SUMMARY MINUTES OF A CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
WORK SESSION ON 2000-2001 BUDGET
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2000 AT 4 P.M.
Mayor Rosemary Waldorf called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Council members present were Flicka Bateman, Pat Evans, Kevin Foy, Lee Pavăo, Bill Strom, Jim Ward, and Edith Wiggins. Council Member Joyce Brown arrived at 4:10 p.m.
Staff Members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Assistant Town Managers Sonna Loewenthal and Florentine Miller, Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos, Assistant to the Manager Bill Stockard, Finance Director Jim Baker, and Town Clerk Joyce Smith.
Other staff members attending portions of tonight’s work session were: Transportation Director Bob Godding, Transportation Analyst Scott McClellan, Transportation Planner David Bonk, Library Director Kathy Thompson, Library Analyst Mark Bayliss, Housing Director Tina Vaughn, Parks and Recreation Director Kathryn Spatz, Parks and Recreation Administrative Analyst Bill Webster, Long Range Planner Claudia Paine, Current Development Planner Beverly Kawalec, and Human Services Coordinator Karen Rose.
Transportation Board Chair Ken Robinson and Loren Hintz appeared for the Board. Mr. Robinson said the Board had gone over a number of items previously proposed and decided what the “front burner” issues were:
· Reducing the amount of reduced service, asking that the number of evening services not be reduced during the reduced service time period and maintaining the shared ride services at full-level operation during reduced service periods. Shared rides during the weekdays would add about $10,000 per year, Saturday service would add $8,000 per year, and full evening service would be about $50,000 per year for a total of $68,000.
Council Member Evans asked how late evening service ran. Transportation Analyst Scott McClellan responded that full service ran at various times during the evening, the latest ran until 12:15 a.m., shared rides running complimentary services to those hours. He said that reduced services ended earlier in the evening.
· Increased funding for pedestrian safety, i.e. sidewalks, signal lights, improvement at intersections, bike lanes, and others. Increase to $100,000 for sidewalks to complete or add. $500,000 additional funds had been received from the State, which has to be used for transit, and could be used for future projects or for projects currently needed.
Mr. McClellan said that the $500,000 was the Town’s share of the $4.9 million allocated by the General Assembly for the State Maintenance Assistance Program, to be used for transit operations. Mr. Horton said the State could question the use of the money if it were not used for transit operations purposes. Transportation Director Bob Godding said the funding of $500,000 had to be looked at in the context of the whole budget for the year, and the agreement with Carrboro and the University called for an annual reconciliation of each year’s accounting, so the entire $500,000 funding would be for all three entities.
Council Member Foy asked if the funding could be spent on, as an example, sidewalks, or would it need additional funding from the Town. Mr. Godding said it could not be used for other than transit operations.
Mr. Hintz recommended that the Council lobby for the funding to be yearly, so it could then be planned for in the budget. He said if it were only a one-time funding, plans could not be ongoing for future use.
Council Member Brown asked if the Transportation Board had discussed uses of the funding for the coming budget year. Mr. Robinson said they had not, since it had just been received yesterday evening, but said that reducing reduced service would be one of the kinds of programs it could be used for. Mr. Horton said the staff would probably concentrate in reducing the possible tax rate increase in another year, by using the funds. He said any other residue could be used as an addition to the Capital Reserve, or for a one-time use.
Council Member Evans asked if the money could be used to purchase a “Park and Ride” lot on Highway 15-501. Mr. Godding thought it could be used for that, but he said the amount of money would not be nearly what was needed for the purchase of a lot for “Park and Ride.”
Council Member Bateman asked if the money could be used to purchase the smaller buses, which had been discussed. She asked if the money had to be spent during this fiscal year. Mr. Horton said he thought that could be worked out. Mr. Godding said he expected that the first small bus could be delivered by the end of March, and the remaining two, by the end of April. He said 80 percent of the cost for the buses was being paid for by a federal grant, 10 percent State, and 10 percent local. Mr. Horton said the Capital Reserve Fund was the source of the local ten percent grant.
Council Member Strom asked if the funds could be used to support fare experiments to help increase ridership and as promotional funds to encourage people to use the system. Mr. Godding thought that would be possible.
Mayor Waldorf said she felt that any additional service offered should be marketed aggressively.
Council Member Brown asked Mr. Godding to detail what the share of $250,000 with the Town’s partners would be. Mr. Godding said the contract with the partners provided that surplus over budget at the end of the year be shared with the other partners in the same proportion as each of them subsidized the system, 46% Chapel Hill, 41% UNC, and 13% Carrboro.
Council Member Brown asked if the partners could work together for one purpose for use of the $500,000. Mr. Horton said he did not think so, but it could be discussed, and it probably would not be likely that agreement could be reached in time for this budget year. He added that additional unanticipated expenses already incurred would probably eat into the funds. Mr. Horton said the residue would not be available until the year-end audit was completed.
Council Member Foy asked if the funds could be reserved for multi-year operations. Mr. Godding said the State probably would not object.
Council Member Ward asked what the dollar figure was for the Town, in the fund allotment with the partners. Mr. Horton said it would be $46%, or $225,000, but until the auditor’s report was received, the Town would not know the profit of the system.
Council Member Ward said he felt sidewalks were transit. Mr. Horton said support of operations of buses, easy-rider, and shared-ride, and anything related to support of those services were considered transit.
Mr. Godding said that the funds were additional State monies to be used for operating transit, which would be applied to the current year operation, to the extent that they offset other funds coming from the three partners, and the funds would be reconciled with the partners. He said the Town’s share of the profits left at the end of the year could be used for the purposes pointed out by the Manager.
Council Member Brown said that at this point the Town did not know what the 46% would be until the final figures were in the audit.
Mr. Robinson asked what would happen if all the money was spent during the year. Mr. Horton said there would be nothing to distribute, but the Town had a contract with the partners that determined how the money could be spent.
Mayor Waldorf suggested that the Council wait for further clarification concerning what the real expenses for the year would be before considering options for the State funding.
Council Member Bateman asked where the Town stood in terms of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance. Mr. Godding said the system was fully compliant with ADA, and met all the rules and regulations, and some of the services went beyond the minimum regulations. Mr. Horton added, with reference to curb cuts, the places used by the largest number of people were the ones being worked on, which was the downtown, at the schools, in the neighborhoods, and special requests.
Council Member Foy asked if the suggestion for a shuttle would be coming to the Council, and, if so, could the State funds be used for this. Mr. Horton said the staff would bring the cost information to the Council needed to understand the cost of the shuttle. He said the funds could be used if the partners agreed as a shared cost, but usually the partner who asked for adding new services paid for the first year, then if it met the requirements of the service, it would become a shared cost.
Mr. Hintz and Mr. Robinson asked what the sense of the Council was for increasing the allocations in order to expand services in the community, especially with the addition of four new apartment complexes.
Mayor Waldorf said she felt the State should be allocating more money for expanded transportation in the communities.
Council Member Evans said it might have to become a choice of providing transportation in places where it was needed more than in other places.
Mayor Waldorf said the Council would consider this question on a future agenda of the Council, because she thought it deserved discussion.
Fred Black, Chair of the Library Board of Trustees, introduced members of the Board present: Vice-Chair Paul Farel, Sue Greenberg, Mary (Bitty) Holten, and Robert Schreiner. He pointed out that the Chapel Hill Library was the State’s busiest library, that North Carolina had an average ranking, from an outside ranking agency, of 446, with the higher states being in the 500s, but the Chapel Hill Public Library received a ranking of 808 taking into consideration the services rendered, the collection, management, and other issues. He said the second highest rank in the State was the Southern Pines Public Library, with a ranking of 686.
Mr. Black outlined the Library highlights for the past year:
· Installed nine public Internet stations.
· Developed a technology plan for the Town and the State Library.
· Qualified to receive the federal Universal Service Rate discount for telecommunications costs.
· Initiated patron access to direct and remote access to NCLive databases, on-line data bases valued at over $3 million.
· Initiated steps to provide patrons access to the Library’s automated catalog via the Internet.
· Replaced bookmobile service to public housing communities with expanded programming at the Library. The Library continues to work with the Residents Council to coordinate van service to these programs.
· Introduced Toddler Time story hour and Breakfast Club, a book program for young adults.
· Coordinated with the UNC Library Science Department to establish interns in the Children’s Division and to co-sponsor an annual author program.
· Transfer of the Love Trust management to the Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation.
· Presented the findings of the Library Needs Assessment Task Force.
Mr. Black said the Library Needs Assessment Task Force findings included:
· Additional resources would be necessary, whether the Town chooses to maintain services at the existing level ($177,950) or to expand services ($457,825).
· An increasingly diverse population would require additional services and staff.
· Library programs should include programs for adults, marketed to attract non-users.
· Technology services would significantly increase resource allocation needs.
Mr. Farel displayed charts to show:
· Chapel Hill Population as Percentage of County Population. (39.6%)
· Breakdown of Orange County Library Support throughout the County—Chapel Hill-$5.28 per capita, the rest of Orange County-$9.81 per capita.
· 1999-2000 Library budget by funding source—Chapel Hill 74%, Orange County 14%, other sources 12%.
· Patron Residency based on registration records—Chapel Hill 53%, Orange County 44%, out of County 3%.
· Breakdown of patron residency based on checkout records—Chapel Hill 54%, Orange County 42%, out of County 4%.
· Education as percentage of operating expenditures 1999-00 by Counties—Wake 49%, Orange 48%, Chatham 37%, Durham 19%.
· Comparison of Total Library Support by County as Percentage of General Operating Budget—Wake 1.98%, Durham 1.55%, Chatham 1.44%, Orange 0.85%.
Mr. Farel concluded that Orange County gave less of its budget to libraries than do neighboring counties and the money it gave was not distributed equitably based on population, meaning that the outstanding public library in Chapel Hill was financed by the taxpayers of Chapel Hill, but growth projections would have to include southern Orange County as well as Chapel Hill.
Mr. Black said the Library Trustees had made a similar presentation to the County Board of Commissioners last year regarding the need to increase County library funding, and asked the Council to authorize the Trustees to make another presentation during the County budget process in 2000. He said the staff of the Library had not increased, but the responsibilities, especially helping the library patrons with the internet and other services, had increased. Mr. Black said the gifts to the Library should not be considered as a reason for not increasing the Library budget. He asked what areas the Council would like to have the Library Board study during the next fiscal year. The Board offered suggestions:
· Work with a consultant to review the findings of the Library Needs Assessment Task Force, and to report back to the Town Council early 2001.
· Implement patron access via the Internet to the library’s automation system.
Mayor Waldorf suggested that the Library Board present their requests again to the County Board of Commissioners, with a dollar amount of $400,000.
Council Member Ward offered the Council’s presence at the County Board hearings.
Council Member Foy suggested that the Orange County representative be present at the County Board meeting when the Library Trustees presented its request, and suggested including the amount of users from Carrboro and Chatham County. He agreed that the $400,000 was a good amount to request, with a certain yearly step period in which to be completed.
Council Member Pavăo agreed that the Town should continue to make requests of the County.
Mr. Black said the Library was a center in Chapel Hill, where a great deal of education was being provided for all citizens, and the staff was being put to task to accomplish all of the expectations. He said they were a fine staff, and he thanked the Library Director and staff for their efforts.
Council Member Ward asked where a bond issue would fit into the funding. Mr. Black said capital expenditure might be an area, but he did not recollect that kind of funding previously. Mr. Horton said he did not believe bonds could be used for the needs recommended by the Trustees, which were mostly operating costs. Mr. Black said that the large number of volunteers helped the staff.
Mayor Waldorf said the Town’s support would not be cut back if the County provided additional funding. Mr. Black said the Trustees would return to the Council after they had requested funds from the County. He said that each year the Trustees reported to the County Board of Commissioners where the County’s funding had been spent.
Goals developed in 1998:
· Become involved in the Community Development funds earlier in the process.
· Schedule a meeting with members of the Town Planning staff as well as the County’s planning organizations involved with Community Development funds.
· Become more familiar with the direction and needs regarding community development in this area.
Other Goals:
· Review effectiveness of the neighborhood liaison process and consider whether to continue this approach or look at alternative means of community involvement.
· Consider decision-making factors that would aid some families in moving from public housing.
· Initiate a discussion with the Town Council regarding the development of the type of housing that would be a step between public housing and private housing.
· Broaden the Board’s empowerment, selecting a member of the Board to be a media spokesperson.
· Become more knowledgeable about Town and County housing issues and housing programs.
Ms. Sherwood said that the affordable housing being proposed by the developers would not be affordable for many people, and suggested that the Town might consider subsidized rental housing instead of homeownership. She suggested other less expensive housing such as prefabricated homes, efficiency apartments, trailers, and housing outside of Town limits with a good transportation system to support it. Ms. Sherwood said the Board liked the idea of the Town owning land, with the owners owning the houses, to make it more affordable for residents of public housing to move into the private market.
Other goals:
· Look at community resources that are available and find ways to encourage public housing families to take advantage of those resources—to promote involvement in existing after-school programs and look at ways to engage the business community in providing resources for low-income families.
· Improve communication with the residents of public housing.
· Look at the effectiveness of residents councils.
· Encourage housing staff to update printed material to make them more Hispanic-friendly.
Council Member Brown asked Ms. Sherwood to explain the term she had used for one of the housing alternatives. Ms. Sherwood said it was “MacHousing,” as in “MacDonald’s.”
Council Member Bateman asked Housing Director Tina Vaughn to report on the outreach program to the Hispanic community, and how many Latino families were presently in public housing. Ms. Vaughn said several documents were in English and Spanish, there was a brochure giving locations and descriptions of all public housing neighborhoods printed in Spanish, eligibility requirements were printed in Spanish, and general information about the community were printed in Spanish. She said there were 13 units being utilized by Hispanic families, and of the waiting list of 125, 15 were Hispanic.
Council Member Foy asked Ms. Vaughn if she and the Housing Board had an ongoing relationship with the Orange Community Housing Corporation (OCHC). Ms. Vaughn said it was ongoing, and Robert Dowling of OCHS was present at tonight’s meeting.
Council Member Foy said it was an opportunity to speak with OCHC about the kind of affordable housing that many people could or could not afford. He said there would have to be subsidies, to help these people. Ms. Vaughn said that Orange County had received a grant for housing assistance, and there would be opportunity for people living in the housing projects to move into a rental situation subsidized by the Section 8 program. She said there needed to be a step between public housing and homeownership, which could be rental opportunities to prepare people for homeownership.
Council Member Foy said he was proposing that the Housing Board put pressure on the OCHC to find a means for developing affordable housing for public housing residents.
Council Member Wiggins asked about discussions with regard to separating the Housing Board from the Community Development Board and asked where this issue stood presently. Ms. Sherwood said it had not been approached, and had wondered why Community Development was in the Board’s title. She said she would like to see the Board have more opportunity to be part of Community Development.
Council Member Evans asked if the transition step between public housing and homeownership was within the affordable range for the public housing residents. Ms. Sherwood said it was not within an affordable range.
Council Member Ward asked Ms. Sherwood to determine in her conversations with Mr. Dowling of OCHC, if some of the costs for the Town’s process for building were making barriers for affordable housing, to see what might be addressed. Ms. Sherwood said it might just be the cost of construction, which was very high in the Town.
Mayor Waldorf said the discussions at the Council’s retreat this year reflected that the Town was not going to be able to add a lot of additional services, because of many other expenses that had to be met in this next year.
Council Member Evans apologized for having to leave shortly for another meeting. She left the meeting at 5:40 p.m.
Diane Lemasters, Chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, introduced the members of the Commission who were present: John Anderson, Beth Huskamp, Al Mebane, Andrea Rohrbacker, Eunice Brock, John Covach, and Dan Costa.
Ms. Lemasters read the report from the Commission, which highlighted:
Projects under review, or completed:
· Planning for the Homestead Park Aquatic Center.
· Review of Pritchard Park, with planning scheduled to end late spring.
· The Booker Creek Linear Park initial planning completed.
· The Merritt Pasture situation slowly being resolved.
· Membership on the Joint Master Recreation and Parks Work Group.
· Completion of the Alice Ingram Park.
· Success of the Chapel Hill Skate Park.
· Completion of Homestead Park, with the exception of the batting cages.
· Improved relationships and coordination with the school system.
· Lobbying for the safety of bicyclists and park and greenway patrons.
· Responsibility for the 8th grade graduation party.
· Providing more offerings for high school co-ed athletic leagues.
· Promoting Nature programming and special one-time events.
Future projects:
· Devise a master plan for Chapel Hill’s Parks and Recreation Department.
· Work in conjunction with the UNC Department of Music to provide a Music Festival Series at McCorkle Place.
· Sharing ideas with the UNC Department of Athletics regarding mentoring and other reciprocal arrangements.
· Planning the Southern Park and exploring the possibilities of sharing the construction of that park with its adjacent neighbors, Carrboro and Orange County.
· Using the Greene Tract jointly by municipalities for common recreation needs.
· Exploring the need of additional soccer fields in the area.
· Finding a place for the teen population to call “home-away-from-home.”
Top priorities for next year’s budget:
· Complete the batting cages at Homestead Park.
· Maintain the infrastructure at the Town’s aging facilities.
Ms. Lemasters said that the Commission was asking the Council to double the annual allotment for small-park improvements to $100,000, which include:
· Irrigation of all ball fields.
· Extending water lines to the parched rose garden.
· Building a retaining wall at Umstead Park.
· Pay for new signage to give the park facilities a face-lift.
Council Member Bateman said she had been on a Task Force that made recommendations for recreational needs for at-risk youths, and she hoped they would be implemented this year.
Council Member Foy asked how much money it would take to complete the batting cages. Ms. Lemasters said the current estimate was $280,000. Parks and Recreation Director Kathryn Spatz reported the staff had been working with the lowest bidder, and the cost had been reduced by $12-15,000, and Frank Noel, contractor for the skateboard park, would be willing to contribute $40,000, so the actual construction costs would be about $217,000, plus some soil work.
Council Member Foy asked if there was money set aside for the batting cages construction. Mr. Horton said there was money available from the residue of bond funds, and it would be the Council’s choice as to how that residue would be used. He said there were competing demands, including needs for pool funds.
Mayor Waldorf said that bond funds available, including County bond funds, was about $2 million.
Council Member Ward asked what kind of revenue would be anticipated from the batting cages. Ms. Lemasters said she could not say, but suggested several ways for revenues, such as had been used at the skateboard park: a punch card, special rates for ball teams, higher rates for out-of-town participants, and special rate for parks and recreation participants. She thought Mr. Noel would be willing to participate in the same way he had with the rates for the skateboard park.
Ms. Spatz said the estimate for revenue from the skateboard park was about $3,000, and her guess for the revenues from the batting cages would be $5-10,000 to Chapel Hill.
Mr. Horton said it was significant to be talking about recreational activities which provided a cash flow, and that it was targeted toward teenagers. Mr. Costa added that the activities at Umstead Park were paying for themselves, and also adding more revenue.
Council Member Wiggins asked if the Commission was hopeful of resolving the Merritt Pasture issues. Ms. Brock said the Committee had met last evening and the meeting was very congenial. She said that Joe Herzenberg would be the Chair of the Committee and Sally Green, the Vice-Chair. Mr. Costa said a draft would be in circulation to other Boards within six months, and a final recommendation to the Council in nine months.
Council Member Strom asked if the “dog” issue was under discussion, or if it was part of the Merritt Pasture discussion, or if the Commission needed more direction from the Council in order to pursue other options. Ms. Lemasters said the Commission would be happy for suggestions, that it was not in the Merritt Pasture issues, and she said she felt there should be a Dog Park somewhere in the Town.
Mr. Costa said the issue would have to be considered with regard to any Merritt Pasture discussion. He said during the Merritt Pasture discussions, another Committee could be spun off to consider the dog issues.
Council Member Foy asked where the Commission was on the Parks Master Plan. Ms. Lemasters said they would be interviewing two different architects on February 21.
Council Member Foy asked when the Plan would be brought to the Council. Ms. Spatz replied she would let the Council know.
Council Member Ward said he felt the aquatic process should proceed in a phasing process in the Plan. He suggested talking with Chatham County about sharing the cost and use of the Southern Community Park.
Mayor Waldorf reported that the Council sent a request to the Orange County Commissioners in August 1998 asking that a planning committee for the Southern Park be organized, and that some of the $1 million in bond funds designated for the park be used for planning money. She said at that time they did not want to use any of the money for planning, but she had since sent another letter to the Chair of the County Commissioners proposing that they consider allocating enough money for planning of Phase I and construction drawings, to take it through the Special Use Permit process. She encouraged the Commission members to pursue this with the Commissioners.
Commission Member John Anderson reminded the Council of the necessity of maintaining the Recreation Department’s aging facilities, and the need to keep them in repair or replace them.
Mayor Waldorf thanked the Commission for their interest in the Booker Creek Linear Park. Ms. Lemasters said the Commission would be looking at the changes made in the Staples development, and what that would mean for the park. She added that the ventilation at the Northside gym was shoddy and needed to be replaced, and air conditioning should be added.
Mark Broadwell, Chair, introduced the other members of the Commission: Joe Herzenberg, Vice-Chair, Carol Pekar, Pam Hemminger, Brenda Neilson, Chris City, and Audrey Boothe (who could not attend tonight’s meeting). He thanked the Council for its support, and the staff, Kathryn Spatz and Bill Webster. Mr. Broadwell highlighted some of the accomplishments of the past year:
· Phase II of Bolin Creek creating a 1.5 mile long paved trail from Airport Road to Community Center Park.
· Dry Creek Trail, half-way completed, using free labor from Eagle Scouts.
· Lower Booker Creek Trail begun, repairing the bridge near the Booker Creek Apartments.
· Conceptual Plan for Linear Park completed.
· Merritt Pasture Citizens Committee kick-off.
Mr. Broadwell said the overriding item for the Commission this year was Lower Booker Creek for which a large grant was received from the NC Department of Transportation (DOT), but the projected costs would be beyond that grant, which, if not used this year, would be lost. He said hat once the bid was received for the project, the Commission would be back before the Council to indicate how much money would be requested from the Town.
Mr. Broadwell said the next project would be for the Linear Park, for which the Commission would reapply for a $400,000 grant from the NCDOT. He said if the grant were received, the Town would be required to match the grant with $100,000. Mr. Boradwell thanked the Town for its support and asked that the Greenways Commission be regarded as a top priority for future support.
Commission Member Chris City, liaison to the Comprehensive Plan Work Group, said the Commission saw the Greenways Plan echoed throughout the Comprehensive Plan, especially in the chapter on Transportation. He said the greenways were a major part of the planning for Chapel Hill’s future.
Commission Member Pam Hemminger said the Lower Booker Creek Trail was a big project and there were many people already using the Trail, and the hope was to connect it to Linear Park, when it was completed. She said they hoped to use the Eagle Scouts again on the Linear Park Trail. Ms. Hemminger said Lower Booker Creek would require funding, and displayed the brochure the Commission was designing which showed the several trails presently in operation and several projected for future use. She said the Durham system had broken ground on 23 miles of the American Tobacco Trail, and would like to hook into the Chapel Hill trails. She said Raleigh and Cary were also building and planning many more trails.
Commission Vice-Chair Joe Herzenberg summed up the Council’s accomplishments for the Greenways Commission for the past year:
· Approval of the Master Plan for Greenways.
· Approval of the policy statement prioritizing land acquisition.
· Responded to a citizen concern about land along the Tanyard Branch Greenway.
· The Committee on the Merritt Pasture Access met last night.
· Private help for Greenways at construction sites—Staples, and other proposals not yet built including the VilCom Center and the Homestead.
Mr. Herzenberg pointed out that the greenways needed additional Town money.
Council Member Wiggins asked when the map would be completed and would it be updated from the current map. Mr. Herzenberg responded that it would be ready by May or June and it would be updated.
Council Member Pavăo asked Mr. Herzenberg how much money he was talking about. Mr. Herzenberg said just for the Linear Park the amount would be $100,000. Ms. Hemminger said the bids had not gone out for the Lower Booker Creek, but they would know more after the bids were returned, and then the Commission would forward its recommendations to the Council.
Mayor Waldorf said the bond funds of 1996, which were for Greenways and open space acquisition, were set aside for Greenways purposes. Ms. Hemminger said that any time open space was available the Town should purchase it, but right now the money was needed for construction.
Council Member Strom suggested that the Commission work with OWASA as they acquired easements, and those easements they already had, to share some easements for pedestrians. He suggested a year-by-year process be built into the Greenways Master Plan so the Council could know each year what the actual costs would be. Mr. Broadwell said the Commission had worked with OWASA previously, and was trying to coordinate its future activities with OWASA, as it installed or repaired its sewer lines.
Council Member Ward suggested contacting Public Service and UNC about a greenway along the gas lines running by the Horace Williams Airport. He felt it would serve as an excellent place for a greenway. Mr. Broadwell said that Public Service was very strict about other uses on top of gas lines. He said that often easements were along private property, which would also have to be negotiated, but said the Commission would pursue the idea further.
Council Member Foy asked where the “Rails to Trails” potential hook-up would be for Chapel Hill. Ms. Hemminger said there was one along I-40 where Highway 54 crosses over, and the cross-over on Erwin Road over I-40. She said they were in the process of talking with the NCDOT. Ms. Hemminger said they were also discussing extending the trails into the Meadowmont development.
Council Member Bateman asked if the Commission used Girl Scout labor, as well as Boy Scout. Ms. Hemminger said Girl Scout projects were usually community-oriented, and the Eagle Scouts were required to perform engineering projects to earn their badges.
Council Member Bateman thanked Ms. Hemminger for her work in the flower gardens at the Community Center.
Item 6 – Historic District Commission
The Historic District Commission members present introduced themselves: Betsy Pringle, Chair, Catherine Frank, Vice-Chair, Kimberly Kyser, Chris Belcher, Jim White, and Jim Daughtery. Ms. Pringle outlined some of the sub-committees of the Commission:
· Long-Range Planning Process to set goals.
· Focus Group project for the Cameron/McCauley neighborhood.
· Comprehensive Plan Work Group liaison, Catherine Frank.
· Signage Committee to design signs for the Historic District.
Ms. Pringle said the front-yard parking ordinance had been working well and the Zoning Compliance Officer has been making a difference in enforcing the laws against illegal parking. She said the rental licensing issue before the Council would be beneficial for the Historic District.
Ms. Frank said the Design Review Guidelines Handbook of 1979 had been used as guidelines for projects that come before the Commission. She said some of the issues in the guidelines needed to be revisited to make clearer the expectations for the designers, architects, and homeowners who come before the Commission. Ms. Frank said the Guideline was also lacking in some very important areas, including guidelines for multi-family homes and fraternity and sorority houses. She said that an application for a grant had been made to the State for a $4,000 grant, and the Commission was asking the Council to match that grant. Ms. Frank said they had assurance that the grant would be forthcoming because of the good work in long range planning.
Ms. Kyser reported for the Signage Committee, which had been researching the design and styling of the signage of other Historic Districts across the State and adjoining states. She said that the preservation of historic districts was a trend nation-wide, to retain the character and history of the towns. Ms. Kyser suggested a tag line or simple logo be added to the street signs in the historic districts in the Town, and at the entranceways to the Town and to the districts, a larger sign about the size of a bus-stop sign be added. Ms. Pringle said they did not yet know what the cost would be. She said a design and plan for the signs would be submitted to the Council, and then could be budgeted for over a period of time. Ms. Frank added the street-by-street signs would cost as much as an ordinary street sign, and the larger signs cost $20 for the sign and $20 for the pole.
Ms. Pringle said the top priorities for the budget were:
· Updating the Design Review Guidelines.
· Working on the Rental Licensing Program and giving heightened attention to enforcement.
Other items in the Long Range Plan that had future budget considerations:
· Tax incentives for restoration and repair.
· Cooperating with the Land Trust to consider a revolving fund for the Historic Districts.
· Providing better street lighting.
· Becoming a Landmark Commission as well as an Historic Commission.
· Underground utility lines.
Council Member Bateman asked Ms. Pringle what she meant by Landmark Commission. Ms. Pringle said a landmark was an important historic place outside of the Historic Districts.
Council Member Ward asked what the budget implications would be for adding Landmark Commission to the name and function of the Historic District Commission. Ms. Pringle said the main part would be for staff time.
Council Member Brown asked what the process would be for the naming of a Landmark Commission and if it would be the same group of people as the Historic District Commission. Ms. Pringle said there were State guidelines in the State Historic Office and it would be the same group of people, not a separate Commission.
Council Member Brown asked how much money the State grant was. Mr. Horton said the grant application was for $15,000 and the Town would be required to provide $6,000 of that amount. He agreed that the Guidelines were long overdue for a rewrite. Ms. Frank said the money would be used for hiring a consultant, and, instead of design drawings, the imaging would be actual photos to provide real-life design guidelines. Ms. Pringle said there were new building materials presently, which were not available when the Guidelines were written.
Mayor Waldorf asked if the grant process was a highly regulated process or was it political. Ms. Pringle said the process was regulated. Mr. Horton added because the Town had an excellent staff person and the Commission had such high standards of performance, he felt that the Town had an excellent chance of receiving the grant.
Council Member Strom asked what the advantage would be to work with the Land Trust and what the advantage would be to the Town. Ms. Pringle said the Land Trust might be an option to provide affordable housing in historic districts.
Ms. Frank said Preservation North Carolina was an organization that worked with historic sites that might be torn down or were in disrepair, purchased them and offered them for sale to people who might restore them as historic sites.
Ms. Kyser cited an example of a small 18th century cabin on Rosemary Street which was in the way of a developer and was to be torn down. She said this would be an example of what could be worked through with the Land Trust. Ms. Kyser said the cabin had been moved to McCauley Street and renovated and was affordable housing.
Council Member Ward asked for a dollar figure for the addition of staff, if the Land Use Commission was added to the Historic District Commission.
Council Member Foy asked if the Commission would be able to advise the Council on infill, such as pocket-parks and open space in the Historic Districts and the downtown area, and if they knew about areas in these places they could identify for the Council. Ms. Frank said there was very little Town land available in the Historic Districts, and the Commission looked hard at any private land which might become available for parks. She said she would like to see a map of Town-owned land in the area. Mr. Horton said that a map would be easily available through the GIS system. Ms. Pringle added that the Historic Districts were, in themselves, like parks.
Council Member Wiggins asked the Commission for more information on the process for becoming a Landmark Commission, before the Council made any commitments.
Mayor Waldorf asked the Commission to look into the possibility of the Credit Union being willing to donate part of their land for a small park.
Item 7 – Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board
Members of the Board introduced themselves: Evelyn Gordon, Chair, Seth Elliott, and Wayne Pein. Ms. Gordon said the Board had been working together since July 1999. She outlined the Bicycle and Pedestrian Priorities for the FY 2000-01 budget cycle:
First Tier Recommendations
1. Eliminate gaps in existing sidewalk facilities.
2. Fund public education/public relations campaign.
3. Fund full-time bike and pedestrian coordinator.
Second Tier Recommendations
1. Transit Stop Improvements:
· Construct raised medians and crosswalks at all transit stops;
· Purchase covers for all transit stops;
· Add paved surface between sidewalks.
2. Intersection Improvements:
· Fund installation of audible signals at all signalized pedestrian crossings in downtown area;
· Improve pedestrian and bicycle crossings at: Hwy 54/Finley, Estes/Airport, Henderson/Franklin, 15-502/Estes, 15-501 Ephesus, 15/502/Willow.
3. Maintenance:
· Designate more money for sidewalk and bicycle path maintenance and general upkeep;
· Repave bike path adjacent to soccer fields adjacent to Fordham Blvd.
4. Decommission sidewalk (red surface) bike paths.
5. Replace “No Bikes on Sidewalk” signs with more positive signage.
Third Tier Recommendations
1. Fill in gaps in bike lane/wide shoulder along Airport Road.
2. Fund replacement of one-third of depressed sewer grates identified in recent memo from Public Works in response to petition.
3. Create special fund to promote bike parking at private developments/businesses in town.
4. Adopt as work plan the goals of Bike Task Force Report, dated October 1998.
Council Member Brown asked if the audible signal light was the one in the middle of East Franklin Street. Ms. Gordon said that it was, and it had a high shriek tone. She said there were other audible signals, which had two different tones indicating the direction of the traffic, and that they were much less annoying.
Council Member Brown asked if the Board had considered what might be a more positive sign for no bicycles on the sidewalks. Ms. Gordon said one suggestion was to have a graphic with a person walking his bicycle. Mr. Horton said a traditional one was “Walk Your Wheels.”
Council Member Foy thanked the Board for the impressive and thorough document. He asked if a cost had been attached to the second item under the first tier regarding public education. Mr. Elliott said that Blair Pollock of the Solid Waste Department had prepared some information awareness materials regarding bicycling, but he did not remember a price being attached to the item under question.
Council Member Foy said it would be important to know the numbers. Mr. Horton said the next step would be for the Board to continue the work and research a cost that would be brought as a proposal to the Council.
Mayor Waldorf added that it would be important to work with the University on a public awareness campaign, targeting the students who were more likely to be bicycling. Mr. Pein said he was on a University bicycling committee associated with making the campus bicycling friendly. He said he had developed a booklet “Road Vogue: Classy Cycling In and Around Chapel Hill,” which had illustrations, maps, recommendations, recreational routes, and other pertinent bicycling information. Mr. Pein said he would like to get it distributed, through either the Town or the University. He gave a copy to the Manager to have copies made.
Mayor Waldorf said it would be good to have it distributed to the Junior and Senior High School students. Mr. Horton said perhaps the State could become involved, since Secretary McCoy was very interested in school safety. Mr. Elliott said he had sent the booklet to the Office of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation, but had not received any feedback, but the Office did plan to make a map of Orange County. Mr. Elliott said he had done an accident survey four years ago and another one recently and the amount of accidents with cars had decreased 31 percent. He said he would be releasing this report to the Police Department and to the Town.
Council Member Foy said that the completion of sidewalks was partly waiting for the developers in those areas to build the sidewalks. He asked for a report on the sidewalks not under that category. Mr. Horton said the staff could report on the sidewalks as a part of the annual process of evaluating sidewalk requests for the Council’s consideration. He said the report from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board was very helpful in evaluating these needs, since there were many requests for sidewalks coming to the Council every year.
Ms. Gordon offered an additional map showing where there were sidewalks and where there were gaps. She said it was a GIS map with highlighting. Mr. Horton said the staff could copy and distribute this in GIS form.
Council Member Bateman asked if any of the Board was involved in the Task Force for Safety on the campus roads. Mr. Elliott said he was on the Bicycle Safety Committee.
Ms. Gordon said they had concentrated mainly on roads off campus. Mr. Horton said the sidewalk section of the Report would be a good starting point for making high priority concerns.
Mayor Waldorf told the Board that the sidewalk priorities moved up each year on a revolving scale in order to be completed.
Council Member Ward asked the Board for its justification for #4 of their Report, “Decommission sidewalk (red surface) bike paths.” Referring to #3, in the First Tier, relating to funding of a full-time bike and pedestrian coordinator, he said it was a “big ticket item” and wondered whether the staff could investigate other ways, rather than hiring a full-time staff person. Council Member Ward asked how the Town could discuss with the other jurisdictions the matter of sharing the costs of funding for the position. Mr. Horton said the Council had voted on, and provided funds for, a part-time person, Claudia Paine, who was the staff person for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board. He said the other jurisdictions could be approached for funding a full-time position.
Council Member Ward asked that Mayor Waldorf discuss this matter at the Mayor’s meeting and have it as an item for discussion at the CCC meeting with the University.
Council Member Wiggins asked for the meaning of “Decommission” with regard to the sidewalks. Mr. Elliott said that in his accident study he found that about one-third of bicycle accidents occurred on sidewalks, and the number one crash was between cars pulling out of driveways into bicycles on the sidewalks. He said the bike path sidewalks were conceived to prevent the bicyclists from being hit from behind, which was a rare occurrence. Mr. Elliott said when motorists see the bike paths signs on the sidewalks they do not expect to see bicyclists on the streets, which could increase the hostility by the motorists towards the cyclists legally riding on the streets. He said the recommendation was to take away the signs so as not to encourage bicycles on the sidewalks, but still allow the bicycles to be there. Mr. Pein added that would eliminate the conflicting signs on the same street as to whether bicycles were or were not allowed.
Council Member Strom asked if the goals of the Bike Task Force would be rewritten this year as the goals of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board and brought to the Council when completed. Ms. Gordon said they had already begun to rewrite them.
Council Member Ward left the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Item 8 – Human Services Advisory Board
Human Services Advisory Board Chair Terri Tyson thanked the Council for the 7 percent funding increase it gave to Human Services last year. She said that last year 28 agencies applied for funding and 25 were funded, but not at the level of their requests. Ms. Tyson noted the following:
· The Literacy Council was now using computers, which helped prepare people for jobs. She said that Charles House provided a caring environment and support for care givers, and many agencies were including Spanish in their instructions.
· Three-year contracts were monitored each year. Ms. Tyson said that the Board voted to request a 10 percent increase, because of the growing population of Hispanics and Senior Citizens, part as a cost-of-living raise and part because these populations were growing very quickly.
· Last year the 28 requests totaled $238,300. The Board makes visitations to the agencies each spring. She said the allocation was $179,225 last year, and if requests continue they would reach $250,000 this year, one-percent of the total of the Chapel Hill budget.
Council Member Foy asked what the dollar figures were for the three-year contracts committed for this year. Ms. Tyson said the After-School Program was $35,000 a year, and that was the only one.
Council Member Bateman asked the Board why it chose the process of allocating less than the requested funds to the agencies. Ms. Tyson said the Board prioritized the agencies into three categories:
(1) agencies that the Board felt should have close to the requested funds;
(2) received lower funds; and
(3) received the lowest funds.
Board Vice-Chair Sarah Kogut said that one of the reasons for giving some funds to each agency, was that if some agencies could show they were being funded partially by the Town, it showed the Town had confidence in the agency.
Council Member Foy asked if the Board encouraged the agencies to seek matching grants. Ms. Tyson said the agencies show all their funding sources when they apply to the funding source from the Town.
Council Member Foy thought the Board should encourage the agencies to seek matching funds. Ms. Tyson felt that would be a great incentive for the agencies to raise additional funds.
Mayor Waldorf explained some of the reasons the budget would be very tight this year, and said at the Council’s Retreat they had discussed sending out letters to all the Boards and Agencies explaining this fact, but the letters had not yet been sent.
Ms. Tyson asked if the Human Services Advisory Board was the only one that allocated funds. Mr. Horton said it was.
Ms. Tyson asked about the swearing-in of all Board members. Town Clerk Joyce Smith said it was a formality, but it was required of all members. Ms. Smith noted she had attended a number of board meetings to swear in members, and as new members were appointed, they came to her office to be sworn in.
The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.