minutes of 1/27/92

JBr, JC, JHz, RWi, Mayor Broun, MC, AR, AW, JA.

WCH, SL, FAM, RK.

Ceremony recognizing UNC women's soccer team; Mayor Broun called to order at 7:36 p.m.;

Special ceremonies

Coach Anson Dorrance and Championship team asked to come forward; Broun--special treat--watched team play many times--entire TC to honor--winners of 1991 NCAA Championship; U.S. Womens won world championship; ninth NCAA championship in ten years; six days later in China--U.S. won first World Cup; Mia Hamm and Christine Lilley; Coach Dorrance--1974 UNC grad--Coach of Year; Coach Dorrance--pleasure to be here--native Chapel Hillian--wonderful Town to be a part of; proud of team--incredible year--one of few years undefeated and untied--Bill Palodino, Chris Bischoff--introduced players; Council and players greeted one another.

Honor nine employees retiring from many years of Town service--total of 221 years experience;

Insp--John Davis accepted Scobie's plaquel;

PW--Jeppie Foushee; William McCauley; Mack Johnson; Bridges Pendergraph;

DeLeon Bynum; Odell Hewett--Fire; Lamotte and Paul Minor unable to attend.

Petitions

Scott Franklin--representing SEAL--educate local citizens about search for next Town landfill; area has done its share in regard to landfill; solid waste disposal should be shared by Town as a whole; OC-3 Greene Tract and Duke Forest site;

OC-3--too small to serve needs of Town; solid waste management regs.--unlikely that it would be allowed to be used; Landfill Owner's Group trying to purchase fifteen acres adjacent to this site--don't allow this wasteful expenditure; OC-17--November, 1991--mysterious modification--853 acres, nearly double its original size; first public hearing to be held in near future--elected officials pledged to protect Duke Forest in the past; can not be measured in dollars alone; maintain natural environment for future generations; urge Council to speak out to protect Duke Forest; materials to be distibuted to Manager and Mayor and Council--want follow-up information on OC-3 and OC-17; continue to use Duke Forest as natural area.

RWi--move referral to Manager--request that report be brought back to Council as soon as possible; understanding at previous meeting--OC-3 discussed at November meeting--not looking at acquiring additional property for OC-3; seconded by AR.

JA--if referred, be clear about what he will come back with; not subject for debate by Council at this point; receive petition and request specific information; too early to take up matter of landfill selection; RWi--looking for clarification of information presented to Council in past; AW--requested update by Manager--this has been brought back; Council will have chance to deal with at an appropriate time; Joe C--not taking position on matter at this time (by the Council); referred (9-0).

JBr--watershed protection rules; letter drafted to send to EMC--lessening of watershed protection rules--reiterate position of keeping strong rules; AW--wasn't one just sent? JBr--make sure that EMC is aware of Council's current position; JA--letter or resolution? JBr--either one--letter would be just as good. AW--send letter reiteratering previous position? Broun--appropriate to reiterate position--simple letter only needed; Brown--send to individual members of EMC; Broun and Brown to confer on this matter.

Broun--need to look at Council Procedures in general; no particular agenda--time to make sure they are fair, etc.--CM Herzenberg has agreed to look at this; MPT Herzenberg--delighted to be looking at this--if COuncil Members have concerns contact him; JA--come back with specfics? JHz--possibly.

Boards and Commissions

WCH--in position to make appointments tonight; Broun--CMs--spoken to several--not that RWi is interested; recommend RWi be appointed;

established by common consent.

JA--limitations on Town citizens; policy on relatives serving on committee? WCH--tradition to appoint Town residents first and others second; no tradition regarding appointment of relatives; JHz--certain exceptions--appointments outside corporate limits;

JA--could appoint all Town residents; twelve member committee plus CM Wilkerson; AW--no reason to appoint persons outside Town limits; franchise limits are Town limits; AR--if service limits outside Town, parochial not to appoint, but since it does not, not a problem. Of those responding, nine on personal referral, one to commercial newspaper and one to Village Advocate.

JA, AW--appoint RWi and twelve Town residents; RWi--what entails corporate limits? JA--if need for change in membership, could do so. Broun--one could make a case for inclusion of non-residents--reasonable motion has been made;

Broun--satisfy need for individual voting? Don't need to have separate written vote? Approved unanimously (9-0)--show all twelve names--read into record; Broun read names off;

Rocky Hill Master Plan

WCH--administrative request for extension; no significant change in conditions between now and time of master plan approval; amount of new development has been relatively modest along Weaver Dairy Road; traffic--1989 traffic impact study was a valid one with valid counts; changes in traffic--do not believe that changes in patterns in corridor--don't warrant denial of extension request; other arguments of neighbors--same arguments as in 1989; issues raised and extensively discussed previously; don't require review as new application; issues have been fairly considered by Council; application meets conditions for one-year extension--no paramount reasons for denial--recommend approval of request.

Martin Masianca--resident of Chandler's Green--thanked Council and staff for cordial and open exchange on proposed development; density of houses--maximum of 323 units on 112 acres; plan indicates minimum lot size of 9,000 square feet (1/5 acre approx.)--discussion with project engineer--only 53 buildable acres; 7,100 square feet average lot; density of proposed housing would impact safety especially along Weaver Dairy Road--3,000 to 4,000 more trips estimated; can make estimate present rates--11,000 to 17,500 trips per day on road system--far in excess of 12,000--concerned about users of Cedar Falls Park and their safety--more congestion will be created in area; commercial development (30,000 square feeet proposed to be in middle of development)--16,500 square feet permitted by existing ordinances; concerned about use of neighborhood as a pass-through; Sweeten Creek--main artery for Chandler's Green neighborhood--being proposed for use by Rocky Hill development; increase in traffic will cause some logistical problems; have had Town evaluate whether a second stop sign is needed in the neighborhood; environmental impact--variety of flora and fauna; approximately forty percent of tract lies upland from ponds; moderate to severe erosion class; soils are heavily textured with poor permeability; significant erosion might occur in area; won't only threaten watershed during construction phase; water will run down slopes into watershed; inadvertent discharge of petrochemicals through traffic on streets; plan to discharge stormwater; question development activities; plan has not changed; has this been thoroughly investigated? All concerned about maximum density and commercial development and environmental impact; appreciate thought of Council; consider these factor once more before making decision.

Bert O'Malley--met with RWa a few weeks ago--traffic study done in 1989--done over school holidays; another study in 1991--found that traffic was up six percent in this period; 250,000 square foot development at NC 86 and I-40 will add significant traffic in area; Town and State not in position to afford proper cut-throughs to Sage Road; would like answer whether 7,000 additional car trips from Rocky Hill are supportable by existing roadway system.

AW--had extensive public comment on this matter at initial consideration; only issue is whether or not conditions have changed since master land use plan in last year; considered all developments approved--conditions really have not changed significantly--before anything happens on property--will have to approve at least one special use permit and probably several--Council will have opportunity to address issues in future; JA--agree that there have been no huge changes; but changes in traffic are instrumental; Chandler's Green and Carol Woods have increased in scope in past few years; master plan--granting an exception--giving an extension from our existing policy; if approved tonight--limit number of years in which to build--limit speculation--not desirable to speculate; JBr--extension only for one year? WCH--correct. Won't consider approval beyond this. Would be treated as new application if another extension requested. JHz--not an exception to policy? Manager has right to issue one year extension. Broun--in Manager's hands--don't need a vote. WCH--correct. Joe C--tremendous amount of input from citizens--sentence from letter from Michael Wilder--land owners don't intend to develop property; Council has changed since two years ago--elected with neighborhood advocacy platform--will keep it--agree that Rocky Hill is too dense and has incompatible features with surrounding properties; no shovelful of dirt can be turned without coming back to the Council--must pass full muster before work can begin. Wait for bonafide developer to come before Council; favor Manager granting one year extension.

RWi--drawn to letter from Nationsbank--no intention of developing property--trying to market it--very trying to agree with Manager granting a one-year extension; at this point because owner's representative had requested a two-year extension inadvertently; suspect that we will be at this point one year from now. Concerned about impacts on existing residents and traffic on Weaver Dairy Road. Broun--wanted to make clear that concerns of citizens have been heard in this matter. Thanked citizens for input--permit Manager to proceed.

1986 Parks and Open Space Bond Funds

WCH--delay will cause some difficulties in capital maintenance in some facilities; asked P&R Commission and staff to prepare recommendations; referendum for $2.5 million; $2,188,000 expended; $273,000 remains for land acquistion and improvements; paying bond debt service; minimal negative impact on annual operating costs--protect long-term investments and enhance usefulness; Umstead Park and Community Center Park are ones in greatest need--would like to begin to plan and implement improvements as soon as possible--Community Center has high rate of usage; Herschel Slater in attendance to answer any questions; JA--Community Center parks improvements--does this include exhaust fan improvements at center? MLoveman--not in locker rooms, but in gym. JBr--things other than chlorine? ML--using liquid chlorine instead of gas; chlorine is most effective to disinfect pool; will continue to search for alternatives. Joe C--where is money? WCH--in bank account, losing value. RWi--any needs at Hargraves Center? MLoveman--have projects included in CIP--as far as building and operation of park--no maintenance improvements needed at this time; RWi--needs listed in capital program for some time--why not addressed? MLoveman--shelter building and possible outdoor gymnasium; improvements more crucial at this time; WCH--these are principally capital maintenance items to restore existing problems; do have improvement needs at Hargraves and other sites.

MC--number of Council Members lobbied for bathrooms at Umstead Park;glad to see included; Shawn.

AW, JHz (R-1) (9-0)

Parking Ticket Amnesty Program

WCH--first time Council has been asked to consider an amnesty program; Bob G in charge of past due fines; changes already in place; Bob Godding--resolution and ordinance to clear outstanding unpaid fines and penalties; new automated system--backlog of $500,000 in fines and penalties; reduce administrative costs--encourage people to clear out tickets--middle of February to middle of March--write off of 50% of late fees; negotiate suits--refer debts to collection agencies; staff is in process of reviewing overall parking ordinance. JHz--how much will this bring in? Bob G--varies between 35 and 65 percent of amount due--hope people will take advantage of this; only $5 fines accumulate late fees; JHz--might do even better; JA--good plan; wondering whether time is adequate--some folks might miss this; Bob G--violations on books for several months; chance to pay off fines at lower rate; will start responding to requests as soon as Council authorizes; JA--colelction--departure in policy? Bob G--correct.

JBr--percentage of three categories--lot of out-of-town or local? Bob G--mostly local. RWi--what system? Bob G--Cardinal ticket trac; RWi--concerned about filing of civil suits--wonder whether prudent to spend money in civil court for five dollar ticket; Bob G--maximum of up to $25; staff will look at this and see if it makes send to pursue those with only one violation; intend to pursue as many as possible; WCH--need to write some off as uncollectible. Joe C--how many dollars of fines each year? Bob G--$600,000 to $800,000 estimate. Joe C--$176,000 estimate for collection in 1991-1992. JHz--how would one get to participate? Bob G--forms available around the Town; will verify records--if there are, calculate amount due.

R-2 JHz, AR (9-0)

O-1 RWi, JBr (9-0)

Human Services Needs Report

WCH--fortunate to have highly skilled writer to make and present report. Dr. Kopp--thanked competent Town staff; included two previous reports as addendas to give overview for forming opinions; summary is quick guide to needs--four items to address--Intensity of need (Roman numerals I-IV)--invited members of community to give insights and information; sat down as a board to discuss input and produced report; changed method of information gathering--no essential change in categories; expansion of tax base--may loom as a larger issue in the future; felt that there were a number of items from last yerar that remained to be addressed--p.2--items 1-4; new recommendations--other boards--VCIDA Task Force--real need for youth involvement; transportation issues merit consideration; economically advantageous and environmentally compatible industry; concern about disparity between haves and have-nots--info. from CHAS.

JA--found recommendations interesting; particularly drawn to those not requiring a lot of funding; what specifics on group homes, etc.--board meeting at same time as Council meeting--trying to get fix on number of group homes in Town--Julia Mack is looking into this matter; JA--would encourage specific proposal; AR--need to survey Town's human services needs--how do we make this happen? Kopp--sense is that there is a law prescribing what can and can't be done; don't have mechanism to address need. WCH--one of things done in past year, committee formed of persons from Orange Co. government, Town and Carrboro staff and United Way--discuss human service needs in the community--assure that whole aggregation of needs are known--Counties generally provide human service programs--Town's may spend monies on human service programs; human services professionals in community are working together to spend money wisely; AW--helpful--County has primary responsibility--helpful to get sense of what County does; make decisions in this larger context; don't know what is being funded by the County. County is also spending tax dollars; Kopp--resource allocation; United Way heading effort to have joint analysis in this regard; help cross-county analysis of programs--until this occurs, raising a philosophical question; don't need to do anything other than say this is where to draw line. Joe C--thanked Dr. K and Julia Mack for excellent report; read one sentence; congratulated on fine report;

JA--like AW's idea; interesting to get information on County programs; JBr--appreciate report and how it was written; economic development--recruitment from outside and within; helpful to know what going on in Orange County; Kopp--Carrboro has revolving loan system; close to thirty percent vacancy rate in Town's commercial market--bothered somewhat by this as a citizen; interested to read that Town of Cary's vacancy rate is three percent; might be an attitudinal explanation; need new and creative constituencies; people moving to take advantage of community resources; many lured here by promise of jobs--can't afford to live here or move away--underbelly of community is growing larger; Broun--in all respects, talks about what Town might do; one area--reconsider present policy about rural buffer--take a moment to give additional insight; Kopp-sense as Board--artificial impediment to control of development outside boundary; develop lower-cost housing; does create pressure for high-end development to occur; looked at how Town of Cary approached development needs; has similar degree of proximity to interstate artery--different approach to development; unrealistic to think that an artificial buffer will work--has to be a more creative and consensus-based approach.

Kopp introduced Joyce Trout; Tom Cook; Julia Mack.

RWi, JHz (Receive) (9-0)

Tax Base OCEDC Report

Ted Abernathy--explained how taxes collected in NC; close to 700 parcels zoned non-residential or in transition; differentiate all non-residential; walked around the Town; created an entire new data base and inputted all of them; put in vacancy rate--nowhere near eighteen percent; very little vacant space--tried to get publication to change method of surveying; Cary has low rate because of way buildings are counted; did calling and follow-up; have to make assumptions--no home occupations--zoned or used for business; reviewed tax base assumptions; 22.05% non-residential--about 99% accurate--will continue to change--a dynamic process; looked at actual mix of retail in downtown area--what is it composed of and how does it compare to other places? Next step is to examine residential mix; identify vacant properties--not very many of them.

JA--what does 22 percent mean? Abernathy--22 percent non-residential portion of tax base. JA--how much more does commercial bring in over residential? Abernathy--more than twice, but varies depending on density. Broun--how does 22 percent compare with other municipalities Town's size? Abernathy--not collected this way in NC--Boulder's number--55%--varies all over the country. Broun--interesting to have figures from other university towns. Abernathy--Cary does a lot of satellite annexing; WCH--thanked Ted and staff; comes at time when really needed; in his debt; Ted--Ollie DeBois did most of work;

Federal Budget Priorities

JHz--resolution speaks for itself; clear that whatever Russia is called these days; Dept. of Defense interested in cutting defense budget; encourage Senators and Reps ; Dr. Palimore urged to do; County Commissioners passed similar resolution recently--support changes from military to non-military spending.

JHz, JBr (Move adoption)--JC--friendly amendment; JA--agree with JHz's sentiments; add to reputation of having Foreign Policy and Town policy; Mayor, RWi and JHz--at meeting--supported by Siler City Council; JA--if Congress adopted, money might come back to municipalities; JHz--key word--"crushing" national debt; (9-0).

Opinion Poll

WCH--previous Council thought it would be better if current COuncil considered; GF--Dean Richard Cole came before Council in September; met with School of Journalism and Carrboro staff; requesting some staff assistance; brief poll-five minutes per interview--get suggestions on areas to be addressed; recommmend adoption of resolution;

Donald Shaw--nothing else really to say; willing to answer questions; JHz--main concern--who lives in Town? Not always clear; GF--spoke to Mark Collins--Southern Bell--make data available to compare phone numbers to Town residence; hope that data can be made available; JHz--would hope that cooperation can be received from Southern Bell--some people don't know whether they live in corporate limits; GF--ask for description of subdivision or street name. Shaw--well aware of concern; possibly oversample somewhat; first year will likely be rough; JA--idea of sampling public opinion is a powerful tool; some people find it an annoyance to be called; how much money for giving phones over for use--how will this program go on--evaluate for usefulness; hope Council will review questions; Shaw--School of Journalism regards it as its poll--hope it will be of use to Town; Council could outline areas of interest; not a service for Council; School would review questions--hope it will be of service to Town; hold down costs--trying to avoid long-distance calls; JA--lingering sense of concern--objectives might not be the same; right of refusal to some questions; Shaw--types of questions open to discussion; not interested in having Council determine how questions asked; would be a School of Journalism poll; GF--believe that School of Journalism would be quite interested in presenting neutral questions; use of phones to occur at night; no cost to Town to use lines.

AW--distinguish between Town, County and other residents; why so difficult to figure out in corporate limits? WCH--not difficult to do for individual addresses; special problems possible with sample selection. JHz--deadline for submitting questions? Shaw--fairly soon for areas--about three weeks; GF--first week in February. Joe Capowski--a good thing all around--get unbiased sample of issues; good experience for UNC journalism students. JA--how long will program last? Shaw--to be done annually in the spring; questions--some would be regular, etc.--provide trend lines on different types of services; hope to have useful data for Town. Translate into news stories; partnership with Council. JA--School of Journalism students have attended Council meetings frequently. Shaw--use skills acquired in statewide polls, etc. JA--appreciation to Dean Cole concerns about poll; JBr--appreciate idea and look forward to poll.

JHz, AR (9-0).

Quarterly Reports

None from Council Members; JBr-- calls for Police assistance--number overall is down--clarify; WCH--surprised to note; major crimes have gone up slightly--five to six percent in the aggregate--more violent crime occurring--source of concern; general service calls have declined; JBr--fire response time--working with staff in 911 center--measuring response time--WCH--changes in manner in which response time measured; has been a difference in the last year due to changes in methods of time in and time out. JBr--trans. ridership--why is it down? WCH--ridership totals down--number of special events has declined significantly; one reason for decline and general decline of economic activity; JBr--parking revenues down considerably, why? WCH--general decline of economic activity; confusion about parking availability in downtown area--temporary lot has helped some--spaces available in lot almost any time; lot five continues to have space available; lot three also continues to have space available; JA--temporary public parking--not sure that it is public parking; could do better job on this. AW--what percent of transit ridership associated with special events? WCH--don't know percentage; many concerts have moved from SMith Center to Walnut Creek; AW--interested in number. WCH--can check on. JC--why National Junior Tennis League dropped? WCH--will follow up.

Consent Agenda

Broun--received requested to remove item i; JA--remove item e.

All but e and h; RWi, JA (9-0).

Item e

JA--pull for poublic benefit; WCH--PHrg. on February 17th; will be sending special notice to those living in special area; JHz--would hope that Council will listen to all living in served areas. JA--advertising? WCH--yes.

(R-9) JHz, MC (9-0).

Item h

JC--in instances of spending money now to save money in future; need rigorous definition of savings; if savings definitions vague, savings won't be achieved; timing--implementing hardware and software and training--always takes longer than time budget; in proposal--Orange County mainframe--LANs not mainframes--want to see strong justification of why mainframe instead of LAN. AR--had to do with Town's inability to significantly allocate costs; project-based cost-accounting system--real substantive figures can be derived; don't think any intention for staff to use County's mainframe; system is not demand-responsive; had anticipated having cost accountant and some of system in place; second or third quarter next year--in good shape; WCH--very feasible. RWi--concerned about timing; making some budgetary commitments in terms of personnel and capital outlay; need to receive benefits of equipment and person on board; will not vote in favor. WCH--would not presume to bring report and make advance decisions about budget; not asking for vote tonight; will provide additional information in the future; Broun--receipt of report only; RWI--giving consent to hiring of cost accountant (on board by mid-February); rearrangements for hardware and software--there are definite budget implications--point trying to make. JHz--agenda item 13g; no action required by Council; AR--this is just an informational report--voted on decision to hire cost accountant; have to continue work with County or do something new; as Manager brings budget--possible hardware and software costs; just a report; JA--agree with interpretation. Broun--there are budget implications--no action needed.

AW, AR--adjourn (9-0).

10:14 p.m.