Council Manager Memo #62, August 21, 2009

Calendar Details:
     (See Below)

Agenda Notes:
- Agenda Item #12 - Carolina Theatre Eighth Amendment
- Agenda Item #36 - Property Transactions related to Freedom Drive (NC35) Widening/ROW Acquisition

Information Items:
- Single-Stream Residential Recycling Collection Services
- Grover Road Sidewalk
- Colonial village/Sedgefield Neighborhood Improvement Project Update
- Important street connection in Highland Creek Area Completed
- Charlotte Cycling Guide
- Charlotte Makes Initial Cut to Host World Cup Soccer in 2018 or 2022
- August 27th and 28th NC Metropolitan Mayors Coalition Luncheons Reminder

Stimulus Information:
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Funds Update

Attachments:
- Housing & Neighborhood Development Committee Summary 7-27-09
- August and September Calendars
- Charlotte Cycling Guide
- World Cup 27 Cities Announcement

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Calendar Details:
Monday, August 24
     12:00pm - Environment Committee, Room 280.  AGENDA: Sustainable City Facilities Policy; Meeting Schedule/Future Agenda Items
     1:30 pm - Transportation Committee, Room 280.  AGENDA: Reduce Obstacles that Prevent Connectivity; I-485 Funding Update; Reschedule September 14 Meeting
     3:00pm - City Attorney Evaluation, Room CH-14
       5:00pm - Council Business Meeting
       6:30pm - Citizens' Forum
Wednesday, August 26
       5:30pm - Metropolitan Transit Commission, Room 267.  AGENDA: VanPool/Fare Policy, Federal Legislative Update, State Legislative Update, By-Laws for CTAG & TSAC, Recruitment Process for the Chief Transit Official.

Agenda Notes:
Agenda Item #12-Carolina Theatre Eighth Amendment
Resources:
       Tom Flynn, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-432-1396, tflynn@charlottenc.gov
       Peter Zeiler, Neighborhood & Business Services, 704-432-2989, pzeiler@ci.charlotte.nc.us

On August 24, 2009, City Council will be asked to approve the Economic Development & Planning Committee's recommendation to extend the closing date for the Carolina Theatre until December 1, 2011 at no cost to the developer.

The Economic Development & Planning Committee met on August 19 and on a 3 to 0 vote (Lassiter, Carter & Kinsey) affirmed their June 15 recommendation to Council that is on your August 24 Agenda.

Agenda Item #36-Property Transactions in Freedom Drive (NC 27) Widening /ROW Acquisition
Resources:
       Veronica Wallace, CDOT, 704-336-7401, vwallace@ci.charlotte.nc.us
       Tom Russell, Engineering & Property Management, 704-336-4639, trussell@ci.charlotte.nc.us

The August 24 Agenda includes a number of the 140 property acquisitions associated with the widening of Freedom Drive. The CIP project will widen Freedom Drive from two lanes to four lanes with a median, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and street lighting between Edgewood Road and Toddville Road. Right of way negotiations have been underway for several months, and these acquisitions, along with the remaining parcels to be considered in September, will conclude the acquisition of rights of way and easements for the project. Bidding and award of the construction contract will follow.

A widening project of this magnitude involves significant rights of way and easements, with associated impacts to the properties. Approximately ten percent have required condemnation, however, the rest have been settled through negotiation based on independent MAI appraisals. At the July 27 business meeting, Mr. Bjorn Green raised questions about the condemnation of his property at 1228 Edgewood Road. Staff is working with him to identify adjustments in the design that may be able to reduce the impact to his property, and expects to bring that acquisition back to the City Council in September.

Information Items:
Single-Stream Residential Recycling Collection Services
Resource:
       Charles Robinson, BSS, 704-432-3539, clrobinson@ci.charlotte.nc.us

On June 23, 2008 Council adopted a resolution to execute an agreement with Mecklenburg County that establishes a comprehensive system for the management of recyclables, yard waste and refuse generated by the residents of the City of Charlotte. The Revised and Restated Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement (the "Interlocal Agreement"), continues a collaborative partnership between the City and the County for comprehensive solid waste management. The Interlocal Agreement includes a commitment by the City to implement a single-stream recycling program for residential curbside collection by July 1, 2010, a specific target for the Council-adopted FY2009 Strategic Focus Area Plan for the Environment. Reciprocally, the County committed to retrofit the Metrolina Recovery Facility to receive both single-stream and dual-stream recyclables collected by the City on or before June 30, 2010. On April 27, 2009, Council approved the City's Solid Waste Services Key Business Unit's request to bid and outsource to the private sector single-stream residential recycling collection services to be provided on a bi-weekly basis.

Business Support Services (BSS), in collaboration with Solid Waste Services (SWS) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Residential Recycling Collection Services on April 30, 2009. Proposals were received from the following service providers:

• Allied Waste Services/Republic Services
• Inland Service Corporation
• Waste Management of Carolina's, Inc.
• Waste Pro USA, Inc

The RFP evaluation team consisted of staff from the BSS Procurement Services Division and Solid Waste Services. The Privatization and Competition Advisory Committee (PCAC) monitored the procurement process to ensure openness and fairness throughout the entire process. Internal Audit performed present value calculations on all proposed pricing. The team reviewed all proposals based on background and experience, method of service delivery (staffing, equipment, and routes), pricing, and exceptions taken to the RFP. After thorough evaluation, the City's evaluation team shortlisted Inland Services and Allied Waste Services/Republic Services as finalists for further consideration and onsite presentations.

As part of the final evaluation, City staff discussed refuse contamination concerns (such as responsibilities and disposal costs related to transportation of contaminated recyclables), routes, vehicles, facilities, container ID tracking, terms and conditions, and exceptions to the draft contract language presented in the RFP. Recyclable contamination was of particular concern in evaluating service delivery methodology because of provisions in the Interlocal Agreement that held the City responsible for costs related to recyclable contamination that exceeds 10% of recyclable deliveries.

Based on these concerns the evaluation team requested additional information and pricing to minimize rejected recyclable deliveries to the MRF and to improve service delivery. This request for additional information was done in accordance with Section 1.5.9 of the RFP, where the City reserves the right to negotiate with any service provider in the best interest of the City. The City requested additional pricing from the two finalists for the following service improvements which were not originally identified in the RFP:

• An increase in company staffing in anticipation of 75% citizen participation in the recycling program
• A decrease in the cure period from 8 hours to 4 hours to ensure that recyclables are not left curbside for an extended period of time
• Contamination inspection of 100% of all recyclable containers

Both finalists provided additional pricing in response to the evaluation teams' request. Original pricing and additional pricing were as follows:

	Allied Waste Services/ Republic Services	Inland Service Corporation	Waste Management of Carolina's	WastePro USA, Inc.
Original Pricing (7-yr term)	$30,983,267.88	$22,657,877.40	$50,457,746.72	$47,100,310.08
Decrease Cure Period from 8 hrs to 4 hrs.	$952,930.56	No Charge	N/A	N/A
Staffing for 75% citizen participation rate	$3,861,876.48	$3,184,794.24	N/A	N/A
Contamination Inspection of all Recyclable Containers	$30,719472.00	No Charge	N/A	N/A
Total Proposed Pricing (including all Service Improvements)	$66,517,546.92	$25,842,671.64	N/A	N/A

The revised service requests are important to the implementation of the City's single-stream recycling collection program and will provide more efficient service and considerably reduce contamination rates at the Mecklenburg Recovery Facility.

Based on all evaluation criteria, the City's evaluation team deemed Inland Service Corporation's proposed solution to be the best overall value for the City and will unanimously recommend award of the contract for Single-Stream Residential Recycling Collection Services to Inland Service Corporation at the September 28, 2009 Council Meeting. All proposers were notified on August 13, 2009 of the intent to recommend award of the Single-stream Residential Recycling Collection Services contract to Inland Service Corporation.

Grover Road Sidewalk
Resource:
       Jim Keenan, E&PM, 704-336-4252, jkeenan@ci.charlotte.nc.us

Staff and Council members have been contacted by a concerned citizen to request information and status regarding a short gap in sidewalk on Grover Rd. near the Tyvola light rail transit station. Staff communicated by both telephone and email with Mr. Martin Doss in response to his inquiry.

Mr. Doss was told that progress on the Grover sidewalk has been dependent on Norfolk Southern RR's construction of the rail crossing because the railroad does not allow other entities to work in the track areas. Over the last year, CATS staff has negotiated with NSRR for the completion of several items of work, including both the Grover and Tyvola rail crossings. These two items were finally completed in May/June.

Engineering staff is actively engaged in design of the remaining concrete work and the necessary real estate acquisition and RR encroachment tasks. The schedules quoted to Mr. Doss (completion by Feb. 2010) are conservative and assume that these tasks proceed at a routine pace, however, our focus is on expediting tasks so that we can complete more quickly.

Additionally, we are pursuing a separate project of providing sidewalk on the south side. This decision was made in part to mitigate routine delays that are likely in dealing with the NSRR. Staff will continue to communicate with Mr. Doss to keep him informed of progress.

Colonial Village/Sedgefield Neighborhood Improvement Project Update
Resource:
       Lamar Davis, Engineering & Property Management, 704-336-6006, fldavis@charlottenc.gov;
       Mike Knox, Engineering & Property Management, 704-336-3479, mknox@charlottenc.gov

This is an update on the Colonial Village/Sedgefield Neighborhood Improvement Project (NIP) and resident concerns about installation of sidewalk along Scaleybark Road.

Neighborhood Improvement Program Goals:  The primary goals of the Neighborhood Improvement Program are to:

• Provide existing neighborhoods with a level of infrastructure consistent with the needs and character of the area.
• Address important health, safety and appearance needs related to infrastructure.
• Leverage other public and private investments in the area.

Neighborhood Improvement Program Selection Criteria:  Neighborhoods are selected for inclusion based on the following:

• Health and Safety – the lack of infrastructure in the neighborhood.
• Leverage – the opportunity to increase other public and private investments (i.e. storm water improvements or redevelopment projects).
• Cost Effectiveness – the neighborhood is compactly developed, making installation of infrastructure cost effective.
• Quality of Life – the quality of life variables indicate a need.
• Residential Future – plans show that the area will retain long-term residential land use.
• Resident Participation – residents have expressed interest and are willing to review alternatives and prioritize needs.

Colonial Village/Sedgefield Project:  The Colonial Village/Sedgefield project is funded by 2008 Neighborhood Bonds and has a total project budget of $5,000,000. The neighborhood is bordered by Ideal Way, Park Road, Scaleybark Road and Industry Road. There were two public meetings for the Colonial Village/Sedgefield NIP with approximately 60 residents attending each meeting.

The first public meeting was held on June 28, 2007. This meeting provided property owners with information on the neighborhood improvement program and the potential improvements that could be implemented. Additionally, this meeting provided residents opportunity to review the existing neighborhood infrastructure and suggest the types of improvements they would like to have in their neighborhood.

The second public meeting was held on October 23, 2007. This meeting provided opportunity for residents to review the proposed alternatives developed from their input at the June 28 public meeting. Residents also had the opportunity to make changes to the proposed alternatives and select the alternative they felt best represented the infrastructure needs of the neighborhood.

One of the streets identified by residents for improvements was Scaleybark Road. Residents specifically expressed the need for sidewalk and a planting strip along the north side of Scaleybark and stated the sidewalk on the south side of Scaleybark felt unsafe for pedestrian traffic. At this time, a short section of sidewalk on the north side is missing from Conway Avenue to the existing sidewalk at the church across from Murrayhill Road. The proposed sidewalk will complete this gap of approximately three blocks and provide for better connectivity.

On August 4, 2009, Mrs. Brenda Caulder of 325 Scaleybark Road expressed her concern about the installation of sidewalk. She stated to the project manager she received both public meeting notifications and decided not to attend. She was told residents requested the sidewalk during those public meetings, and that Scaleybark is a minor thoroughfare with sidewalk warranted based on City Council's adopted Sidewalk Retrofit Policy stating sidewalks will be built along both sides of all thoroughfares. To minimize impact to Mrs. Caulder's property the width of the planting strip in front of her home has been reduced. Staff will continue to work with her to address concerns.

There are 27 parcels on Scaleybark to be acquired for sidewalk. As of August 17, 2009, 14 property owners have signed the required easements. Nine more property owners have committed to signing. Of the remaining four, two have said they will not sign. The remaining two property owners have not been located.

There are 207 parcels needed for implementation of the entire project. As of August 17, 2009, 130 property owners have signed the required easements, with 50 more committed to signing. Five parcels require no easement. Of the remaining property owners, 15 have not been located, three are unsure and four have said they will not sign, including the two on Scaleybark.

The Colonial Village/Sedgefield NIP Project Team and Real Estate agents are working with each property owner affected by the NIP project. Numerous requests have been fulfilled to minimize the impact to individual lots by preserving trees, mitigating around utilities, meandering sidewalk and decreasing planting strip widths. The team will continue to work with residents of Colonial Village/Sedgefield neighborhood to acquire the remaining easements and address concerns through the remainder of the project's real estate and construction phases.

Important Street Connection in Highland Creek Area Completed
Resources:
       Matt Magnasco, CDOT, 704-336-3368, mmagnasco@ci.charlotte.nc.us
       Chief Jon Hannan, Fire, 704-336-4925, jhannan@ci.charlotte.nc.us

This week, Shelley Avenue will be opened to traffic between its current stubbed end and Highland Creek Parkway. This is an important street connection for the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT), the Charlotte Fire Department (CFD), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), and residents of Highland Creek. CMS is constructing the connection to access the bus parking lots of Highland Creek Elementary and the new Ridge Road Middle Schools.

Highland Creek is a planned community of approximately 4500 homes with only four access points, two of which are in Charlotte and two are in Cabarrus County. The Shelley Avenue street connection will create a second connection between Ridge Road and Highland Creek Parkway and a fifth access point.

For Highland Creek residents who wish to access Mallard Creek Road and the future Mallard Creek Road/I-485 interchange, this new connection will reduce some trip lengths by over a mile and will eliminate a doubling-back maneuver required on the existing street network. By allowing motorists to shorten some trip lengths and by distributing some of the traffic away from the Ridge Road/Highland Creek Parkway intersection, this connection will have a positive, albeit negligible, effect on air quality.

The CFD will be the most-important beneficiary of this connection. It will increase the effective service area of Fire Station #31 on Ridge Road by almost 17%, from 8.0 square miles to 9.3 square miles. Service area is measured by how many places can be reached by a fire truck in six minutes or less from the time a 911 call is received, at least 80% of the time. Connecting Shelley Avenue to Highland Creek Parkway will allow emergency service vehicles from Station #31 to avoid backtracking to reach Highland Creek Parkway, saving several minutes responding to emergencies. This increased service area is being achieved without having to add personnel, equipment, or construct a new station.

Using Fire Station #31 as a case study, CDOT and CFD staffs collaborated on a citywide study linking the degree of connectivity in the service area of a fire station to the size of that service area. In general, more street connectivity results in a larger service area which yields cost efficiencies in providing this vital city service. The results of this study were presented to Council's Transportation Committee, the Congress for the New Urbanism at its Transportation Summit in Charlotte last November, the Centralina Council of Governments and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The State of Virginia also used this study in developing the Virginia Department of Transportation's 2009 subdivision manual.

Charlotte Cycling Guide
Resource:
       Ken Tippette, CDOT, 704-336-2278, ktippette@charlottenc.gov

The Charlotte Department of Transportation has developed the Charlotte Cycling Guide in support of the City of Charlotte's Bicycle Plan and in response to numerous public requests. The Guide replaces the outdated Bicycle Suitability Map published eleven years ago. The guide includes a map of existing bicycle lanes, greenways, signed bike routes and suggested bike routes on low-volume, low-speed streets. The purpose of the guide is to help those who wish to travel by bicycle find routes on low-volume, low speed streets and to ride more safely and efficiently. In addition, the guide provides information related to bicycle safety and security, and how to combine bicycle transportation with transit services for longer trips. Funding for the guide was provided by a $25,500 allocation from the Bicycle Program. Similar guides are produced by other cities, including Seattle, Denver and Chicago. The guide will be made available in hardcopy and on the City's website.

Attached is a copy of the new Guide.

Charlotte Makes Initial Cut to Host World Cup Soccer in 2018 or 2022
Resource:
       Dennis Marstall, Mayor's Office, 704-336-3980, dmarstall@ci.charlotte.nc.us

The US Soccer Federation recently created a USA Bid Committee to prepare a successful application for the United States to host the FIFA World Cup Tournament in 2018 or 2022. The City of Charlotte has partnered with Visit Charlotte and the Carolina Panthers/Bank of America Stadium to submit initial information to the USA Bid Committee about the City, stadium, and travel and tourism amenities. Charlotte was notified this week that it is one of the 27 final cities being considered by the USA Bid Committee. The USA Bid Committee, per FIFA instructions, will finalize a bid that includes 12 to 18 cities/stadiums by May 2010. Charlotte representatives will work with the USA Bid Committee to further understand FIFA requirements and commitments, including financial, as this process moves forward. City Council action may be requested to formalize Charlotte's interest in being named one of the 12 to 18 finalists for the USA Bid Committee.

The FIFA World Cup was last hosted by the U.S. in Miami in 1994. Seven countries, including the U.S. have already declared their interest in hosting the games in either 2018 or 2022. The news release about the 27 cities still in contention is attached.

August 27 and 28 NC Metropolitan Mayors Coalition Luncheon Reminder
Staff Resource:  Boyd Cauble, City Manager's Office, 704-336-2009, bcauble@ci.charlotte.nc.us, Julie White, Executive Director of the N.C. Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, has sent Council members invitations to the Annual Fall Retreat luncheons on August 27-28, 2009. 

Thursday, August 27 – 11:30 a.m.
The Speedway Club, Lowes Motor Speedway, Concord
Topic: Metro Cities in the Pole Position – Urban Transportation Luncheon
Keynote Address by David Agnew, White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs

Friday, August 28 – 10:00 a.m.
1908 Railway Passenger Station, 215 Depot Street. Salisbury
Topic: Seamless Solutions to Urban Crime – Public Safety Summit
Keynote Address by N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper

If you would like to attend, please contact Tracy Swett.

Stimulus Information:
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Funds Update
Resource:
       Rob Phocas, City Attorney's Office, 704-336-7558, rphocas@ci.charlotte.nc.us

On August 4, 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) notified staff that Charlotte had been awarded its first installment of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds in the amount of $250,000. The effective date of this award is July 27, 2009, which means Charlotte must submit its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (Energy Strategy) to DOE by November 24, 2009.

Energy Strategy Development: To this end, staff has begun work with CDM. Staff and CDM will develop a prioritized Energy Strategy through a collaborative process with internal and external partners that seeks to leverage their technical knowledge, strategic programs and financial resources.  This work will involve rigorous technical analyses and robust public involvement.  These efforts will position the City to maximize available funding, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build capacity to achieve our community's sustainability goals.

Staff and CDM are developing several working groups to help develop the Energy Strategy. In addition to a core group of staff working with CDM, we have formed the Energy Efficiency Partners and Energy Efficiency Contributors.

Energy Efficiency Partners are community members that are currently involved in significant energy/energy efficiency projects in the community, or have the potential to provide significant technical or financial resources that could possibly be leveraged with EECBG funds to increase the impact of the City's award. The Partners will also serve as a major resource and sounding board to identify possible internal and community energy efficiency programs and projects, establish guidelines for their prioritization and selection, and identify potential technical and funding sources. A group of approximately twelve individuals, potential Partners include representatives from universities, utilities, environmental non-profits and financial entities.

Energy Efficiency Contributors are members of the community who are interested in or will be impacted by the development of the Energy Strategy or have specific energy efficiency expertise to offer the Strategy Team. They will be invited to individually participate in the process through online and public meeting opportunities. Contributors will have the opportunity to identify programs and projects and comment on the prioritization for project selection. A significantly larger group than the Partners, potential Contributors include representatives from community groups, universities, local businesses and business associations, green building interests, developers, real estate groups, energy vendors, non-profits, etc.

Over the next two weeks, staff will be compiling the membership of the Partners and Contributors and reaching out to the identified entities. Staff will keep Council advised of this process.

The third group that will be part of the Energy Strategy process is the public at large. As outlined in the draft proposed schedule below, two public meetings are to be held. These meetings will afford the public the opportunity to not only learn about the EECBG process and the greenhouse data collected, but also to provide to Staff and CDM feedback on the proposed Energy Strategy.

The draft proposed schedule (dates subject to minor changes) is provided below. Staff will provide Council with a briefing on the process and timetable at the September 14 dinner meeting.

Meeting	Date	Meeting Purpose
Energy Efficiency Partners Meeting No. 1	9/10/09	Present project overview, schedule, roles and approach for capturing Partners' input
City Council Dinner Briefing No. 1	9/14/09	Present project overview, schedule, and opportunities for public input to Council
Energy Efficiency Partners Meeting No. 2	9/24/09	Present results of City and Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory, a draft EECBG project prioritization framework, and solicit Partner' input
Public Meeting No. 1	Between Sept 24 and Oct 8	Present results of Greenhouse Gas Inventory and solicit input from public on projects and priorities
Energy Efficiency Partners Meeting No. 3	10/29/09	Present draft Greenhouse Gas Action Plans, draft of selected projects for EECBG funding, and solicit Partners' input
City Council Dinner Briefing No. 2	11/9/09	Present draft Greenhouse Gas Action Plans and draft of selected projects for EECBG funding
Public Meeting No. 2	11/12/09	Present draft Greenhouse Gas Action Plans, draft of selected projects for EECBG funding, and solicit input from public
City Council Presentation	11/23/09	Present final Energy Strategy and RCA for strategy approval and submission to DOE

RFQ for Energy Audits
The majority of the City's initial allocation of EECBG funds will be used for the development of greenhouse gas inventories and action plans and the Energy Strategy; the remaining funds are to be used for energy audits for City buildings. On August 17, staff published a request for qualifications so as to begin the process of selecting consultants to carry out these energy audits.