SUMMARY MINUTES OF A BUDGET WORK SESSION
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006, AT 4:00 P.M.
Mayor Kevin Foy called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Council members present were Laurin Easthom, Sally Greene, Ed Harrison, Cam Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, and Jim Ward.
Council Member Bill Thorpe was absent, excused.
Staff members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller, Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin, Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko, Finance Director Kay Johnson, Information Technology Director Bob Avery, Planning Director J. B. Culpepper, Engineering Director George Small, Public Works Director Bill Letteri, Police Major Brian Curran, Police Analyst Jane Cousins, Fire Chief Dan Jones, Interim Transportation Director Kurt Neufang, Human Resources Director Pam Eastwood, Library Director Kathleen Thompson, Assistant Town Clerk Amy Harvey, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.
Item 1 – Preliminary Overview of Potential Key Issues
Mr. Horton noted the Town was at a preliminary stage of budget development, and had not yet had an opportunity to evaluate proposals made by advisory boards. He stated that he would present a preliminary report, and as the staff worked with the Council on the budget it would come to a better understanding of what revenues were likely to be and have a better set of costs figures to recommend for the Council’s consideration. Mr. Horton said that by the April 24 business meeting he would have a budget recommendation for the Council’s consideration. He noted that the finance director would provide the Council with an overview of the budget and its key issues.
Finance Director Kay Johnson stated that they had examined the base budgets for both the General Fund and the Transportation Fund, and with current estimates of revenues and expenditures there was sufficient revenue to cover the cost of the base budget in both funds.
Regarding the General Fund, Ms. Johnson stated that the base budget included the full cost of salaries for a partial year last year when new positions were added. She said there still was an estimate of the potential increase in health insurance, but she hoped to have a more refined figure by the end of April. Ms. Johnson said, with operating costs the types of increases reflected would be related to the staff’s best estimates of increases in fuel costs, as well as increases, such as electricity, related to the larger size of the Town Operations Center. In addition, Ms. Johnson said, there is the actual costs of moving from the current site to the new Town Operations Center, some of which would be one-time costs and others that are related to two sites operating at the same time.
Ms. Johnson said she had provided the Council with revised preliminary revenue and cost estimates due to two items inadvertently left off in the base budget: the costs of liability insurance for the Town, and the Council’s contingency fund. She said they had also moved two items from the “add” list to the base budget: the $70,000 funding for the Downtown Partnership, and the $150,000 for the Arts Council. Ms. Johnson said there also was existing bond debt, existing capital equipment, and the transfer to the Capital Improvements Program fund for items currently under contract.
Ms. Johnson remarked that in the preliminary additions to the base budget, they had looked at potential pay increases for which the Council will receive a report on April 24. They also have working papers on the other items on the “add” list, she said, and on the addition of police officers, firefighters, database administrator, children’s librarian, a groundskeeper for the Town Operations Center and one for the Downtown District, a traffic technician, and temporary salaries and supplies for the Academy of Excellence for the 21st Century Program.
Ms. Johnson said they had included an amount equal to level funding for human services contracts including Hotel/Motel allocations and grants to other agencies. She said that excluded the two mentioned previously, the Downtown Partnership and the Arts Council, and also excluded 10 percent of the revenues anticipated from the Hotel/Motel Tax required to be used for tourism or cultural events. Ms. Johnson said other potential additions include vehicles for the three on-shift assistant fire marshals, interior bus posters, on-demand on-line video streaming of Council meetings, and the Downtown Economic Development Initiative that will continue into next year. She said that if the Town issues bonds in the fall of next year, as planned, there would be the first interest on the payment due on those bonds, as well as the CIP per the Town’s schedule.
Ms. Johnson noted that the total of the priority additions and the base budget was $50,027,600. She said they had offsetting revenues that included the $800,000 carried forward from the current year budget and $2 million derived from an accounting change that was one time money. That leaves the Town with a difference of about $1 million, Ms. Johnson said.
Ms. Johnson said the Transportation Fund base budget was covered by existing revenues. She said priority additions to the base budget included salary increases, additional positions for the new UNC routes, and a new Carrboro route, at a cost of $132,000.
Ms. Johnson said they had also looked at the Parking Fund, the Stormwater Fund, and the Public Housing Fund. She said with the Public Housing Fund they received information regarding the federal subsidy on a calendar year, so the budget would reflect only half-year figures and the Town would need to project the other half year using basically what was insufficient information. Ms. Johnson said as time went on they would continue to update those estimates and bring that information back to the Council.
Ms. Johnson said the Stormwater budget was estimated to remain basically as it was this year, in terms of revenues and the projects associated with that. She said the third fund that was a source of income to the Town was the Parking Fund, and as the Downtown Initiative proceeds she believed there would be some adjustments needed to revenues and expenditures in that fund, depending on what periods of time the facilities may be closed and unavailable for parking.
Mr. Horton said he knew there was a long way to go, and he would be working with Ms. Johnson to refine these figures as they go along. He noted that he would not bring forward a budget that would be this far out of balance and which would require such a large tax increase. Mr. Horton said he was aware of the Council’s need to consider future years as well, so he would bring back something that was more reasonable.
Mr. Horton stated that they had wanted the Council to understand the needs that department heads had identified, and that each of the items had a strong justification. He said the staff had to work with the Council to figure out what is sustainable for the community, and they would do their best to take into account the Council’s advice and feedback as they move forward.
Mayor pro tem Strom said, at the retreat they had talked about looking carefully at this budget and at what they would be facing next year. He said, on page 4 of the report there were some items listed that could be added to the base budget, and he was very much in support of adding the $12,000 for a staff person to manage the affordable rental units that were collectively owned by local non-profits. Mayor pro tem Strom said he was pleased that both Carrboro and Orange County were being asked to make significant contributions as well. He urged the Council to support that and to instruct the Town Manager to include that as a priority addition.
Mayor Foy said he did not believe the Town was at a point to do that. Mayor pro tem Strom remarked that this was a good proposal as well as a good opportunity for the Council to support that.
Mayor Foy said, on page 6 of the January 12 report under General Fund Conclusion, it stated that there would be about $3.9 million available for potential additions to the base budget, and the current report stated there was about $2.8 million. He asked where that $1 million went. Ms. Johnson responded that certain vacant positions were omitted in error from the January report, which accounted for about $300,000, and other changes were made in terms of what it would cost to move to the new Town Operations Center and there had been several other material changes to the base budget.
Mayor Foy clarified that there was in essence only a $700,000 change from the January figures, since $300,000 was omitted in error. Ms. Johnson stated that was correct. She noted a part of that $700,000 included the $150,000 for the Arts Council and $70,000 for the Downtown Partnership. Ms. Johnson said she would provide the Council with a complete list of the changes that made up the $700,000.
Item 2 – Capital Improvements Program Priorities
Mr. Horton stated that Mr. Heflin would provide the Council with an overview. He said that one of the items on the priority list was the replacement of the HVAC units in the Town Hall, noting that unfortunately today was one of those days where that need was most obvious.
Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin stated that the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) consisted of a base budget of $283,000, which included installments of money borrowed for projects already completed and $1.4 million for additional requests, for a total of about $1.7 million. He said this amount was the same amount projected previously.
Mr. Heflin said they had attempted to meet specific needs in the CIP based on Council priorities, obligations, and contractual arrangements, and had focused on existing infrastructure, such as existing investments and buildings. He noted that the report listed the various projects that were being recommended for consideration. Mr. Heflin noted that Table I included installment contract payments, and Table 2 included new projects or marginal additions. He provided a brief overview of those priorities as follows:
Mayor Foy said that Table 2 under Community Center Capital Repairs noted that $224,000 was included in the 2005-2006 CIP and represented the first annual payment. Mr. Heflin said that was misleading, stating that the $224,000 was a cash payment for design costs. He said they had initially intended to begin the installment funding this year and pay for design costs from that, but were able to fund design work using cash on hand so had deferred the installment payment until the coming year.
Mayor Foy said, regarding the January 12 memo on page 6, there was a section entitled Beyond 2006-07. He said that section stated that “if the Council proceeded with the planned bond sale in fall of 2006, we would anticipate an additional debt service payment of about $800,000 in 2007-08. Debt service on the existing debt will increase by about $326,000 from 2006-07 as well, since we had elected to pay reduced principle on the TOC debt in the first two years to ease debt service payment sin 2005-06 and 2006-07.” Mayor Foy asked if that meant that there was about $1.1 million that was embedded in next year’s budget. Ms. Johnson said that was correct.
Mayor Foy said that as the Council considered the budget it needed to know as much as possible, not only about revenues and expenditures but also about how it would affect next year’s budge. He said as of now they were looking at a two-cent tax increase unless they find some offsetting revenues. Mayor Foy said if they considered installment financing, then they were committing themselves over an extended period of time. So if they made a decision to do that then it would be in addition to the $1.1 million already committed, he said.
Mayor pro tem Strom said, regarding payments on bonds issued in 2006, what was noted in the report was just the beginning of payments on the new debt. Ms. Johnson said that was correct.
Mayor pro tem Strom said, regarding the installment debt payment on the Community Center, it was noted that $224,000 was included in the 2005-06 CIP for design services. He asked if that design was complete. Mr. Heflin replied that they were now in the stage referred to as detailed design, or design development, meaning they were at the point of preparing bid documents.
Mayor pro tem Strom asked how large the project was. Mr. Heflin responded about $2 million. Mayor pro tem Strom said that would mean the Town would have installment debt payments on the $2 million. He asked if the Town would get the design cash back out of that $2 million. Mr. Heflin replied no. Mayor pro tem Strom said then the project was actually a $2.2 million project. Mr. Heflin said that was correct.
Council Member Hill said, regarding the Town Hall Vestibule Doors project, that there were three reasons noted for that project. He said one of the reasons was to make the entryways ADA compliant. Council Member Hill asked if that meant that none of the entrances to Town Hall were ADA compliant. Mr. Heflin said it was correct that there were no self-opening doors that open without assistance.
Council Member Hill asked if the Town had gotten estimates from a contractor. Mr. Heflin said they had acquired a rough estimate from a contractor for the first floor and second floor entrances.
Council Member Hill said he did not understand why this project would make Town Hall more energy efficient unless there was an air lock. Mr. Heflin said the air lock was included in the estimate. Council Member Hill said in essence the Town would wind up with four ADA compliance entrances. Mr. Heflin replied that was correct.
Council Member Harrison asked, regarding the purchase of 800 MHz radios for the Fire Department, if there was a possibility of grant funding for that. Mr. Horton replied that the Town had already received substantial grant funding, and if there were other grant funds available they would certainly seek it out. Council Member Harrison said the $68,000 noted in the report was what remained after the grant funds. Mr. Horton responded that was correct.
Mayor Foy asked about the status of the energy bond money, when it was issued, what the guidelines were, and if any of the CIP projects quality. Mr. Heflin said some of the funds were used for matching funds and for consulting to set up the Energy Bank, as well as the upgrades performed at Fire Station #1. He said the Sustainability, Energy and Environment (SEE) Committee had worked on criteria to distribute remaining funds to other projects, but he did not know exactly where that stood. Mr. Heflin said they would bring to the SEE Committee at an upcoming meeting a proposal on how those remaining funds might be used on community projects. He said they were proposing that one of those projects might be the energy management system for Town Hall, assuming they were able to do the HVAC upgrades.
Mayor Foy said the report noted there was an opportunity to use an additional $90,000 in Energy Bank bonds for the Town Hall HVAC project, and asked if that meant that $90,000 would be subtracted from the $280,000 noted as the cost of that project. Mr. Heflin responded that it was in addition to the $280,000. He said the $280,000 would replace the unit on the roof, replace the thermostats, and potentially upgrade the AV control boxes throughout the system. He said the control system would be the energy management system that would allow them to automatically turn on and off parts of the system, perform troubleshooting, and monitor the system remotely.
Council Member Easthom asked, regarding the Building Condition Assessment Program, why the Town would need to have a consultant perform this assessment. Mr. Heflin replied there were two reasons. One, he said, was the time involved. He said it was an exhaustive process where every building was looked at in detail. Mr. Heflin said the second was that these were experts who did this kind of work for a living, and they used computer software and field experience in their work. He said they could draw on a number of disciplines in the construction field. Mr. Heflin said the Town had some of that expertise on staff, but did not have all of it.
Mr. Horton said the assessments were outside the Town’s ability, particularly with regard to electrical engineering. He said that consultants also provided an objective third party who was not biased towards any particular building or program or service. Mr. Horton said such consultants had guided the Town well in the past and their work had allowed it to postpone some repairs and to make others with urgency. He said they could do without a building assessment for a time, but it was time to do one again. Mr. Horton said it did not have to be done now, but added that it was worthwhile doing. He said he did not know if it would be in the final budget. He said that the department responsible for this felt it was time to do it.
Council Member Easthom said regarding Cemetery Beautification, $20,000 was noted for markers, signage, and lighting. She asked what exactly “beautification” meant. Mr. Heflin said it was a catchall term coming from a 1987 cemetery master plan that had focused on the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery. He said the Council had funded part of the recommendations of the task force who prepared that master plan, and over the years the Town had gradually worked its way through the long list of identified needs.
Mr. Heflin said the largest steps forward were taken using funds granted by the University and supplemented by the Town to do stone wall restoration. He said they had also done some drainage and walkway improvements, and had agreed to include a memorial cemetery. Mr. Heflin said the Town owned five cemeteries, and all five could potentially have improvements funded from this money if needs were identified.
Mr. Heflin said it was a meagerly funded project, and they had been able to perform only marginal work on the fairly extensive list of repairs. He said marker repairs were something that a lot of money could be spent on, with only a few contractors able to perform it. Mr. Heflin said these markers were generally vandalized and left in a state of deterioration, but were of historic significance so they tried to maintain them. He said signage at the two larger cemeteries was an issue, in that people visiting would like to be able to get around more efficiently. Mr. Heflin offered to provide the Council with a full list of work that had been performed at the cemeteries.
Council Member Ward asked where in the report was the funding that the Town would use to improve sidewalk conditions. Mr. Heflin said the report included only the funds that would be used from the General Fund. He said it did not include money from bonds or grants. Mr. Heflin said the complete CIP that the Council would receive would include all of those funds. He stated the majority of their sidewalk work was done using a combination of the bonds that the Council had authorized and sold previously, and funds from NCDOT that it either matched or accepted. Mr. Heflin said the Sidewalk Construction Plan noted the level of funding coming from bonds.
Mayor pro tem Strom said that since he had come onto the Council in 1999 the budget had increased significantly, but they had been able to retain that $800,000 rollover as a consistent placeholder. He asked the Manager to consider increasing that figure significantly, to perhaps $1.1 or $1.2 million in this year’s budget. Mayor pro tem Strom stated that he knew that was a challenge and may make things tight, but it was a way to increase the discipline of looking for savings and also freeing up some room in the budget for next year.
Mr. Horton responded that was a valid request and a valid technique and they would do the best they could to conserve the resources already granted. He said it would be difficult to do because the year was close to the end, but they had been careful with their expenditures. Mr. Horton said the Town had experienced some turnover and vacancies, and some revenues had been better that expected. He said they would look at all of those factors and take that into account and roll forward what they could.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said it had been suggested in past years that the Town actually get rid of that $800,000 rollover. Mayor pro tem Strom said that was correct, but if we had gotten rid of it, it would have cost us $1.6 million. He said that was why it was put in as a placeholder each year. Mayor pro tem Strom said if we increased it to $1.2 million, we would be challenging our staff to save not $800,000 but $1.2 million, and in effect would be creating $400,000 extra dollars with which to address community concerns.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said then it would not be a similar placeholder. Mayor pro tem Strom said he was suggesting increasing the amount of the placeholder. Council Member Kleinschmidt said then he was suggesting increasing it right now in the 2005-2006 current budget from $800,000 to $1.2 million. Mayor pro tem Strom said he was suggesting trying to do it in the current year and then consider it for the following year. He remarked the Council had talked about eliminating the rollover, but had decided it was not prudent.
Mayor Foy said then the $1.2 million would become the new rollover target for coming years.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said that money then would be carried forward each year and not used. Mayor pro tem Strom said it would be a placeholder. Council Member Kleinschmidt said he was trying to understand how they had gone from considering eliminating the rollover altogether to increasing it to $1.2 million.
Mayor Foy commented that in essence if they planned to have $100,000 in expenses and only spent $95,000, then there would be an extra $5,000 not spent. He said what the Manager had done was to consistently not spend that $5,000 each year and let it roll over into the next year. Mayor Foy said what Mayor pro tem Strom was suggesting was increasing that rollover so that it could be allocated next year.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said the Town would begin the year with the $1.2 million and then end the year with the $1.2 million in rollover, so essentially there was no change. Mayor pro tem Strom said they would save an additional $400,000 this year.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said if the Town started the year with $1.2 million and ended the year with $1.2 million, then it basically spent everything that had been allocated. Mayor Foy said that was correct. Council Member Kleinschmidt said that was not new money, but money they had entered the year with.
Mr. Horton said in some sense the Town would have to start the year all over again each year. He said, for instance, at July 1 (the beginning of the fiscal year), the Town did not have the $800,000 saved. Mr. Horton said at this point they were confident that they would be able to capture that $800,000, and if they did then the Council would have that $800,000 to begin next year with. He said if that figure were raised to $1.2 million, then they would start out with zero saved and would have to find a way to save that $1.2 million by the end of that year. Mr. Horton said in effect it was a new problem each year to identify those savings, in that they had to search for it.
Council Member Ward said that each year the staff had to find and hold onto $800,000 during the course of the fiscal year. Mr. Horton said that was the challenge, noting their obligation as a matter of law was not to exceed the budget. He said he could envision a year when it would be impossible to save that $800,000, although they had been able to do it successfully so far. Mr. Horton said they monitor the budget carefully to insure they would be able to hit that target.
Mayor Foy noted that there was a time not that long ago when that $800,000 equaled two cents on the tax rate, and now it was $1.2 million that equaled two cents. He said the point was if that $800,000 were not saved each year, then the Town would have to make it up in property taxes.
Mayor pro tem Strom made the point that when the Council had discussed eliminating the rollover it had realized that it would have had to actually come up with the hard dollars that it had been putting into the placeholder in order to balance the budget. He said they had steered away from it because at that time it would have meant an additional two cents on the tax rate with no contribution to services or capital.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said his response to that was to not increase it but to decrease it marginally each year. Because they were then facing some tough budget years, he said, they did not decrease it at all but left it the same. Council Member Kleinschmidt said there had never been any discussion about increasing it.
Mayor Foy said the question was whether or not it was a good idea. He said it might be a good idea to have as a Council goal saving a certain amount of money each year in order to lessen the pressure on the Council to look for ways to save. He said it gave some flexibility to the Manager to find the dollars and meet this goal each year.
Mr. Horton said all of that was correct, noting there were challenges that the Town had no control over. For instance, he said, there might be another hurricane, such as Hurricane Fran, where the Town suffered extensive devastation. Mr. Horton said that under the current FEMA rules, he did not believe the Town would get as much reimbursement for that damage as they had with Hurricane Fran. He commented that they could have a year in which they would not meet the target rollover, and that would be a year in which the Council would have to raise taxes in order to meet it or reduce services. Mr. Horton said it was always a gamble, and whether or not the rollover was increased or decreased there were good arguments on both sides.
Council Member Ward asked what effect the amount of Fund Balance that was determined had on the tax rate, or was it unrelated. Mr. Horton said Fund Balance was a different issue. He said the amount that the Council appropriated from Fund Balance did have a direct effect. For instance, if the Council appropriated $800,000 from Fund Balance then it would reduce the tax rate by an equivalent amount, but only for that one year. Mr. Horton said if those funds were not available in succeeding years, then the tax rate would have to be increased to make up for it.
Mr. Horton said, in an organization of this size there were always some variances in revenues and costs, and the staff tried to make sure those variances worked in the Town’s favor rather than against it. He said they also measure the costs during the course of the year and make adjustments to keep it in line based on the revenues actually received.
Council Member Easthom asked how the $2 million appropriated from Fund Balance could be saved. Mr. Horton said it had already been saved and was in the Fund Balance. Council Member Easthom said she would like to have it saved indefinitely. Mr. Horton stated it was equivalent to about four cents on the tax rate, and if none of it were used it would be a budget challenge. He said if the Council decided to use a portion of it, which he would probably recommend, it would make the budget process a little less challenging. Council Member Easthom said she would like to meet that challenge.
Mayor Foy asked, if the Manager were to recommend using a portion of that money, would it be only for one-time expenditures or would it be ongoing. Mr. Horton said they were not far enough along in the budget process to make that determination. He said he would want to use it principally for one-time purposes such as for capital improvements.
Item 3 – Police Department
Mr. Horton noted that Police Major Brian Curran was in charge of Department operations during the absence of Police Chief Gregg Jarvies. He said that Chief Jarvies was making good progress recovering from his illness and was expected back at work next week. Mr. Horton said that Police Planner/Analyst Jane Cousins was also present to answer questions.
Major Curran noted they had identified safety and security of the downtown as a priority for the coming year. He said they had heard from many stakeholders, including downtown merchants, visitors, residents, and various outlets of the media, that safety was of much concern to them. Major Curran said Ms. Cousins was working on preparing the empirical data to back that up. He said that for the last six months of the fiscal year crime in Chapel Hill was down 15 percent, but in the downtown area there had been an increase in major crimes, from 135 to 154 incidents.
Major Curran stated they also realized that the downtown was poised for significant change, noting the Wallace Deck and Lot #5 projects, the project at the corner of Rosemary Street and Mitchell Lane that was preparing to open, as well as the Franklin Hotel and other properties in the planning stages on Rosemary Street.
Major Curran said, in response to these growing concerns and the expected changes to the downtown, they were requesting the creation of a Downtown Patrol District, running from approximately Robertson Lane on the eastern end and going west to Carrboro along Franklin, then back down Rosemary Street. He said that entire area covered approximately 2 miles. He said to accomplish that they were requesting seven new patrol positions, to be added to the five existing positions whose duties were primarily in the downtown, to form a 12-officer squad. Major Curran said they would like to have two of those positions reclassified as supervisors, one sergeant and one lieutenant, to run the unit. He said they anticipated the unit would provide daytime coverage on both east and west sides, but they would focus primarily on the late afternoon, evening and into the night. Major Curran said they also anticipated that the unit would provide coverage for approximately 20 hours per day, with other patrols supplementing that coverage to bring the coverage to 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Major Curran said they envision this unit to be a bike and foot patrol squad, making them more accessible to visitors and merchants, more visible to the public, and more approachable. He said creation of this district and this squad would help address concerns from a perception point of view as well as in reality.
Major Curran said they were also requesting some computer hardware and software that would allow them to keep officers in the field for longer periods, rather than in the office, so that reports could be filed using mobile computers from the field.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked where in the new district the new patrol would be headquartered. Major Curran said they had tentative plans to use the substation located at University Square. He said they were discussing opening a substation on Sykes Street and in Northside as well.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked what, if any, conversations they’d had with UNC Police Chief Poarch about using UNC as a complimentary agency to provide some services. He said that the district extended onto some University property, and that University property was the boundary of the district. Council Member Kleinschmidt asked for a description of the current relationship with the UNC Police Department when it came to providing services in that district. Major Curran said they had a cooperative and genial relationship with them. He said there were properties within that district that belonged to the University that their officers would come and check on. Major Curran said that whenever an issue or event had come up that they needed assistance with the UNC Police usually responded by providing officers. He said in the general course of things, they took care of University property, and the Town took care of the Town in general.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said he had notice UNC Police officers on Franklin Street late in the evenings on the south side, and had also noticed those officers’ reluctance to use the signal crosswalk at Porthole Alley, which actually ended at a very volatile point of the 100 block. He said he was disturbed by reports from people of the unwillingness of UNC Police to use that alley. Council Member Kleinschmidt said since the Town was envisioning a new district that overlapped UNC property then it should encourage greater cooperation with UNC Police, particularly since over the last several years they had asked for greater authority in the entire Town limits. He said perhaps that could be discussed more later, but it might be a way to enhance resources.
Council Member Hill asked what Council Member Kleinschmidt meant and if he was saying that UNC officers were not willing to cross the street. Council Member Kleinschmidt said that was correct. Council Member Hill said they would not cross from the south side to the north side. Council Member Kleinschmidt said that was correct, even though there was a signalized crosswalk at that location. Council Member Hill asked what their motivation would be to cross to the north side. Council Member Kleinschmidt responded to stop fights or criminal activity. Council Member Hill asked if he were saying that if such incidents happened, the UNC officers would not cross the street to offer assistance. Council Member Kleinschmidt replied that was what had been reported to him.
Council Member Ward said it was his perception that there was a trend towards gang activity and related graffiti, and if his perception was correct what did the Police budget contain to address those issues. Major Curran replied they had two officers who worked in gang education activity, and they had applied for a grant to provide awareness level training for officers and the community regarding gang issues, as well as overtime for officers to work in areas and at times when gang activity might be a problem.
Council Member Ward asked when they would be notified if the grant had been awarded. Major Curran responded April 1. Council Member Ward asked if gang activity was stable in the community. Major Curran said his sense was that there was an ebb and flow to it, with more at some times than others. He said that officers were reporting evidence of gang colors on weekend nights but the persons involved did not appear to be locals. Major Curran said the public was more aware of the issue now, and as a result may be seeing things that had already been here but had gone undetected.
Council Member Ward said he knew officers were active in identifying and getting Public Works to remove graffiti, but he was aware that throughout the community graffiti was present sometimes for several days before it was removed. He said he was curious if the Police felt that they or Public Works had adequate resources to address the issue or whether more was needed. Council Member Ward said the backsides of buildings that fronted Franklin Street often had graffiti that lingered. Major Curran said they were pleased with the response from Public Works when graffiti had been identified, noting they were very helpful. He said when graffiti was found on privately owned buildings they also talked with the owners to see if they need help to deal with it. Major Curran said anytime graffiti was found they started the process for prompt removal.
Mayor Foy said that when everything that was being requested was added up, it amounted to approximately $552,000, but the ongoing personnel cost was $481,000. Major Curran said that was correct.
Mayor pro tem Strom said he appreciated the suggestion of a Downtown Police District being brought forward, and was convinced that the Town needed it. He asked the Manager to put this in context when it comes back to the Council as to how many patrol officers there are in the community. Mayor pro tem Strom said he would like to see one or two different options on how to accomplish this, maybe by using current officers transferred into this unit. He said he knew the Town would need to make trade-offs, but they were looking at a tough budget. Mayor pro tem Strom said it may not be feasible or a good idea, but he would like to explore ways to accomplish it without spending $481,000.
Council Member Harrison commented that he was present at the opening of the University Square substation, and it had been forecast that this request was imminent. He said he was grateful for the time Ms. Cousins had spent dealing with the public regarding the recent tragedies in Town, referring to the two pedestrian and one bicycle fatalities.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked for more information on the Sykes Street substation. Major Curran responded that 501 Sykes Street was a Town-owned building for which EmPOWERment had been the contractor for renovating. He said when all renovations were complete they would begin talks with them to have it designated as a Police substation.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked if the Town was confident that the interest remained high in that neighborhood for that. Major Curran said that was the information they had received. Council Member Kleinschmidt said he had heard differing comments from residents living near that location, and wondered about the level of commitment from the neighborhood to have a substation located there.
Major Curran replied that in the immediate neighborhood there were currently two Habitat houses and two EmPOWERment houses being constructed. He said they were attempting to help stabilize the neighborhood by bringing families into those homes, and they believed that having a substation nearby would be beneficial. Major Curran said families have stopped by to tell them how much they appreciated the Police presence in the neighborhood. Council Member Kleinschmidt stated that was good to hear. He said that area was being transformed with the new houses going up. Major Curran said they were excited about the opportunity.
Mayor Foy, noting that time was running short for tonight’s work session, questioned the Manager regarding the remaining items on the agenda. Mr. Horton responded that the Council had already received information from the Fire Chief regarding the need for additional firefighters. He said the primary information he wanted to impart to the Council regarding the Engineering Department was that for the last several months they had been experimenting with transferring an administrative unit from the Public Works Department to the Engineering Department to allow Traffic Engineer Kumar Neppalli to have direct supervision over all of the traffic engineering services. Mr. Horton said he had been satisfied with the results and would include that as a permanent reorganization within the budget. He said that the Engineering Department had worked with the State to come up with additional funding that would allow one additional traffic position to be paid for out of funds that already exist or new funding that was coming.
Mr. Horton said he believed it would be useful to hear from the Public Works Department regarding a proposal for a downtown groundskeeper as well as some other additions. He said he also believed the Council would want to hear from the Town Clerk regarding what he believed was an interesting and exciting proposal that would put the Town into the 21st century in terms of providing for the public on demand, on-line streaming video access of Town Council meetings.
The Council agreed by consensus to use the remainder of the meeting to hear proposals from the Public Works Department and the Town Clerk.
Item 7 – Public Works Department
Public Works Director Bill Letteri briefed the Council on the three issues of importance: the addition of a groundskeeper for the downtown, an additional groundskeeper for the Town Operations Center (TOC), and street reconstruction priorities.
Mr. Letteri stated that a recent clean and safe audit had revealed the need to expand downtown clean-up services. He said they believed the addition of a groundskeeper would increase their presence downtown and allow them to expand their overall services in that area. Mr. Letteri said it would also allow them to improve the cleanliness and appearance of downtown locations into the afternoon and early evening. He said it would enable two employees to work together on tasks more efficiently accomplished by more than one person, such as power washing, removing cigarette butts from under tree grates, and mulching in planter beds. It would provide the opportunity to rotate less desirable work shifts, and provide the advantage of being able to more thoroughly clean benches, remove gum from sidewalks and clean metal surfaces around kiosks and common areas, Mr. Letteri said.
Mayor Foy said he believed everyone was interested in how to better remove gum. Mr. Letteri said they had arranged to have a machine demonstration in the downtown two week ago. He said it was called a “gum buster” and they were impressed with its ability. Mr. Letteri said it worked under high pressure steam and a series of brushes, and removed gum in about a four- to five-second period. He said he would propose hiring this firm to come in and clean both sides of Franklin Street initially, and then acquire the machine for about $5,000 and have the Town maintain the sidewalks itself. Mr. Letteri said he had contacted the Downtown Partnership about perhaps participating in that effort.
Mr. Horton said some people would recognize that the black spots on the sidewalks were actually chewing gum, and it was incredible to him how many people discarded gum on public sidewalks. He said there were literally thousands and thousands of gum spots.
Mr. Letteri said the cost of adding one groundskeeper for the downtown was estimated at $61,000, of which personnel costs were estimated at $45,000 and material and equipment costs were estimated at $16,000.
Mr. Letteri noted that Public Works had been asked to identify costs associated with maintenance of the new TOC, which it expected to occupy around January 1, 2007. He said that facility would be different in many ways, including its size, features, location, and the complexity of the mechanical system, all of which impacted the cost of operations.
Mr. Letteri said the staff projected operational cost increases totaling about $397,000 next year, related primarily to utility costs, landscaping, building maintenance costs, and fuel usage. He said although the new facility would contain state-of-the-art mechanical systems and features, costs could increase due to four factors:
Mr. Letteri said landscape and maintenance costs would increase given the overall size of the areas to be maintained, as well as the amount of seeding, mulching and fertilizer needed. He said the Town would also need smaller mowing equipment to address some of the strip areas that would need to be maintained on the site. Mr. Letteri said they were requesting the addition of a groundskeeper to maintain this 87 percent increase in overall site. He said the total cost to include one full-time groundskeeper for the last six months of the fiscal year would be $18,000, annualized at $37,000.
Mr. Letteri said they had estimated that the additional routine maintenance needed to protect this important asset was $17,000. He said contracted services would be increased to address such things as sprinkler systems and extermination, at a cost of $17,000, and custodial services at a cost of $24,000.
Mr. Letteri said vehicle fuel costs were impacted as well. He said relocation of the operation to a more remote perimeter location would result in greater travel time, and it was difficult to project what that might be. Mr. Letteri said they had applied a reasonable methodology to estimate increases at $41,000 for vehicles and about $121,000 related to bus operations for the last six months of the coming year.
Mr. Letteri said, regarding street maintenance, the report provided to the Council described the street reconstruction priorities and how they routinely maintained those streets. He said that reconstruction became necessary when routine maintenance was no longer effective. Mr. Letteri said top priority streets identified included Friday Center Drive, Ridge Road, and Holly Lane, in that order of priority. He said they expected to reconstruct all of those streets at a cost of approximately $425,000.
Mr. Letteri said they were requesting an increase of $65,000 in the base budget for street reconstruction, and together with their current balance of $42,500 that would bring the total to $107,500. He said they were posing that because of the high level of use and particular construction activity that the University had had on both of these sites. He proposed that the Town engage in discussions with the University about perhaps participating in some of the costs. Mr. Letteri said if those discussions fail, then they propose that $100,000 be used to address the entry lanes to Friday Center Drive.
Regarding street maintenance, Mr. Letteri said resurfacing treatments included milling, slurry seal, and fog seal. He said their tentative list for resurfacing about six miles of streets was about $378,000. Mr. Letteri stated that the milling request was for $60,000 to accommodate about 2 miles of roadway. He said that fog seal involved a liquid agent that was applied to streets to extend the life of the street.
Council Member Easthom asked what the total operational costs they would see in 2007-2008 were, minus the expense of relocating to the TOC in January 2007. Mr. Letteri said the move itself would be a one-time expense that would be largely absorbed in current construction and operations budgets. He said he would hesitate to simply double the numbers provided this year. Mr. Letteri said the Town would learn a lot about the travel distances and the effect on fuel costs, and once the buildings were occupied would have a better idea of utility costs. He suggested that at the end of next year the Town would be in a much better position to determine the costs.
Mr. Horton noted that utility costs would be the biggest variable, and only personnel costs that the Town had proposed were anticipated in the program that Mr. Letteri had put forward. Council Member Easthom ascertained from Mr. Letteri that the Town would not then have a clear idea of future costs.
Mayor Foy said that cost was estimated at $400,000, but about half of that was fuel. Mr. Letteri said that was correct. Mayor Foy asked if the fuel funds for the Transit system came from the partners. Mr. Horton responded that was correct, that the three partners paid that cost and it was part of the Transportation budget.
Council Member Harrison said, regarding street reconstruction, that it referenced seeking joint funding with UNC. He said he wanted to strongly pursue that, noting the major wear and tear on that street was from UNC employees coming from out of Town in single-occupant vehicles, then using the transit system to travel throughout the Town. Council Member Harrison said that was in effect a University driveway, and he would hope they would participate in that.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said it seemed like an extraordinary use by the University of Ridge Road, noting the number of construction vehicles that made use of it and made repairs necessary.
Council Member Ward agreed, noting there was a close connection between the condition of some streets and their use by the University. He said the Town had a history of participating with the University, and he hoped they would participate on this.
Council Member Ward said in his neighborhood there was a street that had been treated with fog seal to extend its life. He said if the Town continued to use that, he would like to have an educational program put in place to alert residents to the process. Council Member Ward said the odor was offensive and was noticeable for several weeks. He said he was concerned about the product, and did not believe you would want children to walk on it barefooted. Mr. Letteri emphasized that he was not totally on board with using that product in the future, but was looking at it on a trial basis. He said they needed more of a history and more understanding of it before moving forward.
Council Member Ward asked about the vacuuming and cleaning of hard surfaces, and asked what surfaces there were other than sidewalks. Mr. Letteri said typically they would blow off the sidewalks and parking lot areas, usually in the early hours of the morning, and then run street sweepers and vacuums down the street.
Council Member Ward said he would like to find a process that did not blow debris into the air. He said vacuuming seemed to be more user-friendly in terms of the air quality. Council Member Ward said using equipment that vacuumed up the debris and immediately confined it would be a better method. Mr. Letteri said that with the addition of another groundskeeper they would be able to use such equipment more frequently and keep the level of debris being blown down.
Mayor Foy said he was glad to see emphasis placed on keeping the downtown clean, and hoped that would make it into the budget. He said now that the Town has the gum problem solved, there was always junk, especially cigarette butts, around the base of trees. Mayor Foy said he hoped the Town could focus on that as well, especially if there are more people dealing with downtown cleanliness. Mr. Letteri said the plan would be to overlap the services of these workers, so that such things could be addressed.
Council Member Ward said they were making better facilities available for people to bike and walk, and he wanted to make sure there were resources to adequately sweep those bicycle lanes and streets that would have the most use. He said either through education or the Town’s own labor force they should address issues related to sidewalk usability, such as nearby vegetation growing over and decreasing the widths of the paths. Council Member Ward said that focus should be placed on more utilitarian streets rather than streets that receive less frequent use.
Item 8 – Town Clerk
Mr. Horton said Ms. Oliver had been researching methods to improve access to information for citizens, to take better advantage of changes in technology, and to make her office more efficient. He said she had developed a proposal that he believed accomplished all three.
Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver said she was requesting support from the Council for technology that would provide live and on-demand streaming of Council meetings. She said this video streaming would be linked to the agenda, and finally to the minutes, so that citizens could easily access the meetings and all associated documents. Ms. Oliver said it would also aid in producing a better set of minutes faster.
Ms. Oliver said, currently, if citizens wanted to view a Council meeting they had to travel to the Clerk’s office and borrow or purchase a DVD or a videotape. She said with on-demand video streaming, citizens would be able to watch the meeting in real time or at any other time via the Internet.
Ms. Oliver, with the assistance of Assistant Town Clerk Amy Harvey, presented a live demonstration by logging onto the Newport Beach, California website and exhibiting how video streaming worked. She noted they had chosen this site because its web format was similar to that of Chapel Hill. Ms. Oliver then proceeded with the demonstration, describing how to navigate through a meeting session and the accompanying materials.
Ms. Oliver said that for a one-time cost of $31,000 and a monthly maintenance cost that was largely offset by a reduction in transcription costs, the Town could provide technology that would give citizens improved access to Council activities.
Mayor pro tem Strom said with this program the Town would be moving from verbatim minutes to summary minutes. Ms. Oliver responded what was currently provided was summary minutes.
Mayor Foy asked if this would be a different kind of summary minutes, such as more skeletal. Ms. Oliver responded that the minutes currently were leaning towards a more verbatim format than a summary format. Mayor Foy said then the key would be indexing it at the right place in the meeting. Ms. Oliver said rather than providing a lengthy set of minutes, citizens could click onto the appropriate place in the meeting and hear what they were interested in, verbatim.
Mayor Foy asked if one would still be able to search all of the minutes. Ms. Oliver said it would work on the same principal as the present minutes.
Mr. Horton added that along with the advantage of being able to watch the meeting via cablevision, anyone who had access to the Internet could get it as streaming video.
Mayor Foy asked what type of software would be needed. Mr. Horton responded that it would mean a Town investment of $31,000, but if someone had the capability to watch video on their home computers they would be able to access the Council meetings and view them as well. Information Technology Director Bob Avery explained that for citizens it would take a little more than just an Internet Browser, and that they would need some appliance software.
Mayor pro tem Strom noted that such software was available through free downloads from the Internet.
Mr. Horton said that after the initial investment, the annual maintenance and service fee would be less than what was spent on transcription, so it was a very reasonable arrangement.
Council Member Easthom commented that this was a fantastic idea and she supported it fully. She said it would be highly used, particularly if the Town had a municipal wireless network in Chapel Hill. Council Member Easthom said this would allow those who did not have cablevision to still view Council meetings.
Council Member Ward said he was glad to see this and looked forward to moving ahead with it. He said an important part would be letting the public know that the Town has this resource and simplifying to the greatest degree possible citizens ability to be successful using it. Council Member Ward said the Council needed to make an extra effort to make this available to areas of Town where computers had just been donated, such as the high school program recently installed in Northside. He said the Town should make this a priority that this would be a tool they would have access to. Council Member Ward stressed making sure the Town provided education about how to use this service.
Council Member Hill said he did not understand why video streaming had been listed at $54,000 but was now $31,000. Ms. Oliver said there had been an error in the original estimates, and the figures had changed somewhat since then. She said the latest estimate was $31,000.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said he had been able to research the history of the TOC through the website, because all of the meetings where it had been discussed were listed. He asked if that same type of capability would be available with this new program as well as watching the meetings themselves. Mr. Avery said there were ways they would work to integrate this with the Town website. He said once this program started, then indexing would be built from there. Mr. Avery said there would be a way to move logically from one to the other.
Council Member Easthom asked if there would be a way to Google search back to older minutes. Mr. Avery said he would check on that.
Council Member Ward asked about the ability to convert current videotapes or DVDs of Council meetings and provide them using streaming. Mr. Avery stated that the staff did not have a price for that. He said there was a possibility of converting past meetings, but they would not be able to link it to the agenda or the materials. Council Member Ward said he would be interested in converting those past meetings into a more useable format.
Mayor Foy said the Council would meet again in two weeks regarding the budget. Mr. Horton said that would be a public forum, and the staff would provide updated information at that time. Mayor Foy asked what would come next, the preliminary budget in April? Mr. Horton said a budget work session was tentatively scheduled for April 5 if the Council wanted the opportunity to discuss other key issues. Mayor Foy suggested keeping that date and deferring some of the issues not discussed tonight to that date. Mr. Horton said the preliminary budget would be presented on April 24, with a budget public hearing on May 10.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.