AGENDA #5f

 

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

                        Ralph D. Karpinos, Town Attorney

 

SUBJECT:       Response to Petition from Jim Protzman Requesting an Analysis of Legal and Procedural Decisions Regarding Weaver Dairy Road Improvements

 

DATE:             May 13, 2002

 

 

The purpose of this memorandum is to respond to a petition from Mr. Jim Protzman that was received in writing at the April 22, 2002 regular meeting of the Town Council.  The Council adopted a Resolution with the consent agenda that referred all written petitions to the Manager and Attorney.

 

Mr. Protzman’s petition requests that the Council “direct the Town Attorney to provide a complete and objective analysis of the legal and procedural decisions” made by the Council in regard to the Council’s consideration of Weaver Dairy Road improvements.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Council adopted a Resolution on January 28, 2002, requesting that the Mayor communicate with the North Carolina Department of Transportation on behalf of the Council to ask that the Department suspend planning for the widening of Weaver Dairy Road while the Council reconsidered the configuration of the proposed improvements. The Mayor conveyed the Council’s request in a letter dated February 12, 2002. The Secretary of Transportation replied to the Mayor on March 12 and stated that work would be suspended for 45 days.

 

The Council agreed to conduct a work session (i.e., discussion would be among the Council Members only, with no citizen comment) on the Weaver Dairy road improvements on April 8, 2002, to be followed by a public forum on April 22, 2002. 

 

The initial schedule called for the work session to be conducted prior to the beginning of the regular Council meeting; however, the Council determined that it would be preferable to conduct the session during the regular meeting time.  At the conclusion of the Council’s work session discussion, the Council authorized the Mayor to meet with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Transportation to discuss “three-lane options…less intrusive options such as two-lane divided with median, and a full array of traffic control measures.”

 

The Mayor reported on his discussion with Mr. Doug Galyon, Chair of the North Carolina Board of Transportation, in a memorandum distributed to the Council with other agenda materials on April 17, 2002, for consideration at the April 22, 2002 regular meeting.  In his memorandum, the Mayor reported:

 

“Based on my conversation with Mr. Galyon, I believe that it is important that the Council take action to adopt a position this evening.  The letter received on March 12 indicated that the Department would delay work on the Weaver Dairy Road Improvement Project for 45 days.  That time period expires this week.  Based on the April 16 conversation, I believe that in the event the Council does not adopt a revised position or reaffirm its previous position on this project, the N.C. Department of Transportation may withdraw the funding previously allocated and take no further action.”

 

The Council discussed the Mayor’s memorandum at the April 22, 2002 meeting, heard citizen comments in a public forum on proposed Weaver Dairy Road improvements, and ultimately adopted a Resolution requesting that the North Carolina Department of Transportation consider alternative improvements on Weaver Dairy Road, consisting principally of three-lane improvements, traffic signal installation, and other improvements.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Based on our review, we find that the procedures followed by the Council in this matter are generally consistent with the Council’s established procedures.  We note that the Council usually receives oral petitions at regular meetings and chose to receive only written petitions on April 22, 2002, because of the time allocated for the public forum on Weaver Dairy Road improvements.  We also note that the Council does not usually conduct work sessions during their regular meetings, but there is no Council policy on this matter.

 

We believe that no further action is necessary.

 

ATTACHMENT

 

1. Petition of April 22, 2002 from Jim Protzman (p. 3).