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6 T:\Advisory Boards\Orange Unified Transportation Board\Minutes\2006\OUTBoard Minutes 10-18-06.doc 6 Baker asked about the status of an in-town Hillsborough route. Terry responded that everyone loves the concept, but no one has volunteered any money for the service. Hillsborough doesn’t provide any funding to OPT. Tillman asked if TTA/OPT plans to cut back on the Hillsborough to Chapel Hill (Hill- to-Hill) route, as it appears to have minimal use and buses are frequently empty. Terry said that this is one of the most effective routes, servicing about 70 people day. A lot of OPT service to Chapel Hill is for medical appointments and there are frequently empty buses coming back to Hillsborough to provide service to other passengers. There are a lot of deadhead miles, but the route is very effective. The goal for this route is 30 minutes one-way. Benedict asked Tallmadge to explain why TTA pays for the route if they don’t personally provide the service. Tallmadge explained that TTA has certain thresholds for providing service. OPT met those thresholds for the Hill-to-Hill route and it was cheaper for OPT to provide the service than TTA. He added that TTA doesn’t really make money on the route, so their financing is limited. Ray asked about the frequency of trips on the Hill-to-Hill route, and Tallmadge responded that there are 11 trips per day. The TTA ceiling for this route is $116,000. Ray asked what percentage of funding comes from the northern part of Orange County that does not have any service, and if TTA could increase the ceiling since no service is provided to that area. Terry said that since the allocation area is based on the overall census, there is little that could be done to change the funding amounts. Tillman commented that it is a waste of public funds to have empty buses travel back and forth between Hillsborough and Chapel Hill. Terry mentioned that there are potential Park-and-Ride lots in Hillsborough at Fairview Baptist and Maxway in addition to the one at Sportsplex. VII. Orange County Comprehensive Plan and Comprehensive Land Use Plan Process Benedict showed a chart with the proposed schedule that had been presented to the BOCC, and explained that the new process proposed doing all of the Elements simultaneously. The OUTBoard’s main role would be with the Transportation Element. The BOCC said that the process would take too long, and asked Planning to abridge the timing. Originally, the Comprehensive Plan was organized as Goals, Objectives and Policies, and included some implementation strategies. When the revised Plan was presented last year, this approach became controversial, and several of the strategies had changed over time. One question that has been posed is if the Advisory Boards would like to use a consultant to assist them in their plan development. Staff has suggested the possible use of a facilitator to keep the dialogue going between the various boards. Lasris asked if any of the Advisory Boards have expressed concern over the request for a condensed schedule, and Benedict responded that Staff is just starting to get that feedback. Some of the Boards are just starting to look at the revised process.