MINUTES OF A BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING HELD BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1995

Mayor Broun called the hearing to order. Council Members in attendance were Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton, Pat Evans, Lee Pavao, Jim Protzman and Rosemary Waldorf. Council Member Barbara Powell was absent excused. Also in attendance were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Manager Florentine Miller and Finance Director James Baker.

Mr. Horton presented an overview of the proposed budget, noting that no property tax increase was recommended, nor were any additional positions recommended. He also stated that the budget generally recommended continuing existing General Fund services at their same level as the current fiscal year. Mr. Horton also reviewed recommendations pertaining to the Landfill, Parking and Housing Funds. He noted that the Council was scheduled to consider budget adoption at a special meeting on June 5th.

Greg Gangi urged the Council to focus additional funding on commuting and recreational bicycle paths, possibly using money identified previously for a skateboarding facility. Mr. Gangi also said it would be a grave mistake to discontinue the Town's bookmobile service. He said the service was a very good service to many of the community's children.

Bob Nau, representing several neighborhoods along Piney Mountain Road, strongly urged the Council to fund sidewalks along Piney Mountain Road.

Steve Wallace stated that funds expended for good substance abuse treatment programs was much more cost-effective than expending additional funds for law enforcement. He stated that recommendation #37 of the Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program's final report was to provide better linkages between drug abuse and mental health programs. Mr. Wallace also strongly urged the Council to support discontinuing the use of the DARE program in area schools.

James McEnery requested additional information concerning the comparative competitiveness of Town employee's salaries. Mr. Horton said staff could provide this information.

Tommy Gardner, Chairperson of TaxWatch, said the November, 1994 elections had indicated that it was the general will of the people to reduce government programs and related spending. He urged the Council to carefully scrutinize the Town's budget to possibly reduce the local property tax rate.

Kate Dixon, Executive Director of the Triangle Land Conservancy, said her organization was requesting $20,000 per year for three years to fund a New Hope Creek master plan. She said the Triangle Land Conservancy would greatly appreciate the Town's fiscal support for land acquisition and related administrative activities.

Rebecca Clark urged the Council to provide additional funding for cemetery preservation, especially for the african-american section of the old Town cemetery.

Steve Hoffman, President of Graduate and Professional Student Association at the University, asked the Council to reconsider proposed increases in bus fares and bus passes. He said increased prices would be a disincentive to increasing bus ridership.

Mr. Hoffman said encouraging the use of mass transit should be a high priority on the Council's overall priority list.

Council Member Brown inquired whether discontinuing funding for the DARE Program would offset the need for a bus fare and pass price increase. Mr. Horton said yes, adding that staff would recommend some other type of intervention program for children if the DARE program were to be discontinued. Council Member Brown requested that the staff identify other options to avoid having to increase bus fares and pass prices. Mr. Horton said staff could develop some options for the May 24th budget work session. Council Member Chilton asked whether the Town's proposed motor vehicle fee increase was before the State Legislature. Mr. Horton said this was correct to the best of his knowledge. Council Member Chilton noted that the UNC Student Congress had recently passed a resolution urging the Council not to increase bus fares or pass prices.

Council Member Brown inquired about funds for cemetery restoration projects. Mr. Horton said although some funds were included in the budget, no new funds were presently recommended. He stated that staff could identify funds for increased cemetery capital improvements if the Council desired. Mayor Broun asked whether increased cemetery lot fees could be used for these projects. Mr. Horton said yes. Mayor Broun asked the staff to develop some options in this regard.

Council Member Brown inquired about options for funding the Triangle Land Conservancy's proposal. Mr. Horton said he suggested funding the request using a portion of the $50,000 earmarked annually for greenways projects.

Council Member Brown requested cost estimates for constructing sidewalks along Weaver Dairy Road and Piney Mountain Road. Mr. Horton said staff would put together a list of possible sidewalk and bicycle lane projects by the fall. Council Member Waldorf inquired about the fall timeframe. Mr. Horton said he believed this was this earliest time this information could be available given the current work load. Council Member Waldorf inquired about the type of sidewalks proposed for Piney Mountain Road. Mr. Horton said staff recommended a temporary asphalt sidewalk.

Council Member Brown requested that staff prepare a report on drug treatment programs in the local area. Council Member Waldorf noted that the Law Enforcement Committee would meet next Tuesday to provide a quarterly monitoring of the local Project Turnaround program. She noted that program seemed to be very successful, with the State and County providing program funding. Council Member Evans inquired about the annual cost of the program. Council Member Waldorf said staffing costs, for one and a half positions, were less than $50,000 per year. Council Member Brown reiterated her earlier request for a report on programs in Chatham and Orange counties. Noting that there were many programs in this field, Mr. Horton said staff could give a preliminary report in the near future. Mayor Broun inquired whether staff was evaluating recent criticisms of the national DARE program. Mr. Horton said yes, noting that he did not believe this process would be completed by the start of the budget process. He added that there appeared to be some valid criticisms of the DARE program.

Council Member Protzman said he became alarmed when the Council singled out individual items for making tradeoffs. Council Member Protzman also said the Council kept hearing requests for more services and lower fees. He suggested that the Council scrutinize big-ticket items with greater scrutiny. Council Member Protzman said he recommended that the Council reduce the funds set aside for a skateboarding facility from $50,000 to $20,000 or $25,000. He added that skateboarders needed a facility for legally pursuing their interest.

Mayor Broun inquired whether staff had sufficient direction to continue with preparation of budget options for the Council's June 5th meeting. Mr. Horton said yes.

COUNCIL MEMBER PAVÃO MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER EVANS, TO REFER COMMENTS TO THE MANAGER. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).

Public Hearing on Downtown Service District

Mr. Horton presented an overview of potential changes to the district, including his recommendation that funds currently earmarked for trolley operations could be used for other programs such as streetscape.

Robert Humphreys, representing the Downtown Commission, said he was pleased to present the Commission's proposed work plan to the Council. Mr. Humphreys said the Commission requested that the Council consider keeping the Town's trolleys for special promotions, events and charters. He stated that to date the Commission had arranged for 31 trolley and 15 bus charters, yielding total revenues of about $9,000 for the Town. Mr. Humphreys also said that streetscape improvements were needed downtown. He stated that the Commission would be pleased to continue its work with Town staff and community to ensure the continued vitality of the downtown area. Mr. Humphreys thanked Shelley Green and Amy Westbrook of the Orange County Visitors Bureau for their efforts.

Mayor Broun inquired whether the Commission was suggesting that the trolleys be used for charters only. Mr. Humphreys said this was correct. Transportation Director Bob Godding presented an overview of liquidation procedures in the event that the Town chose to sell the trolleys. He noted that if the trolleys were taken out of service prior to the end of their useful life, any proceeds would have to be split in the same percentage as original acquisition costs, with the federal government receiving 80% of proceeds and the State of North Carolina receiving 10%. Mr. Godding said he believed federal officials might have some problems using the trolleys solely for chartering purposes. He noted that the trolleys could possibly be used for regular service or other purposes such as sightseeing tours in the Town's historic district.

Council Member Waldorf asked whether it was most advisable to keep the trolleys and evaluate their possible uses. Mr. Horton noted that the trolleys were expensive to maintain because of their special construction, including mahogany and brass fittings.

Council Member Evans noted that the trolleys were used for a number of good programs for school children. Council Member Chilton asked whether the University and Town of Carrboro would split any proceeds from the possible sale of the trolleys. Mr. Horton said no, noting that the Town would receive the full ten percent local share. Council Member Chilton inquired whether the trolleys were the only buses in the Town's fleet which were not handicapped-accessible. Mr. Godding noted that a number of the Town's older buses were not handicapped-accessible. Council Member Brown inquired about the cost of maintaining a trolley compared to a regular bus. Mr. Godding said it was approximately twice as expensive to maintain a trolley than a regular bus.

Shelly Green, Director of the Orange County Visitors Bureau, stated that the trolley marketing plan was not put in place until March 1, 1995. Mayor Broun asked Ms. Green to comment on the Downtown Commission's request to maintain the Town's trolleys for charter tours. Ms. Green said charter tours were the one successful point of the marketing plan. She added that the ongoing community interest in charters was quite high.

Council Member Capowski inquired about the possibility of using trolleys for charters only. Mr. Godding said this type of use was not encouraged by the federal government. He noted that under existing federal transit guidelines, the Town could not directly provide any charter services. Council Member Pavão inquired about the possibility of offering tours if the trolleys were fully amortized. Mr. Godding said this would still pose some problems.

Council Member Chilton said he wondered what the purpose of the Downtown Service District was if regular trolley service were eliminated.

Council Member Protzman said he was uncomfortable with discussions focused on subverting federal regulations in order to continue trolley operations. Mayor Broun said he would hate not to pursue possible valid uses of the trolley other than disposal to a junkyard. Council Member Protzman said he concurred.

Council Member Evans said one downtown business person had suggested having the trolleys run up and down the downtown business area. Ms. Green noted that a trolley survey had found that many Hospital area riders were now frequenting a restaurant in the Thurston-Bowles building on the campus, rather than coming to the downtown area.

Council Member Evans inquired whether any local conference planners inquired about the availability of trolleys or other transit service. Ms. Green said some planners asked for assistance with transit-related matters.

Mayor Broun requested that staff obtain additional information about procedures for disposing of trolleys and develop options for possible ongoing use of the trolleys. Mr. Horton said staff could do so.

Council Member Waldorf said it was not desirable to run the trolleys just because they were perceived as "cute" by some people. Council Member Brown inquired about funding of the trolley service and downtown district. Mr. Horton said the total funds for the Downtown Service District were $64,000 in direct cash, with a subsidy of $43,000 for trolley service. Council Member Capowski inquired about the Town's contribution to the Downtown Service District if the trolley service were eliminated. Mr. Horton said the Town's contribution would be zero. He stated that the Town would gain about $40,500 from this approach while the University would gain a few dollars. Council Member Capowski inquired whether it would be best to rescind the Downtown Service District and fund

services from the Town's General Fund. Mayor Broun noted that by annually earmarking about $5,600 from the General Fund, the District Tax could be completely eliminated.

Council Member Brown suggested that staff inquire whether or not downtown business owners desired the continued existence of the district. Mr. Horton said one other possibility was to lower the downtown district tax rate. Mr. Humphreys said reducing the Commission's budget would definitely result in reduced service levels. He noted that on average each business in the downtown area paid a service district tax of $211 per year.

Bill Loeser, a downtown business person, said he favored the Manager's recommendation to discontinue trolley service in the downtown area. He suggested that these funds and all Downtown Service District funds could be used to fund streetscape projects.

Council Member Capowski said he attended the Downtown Commission's annual meeting each of the last three years. He noted that at each of the meetings there had been an unenthusiastic response about how best to expend the District's $41,000 budget in order to best promote the downtown area. Council Member Capowski said if downtown business persons did not favor having a district, the district tax should be rescinded and the district dissolved.

Council Member Protzman said as a downtown business owner, he should not have to pay more to make the downtown area more presentable. He stated that the Town had an obligation to keep up the downtown area as a community asset. Council Member Protzman suggested that the community at-large could fund an ongoing downtown improvements program.

Council Member Waldorf said she agreed about the need for downtown improvements such as lighting and streetscape. She suggested conducting a survey of all downtown business owners concerning the Downtown Service District tax. Council Member Brown suggested that the Town, rather than the Downtown Commission, conduct the survey.

Mayor Broun commended Downtown Commission Director Robert Humphreys for his love of the Town and his work above and beyond the call of duty for the downtown area and community as a whole. Council Member Brown expressed her concurrence and thanks.

Mr. Humphreys said given the varied backgrounds and interests of downtown business owners, it was very unlikely that consensus would ever be achieved among members of this group. Mr. Humphreys said although he made his best effort to speak for all downtown business owners, there were some owners who did not favor the Commission's existence or programs.

Mayor Broun asked whether or not the tax rate could be changed following its adoption. Mr. Horton said no, noting that the rate could not be changed once it was established for the next year.

He added that the Council could act as late as July 1st to set the Downtown Service District tax rate and service plan. Mr. Horton added that notices of this evening's hearing had been mailed to all business owners in the downtown area.

Council Member Evans said although she had been a strong supporter of the trolley in the past, the trolley did not currently appear to be meeting a very large need. Council Member Evans said funds might be best used for streetscape projects such as sidewalks and lighting.

Council Member Protzman said he strongly supported a streetscape program. Council Member Protzman also said he did not believe that downtown businesses would profit disproportionately from streetscape in the downtown area. Council Member Protzman said it was interesting that the Council had spent about thirty minutes discussing an overall $30 million budget while it had spent the past sixty minutes or so discussing approximately $20,000.

Mayor Broun said it might be useful for the staff to develop options concerning the Downtown Service District Tax and the Downtown Commission's future. Mr. Horton said staff would appreciate the opportunity to meet with Mr. Humphreys to discuss options in the event that trolley services were discontinued.

Council Member Capowski inquired about the possibility of banking Downtown Service District funds for a period of one year. Mr. Horton said this was not permissible. Mayor Broun said he thought it would be useful for staff to meet with Mr. Humphreys. Mr. Humphreys said it would be helpful to receive a final answer about trolley service as soon as possible since a number of parties had called the Commission recently concerning possible trolley charters.

Mr. Horton said the Town valued the work of Ms. Green and the Orange County Visitors Bureau.

The work session concluded at 9:00 p.m.