Monday, December 17
3:00 pm - Zoning Hearings, Meeting Chamber
5:00 pm - Council-Manager Dinner, CH-14
Wednesday, December 19
5:30 pm - MTC Meeting, Room 267
Information Items:
This week, members of the Catawba-Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group met to discuss drought/water conditions in communities up and down the river basin, and additional steps that could become necessary if the drought persists through the winter and beyond. The latest data shows the storage loss across all the Catawba reservoirs has slowed. Weather forecasts predict a warm, dry winter and spring. In fact, our best chance of significant rainfall in the near term is this weekend.
Duke recently projected Stage 4 drought conditions may be met by February 2008. Stage 4 does not mean the basin has run out of water - rather, it triggers the implementation of additional water use restrictions by participating communities to protect the shared regional water supply.
We are working to keep the 'conserve now' message visible to compel customers to stretch the community's water supply for as long as we can into the spring and summer.
Utilities is scheduled to update City Council in mid-January with the latest on the drought and the operational and communication efforts we're undertaking during the near-term and in preparation for the spring and summer.
Attached is information distributed this past Wednesday to the 21st Century Transportation Committee. These innovative funding options were recently prepared by the N.C. General Assembly Fiscal Research Division and may be of interest to Council as you deal with the local transportation funding challenges.
The Committee was appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tem of the Senate. Their charge is to make recommendations to the legislature for better addressing the congestion and transportation funding deficits of the state.
Representative Becky Carney and Charles Bowman, of Bank of America, are two of the 24 appointees serving on the committee. They will be hosting the committee in Charlotte on January 16. We will assist them in presenting to the group our regional transportation needs. The meetings will be held at the Convention Center and the Mayor and Council will be given more details and an invitation to attend the meeting in the near future. Should you have questions about the 21st Century Transportation Committee or their work program, contact Boyd Cauble.
