Minutes 02-07-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Analysis guidelines. Regardless, the White Paper makes the case that the 15-501 alignment should have been included in the Alternatives Analysis. He said that the Alternatives Analysis also did not involve state resource agencies with known interests in critical natural areas. He encouraged the County Commissioners to not put this sales tax on the ballot until and unless they are comfortable with the information and alternatives that have been provided and until everyone's voices are heard. Glenn Wilson agreed with John Wilson's comments. Damon Seils is from Carrboro. He said that the Locally Preferred Alternative is a product of years of study, numerous public presentations, and thorough consideration by town and County staff, local elected officials, and regional transportation bodies. There has been some discussion about studying various transit enhancements for 15-501. He said that he is confident that all parties can work together to study this separate issue. He said that the issues with 15-501 should not prevent the Board from sending this to the next stage in the process. Harry Johnson is a UNC School of Law student and he is part of a coalition of UNC-Chapel Hill students who urge the County Commissioners to put this transit tax on the ballot in November. He has lived in Orange County for three years and he cannot wait for better transit and rail service in Orange County. He said that improved service on 15-501 should be encouraged, but should not hinder this process from going forward at this time. He said to focus on the plan that has been approved by Triangle Transit for the past seven years. Stewart Boss is also a UNC student and a part of a student coalition that supports the transit tax. He said that he is from Charlotte where there is transit and light rail and he has seen that it can work. He feels that the proposal has been fairly studied and he would like to see it come for a public vote in November. Jeffery Greene is a resident of the Orange County section of Meadowmont. He supports the draft LPA recommended by the MPO's Technical Coordinating Committee last month. He said that investing monies into a rail line is an unquestioned positive. He said that this should not be difficult to implement. Jeff Schmidt is a resident of Cedar Grove. He made reference to the resolution in the packet and said that light rail transit has a greater potential to promote economic growth. He gave an example of Indianapolis, which just passed a transportation plan, which included significant rail. He said that the resolution needs to be modified to include significant additions to bus transportation from here to Durham County. He said that asking for another tax increase would not be good at this time. Ted Triebel lives in Caldwell. He said that the issue is funding support. He referred to an article in the News and Observer on February 1St that indicated that local dollars should be a sure thing before proceeding. He said that there needs to be some clarity before this moves forward. Chair Pelissier said that tonight the only decision before the Board is to vote on the locally preferred alternative. She said that the full plan would come back before the public for comment in the near future if they decide to put it on the ballot. The entire plan does involve buses as well as the potential light rail. Next week there will be a work session to discuss these issues related to the plan. Craig Benedict said that the resolution is from the Durham-Chapel Hill MPO. The words in red are wording that Orange County staff heard at the TCC but this wording was not incorporated into the MPO-TAC resolution. Over the last few days, the MPO staff understands that this is language that Orange County may want. He made reference to page 7, which lists decision points.