Monday, May 7
4:00 pm - Budget Presentation, Meeting Chamber
5:00 pm - Council Workshop, Room 267
7:30 pm - Citizens' Forum, Room 267
8:00 pm - Closed Session, Room 267
Please note that the Closed Session is scheduled for 8:00 p.m., immediately after the Citizens' Forum. The change from 3:00 p.m. is due to Mayor and Council member schedule conflicts.
Wednesday, May 9
Town Hall Day, Raleigh NC
Thursday, May 10
3:30 pm - Economic Development & Planning Committee Meeting, CH-14. AGENDA: Scaleybark Transit Oriented Development
Saturday, May 12
10:00 am - Grand Opening of Fire Station 37, 13828 S. Tryon Street.
Staff Resource: Luther L. Fincher, Jr., 704-336-2791 - lfincher@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The Grand Opening of Fire Station 37 has been scheduled for Saturday, May 12, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. Additionally, refreshments and tours will be available throughout the event. We hope you will bring your family and join us for this wonderful occasion.
Charlotte Fire Station 37
13828 S. Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28278
704/432-3954
Attached is a hard copy of the PowerPoint presentation that will be presented at the Workshop on Monday, May 7. City staff along with staff from Wachovia Bank will provide an update on both the Cultural Arts Facilities project and Discovery Place Renovation. No action is being requested; the information is being presented to update Council on these projects.
On Friday, May 4, 2007, City Code Enforcement staff conducted a re-inspection of the mobile home at 4001 Sofely Road. Austin Hughes, owner of the mobile home, was present during the re-inspection. City staff reviewed the violations checklist to determine what repairs had been completed during the two week extension provided by City Council on April 23, 2007.
The 1988 mobile home has a Mecklenburg County established tax value of $1,200. To qualify for demolition under City Council guidelines, a dwelling's repair costs must exceed 65% of the structure's tax value. Following a comprehensive review of the present conditions, Code Enforcement has determined that the mobile home no longer qualifies for demolition.
During the two week extension, Mr. Hughes successfully addressed structural, electrical, and plumbing/heating issues that previously existed. In making the electrical repairs, Mr. Hughes acquired an electrical repair permit from Mecklenburg County Building Standards. He has repaired the roof and addressed issues associated with light and ventilation. The interior of the mobile home has been painted and new floor covering provided. There were no foul odors or any evidence of unsanitary conditions that would contribute to rodent or insect issues. The front and back yards were clean and the grass had recently been cut. In summary, the extent of the repairs has corrected enough violations to warrant removal of the mobile home from the demolition category.
The case will remain open to follow up on repairs associated with the front deck and the window screens. Mr. Hughes will be subject to civil penalties for not bringing the property into compliance within the time frame provided. The neighborhood petitioners and Mr. Hughes have been notified of our re-inspection findings, the removal of the structure from the demolition category and the pulling of the agenda item from the May 7, 2007 workshop agenda.
On May 14th Council will be asked to approve several actions relative to Brooklyn Village, minor league baseball and Third Ward Park. Because of the size of this agenda item and its attachments, a draft is attached for your review.
There are several items still under development that are not reflected in the draft item, including:
- On April 23rd Council asked that staff have a conversation with Cornerstone regarding the affordable housing component of Brooklyn Village. That conversation is scheduled for next week.
- No agreement has been reached yet with the Charlotte Knights regarding traffic enforcement and public safety around the stadium.
- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board is scheduled to consider the interlocal agreement with Mecklenburg County on Tuesday, May 8th;
- The Development Committee of the Charlotte Housing Authority (CHA) has recommended approval of CHA's financial participation in the affordable housing component of Brooklyn Village; however, there were several conditions placed on its participation. City staff believes that these conditions are acceptable to the City, but these conditions have not been formally communicated, nor has there been conversation with Cornerstone/Spectrum about the conditions. The CHA Board of Directors is scheduled to vote on May 15th.
Each of these items will be addressed in the May 14th agenda materials, which you will receive next Wednesday. If there are any significant changes to these or other related items before the
workshop on Monday night, staff will be prepared to brief the Council on those changes at the workshop.
On Monday, May 7, the City's Construction Manager, Turner-BE&K-Davis, will begin grading activities for the NASCAR Hall of Fame Complex. Notices are being sent to adjacent businesses and building occupants to make them aware of the rock blasting noise and dust associated with this work. As coordinated with Charlotte DOT, hauling trucks will be utilizing a construction entrance on MLK Boulevard. The excavation work will take approximately 4-5 months. Staff will monitor the construction operations closely and will provide further updates, as needed.
Staff has received the attached proposal from Boulevard Centro, which was a member of the Banc of America CDC development team, for the Scaleybark transit oriented development. Proposals have also been received and sent in previous Council Manager Memos from Scaleybark Partners and Crosland.
Discussions are currently in progress with all three proposals. Final proposals will be presented at a May 10th Economic Development and Planning Committee meeting.
Attached is a report updating the status of the Fall Cankerworm infestation. City Arborist Don McSween will present the findings of his monitoring work and recommendations for next year during the City Manager's Report on May 14.
Drinking Water Week is a national celebration and education program highlighting the value of clean drinking water in our community.
Council members are invited to attend two upcoming events put on by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities to mark this annual celebration:
- A Water Week proclamation will be read Monday, May 7, at 11:30 a.m. at Tuckaseegee Elementary School (2028 Little Rock Road). Awards will be given out to local individuals
for their water conservation ideas and artwork. During much of the day more than 700 students will learn about drinking water, and how they can help prevent pollution.
- A water symposium will be held for local schoolchildren at the Lee S. Dukes Water Treatment Plant (7980 Babe Stillwell Rd., Huntersville) on May 9, from 9:00 am until 2:30 pm. The symposium includes exciting hands-on exhibits and displays that focus on the complete water cycle and various related topics.
Utilities will send water conservation tips and other features to the local media and city employees throughout the week.
On Monday, May 14, 2007, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will adjust service on the South End trolleybus shuttle due to low ridership. Staff held two public meetings to discuss the South End shuttle service with customers. The meetings were set up to discuss proposed adjustments as a consequence of the low ridership on the shuttle. As a result, service will be reduced during the day. On May 14th the South End Shuttle will only operate during rush hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in the morning and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
CATS will also introduce new shuttle service on Friday evenings in order to provide a new way for visitors to Charlotte's Historic South End to get around. On May 4th CATS will provide a
sneak peak at the new Friday night South End service, which will operate to the shops and galleries between begins on May 18th with service every fifteen minutes between 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
The first public meeting of the South End Pedestrian/Bicycle Connections Study is scheduled for May 15, 2007, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in Room 267. The City of Charlotte is sponsoring this effort to identify new or enhanced connections for pedestrians and bicyclists. The results of the analysis will be used to recommend which of the options should be built within the next five years.
Staff from the Charlotte Department of Transportation, other City Departments, and a consultant are evaluating five types of connections:
1) Improved sidewalks and bicycle lanes
2) Wide Trail/Path on one side and sidewalk on the other
3) Cantilevered Trail/Path
4) Separate, stand-alone pedestrian bridge
5) Freeway cap or park
Persons attending the meeting will be encouraged to provide comments on bicycle and pedestrian connectivity between Uptown and South End. At this meeting, City staff and consultants will present:
- Plans for the pedestrian and bicycle path to be built on the I-277/Caldwell Street Bridge currently under design
- A series of preliminary sketch concepts illustrating additional pedestrian and bicycle connections on I-277 overpasses and underpasses
- Concepts for an I-277 cap area, as originally envisioned in the Second Ward Master Plan
- Evaluation criteria developed to rank the highest priority projects that may result from the Study
N. C. State University Researchers Analyze 2005 CMPD Arbitrary Profiling Data
Staff Resource: Chief Darrel Stephens, 704-336-2337- dstephens1@cmpd.org
CMPD contracted with North Carolina State University researchers Dr. William Smith, Olena Antonaccio and George Mason University researcher Dr. Matthew Zingraff to analyze 2005
arbitrary profiling data. They found that "there is no systematic evidence of race playing a part in the concentration of traffic stops across (geographic) areas." Overall the research concluded that CMPD stops are driven by the demand for police services in an area. This demand is measured by calls for service for specific crime types like violent and incivility offenses (street prostitution, drug sales, fighting).
The 2005 analysis represents an extension of two earlier reports for 2002 and 2003 CMPD stops. The research aims to identify geographic areas within the CMPD jurisdiction that represent outliers in terms of having "too few" or "too many" African Americans or Hispanics stopped or searched. They analyze variables such as the number of stops (traffic and pedestrian) and consent searches for all racial/ethnic groups in each of the CMPD jurisdiction's 373 census block groups.
The 2005 analysis revealed four geographic areas where "too few" or "too many" African Americans or Hispanics stopped or searched. These geographic areas represent a much smaller number of outliers than identified in earlier analyses. (The 2002 analysis revealed 52 outliers. The 2003 analysis revealed 99 outliers). The reduction in the number of outliers is partly due to the inclusion of variables that identify areas as "hot spots" according to police commanders' view, as well as methodological improvements. The models used in 2005 better recognize the possibility that police target some areas more than others in an attempt to resolve the crime problems in these select areas.
Two geographic areas were identified as having a disproportionate number of African Americans subject to consent searches as pedestrians. These two areas are around Little Rock/Moores Chapel Road and Idlewild/Rama Road. Both areas have densely populated African-American apartment complexes and heavy call for service volume.
Two other areas were identified in which the number of African Americans stopped was "too low". One of these areas identified in the pedestrian context was the Central Business District.
Very few overall stops are made in the Uptown area because according to police commanders "the busy streets and sidewalks of downtown Charlotte discourage police from making stops." The other area identified in the vehicle context was around Eastway/Central Avenue. The demographics of the Eastway/Central Avenue area is predominately Hispanic and the victimization rates are reflective of this.
