AGENDA #4c

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

 

SUBJECT:       Response to a Petition for Additional Trail Benches along Town Greenways

 

DATE:             November 8, 2004

 

 

At the Council’s September 13, 2004 meeting, the Council accepted and referred to the Manager a petition from a citizen requesting that the Town provide benches along the Bolin Creek and Lower Booker Creek Trails.

 

We recommend that the Council enact the attached budget ordinance that would transfer $2,000 from the Council’s contingency fund to the Greenways Capital Improvements Program budget for use in purchasing benches.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The 1.5 mile Bolin Creek Trail has a bench at a point approximately mid-point on the trail near the bridge over Bolin Creek. The .85 mile Lower Booker Creek Trail has no benches although several large, flat rocks were located near the bridge for sitting purposes during construction of the trail.

 

We believe that potential locations for 3-4 benches exist on both trails, especially areas that are removed from close proximity to the streams. However, it may not be desirable or possible to place benches at regular intervals on either trail because of likely damage from flooding, lack of room within easements on private property, and restrictions within OWASA sewer easements.

 

If benches were installed we would recommend a simple but durable style that would be primarily made of recycled plastics. These benches would have no back support to minimize profiles in flood events.

 

Budget Issues: Each bench would cost about $250 to purchase and install. If 4 benches were purchased for each trail the estimated cost would be $2,000. However, we have no source of funding identified for such a purpose at this time. All Greenways Capital Improvements Program funds for FY 2004-05 were dedicated to repayment of Parks bonds and all funds remaining from prior years have been committed to other projects.

 

The Council could use a portion of its contingency to pay for this project. The Council currently has $24,166 remaining in its contingency account.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

Greenways Commission Recommendation: The Commission voted unanimously (6-0) to recommend that benches be provided on all trails if some new source of funds can be identified. The Commission also recommended that benches should only be placed in appropriate locations. (Please see the attached Greenways Commission recommendations).

 

Manager’s Recommendation: We recommend that the Council enact the attached budget ordinance to provide funds for benches from Council’s contingency fund.

 

If the Council does not chose to fund the project from its contingency we would consider it as one element in the budget deliberations for FY 2005-06.

 

ATTACHMENTS

 

  1. Petition from Lottie Strauss (p. 4).
  2. Greenways Commission Recommendations (p. 5).

AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND “THE ORDINANCE CONCERNING APPROPRIATIONS AND THE RAISING OF REVENUE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2004” (2004-11-08/O-2)

 

BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Budget Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Concerning Appropriations and the Raising of Revenue for the Fiscal Year Beginning July 1, 2004” as duly adopted on June 14, 2004 and the same is hereby amended as follows:

 

 

 

This the 8th day of November, 2004.