Agenda Notes:
Zoning Agenda Item #15A -- Annual Performance Evaluation for the City Manager and City Attorney
Attached is a Request for Council Action to reschedule the annual performance evaluations for the City Manager and for the City Attorney. This item is being added to the October 18 Zoning agenda.
Information Items:
Hero for a Day ... Trees for a Lifetime
Staff Resource: Steve Ketner, 704-336-4267
On Saturday, October 16, there will be a workday for arborists from across North Carolina in Historic Elmwood and 9th Street Pinewood Cemeteries. Hero for a Day ... Trees for a Lifetime is being organized by the Charlotte Arborists Association, North Carolina Urban Forest Council, and the Southern Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
The workday will be from 8:00 am until 3:00 pm. Arborists will be freely contributing tree planting, pruning, stump grinding, and dead tree removal.
FY 2005 Annexation Public Hearings: Follow-up
Staff Resource: Jonathan Wells, 704-336-4090
Several citizens attended the October 11 annexation public hearing and expressed concern with not knowing whether their private street would be eligible for City maintenance following annexation, and whether potential City maintenance of their street would enable extension of sewer and water service into their neighborhood.
CDOT has determined that their street - the 11500 block of Shopton Road West in the Steele Creek North annexation qualifying area - has not been constructed to City standards and therefore would not be eligible to be taken over for maintenance as it currently exists. However, the street may qualify for the City's Non-System Residential Street Program that could assist in upgrading it to our standards. The initial criteria for qualification have been met, in that the street serves two or more homes, and that the street accesses onto a public street. It is possible that the City may be able to obtain the necessary 30-foot right of way in order to maintain the street and extend utilities. Staff is working on setting up a meeting between affected residents and staff from CMUD, CDOT, Engineering, and Planning in order to explore this possibility.
Follow-up to Water Pipe Article
Staff Resource: Doug Bean, 704-391-5070
At first glance, the five-inch photo and sensational headline in Tuesday's "Citizen Watchdog" section of The Charlotte Observer may have left some readers with an unpleasant visual image of our water line rehabilitation program or a bad impression about the safety of our drinking water.
That is an unfortunate image and an inaccurate message to share, since decades of water quality testing has demonstrated Charlotte-Mecklenburg's drinking water to be safe -- and the very purpose of our rehab program is to ensure continued water quality and adequate pressure in our existing system through cleaning, re-lining and/or pipe replacement.
Over decades, the inside of older water lines can experience buildup due to inevitable corrosion and mineral deposits. Long-term, this buildup can restrict flow in pipes but its presence does not indicate water is unsafe to drink. To protect pipes, Utilities uses lime in drinking water to raise pH, which minimizes long-term corrosion and buildup.
It is, at best, questionable to draw conclusions about the integrity of tap water based on a private lab's generalized test analysis taken from a pipe that was exposed to the open air and not in service because it was being cleaned. Even so, the article grudgingly concedes the private lab analysis "seemed" to confirm the presence of the pipe buildup did not present a health problem. There is no "seemed" about it - your drinking water is safe.
