SUMMARY OF A PLANNING SESSION HELD BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE

TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1995,

8:30 A.M., CHAPEL HILL PUBLIC LIBRARY MEETING ROOM

Mayor Broun called the session to order at 8:42 a.m. Council Members in attendance were Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton (arrived at 9:03 a.m.), Pat Evans, Lee Pavao, Barbara Powell, Jim Protzman and Rosemary Waldorf. Also in attendance were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Planning Director Roger Waldon, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos and Retreat Facilitator Andy Sachs.

Mayor Broun introduced Mr. Sachs. Mr. Sachs briefly reviewed the session's proposed agenda and objectives. Mayor Broun suggested that the Council focus its energies today on where the Council had been and where it was going on larger issues. Council Member Waldorf requested that the Council discuss employee suggestions as part of today's session. There was Council concurrence on this point. Council Member Protzman expressed hope that the Council could achieve consensus on some matters today. Council Member Brown said the Council should focus on general direction today, rather than absolute decisions.

Review of Current Goals

Goal #1 Develop Budget with No Property Tax Increase

Done. No discussion necessary.

Goal #2 Examine Marginally-Used Parks & Recreation Programs

Council Member Pavao said he was not happy with the staff's choice of funding used to continue the Town's Outdoor Nature program for a six-month trial period. Council Member Brown said the Council needed to be a lot clearer in directions given to staff. Council Member Pavao said the Council should be given options for cutting programs or funding. Council Member Capowski said he believed the decision-making process was flawed since no one would voluntarily request reductions in a favored program. He suggested that staff could possibly have provided the Council with a listing of possible funding reductions. Council Member Protzman stated that the matter of the Outdoor Nature program had not necessarily been handled in the manner intended by the Council.

Stating that the decision had been made under pressure, Council Member Brown said the staff and Council should bear some responsibility for this outcome. She suggested that the Council consider a better decision-making process for future situations.

Noting that many groups sought mid-year program funding from the Council, Council Member Capowski suggested establishing a better process for funding tradeoff decisions. Council Member Powell said the Council needed to be more careful in future budget and program related decisions. She also said it was very important to make the public aware of programs being proposed for reductions in service levels. Council Member Evans said the Council needed to have a greater role in future decision-making involving possible mid-year program or service reductions.

Council Member Waldorf suggested that the Council provide guidelines to advisory boards and commissions concerning possible program or service reductions. Council Member Brown said the Council needed to provide more specific guidance in identifying possible reductions.

Council Member Pavao said there had been an unfortunate communications gap between staff and the Council. He stated that the Council should try to be more specific in the future about which programs or services to cut.

Council Member Protzman also said it was very important for the staff to make good judgements on decisions involving smaller program and budget decisions.

Council Member Capowski said it was important to permit opportunities for the Council and citizens to have input about possible budget or program reductions.

Mayor Broun stated that there had been poor communication between staff and the Council about programmatic changes. He urged the Council to think about possible ramifications before fully immersing themselves in matters involving program or service reductions.

Council Member Brown inquired whether staff had recommended that the Outdoor Nature program be continued. Mr. Horton said he had recommended cutting the program, while the employee running the program had requested continuation of the program. Mr. Horton stated that in hindsight, he should have provided the Council with a listing of possible program reductions. Council Member Brown said the Council needed to make clearer policies and refrain from deferring matters of this type to staff. Council Member Powell stated that the Council had been informed on the evening of the decision that it would be necessary to cut other programs in order to continue the Outdoor Nature program. Council Member Pavao said the Council had not been sufficiently specific in providing direction in this matter. Council Member Waldorf suggested that the Council provide specific guidelines to staff for handling future matters of this type.

Council Member Brown suggested the possibility of examining the Parks and Recreation Department in order to determine what went wrong. Council Member Pavao stated that the main problem was that there had been no process for examining programs recommended for reductions. Referencing Council Member Waldorf's earlier suggestion, Mayor Broun suggested that the Council needed a better process for examining individual programs. Council Member Brown said the Council needed to make policies and periodically follow-up on evaluating their effectiveness. Mr. Horton apologized for any problems he had caused the Council in cutting existing programs.

Council Member Powell requested a future clarification of what was meant by use of the term "micromanagement".

Council Member Protzman stated that as an aside, Council Member Evans had stated that "micromanagement" was taking back decisions that had been delegated.

Council Member Brown said the term "micromanagement" should be examined by the Council in the future in a non-pejorative manner. possibly at a work session or planning retreat.

Mayor Broun urged the Council to think broadly about the desired responsibilities and roles of the Council and staff. Council Member Brown suggested that the matter be discussed at the Council's January, 1996 retreat. Council Member Protzman suggested that this be captured in the meeting record as a possible topic for the Council's next planning retreat. Council Member Waldorf said it was very important for the Council to give clearer direction on policies, guidelines and principles.

Goal #3 Reductions in Library & Public Works Services

Council consensus: No discussion needed at this time.

Goal #4 Examining Costs & Revenues of Recycling Programs

Council Member Protzman suggested that the Council address this matter at another time. Council Member Evans inquired about the status of the report on solid waste matters. Ms. Loewenthal stated that Landfill Owners Group would receive a report in November. Council Member Brown stated that there was an ever broadening examination of recycling programs in process.

Council Member Protzman noted that there had been preliminary discussion of banning all recyclables at the Regional Landfill.

Goal #5 Fee-based Refuse Collection System

Council Member Capowski asked whether the Council would have sufficient information by the spring to move ahead on this matter. Mr. Horton said yes. Council Member Capowski inquired whether the report would include experiences of other cities using fee-based systems. Mr. Horton said this was correct.

Council Member Brown said it was very important for the Council to move ahead on this matter as soon as possible. Council Member Powell said it was imperative to have a good public education program if a fee-based system were adopted by the Council. Council Member Brown added that the Landfill Owners Group was in the process of developing a mission statement and goals.

Goal #6 Report on General User Fees

There was Council consensus that no discussion was needed today.

Goal #7 Transportation Board Recommendations on Service Reductions

and Programs

Council Member Waldorf suggested that the Council give guidelines to the Transportation Board about possible service and program reductions. Council Member Chilton noted that the Transportation Board was in the process of a multi-year study of the bus system.

He inquired whether staff regularly analyzed bus ridership. Mr. Horton said such analyses were conducted annually.

Council Member Protzman said it would be a good idea to continue informal discussions with University officials about ridership of the local bus system. Council Member Brown noted that this goal was related to Goal #9 concerning the University's Point-to-Point transit system. She suggested that the impact of the PTP system on the Town's bus system be analyzed as a new initiative.

Goal #8 Increase in Fines for Parking Citations

There was Council consensus that this goal had been achieved.

Goal #9 University's Point-to-Point (PTP) Transit System

Council Member Waldorf said Goals 7 and 9 needed to be examined in concert. Council Member Protzman suggested that these items be discussed as possible new initiatives.

Goal #10 Impact Tax Authorization

There was Council concurrence that this goal had been achieved.

Goal #11 Impact Fees

Council Member Waldorf noted that the Town had received enabling authority to levy impact fees. Council Member Waldorf inquired whether there was any new information about impact fees. Mr. Karpinos stated that the law was becoming clearer about the need for a direct, rational basis between improvements and fees. Mr. Horton noted that the Town currently required developers to make improvements, rather than paying impact fees.

Council Member Capowski asked whether payments-in-lieu were the same as impact fees. Mr. Horton said no, noting that impact fees

involved fairly elaborate studies about impacts on the community and related costs.

Council Member Brown asked whether the enabling legislation specified the types of facilities and services which impact fees could be applied to. Mr. Karpinos stated that the Town did not require developers to pay for improvements such as library facilities.

Council Member Brown asked whether the new enabling authority was more flexible. Mr. Horton said the new regulations were actually more restrictive. Citing a hypothetical example, Council Member Protzman asked whether the Council could ask a developer to "buy ten books" for the library. Mr. Horton stated that the Council could ask for, but not require, these types of items. Mayor Broun noted that there was Council consensus not to pursue implementation of impact fees at this time.

Goal #12 Shaping Orange County's Future Process

Council Member Brown noted that there was still some lack of clarity about the overall process. Mr. Horton noted that Orange County was the lead agency and had not approached the Town requesting staff assistance for this project. Council Member Waldorf asked who was in charge of the project. Mr. Horton said Orange County. Council Member Brown noted that Orange County did not concur with Carrboro or the Town about the desirable funding mechanism for the project, and that the County Manager would be contacting the Town Manager about this matter.

Goal #13 Briefing on Mixed-Use Zoning

Council Member Evans said she did not believe that the Council was only seeking a staff report on possible mixed uses in the NC corridor area. Council Member Protzman concurred, stating that the Council needed to receive a broader report concerning mixed-use zoning. Mr. Horton stated that staff could prepare a broader report outlining options for the Council's consideration. Council Member Protzman said it would be desirable for staff to do so. Council Member Brown inquired whether staff would only be outlining possible processes. Mr. Horton said this was correct.

Council Member Waldorf expressed her support for such a report.

Council Member Brown said the report needed to include what was already in place regarding mixed-use zoning.

Goal #14 Environmental Impact Assessments

Council Member Evans inquired about the scope of the staff's future report on this matter. Mr. Horton stated that the report would focus on key ideas related to regulations about environmental impact assessments. Council Member Brown stated that she was excited about the possibility of the Council receiving such assessments for major development proposals.

Goal #15 Evaluation of Community Policing

Council Member Evans noted that the Council would receive a report on this matter in the near future.

Goal #16 Promoting Awareness of Speed Limits

Council Member Evans said it was important to make students and others aware of the possibility of more vigorous speed limit enforcement by the Town. She also suggested that synchronizing more traffic signals might be beneficial in greater compliance with existing speed limits. Mr. Horton said staff could provide a report on the status of the automated traffic signal system at a meeting in the near future.

Council Member Evans suggested that staff evaluate whether existing speed limits for area streets were realistic. Mr. Horton said synchronization of the signal system was occurring on the basis of existing speed limits. Council Member Protzman inquired whether the new traffic signal system was worth the money expended to date. Mr. Horton said since the system was not working as well as its specifications, its full value had not yet been realized. Council Member Capowski asked whether the number of speeding citations issued has increased. Mr. Horton said he was not sure. He added that the number would increase dramatically when four new positions specializing in traffic enforcement were added in the Police Department.

Council Member Brown noted that most citizens requested the Council to reduce, rather than raise, existing speed limits in neighborhoods. Council Member Evans said she believed it might be safer to raise speed limits for some roads, such as streets with fewer intersections. She also stated that it was important to educate bicyclists about obeying traffic regulations.

Mr. Horton inquired whether the Council wished to receive a report on the traffic signal system. Council Member Protzman suggested that staff prepare a report in the future when there was something to report about whether or not funds expended for the system were well-spent.

Mayor Broun said he was interested in further exploring traffic calming devices. Council Member Brown said she thought that staff was in process of preparing a report on the status of the traffic signal system and evaluating its overall effectiveness.

Mr. Horton said he had heard "come back when there is something new to report on this".

Goal #17 Discuss Asking Voters to Vote on an Open Space Bond

Referendum

Council Member Waldorf suggested that this goal be a new initiative.

Review of Employee Suggestions

Council Member Waldorf inquired whether requesting employee suggestions had been a useful exercise. Mr. Horton said he believed so. He also stated that many small and some large, positive changes had taken place as a result of the program.

Council Member Powell requested a clarification of suggestion #15, concerning attachments to Council agenda items. Mr. Horton stated that persons wishing to do so could arrange to pick up copies of copious attachments to agenda items. He noted that these documents had formerly been mailed to all persons receiving agenda materials. Mr. Horton said this revised practice resulted in savings in copying and mailing costs. Council Member Powell also requested clarifications about suggestions #246, 286, 291 and 309. Mr. Horton provided details about each of the items.

Council Member Protzman applauded staff for execution of the process. He suggested that the Town may wish to have a quarterly process for developing employee suggestions.

Stating that the primary focus of the program had been cost savings, Council Member Brown inquired whether there had been any effort to quantify savings. Mr. Horton stated that there had been no formal effort to quantify savings.

Council Member Evans requested that staff compile a list of voice mail telephone numbers for Town departments. Mr. Horton said staff was in the process of preparing such a listing. Council Member Evans inquired about the amount of grant writing done by the Town. Mr. Horton stated that the Town pursued grants whenever possible, especially for housing and community development programs.

Council Member Brown said it was very important for the Council to know where savings had been realized, relative to the Town's budget.

Council Member Pavao stated that two principal objectives of the suggestion program were operational efficiencies and greater employee involvement in operations. Council Member Protzman said he was comfortable that the employee suggestion program was beneficial in achieving the Council's objectives relative to organizational efficiencies.

Council Member Waldorf inquired what would be gained by quantifying projected savings. Council Member Brown said the Council could use this as a tool for cutting costs in the upcoming Town budget process, possibly beginning this process at the Council's January planning retreat.

Council Member Protzman suggested that the Council focus its energies in trying to achieve cost savings in big ticket items.

Mr. Horton stated that the openness of the suggestion process was very important as was the fact that employees knew that the Council would see the suggestions.

Possible New Initiatives

Mayor Broun suggested that the Council think about "global" planning matters such as possibilities for a bond referendum for open space, greenways, bicycles and affordable housing.

Council Member Protzman suggested focusing on traffic calming techniques and methods to greatly enhance bus ridership, possibly including high-level discussions between the University's Chancellor and the Town Council.

Noting the high accident rate in the area, Council Member Capowski said it was very important to identify ways to improve traffic flow and safety at the intersection of Raleigh Road and the (U.S. 15-501) bypass. Council Member Evans said she was also concerned about this matter. Council Member Capowski suggested focusing on the issuance of citations for bicycle safety violations.

Council Member Brown suggested focusing on sidewalk and bicycle planning in concert with traffic calming methods. Council Member Protzman suggested that a focus be placed on building sidewalks.

Council Member Powell suggested placing a greater emphasis on the registration of bicycles.

Council Member Capowski also stated that the Town should focus on regional transit, on a somewhat smaller scale than the Triangle Transit Authority's plans. In addition, he suggested concentrating on greater simplicity in landfill operations.

Council Member Evans requested that staff look into possible efficiencies from the expanded use of electronic mail, facsimile machines and other emerging technologies, in Town Hall and possibly at other Town facilities. She also suggested that staff examine maintenance costs for Town-owned land, with an eye towards identifying possible savings from the sale of some of these land parcels. Council Member Pavao suggested continued examination of possibilities for privatizing services.

Mr. Sachs suggested that the Council might wish to select three items for expanded discussion. Council Member Protzman said it might be preferable to state an overall sense of a global plan, rather than trying to discuss each item substantively. Council Member Brown suggested the possibility of placing new initiatives on a future Council agenda, such as a work session meeting, for more detailed discussion.

Mayor Broun suggested that the Council focus on initiatives which could be accomplished during the next fourteen weeks, the term of the current Town Council.

Council Member Brown said it was important for the Council to discuss requests for sidewalk construction projects in a broader context.

Council Member Waldorf suggested following Mayor Broun's suggestion for proceeding.

Council Member Brown suggested the possibility of establishing a land trust for affordable housing and other public purposes on the 168 acres of publicly-owned land in the northwest area. She said this idea could be placed before the public for discussion during the next fourteen weeks.

Mayor Broun suggested that the Council might wish to consider whether or not to hold a bond referendum and underlying policy considerations in the near future. Council Member Capowski said parks and open space appeared to be the most pressing matter

Council Member Evans said she believed that the community's primary concern was the need for school construction, in conjunction with a comprehensive community planning process.

Council Member Waldorf noted that at a work session with the School Board in February, 1995, the importance of joint discussions concerning future bond issues had been outlined. She stated that school-related needs were a very important community priority.

Council Member Capowski stated that since 1986, the Town had had voter-approved bond funds available for the acquisition of parks and open space. He stated that the needs for schools were overwhelming compared to parks and open space needs. Council Member Brown said it was very important not to lose sight of the important role of publicly-owned land (such as the 168 acres in the Greene tract) in the overall community facility planning process.

Mayor Broun said although it was desirable to have more open space, greenways, bicycle trails and other facilities, establishment of these facilities would effectively increase the Town's tax rate. He noted that it was very important to weigh all factors before moving ahead on these matters. Council Member Protzman suggested that the Council might wish to establish a forum for addressing these matters.

Council Member Evans said she favored examination of matters in a comprehensive fashion, with Town plans fitting into Orange County plans, which in turn fit into plans for the Research Triangle area. Council Member Brown said it important to first establish a joint vision for the Town and all jurisdictions in Orange County.

Council Member Capowski said he was not proposing one bond referendum for both parks and open space and affordable housing. Council Member Waldorf inquired whether bond topics needed to be placed individually on the ballot. Mr. Karpinos said yes.

Council Member Capowski noted that a few years ago the Town had funds available to buy and preserve the former Merritt's Pasture land. Council Member Pavao noted that the Town did not currently have any bond funds to possibly acquire fourteen acres of land currently for sale next to the Northern Community Park.

Council Member Waldorf stated that representatives from several local organizations were looking at how to have more rational site and development planning processes throughout Orange County.

Council Member Pavao said there were good opportunities for more intergovernmental cooperation activities related to parks and recreation facilities, schools and other public facilities.

Mayor Broun suggested that the Greene tract's future could be discussed prior to the October 11th joint planning session with Orange County and the Town of Carrboro.

Traffic Calming Mechanisms

Noting that he had recently returned from a visit to Johannesburg, South Africa, Mayor Broun noted that many local streets in Johannesburg had traffic-calming devices such as speed bumps. Mayor Broun said although he realized that there were problems in installing traffic control devices on State roads, this might merit further examination.

Council Member Brown noted that a Traffic Planner position in the Planning Department had been reassigned to general long-term planning projects at a time when there was a need to move ahead with traffic calming and sidewalk plans.

Council Member Evans stated that a number of changes to the Comprehensive Plan needed to be incorporated as soon as possible, including curb and gutter standards, traffic calming guidelines and the single-occupant vehicle report, upon adoption by the Council. She stated that the entire Development Ordinance needed to be reviewed in the near future.

Suggesting the possibility of experimenting with traffic calming techniques, Council Member Protzman said it was important to move ahead on this matter as soon as possible.

Stating that the Transit Planner position had not been eliminated by the Council, Council Member Waldorf stated that the Council could direct the Manager to shift priorities of the planner position back toward transit planning activities. She inquired about the Planning staff's current workload. Mr. Horton stated that Planning staff had a full slate of activities. He also said it would be beneficial to receive Council guidance about what projects might be deleted and what new resources might be added to handle the increased workload.

Council Member Protzman inquired about the possibility of the Transportation Board providing guidance to the Council about traffic calming mechanisms. Transportation Board Chairperson Richard Franck said the Board could add this project to its task list.

Stating that some work had already occurred on where traffic calming might be initiated, Council Member Brown said not much more work was needed in this regard. Mr. Horton noted that traffic calming could possibly be added to the Comprehensive Plan as suggested guidelines for future development proposals. He also suggested that neighborhoods could volunteer for traffic calming programs and that the Town could contract with a private engineering firm to coordinate execution of these projects.

Council Member Brown said it was a good idea to have carefully thought out plans for traffic calming methods to have a better chance to succeed.

Mr. Horton suggested the possibility of using Stephens Street, immediately behind the Town Hall building, as a test project for traffic calming. Stating the importance of good overall transit planning, Council Member Brown said she preferred that the Transportation Board review the matter before deciding on a specific project site such as Stephens Street. As an alternative, Council Member Evans suggested the possibility of a neighborhood such as South Lakeshore Drive residents, requesting that their neighborhood be a test model for traffic calming techniques.

Mr. Horton stated that staff could provide the Council with estimates on time and costs for small, medium and large traffic calming projects. Council Member Brown said it was important for the Transportation Board to review the proposed projects. Council Member Protzman expressed his concurrence.

Council Member Waldorf said she was not sure that the Council had done a good enough job of indicating specific follow-up requests from today's session. Mayor Broun suggested deferring discussion until the Council's next retreat, unless individual Council Members wished to ask for specific follow-up staff reports at petition time of future Council meetings. Council Member Evans requested a report on when sidewalks would be built. Mr. Horton said staff could provide a report on this matter.

Evaluation of Retreat

Council Member Powell requested that future Council Planning Sessions not be scheduled to interfere with future Orange County Democratic Breakfast meetings.

Council Member Capowski said he did not get a lot out of today's session. Mayor Broun said he disagreed. Mayor Broun stated that today's session had presented an opportunity for the exchange of ideas and a discussion of new initiatives. He also said the discussion about the parks and recreation/outdoor nature situation had been beneficial as had been some of today's general discussions. Council Member Evans stated that today's session allowed the Council to discuss matters not discussed on regular meetings or on regular Council agendas.

Council Member Capowski said today's session was a little too vague in comparison to previous Council planning sessions.

Council Member Brown said she had found today's session quite helpful.

The planning session concluded at 12:33 p.m.