SUMMARY MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2003, AT 7:00 P.M.
Mayor Kevin Foy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Council members present were Flicka Bateman, Ed Harrison, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, Dorothy Verkerk, Jim Ward and Edith Wiggins.
Mayor pro tem Pat Evans was absent, excused.
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, Library Director Kathy Thompson, Senior Long Range Planning Coordinator Chris Berndt, and acting Town Clerk Vickie Hackler.
Item 1 - Public Hearing: Manager's Recommended 2003-2004 Annual Budget,
2003-2018 Capital Improvements Program, Proposed Use of 2003-2004
Transportation Grant Funds, and the 2003-2004 Downtown Service District Tax
· Introduction by the Manager.
Mr. Horton explained that the primary purpose of tonight's meeting was to hear from citizens and persons interested in making budget recommendations. He stated that the Town's fiscal condition was far better this year than last. Mr. Horton reminded Council members that they had set up a reserve of funds to be available this year to help meet the Town's needs. The Council might wish to consider taking a similar action for next year, he said.
Mr. Horton indicated several budget scenarios. He said that implementing the base budgets for the General Fund and the Transportation Fund would make it possible to continue the Town's present services with an actual tax rate reduction. Mr. Horton recommended, however, that the Council consider some of the proposed budget additions. These might include employee pay adjustments, an additional sanitation crew, a fire training officer, funding for the Fourth of July celebration, and strengthening the Town's maintenance operation, he said.
Mr. Horton stated that the Council could keep the tax rate where it is and still have a reserve of about $437,000 after funding the above projects. He pointed out that such reserve funds could assist in lowering any tax rate increase that the Town might have to consider next year. Mr. Horton noted that the additional programs and services listed under "Priority II Options would cost an additional $1million.
· Comments from Advisory Boards.
Mayor Foy said that the Council had received written comments from some advisory boards. He explained that citizens may submit written comments as well.
Library Board Chair Bob Schreiner reported that the Board had been pleased with the Manager's proposed budget and Capital Improvements Program recommendations. He urged the Council to adopt it. Mr. Schreiner said that a key question was when and how Library expansion would be funded, and he cautioned against putting that decision off for too long.
Council Member Bateman remarked that she and the UNC Hospital School staff had held their annual retreat earlier in the day at the Public Library. She described the facility as "absolutely fabulous." The staff had been wonderful and the facilities were clean, she said, adding that it had been a very positive experience. Council Member Bateman suggested opening the Library for meetings at 7:00 a.m. so that more people could take advantage of using "that gorgeous room with the window." Mr. Horton replied that the Town could do so for a "nice fee."
· Comments by Citizens.
Jamezetta Bedford, Parent Co-chair of the School Governance Committee at East Chapel Hill High School, thanked the Council for providing bus service to the high school, adding that it had been very valuable to students and families. She asked the Town Council to also extend the D Route, thereby connecting the east side of Town to East Chapel Hill High School. Ms. Bedford pointed out that the D Route already comes to Irwin and Sage Roads. She said that extending it to the high school would open up access to Rams Plaza, the Sheraton, Eastgate Shopping Center, Lowe's, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the Library, and Village Plaza, to name a few.
Ms. Bedford pointed out that extending the D Route would provide numerous opportunities for internships and vocational services. She noted that it would enable students and families who do not have transportation to come to school after hours. It would help others as well, she said, because they would not have to drive and park at the school. Ms. Bedford also recommended that the Town appoint a representative from the School System to serve on the Transportation Board.
Chapel Hill High School Principal Mary Ann Hardebech expressed gratitude to the Town for considering extending bus transportation to the high school. The school day starts at 8:40 a.m., she said, but several popular elective courses, such as chorus and calculus, meet at 7:40 a.m. Therefore, only those who can get a ride to school can take those earlier courses, she said. Ms. Hardebech explained that the same thing happens again after school, when only those students who can get a ride home can play in sports, participate in plays, or stay late to get help with schoolwork. She pointed out that students who are more involved tend to obtain higher grades. Ms. Hardebech noted the importance of finding as many ways as possible to enable students and their parents to participate more fully in the life of Chapel Hill High School. She stated that having bus service to the school would be a step in that direction.
Steve Scroggs, Assistant Superintendent of Support Services for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, also asked to extend bus service to Chapel Hill High School. UNC had started construction of an education wing at Smith Middle School, he said, and that will be completed in less than nine months. Mr. Scroggs explained that UNC students will come to the Smith campus for classes all day long. The road already has a bus stop to service this, he said. Mr. Scroggs asked the Town Council to extend service to that area.
Mary Phillips, a parent and member of the School Governance Committee at Chapel Hill High School, spoke in support of the extended transportation service. She expressed agreement with what the previous speakers had said, and noted that there was an equity issue involved since some have no way of getting their children to before and after school programs. Ms. Phillips pointed out that having public transportation would allow those who are less privileged to participate in more school activities and would allow their parents to attend conferences and school events.
School Board Co-chair Gloria Faley spoke in support of the transportation requests by both high schools. She also expressed support for having a school representative on the Transportation Board to discuss current and future needs.
Council Member Verkerk pointed out that providing public transportation for students had been successful at UNC. She remarked, though, that the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System had not been limiting parking at the high schools and therefore encouraging bus ridership. Council Member Verkerk expressed reluctance to direct bus service toward a particular population. She urged the schools to consider that denying parking to high school students would encourage them all to take the bus. Council Member Verkerk stated that she was in support of students taking public transportation but would like it to be much more equitable.
Council Member Wiggins asked if there was Town bus service to Chapel Hill High School. Mr. Horton replied that there was not. He said that the Town had experimented with that a few years ago and that ridership had been low. Council Member Wiggins ascertained that the Town had annexed areas near the high school and that those areas were being served by the shared ride service rather than the fixed route bus service. Mr. Horton said that the estimated cost of providing bus service to the high schools would be included in a May 21, 2003 report to the Council.
Council Member Strom expressed support for the high schools' requests for bus service.
Mayor Foy agreed and also spoke in favor of having a School System representative on the Transportation Board. Mayor Foy suggested that Council members treat these requests as a petition and refer them to the staff, with particular emphasis on the request for service to Chapel Hill High School. He also recommended referring the request to the County Commissioners because it is a budget issue and the County might help with funding. Serving Chapel Hill High School means serving people throughout Orange County, Mayor Foy pointed out. Mr. Horton stated that he would bring information back on rerouting the D Route as well.
Council Member Harrison said that he wished the speakers had come to a recent Transportation Board meeting. He is the Council's Transportation Board liaison, he explained, and it appeared to him that they would be open to having someone serve who has School Board interests.
Council Member Strom stated that the Transportation Board was very interested in having students use the bus system. Now that the system is free, he said, it is more likely that high school students will use it.
Council Member Wiggins asked if the request for a representative on the Transportation Board could be treated as a separate petition.
Council Member Bateman suggested making it a recommendation rather than a petition.
Mayor Foy proposed that it come back as a resolution at the next business meeting.
Council Member Ward asked that the essence of the petition be forwarded to Carrboro and UNC, since they are the Town's co-members in the Transportation group and this would benefit them as well.
Mayor Foy agreed, noting that the requesting partner would pay the full share. So it would be better if all three partners request it, he said.
Council Member Bateman assured the School System representatives that they would not be considered the initiator and asked to pay.
Council Member Ward expressed support for Council Member Verkerk's comments regarding student drivers. He urged the School System to discourage parking and to generate an active bus ridership.
Council Member Kleinschmidt suggested that the speakers also take their request to Carrboro. He asked that the motion include a request for discussion of the student parking issue raised by Council Member Verkerk.
COUNCIL MEMBER STROM MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WIGGINS, TO SUPPORT EXPANSION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO THE HIGH SCHOOLS, TO REINFORCE THE REQUEST FOR LESS AVAILABLE HIGH SCHOOL PARKING FOR STUDENTS SO THAT THEY WILL BE INCLINED TO RIDE THE BUS, AND TO HAVE A RESOLUTION AT THE NEXT BUSINESS MEETING AUTHORIZING THE REQUEST TO HAVE A SCHOOL BOARD REPRESENTATIVE ON THE TOWN'S TRANSPORTATION BOARD. THE MOTION WAS ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY (8-0).
Andrew Ross, representing the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission, outlined some of the Commission's projects, which include exhibits, festivals and shows. He mentioned the Percent for Public Art program in particular, for which the Council had enacted an ordinance last year. Mr. Ross expressed enthusiasm over being part of major upcoming Town projects, such as the new Town Operations Center, the Aquatics Center, and the renovated Library. But this increase in work requires an increase in their budget, he said, explaining that the Commission needs a full-time staff position. Mr. Ross noted that the Commission had been receiving much positive feedback and that there would be many more opportunities for them in the future. He asked Council members to increase the Commission's budget so that they can take advantage of those opportunities.
Downtown Commission Chair Charles House read an email that he had recently sent to Council members. The email asked the Council to entertain the following proposals for use of part or all of the $437,000 that is available in the General Fund:
· Set up a revolving, small business loan mechanism that would provide low interest loans to businesses and/or building owners that want to establish new businesses in the Downtown district, or to improve the appearance of existing buildings.
· Use part of the funds to increase police and fire protection in the Central Business District.
· Use funds toward construction of a homeless shelter in another part of Town, and free up the current space for local government offices.
· Use a portion to increase funding for the Downtown Commission to hire an economic development coordinator.
Mr. House expressed gratitude for the funding that the Town already does provide to the Commission.
Jerry Neville asked Council members to consider resurfacing Chapel Hill's tennis courts. He said that the benefits of doing so would outweigh the costs. Mr. Neville noted that all socio-economic levels enjoy tennis and that it can provide a safe haven for youth. Mr. Neville recommended making the courts attractive so that tennis can once again thrive in Chapel Hill.
Council Member Strom assured Mr. Neville that a fairly extensive renovation of tennis courts was likely to be adopted in this budget cycle.
InterFaith Council (IFC) President Natalie Ammarell asked the Town Council to consider an IFC request for a $30,000 allocation from the unallocated Town funds. She explained that this would help the IFC through a very critical transition period. Ms. Ammarell reminded Council members that Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had unexpectedly de-funded the Homestart Program. That funding ended March 31, 2003, she said, but the IFC Board voted to continue services through June 30, 2003. Ms. Ammarell explained the plan to move all residential and shelter services for women and children to the Homestart site as of July 1, 2003. They will recruit more volunteers, shift staff resources, and enter into service partnerships with other agencies, she said. Ms. Ammarell stated that the IFC expects to continue providing high quality services for homeless women and children at Homestart.
Ms. Ammarell noted that IFC Director Chris Moran had recently requested Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, but that the Town had not been able to help out at that time. She assured Council members that the IFC had been working hard to figure out how to get through this transitional period. The IFC Board of Directors had mobilized for a $600,000 funds campaign, she said, and they expect to yield the support that they need. But, Ms. Ammarell explained, the next four to five months will be difficult from both a cash flow and a budgetary perspective.
Ms. Ammarell reported that the IFC had received some beginning challenge grants for their campaign. She added that United Way had approved an $18,000 allocation even though they are suffering as well. Ms. Ammarell noted that the IFC views these contributions as votes of confidence from their peer agencies. She explained that there were ten families at Homestart and that the IFC expects that they will still need housing on July 1, 2003. It is for them, and for the women and children Downtown, that the IFC wants to make this work, she said. Ms. Ammarell asked Council members to find a way to help.
Council Member Bateman asked Ms. Ammarell why she was asking for only $30,000, which probably would not fund even one position. Ms. Ammarell agreed that the amount was low, explaining that filling only one position would cost $40,000. She said that the Board had picked $30,000, knowing that the Town had $437,000 of unallocated funds, but that they need much more. Council Member Bateman urged Ms. Ammarell to ask for more, noting that she had voted for the $87,000 that Mr. Moran had requested.
Council Member Ward asked what the IFC had left out in order to lower the request to $30,000. Ms. Ammarell explained that they need a coordinator position and a social worker position at Homestart. But they had taken the social work position out, she said, and had reallocated other positions until they have more funding. Council Member Ward argued that the Council should take $75,000 from somewhere in the budget and help the IFC to bridge the gap. This could be done with the understanding that the positions would not become the responsibility of the Town, he said.
Mayor Foy stated that he was in favor of the $30,000 request. He pointed out, however, that the Town already was contributing about $250,000 a year to the IFC, plus a $350,000 Capital Improvements project, so it is not as though the Town is not doing a lot to assist the IFC. Mayor Foy added that it was not unreasonable to ask Carrboro and Orange County to help with this ongoing budget difficulty that the IFC has found itself in. He pointed out that Project Homestart was going away and that the IFC must find a way to continue those services. Mayor Foy mentioned that that all of the other human services requests together do not add up to what the Town is providing the IFC, and cautioned against minimizing the help that the Town already provides.
Council Member Strom said that he was generally supportive of the IFC's request. But, he reminded Council members, the Town was rolling over $1.6 million that it had saved last year. By doing that they were prescribing a similar tax increase for next year, he said. Council Member Strom recommended saving a significant amount of the unallocated funds and rolling those over next year. Otherwise, the Town will face a significant tax increase next year, he said. Council Member Strom remarked that there had been some ambiguity about the level of Town support for the IFC. He asked Mr. Horton to review a memo from the staff to the Council.
Mr. Horton explained that the IFC building was provided without a rental cost and is valued at about $180,000 per year, based on its square footage. The utilities plus and maintenance costs add another $56,000, he said. Mr. Horton further explained that projected improvements will cost $50-60,000 annually for several years. So the total annual contribution is between $280,000 and $300,000, he said.
Council Member Ward agreed that the Town already was doing much and that it needed to be fiscally constrained this year. But he proposed that giving greater support to the IFC one time was not mutually exclusive to being fiscally responsible. Council Member Ward noted that the IFC had presented a situation that was unique and extraordinary. He asked that the Town assist them in spite of the budget situation and in spite of what it already contributes. Council Member Ward verified with Ms. Ammarell that the IFC had approached Orange County for funding. He recommended giving $75,000 to the IFC.
Council Member Wiggins stated that $75,000 was not being considered tonight. She said that the Council had already taken action on that amount. Council Member Ward replied, however, that the budget had not yet been written. Council Member Wiggins stated that she was ready to support the $30,000 request as a one-time allocation.
Mayor Foy pointed out that there would also be a budget work session on the following Wednesday.
Council Member Harrison, referring to two planning and two engineering positions listed on page nine under potential options for priority level II, said that the Town needed the engineering technician for the traffic program "pretty desperately." He stated that filling this position would add about 1/10-cent to the tax rate. Council Member Harrison pointed out that Town Traffic Engineer Kumar Neppalli had been working 60-hour weeks. Mr. Neppalli really could use some help, he said, and he urged Council members to support that position.
With regard to the transportation planner position, Council Member Harrison noted that if the Town has a green infrastructure bond and receives a grant from Active Living for Design for pedestrian issues, then both of those needs would fill one job. He added that the person in that position could also help coordinate with the Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization and address bike and pedestrian issues in Long Range Planning. Council Member Harrison said that having an engineering technician for additional development review would be useful. He concluded that at least two of these positions would help keep the Town safe in terms of the traffic program. It would also help to achieve the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan, he said.
Council Member Kleinschmidt noted that the Town had created a mandate for more Public Arts Commission work by enacting the "Percent for Art" program. The Town needs to make sure that the Commission has the employee to handle that expanded workload, he said. Council Member Kleinschmidt urged Council members to support the Commission's request for increased funding.
Council Member Wiggins, referring to page 11 of the staff report, clarified that the Town had enough money for all of the Level I Options. She also verified that the Town could use some of the extra $437,194 for some of the Level II options. Or, they could carry that money over or use it for other things, she said.
Mayor Foy advised Council members to set aside at least a penny for next year. The Town will be looking at a 7.0 cent tax increase next year if it continues to support items that the Council is putting into the budget with the Town's $1.5 million one-time windfall, he said. Mayor Foy noted that the tax rate typically increases by about 5 cents each year. So there could be an eight- or nine-cent increase next year just to get by, he said. Mayor Foy proposed saving the $437,000 and setting aside a penny for next year. He urged Council members to move around within this budget in a way that will satisfy everyone.
Council Member Strom stated that the figures on page 11 assume that the Town will fully fund the recommendations from Human Resources even though the Council had not yet discussed that.
Council Member Wiggins asked Mr. Horton to bring attachment #2 back with figures filled in for the first three bullets under "potential costs of competitive market and merit adjustments." Mr. Horton explained that those figures had been listed in other reports, but agreed to add them to this one as well.
Mayor Foy ascertained that the staff report for the following Wednesday's meeting would come out the Friday before.
Council Member Harrison asked if there would be a tax impact in next year's budget from the bond issue for the Town Operations Center. Mr. Horton replied that the impact would occur in following years.
Mayor Foy noted that the Town would be making expenditures over the next year for the Town Operations Center, however. Mr. Horton added that the debt service payment on the Public Works portion alone would be about $1-1/2 million a year at the start. He explained that the Town probably would also initially have to finance most of the debt service for the Transit Center, even though the federal government should eventually fund 80% of it. That could be another $1-1/2 million, Mr. Horton said, adding that the Town could be looking at $3 million in debt service. Mr. Horton further noted the potential Library and Green Infrastructure bonds. He said that the staff was working on schedules of various levels of debt and would bring those to the Council on or before its first meeting in June. Mayor Foy said, in summary, that the tax increase is likely to be three cents at the minimum. Mr. Horton said that it would be roughly six cents next year to continue the things that the Council had been considering.
Council Member Strom stated that the need to move the Town Operations Center facility already was having a major impact on the Town's budget. This is due to the cost of land acquisition, debt service on the land, and planning expenses, he said. Council Member Strom pointed out that this is not a value-added item for citizens, but a necessity because the Town is being required to vacate the Horace Williams site.
Council Member Ward recommended that the Council be more aggressive and save more than one penny for next year. He ascertained from Mr. Horton that the tax increase would be six cents total, not six cents beyond the normal five-cent increase. Mayor Foy commented that spending the $437,000 would mean a seven-cent increase, whereas not spending it might mean that the Town could hold the increase to five cents.
Council Member Wiggins told the Council that she had helped select artists for the "Percent for Art" program. She praised the work of the Public Arts Commission and encouraged Council members to participate in the process whenever they can.
Council Member Strom said that the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) had earmarked $800,000 for construction of its Phase I public art component. He explained that he was on the Planning and Legislative Committees and had recommended including the Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission in the planning. Council Member Strom said that Public Arts Commission members had persuaded the TTA to completely rethink the program. He stated that Commission's input was an important contribution to the State's public art component even though the Town will not have one of the trains.
The meeting adjourned at 8:26 p.m.