Monday, January 8
5:00 pm - Council Manager Dinner Briefing, Room 267
7:00 pm - Council Business Meeting, Meeting Chamber
Thursday, January 11
12:00 pm - Community Safety Committee Meeting, Room CH-14. AGENDA: Focus Area Plan; Hotel/ Motel Ordinance; Mounted Patrol Unit
3:00 pm - Alternative Revenue Joint Work Group, Room 267
AGENDA: Review of Approved Process; Review Alternative Revenue Background Information; Proposed Key Policy Questions
Agenda Notes:
A public hearing to receive comments on the Preliminary Assessment Roll for the Williamsburg Neighborhood is on the January 8, 2007 City Council agenda. The Preliminary Assessment Roll lists individual assessment amounts for 182 properties abutting curb and gutter improvements approved by the City Council in 1999. Completed in 2006, these improvements were constructed as an upgrade to an existing Storm Water flood control project.
The curb and gutter upgrade came about as a result of a formal petition process in 1998, when 75% of the 182 property owners at the time signed a petition requesting City Council approve a cost-share arrangement with Storm Water Services. The property owners' share of the project cost would be paid through the assessment process laid out in North Carolina General Statutes §160A-216 et. seq. authorizing cities to make special assessments for such purposes. Prior to circulation of the petition, the total cost of the property owners' share, as well as how it was to be distributed among the 182 properties, had to be determined. The cost-share amount, set at a maximum of $853,000, was distributed among the 182 properties using a formula that minimized the difference between amounts, while meeting requirements of the State Statute that govern the assessment process. The formula utilized both length of frontage and lot size to compute the individual assessment amounts, which range from $3,417 to $5,859 with the average amount being $4,687 per property.
Since the City Council approval of an assessment resolution on March 22, 1999, this has been a "pending assessment" awaiting completion of project design and construction. Information about the pending assessment was mailed to property owners several times a year, and staff has provided detailed information whenever requested. Over 50% of the properties have changed ownership since 1999, and some have escrowed assessment payments in closing accounts awaiting final City Council approvals. Detailed assessment information was sent to the current 182 property owners on November 8 and December 21, 2006, including notice of the public hearing.
After the public hearing, the City Council will be requested to adopt the Preliminary Assessment Roll as final. The City Council has the authority to annul, modify, or confirm the individual roll amounts in whole or in part as deemed appropriate.
Once approved, the City Finance office will issue bills for payment. Payment options include: (1) full payment without interest within 30 days of publication of the Roll (approximately 50 days from confirmation) or (2) a ten year installment plan with 8% interest involving liens and Deeds of Trust. An option in the State Statute allows City Council to approve a discount (up to 30%) if payment is received within the first 30 days. However, the original petition and resolution did not include this discount provision. Instead, the property owners' liability was limited to the original estimate, with the City taking the responsibility to fund costs above that amount. In this respect, a discount has already been provided, as the upgrade cost exceeded the $853,000, and staff does not recommend a further discount. Assessment payments will be used to reimburse the Storm Water Services flood control fund, which has temporarily covered the property owners' share of the construction expense. This fund is allocated for projects addressing road flooding, house flooding and capital drainage infrastructure repair.
Staff is pulling this item from the agenda for more review and anticipates placing it on a later agenda.
Information items:
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Access Corporation (CMPAC) has provided copies of the attached 2005-2006 Annual Report for TVAccess21 to Mayor and Council. This is the first
annual report of the CMPAC operations since John Rocco became Executive Director in February 2006.
The CMPAC provides public access facilities, training, and production opportunities to citizens throughout the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Public access programming is cablecast on TVAccess21. City staff monitors the operations of the CMPAC through a services agreement with this nonprofit corporation.
Each year, following the holiday season, Solid Waste Services asks customers to delay placing Christmas trees at the curb until the week following New Year's. The request to delay placing trees at the curb is a part of an informal operational agreement with Mecklenburg County that allows Solid Waste Services to deliver a limited number of bagged leaves to the County's compost facility during the six-week leaf season.
The six-week debagging period ends approximately one week before Christmas each year. During the two weeks following Christmas, the County debags the leaves delivered during the six-week leaf season. The County requests that Christmas trees not be delivered to the compost facility until the week following New Year's Day if possible to allow them time to debag all the leaves.
This agreement is not related to the delay in yard waste collection this leaf season. Although the City collected 2600 tons more leaves this year, and was allowed to bring more bagged leaves to the Compost facility, the County did not request that tree delivery be delayed accordingly.
To assist in meeting the County's request, this year Solid Waste Services asked customers to place trees at the curb beginning next week, January 8. This is strictly voluntary; however, and trees placed at the curb this past week have been picked up on the normal collection day. Many customers have voluntarily helped out and are waiting until next week to put their tree on the curb.
Attached is the agenda and related information for the first meeting of the Alternative Revenue Joint Work Group. The first meeting will be from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Thursday, January 11 in Room 267.
The City Council approved the process and formation of the Joint Work Group at the December 11 meeting. The Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners approved the process at their meeting on December 19.
As you may recall, the Council directed the Joint Work Group to review alternative revenue options and to make recommendations. The Council also referred two alternative revenues for the Joint Work Group's consideration - a land transfer tax and impact fees. For clarification, the Council's December 11 action did not approve a new alternative revenue source or a legislative request for an alternative revenue from the N.C. General Assembly at this time.
10-Year Homelessness Implementation PlanStaff Resource: Stanley D. Watkins, 704-336-3796 - swatkins@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Attached is the executive summary of More Than Shelter!, the 10-Year Implementation Plan to end and prevent homelessness in Charlotte Mecklenburg. At the request of the non-profit group A Way Home, the plan was jointly funded in 2005 by the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and other community interests. The plan will be formally presented to City Council in February 2007. The Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners will receive a presentation on the plan at its January 9, 2007 meeting.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as part of a national movement to end homelessness, mandated that cities prepare a 10-Year Plan to end chronic homelessness. The implementation plan responds to our local need with strategies and immediate actions. The focus is on three main implementation goals: housing, outreach and engagement and prevention.
North Carolina Legislative AgendaStaff Resource: Boyd Cauble, 704-336-2009 - bcauble@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The attached High Priority Legislative Goals statement summarizes the January 2nd Council Workshop discussion regarding major issues which require state assistance, but have not yet been refined to specific state legislative proposals. These goals will help form the basis for our January 22nd Mecklenburg Delegation breakfast briefing. City Council can discuss these major concerns with the Delegation in addition to the specific staff generated requests reviewed earlier by the City Council.
A specific Police request, not yet reviewed by City Council, is attached for consideration for inclusion in our Legislative Package. It has just come to our attention that there is some
ambiguity regarding Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police's "statewide arrest authority." The proposed bill would clarify that our officers have the same arrest authority as all other "county law enforcement officers." City Council will be asked during the January 8th Council meeting to amend the Proposed Legislative Package to include this additional item.
Central Yard Actions
Staff Resource: Julie Burch, 704-336-3187 - jburch@ci.charlotte.nc.us
On December 11, Engineering staff presented the Central Yard Relocation Study and several options related to City maintenance and solid waste facilities. Based on Council discussion and direction, staff will be coming back to Council on January 22 with a Request for Council Action to proceed with pursuing the purchase of 10 acres of land for a new Light Vehicle site, constructing new Solid Waste facilities at Central Yard and selling approximately 5.5 acres of land at Central Yard. This item was originally planned for the January 8 agenda, but staff needs additional time to address questions raised on December 11.
