Agenda - 06-18-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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22 1 there was little to no traffic for several hours. His full counts are included in his letter for item 7a 2 in the abstract. He said he has no objection to the government use of the building but he does 3 object to intense booking of the facility for events that will bring in 100 or more cars. This traffic 4 and noise will fundamentally change the nature of the peaceful neighborhood. He pointed out 5 that the facilities in Durham are built in the core of downtown, served by big roads and big 6 parking areas. He said he would hope that another solution can be found for an intense 7 program facility. 8 Elizabeth Waugh Duford, Executive Director of Orange County Cultural Center (OCCC), 9 thanked the Commissioners for the opportunity to speak about her strong belief in the vision of 10 shared space and option A of the Whitted Building. She said she has been working with 11 volunteers since February 2012 to move the shared space vision forward. She said that without 12 the agreement for shared space, the future of the Cultural Center is unclear. She said this 13 would be huge loss of opportunity to bring people of all ages and cultures together in Orange 14 County. She said that, as a lifelong resident and a mother of four, she cannot stress what a 15 benefit this center would be for young families in the County. She said children's art and music 16 classes, teen film series, painting workshops for seniors, and many other workshops and 17 exhibits, as well as gallery space for young artist would be wonderful. She said that the 18 community has expressed a desire for this center. She expressed hope that this will draw 19 additional visitors to downtown Hillsborough to support local business. She expressed hope 20 that the Board will vote in favor of shared space at the Whitted Building. 21 Steve Gardner lives on Tryon Street said he has spoken in the past about his opposition 22 of a cultural center at Whitted. He said he read the OCCC Business Plan, and his concerns 23 have escalated. He referred to proposals for street parking; closing Tryon Street during events; 24 installation of speed platforms; use of shuttle buses; and the use of local police to enforce 25 parking laws. He said that the proposals all address the needs of the cultural center to ferry 26 large numbers of people to their destination in the historic district, but these proposals fail 27 miserably in acknowledging the negative impact on the neighborhood. He said the residents 28 chose to live in the neighborhood because of the small town charm, quiet streets and close 29 proximity to the downtown commercial district. He said this is an old established historic area 30 and despite the current zoning of the building, which is based on its past use, the residents 31 never envisioned living next door to an event house. He respectfully asks the Commissioners 32 to consider if this would be welcome in their neighborhood. He strongly believes this is not an 33 acceptable venue for a cultural center and it would be highly detrimental to the quality of life of 34 the residents and the downtown district as a whole. He urged the Board to reject the proposal. 35 Paul Mitchell referred to a letter from his wife and he shared his concerns about the 36 OCCC and the impact on parking, street access and noise levels in the community. He said he 37 feels that the neighborhood is collateral damage for the Cultural Center's plan. 38 Pat Revels, Vice Chair of the OCCC, expressed her desire that the Board will decide to 39 partner with the OCCC in the use of the second floor of the Whitted Building. She said the 40 OCCC has done its homework and is prepared and ready to take on the role of managing the 41 non-governmental use of space in the multi-use facility. She referred to the timeline and 42 financial plan. She stressed the benefits to the residents of Orange County through programs 43 in visual arts, music and movement. 44 She said the three year budget projection shows the plan to start slowly and find what 45 works best in the community. She said the plan is viable and feasible but requires an 46 agreement in principle with the Board. She said that only then can an operating agreement be 47 formulated and the OCCC begin fundraising. She said the Whitted Building is the most ideal 48 solution of all options OCCC has considered. She said the agenda submitted presents 49 concrete solutions to address neighborhood concerns and OCCC takes the relationship with