Monday, April 7
2:00 pm - Budget Committee, Room 280. AGENDA: Review April 16th Budget Retreat Agenda; Review Current General CIP; Property & Sales Tax Revenue Update
4:00 pm - Governmental Affairs Committee, Room 280. AGENDA: Discuss Draft 2008 Short Session Legislative Agenda; Logistics for April 21 Breakfast with Mecklenburg Delegation; Hot Topics: Next Meeting
5:00 pm - Workshop, Room 267
7:30 pm - Citizens Forum, Room 267
Agenda Notes:
On Monday, April 7, 2008, Council will be asked to approve the proposed water and sewer rate changes. Attached is the request for Council action. Responses to questions from the Mayor and City Council were distributed with the Workshop Agenda on April 2.
The Bicycle/Pedestrian Path Connectivity project - Chillingworth connection was first identified in the City of Charlotte Bicycle and Pedestrian Neighborhood Connectivity Study which was done in 2006. The project consists of a 10-foot wide multi-use path that connects the end of Chillingworth Lane to Addison Drive. This project is being funded by the Charlotte Department of Transportation Bicycle Program.
A Chillingworth Lane resident, Mr. Nelson Lemmond, spoke at the March 24th Council meeting outlining concerns he had with the proposed project. The first concern was the proximity of a down guy near his driveway and the potential that someone would run into it. The proposed down guy, which is attached to a utility pole, will be placed in the City's right-of-way and will be 10' from the base of the pole. The down guy will also have a yellow plastic sheathe around it to enhance its visibility and will be near an existing fence which further reduces the likelihood of anyone striking it. We are continuing to work with AT&T to explore the feasibility of eliminating the pole and guy wire obstructions in this location.
The second concern voiced by Mr. Lemmond was related to the NCDOT Multi-Use Pathway Guidelines. Prior to addressing council, staff exchanged multiple emails with Mr. Lemmond to interpret the context of the guidelines and how they applied to the proximity of his driveway to the path.
The third concern references the Connectivity Study mentioned above and staff has agreed to work with the affected residents to address any concerns they may have. For example, we are prepared to study with residents how more lighting around the path would affect them and possibly improve the perception of safety.
We are continuing dialogue with Mr. Lemmond to address his concerns. He has also signed up to speak at Monday's citizens' forum.
Council members are invited to attend the groundbreaking of IKEA's Charlotte store on Wednesday, April 9 at 11:00 a.m. The 356,000-square-foot store, IKEA's first in North Carolina, will open for business in 2009. The groundbreaking will be held on-site at the northeast corner of Interstate 85 and City Boulevard. Attached is an agenda for the groundbreaking ceremony.
The 100th Annual North Carolina League of Municipalities conference will be held in Charlotte in October 2008. The Mayor and City Council are invited to attend a conference planning session on Wednesday, April 16, 12:00 pm in CMGC Room 266. NCLM staff and representatives from the Charlotte Host Committee will be in attendance to discuss preliminary plans and get input from the Mayor and City Council members. Lunch will be provided.
The last remaining purchase option in the existing contract with Siemens is due to expire on April 19, 2008. This option allows the City to purchase additional light rail vehicles under the terms and conditions of the existing contract.
Over the last few months CATS' staff has been in negotiations with Siemens about the possibility of extending this date. In an effort to reach an agreement on a longer term extension, Siemens has agreed to extend the option date until April 30, 2008.
Staff will notify the City Council on the results of these continuing negotiations.
A regional environmental summit, jointly hosted by the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Centralina COG, Catawba Regional COG, and Charlotte Regional Partnership, will be held Friday, May 2 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The topic of the event is "Greening the Region - What Can We Do?"
In 2007, Council asked staff to partner with the County to plan a summit on environmental issues. Ronnie Bryant, President and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, will be the summit's keynote speaker and speak about the private sectors "greening" efforts.
The summit will also include a morning plenary session with speakers on water quality, air quality, waste management, open space preservation, and green industries and development. These speakers will be asked to update the status of the environment in their area, and share best practices on greening the region and combating regional challenges. The afternoon session will include facilitated roundtable discussion where participants will be asked to consider what governments can do to green the region.
INFORMATION (continued):
Elected officials and high level municipal staff from across the region were sent electronic invitations last month. A summary of the event and a copy of the agenda are attached. A final agenda listing the names of the morning session speakers will be mailed electronically I mid-April. Please RSVP by Friday, April 25, 2008, via the link on the front page of
www.centralina.org .
A formal agenda will be distributed in mid-April. Feel free to contact Wilson Hooper in the City Manager's Office with any questions.
