At a budget session Friday geared at assessing the monetary needs of different town departments, officials discussed a conflict between the town and the University over their shared public works facility. The session was made more difficult by the fact that the town is facing a $1.4 million budget shortfall.
The facility sits on UNC's Horace Williams tract, which the University plans to develop as part of its Master Plan. According to the 50-year campus growth plan, officials want to use the tract for mixed-use developments and research facilities.
The town's lease for the 25-acre public works site ends Dec. 31, 2006, which means Chapel Hill has roughly three years to set aside money for building the new facilities. Although the town asked for an extension on the lease last fall, the University denied the request.
In addition to the burden of relocating the Public Works Department, town officials have said they have an immediate responsibility to keep other town departments afloat during the budget crisis. Another department the town will have to focus on is the Transportation Department. At Friday's budget meeting, officials discussed putting the Transportation Department and the future Public Works Department on the same site. "We will need about $15 (million) to $20 million for the Transportation Department and $15 million for public works," said Town Manager Cal Horton. "But we do hope to get some help from the federal government, Carrboro and the University."
Chapel Hill Transportation Director Mary Lou Kuschatka said Carrboro and UNC will help pay for the new transportation facility, but the public works facility will be Chapel Hill's responsibility. "The University will generate 39 percent of the cost for the coming year, and they are expected to pay that percent of the cost for the new facility," said Kuschatka, citing UNC's role in keeping the Transportation Department financially afloat.
But Chapel Hill Town Manager Cal Horton said the future for the Public Works Department is far from bleak. He said the town already has purchased land for the facility and hopes to get additional land for transportation. "We've acquired a property north of town for the new public works facility, but there is land adjacent to the site that we're still attempting to purchase for both public works and transportation," he said.
The town will need $50,000 to $100,000 next year for surveying and planning on the new site, and Horton said bond money will have to be allocated.
Last fall, town officials hoped to persuade the University to come together with Carrboro and Chapel Hill to find a shared facility, but UNC did not agree.
During the remainder of Friday's meeting, officials discussed seven other town departments, but no action was taken.
