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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: October 21, 2008 <br />Action Agen a <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: Hillsborough Area Rail Station Task Force <br />DEPARTMENT: Clerk to the Board PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Planning <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Resolution <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Donna Baker 245-2130 <br />Craig Benedict 245-2592 <br />Karen Lincoln 245-2594 <br />Karen Markovics 245-2583 <br />PURPOSE: To establish ashort-term Rail Station Task Force (creation and appointments) <br />jointly with the Town of Hillsborough with approval of the attached resolution. <br />BACKGROUND: Since 2006, a group of Hillsborough and Orange County residents have met <br />regularly to discuss the potential for passenger train service in Hillsborough. The meetings <br />grew out of acitizen-sponsored petition begun during the town's review of the Boone/Collins <br />project and demonstrated significant local support for returning rail service to Hillsborough. <br />Recently, Amtrak and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) have <br />indicated passenger train service is financially feasible in the Hillsborough area. This group of <br />residents is now asking the elected boards of both Hillsborough and Orange County to establish <br />a joint Rail Station Task Force to move the planning process forward. <br />The train stop is of County if not regional value and is noted within the Long Range <br />Transportation Plan goals. <br />The citizen group suggests the Task Force be charged to undertake the following work: <br />• Define best practice criteria for selecting a location for a train station <br />Apply these criteria to selected parcels in Hillsborough to recommend to both <br />government Boards the best location for a Hillsborough station <br />Prepare a report; investigate the established funding criteria and procedural steps to <br />proceed with station development and collect/report those items already prepared or <br />readily available for submittal to funders. These include but are not limited to: <br />connectivity to other services and infrastructure, such as buses, roads, and parking <br />which may not yet be in place; supporting partner organizations; documented or <br />anticipated benefits to the community (i.e. develop a Rail Station Planning Document) <br />Describe a schedule of tasks to be accomplished prior to initiation of service for this train <br />station <br />