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Calendar:
Tuesday, January 30
12:00 pm - Housing and Neighbrhood Development Committee Meeting - CANCELLED
Wednesday, January 31
8:00 am - Economic Development and Planning Committee Meeting, Room CH-14. AGENDA: Scaleybark Transit oriented Development Recommendations
2:00 pm - City Council Retreat, UNCC Harris Alumni House
(The Council Retreat notebooks are included in today's packet)
Thursday, February 1 - Friday, February 2
City Council Retreat, UNCC Alumni House
Information Items:
CATS Service Adjustments Effective February 5, 2007
Staff Resource: Larry Kopf, 704-432-0497 - lkopf@ci.charlotte.nc.us
On Monday, February 5, 2007, the Charlotte Area Transit System will adjust service on several bus routes.
Route #5 Airport will be adjusted to operate via Wilkinson, providing a more direct link between Uptown Charlotte and Charlotte-Douglas Airport. During peak hours, service frequency will be improved to thirty minutes.
Route #2 Ashley Road will be simplified to operate inbound and outbound via Marlowe, Lumina, Ashley and Carlyle. The simplified routing is designed to attract more customers and to reduce duplicative service on Wilkinson.
Routes #15 Randolph and #28 McAlway will be reorganized and combined into one route that operates every 15 minutes throughout most of the day. At the request of customers who attended a CATS public meeting, service will continue to operate via the Grier Heights neighborhood, but service will no longer operate in the Elizabeth neighborhood or the Stonehaven neighborhood.
Route #232 Grier Heights will be adjusted and the frequency will be improved to 30 minute service. Service will be extended to Eastland Mall.
Route #62X Rea Road Express will be extended to a new park and ride lot located at St. Matthews Catholic Church. The church is located on Ballantyne Commons and Rea Road.
Minor route adjustments will be instituted on #24 Windsong Trails and on #222 Pence Road in order to improve schedule reliability. Twenty-one other bus routes will have minor schedule or routing adjustments.
Scaleybark Station Area Transit Oriented Development
Staff Resource: Tom Flynn, 704-432-1396 - tflynn@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The attached information was requested during the January 22 City Council meeting. Updated financial information is anticipated from the teams early next week and will be distributed once received.
Marsh Road Area Storm Drainage Improvement Project - Investigation
Staff Resources:
Jude Starrett, 704-336-5801 - jstarrett@ci.charlotte.nc.us
TimRichards, 704-336-4555 - trichards@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Monica Kruckow, 704-336-4722 - mkruckow@ci.charlotte.nc.us
The City Attorney's Office and Storm Water Services are investigating the causes of numerous maintenance issues in areas where work was performed for the Marsh Road Area Drainage Improvement Project. This project involved upgrades and repairs to the existing storm drainage system and natural channel in the area bounded by Marsh Road, South Boulevard, Scaleybark Road, Hartford Avenue and Selwyn Farms.
Construction of the Marsh Road Project began in June of 2003 and was completed in November 2004. The General Contractor was Thalle Construction Company, Inc. Thalle fixed some failures that were discovered during the warranty period, but since the project was accepted and the warranty period expired we have discovered additional failures. These include street cracking, separation from curb and settlement issues. In July 2006, Street Maintenance discovered a large sink-hole in Belton Street. Since that time we have had emergency repair work performed to correct that problem and others in the area.
Thalle Construction Company was notified when these problems first occurred and has been kept informed of our repair work. In addition, Thalle's surety, Centennial Insurance Company, has been put on notice of a potential claim by the City. USInfrastructure, Inc. has been hired to evaluate the storm drainage system and analyze the nature and extent of the system deficiencies.
We have also asked USI to provide an opinion on possible reasons for the failures and make recommendations on solutions.
We hope to have this report within 120 days so we can make decisions on repairs. The Report will also be used by the City Attorney's Office to evaluate potential claims against Thalle and/or its surety for costs incurred in repairing the system. Ben Martin of Hamilton, Moon, Stephens, Steele & Martin, PLLC will be assisting Jude Starrett with the legal matters.
Metropolitan Transit Commission Summary
Staff Resource: Ron Tober, 704-336-7245 - rtober@ci.charlotte.nc.us
At its meeting on Wednesday, January 24, 2007, the MTC unanimously voted to approve Resolution No. 2007-01, which adopts the updated Countywide Services Plan as the guide for enhancing public transportation within Mecklenburg County and surrounding counties for the next five years. The MTC also unanimously reaffirmed CATS' Mission, Vision, Strategic Goals and Travel Markets Policy Statements which will provide continued policy direction to the organization and guidance to CATS management staff for use in carrying out its responsibilities. The MTC also received information briefings on the following:
FY08-09 Transit Operating Program/FY2008-12 Capital Investment Plan: Staff presented the FY08-09 Transit Operating Program/FY2008-12 Capital Investment Plan, which focuses on implementation of the LYNX Blue Line and moves forward with the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan approved by the MTC in November 2006. A summary of the proposed programs and the FY2007 mid-year estimates are as follows:
| ($ - millions) |
FY2007
Adopted
Budget |
FY2007
Mid-Year
Estimate |
FY2008
Proposed |
FY2009
Proposed |
Operating Income
Operating Expense |
$111.0
89.3 |
$118.3
85.2 |
$126.4
103.4 |
$132.9
110.0 |
Capital Income
Capital Expense |
163.1
183.9 |
198.7
96.1 |
69.8
68.0 |
112.4
111.6 |
Development of the FY08-09 Budget was particularly challenging because of uncertainties associated with Congressional approval of FY2007 appropriations, costs associated with the start-up of light rail including higher than expected insurance costs, fleet-wide usage of ULSD fuel and implementing the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan. As a result of this staff took actions to reduce expenditures and confine service level increases to those related to light rail start-up, safety and security and critical organizational needs.
The FY08 budget proposal includes a 10 cent fare increase to take effect on July 1st in accordance with adopted MTC policy.
Additional information will be presented over the next few months leading up to action by the MTC in April, followed by action by the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg BOCC. The proposed CATS FY08-09 Budget is on the agenda for the City Council's Budget Retreat on March 7.
Rock Hill Major Investment Study Update: Staff from Rock Hill updated the MTC on the Rock Hill Major Investment Study that examines potential extensions of rapid transit into South Carolina from the terminus of the South Corridor LYNX Blue Line. The purpose of the study is to increase mobility, travel options, access and redevelopment in the Rock Hill area. The study identified five alternatives along the Rock Hill corridor for consideration. The US-21 Corridor alignment was noted as performing best in addressing mobility, land-use, accessibility and potential ridership and Bus Rapid Transit was identified as the most cost-effective mode of travel. Additional information will be provided as the study moves forward.
CEO's Report: Under the CEO's report, it was reported that:
1. Ridership for the month of December 2006 increased 0.7 percent compared to December 2005. Regular bus service grew 2.1 percent and community circulators experienced a double-digit increase for the month. Regional Express services, activity center circulators, Human Services Transportation and Vanpool services experienced a decrease for the month.
2. The LYNX Blue Line Project continues to be on track for a November 2007 opening. Rail staff also underwent an emergency preparedness drill in January and will have similar drills in the future leading up to the opening of light rail.
3. On the development of an alternative financing plan for the North Corridor Commuter Rail Project, a Work Plan has been prepared involving four Committees. Two of the Committees (Iredell County service terminus and Station Area Developers) have already met.
4. Route 5 Airport will be enhanced to get customers to and from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport faster. The new service will begin on February 5 and will operate every 30 minutes during peak hours instead of every hour.
The next MTC meeting will be held February 28 at 5:30 pm. The meeting will start with a public hearing on the fare increase proposed in FY08 Budget proposal.
