MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE
MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF
CHAPEL HILL, MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1991 AT 7:30 P.M.
Mayor Pro Tem Preston called the
meeting to order. Council Members in
attendance were Julie Andresen, Joyce Brown, Joe Herzenberg, Arthur Werner and
Roosevelt Wilkerson. Mayor Howes and
Council Members Alan Rimer and James C.
Wallace were absent excused.
Item 1 - Ceremony
Mayor Pro Tem Preston
invited friends and family of Middle East conflict veterans to contact the
Mayor's Office, so that their loved ones could be recognized for their bravery.
Mayor Pro Tem Preston
requested that Army Specialist Jeff McCormick join her at the podium. Mayor Pro Tem Preston noted that Mr.
McCormick had served for about a month and a half in Iraq and Kuwait during the
Middle East conflict. She noted that
Mr.McCormick planned to return to the University of Tennessee to complete his
degree in communications. Mr. McCormick
briefly described his experiences with refugees and soldiers in the Middle
East. He also thanked all people who
had sent letters to the troops during their service. Mayor Pro Tem Preston introduced Mr. McCormick's family and
presented him with a Town lapel pin.
There were no
hearings or petitions.
Item 4 - Minutes of June 10, 1991
Council Member Brown
requested one modification.
COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER
MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HERZENBERG, TO ADOPT THE MINUTES OF JUNE 10TH
AS REVISED. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
Item 5 - Adoption of
Interim Budget
Town Manager Horton
said he was unable to recommend adoption of a permanent budget due to the
uncertainty of State funding. Mr.
Horton said that the interim budget provided adequate operating funds through
the end of August. He said that a final
recommendation might be presented to the Council at their July 8th
meeting. Mr. Horton stated that the
interim budget contained no new positions or programs. He added that there would be no employment
offers for the eight new public safety officer positions and no grants would be
issued for human service programs. Mr.
Horton said he recommended adoption of the resolution before the Council.
Council Member
Andresen inquired whether merit increases would be provided retroactively. Mr. Horton said this was not necessary since
they did not take effect until October 1st.
Council Member Andresen inquired whether the interim budget committed
the Council to any new programs. Mr.
Horton said no. Council Member Werner
inquired about the impact of the interim budget on the hiring of new public
safety officers. Mr. Horton said that
this action would have to be delayed until the State took action on its budget.
COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER
MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HERZENBERG, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 1.
Council Member
Andresen requested an estimate of a worst-case scenario. Mr. Horton said that the Town appropriation
could be reduced by $300,000 to $350,000.
Mayor Pro Tem Preston inquired whether the $951,000 fund balance would
be replaced once a final budget was adopted.
Mr. Horton responded that the Town's books would be adjusted as
necessary.
THE MOTION WAS PLACED
ON THE FLOOR AND ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
(Resolution 1)
Item 6 was deleted
from the agenda.
Item 7 - Hotel-Motel Tax Fund Allocation
Town Manager Horton
said that the Council had previously expressed its desire to allocate $20,000
to the Junior Olympics and to reserve $28,000 for the Orange County Visitor's
Center proposal. He noted that further
discussion with Orange County Commissioners was proposed on the latter item. Mr. Horton briefly the proposed allocation
of the remaining $8,000 of hotel-motel tax fund allocations.
Eva Metzger expressed
concern that her proposal for a video production of the Chapel Hill greenways
system had not been recommended for funding.
She stated that the video could be used as an educational aid for school
children and others. Ms. Metzger
emphasized the need to promote the Town's greenways system.
Council Member Brown
asked why a video for Morehead Planetarium was recommended for funding, while
the video proposal for the greenways system was not. Parks and Recreation Director Mike Loveman said that all twelve
project applications had inidividual merit.
Mr. Loveman said that applications had been screened using criteria
adopted by the Council at the request of the Parks and Recreation
Commission. Mr. Loveman said that the
allocations attempted to achieve an overall balance between cultural events and
visitor services.
Council Member Werner
said he was disappointed in the total amount to be allocated. He said that the total of only $8,000
reinforced his earlier reluctance to approve $28,000 for the Orange County
Visitor's Bureau program. Council
Member Werner said he would vote against the resolution.
Council Member
Andresen inquired whether the resolution included a provision for reserving
$28,000 for the Orange County Visitor Bureau.
Mr. Horton said this was implied rather than explicit. He added that it was possible to remove the
implicit reference.
Council Member
Wilkerson noted that advertisements for proposals had stated that only $8,000
was available for allocations. Council
Member Andresen said he thought it would be a good year to have an additional
$28,000 in reserve. Council Member Brown
said this was a good idea due to the uncertainty of the State budget.
Council Member
Wilkerson noted that if the item were referred back to the staff, it would have
an adverse impact on funding for the Junior Olympics. Mayor Pro Tem Preston inquired about the status of the $28,000
allocation for the visitor's bureau.
Mr. Horton said the Council had voted on the matter, but had made no
firm commitment in terms of funding.
Council Member Preston suggested that the Council adopt the resolution
before them this evening and then discuss the $28,000 allocation in the future.
COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER
MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WILKERSON, TO ALLOCATE $20,000 TO THE JUNIOR
OLYMPICS.
Council Member
Andresen inquired whether a friendly amendment to include $8,000 for other
projects could be added to the motion.
Council Member Werner said no.
THE MOTION WAS PLACED
ON THE FLOOR AND ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
COUNCIL MEMBER
ANDRESEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HERZENBERG, TO ENDORSE THE STAFF
RECOMMENDATION.
Council Member Werner
inquired how much the Town was obligated to allocate for visitor and cultural
services. Mr. Horton said ten percent
or $28,000.
THE MOTION WAS PLACED
ON THE FLOOR AND FAILED TO PASS ON FIRST READING BY A VOTE OF 4-2, WITH COUNCIL
MEMBERS WERNER AND WILKERSON VOTING NO.
Item 8 - North Forest Hills Park
Parks and Recreation
Director Mike Loveman briefly reviewed the conceptual plan and the review
process for the proposed facility.
Mr. Loveman said that
there had been several major concerns raised at public meetings concerning the
park proposal. Mr. Loveman stated that
vegetative conditions would be preserved on the site.
He noted that the
total estimated cost for the park facility would be $227,000, $144,000 of which
had already been expended or encumbered.
Mr. Loveman also said that the park would be on a seven day a week
maintenance schedule.
Council Member
Andresen inquired how much would be psent on the project over the next six
months. Mr. Loveman stated that funding
for the special use permit process was included in the $144,000 expended to
date for the project. Council Member
Andresen inquired what portion of funds was payment in lieu funds. Mr. Loveman said that all design money was
payment in lieu funds.
Council Member Werner
inquired about the scope of daily maintenance of the facility. Mr. Loveman responded that restrooms, picnic
and other facilities would be cleaned and checked daily. Council Member Werner inquired about the
estimated tap cost for the restroom facility.
Mr. Loveman said this fee was undetermined.
Council Member
Herzenberg inquired about the level of input from adjoining residents. Mr. Loveman said that a mailing list for
surrounding property owners had been developed by the staff.
Council Member Brown
inquired how many residents had been notified of the public meetings. Mr. Loveman said he did not recall the exact
number of notifications. Council Member
Andresen inquired whether updated plans had been made available to interested
parties. Mr. Loveman said updated plans
were provided at each meeting.
Pat Cummins, a
resident of the North Forest Hills area, said she supported the proposed
park. Ms. Cummins said the proposed
facility would benefit she and her neighbors.
Ms. Cummins added that many of her neighbors also supported the
park.
__________ Stone, 117
Collums Road, said her home was one of the closest residences to the proposed
park. Ms. Stone urged the Council to
protect the neighborhood with the development of a passive park. Ms. Stone said her primary concern was the
inclusion of a basketball court in the park.
She stated that the park should be a plesant meeting place for
neighborhood residents. Ms. Stone said
that careful planning would needed for drainage systems associated with the
basketball court.
Ray Trumpner said he
had moved to the Town in 1984 for peace and tranquility. Mr. Trumpner stated that three basketball
courts were located behind his former residence in New Jersey. Mr. Trumpner said he had no objections to a
neighborhood park, but some of his neighbors had not been notified of the
proposed facility. He also said that
the inclusion of a fourteen car parking lot would expand the scale of the
facility beyond a neighborhood park.
Mr. Trumpner said an emphasis should be placed on creating a
neighborhood park rather than a congregating place. Mr. Trumpner inquired about the number of outdoor basketball
courts administered by the Town. Mr.
Loveman said three. Mr. Trumpner
expressed concern that the inclusion of a basketball court at the park might
lead to the creation of a league at the proposed park. Mr. Trumpner asked the Council to delete the
parking lot and basketball court from the facility plan.
William Beatty said
portions of the memorandum to the Council were inaccurate. He noted that many of his neighbors who had
not been notified of the proposal were concerned about the inclusion of parking
and active facilities at the park. Mr.
Beatty said the buffer at the basketball court would be ninety feet, rather
than one hundred and fifty as stated in previous reports. Mr. Beatty said several neighbors thought
the park would have a passive orientation, based on deed restrictions. Mr. Beatty requested that the park be
reoriented to a passive neighborhood park orientation.
Sherry Anscher,
Chairperson-elect of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said she had attended
all of the public meetings on the proposed park. Ms. Anscher said that based on comments at the meetings, it
appeared that residents wanted a more active park with a basketball facility
and restrooms. Council Member Andresen
inquired why parking was being recommended at the park. Ms. Anscher said this was necessary to
assure enhanced vehicular safety along Collums Road. Council Member Andresen asked whether paths in the park would be
paved. Mr. Loveman responded that only
one path near the basketball court would be paved. Council Member Werner requested an overview of the review
schedule. Mr. Loveman reviewed the
proposed schedule.
Council Member
Herzenberg said he generally supported the propsoed park plan. He urged the staff to extend the
notification for this and other development proposals. Council Member Brown said she concurred with
the need to notify interested parties.
She requested that the staff provide additional information on
notification processes. Council Member
Andresen stressed the importance of public comment. She stated that active use of the park would have greater impacts
on area residents. Council Member
Andresen suggested that the Council might wish to modify the
schedule for the
proposed park, as had been done for a recent service station proposal. Council Member Herzenberg noted that the
public hearing for the service station had been the next to last step in the
Council consideration process. He said
that there were many more opportunities to modify the park application. Council Member Werner expressed his
concurrence, noting that the Council's role was regulatory rather than design
oriented. He added that the matter
would be coming back to the Council in January, 1992.
Council Member Brown
inquired how regulatory measures could address concerns of neighborhood
residents. Council Member Werner
responded that health, safety and welfare matters such as parking and noise
could be addressed by Town regulations.
Town Manager Horton said the staff would respond to any specific
concerns outlined by the Council relative to the proposal.
COUNCIL MEMBER
HERZENBERG MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 4.
Council Member
Andresen said she had substantial concerns about plans for proposed parking at
the park. Council Member Wilkerson
noted that if the resolution were approved this evening, the Council was only
authorizing the continuation of planning for the park. Council Member Andresen inquired whether funds
for on-site amenities had been earmarked.
Mr. Horton responded that payments in lieu were being used for these
amenities. Council Member Brown
inquired about possible modification of the proposed design. Mr. Horton responded that comments of the Council
and members of the public would be taken into account in the project's design.
Council Member Brown
said she was concerned about the expenditure of funds for the project and the
proposed parking lot and basketball courts.
THE RESOLUTION WAS
PLACED ON THE FLOOR AND ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY
(6-0).
(Resolution 4)
Item 10 - Low-level Radioactive
Waste
Council Member Brown
said that the Orange County Greens had recently petitioned the Council
concerning proposed Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations. She said that several bills concerning
low-level radioactive waste had been introduced in the United States
Congress. Council Member Brown
requested that the Council support the resolution before them this evening.
COUNCIL MEMBER BROWN
MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 5.
Council Member
Herzenberg inquired how much resolution would cost the Town. Council Member Brown responded that there
would be no cost if the proposed ruling were nullified.
THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED
UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
Item 11 - Board and
Commission Appointments
Results of board and
commission appointments were as follows.
Appointees are indicated in bold print.
Original ballots are available for inspection in the Clerk's Office by appointment.
Housing Advisory
Board (Five appointments)
Maxecine
Mitchell 6 votes (Andresen, Brown,
Herzenberg,
Preston, Werner, Wilkerson)
Adele Thomas 6 votes (Andresen, Brown, Herzenberg,
Preston, Werner,
Wilkerson)
Priscilla
Woolley 6 votes (Andresen, Brown,
Herzenberg,
Preston, Werner,
Wilkerson)
Callie
Cuthbertson 5 votes (Andresen, Brown,
Herzenberg,
Preston, Wilkerson)
Hal Cooper 4 votes (Andresen, Brown, Werner,
Wilkerson)
Patricia Davies 3 votes (Herzenberg, Preston, Werner)
Second vote--Fifth
appointee
Patricia Davies 4 votes (Andresen, Herzenberg, Preston,
Werner)
Hal Cooper 2 votes (Brown, Wilkerson)
Fifth appointment
carried over to July 8th meeting.
Human Services
Advisory Board (One appointment)
Robert Huntley 5 votes (Andresen, Brown,
Herzenberg,
Preston, Werner)
Betsy Jones 1 vote
(Wilkerson)
Library Board of
Trustees (One appointment)
Doris Wilson 6 votes
(Andresen, Brown, Herzenberg,
Preston, Werner, Wilkerson)
Personnel Appeals
Committee (One appointment)
Barbara DeLon 5 votes
(Andresen, Brown, Herzenberg,
Preston, Wilkerson)
Hal Cooper 1 vote (Werner)
Item 12 - Consent Agenda
COUNCIL MEMBER
ANDRESEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WERNERM TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA,
EXCEPTING ITEM E. THE MOTION WAS
ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
(Insert Resolutions 6, 7,8, O-2, R-9, O-3,
R-10, 11, 12)
Town Engineer George
Small said there was a perceived problem concerning commuter parking on streets
surrounding the University campus. Mr.
Small said that the proposed restrictions on McCauley Street were intended to
discourage commuter parking in the area.
Fraser Smith said
that more vigorous enforcement and fewer appeals of violations was preferable
to new parking restrictions. Mr.Smith
suggested that 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. restrictions might be used instead of 8:00 to
12:00 noon. He also suggested that a
guard rail could be installed on McCauley Street on the gravel portion of the
roadway.
Jamie Grady said that
North Carolina State University did not have as many parking restrictions as
the University of North Carolina.
Mr. Grady said he had
been harassed by Council Member Brown for parking in the McCauley and Vance Street
area.
Karen Newcomb said
she commuted to the campus every day, parking in the "P" commuter lot
during semesters. Ms. Newcomb said it
was advantageous to park on McCauley Street during the summmer session, when bus
service was not as frequent. Ms. Newcomb
suggested the introduction of marked parallel parking on McCauley Street so
that cars would take up less space on the street. She also suggested angle parking on the gravel portion of
McCauley Street.
Irene Weber expressed
concern that public parking was steadily diminishing in the University campus
area. She requested that no additional
parking restrictions be implemented on McCauley Street.
Council Member Werner
said he would vote against the parking restrictions, since the arguments made
by students were much more convincing than the staff recommendation. Council Member Brown said she supported the
proposed change in parking restrictions.
Council Member Brown said she had never harassed students in the
area. She said that the
Cameron-McCauley neighborhood deserved protection. Council Member Brown urged the Council to support the proposed
restrictions. Council Member Andresen
said she was inclined to favor the restrictions. She inquired whether there had been any complaints about parking
on the gravel portion of McCauley Street.
Mr. Small stated that when cars were parked in this area, the street
width was narrowed to approximately ten feet.
Council Member
Andresen said she had received parking tickets on McCauley Street. She emphasized the need to protect fragile
downtown neighborhoods. Council Member
Andresen also emphasized the need to examine bus schedules for greater
accessibility.
Mayor Pro Tem Preston
inquired whether the staff had an opinion on the 8 to 10 a.m. parking
restriction proposal. Mr. Small said
this approach would not be as effective as the all morning restriction. He said the staff was trying to work out
compromises which protected neighborhoods while accommodating commuter
needs. Mayor Pro Tem Preston said that
park and ride service to lots should be extended beyond 6:30 p.m. in the
summer.
COUNCIL MEMBER
HERZENBERG MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER, TO REFER THE MATTER TO THE
TRANSPORTATION BOARD.
Council Member
Andresen suggested ticketing cars which encroached into marked driveway
entrances. Council Member Wilkerson
said the difficulty was a multi-faceted one which merited referral to the
Transportation Board. Council Member
Brown said that the Transportation Board could look at the Comprehensive
Plan relative to neighborhood protection and traffic reduction. Council Member Herzenberg requested that
students and interested parties be notified of when the Transportation Board
would discuss parking on McCauley Street.
THE MOTION WAS PLACED
ON THE FLOOR AND ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
COUNCIL MEMBER
HERZERNBERG MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WERNER, TO ADJOURN THE REGULAR
MEETING AND MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (6-0).
The meeting adjourned
at 9:50 p.m.
No report followed
the Executive Session.