Minutes 06-05-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chris Weaver said that there is a disparity in paying for transit. Everyone will pay a sales tax, but the vehicle registration fee is disproportionate to the expenditures. He said that District 2 pays half the fees and receives token increases in bus services. He asked why the rural area should pay half and only receive a small percentage of the proceeds. He said that this tax predominantly serves the 1 St District. He said that this portion of the County voted all of the County Commissioners onto the Board. He asked the Board to reconsider the great amount of funding provided by District 2 and the disproportional dispersal of these funds. Jeff Schmitt agreed with Chris Weaver. He is a resident of Cedar Grove and he said that his comments would probably be supported by the majority of northern and rural southwest Orange County. He spoke about the voting strength of the Chapel Hill Township. He said that the light rail system would not be used by the rural areas of Orange County. He said that Orange County does not have the population density to use the light rail system. He said that if this is so needed by Chapel Hill, then Chapel Hill should pay for it and not the entire County. Gerry Cohen said that he hopes the County Commissioners would adopt this plan tonight and place the issue on the ballot. He said that regional transit is good for economic development. Harry Johnson is a law student at UNC and a member of Tarheels for Transit. He asked the County Commissioners to please put this on the referendum and let the citizens decide. He said that everyone will benefit from this plan because it helps focus development in areas where it is needed while keeping it away from areas where it is not needed. Patrick Byker said that he used to be a student at UNC and then worked with Triangle Transit through the Chamber of Commerce. He then worked at the DATA for eight years and served on the board as either Chairman or Vice Chair. He said that it was imperative to him that there be a robust transit connection between Durham County and Orange County because the two counties are intertwined. He said that this would be a great thing for economic development. Dan Jewell is a resident of Durham but for 17 years before that, he was a resident of Orange County. He is a member of the Durham/Orange Friends of Transit and said that he worked hard to get this on the ballot in Durham County last year. He said that this is an investment in the future. He reminded the County Commissioners that they are not voting on the referendum tonight, but to allow democracy to take its place. Ed Harrison recognized other Chapel Hill Town Council members: Mayor Kleinschmidt, Jim Ward, and Penny Rich. He said that he wanted to address one detail on the plan, which is getting one short sentence on page 7 under "maintaining existing services." He suggested the following sentence: "support existing services consistent with state law." Bonnie Hauser spoke on behalf of Orange County Voice and thanked Commissioner McKee for his evaluation of the Triangle Transit Plan and Commissioner Gordon who insisted that the plan be transparent. She said that her group supports transit but not this plan and she said that as long as light rail is part of the plan, they cannot support it. She said that there is widespread support for commonsense meaningful transit, but as people learn about the light rail plan, they lose interest and begin to oppose it. Julie McClintock has been a Chapel Hill resident since 1970. She also served for 12 years on the Chapel Hill Town Council. She said that there has been a drop off in enthusiasm for the transit plan because of the amount of emphasis and cost projections on light rail. She spoke in support of a first rate bus system. She said that the light rail system consumes over 90% of the cost. She said that the technology of light rail is not suited for this County. She said that she has serious reservations about endorsing a tax to raise revenue that puts so much money into light rail. She said that an independent third party should review the cost projections given by TTA.