the Transportation Board for their hard work and dedication.

Council Member Brown asked how the Council could begin the discussion on some of the recommendations made by the Board this evening and how a process could be developed to begin addressing these matters. She said many of the recommendations were good and

encouragement should be given to the Board to proceed.

Council Member Protzman said many of the ideas presented this evening were intriguing. He said the Board was correct in its assessment that the Council did not always agree with the Board's recommendations, but reminded the Board that their recommendation must be considered as a part of the entire project under consideration, whereas the Board looked at only transportation-related issues.

Council Member Brown said she would like to have the Transportation Board give the Council a report with specific recommendations so that the Council might begin looking at revising the requirements of transportation management plans.

Council Member Waldorf said she understood the Board was saying that the Transportation Management Plans were not working. Board Member Robinson said although the plans were a first step, he believed the plan must be taken further and follow-ups conducted to assure compliance. He said that if transportation was given consideration early on in a project, then the transportation plan would be better off.

Council Member Capowski said he thought the purpose of having a Transportation Board representative on the Design Review Board was to review plans early in the process. He asked whether this was correct. Board Member Sinreich answered that frequently the plans were so far into the process, it was too late to change them.

Mayor Broun said he believed the direction for the Transportation Board was to develop goals and objectives and to present them to the Council.

Council Member Evans said there was a continuing need for parking in the downtown area. She noted that the Town had formerly had a payment-in-lieu program for parking spaces in the downtown area.

Council Member Evans asked the Board to reevaluate the possibility of developers and businesses providing payments-in-lieu for parking spaces in the downtown area.

Mr. Robinson inquired where Council Member Evans thought additional parking was needed. Council Member Evans said particularly on the west end of Town, such as the lot next to the 411 West Restaurant. She noted that overflow parking was available in nearby neighborhoods.

Council Member Protzman said the Council needed the Transportation Board's very best recommendations concerning current budget issues regarding transit matters.

Council Member Brown stated that a key objective was to work seriously to reduce traffic, especially in the downtown area.

Public Arts Commission

Chairperson Nancy Preston presented a brief overview of the makeup of the Public Arts Commission and how they had fulfilled their charge from the Council.

Ms. Preston introduced Commission Members Michael Brown, Carolyn Leith, Eileen Helton and Joe Rowand.

Commission Member Carolyn Leith gave a brief summary of the Commission's financial report. She discussed the grants the Commission was currently involved in and said the Orange County Arts Commission had been very supportive of the Commission and had to date supplied a total of $2,600 to their projects.

Eileen Helton briefly described the accomplishments of the Commission, including art exhibits conducted at the Town Hall and the Commission's efforts to effectively promote public art. She said the first exhibit was in September, 1994 and the second had opened in February, 1995. Ms. Helton said the next art show would open at the Town Hall on May 7th. She said the Commission was also working on purchasing a lighted display case for Town Hall which would be used to display three-dimensional art. She said the Commission had received two $1,000 grants to help pay for this project.

Joe Rowand gave a brief history of the current gun sculpture project. He stated an eight-person gun sculpture committee of local artists and Commission members had recently been established.

He said the Commission, following a screening process, had selected a first, second, and third place artist. Mr. Rowand stated that if first place artist submitted a scaled drawing of his or her concept for the project and it was rejected, then the second place artist would be asked to submit a model, and so on. He stated that Thomas H. Sayre of Raleigh was the first place artist, Al Frega from Castle Hayne, NC was selected second, and Jim Gallucci from Greensboro was selected as the third place artist.

Council Member Capowski asked if any other town had ever undertaken such a sculpture project. Mr. Horton responded that the City of Charlotte had done something similar about twenty years ago and it was not considered controversial.

Ms. Preston said art evoked emotion and she would not be surprised if the gun sculpture was controversial. She said the committee would begin developing by-laws and policies so that artists would know how to approach the Commission regarding their art and how the Commission would deal with the artists. She also said the Commission wanted to know how the Council viewed their efforts.

Ms. Preston said the Commission was still somewhat unclear on exactly what the Council expected from them. She asked if artists should approach the Council first or the Arts Commission. Mayor Broun stated that the Commission's mission was unchanged from the original resolution adopted by the Council.

Nancy Preston stated that the Commission could not have accomplished as much as they had without the help of Town staff.

Mr. Horton stated that the staff person assigned to the Commission was also the paralegal for the Town Attorney, and staff could not continue to devote the amount of staff time to the Commission as in the past. Mr. Horton suggested a part-time support position might need to be considered in the future.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.