Category: Community

  • 2010 Final Spring Meeting Chapel Hill Council

    Over the year’s I’ve seen some rather jam packed final spring term Council meetings. This one was about average in length, light on content but big in setting the stage for two broad initiatives – siting an emergency shelter and legally mandating affordable housing – to move forward. I left prior to Council’s revisiting Laurin […]

  • Chapel Hill Emergency Homeless Shelter Zoning

    The Council has asked the Planning Board to develop a range of regulatory options controlling the development and operation of shelters within Town. The range of policy proposals the Planning Board could create include shelter zoning, shelter standards or shelter guidelines – each with their own regulatory weight and requirements. Guidelines, for instance, are broad […]

  • Library Information: Harder Than Pulling Teeth

    [UPDATE:] According to Chapel Hill News reporter Jesse D. the Council finally agreed to Laurin’s request. Staff will research and report back on the options this Fall, approximately 18 months after her first request. Quick note from this evening’s Council meeting. Council member Laurin Easthom renewed her reasonable request (reviewed here [THE LIBRARY AND THE […]

  • Brother, can you spare a quarter percent?

    The Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) opened up discussion this evening of putting a %0.25 increase in local sales tax before voters in November (Levy of a One-Quarter Cent (1/4¢) County Sales and Use Tax [PDF]). The tax, if approved, will bump our local sales tax to %8 with all the additional proceeds going […]

  • “You Are Excused”

    Of the few ways one can “exercise” citizenship directly, being chosen as a sitting juror seems most capricious. Ever since I turned 18 I’ve waited for the call. Master jury lists in North Carolina are randomly drawn from voter rolls and driver license records. Having been a licensed driver and voting maniac (all elections except […]

  • Chapel Hill Library Funding: Orange County Commissioners & Council Committee Meet

    Went to this afternoon’s Council committee meeting to see how Orange County’s Commissioners would respond to Chapel Hill’s demands to increase Library operational funding NOW rather than later. A few general observations/comments before my notes. First, an apology to my loyal readers. I have spent much more time accumulating content than presenting it. For instance, […]

  • Sustainability Task Force: The Whole or The Sum of the Parts?

    As some readers might recall, I was appointed to serve on Chapel Hill’s Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force early last year. Before we got started there were a few issues to address involving recruitment of a diverse membership to reflect both the concerns of the business community and the community as a whole. After settling […]

  • Library or Bust? Laurin Easthom’s Concerns

    The Council decided to postpone the Library expansion decision pending further data and discussion. Council member Laurin Easthom pointed out on Monday, once again, “We need to make some real serious decisions about citizens who use our library and don’t pay.” Laurin has been on-top of this issue for some time. She has also been […]

  • Library or Lot #5?

    Here is what I meant to say at this evening’s Council meeting. Like a lot of my remarks, I find myself editing on the fly, so what I managed to get out in less than 3 minutes wasn’t quite what follows but I believe I made the points I needed. The simple summary? We can’t […]

  • Magic 25

    Catherine Lazorko, Chapel Hill’s information officer, sent me this email to Council from Town elder Roscoe Reeve. Roscoe recalls how the 25 bed limit for shelters was set. As suspected, it was somewhat arbitrary though based in an intent to make the approval process less onerous for community-oriented facilities. Thanks Catherine! From: Roscoe Reeve Sent: […]

  • Who You Gonna Call? Deerbusters!

    Education and our own private “rabbit-proof” fencing seems to be the extent of Chapel Hill’s plan to deal with its exploding dear population. The Town is responding to my Mount Bolus neighbor’s Oct. 12th petition this evening with a proposal [PDF] to educate folks on how to deter expansion of the deer population. Unfortunately, rather […]

  • Chapel Hill’s 2009 Services Survey

    Chapel Hill’s government is finally doing the survey that the Town’s (now defunct) Technology Board recommended more than 5 years ago. As you might expect, I have a few questions about the survey, including the cost, why it was done by an out-of-state company, how it was constructed, who it was targeted at initially (online […]

  • Unfunded Liabilities: Pay As You Go Not Sustainable

    Following up on last night’s post Unfunded Liabilities, the presentation finance head Ken Pennoyer made is here [MS Powerpoint]. This graph isn’t only a call-to-arms for Chapel Hill but is reflective of why health care reform is critically needed NOW. If the Town decides to change its plan in response to the OPEB criteria, the […]

  • Finishing in the Midst of Community

    [X-Posted from WillRaymond.org] After 17 formal forums, neighborhood meetings, community picnics and other organized opportunities for candidates to meet and engage with our wider community, we ended this evening in the midst of community. Tonight I witnessed the birth Orange County Justice United, a new umbrella organization comprised of 25 local advocacy, service and faith-based […]

  • Varsity to Reopen: $3 Seats, $? Parking

    According to this WCHL 1360 story Downtown’s Varsity will reopen in November. The Varsity’ new website VarsityOnFranklin.com advertises all seats are $3 for “recently released and classic movies with excellent service and a customer focused staff to create an enjoyable movie experience at a discounted price.” I’ve seen hundreds of movies at the Varsity over […]