March 2013

Chapel Hill Town Council Business Meeting

Date: 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - 7:00pm

Location: 

Council Chambers

Chapel Hill Town Council Public Hearing

Date: 

Sunday, April 14, 2013 - 7:00pm

Location: 

Council Chambers

Chapel Hill Town Council Business Meeting

Date: 

Monday, April 22, 2013 - 7:00pm

Location: 

Council Chambers

Chapel Hill Town Council Work Session

Date: 

Monday, April 29, 2013 - 6:00pm

Location: 

TBD

Park and Ride Fees: Disincentivizing Transit Use?

Tonight, the Chapel Hill Town Council is expected to enact fees on users of their park and ride lots. This fee is in response to UNC’s decision to start charging at their own park and ride lots. Leaving Town-owned park and ride lots free would create a traffic nightmare, so the Town is trying to start their own permit program. I’m sure that the extra revenue that will be generated from this fee is also a consideration, especially in a tight budget year.

While most people (75% by CHT estimates) who use the park and ride lots are affiliated with UNC, there is a sizable minority who do not use the park and ride to travel to campus. UNC students and employees will pay for their permit through UNC (because of taxing and payroll deduction issues), and that money will then be given to the Town. Non-affiliated users will purchase their permits directly from the Town. The resolution being considered tonight sets the fee at $250/year, or about $1/weekday.

I understand the importance of implementing the fee, but there are two major issues that have not been addressed:

OWASA Regular Board Meeting

I apologize for the formatting, but this is how OWASA does it. See complete agenda at http://www.owasa.org/client_resources/about/agendas/2013/03-28-13%20agenda.pdf

Announcements

1. Announcements by the Chair
A. Any Board member who knows of a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest with respect to any item on the agenda tonight is asked to disclose the same at this time.
B. April 11, 2013 Board of Director's Meeting is Cancelled; the Board will hold a Strategic Planning Work Session on April 11, 2013 at 5:30 PM at the Mason Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant
C. Chapel Hill Town Council's OWASA Committee and the Chapel Hill Appointees to the OWASA Board will meet Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 8:00 AM in the OWASA Boardroom

2. Announcements by Board Members
A. Update on the March 28, 2013 Finance Committee Meeting (John Young)
B. Natural Resources and Technical Systems Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 5:00 PM in the OWASA Boardroom (Terri Buckner)

3. Announcements by Staff

Petitions and Requests
1. Public
2. Board
3. Staff

CONSENT AGENDA
Action
1. Approval of the Minutes of the February 28, 2013 Meeting of the Board of Directors (Andrea Orbich)
2. Approval of the Minutes of the February 28, 2013 Closed Session of the Board of Directors for the Purpose of Discussing a Personnel Matter (Gordon Merklein)

REGULAR AGENDA

Information and Reports
3. Update on Asset Management (Mary Darr)

Discussion
4. Discussion of Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Process (John Young/Stephen Winters) Summary of Board Meeting

Action Items
5. Executive Director will summarize the key action items from the Board meeting and note significant items for discussion and/or action expected at the next Board meeting.

CLOSED SESSION

6. The Board will Convene in a Closed Session for the Purpose of Discussing a Personnel Matter (Gordon Merklein) 

Date: 

Thursday, March 28, 2013 - 7:00pm

Location: 

Council Chambers at Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Chapel Hill

County Commissioners, Hillsborough Town Board, Orange Schools, and public to discuss use of the Whitted Building

This should be pretty interesting:

A BOCC meeting on Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. to jointly meet with the Town of Hillsborough, Town residents, Cultural Community representatives, and Orange County Schools members regarding the potential uses for the Whitted space. This meeting will be held at the at the Whitted facility, 300 West Tryon St. in Hillsborough.  

 The Orange County Cultural Center has been lobbying for a couple of years to use the Whitted Building as a home for performances and cultral arrts. Learn more about their vision at http://orangepolitics.org/2012/09/a-cultural-center-for-orange and http://orangecountyculturalcenter.org .

Date: 

Thursday, April 4, 2013 - 7:00pm

Location: 

Whitted building, 300 West Tryon St., Hillsborough

Finally, an opportunity to give money to County Government!

Orange County's new Community Giving Fund isn't what it sounds like. You might think a "community giving fund" would give to the community. Which would make sense. Instead people are supposed to donate toward the same County government to which we already pay property, sales, vehicle taxes as well as other fees.  Do other governmental bodies solicit donations in this way? What if donors' priorities don't match those of the commissioners or the staff?

Can I donate to support the recycling program that Manager Clifton is trying to cancel, or toward a walkable library in Carrboro? Or perhaps we could take up a collection to hire some qualified planning staff for the County.

Transit sales tax in Durham/Orange effective April 1

The 1/2% transit sales tax in Durham and Orange Counties taxes becomes effective Monday April 1, so if you are imbibing out past midnight on Sunday, tip your glass to regional transit.

The $7 county vehicle registration fee for transit takes effect a bit later, July 1 in Orange and September 1 in Durham. The $3 TTA Durham/Orange regional fee surcharge is still plodding through the approval process.

Carrboro Board of Alderfolks Regular Meeting

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