SUMMARY OF A MEETING OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL WITH

MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION,

FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1996

Mayor Waldorf called the proceedings to order at 8:00 a.m. Council Members in attendance were Julie Andresen, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton, Pat Evans, Richard Franck, Lee Pavao and Barbara Powell. Mayor pro tem Joyce Brown was absent excused. Legislative delegates in attendance were State Senators Fred Hobbs and Teena Little and State Representatives Anne Barnes and Joe Hackney.

Also in attendance were Town Manager Cal Horton, North Carolina League of Municipalities Director David Reynolds, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Town Clerk Peter Richardson, Assistant to the Manager Greg Feller, Assistant to the Mayor Alice Joyce and Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos.

Mayor Waldorf noted that there were a number of items on today's agenda for discussion. Mayor Waldorf said that the University and UNC Hospitals had each agreed to donate $50,000 per year each for the next three years, to assist with the purchase of a new fire truck by the Town. Representative Barnes reported that the matter of fire protection funding for communities with State buildings, such as the University campus, was being studied. She noted that a report on this matter would be presented during the short session of the General Assembly. Representative Barnes also said that concerns had been expressed about inequities in the State's fire protection funding grant process.

Representative Barnes noted that she had been in contact with State Budget office staff to express concern that fire protection funding levels had not been adjusted to take into account the cost of protecting new buildings at the University and UNC Hospitals. She also said that the State Property Office was presently in the process of assessing State properties. Representative Barnes stated that the State Budget Office was currently reviewing fire protection funding relative to: (1) inequities in community's abilities to bear costs, (2) the possibility of adding funding to maintain buying power, and (3) the possibility of adding a future growth factor. Representative Barnes suggested that the Town contact State Budget Director Marvin Dorman about the possibility of increased fire protection funding for the Town.

Council Member Franck inquired whether it was possible that communities would receive less fire protection funding. Noting that this was possible, Representative Barnes said she had been advocating that this not take place. Representative Barnes said although she believed that the study would not recommend this, she did not know how the General Assembly would act on this matter.

Citing the worst case scenario that no local fire protection funding was approved by the General Assembly, Council Member Andresen asked whether local governments were required to provide fire protection funding for State properties. Mr. Horton said that municipalities were required to provide such protection. Noting that fire protection funding would only impact a few counties fiscally, Representative Barnes said it was a possibility that fire protection funding would not be approved in future budgets.

Senator Little noted that if the existing allocation of fire protection funding were reallocated, the Town would likely receive a lesser annual allocation. Council Member Capowski stated that the Town was currently receiving a proportionally insufficient amount of State property fire protection funding.

Representative Barnes said that Wake County's allocation was similarly out of balance.

Council Member Capowski said he hoped that it would not take a tragic fire death type incident to trigger legislative action for the provision of greater fire protection funding levels. He stated that additional funding for fire protection should be provided by the State legislature. Noting that although the current allocation for fire protection might be insufficient, some perceived fire protection funding as a waste of funds.

Mayor Waldorf inquired whether or not it would be helpful for the University and UNC Hospitals to write letters to Mr. Dorman of the State Budget Office on this matter. She also inquired whether the Town should contact any other State officials in this matter. Representative Barnes said that Town officials might wish to contact Governor Hunt, in order to draw the matter to his attention. She also urged the Town to be cautious that the level of fire protection funding requested by consistent with the amount of property involved. Representative Barnes noted that the State Property Office was in the process of placing values on University properties. She also stated that the fire protection funding matter was principally a Town concern, rather than involving the University or UNC Hospitals in a major capacity.

State Funding of Public Transit

Mayor Waldorf inquired whether the legislative delegation could provide guidance on how the Town might receive increased State funding for public transit. Noting that the climate on public transit matters in the General Assembly was not very good, Representative Hackney said a key step would be to confer with the Governor's Office on this matter. Council Member Andresen asked what level of support would be needed for the Town to receive special legislation for an increased gasoline tax. Representative Hackney said such measures had the greatest chance of passage with support from other political subdivisions. Representative Barnes inquired whether any network of urban areas had discussed this matter. Council Member Franck said he believed that the North Carolina Public Transit Coalition had undertaken some discussions on these matters. Mr. Horton said that the Coalition had been urged to work closely with the North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM) on this matter.

NCLM Director David Reynolds said that the North Carolina Public Transit Coalition, representing a total of eighteen communities, had recently met at the League's offices. Mr. Reynolds noted that Governor Hunt had charged the Transit 2001 Coalition Committee with developing recommendations this year relative to public transit matters. He noted that the scope of recommendations would include urban, rural, rail and other types of transit systems. Mr. Reynolds said some recommendations would be made in time for the short session, while others would be made in concert with the General Assembly's 1997 regular session.

Council Member Andresen inquired about the Coalition's information collection process. Mr. Reynolds said that the Committee was staffed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Mr. Reynolds also said he believed that there would be a number of opportunities for public input during the Coalition's report compilation process. Representative Barnes noted that the Transit 2001 Coalition Committee was being asked to envision transit needs twenty to fifty years hence. Council Member Franck said the Governor's general vision appeared to be that there be a four-lane highway within close proximity of a large proportion of the State's residents. Representative Barnes noted that she had never had a constituent request that a four-lane highway be constructed in front of their home. Council Member Franck said that highway projects were always couched in terms of economic development.

Mayor Waldorf noted that a number of civic leaders were attempting to put together a committee to meet with Governor Hunt on transit matters. She inquired whether or not this was a good approach. Mr. Reynolds said he believed that this was a great idea to raise the visibility of the matter. Council Member Evans suggested that the leaders could possibly take statistics about air quality to their meeting with the Governor.

Council Member Chilton thanked the members of the local legislative delegation for passage of a $5 increase in the local motor vehicle tax. Representative Barnes inquired about the annual yield from this revenue source. Mr. Horton said it was approximately $90,000.

Funding of Public School Construction

Noting that the Town had no direct control or responsibility in this matter, Mayor Waldorf inquired about the status of public school construction items in the General Assembly. Representative Barnes said the possibility of a dedicated revenue stream for funding public schools did not appear likely. Senator Hobbs noted that Representative Barnes had introduced a bill in the house earmarking a total of $500 million for school construction funding. He said that a bill for $1.8 billion had been introduced in the State Senate.

Stating that he was co-chair of the Senate study committee on School Construction, said that a number of dedicated funding sources were being investigated, including the issuance of certificates of participation. Senator Hobbs said it was very likely that local funds would be needed to leverage any State funds for school construction. He added that one-cent local option taxes could be labelled as increasing taxes on citizens in an election year. Council Member Andresen inquired whether or not it would be beneficial for municipal and county elected officials to work together on this concern. Senator Hobbs said he feared that the General Assembly might not take up this matter during the current session unless a stronger sense of a pressing need developed. He added that some legislators felt that there should be no additional funds for school construction until the performance of students improved.

Stating that the House had narrowly passed without prejudice a school construction funding bill of $500 million, Representative Barnes said the Senate had proposed a $1.8 billion bill. She noted that the Rules Committee Chairperson had exercised their right to a pocket veto on this bill and a proposal to have a State lottery to fund school construction.

Noting that Wake County had added about 4,600 students to its attendance rolls in the last year, Senator Little said it was understandable that counties and cities could not afford to build two or three new schools each year. Senator Little also said she believed that the General Assembly would take some action relative to school construction financing. Senator Hobbs said it was very important for the General Assembly to know the will of the people on matters such as school financing. Council Member Andresen thanked the local legislative delegation for its efforts relative to school financing items.

Representative Hackney said that private, rather than public, schools were a priority item for many members of the General Assembly. Representative Barnes said that a number of members were pushing for private school vouchers as a means to reduce the need for new school construction.

Mayor Waldorf inquired about the prospects for some elements of home rule authorization. Representative Barnes urged the Council to be cautious in this area, given the possibility of unfunded mandates.

Library Funding

Mayor Waldorf called upon Mr. Horton for a summary introduction.

Stating that municipal libraries were not treated equitably, Mr. Horton said the Town favored continuation of present additional library funding by the State. Representative Barnes said that in order to increase the Town's funding level, it would be necessary to reduce someone else's funding share. Mr. Horton said it would be preferable to have a larger pot for library funding. Noting that it would be difficult to make a change in the short session, Representative Barnes said it might be possible to request that the Division of Cultural Resources perform a study and make recommendations relative to State funding of local libraries.

Designation of Misdemeanors and Infractions

Mayor Waldorf called upon Mr. Karpinos for introductory comments.

Mr. Karpinos said he believed that municipalities should have the right to choose which violations of the open container ordinance were misdemeanors and which ones were infractions. Representative Hackney said he did not foresee any problems in the General Assembly with this proposal. Representative Barnes said she believed that an exception to the State statute could be made for the Town or Orange County. She added that if the matter were non-controversial, it could be taken up during the short session.

Mr. Karpinos said that at a recent Council public hearing, bar owners had complained that vendors selling alcoholic beverages to underage drinkers were punished fairly severely while the persons using false identification were assessed small penalties. Representative Hackney said he believed that persons knowingly presenting false identification could possibly face a one-year suspension of their driver's license. Mr. Karpinos said that Town police officials believed that stronger penalties were needed for persons presenting false identification. Representative Barnes suggested that the Town might want to put together a more comprehensive package of information for the local legislative delegation about local bill options during the short session. Representative Hackney said he did not believe that knowingly presenting false identification was only an infraction. Council Member Chilton said he had been told that many persons used someone else's license (an older person's) in order to illegally purchase alcoholic beverages. Representative Hackney said there were serious implications for those loaning such identification, persons using such false identification and persons selling alcohol to these persons. Council Member Chilton stated that 19 and 20 year old persons found in possession of alcoholic beverages faced a $10 fine.

Representative Hackney stated that the General Assembly's action, tied to federal highway funding, to establish a minimum drinking age of 21 had saved many lives. He stated that drinking deaths for 19 and 20 year old persons had declined dramatically in recent years.

Mr. Horton said that the Police Chief and Town Attorney could carefully review items relative to alcohol enforcement matters which might be improved during the short session or in a future session of the General Assembly.

Council Member Capowski noted that some bars served to intoxicated persons. He inquired whether State or local law enforcement officials would handle these problems. Representative Hackney said that there were a number of enforcement mechanisms in place. Mr. Horton said that although the Town was currently receiving good enforcement support from State Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) officials, this agency needed more agents to assist with these efforts.

Council Member Franck said that social organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) had played an important role in reducing drunk driving deaths and injuries. He also noted that there was broad acceptance of underage drinking in some circles. Council Member Powell said she thought that perceptions on this matter differed in the community. Council Member Franck said he wanted the Town to be able to enforce these laws on their own, rather than having additional ALE agents to enforce these regulations. He noted that there was a perception that citizens were not treated as well by ALE agents as by Town police officers. Council Member Powell said that many citizens who did not approve of underage drinking were not speaking out on this matter.

Representative Barnes inquired what had happened to a proposed bill to extend alcohol law enforcement authority to local police officials. Mr. Reynolds said the proposal had died due to territorial issues. Representative Barnes said this matter might merit reexamination. Mr. Reynolds said although he had had this outlook for quite some time, there did not appear to be much legislative support for the proposal. Representative Barnes suggested that the Town forward its proposal on this matter as soon as possible. Mayor Waldorf said the proposal would be forwarded to the legislative delegation as soon as possible.

Water and Sewer Matters

Mr. Horton said this matter dealt with meeting the long-term water and sewer needs of OWASA, Orange County, Hillsborough, Carrboro and the Town. Assistant to the Manager Greg Feller said the proposal was to make binding the delineation of areas to be served by various water and sewer providers countywide. He noted that the Town of Hillsborough had not supported the proposal to date.

Representative Barnes said she did not know whether she wished to proceed with this matter. Council Member Andresen suggested that the matter be placed on the table. Noting that she did not mean to discourage the Council in this matter, Representative Barnes said the matter had been considered fourteen years ago when she served as an Orange County Commissioner.

Other Matters

Council Member Capowski inquired about the State's economic status. Representative Barnes said although it was still a little early to make predictions about the State budget, there were limited resources for new items. Representative Barnes also said that although the budget picture was not a wonderful one, she hoped that it would improve. She also expressed hope that it would not be necessary to cut into revenues.

The meeting concluded at 9:17 a.m.