SUMMARY MINUTES OF A BUDGET WORK SESSION
OF THE CHAPEL HILL TOWN COUNCIL
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006, AT 7:00 P.M.
Mayor Kevin Foy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Council members present were Laurin Easthom, Sally Greene, Ed Harrison, Cam Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt, Bill Strom, Bill Thorpe, and Jim Ward.
Staff members present were Town Manager Cal Horton, Deputy Town Manager Florentine Miller, Assistant Town Manager Bruce Heflin, Town Information Officer Catherine Lazorko, Finance Director Kay Johnson, Principal Community Development Planner Loryn Clark, Library Director Kathy Thompson, and Town Clerk Sabrina Oliver.
Item 1 – Presentations by Advisory Board and Commissions
1. Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.
Jed Dube stated they wanted a Chapel Hill where people could walk and ride with confidence, and believed the Council wanted the same. He thanked the Council for its support, but stated that more could be done especially in light of the recent pedestrian tragedies.
Mr. Dube remarked it was critical for the Council to address the hazardous conditions that existed along the bypass and other areas of Town, noting that most of those areas were cited in the 2004 Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan. He stated that implementation of the Plan called not just for physical improvements, but also education awareness and promotional campaigns as well as coordination with the State, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, surrounding communities and our citizens. To that end, Mr. Dube stated, they were requesting that the Council continue the bond allocations for sidewalk crossing and bicycle improvements in the future, and to include a line item in the budget for continued implementation of the 2004 Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan. He said that line item should especially be used for those things that cannot be funded through bond allocations, such as facility design and awareness campaigns.
Mr. Dube asked for more staff time to implement the 2004 Plan, especially in regards to grant writing, research, and coordination with other government entities. Finally, he thanked the Council for its careful consideration of these requests and urged them to grant them, noting that was what citizens wanted.
2. Chapel Hill Active Living by Design Advisory Committee.
Regina Blalock, chair, thanked the Council for its commitment thus far, noting she was impressed with the extent that the Comprehensive Plan promoted biking and walking as a viable mode of transportation in Chapel Hill. She said what the Committee was mostly interested in was the long-term sustainability for the programs and issues they were working on, noting that grant funding would soon run out. Ms. Blalock said their commitment was to environment, policies, and programs that allowed for multi-model transportation options and that encouraged daily physical activity.
Ms. Blalock asked the Council to consider funding for the anticipated staffing needs of programs for sustainability, the addition of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure to support Active Routes to School programming, and the additional maintenance costs that may be needed for the upkeep of the Town’s expanding pedestrian network.
Regarding staffing, Ms. Blalock remarked that they needed support for the long-term implementation of Active Routes to School programming, application and management of grant funds in support of Active Routes to School, to promote and market walking and biking as viable modes of daily travel, and support for the Active Living by Design Advisory Committee that they hope will become a full time advisory body to the Council.
Ms. Blalock said regarding infrastructure, current figures were not available because they were currently conducting audits to identify unsafe conditions and/or infrastructure needs. She said they viewed providing safe conditions for children to walk to and from school as a top priority. Ms. Blalock said they also would have need of matching funds for Active Routes to School grant funds when required, in order to provide the optimum opportunity when applying for grants.
Regarding sidewalk maintenance, Ms. Blalock said as they expand the pedestrian network the additional maintenance costs and staffing would need to be considered.
3. Community Design Commission.
Jonathan Whitney, chair, said that at its February 22, 2006 special meeting the Community Design Commission (CDC) recommended that the following items be given priority by the Town Council in its 2006-2007 budget. He noted that the first three items were listed in their priority of importance to the CDC.
Mr. Whitney stated that the CDC was currently spending a third to half of its time reviewing and brokering resolution of CDC compliance violations, where the “as built” differed from the accepted design at the time of the final inspection and Certificate of Occupancy (CO). He noted that detracted from their primary responsibilities of concept, plan, and elevation design review. Mr. Whitney commented that the CDC found a disconnect where the final construction drawing set, which was drawn up after their approval, was not currently compared to the CDC approved designs. He said in that additional review procedure, a Town planner would have greater oversight of the project before the building permits were issued.
Mr. Whitney stated the current Town Inspections Department review procedure was adequate if inspectors had correct information to work from. He noted one of the important points of that additional review was physically attaching the CDC approved drawings to the final permit set used by Inspections. Further, Mr. Whitney said, they were looking at a “sign off” document that warranted that the applicant understood the process of CDC review and was responsible for bringing back to the CDC any changes. He said they were also discussing how to have an expedited review process for small items at the time of the CO, as the Historic District Commission had.
Mr. Whitney stated that the CDC hoped that each its suggestions would be carefully considered in terms of the potential benefit versus cost. He said in response to ways in which the Town might save costs or generate revenue, the CDC endorsed the following recommendations:
1. That the Town consider charging a $300 fee for Concept Plan review, which was currently free of charge, and further consider increasing all fees charged for CDC review by 10 percent.
2. That the Town consider approaching its partners with the idea of allowing advertising on the outside of CHT buses. Such advertising should obviously be tasteful in keeping with Town standards. The revenues generated from such advertising could be used to improve CHT services, such as adding route service or improving amenities (bus shelters, route map/schedule wheels, etc.)
4. Historic District Commission.
There was no presentation offered by the Historic District Commission.
5. Transportation Board.
Eleanor Howe, chair, stated that on February 16 the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Boards of Transportation held their third annual joint public transit forum. She said that this year’s response was unprecedented, with close to 50 people participating in person, by email, or by phone.
Ms. Howe said that the vast majority of the comments were requests for improved service, shorter headways, longer service hours at the beginning and end of each day, expanded weekend service, new routes, adjustments to existing routes, more park and ride facilities, and more express buses. She said that riders also wanted better amenities, such as additional shelters and shelters with better lighting, shelters with trash bins, and shelters that did not leak. Ms. Howe also requested better security at park and ride lots, more parking spaces at some lots, and more park and ride lots, especially in the northeast corridor along US 15-501.
Ms. Howe stated that the Board was in the process of reviewing all comments received during the forum and would make a detailed report to the Council at a later date. She said, however, that it was clear that the transit system was straining under the current demands. Ms. Howe said if the Town wanted to remain fare free, serve present riders adequately and attract new ones, and if it really wanted to expand transportation capacity through transit, then more funds would have to be committed.
Ms. Howe commented that the Board recognized the need to address as soon as possible existing and urgent service deficits, many of which were identified during their recent public forum. She said they were committed to bringing the Council their budget recommendations by April 4. However, Ms. Howe stated, the Board believed that planning should precede budgeting, adding how else could they decide whether to add a route to serve the east end of Weaver Dairy Road or the west end, whether to repair existing shelters or add new ones, or whether to extend weekday service or expand weekend service.
Ms. Howe stated that the Board felt strongly that the first step in intelligent budget planning was the development of a short-range transit plan that would address not only the issues of routing, headways, service hours and amenities, but would also address the critical question of how to fund that system in a sustainable way in the long term. She said to that end, it was their hope that the Council would act on their earlier petition for representation on the Public Transit Committee. Ms. Howe said in order to offer balanced and informed budget recommendations now and in the future, there needed to be a free flow of information and perspectives between these two bodies. She stated their belief that the Board was and should be a vital link between the transit partners’ planning process and the public’s needs and desires.
6. Chapel Hill Public Arts Commission.
Jeffrey Cohen, chair, noted that in the last budget cycle the Arts Commission was granted $150,000 by the Town for its operating budget. He said they were building on their success of the current year and expected to continue to grow during the upcoming year to meet the goals of the Council and the needs of the community.
Mr. Cohen stated that the Arts Commission’s largest responsibility was to administer the Town’s Percent for Art Program. He stated that in addition to managing the three large projects begun last year (the Town Operations Center, the Southern Community Park, and the Homestead Aquatics Center), the Town had already begun work on the redevelopment of Parking Lot 5 and the Wallace Deck.
Mr. Cohen said that an award-winning landscape architect and artist had been contracted and that she had identified three public art zones in the Downtown project. To adequately manage the approximately $700,000 downtown art projects, he said, additional operating funds were required to ensure the success of this Town-transforming project. Mr. Cohen commented that other Percent for Art projects planned in the coming year included the Pritchard Park Art Garden, the Public Library Expansion, and public art opportunities along sidewalks, greenways, and streetscape.
Mr. Cohen remarked that the Arts Commission would be managing at least $1.5 million dollars in Percent for Art projects in the coming year, and these projects would happen even if the Council did not fund the Arts Commission at the requested level. However, he said, the existing programs the Council had supported over the years would suffer.
Mr. Cohen stated that at the request of the Council, a consultant had been engaged to create a public art Contextual Plan, which would become integral to the Comprehensive Plan that described the vision for the community and its implementation. He said the Contextual Plan was expected to compliment and create synergies among existing Town master plans to discover project and programmatic opportunities for public art and to identify Town policies for effective implementation. Mr. Cohen said they expected to present the Contextual Plan to the Council at the end of May. He stated that through the requested modest increase in support, the Arts Commission would be able to continue to fulfill the expectations of the Council.
Mr. Cohen provided some detail regarding Arts Commission programs, including the Town Hall and Library exhibitions, the Artists in Residence, the Community Art Project, and the Sculpture Visions. He noted that a specific area for the funding increase they were requesting would go towards communications. Mr. Cohen said that they would continue to improve the professional image of their materials, noting they planned to increase publications of their newsletter from one to two times per year, and to supplement that with two event mailings. He said as part of this enhanced image program, they also planned to bring a noted public arts speaker to Town.
Mr. Cohen said their 15 Commission members and many volunteers contributed thousands of hours. He noted much of the success of the Arts Commission was due to the hard work of its members, but that would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of its two staff members, Executive Director Kate Flory and Public Art Coordinator Steve Wright.
Mr. Cohen said for the upcoming fiscal year, the Arts Commission was requesting $185,000 in operating funds to support and manage its programs. He said that represented a modest investment in a program that created a more livable, pleasing and thoughtful community. Mr. Cohen thanked the Council for its support in enlivening and enhancing Chapel Hill through its support of public art.
7. Greenways Commission.
Glenn Parks, chair, requested maintenance funds for greenways. He noted they had gone without those funds during the current cycle. Mr. Parks provided some information on the projects needing such funds and how the funds would be used, which included seed money as matching funds for grants. He said on behalf of the Commission, he was requesting $50,000 in greenways maintenance funds.
8. Parks and Recreation Commission.
Terry Blalock, chair, said he had three items to be discussed:
1. Continued funding of the Small Park and Improvement Fund of at least $50,000. In the past such funding had enabled the Town to winterize the restrooms at Homestead Park and put speed humps in the parking lot, repair irrigation at the Meadowmont fields, and upgrade the signage throughout the park system for better continuity. If funding were approved, they would like to continue winterizing more restrooms particularly at Homestead Park, remove and replace some park system playground structures that were aging out, continue the safety enhancements throughout the park system, and continue to upgrade signage.
2. Funding for the construction at the Community Center for the extraordinary maintenance project currently underway. In the past funding was provided for the design and engineering phase, and they want to begin construction this year.
3. Consider providing $30,000 to fund teachers for the after school tutorial program at Hargraves. This program has a strong academic component focused on elementary school children. The program currently has 60 children enrolled, 90 percent of whom are at-risk youth. It is now funded through the 21st Century Learning grant. That grant will expire this year.
Bob Schreiner, chair, provided a brief introduction that included some Library history and present pressures, and the work of the Friends of the Library. He stated that the Council had heard from the Library Board at its January 25th meeting in some detail, and wanted to emphasize one issue this evening.
Mr. Schreiner noted that the greatest growth in demand for services was in children’s services. He said the Board’s number one priority for the coming year was an additional professional Children/Teen Librarian to augment the services and do a better job with the services. Mr. Schreiner said the Board’s other important priority was the addition of a full-time materials processor, which was someone to keep up maintenance of the books that we now have. He commented that our books circulate more than the State average, and are used and abused. Mr. Schreiner said the materials processor would keep up with that and keep the books in circulation longer.
Mr. Schreiner said their longer-term budget recommendations were:
Mr. Schreiner reminded the Council that these recommendations and additional details about the Library were provided to the Council at its January 25 meeting.
10. Stormwater Management Utility Advisory Board.
Alan Rimer, chair, made no budget requests of the Council this year. He noted that the Council had directed the Board to work with staff to identify high priority, high-profile capital improvement projects, including stream bank restoration opportunities, for consideration by the Council at tonight’s budget work session.
Mr. Rimer displayed a slide of Capital Improvements Program (CIP) projects proposed for next year:
· Burning Tree Drive in 2006 - $155,000 (from stormwater fees) to replace culverts and restore 270-foot stream. This is the only major 2006 project. The other $65,000 would come from highway transportation money and some stormwater money.
· North Street, near Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in 2006 - $30,000 to replace culvert and two curb inlets.
· Booker Creek Road, near the apartments. Design in 2007, construction 2008 - $245,000 to replace two culvert pipes under the road.
· Rosemary Street, near Church Street. Design in 2007, construction in 2009 - $220,000 for pipes and junction boxes.
· Willow Drive/Estes Drive. Design in 2007, construction in 2010 - $280,000 for improvements at the corner and new storm drain.
Mr. Rimer noted that there were probably hundreds of projects but no lists had yet been prepared. Mr. Rimer stated that once lists were developed, the Board would work with staff to prioritize the CIP. He commented that the Master Plan effort was just beginning and even it would not identify projects until 2007. Mr. Rimer remarked there was not more than about $250,000-$300,000 currently available for CIP work, including small non-capital drainage projects all lumped together into one line item.
Mr. Rimer noted that in the short term, the 2006-2007 budget, they would come back to the Council with recommendations regarding the following:
· Have Stormwater, Public Works, and Engineering staffs brainstorm and develop a list of potential capital projects.
· Ask the Master Plan consultant to expedite the CIP identification.
· Ask citizens through focus groups or other methods to identify potential projects in their neighborhoods.
In the long term, Mr. Rimer stated their recommendation was to provide adequate funding to get the job done. He said the “ticking bomb” in all of this was, the total maximum daily load (TMDL) into Jordan Lake. Mr. Rimer noted that Chapel Hill was a “non-point” source, but unfortunately non-point sources were the major contributing factor to the concerns and problems associated with Jordan Lake, such as nitrogen and phosphorous deposits. He said that meant there would probably have to be some kind of treatment control mechanism installed by all jurisdictions using the Lake. He said the TMDL was set by the State and it was an unfounded mandate, so it had to be funded by Chapel Hill.
Mr. Rimer said in the coming months they would provide to the Council information about the potential projects that may be coming up, and some recommendations about what the overall costs might be and the implications that might have on additional stormwater fees. Mr. Rimer said with the Burning Tree Drive project, there was a real need for public relations so that people knew that their stormwater fees were actually being spent on stormwater projects. He said that would be true with any project undertaken.
Mr. Rimer said he had told Mr. Letteri, the Public Works Director, that when the new Vac Truck arrived it should have the Stormwater logo prominently displayed, since stormwater dollars had funded the truck. He said they wanted to share the limelight with Public Works, because when that truck was working to remove leaves from catch basins or cleaning stormwater sites, they wanted the community to know that their stormwater dollars were going for stormwater needs.
11. Streetscape Master Plan Review Committee.
There was no presentation offered by the Historic District Commission.
12. Human Services Advisory Board.
Virginia Brown, vice-chair, said the Board was beginning the funding process for 2006-2007. She stated that an information meeting was held on February 14, and 50 people had attended. Ms. Brown said that because applications for funding were not due until March 15, the Board could not yet report on the level of requests and needs for the year. She said they expected to provide the Council with specific information in April.
Ms. Brown said the Board anticipated requests for funding would increase in the coming year, noting that agencies were describing a trend toward an overall decrease in donations and fundraising results during the current year. She said agencies were reporting a decrease of around 20 percent in both the number and amount of donations.
Ms. Brown stated that the Triangle United Way was unable to achieve its goal, falling $375,000 short of an $11 million goal. She said the Triangle United Way expected funding levels to remain flat this year for agencies in Orange County, citing that much charitable giving had been diverted to hurricane relief. Ms. Brown added that reforms in the area of mental health had created increased service demands on non-profits, adding that agencies were suffering from increased fuel costs as well.
Ms. Brown remarked that in the current fiscal year, the Council had allocated a total of $225,000 to assist 42 agencies. While that appropriation was shared in many ways, she said, the number reflected an average of approximately $5,350 per agency. Ms. Brown said for many agencies, those funds made a critical difference in their ability to provide services to low income residents. She provided some statistics of services that these funds had helped to support this fiscal year:
· Substance abuse services were provided to 375 individuals at Freedom House Recovery Center.
· Literacy services were provided to 255 individuals living and working in Chapel Hill.
· Forty-five people and their families in Chapel Hill received hospice services.
· Fifty-four families received adult day care services at Charles House, allowing elderly adults to receive care while their families were able to continue to work.
· Over 500 students were enrolled in after school programs at Smith, Culbreth and Phillips Middle Schools.
· The Project for Psychiatric Outreach to the Homeless had contact with 133 homeless individuals for mental health assessments.
Ms. Brown noted that the Human Services Advisory Board appreciated the opportunity to provide input to the Town Council about the budget process. She stated that the Board recognized there were many important services the Town must provide to the community, but urged the Council to continue to support these valuable services and programs and asked that the current level of $225,000 not be decreased, and if possible, be increased for 2006-2007.
13. Other Advisory Boards.
a. Technology Committee.
Mr. Gerdau stated that in the coming year the Town Operations Center would transition to its new facility, and technology demands would grow and may place demands on existing resources. He said that these additional demands needed to be taken into account when setting expectations for occupancy and the use of the new facility.
Mr. Gerdau said the Committee was pleased about Council Members Easthom’s and Kleinschmidt’s efforts to bring about a public forum regarding equipping Chapel Hill with a municipal wireless network. He said they looked forward to participating in that process.
Mr. Gerdau stated the Committee noted that the Town’s written procedures for planning and development processes did not include sufficient provisions to ensure that opportunities for technology or related enhancements were considered and, where feasible, were included in all Town projects. He said as a result, such items as underground conduits for communications cables had not typically been considered or included in many Town projects.
To address these issues, Mr. Gerdau said the Committee recommended three budget actions for the coming budget year:
1. That the Town budget for and implement a municipal networking component for the following 2006 capital improvements projects:
· Greenways
· Streetscape
· Southern Park
· NCDOT signalized intersection improvements
· Improvements along NCDOT and Town controlled roads
· Lots #2 and #5
2. That a “technology element” be added to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan in a manner consistent with other elements in the Plan and the Town’s Planning Board review process.
3. That a committee-to-committee conversation with the Planning Board relative to recommendation #2 above take place in order to seek Planning Board advice about the process for accomplishing that.
b. Public Housing and Community Development Advisory Board.
Elizabeth Welsby, Chair, asked that the Council relieve the Public Housing Department from paying the stormwater, recycling, and dumpster fees that totaled approximately $43,000. She said due to the Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) decrease in public housing funds, the Department had been forced to eliminate one staff person, the Resident Services Officer, in the last budget cycle, adding that almost all of the resident services had been eliminated due to these budget constraints.
Ms. Welsby said the Public Housing budget was currently “bare bones” and may be cut even more, but they would not know until June. She said the Board was recommending that these fees be recovered from a source other than the Public Housing budget so that those funds could be directed towards families living in public housing. Ms. Welsby said the Housing Board had made this same request last year and they had understood it would be considered during discussion of the General Fund budget, but to their knowledge it was not.
Mayor Foy asked for clarification about what had not been discussed that should have been. Ms. Welsby replied that the Board had understood that it would be discussed during budget deliberations whether the two fees assessed last year could be taken from the General Fund rather than the Housing Fund. Mayor Foy said it had been discussed but he did not remember what the decision was.
Town Manager Cal Horton recalled that the Council had decided not to consider doing that. He said the Council had followed the practice of charging fees that were charged to other agencies and were charged to the Housing Department as well.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked what were the specific fees. Mr. Horton responded the fees for stormwater and for refuse collection.
Mayor Foy said he believed the Council had first been asked to waive the fees and that had been discussed, but it was not possible to waive the fee for Public Housing and no one else. Mr. Horton said in effect, the Council would have to pay the fee on behalf of Public Housing by transferring the funds into the Housing budget from the General Fund. He said that would not be consistent with the practice of charging the fee to all agencies.
Mayor Foy reiterated that they had discussed waiving the fee and decided not to. He said the second option was to somehow not require the Department to pay it, but his point was that they had not ignored the request. Ms. Welsby said the Board’s point was that federal dollars had been cut and it was expected it would be cut again, and they wanted the Council to be aware of those budget constraints facing the Public Housing Department.
Council Member Kleinschmidt asked why Public Housing was the only residential activity in Town responsible for paying for garbage pickup. Mr. Horton said he believed the fee was the recycling fee charged by the County.
Finance Director Kay Johnson stated that the Public Housing Department currently paid three fees: the stormwater fee assessed by the Town, the recycling pickup fee assessed by the County, and the dumpster fees assessed by the Town.
Council Member Kleinschmidt said that would mean that Public Housing was being treated like a commercial enterprise. Mr. Horton said it was being treated like an institutional organization and charge dumpster fees. He said if the Council wished to consider alternatives, the staff would be pleased to prepare a report.
c. Million Solar Roofs Committee.
Ralph Taylor, chair, stated they wanted to promote solar from public buildings, and asked that the Council consider committing 1 percent of the Public Works budget towards solar and renewable energy. He said those funds would not be managed by the Committee, but would demonstrate the Town’s commitment and would allow Chapel Hill to be known as a solar community.
Mr. Taylor said they would like to continue the role of the Committee as one of education and outreach, and wanted to expand the advisory role of the Committee because of the things happening in the Sustainability, Environment, and Energy (SEE) Committee with the efforts toward carbon reduction. He said the Committee wanted to serve more as an advisory board on those issues, noting that with the Town’s commitment to greenhouse gases inventory and initiatives there was even more interest in solar and renewable energies.
Mr. Taylor stated that the normal funding from the NC Solar Center was changing, noting it had changed its name and its focus. He said the new name was Solar Power of America, with emphasis on deployment, but the Committee did not want to give up its education and outreach role. Mr. Taylor said in the past the Committee had received between $5,000 and $10,000 each year, but requested that the Council provide $10,000 to the Committee to carry on its work.
Council Member Harrison asked that the Committee supply to the Council examples of other local governments that contribute a percent for solar and renewable energy.
Item B - Discussion by the Council
Mayor Foy asked the Manager to remind the Council of the upcoming budget schedule. Mr. Horton replied that on March 8 the Council would hold another budget work session to receive a report from the staff regarding key issues identified thus far, and on March 22 the Council would hold another public forum to receive a preliminary report on the budget and to receive public comment. He said at that point staff would work on the budget proposal, scheduled to be presented to the Council on April 24. Mr. Horton said additional public hearing was scheduled for May 10.
Mayor Foy said after that the Council had scheduled some dates for further discussion. Mr. Horton said that was correct.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.