AGENDA #3a(5)

A. Yvonne Mendenhall

304 W Barbee Chapel Rd

Chapel Hill NC 27517

January 7, 2005

The Mayor and Town Council

Town of Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Dear Mayor Foy and Council:

I write to you as a resident of Chapel Hill and Meadowmont, and as Chair of the Meadowmont Community Association Board of Directors.   The Community Association represents all property owners in Meadowmont.

At recent Association meetings storm water maintenance issues have come to our attention.  At our budget meeting we were informed that the Association would need to provide for the annual costs of maintaining the retention ponds that were established in order to control the volume and quality of storm water runoff for our area.  Since that meeting our residents have been assessed, by the Town, individual storm water management fees and our Association has received an assessment in the amount of $1,443 for common property.

Why are we being asked to pay multiple times for the costs of storm water management? 

1. The costs of our lots included the initial costs of constructing retention ponds and other permanent storm water mitigation infrastructure;
2. We will pay higher annual property taxes on these higher lot values well into the future.
3. In addition, through our annual Home Owners Association dues, we are charged the costs of maintaining the retention ponds and their infrastructure, which our most recent estimates suggest may be on the order of $ 3,000 per year for each of the three ponds in Meadowmont for which our Community Association will be responsible.  (Items covered would include occasional dredging of all three retention ponds, silt removal, dam or berm restoration, repair of drainage pipes, and maintenance of the surrounding landscape that protects water quality.)
4. And, now, included in all of our property tax bills, our residents are assessed the Town’s new annual storm water utility.

When the Council established the Storm Water Utility fee, several of our Board members recall that the Town Council agreed to consider the issue of credits against these fees.  We ask that, due to what we see as at least double charges for the same storm water management service, the Council grant Meadowmont residents full, 100%, exemption from the new fees charged on their tax bills.

We believe the credits should be granted as long as the Meadowmont residents bear the full costs of storm water mitigation for our development.

Thank you for considering our request.  I would appreciate a response from you and/or the council.  If you require additional information, please call me at 919-968-7874 or email at [email protected].  I look forward to your reply.

Very truly yours,

A. Yvonne Mendenhall

Chair, Meadowmont Community Association Board of Directors