Information Items:
Civil Service Board Hearing for Sergeant Alex Vinson
Staff Resources: Mac McCarley, 704-336-4112 and Mujeeb Shah-Khan, 704-336-5803
As the Mayor and Council are aware, Sergeant Alex Vinson's hearing before the Civil Service Board started on July 29, 2005. As the hearing was not completed, the Civil Service Board will hold the second day of Sergeant Vinson's open hearing on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 at 8:30 am. The hearing will take place in Room 280 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.
Multi-family Collection Service Reduction
Staff Resource: Wayman J. Pearson, 704-336-3410
The FY06 adopted budget reduces the frequency of multi-family garbage collection from twice-a-week to once-a-week beginning September 1, 2005 for an FY06 budget savings of $592,217. The Charlotte Apartment Association was notified of the service adjustment budget option during a meeting with Solid Waste Services on May 6, 2005. Subsequent to Council adoption, staff was contacted with concerns about excessive collection rates that would be charged by private haulers for the second weekly pick-up. To mitigate these concerns, City staff has been working with representatives from the Charlotte Apartment Association, Allied Waste Services (the private hauler contracted to provide multi-family garbage collection), and other interested parties.
Staff and Allied Waste Services are evaluating processes for offering a second weekly garbage pick-up at a negotiated rate as well as a billing method to assess the fee. If the negotiated rate and billing method cannot be implemented by September 1, 2005, a Council Action extending the implementation date by one month will be included in the August 22, 2005 Council Meeting agenda.
VISION Charlotte - Wingate Neighborhood Initiative Kick-off
Staff Resources: Anthony Dotson, 704-353-0044 and Patsy Rogers, 704-336-2118
The kick-off celebration for the VISION Charlotte Wingate Neighborhood Initiative will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2005 at the Wingate Resource Center, 2701 Mayfair Avenue from 1 pm to 5 pm. The event will feature back-to-school activities for children, program services that will be available through the Wingate Initiative, health screenings and much more. The Wingate Neighborhood Association, community residents, service provider partners and representatives from the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation will participate in the kick-off event.
Vision Charlotte is a neighborhood-based pilot program designed to provide on-site coordinated social and employment services to residents in the Wingate community. The services will include Employment Training, Literacy, Computer Training, Parenting Enrichment, Youth Leadership Development, Tutoring, Senior Enrichment and Gang Awareness and Prevention. Most of the services will be coordinated out of the Wingate Resource Center and provided directly to the neighborhood residents.
The Vision Charlotte Initiative will be carried out by Neighborhood Development and its contract partners - Central Piedmont Community College, Urban League of the Central Carolinas, Mecklenburg County Council of Boys Scouts, YMCA, Charlotte Enterprise Community, H.O. Graham Metropolitan Presbyterian Church, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
The Initiative is funded by a three-year grant from the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation, Inc. in the amount of $987,389.
Response to Letter to Mayor and Council from Lat Purser
Staff Resource: Melony McCullough, 704-336-5993
The Mayor and City Council received a letter from Mr. Lat Purser dated July 29, 2005 that references the Reedy Creek Small Area Plan. Mr. Purser is actually referring to the Rocky River Road Area Plan. His concerns generally center around Rezoning Petition 2005-81 that has been filed for a mixture of land uses, including a 121,800 square foot commercial center with a grocery store and several commercial out parcels and mini-storage warehouses at the Harrisburg Road and I-485 Interchange. This rezoning petition is inconsistent with draft plan recommendations as well as Mr. Purser's desire to not have additional retail land uses at this interchange. The subject rezoning petition is scheduled for public hearing in September.
Rocky River Road Area Plan Preliminary Recommendations
The subject site is within the boundaries of the Rocky River Road Area Plan, currently being developed. Staff and the Rocky River Road Area Plan Stakeholders have developed preliminary land use recommendations for the area. The subject site was not determined to be an appropriate location for retail development during the planning process. Preliminary recommendations for the subject property are for single family residential development up to 8 dwelling units per acre for property located adjacent to I-485 and residential up to 4 dwelling units per acre for the remainder of the site. Note that preliminary plan recommendations are consistent with Mr. Purser's desire to not add retail development to the Harrisburg/I-485 Interchange.
Meeting Notification Mr. Purser has expressed an interest in being notified of stakeholder meetings. Staff has added his name to the mailing lists to receive notice of future meetings for both the rezoning petition and Rocky River Road Area Plan. Also, neighborhood organizations in the area will continually be notified of meetings.
New Transportation Funding Bill Signed
Staff Resource: Jim Humphrey, 704-336-3883
On Wednesday, August 10, President Bush signed the new federal transportation bill, authorizing over $286 billion over 6 years for transportation projects across the country. Attached are two Charlotte Observer articles highlighting projects in the bill which are located in the Charlotte region.
Flooding and High Water Response Guidelines
Staff Resource: Wayne Broome, 704-336-7616
Last year the residents below Mountain Island Dam were flooded as a result of heavy, hurricane-related rainfall from the NC mountains. There was a tremendous volume of water and the flow was quite rapid. Water started flowing over the dam which is normal during times of heavy rain. However, when levels over the dam reach 102 feet, flooding can occur in parts of the area below the dam. In this case, dry roads became flooded in about fifteen minutes.
Since this storm, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management staff has been working with area residents, Duke Energy and key emergency response agencies to develop ways to better alert residents of flooding conditions. City and County agencies represented in this effort include Police, Fire, Medic, storm water, and Building Standards. A draft response plan has been developed and is being circulated for review and comment. Once the plan is finalized, there will be a tabletop exercise to ensure that it is workable and effective. We will keep the Council advised of our progress.
Homicide Task Force
Staff Resource: Keith T. Parker, 704-336-3855
The first meeting of the City Manager appointed Homicide Task Force will take place Wednesday, August 17 at 3 pm, in Room CH-14 at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The Task Force will examine Charlotte-Mecklenburg homicide data to determine trends and developments, with emphasis on disproportionate victimization. The Task Force - which includes representatives from CMPD, Community Building Initiative, and CMS - will study best practices of other municipalities that have experienced success in reducing homicides. The group will meet monthly and provide recommendations to Council early next year.
