The following section provides a breakdown of the sources of funding available to the Town of Chapel Hill which can be used for sidewalk construction. It identifies the funds that have been committed for sidewalk projects included on the 2004-2005 Construction Plan List and also identifies some long-term funding commitments:
Capital Improvement Program
On October 11, 2004, the Town Council authorized the Town Manager to use approximately $50,000 of residual funds in the Capital Improvement Program sidewalks account for construction of sidewalks on Legion Road. Projects T1, T2 on the 2004-2005 Construction Plan have been completed and project T5 is currently under construction. On completion these funds will be expended.
$50,000 of capital improvement program funds are being held as a local match requirement for State Transportation Direct Allocation Funds which were allocated to the Town in 2004 for the construction of sidewalks to NC 86 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard) between Estes Drive and Homestead Road.
General Obligation Bonds
During 2004, the Town issued $4 million in bonds as the first of four projected bond issues between 2004 and 2009. The first issue included $600,000 for sidewalk construction. The total funds committed to projects in the 2004-2005 Construction Plan from the 2004 bond sale are currently $403,000. That leaves $187,000 currently uncommitted. In the cases of projects where the Town is receiving State Transportation Direct Allocation Funds (STPDA) funds, the Town will initially need to fund the full project expense. Eighty percent of the project cost will be refunded on completion.
Future Bond Sales for sidewalk construction are scheduled for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006-2007 (Fall 2006), $900,000, FY 2008-2009, $600,000 and FY 2009-2010, $500,000.
Community Development Block Grant
In 2004-2005 $30,000 in grant funds were used to build sidewalk projects T3 and T7 on West Rosemary Street at Robeson Street and at South Graham Street. On May 9, 2005, the Town Council approved a community development program for 2005-2006 which does not include sidewalk construction. The next opportunity to seek funds for facilities improvements from the community development program will be in January 2006. Submissions could be included as part of the annual budget preparation process. If included, funds would be available after July 1, 2007.
Transportation Improvement Program
The Town of Chapel Hill currently has two major projects included in the 2006-2012 Transportation Improvement Program. These are Weaver Dairy Road and South Columbia Street, both scheduled for construction in 2009. Both projects will require Town participation for the construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities. $180,000 from the 1996 bond funds have been designated as required for the local match for the Weaver Dairy Road project. We anticipate that approximately $26,000 will be required in 2009 as the local match for sidewalks along South Columbia Street. Future bond funds are planned to be issued in 2006, 2008 and 2009 any of which could be used for this purpose.
Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation Funds
In 2004, 2005 and for 2006 the Town has been allocated State Transportation Direct Allocation Funds for improvements to NC 86 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard). The total allocation is now $260,000. The Town’s required 20 percent local match will be $65,000. The Town has set aside $50,000 for the required local match from Capital Improvement Program Funds and the remaining $15,000 has been set aside from the 2004 bond funds.
In May 2005, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization allocated Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation Funds for fiscal years 2006-07 and 2007-08 for bicycle and pedestrian improvements. For fiscal year 2006-07 the Town was allocated $12,000 to add sidewalk on the east side of Fordham Boulevard at the existing pedestrian crossing on the northeast corner of the intersection of Fordham Boulevard and S. Estes Drive. The Town also received $8,000 for improvements to stormwater drainage grates along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. For fiscal year 2007-08 the Town was allocated $108,000 to construct sidewalks on Culbreth Road between US 15-501 and Channing Lane. The Town will be required to provide a 20 percent local match for these funds. The total cost for these projects are included in Table 1. In 2005, the MPO decided to allocate these funds every two years, so we do not anticipate any further allocations from this source until 2007
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization also has allocated $1.5 million of Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation funds for bicycle and pedestrian improvements along Old Durham Chapel Hill Road, from US 15-501 to Garrett Road. This project is partly in the Town of Chapel Hill and partly in the City of Durham. The $1.5 million includes a 20 percent local match ($300,000) to be split between the municipalities. In addition to the Direct Allocation funds, the North Carolina Bicycle and Pedestrian Program has provided $400,000 for this project. The current total funding for the project, including local matches, is $1.9 million.
We believe that the earliest start date for a project would be FY 2009. We believe the current proposed project design will require approximately $1.0 in additional funding. We estimate that approximately $220,000 would be required as the 20 percent local match for the Town of Chapel Hill. Future bond funds are planned to be issued in 2006, 2008 and 2009 any of which could be used for this purpose.
Sidewalk Assessments
Another funding option for sidewalks is the assessment process outlined in the North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 160A, Article 10. Under this article, property owners may file a petition seeking the installation of a sidewalk and the assessment of a portion of the costs of the sidewalk to the abutting properties. If such a petition is signed by the requisite number of owners representing the requisite front footage, the Council can elect to construct the sidewalk and charge the stated portion of the costs to the benefited properties. Provisions can be included for the payment of the assessments over a number of years. In addition, the Town Charter Section 6.11 provides a procedure under which the Town can, under certain circumstances, install a sidewalk without a petition and assess the cost thereof against abutting properties. This process has not been used in at least 20 years and we are not recommending it to fund the projects we propose.