Calendar Details:
Monday, July 20, 2009
5:00pm - Council Zoning Meeting, Council Chamber
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
5:30pm - MTC Meeting, Rm. 267. AGENDA: Transit Service Advisory Committee report; Citizens Transit Advisory Group report; LYNX survey results; North Davidson Bus Facility renovations
Wednesday, July 22 – Saturday, July 25
NLC NBC-LEO Summer Conference: Hartford, CT
Agenda Notes:
Agenda Item #1: Charlotte Housing Authority Funding Request and Housing Locational Policy Waiver Request for Savanna Woods Apartments
Resources:
Stan Wilson, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-336-3337, swilson@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Zelleka Biermann, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-336-2482 zbiermann@ci.charlotte.nc.us
At the Zoning Meeting on July 20, 2009, City Council will be asked to:
A. Approve a financial commitment of $1,000,000 from the Housing Trust Fund for the Savanna Woods Apartments, a 117-unit multi-family rental housing project, and
B. Approve the Charlotte Housing Authority's (CHA) request for a waiver of the Assisted Multi-Family Housing Locational Policy for the Savanna Woods development.
On June 22 City Council deferred action until July 20 on the Savanna Woods project due to neighborhood concerns and requested that staff:
1. Provide a map of the of the Sedgefield neighborhood: The requested map is attached.
2. Define NSA rankings (stable, transitioning and challenged) and provide a comparison of the Sedgefield over last two Quality of Life cycles:
Stable: NSAs that exhibit few neighborhood level problems. These are neighborhoods that score high on the social, physical, crime and economic dimensions. Compared to other NSAs, the Stable grouping has a significantly higher quality of life than the City average conditions.
Transitioning: These are NSAs that are around average on most dimensions but also display a weakness on one or more of the dimensions. This pattern may be signaling a shift in the overall NSA quality of life. Transitional status can indicate an improving or declining position, relative to other Charlotte NSAs.
Challenged: Challenged NSAs generally have low to moderate scores on some or all quality of life dimensions. A Challenged neighborhood has a lower quality of life than other communities in Charlotte and is "at risk" on multiple dimensions. This grouping represents below average quality of life compared to citywide values.
The requested Quality of Life Historical Data document is attached.
3. Provide timeframe for waiver notification: Staff became aware of the need for a Housing Locational Policy after it reviewed the CHA Housing Trust Fund application that was due on February 20, 2009. The letters of notification about the requested waiver were mailed to adjoining property owners on June 8, 2009 as required by the City's Housing Locational Policy.
In addition to the specifically request information, staff has also provided a summary of the Charlotte Housing Authority's meetings regarding the Savanna Woods Project and Rezoning Petition (see attached).
Information Items:
North Carolina Legislative Update
Resource:
Boyd Cauble, City Manager's Office, 704-336-2009, bcauble@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Attached is a memo from Boyd Cauble addressing the latest status of the Business Privilege License discussions in Raleigh.
Federal Legislative Update
Resource:
Boyd Cauble, City Manager's Office, 704-336-2009, bcauble@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Holland & Knight, the City of Charlotte's Washington lobbyists, notified staff this week that the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee has included the $500,000 Street Car earmark in their budget recommendation. Unfortunately, there is no earmark for the $30 million request for the Northeast Corridor Light Rail Extension.
City staff will now turn our attention to our two senators to make sure that the Northeast Corridor is included in the Senate Subcommittee recommendation. Holland & Knight has contacted the senators' staffs to make them aware of the House action and the City has representatives calling both senators to remind them of the importance of the Senate appropriation.
Office Space at Belmont Center
Resource:
Richard Woodcock, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-336-8572, rwoodcock@ci.charlotte.nc.us
On May 29, 2009 Deborah Gibson, Executive Director of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board (WDB) contacted Neighborhood & Business Services staff to request additional office space in the Belmont Center. The space is needed to house increased staffing and program work due to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus programs. The WDB occupies space in the Belmont Center as part of the City's in-kind contribution to the WDB as outlined in our Memorandum of Understanding.
The WDB needs the space as soon as possible to effectively operate its stimulus programs, which place a great deal of emphasis on transparency, program monitoring, accountability and reporting. The WDB's mission to ensure that the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Workforce Development System is effectively meeting the current and future needs of local employers and job seekers and is closely aligned with the Economic Development functions of Neighborhood & Business Services.
In order to accommodate the WDB's request, the City asked Family Outreach and Counseling Service (FOCS), headed by Dona Patterson, in a hand delivered letter dated June 17, 2009, to vacate its office space by August 14, 2009. Ms. Patterson currently occupies two offices (315 square feet) contiguous to the WBD's office, all of which are on the third floor of the Belmont Center. Ms. Patterson has asked the City for an extension until December 1, 2009.
FOCS has been located in City owned facilities as a legacy tenant (Alexander Street and the Belmont Center), for at least 20 years and pays no rent or leasing fees. In addition to FOCS, the City currently provides space at the Belmont Center to the Public Library, the WDB, the YWCA day care program, YMCA, Bethlehem Center and Goodfellows, which provides emergency assistance to families in need. None of the tenants in the Belmont Center pay rent or leasing fees. Some Neighborhood & Business Services staff are also located in the Belmont Center.
The services provided by FOCS are not connected to the core functions of the City. Although we will no longer be able to accommodate FOCS at the Belmont Center, Neighborhood & Business Services staff has made informal inquires of agencies that perform similar work to see if other office space may be available and will be discussing these options with Dona Patterson. Due to this situation, staff is developing a policy to address tenant space in Neighborhood & Business Services managed facilities.
"One NC" Grant for Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America
Resource:
Brad Richardson, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-336-3857, brichardson@ci.charlotte.nc.us
On July 27, 2009 City Council will be asked to:
A. Approve a contract between the City, NCDOC and NACA for the One North Carolina grant from the State of North Carolina to NACA, and
B. Approve a contract with the WDB to administer the OJT grant from the NC Division of Workforce Training to NACA.
On June 11, 2009 the NC Department of Commerce (NCDOC) awarded a "One NC" grant in the amount of $1 million to Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) as part of the company's recent expansion of its Charlotte office located at 5500 Executive Center Drive near Eastland Mall. With the expansion, the company expects to hire 1,014 employees over the next five years at an average annual wage of $35,000. Since June 11, NACA has hired 257 new employees.
One NC grants require matching funds from the local community; however, as a non-profit, NACA does not qualify for a Business Investment Grant. The state has determined that matching funds can be provided through an On-the-Job Training (OJT) grant to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board (WDB). Under the terms of the OJT grant, the WDB will reimburse NACA for a portion of the salaries of eligible adult and dislocated workers, for the first two-months of employment, up to $1 million. No City of Charlotte funds will be used.
By statute, the City is required to administer a performance contract with NACA to ensure compliance with the state's job creation and capital investment standards for the One NC grant. The City is also required to contract with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board (WDB) to monitor and disburse the OJT grant.
NACA is a non-profit organization that provides pre-homeownership counseling and direct assistance to homebuyers at risk of losing their homes, through negotiation with lenders on behalf of homeowners, loan servicing by contract with lenders, and underwriting reviews of mortgages.
Real Estate Transfer System ("Ledger System") FY2009 Annual Report
Resource:
Jonathan Wells, Planning, 704-336-4090, jwells@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Attached find the FY2009 Annual Report (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009) for the Real Estate Transfer System. As the report indicates, there were no transactions recorded on the Ledger during the reporting period, and the current Ledger balance is $1,125,280 with credit to the City.
Monthly Project Update for the NASCAR Hall of Fame
Resource:
Jim Schumacher, City Manager's Office, 704-336-3656, jschumacher@ci.charlotte.nc.us
Attached is the July edition of the Project Update newsletter for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. At Council's request, this document will be provided to City Council each month through completion of the project. It includes a table of expenditures to date, key milestones completed, and a look ahead at upcoming milestones.
