Council Colleagues, 

Thank you for your hard work this week.  As we head into the weekend, here are updates from this week. 

Upcoming Meeting Reminders: 

Council Work Session 

Wednesday, March 31^st, 6:30 p.m. 

There are two topics on the agenda: 

• Update on the Greene Tract 
• 2021-22 Budget 

Please submit questions to Maurice by Monday so that staff has time to prepare answers. 

 

Weekly Update: 

Metro Mayors Weekly Legislative Update 

Federal  

Earmarks in the U.S. House 

• For the first time since 2011, U.S. House members are working on earmarks 
• Each House member may have up to 10 earmarks 
• Deadline for submitted is the end of April 
• NCLM has published information on what cities and towns should know about earmarks here 

American Rescue Plan 

• NCLM held a webinar to provide initial information on the ARP and have established a resource webpage 
• The Treasure department is still working on guidance 

North Carolina 

Governor's Budget:  Governor Cooper has released his budget recommendations. 

• Full restoration of the SMAP funding for local transit agencies is included in his recommendations.

Affordable Housing Study Bill H232

• This bill would direct the Legislative Research Commission to study affordable housing in the state.
• The bill has bi-partisan support and received a favorable report from the House Commerce Committee this week.  It has been referred to the House Rules Committee.

• The bill was introduced by Rep Alston from Durham with Democratic co-sponsors and Republican consultation
• The study also offers the opportunity to look at multi-modal transportation as well.

Questions from mayors also focused on:

• S101 - ICE Cooperation Bill 
• H358 - Save Women’s Sports Act (same language has been introduced in multiple states across the country) 

 

Chamber Economic Forum 

The Chamber held a second forum in its 2021 Critical Issues series this week.  The event featured Dr. Michael Walden from NC State. 

Quick take-aways are: 

• The Triangle region is poised to ramp up quickly in part because of the education and medical industries here. 
• The stimulus checks offer a boost while we continue to open up 
• Many businesses are expected to be back to pre-pandemic levels by next Fall. 
• 75% of local businesses are feeling confident according to a recent survey. 
• In Chapel Hill-Carrboro, more than 53 businesses have closed permanently, while 40 new businesses are opening. 

In an interview on WCHL, Dr. Walden and Aaron Nelson shared take-aways. 

The presentation is available on-line. 

 

UNC-Chapel Hill Downtown Together 

As I shared earlier this week, the University and Town have announced a new partnership called the Carolina Economic Development Strategy which includes a focus on “Downtown Together”.   

Doug Rothwell and I will be co-chairing an Economic Development Council which includes representatives from the Town, University and the Downtown Partnership. 

We are already getting down to work and I will share information as we move along.   

Looking Ahead: 

Reimaging Community Safety Task Force 

            Monday, March 29 at 5:30 p.m. 

Community Meeting on Traffic Modeling 

Monday, March 29 at 6 p.m. 

Aura Development Traffic Modeling Meeting 

            Tuesday, March 30 at 6 p.m. 

 

Hope you all enjoy the weekend. 

Pam