The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will hold a free workshop on Saturday, April 28 in the Council Chambers at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. The workshop will provide information and options available to FHA homeowners who may find themselves unable to make their mortgage payments on time. Two repeated sessions will be held: Session I - 10 am - noon (registration at 9:30 am) and Session II - 2 - 4 pm (registration at 1:30 pm).
HUD notified 2,300 borrowers in default in the Charlotte area. Not all of these borrowers are in trouble, but they do represent borrowers that either have been or currently are late on their FHA insured loans. FHA staff, housing counselors and servicing lenders will be available at the workshop to provide information to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. Participants are asked to confirm their attendance by calling 1-800-Call FHA or by registering online at hud@custhelp.com . Seating will be limited.
BIKE!Charlotte - Awareness of Bicycle Transportation - Friday, May 4
Staff Resource: Ken Tippett, 704-336-2278 - ktippett@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Each year, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory leads the Mayor's Ride to Breakfast as part of the BIKE!Charlotte series of events. BIKE!Charlotte is ten days of activities promoting awareness of the bicycle as a healthy, efficient and environmentally friendly means of transportation. By offering a wide range of events from short family rides to high speed races, BIKE!Charlotte appeals to a variety of riders and those who do not currently bicycle but would like to learn more about how to ride safely.
You are invited to bring your bicycle and helmet and join Mayor McCrory for this popular event. The Mayor's ride will begin at 7:30 am on Friday, May 4, 2007, in the parking lot behind the Dowd YMCA at 400 East Morehead Street in Charlotte. Mayor McCrory will lead all participants on a bike ride to a free breakfast in Uptown Charlotte.
North Carolina Legislative Update
Staff Resource: Boyd Cauble, 704-336-2009 - bcauble@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Attached is a memo from Boyd Cauble outlining issues that occurred this past week in Raleigh. It describes in detail the Thursday Legislative Committee meeting where law enforcement advocates received a favorable report for a "Police Bill of Rights" initiative (HB980). Yesterday, you were forwarded a NC League Legislative Alert requesting your assistance in asking our House members to oppose this bill when it reaches the floor next week.
TAP Receives ITE "Best Project Award"
Staff Resource: Jim Humphrey, 704-336-3883 - jhumphrey@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) selected the City's Transportation Action Plan (TAP) for the "Best Project Award." ITE is an international educational and scientific association of transportation planners and engineers. The TAP will be recognized for this award in August at the ITE Honoree's Dinner during their Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, the TAP will be highlighted in an upcoming edition of the ITE newsletter.
The ITE rated nominations based on originality, quality, significance, comprehensiveness and transferability to other places. While CDOT staff led preparation of the TAP, a number of City departments contributed heavily, including the Planning Department and the Charlotte Area Transit System. For more information regarding this award, please see the attached application submitted by the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT).
Metropolitan Transit Commission Meeting Summary
Staff Resource: Ron Tober, 704-336-7245 - rtober@ci.charlotte.nc.us
At its meeting on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, the MTC unanimously voted to adopt Resolution No. 2007-03, which approves the FY2008-09 Transit Operating Program and the FY2008-12 Transit Capital Investment Plan. The FY2008-09 Transit Operating Programs and the FY2008-12 Transit Capital Investment Plan area as follows:
The adoption of Resolution No. 2007-03 also approves the July 2007 Fare Increase. The approved increase is consistent with the MTC's adopted fare policy of modestly increasing the fare level every two years to ensure that fare revenues keep pace with inflation and reflect a fair-share contribution by riders to the costs of operating the transit system. The policy provides for a base fare increase of 10 cents or an increase equivalent to the percentage change in the CPI, whichever is greater.
In the context of its consideration of the FY2008-09 Transit Programs and budget, the MTC also received an information briefing on CATS' Special Transportation Services. This information was requested by several Commission members after the public hearing on the proposed fare increase at the February meeting. Several STS riders spoke out against an increase in STS' fare because of the fixed incomes of many people living with disabilities.
Staff reported that CATS is required to run STS under a mandate by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and people are eligible to ride if their disabilities prevent them from riding regular fixed route services. STS serves Charlotte, Pineville and Matthews. CATS also operates STS II, which is not mandated by ADA that serves North Mecklenburg, Mint Hill and unincorporated parts of Mecklenburg County. The current fare for STS is $1.80 and with the proposed fare increase it would rise to $2.00. CATS also allocates $1.8 million from its budget toward the Department of Social Services transportation service, which is required by law as part of the half-cent sales tax. Staff noted that STS is heavily subsidized with the current fare and current cost per trip resulting in a $25.56 net cost or subsidy per trip.
Rapid Transit Rules and Regulations: Staff presented information to the MTC on the Proposed Rapid Transit Rules and Regulations. These rules and regulations serve as guidelines to help CATS continue to provide a comfortable, safe and secure transit system that includes the LYNX Blue Line and future rapid transit corridors. CATS and its legal staff have reviewed the regulations that are currently in place and have identified several areas that should be amended or expanded to meet the needs of rapid transit. Staff is in the process of analyzing and drafting proposed changes to the Charlotte City Code and CATS' policies. As part of the rules and regulations for rapid transit, the North Carolina Legislature amended the Charlotte City Charter in 2006 to include a criminal offense for failing to provide proof of fare payment and to clarify that several state statutes protecting railroads from criminal interference also apply to the light rail system within the City of Charlotte. Other rules and regulations focus on CATS smoking policy, civil enforcement, and open platforms guidelines among others. With these rules and regulations, CATS is striving to establish a safety and security approach that creates a balance between openness and ease of use of the public transportation system and reasonable regulation that will avoid abuse of the system.
CEO's Report: Under the CEO's Report, it was reported that:
1. Ridership for the month of March 2007 increased 4 percent across all services, with a year-to-date increase of 2.2 percent, compared to March 2006. Local and express services increased 2.6 percent and the average weekday system-wide ridership remains close to 65,000. Community circulators, vanpools, and activity center circulators also increased for the month, while regional express and human services transportation decreased.
2. The LYNX Blue Line continues to progress with the budget and construction on track. The line is still slated to open by November 26, with a possibility of a portion of it opening before November 1. On the budget status, it was noted that CATS did get a condemnation award to pay $1.6 million plus interest towards for a property along the LYNX Blue Line which will consume some of the Project's Unallocated Contingency balance of $7 million.
Finally, Mayor McCrory advised the MTC members of City Council's action from this past Monday proposing a joint meeting between the City Council and the MTC. Because the MTC was already considering canceling its May 23rd meeting, it was decided to propose to the Council that the joint meeting occur on May 23rd in lieu of the normal MTC meeting on that date at a location to be determined. The MTC Manager's group will be meeting in the near future to develop a proposed agenda for the meeting.
The next regular MTC meeting will be held June 27th at 5:30 p.m.
Air Quality - Draft State Implementation Plan Released
Staff Resource: Eldewins Haynes, 704-336-7621 ehaynes@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The NC Division of Air Quality (DAQ) on April 9 issued a draft of the State Air Quality Implementation Plan (SIP) for public review. The public hearing on the SIP was held on
April 26, and the public comment period ends May 15. City Council has been briefed on a number of technical issues that staff has related to work that has gone into preparation of the document. CDOT staff recently met with senior staff of DAQ regarding these issues, and this memo describes the outcome.
The SIP is required by Federal law and describes how the Charlotte area will meet the ozone air quality standard by the end of 2009. DAQ staff is solely responsible for development of the SIP. The product of the SIP development process important to Charlotte is the allocation of Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) within the nonattainment area. The MVEBs are average tons per day of nitrogen oxides (NOx). The MVEBs, once approved by the EPA, will be used in the transportation conformity process. The transportation conformity process involves a demonstration that the total of emissions due to all cars, trucks, and buses in an area is not greater than the MVEB. This "budget test" must be passed in order to receive Federal funding for road and transit projects. A transportation conformity report is prepared every four years or when there is a significant change in the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
Staff's primary issue relates to how the MVEBs should be distributed within the Metrolina area for air quality conformity purposes. In February, 2006, all the transportation planning organizations in the Metrolina area and NCDOT agreed to recommend to NCDAQ one MVEB for a multi-county area including Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston, Lincoln, and the portion of Iredell County in the Metrolina nonattainment area. Separate MVEBs were recommended for Cabarrus and Rowan Counties. Staff's arguments are that this multi-county budget is the choice of the region; it will be easier to manage the conformity process; and it will reduce the risk of an individual county exceeding its budget. If one county exceeds its emission budget, it could stop Federal transportation funding for the region.
DAQ staff indicated concern that air quality monitors in Mecklenburg County are occasionally registering readings higher than the standard for attainment and that modeling for future projected readings are also close to standards. (Attainment means that the air quality actually read at the monitors meets standards by 2009.) DAQ acknowledges that setting county-by-county emission budgets for conformity purposes does not directly relate to attainment, yet they say the use of county budgets will help them monitor growth and best ensure good air quality for the region. DAQ believes the budgets will be set high enough so that there will not be conformity problems and if we foresee a problem, they will try to revise the budgets accordingly (though they are not required to do so).
Charlotte Department of Transportation staff will state a general technical concern about the establishment of County MVEBs at the public hearing, and will follow up with a more in-depth letter to DAQ before the public comment period ends May 15.
