Calendar:
The Council Agenda Briefing scheduled for noon on Monday, April 11 has been canceled due to the limited number of items on the Council Business Meeting Agenda. If you have questions related to any agenda items, please feel free to contact the City Manager or Assistant City Managers.

Agenda Notes:
   - Dinner Briefing:  NASCAR Hall of Fame Update
   - Agenda Item #25 D&E:  Condemnations for Oakview Terrace Neighborhood Improvement Project

Information Items:
   - Allegations Against Contract Operator of CATS Bus Fleet Update
   - Groundbreaking for Northwest Street Maintenance Facility
   - After School Enrichment Program Vendor Selection Process - Status Update
   - 2005 Litter Index Study
   - Small Business Development Program Quarterly Newsletter
   - City to Participate in Earth Day Celebration

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Calendar:
Monday, April 11
     12:00 pm -  Agenda Briefing, Room 280  Canceled
       5:00 pm - Council Manager Dinner Briefing, Room 267
       7:00 pm - Council Meeting, Meeting Chamber

Wednesday, April 13
       3:00 pm - Budget Retreat, Room 26   AGENDA: Draft FY2006-2010 Capital Investment Plan (CIP); Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Budget; General Fund Operating Budget Issues; 911 Surcharge Fee; Council Budget Retreat Scheduling Alternatives

Council Agenda Briefing Canceled
Staff Resource: Denise Foreman, 704-336-3186

Agenda Notes:
Dinner Briefing:  NASCAR Hall of Fame Update
Mayor McCrory has added an update on the NASCAR Hall of Fame project to your dinner briefing on Monday, April 11.

Agenda Item #25 D&E:  Condemnations for Oakview Terrace Neighborhood Improvement Project
Staff Resource: Mike Knox, 704-336-3479

Council will vote on condemnations from two sites of Morris Hill Baptist Church on April 11. City agents have been negotiating to acquire this property for the Oakview Terrace Neighborhood Improvement Project for over a year with no success. There have been numerous contacts with the church during this time. The land is needed in order to improve the storm water drainage, install an ADA compliant wheelchair sidewalk ramp and sidewalk. In order to proceed with the project, staff recommends condemnation so that the matter may be resolved.

Information Items:

Allegations Against Contract Operator of CATS Bus Fleet Update
Staff Resource: Ron Tober, 704-336-7245

On March 21, Council was advised of some anonymous allegations made by employees at CATS Bus Operations Division against the current management company McDonald Transit Associates, Inc. concerning various matters. Since becoming aware of these allegations, CATS staff has been investigating the allegations made to determine their validity and has taken several steps in this regard.

McDonald Transit was asked to respond to the allegations and has provided a comprehensive response which satisfactorily addresses several of the allegations. CATS staff has directed

McDonald Transit to implement a series of policy changes and communication improvements designed to insure that the concerns expressed by the anonymous employees are properly handled.

Two of the allegations that were made require further investigation. CATS staff has asked the City's Internal Audit Department to investigate the allegations of kickbacks and improper dealings between certain Bus Operations Division employees and some vendors who supply items to the Division.

In addition, CATS staff is also looking into the allegation that preventive maintenance inspections are not routinely being done on time. CATS already does independent quarterly audits of maintenance activities at the Bus Operations Division and these audits have indicated that the maintenance of CATS buses has been improving since the new management team took over at the Division. Nonetheless, CATS will have its maintenance audit firm conduct a more in-depth review of the preventive maintenance practices, procedures and paperwork being used at the Bus Operations Division to insure their accuracy and sufficiency to meet CATS standards and FTA expectations for fleet maintenance.

Groundbreaking for Northwest Street Maintenance Facility
Staff Resource: Layton Lamb, 704-336-5128

Please join us Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 2:00 pm to break ground on the new Northwest Street Maintenance Facility at 4411 Northpointe Industrial Boulevard (28216) near Brookshire Boulevard and I-85. A catalyst project for the Central Yard Improvement Project, the facility will be home to backhoes, snowplows and other industrial equipment currently housed at the Central Yard. A selection of these vehicles and their operators will be at the ceremony.

City Council approved the relocation in February 2003 and the land acquisition in August 2004.

The relocation is driven by long-term strategic plans to 1) revitalize the area near Piedmont Courts and 2) locate street maintenance facilities in the center of all Street Maintenance Districts to maximize the efficiency of snow-removal and other street maintenance operations. The space vacated by Street Maintenance vehicles will be replaced with a new light equipment shop, and the current light equipment shop will be replaced with an office complex to house Solid Waste Services administrative staff.

Like its sister facilities in Northeast and Southwest Charlotte, the Northwest facility will give street maintenance vehicles and operators more efficient access to the streets they service. The $7.9 million structure will be located on a site zoned for industrial use, set back from the street and fronted by a 350-foot strip of 20- to 30-year old trees (deciduous and non-deciduous) along Northpointe. In addition, equipment shelters facing Northpointe will be treated with masonry details to enhance the visual exposure to the street.

To mitigate the impact of truck traffic through nearby neighborhoods, the City agreed not to travel the residential section of North Hoskins Road between I-85 and Chesapeake Drive. Instead, street maintenance trucks will access the interstate using an industrial route including Lawton Road and Chesapeake Drive.  Maintenance trucks also will use an alternate rear entrance during peak periods of bus traffic (Northpointe is a dead end with a CMS bus yard at the end of the street). The facility is scheduled to be complete in spring 2006.

After School Enrichment Program Vendor Selection Process - Status Update
Staff Resource: Toni Tupponce, 704-336-2929

On June 28, 2004 City Council directed staff to
   1) work with Partners in Out-of-School Time (POST) to develop quality standards for City supported After School Enrichment Programs (ASEP); and

   2) develop an ASEP vendor selection process. Staff has completed its work with POST and the City's Privatization and Competition Committee (PCAC). A summary of that work is highlighted below:

Proposed ASEP quality standards - current standards expanded or amended to include the following:
   - Prioritizing programs located in Charlotte Revitalization Areas;
   - NC Day Care Certification;
   - Collaboration with schools and teachers; and
   - Providing transportation when needed.

The PCAC reviewed the proposed quality standards and program administrative options on March 10, 2005. Their recommendations include the following:
   -  Initiate a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to select a third-party intermediary to administer the After School Enrichment Programs based on expanded selection criteria; and
   -  Adopt criteria and a process for selecting an administrative intermediary.

The PCAC also recommended that the selection of an intermediary be based on the following:
   - Organizational Expertise
   - Management Plan
   - Compliance System
   - Fund Raising Expertise
   - Competitive cost to the City - less than $100,000

City Council will receive a briefing on the vendor selection process at the Dinner Meeting on April 25.

2005 Litter Index Study
Staff Resource: Walter Abernethy, 704-336-4213

The Keep Charlotte Beautiful Committee, the local Keep America Beautiful affiliate, has announced the results of the 2005 Litter Index Study. The study is conducted each spring and ranks the cleanliness of City areas on a scoring system of 1 - 4 [1 - representing no litter and 4 - representing extreme litter]. The City's overall rating improved from 1.44 in 2004 to 1.38 in 2005. The ratings by City Council district for the past three years are provided below:

Council District	2003 Rating	2004 Rating	2005 Rating
1	1.70	1.40	1.37
2	1.70	1.40	1.40
3	1.80	1.20	1.23
4	2.00	1.80	1.25
5	2.15	1.80	1.85
6	1.80	1.10	1.15
7	1.95	1.40	1.40
Overall	1.87	1.44	1.38

The study is used by the Keep Charlotte Beautiful Committee and local government to direct litter prevention programs to those areas in most need. The scores can be used to track overall litter prevention on a year-to-year basis. Over time, the effective application of the Litter Study can help predict litter trends, track the effects of education and litter prevention programs, and help target code enforcement and waste-collection services.

Small Business Development Program Quarterly Newsletter
Staff Resource: LaTonya Jones, 704-336-4178

The Small Business Development Program publishes a quarterly newsletter to assist certified SBE's, MWBE's and the business community at-large. The attached April 2005 edition focuses on Small Business Opportunity (SBO) Compliance. We hope that this will be a useful tool for bidders and proposers on City contracts. Notice the use of the new Economic Development Office (EDO) logo and tagline, "Business Works in Charlotte." The new logo and branding are a part of the consolidation of the Economic Development Office.

City to Participate in Earth Day Celebrations
Staff Resource: Tom Warshauer, 704 336-4522

Various City Key Businesses were invited to participate in CPCC's and Sierra Club's Earth Day celebrations.

CPCC's celebration will be held on their campus green at their Central Campus on Thursday, April 14 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. CPCC's event will be largely focused on their students and faculty. City Key Businesses invited include: Economic Development's Brownfield Program, Planning's Bike Program, CATS, Stormwater, CMUD and Fleet Management's hybrid car.

Sierra Club's celebration will be held at The Green uptown on Friday, April 22 from 4:00 pm until dark. Sierra Club's event will focus on the uptown workforce, the community and kids with City Key Businesses invited including CATS, Bike Program and Captain Clean Air.