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Calendar Details:
Monday, October 1
4:00 pm - Governmental Affairs Committee Meeting, Room 280. AGENDA: Presentation and Discussion on Long-Term Transportation Needs and Issues; Hot Topics 5:00 pm - Council Workshop, Room 267 7:30 pm - Citizens' Forum, Room 267 Wednesday, October 3
12:00 pm - Economic Development and Planning Committee Meeting, Room 280. AGENDA: Infrastructure General Development Policies; University City Area Plan; Independence Boulevard Transitional Setback Phase II Study; Permitting/Plan Review Process Field Visit to CDOT
Following Council's discussion of the Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG) on September 24th, Council set aside one hour of the October 8th dinner meeting to continue discussion. 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm on October 8th will be set aside for the discussion. The suggested format for the discussion is as follows:
Staff will briefly review answers to questions raised by Council members and the land development industry at the September 24th meeting. Written responses to these questions will be distributed with the Council agenda on Wednesday, October 3rd;
Staff will invite representatives from the land development industry, as well as other USDG stakeholders not associated with the industry, to be in attendance at the dinner meeting;
The Mayor and Council may use the balance of the time to ask staff or any stakeholder(s) for clarification of information they may have presented, as well as to ask staff for any additional information desired before consideration of the USDG;
Unless directed otherwise following the dinner briefing on October 8th, the USDG will be placed on the October 22nd Council agenda for a vote.
If you have questions or concerns about this proposed format, please feel free to give me a call.
The Hubbard Road Sidewalk project was awarded to Blythe Development Company and approved by City Council on July 23rd as part of the City's Sidewalk Program. This project will provide a right turn lane addition at Hubbard Road and Mallard Creek Road, sidewalk, curb and gutter, and planting strip along Hubbard Road from Mallard Creek Road to West Sugar Creek Road. For feasibility of design and construction, an upgrade of an existing 72-inch culvert near Wade E. Morgan Drive was added as part of the sidewalk project design to promote Storm Water Services initiatives for infrastructure improvements within the area.
Construction for the projects began August 27, 2007. As part of the overall construction phasing, the 72-inch culvert upgrade is being built as a first measure of construction requiring the closure of Hubbard Road to thru traffic for a period of 30 days. Recent complaints from area residents regarding traffic delays at Mallard Creek have been reviewed by City staff and are currently being addressed through additional traffic control measures to mitigate left turn movements from Hubbard Road onto Mallard Creek Road. A construction flagman will be available to direct left turn traffic at Hubbard Road and Mallard Creek Road during the early morning peak hours (7:00 am - 8:30 am). The additional traffic control will be in effect until October 8th at which time the road is anticipated to be reopened. This section of Hubbard Road is separate from the section of the road being realigned at the Hubbard Falls Development, approved on September 24.
The Selection Committee for the Johnston and Mecklenburg Mills Apartments RFP process had their final meeting on September 26, 2007 and selected the NoDa Mills, LLC (Tuscan Development, Bank of America Community Development Corporation and The Housing Studio, PA) proposal as the recommendation to City Council. Key points cited by the selection committee include:
- Preservation of all existing historic buildings on the site.
- Creating a total of 174 rental apartments, 28 new for-sale condominiums and 6,500 square feet of retail space.
- Preserving 75 affordable rental units on site that are integrated with the market-rate units.
- Introduces a mix of uses that includes: catering facility/new restaurant concept, community artist space and gallery and office space.
- Connectivity with transit - a pedestrian-friendly retail streetscape along 36th Street towards the future transit station.
The NoDa Mills proposal offers $475,000 to the City for the Mills properties. Though this is not the top price offered by competing proposals, the Committee believes that the NoDa Mills, LLC proposal was the soundest overall out of the four proposals based on the criteria established by City Council, which include the following:
1. City's return on investment.
2. Ability to meet City's affordable housing goals.
3. Ability to meet City Policy Goals (including but not limited to Transit Oriented
Development, Draft 36th Street Concept Plan and other City policies).
4. Proven ability of the development team to successfully develop and manage higher-density residential projects. Proven ability shall mean successfully completed and managed at least three multi-family developments.
5. Ability to secure construction and permanent financing for the project.
6. Commitment and ability to bring developer equity to the project.
7. Quality of the design proposed and ability of the development team to implement a high quality project.
8. A management plan for the project that maintains the affordability goals of this project.
9. Proven ability and experience in managing higher-density residential properties.
10. Connectivity between site and light rail station.
11. Proposed density.
12. Consideration of a development plan that complements and bolsters the existing artistic and historic character of the neighborhood. Concepts could include but are not limited to: an architectural design that complements the Mills buildings and the surrounding mill town; housing that addresses the needs of the existing diverse community; or residential
retail and commercial and diversity that melds with the existing NoDa arts and entertainment district.
Other proposals were submitted by:
Winter Properties, LLC - Atlanta, Georgia
- Atlantic Development, LLC - Richmond, Virginia
- The Conformity Corporation and The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership
Pursuant to the City Council's adopted process, this recommendation will be submitted for review by the Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee at its October 24, 2007 meeting. The recommendation is to seek City Council approval to enter into negotiations with the NoDa Mills, LLC to acquire and redevelop the Mills properties.
Attachment: Mills Properties Selection Team
Arena Outparcel 3 Status
Staff Resource: Eric Johnson, 704-336-6170, eajohnson@ci.charlotte.nc.us At the June 11, 2007 Council Meeting, Council approved the Lodgeworks purchase contract on the Arena Outparcel 3. The developer has been working with City staff on issues that are particular to this small parcel. These issues included the access for the construction of the 150 room Sierra Suites Hotel and 110 space parking deck. Lodgeworks has engaged a Charlotte engineering firm to design and submit the necessary plans for City staff's review and comments. They anticipate the design drawings will be complete and submitted for staff review by the end of October. Upon review and modifications, Lodgeworks would be closing on the property in January and beginning construction in the spring of 2008.
Background:
Congress directed that the FCC allocate $1 billion of funds to be received from the sale of 700
MHz Spectrum to fund the Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant. The Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Department of Homeland Security will jointly administer the grant. In early August 2007 they released the grant requirements and state-by-state allocations.
The State of North Carolina released the draft application requirements September 5, 2007. The final grant submittal requirements were released on September 11, 2007 for total grants funds of $22.2 million. The grant requires the State to provide 80% ($17.8 million) to fund local government projects that support regional (multi-county) interoperability and requires a 25% match by those governments receiving grant awards. This is a three year grant with a completion deadline of December 2010 and the match must be made within that three year period.
Proposal:
The proposed grant submittal would advance interoperability in Gaston, Union and Mecklenburg counties. The table below identifies the governments participating in the grant application, the portion of the grant award that would be used within their jurisdiction and their corresponding funding match.
| Participant |
Project Cost |
Grant Portion |
Remainder |
Approved |
| Union County |
$8.2 million |
$3.5 million |
$4.7 million |
Yes |
| Gastonia/Mt Holly |
$2 million |
$1.1 million |
$900,000 |
Yes |
| Charlotte |
$11 million |
$4.4 million |
$6.6 million |
Yes (in current CIP) |
| Totals |
$21.2 million |
$9 million |
$12.2 million |
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The City has an approved capital plan for the construction of a digital radio system, as would be proposed in this grant application. This project is scheduled to start in July 2008 (FY09). Funding for that project is approximately $12 million. The Charlotte/Mecklenburg portion is higher because we own, and will continue to own, a larger portion of the equipment and sites.
Request:
It is requested that Charlotte submit a grant application on behalf of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Union County and Gastonia for $9 million. The $2.5 million required matching funds to be met by the approved capital projects in each of the counties. In return, if successful, we can reduce the overall capital expense Charlotte/Mecklenburg was expecting to pay for the original project.
This request will be presented to Council again in order to accept the grant, should we be successful.
The City's FY07 SBE Utilization goal for informal purchases is 10%. The City exceeded that goal with over 13.5% ($11.75 million) informal spending with SBE's throughout FY07, down slightly from 14.1% ($12.33 million) utilization during FY06. Nearly $19.6 million was directly spent with SBE's on all analyzed purchases for FY07.
Other highlights for FY2007 include:
- $60 million spent with minority and/or women-owned firms
- All five (5) minority-ownership groups surpassed the goals established for construction-related subcontractor utilization
- Over $17 million committed to S/MWBE's on analyzed public-private development projects
Attached is the FY07 SBE Report.
Charlotte was named one of the 100 Best Communities for Youth for 2007 by America's Promise. This is the second year America's Promise has identified the 100 Best Communities for Youth and it marks the second time Charlotte has been named as a Best Community by America's Promise. The 100 Best Communities for Youth is an annual competition which recognizes outstanding community efforts that improve the well-being of youth. Specifically, the recognition highlights communities around the country that strive to provide the Five Promises of the America's Promise organization, which are to provide community youth with 1) Caring Adults 2) Safe Places 3) A Healthy Start 4) Effective Education 5) Opportunities to Help Others. Winners range from large urban cities to small rural towns.
The Mayor's Mentoring Alliance submitted the 100 Best Communities for Youth application for the Charlotte community and highlighted several groups including the Children's Alliance, United Agenda for Children, Gang of One, Right Moves for Youth, and ThinkCOLLEGE, among others. Attached is an overview by America's Promise highlighting Charlotte as a recipient of the 100 Best Communities for Youth designation. The Mayor's Mentoring Alliance will represent Charlotte at the National Celebration of the 100 Best Communities for Youth in Washington, DC on October 10 - 11, 2007.
At the October 1 Council Workshop, staff will present an enhanced public information resource on charmeck.org. Called the "Newsroom," this page provides a one-stop resource for the most accessed information by the media and public. Additionally, new communication tools have been implemented on The Government Channel, such as "live streaming" technology to provide more opportunities to watch programming live or review past Council meetings. Since the service is delivered via the internet people outside the cable viewing area now have more access to information. Enhancements include Archiving and increased Search functionality that now provides an opportunity for the public, media and Council to pinpoint discussion on issues and specific agenda items.
User-friendly instructions on how to access these tools will be shared with Council.
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