Calendar:
Monday, October 17 to Tuesday, October 18
North Carolina League of Municipalities Conference, Hickory, NC
Wednesday, October 19
8:00 am - Budget Committee Meeting, Room 280 -- CANCELLED
3:30 pm - Economic Development and Planning Committee Meeting, Room 280 AGENDA: Review of Mint Museum of Art Project; Review of Bechtler Art Museum Project; Presentation/Update on Private Fundraising for Arts; Growth Impact on Schools
5:00 pm - Council Manager Dinner Briefing, Room CH-14
6:00 pm - Zoning Meeting, Meeting Chamber
Thursday, October 20
12:00 pm - Restructuring Government Committee Meeting, Room CH-14 AGENDA: Public Access Committee
Information Items:
Neighborhood Issues in Lottery Points of Sales
Staff Resource: Mac McCarley, 704-336-4112 -- dmccarley@ci.charlotte.nc.us
A few days before the first meeting of the NC Lottery Commission last week, former Council member Malachi Greene (now a member of the NC Lottery Commission) contacted the City Attorney to ask if the City had any concerns about lottery tickets being sold in fragile and threatened neighborhoods, and if so, did we want to make any suggestions to him on how to mitigate any negative impact. The City Attorney worked with the Manager's Office, the Police Department, Neighborhood Development, and the Planning Department to quickly assess the issues. It was apparent that Council's policies on neighborhood protection and preservation would be best served if lottery retailer locations did not become magnets for ABC violations, drug activity, or loitering in neighborhoods. With this in mind, the City Attorney sent a letter (attached) to Commissioner Greene suggesting:
- Lottery sales contracts not be granted to retailers or locations that would not qualify for an ABC permit under current rules,
- That local governments have the opportunity to comment on applications for lottery retail contracts in a manner similar to the current local comment on ABC applications,
- That lottery sales contracts be revoked from any retailer with more than 50% of total sales produced by lottery sales, or more than 50% of sales produced by any combination of lottery sales and ABC sales, and
- That a portion of lottery sales proceeds be shared with local law enforcement to cover increased costs associated with lottery activity.
Mr. Greene reported that he made these suggestions to the full Lottery Commission and that they were well received. Staff will continue to support Mr. Greene's efforts to voice the municipal point of view on lottery points of sale.
Albemarle/Harris Intersection Improvement Project
Staff Resource: Tom Russell, 704-336-4639 -- trussell@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The Albemarle/Harris Intersection Improvement project was initiated to improve the operation, congestion, and safety of the East W.T. Harris Boulevard/Albemarle Road (NC 24/27) and Lawyers Road/Albemarle Road intersections. The original concept for this project had a more extensive scope that was not desirable from a land use perspective, and the scope exceeded the budget.
A revised concept was developed that meets the immediate needs of the area, reduces the scope of the project, and is within the existing funding. The proposed improvements will extend Lawyers Road to the north creating a 4-leg intersection at the Lawyers Road/Albemarle Road intersection. A new 3-leg intersection on East W.T. Harris Boulevard north of Albemarle Road, along with adjustments to turn lanes and signal timing are also part of the operational, congestion and safety improvements for this area.
A public meeting for the new concept was held at the Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church on October 4, 2005. At the meeting, staff received citizen support for the project. The plans will now be completed and the project will proceed to construction. Attached is the conceptual plan for the project.
Impact of Arena Events on the Government Center Parking Deck Staff Resource: Curt Walton, 704-336-5019 -- cwalton@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The contract between the City and the NBA, and subsequently the Charlotte Bobcats, provides the team with up to 517 spaces in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center (CMGC) parking deck for Charlotte Bobcats games. By mutual agreement, the team has since reduced that requirement from 517 to 425.
The parking deck has 942 spaces. A minimum of 100 of these spaces will be reserved for public parking for citizens attending functions in the Government Center. One hundred spaces exceeds the maximum number of spaces that have been needed for any event in the CMGC.
These 100 spaces will continue to be provided free of charge to citizens attending events in the CMGC. The balance of the 417 spaces (942 less 100 public spaces and 425 Bobcats spaces) will be available for sale to the general public attending Bobcats games.
The Bobcats have requested the City to consider selling them a lesser number of spaces, approximately 100, for all other arena events. The cost of opening the deck at night is approximately $300 per night. The Bobcats have offered $4 per space for every non-Bobcats event at the arena, with a minimum guarantee of 100 spaces and a maximum, at the City's discretion, of up to 250 spaces.
This arrangement would therefore cover the City's cost, provide a small amount of additional revenue, and open up the deck to the general public for these events. Staff is currently negotiating the terms of such an arrangement with the Bobcats.
CharMeck 311 Update
Staff Resource: Cass Bonfiglio, 704-336-4936 -- cbonfiglio@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Mecklenburg County's 24-hour customer service line recently passed its 90-day mark, having received more than 300,000 calls since beginning 24/7 operations on July 5.
Below are some facts and figures regarding 311's first 90 days of operation:
- Number of calls (July 5 - October 5): 332,280
- Service Level: Answering 81.7% of the calls within 30 seconds
- Abandoned calls (hang-up): 3.95%
- ASA (average speed of answer) time it takes before caller is greeted by Customer Service Representative: 23 seconds
- Average time of call from beginning to end: 2.58 minutes
- Majority of calls are related to: Utilities
- Number of calls by Spanish-speaking residents: 10,135
- Non-emergency police calls: 28,554
