Minutes 01-29-2019 Assembly of Governments

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11 engineering changes, and other FTA requirements, both the cost share agreement between Durham and Orange counties and the Orange County Transit Plan will need to be amended. The Board of Orange County Commissioners is scheduled to learn initially discuss the proposed changes on February 5, 2019 and may consider those changes on February 19, 2019. Travis Myren said the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was supposed to hear from GoTriangle at its February 5th meeting but due to the federal government shutdown, that date was pushed back to February 19th, and should include updated costs. He said he expects action to be required in early March. Commissioner Dorosin asked if a timeline for the LRT could be clarified. Travis Myren said the most pressing is the state legislation that imposed an April 30th deadline on funds to be committed. He said if these local funds are not committed, then state funding would be in jeopardy. Margaret Hauth, Hillsborough Planning Director and Assistant Town Manager, said the funding agreement for the Hillsborough Train Station is very nearly in place with the two partners: NC Department of Transportation (DOT) and GoTriangle. She said the funding has been approved for a number of years, but that actual document that outlines who gives how much money, and when, has yet to be completed. She said there the train station must be delivered in 5 years, and discussions are starting to move this forward. She said the staff recommendation is to consider publishing an RFP or RFQ for a public/private partnership to make about 5 acres of Town-owned land available for development, including the train station. She said there would be hard parameters about what could be developed. She said the Town Board has not formally agreed to this, but all recognize that 5 years will pass very quickly. Commissioner Dorosin asked if 5 acres is the maximum amount of land available there. Margaret Hauth said the Town owns 20 acres, and she said the conceptual plan leads staff to believe that the station and some non-residential development would fit on something between 5-7 acres. She said it is assumed that the station and development would increase the value of the remaining acreage, and there is no rush to put all of the land on the market at the same time. Mayor Stevens said the station itself would not take 5 acres, but rather it would be a commercial area around the station. Margaret Hauth said the plan and budget for this station are tied very closely to the Kannapolis station model, due to the similarities between the size and needs. Commissioner Marcoplos said it would be great to have a sidewalk from downtown Hillsborough to the train station. He said he has been thinking of sidewalk needs in general, and it would be wise for the County to discuss this need with the Town, and whose responsibility it is to plan, build, maintain, etc. sidewalks. He said this is an issue that is ripe for collaboration. Margaret Hauth said this topic is on the agenda for the upcoming meeting in February between Hillsborough and Orange County. Town Commissioner Weaver said at the Town board meeting last night, the board discussed a variety of uses for the initial 5 acres, and leveraging the fact that Hillsborough owns the land. She said part of this may include some sort of affordable housing effort. Alderman Slade referred to the update on the light rail and the short timeframe between receiving an update on the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) funding and the deadline with the State. He asked if there is any sense of how funding is going. Chair Rich said the FTA was guiding GoTriangle along, and discussing funding contingencies. She said these conversations stopped abruptly due to the federal shutdown, but there are some draft assumptions to consider. She said the FTA is back online, and conversations are beginning again, but all the numbers are very preliminary, and is important to have more concrete numbers for discussions.