Orange County NC Website
20 <br /> 1 John Roberts suggested not approving this implementation agreement tonight because <br /> 2 it needs to be reviewed. <br /> 3 A motion was made by Commissioner McKee, seconded by Commissioner Yuhasz <br /> 4 (because of the late nature of receiving this information).to receive this as information only <br /> 5 tonight, and to discuss and make no decision until the meeting on June 5th. <br /> 6 Commissioner Foushee said that as she looked at this plan and the process they have <br /> 7 endured, this plan provides future transit options and tells the Board how to move forward with <br /> 8 transit in the future. She said that it is crucial to the region that the County is ready for the <br /> 9 growth to come. She thinks that Triangle Transit has done its due diligence. She suggested <br /> 10 doing this sooner rather than later. <br /> 11 Chair Pelissier said that there are things that need to be added to this plan but she said <br /> 12 that the information in the draft plan is not new to them and the cost sharing was approved by <br /> 13 Durham County last night. <br /> 14 Commissioner Jacobs agreed with Commissioner Foushee and said that the County <br /> 15 Commissioners have endured this process. He sympathized with Commissioner McKee in that <br /> 16 this has not been a smooth process at all. He said that adjustments could be made. He is <br /> 17 ready to vote to defer the agreement and put it on the ballot. <br /> 18 Commissioner Gordon said that to delay making any decisions tonight is not something <br /> 19 they want to do. She said that the implementation agreement and the bus and rail plan are new <br /> 20 versions that the Board just received recently. In interest of transparency, the Board may not <br /> 21 wish to adopt the bus and rail plan since there are several changes that were made to the <br /> 22 document that was delivered to the Board last night. <br /> 23 Commissioner McKee said that this information came out yesterday at 5:30 p.m. and he <br /> 24 thinks that he would be doing a disservice to the citizens of Orange County if they do not <br /> 25 consider this fully. <br /> 26 VOTE. Ayes, 2 (Commissioner Yuhasz and Commissioner McKee); Nays, 5 <br /> 27 MOTION FAILED <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Presentation by Triangle Transit: <br /> 30 Triangle Transit General Manager David King said that this started about five years <br /> 31 ago when Commissioner Gordon was Chair of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan <br /> 32 Planning Organization. The DCHC MPO came up with a vision for Wake, Durham, and Orange <br /> 33 Counties. This vision is incorporated into the plan. He said that 95% of this information was <br /> 34 seen by the Board last year. The only changes are due to a one-year delay in implementation <br /> 35 and the financial adjustments that must be made. <br /> 36 The Orange County plan is a chapter of a three-county regional plan—Durham County <br /> 37 has approved its plan and Wake County is working on a draft. The plan contains several <br /> 38 elements— bus service provided by Chapel Hill Transit, Triangle Transit, and Orange Public <br /> 39 Transportation. The second element includes route enhancements on NC 86 in Chapel Hill. <br /> 40 This will make the buses move more smoothly. The third element is the local share of the cost <br /> 41 of the Hillsborough train station. This station is part of what the North Carolina Department of <br /> 42 Transportation Rail Division was planning to do. The ability to cover the 10% local share is <br /> 43 embedded in this plan. The fourth element is light rail, about three miles of it, starting at UNC <br /> 44 Hospital and proceeding east to the Dean Smith Center and then to NC 54 and the Friday <br /> 45 Center. There is an environmental study going on now to determine whether the route will <br /> 46 continue north through Meadowmont or further east along NC 54. This decision will be made in <br /> 47 the next year and a half. <br /> 48 The financial plan includes the Y2-cent sales tax. This Yz cent does not apply to food, <br /> 49 medicine, gasoline, or utilities. This will only yield about $5.1 million a year. <br />