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 also identifies current commitments from these sources:
Capital Improvement Program
The Town’s Capital Improvements Fund provides funding for small and incremental projects. Annual transfers from the Town’s General Fund are the usual funding source for the Capital Improvements Fund. The program also includes proceeds from bond issues, Stormwater Utility Funds and other funding sources, such as the Community Development Block Grant program, Capital Fund Program (Housing), the Library Gift Fund, the Parking Fund, Surface Transportation Program-Direct Allocation funds, and the Transportation Capital Reserve Fund.
During 2005-2006 approximately $50,000 in residual funds allocated for sidewalk construction were expended on the implementation of projects approved by the Town Council in the 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 Construction Plans.
General Obligation Bonds
A General Obligation Bonds is a form of debt issued against the expected future tax revenues of the municipality. 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 expended or committed to sidewalk construction projects from the 2004 bond sale is currently $480,000. That leaves $120,000 currently uncommitted.
Future Bond Sales for sidewalk construction are scheduled for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006-2007 (Fall 2006), $600,000, FY 2008-2009, $600,000 and FY 2009-2010, $800,000.
Community Development Grant
The Town of Chapel Hill has received Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) since 1975 under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. This legislation provides funds to cities and counties to carry out activities that benefit low- and moderate-income families including: housing repair, public improvements, acquiring land for housing and economic development.
In 2004-2005 $30,000 in grant funds were used to build sidewalk projects on West Rosemary Street at Roberson Street and at South Graham Street. On June 26, 2006, the Town Council approved a community development program for 2006-2007 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.
State-Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program
The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is a seven-year funding document for highway, public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian and rail projects. Projects must be in the TIP to receive State or federal funding. Every two years, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro (DCHC) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) works with local citizens, government officials, elected officials, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation to develop the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) that is eventually adopted as part of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).
The Town of Chapel Hill currently has two major projects included in the 2006-2012 State Transportation Improvement Program. These are located at Weaver Dairy Road and South Columbia Street, both are scheduled for construction in 2009. We anticipate that both projects will require Town participation for the construction of new sidewalks. We anticipate that $180,000 and approximately $26,000 respectively will be required in 2009 as the local match funding. Future bond funds are planned to be issued in 2006, 2008 and 2009 which could be used to provide the local match.
Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation Funds (STP-DA)
Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation Funds are federal funds passed through to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC-MPO) for its use. This includes funds allocated for bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
In 2004 and 2005 the Town was allocated STP-DA funds for improvements to NC 86 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard). $210,000 is allocated for improvements requiring a 20 percent local match of $55,000 from the Town. $55,000 has been set aside from the 2004 bond funds. An implementation study for improvements has been undertaken during the summer of 2006. Construction could be scheduled after the Town Council considers the study recommendations.
In 2005, the MPO allocated $108,000 from this source for a phase of sidewalk on Culbreth Road. A 20 percent local match ($27,000) has been set aside from the 2004 bond funds. 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 MPO also has also allocated $1.5 million of STP-DA funds for sidewalks and bicycle facilities 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 requires 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 allocated $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 which could be used to provide the local match.
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.