Monday, December 10
5:00 pm - Council-Manager Dinner, Room 267
7:00 pm - Council Meeting, Meeting Chamber
Information Items:
Barry Moose, Division Engineer for NCDOT Division 10, is inviting the Mayor and City Council members to a meeting for local officials regarding the proposed I-85 improvement project. The project (TIP Project I-3803 B) calls for widening of I-85 from I-485 in Mecklenburg County to NC 73 in Cabarrus County.
The meeting for local officials will be held at 4:00 pm on Monday, December 10, 2007, in the Back Creek Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall. The church is located at 1821 Back Creek Church Road, Charlotte, 28213. NCDOT representatives will begin the meeting with a description of the project, followed by a question and answer and general discussion period.
Following the local officials' meeting, an informational workshop for citizens will be held at the same location (Back Creek Presbyterian Church) from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. While a formal presentation will not be made, NCDOT representatives will be present to discuss the project with residents, answer questions, and receive comments. A copy of the notice is attached.
The workshop previously scheduled for Tuesday, December 11, 2007, as part of the Charlotte Region Fast Lanes Study, has been canceled. This workshop will be rescheduled for late January or early February 2008.
Public Safety interoperability continues to be a local, regional and national priority. Ensuring public safety agencies have the communications infrastructure to respond in a coordinated, comprehensive manner to local and regional emergency is critical to ensuring the public's safety. The City of Charlotte has been designated as the Lead Agency in the 11 county Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Region and as such has the responsibility for facilitating the development of a regional communications infrastructure. Regional initiatives are coordinated by the Network Technology Services (NTS) Division of Business Support Services.
NTS has been very successful in facilitating the establishment of a regional voice radio infrastructure and in preparing the Charlotte-Mecklenburg radio system's move from the current analog transmission mode to the digital transmission mode. Several jurisdictions have requested to be integrated into the regional system and to participate in the move to the digital transmission mode. This will require the establishment of interlocal agreements with those jurisdictions and their participation in regional grants to support these efforts.
The attached memorandum provides information on the background, current situation, and benefits of the regional initiatives, as well as the anticipated future actions City Council will be asked to consider.
On August 21, 2007, the Governor signed into law Senate Bill 556 entitled "An Act Authorizing Municipalities to Adopt Ordinances Establishing a Nonresidential Building or Structure Code." The bill gives municipalities the authority to adopt ordinances that establish standards of fitness for commercial structures and other non-residential buildings. If Charlotte chooses to adopt such an ordinance, the enforcement process would look similar to the current Minimum Housing Code.
This ordinance would seek to address unsafe and dilapidated conditions associated with both vacant and occupied commercial structures. Potential standards of fitness for commercial structures could include: electrical code violations, structural integrity, open doors and windows, plumbing and sanitary facilities, egress, smoke detectors, fire code violations, debris accumulation and mechanical systems. The application of any established standards of fitness would vary depending upon the occupancy status of the building.
The bill establishes enforcement tools including repair, demolition, and the issuance of civil penalties associated with non-compliance. City staff paid close attention to the bill as it progressed through the General Assembly, understanding its relevance to the City's current study of issues associated with vacant and boarded up commercial structures as well as hotels and motels.
The City's potential adoption of a non-residential building code and establishment of commercial standards of fitness would have a major impact on Code Enforcement operations that currently are limited in terms of commercial structure enforcement. Staffing needs and operating resources would have to be a part of any discussion leading to the potential adoption of an ordinance. Staff plans to brief City Council on the recent changes in state legislation, the implications for Code Enforcement and seek guidance about next steps at a future dinner session.
On October 8, 2007, Council approved funding for the Neighborhood Matching Grants Tree Banding initiative as part of the City's "Let's Band Together" campaign. Fifteen organizations submitted grant applications on November 5, with funding requests ranging from $234 to the maximum of $3,000. All applications received approval, resulting in a total of $22,657 in grant awards. Neighborhoods pledged $24,658 in match commitments in the form of volunteer labor, in-kind donations and cash.
Based on grantees' estimates, these efforts will contribute to the banding of more than 2,950 trees in the areas of highest infestation. Most of the neighborhoods completed their banding efforts in late November and early December. They will monitor the bands throughout the winter and early spring; then remove them in mid-April.
