SUMMARY OF A JOINT MEETING OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL AND THE CHATHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, TUESDAY, MAY 6, 1997, HELD AT THE BESTFOOD RESTAURANT, SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA

Chatham County Commission Chair Margaret Pollard and Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf called the proceedings to order at 6:32 p.m. Chatham County Commissioners in attendance were Henry Dunlap, John Grimes, Uva Holland and Betty Wilson. Chapel Hill Town Council Members in attendance were Julie Andresen, Joyce Brown, Joe Capowski, Mark Chilton, Pat Evans, Richard Franck, Lee Pavao and Edith Wiggins. Staff members in attendance were Chatham County Manager Charlie Horne, Chapel Hill Town Manager Cal Horton, Chapel Hill Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Chapel Hill Transportation Director Bob Godding, Assistant to the Manager Greg Feller and Town Clerk Peter Richardson.

POSSIBLE CHATHAM COUNTY TRANSIT SERVICE AGREEMENT

Commission Chair Pollard thanked the Town Council for its timely response to the Commission’s request regarding the possibility of providing transit service to Chatham County. Mr. Horne inquired about the minimum timeframe for putting transit service in place. Mr. Godding said that service could possibly be initiated within as little as thirty days. Mr. Horne inquired about contractual contingencies regarding fuel shortages. Mr. Godding said he believed that contractual arrangements could be worked out regarding this matter. Commission Chair Pollard inquired about the Chapel Hill Town staff’s assumptions regarding ridership of buses in Chatham County. Mr. Godding said the assumption used was thirty-two to thirty-three passengers per hour of service. Mayor Waldorf inquired whether or not Chatham County had conducted any type of bus ridership survey. Mr. Horne said that the County had not undertaken any such survey to date. Mr. Horton said that one possibility would be to offer limited bus service to Chatham County on a trial basis. Council Member Chilton noted that most interested parties would likely be employed at the University or UNC Hospitals. Mr. Godding said it might be possible to offer direct service to the University and Hospital campuses, rather than asking riders to transfer from one bus to another.

Commissioner Grimes suggested that the Chatham County Commission could further discuss the possibility of transit service to Chapel Hill at a future meeting. Commissioner Wilson inquired about the best way to survey persons about the proposed transit service. Mayor Waldorf suggested that the University’s and Hospital’s personnel offices might be able to assist in this regard. Council Member Capowski said it might be possible to insert surveys in the paychecks of employees having Chatham County zip codes. Mayor Waldorf offered the Town’s assistance in working with the University and Hospital to make these arrangements, if the Chatham County Commissioners chose to pursue the matter further.

ORANGE-CHATHAM WORK GROUP

Noting that all fourteen members of the two bodies were in attendance this evening, Commission Chair Pollard said it was obvious that both the Chatham County Commission and Chapel Hill Town Council were interested in continuing a dialogue about issues of mutual interest. Mayor Waldorf noted that the Town of Carrboro and Orange County Board of Commissioners had also expressed interest in participating in future meetings. Mayor Waldorf also said that the Orange Water and Sewer Authority Board was also interested in participating relative to water and sewer service issues. Commissioner Pollard suggested the possibility of meeting on a quarterly basis. Mayor Waldorf said she believed that this arrangement would be adequate. Council Member Andresen stated that the work group’s purposes were very general at this time. Commission Chair Pollard said that specifics could be determined at future work group meetings. Council Member Andresen said that some bylaws or understandings could be worked out in the future. Mayor Waldorf said that each governmental body could decide its own issues for discussions by the work group. Commissioner Wilson inquired about the possibility of setting a date for the first meeting of the work group. Noting that members of the Orange County Commission were unable to attend this evening’s meeting due to a regularly scheduled Commission meeting, Council Member Brown suggested that a definite meeting date and time not be set this evening. Commission Chair Pollard suggested that Mr. Horne and Mr. Horton consult with their counterparts in Orange County and the Town of Carrboro to determine a suitable date during the second or third week of September.

Commission Chair Pollard suggested that transit services might be one of the issues which the work group could discuss in the future.

Commission Chair Pollard reported that five jurisdictions in Chatham County had recently signed a joint resolution regarding a strategic plan for Chatham County. Commissioner Wilson noted that there had been lots of community meetings around Chatham County regarding growth related matters. Council Member Andresen inquired about the implementation strategy for the strategic plan. Commission Chair Pollard said that the land use plan was in the development phase, with a consultant examining a total of eleven areas. Commissioner Wilson also noted that the County Health Department was in the processing of developing a health improvement project. Mayor Waldorf inquired about the status of the County’s land use plan. Mr. Horne said it would take an estimated fourteen months to get the land use plan through the review process and to the Board of Commissioners for possible action. He noted that most of the land within Chatham County was not presently zoned. Mayor Waldorf said she hoped that the areas around Jordan Lake would be carefully examined. Mr. Horne said that the County was planning to do so. Council Member Chilton said that the Chapel Hill Town Council shared the Chatham County Commissioners concerns about water quality issues. Commission Chair Pollard suggested that the work group could discuss this matter in detail.

Noting that some new developments were building out in the southern part of Chapel Hill, close to the northern part of Chatham County, Council Member Capowski said it would be helpful to share information about new development proposals.

Commissioner Grimes said that the Board of Commissioners was concerned about wastewater discharges into Jordan Lake. Commission Chair Pollard said that the Chatham County Board of Commissioners would appreciate the Chapel Hill Town Council’s support of a resolution regarding water quality at Jordan Lake. Council Member Evans noted that a regional water commission had indicated that the practice of interbasin transfers were not desirable for a number of reasons. Commission Chair Pollard noted that Chatham County’s request for an additional allocation of water from Jordan Lake had been turned down.

Mr. Horton noted that a joint meeting of Chapel Hill and Chatham County department heads would be held on Thursday, May 22^nd in Pittsboro.

The meeting concluded at 7:29 p.m