Minutes 11-11-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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used for student generation were wildly different than the numbers being used by County staff. He said the Town was estimating 105 students based on the 2007 student generation numbers for multifamily housing. He said the County estimate was 450 new students, and this is significantly higher. He said this was based on the housing generation for all different types of housing. He said a new, preliminary set of numbers have just been received for 2014. He reviewed the slides on these numbers and said the figures are broken down by areas and house size. He said the estimate, based on these new numbers, is a range of 179 to 284 new students. Ken Pennoyer said the difference from the initial presentation is a suggested approach where the town provides an annual project report that will form the basis of the County's budget decision making with regard to funding. Commissioner Pelissier said there is a project being submitted by Chapel Hill tomorrow at the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting. She said is a project for over$2 million for the intersection of Ephesus Church and Fordham Boulevard. She would like to know what other transportation projects might come from DOT money. She would also like to know how this project being looked at by the MPO plays into the Ephesus Fordham project. Ken Pennoyer said there is a $2.1 million project being submitted to the DOT, and this would actually reduce the $8.8 million in costs associated with roadway projects. He said this would come in the form of a reimbursement in 2018, so the full amount would still be borrowed initially, and then the $2 million would be an early redemption to reduce the overall cost. Commissioner Pelissier asked if there are any other projects in the MPO plan that relate to road improvements in this area. Dwight Bassett said there is an additional request related to studying a bridge that connects over the wetlands between Eastgate and Whole Foods, but there are no other requests related to roads. Commissioner Pelissier referred to the slide on cost benefit comparisons. She asked if staff had calculated how much of a property tax increase would be needed to close the gap Ken Pennoyer said it would be in the range of a 1 to 2 cent increase. He said this would have to happen in the early part of the project, as it would take awhile for enough development to happen to create the revenue; however, he said the plan was to use fund balance in the debt management fund in order to fill any initial gap. Commissioner Gordon acknowledged Commissioner Elect Mia Burroughs, two members of the Chapel Hill Town Council, George Cianciolo and Maria Palmer, and Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt. She asked about the economic impact analysis that was mentioned as part of the annual report. Ken Pennoyer said staff would look at what was being built and the impact with regard to retail sales, employment, and basic increases in value and property tax. Commissioner Gordon asked if an analysis like this is available now based on the figures that are known. Ken Pennoyer said a large cost benefit analysis has been done for the overall project. He said this is a fairly large undertaking, and once you get beyond 10 years it is pretty speculative as far as returns. He said this is available on their website. Commissioner Gordon said it would be helpful to share this with the Board of County