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(11/28/06 5:00am)
Chapel Hill is making strides on a new aquatics center at Homestead Park.
The Chapel Hill Town Council voted to accept the Resolute Building Co.'s construction bid at the Nov. 20 meeting.
Officials said they think the swimming facility will be a much appreciated addition to Chapel Hill.
"Our patrons and citizens of Chapel Hill have said that they feel very strongly about having those facilities," said Robb English, aquatics division supervisor.
Council member Mark Kleinschmidt said the center has been a long time coming.
"The people of Chapel Hill have been voting for bonds to build this for almost two decades," Kleinschmidt said.
"The only facility we have of that nature is the Community Center, and it just isn't able to provide for the level of service that's being demanded by our community."
The center will feature a 25-meter by 25-yard lap pool as well as a 25-meter by 10-yard warm-water pool.
English said the warm-water pool will be used for youth swim lessons, water exercise classes, recreational swimming and therapeutic recreation classes.
"It won't be ideal, it won't be a therapeutic pool, but it'll certainly be much better than most lap pools," said Bill Webster, interim director of Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation.
The idea for an aquatics center at Homestead Park was first officially mentioned as part of a $5 million bond referendum approved by town voters in 1996.
The council later established the Homestead Park Aquatic/Community Center Conceptual Plan Committee and held a public forum on its report in January 2001.
By September 2006, the town had three contractor bids. All of the initial bids were rejected because of a technicality.
New bids were opened on Nov. 2, and the council approved Resolute as the contractor.
The plan includes alternatives that can be added if financially possible. The foremost options in the plan are a rainwater reuse system, a nine-foot deep end for the pool and automatic flush toilets.
The rainwater system would collect rainwater for "gray water" uses such as landscape irrigation and toilet flushing.
"I'm confident we'll get the rainwater system," Webster said. "Beyond that, we're just going to try our hardest to get some of these other items."
The project will be funded by the 1996 Town Parks Bond, the 1997 and 2001 Orange County Parks bonds, accrued interest from current bond funds, interest savings and a borrowed $750,000.
"We're in the final negotiations with the building contractor trying to find ways that we can save any money," English said.
Webster and English both said they anticipate an 18-month construction period. English said construction could begin as soon as spring 2007.
Chapel Hill's current indoor pool, located at the Community Center, will be shut down for renovations effective Jan. 1.
"When that pool opens in August it'll also be a much better facility. It'll be far more energy efficient," Webster said.
"Unfortunately, for eight months we're not going to have an indoor pool, but when it's all done we'll have an awful lot to offer folks."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(11/27/06 5:00am)
Orange County's older residents are making the best of their golden years with the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program and other local nonprofits.
RSVP is a national program that was established in 1971. The organization, whose local branch is based at the Chapel Hill Senior Center, is dedicated to connecting people 55 and older with appropriate volunteer opportunities.
The program is seeking volunteers.
"We have more than 100 non-profit and public agencies registered with us, and we place volunteers through an agency," assistant director Vicki Hill said.
"They give us job descriptions for volunteers, and we specifically recruit to help meet their needs for volunteers.
"We're like a central source of information."
Hill said the program usually works with about 600 volunteers each year. In the last fiscal year the program had 553 local volunteers, who collectively served 66,000 hours.
Hill said that the number of volunteers has decreased in past years, but that the service hours have increased.
RSVP now needs volunteers for its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, a free tax service for low and middle income households.
"It's a hell of a program, these volunteers are something else," Hill said.
VITA saved an average of $100 per person for its clients for the 2005 tax year.
Older volunteers are not just helping the community, though.
"Research shows that volunteering helps people stay healthy longer," Hill said. "We have heard from some volunteers that volunteering has saved their lives. They might have been at home and not wanted to leave the house, and when they did go out and take the step to volunteer they found themselves over again.
"They can stay sociable and meet other people; for some people they want to give back to the community, but they also find that they get back from the community."
Orange County seniors will tell you the same thing.
"I retired when I was 70, but the only thing I retired from was the paycheck," said Ann Johnson, 86, chairwoman of the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging and an Orange County resident.
"It was kind of a family value that with due respect to the benefits that we as individuals had, that we should give of ourselves to the community."
Kay Johnson, 65, is also an Orange County volunteer.
"My joy in life comes from giving and helping other people," she said.
"I can't think of anything that makes me happier."
Johnson works with RSVP and other local programs, including the Friend-to-Friend program. Friend-to-Friend connects volunteers with senior citizens in need.
"I am a widow. . My world was lost and destroyed," Kay Johnson said.
"I didn't know what to do, I was very depressed."
RSVP is a part of Senior Corps, a network of national and community service programs designed to engage people 55 and older.
"We do not have RSVP in every county, and I for one feel this is terrible," Ann Johnson said.
"The RSVP helps older people find the exact fit of the individual into a job as a volunteer to enhance their lives."
Hill said that volunteer agencies appreciate the work and nature of older volunteers.
"They know they have a work ethic, they know they have a lot to give, a lot of talent, a lot of knowledge to give back, and they want to," she said.
"That's what these agencies want, they want these volunteers who are 55 and better, and being 55 makes them better."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
How to volunteer:
Interested persons should contact Vicki Hill at 968-2056 or the senior center at 968-2070.
(11/16/06 5:00am)
Mason Farm and Whitehead Circle residents met Wednesday night at Chapel Hill Kehillah to discuss their Neighborhood Conservation District initiative.
NCDs are individual sets of regulations designed to preserve the character of a neighborhood. The neighborhood has petitioned the town to become such a district.
Clarion Associates, the consulting firm contracted for the effort, hosted the meeting.
"A number of Chapel Hill's neighborhoods, particularly the ones that are older and closer to either the campus or downtown, were experiencing some fairly significant pressures of change," said Roger Waldon, senior consultant with Clarion Associates, at the meeting.
About 15 residents of the neighborhood attended the meeting.
One of the main issues discussed by residents was the increasing number of rental properties and the ensuing 'overpopulation' in the area.
"I believe that a lot of the issues related to parking, even driving along these streets, would be ameliorated if we had a predominance of single family occupancy," said Lee McIlwain, president of the Mason Farm neighborhood association.
Peg Rees, an Oteys Road resident and former UNC staff member, said an NCD could offer the protection of single family housing.
"When you have a rental situation, you don't have the pride in the neighborhood," she said.
However, Rees and other residents stressed that the NCD is not an anti-student effort.
"We have a house across the street from ours occupied by students, and they're wonderful," neighborhood resident Bill White said.
Discussion of the University's expansion plans also dominated the discussion.
The University has purchased several properties in the area and has made efforts to secure others.
"I don't know how to live," resident Diana Steele said. "I don't know whether to put up two shingles or get a reroofing job."
An NCD, which is known as overlay zoning, would not apply to state- or University-owned property and would not prevent the University from purchasing property.
"Technically, it doesn't affect the University," said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction at UNC.
"But we are truly interested in being good neighbors, and that is difficult when the University has a plan that involves buying property."
Clarion will consider neighborhood comments and present them at the next open forum in January.
Waldon said that despite the relatively small number of neighborhood residents, the meeting had the best attendance percentage wise of all the initial NCD meetings he'd hosted.
"This was a very strong turnout," Waldon said
Resident Bill Neville summed up his feelings about the situation succinctly.
"It's not a quantitative value, it's a qualitative value.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(11/14/06 5:00am)
Northside neighborhood residents are split about the future of their streets.
A debate about the lack of sidewalks on North Graham Street and Sunset Drive has been a point of contention in the town's efforts to improve pedestrian mobility.
The Active Living by Design Partnership Advisory Committee will complete its Northside Pedestrian Mobility Plan in the coming months. The plan is a town-sponsored effort to make getting around the neighborhood easier.
The draft plan does not include sidewalks or traffic calming devices on the streets in question.
"It was just pretty clear that because that road was so contentious it was unlikely that a sidewalk would ever be put on it," said Ian Houseal, a planning intern for the committee, at a Nov. 9 committee meeting.
Joseph Fearrington, a Northside resident since 1946, is a vocal opponent of sidewalks.
"It would take up a lot of people's yards," he said. "It would take back my property five feet to get the sidewalks in there. I just think it wouldn't look right."
But others say the sidewalks are a safety issue.
"It's quite dangerous on the road," said Anna Henning, a Northside resident, at the Nov. 6 Chapel Hill Town Council business meeting.
"I definitely encourage you to revise this so that we have more safety in the neighborhood."
Some residents say they are worried the addition of sidewalks could amplify the neighborhood's loitering problems.
"There are drug dealers and people loitering in front of your house," Fearrington said. "When they're in the streets and the cars pass them, they can't stand there and loiter."
Ruby Sinreich, a Sunset Drive resident and chairwoman of the planning board, voiced a different opinion at the council meeting, saying that adding sidewalks wouldn't increase loitering but would aid pedestrians.
"The whole purpose of this plan and what it was funded for is to get people active," she said. "This is a mobility plan, not a security plan, and not a shut-your-doors plan."
The division caused by the sidewalk issue might be related to the other neighborhood divisions.
Fearrington said most of the people who want sidewalks are students.
"As soon as they get out of school, they're gone," he said.
Council member Bill Thorpe expressed his support for Fearrington's opinion.
"These people have been here 20 years and have survived without sidewalks," Thorpe said. "I'm against it in theory, but I'm also against it because the neighbors are against it."
Council member Jim Ward suggested building the sidewalks into the streets instead of reducing front yards, but Houseal said that solution wouldn't work because the road is already at its minimum width.
Other committee members said they received contradictory answers from town engineers. The committee will meet with town engineers next week to resolve the issue.
The committee likely will recommend reducing Graham Street's width and constructing sidewalks.
"We're creating three alternatives and prioritizing the alternatives, knowing that one or two of them might fail," committee member Terry Blalock said at the meeting.
The transportation board, the planning board and the bicycle and pedestrian advisory board all unanimously endorsed the plan and recommended that the council approve the draft.
Houseal said that if the decision is made to construct sidewalks on Graham Street or Sunset Drive, it will be difficult to get necessary property easements.
"Chapel Hill just hasn't had a practice of condemning people's properties," he said.
The plan likely will return to the council Dec 4.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/31/06 5:00am)
Candidates for the upcoming Orange and Chatham County Superior Court judgeship spoke at a well-attended forum about sexual and domestic violence Monday night at the Chapel Hill Public Library.
The forum was sponsored by the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, the Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County, Family Violence and Rape Crisis Services of Chatham County and the Women's Center.
Questions and discussion at the forum focused on the treatment of sexual and domestic violence cases in Superior Court.
"It's an issue that affects many residents in our community, and therefore an issue that any judge that is sitting on the bench needs to be aware of and sensitive to," community member Hudson Fuller said.
The forum featured all four judges competing in the election. The candidates are Carl Fox, the senior resident Superior Court judge, District Court Judge Charles "Chuck" Anderson, resident Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour and Chapel Hill lawyer Adam Stein. Two will win Superior Court judgeships.
All of the candidates emphasized the importance of women's rights and voices in sexual and domestic violence cases.
Baddour said every female victim deserves her day in court.
"It's an important message for them to have had that opportunity, and I believe as a judge we have the responsibility to give that opportunity," he said.
Fox spoke of his dedication to victims' rights and needs.
"That's the kind of judge you get from me," he said, "a judge that puts the needs of victims above my convenience."
One of the primary issues raised prompted the candidates to speak about the physical and emotional safety of victims in court.
"The amount of money that goes to defend the perpetrator of crime versus the amount of public money that goes to treat the victim would blow you away," Anderson said.
"We need to recognize that serious trauma needs serious treatment."
An audience member asked the judges about the use of their experience and influence to promote positive social change.
Stein brought up the need to be careful not to create an image of bias.
"That doesn't mean that the judge needs to be withdrawn from the civil community," he said.
"But if it appears that the judge, for instance, is on the board of or active in the rape crisis center, I think that that would be problematic."
Stein also emphasized the need for a judge to advocate for additional services for people appearing in court.
Forum attendees almost filled the library's conference room.
"The Superior Court judge I think in many ways sets the tone for the experience of survivors in the courtroom," said attendee Barbara Lagemann, a law student at N.C. Central University.
Early voting has already begun for the election and concludes Nov. 4.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/23/06 4:00am)
Chapel Hill is reassessing its electronic side with the formation of a new technology-oriented staff team.
The small team is led by Deputy Town Manager Flo Miller and consists of the leaders of several other departments, including Information Technology Director Bob Avery and the town clerk.
"We're to look at identifying technology areas, and we'll report back to the council about a process for moving forward," Miller said.
"The wireless component is one of the several areas that we will eventually be coming up with a process for," she said.
The council will discuss the group's initial findings tonight at its business meeting.
The technology-oriented team is one of several formed in the past month by Town Manager Roger Stancil.
"We're looking at these areas to try and identify improvements, needs, how we can be more citizen-friendly," Miller said.
The technology team's charge is to develop a strategic plan for the deployment of technology, Stancil said at a Chapel Hill Town Council business meeting on Oct. 9.
The team's first meeting took place Oct. 8.
The proposed network, which would provide free wireless Internet access to portions of the town, has seen little progress thus far. The project has not progressed past discussions in the Chapel Hill Town Council and various sub-committees since it was originally proposed.
"It's a huge area and I know we'll be able to make some progress, but we're not quite there yet," Miller said.
The idea was first brought up when the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, then known as the Downtown Economic Development Corporation, reviewed the concept in November 2004.
Chapel Hill's technological efforts have had a varied history since then.
The council voted to disband the technology committee on April 10, carrying out a resolution presented by Mayor Kevin Foy.
According to Foy's memorandum to the council, the committee originally was charged with advising the council on the formation of a technology plan, including the formation of a townwide network.
Council member Laurin Easthom cast the only vote to preserve the committee.
"While on the technology board, it was very obvious that the town was not strategically thinking about technology, and I don't think that's changed," said Will Raymond, a former member of the technology committee.
Council member Cam Hill said that the board was not disbanded out of disinterest in bringing wireless Internet to downtown.
"They're two separate issues entirely. The technology committee was a terribly dysfunctional advisory board. It doesn't mean we can't start another one," he said.
Chapel Hill still is making efforts toward a wireless network, Hill said, adding that such a program might begin with a downtown pilot program.
Easthom asked Town Manager Roger Stancil to create the new technology team.
"There's no change in why I support it. It's the wave of the future, it's the way we'll do business in the future, it's for a more efficient government, it's for a more accessible and open government," Easthom said.
Raymond expressed his concerns about the future of the wireless network.
"There's a profound lack of leadership, excepting Laurin Easthom, on this issue," Raymond said. "I feel like every day that goes by we're falling further and further behind."
On June 26 Easthom brought a resolution to the council proposing the creation of a committee to consider the development of a wireless network. The resolution was rejected by the council.
Carrboro has a downtown wireless network project as well.
"We've been trying to put together a wireless network in our spare time," Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said. "We've not tried to bring a huge and expensive systematic approach to covering all of the downtown, but instead have done it in a piecemeal fashion."
Carrboro has approached its project differently than Chapel Hill, Chilton said.
"It may be that one day Chapel Hill will come up with a more comprehensive and reliable solution than we've got now, but we've been running a wireless network for years and they still haven't started," he said.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/17/06 4:00am)
Candidates in the district 15-B, Orange and Chatham county Superior Court judge race gathered for a candidate election forum Monday night.
The forum, which was sponsored by the 15-B Bar Association, included all four candidates still in the running.
"This is voter education," said moderator George Doyle, a local attorney. "We are promoting the idea that people can make a more informed choice."
The candidates are Carl Fox, the senior resident superior court judge, District Court Judge Charles "Chuck" Anderson, resident Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour and Chapel Hill lawyer Adam Stein.
The candidates are competing for two seats.
One of the issues considered was that of pre-trial measures in racially charged cases.
"In my mind, the most important thing is to involve all of the attorneys in a collaborative and constructive discussion," Anderson said. "You need to set parameters early and enforce them as you move on."
Baddour discussed more direct alternatives.
"I am perfectly willing to enter a court order specifically directing that the kind of information that might prejudice the case not be disseminated in the public," Baddour said, after speaking about the need to take charge of the situation early.
The candidates also debated the appropriate judicial temperament for a superior court judge.
"A judge needs to respect everybody in the courtroom, needs to be patient, needs to appear to be fair, and also, finally, needs to be decisive," Stein said.
Anderson too emphasized the importance of respect within the courtroom.
"I think it's important to dignify every individual that comes into the courtroom and every argument that comes into the courtroom," Anderson said.
"At the same time I think its important to take some ownership and accountability for what comes into the courtroom."
Another topic discussed hit a more personal note for one candidate.
Stein, who is 69 years old, would only be allowed to serve two years and nine months of the eight-year term if elected. Judges can only serve until the age of 72 in North Carolina.
Doyle asked about the drawbacks of a judge being forced to retire early in his term.
"I think that it's well for the people to elect the judges who they think are the best judges," Stein said.
Fox expressed doubts about the role of the rule in the upcoming election Nov. 7.
"If the people say that they want Mr. Stein to be a judge I would be in no way in a position to criticize that decision," Fox said. "I have no doubt that he is eminently qualified to hold the position."
The association held the forum with the intention of increasing voter awareness, but not many residents were present.
"I'm a bit surprised that we didn't have a larger turnout," said Beverly Scarlett, assistant district attorney for Orange and Chatham counties. "I think judicial races are something that most of our society doesn't understand."
Doyle pointed out that this is the first time two judgeships will be voted on. Fox's seat was created by Gov. Mike Easley last year.
Doyle, a UNC alumnus, also emphasized the importance of student votes.
"As long as they're registered they can vote, and they damn well should."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/10/06 4:00am)
The Chapel Hill Town Council discussed plans for a neighborhood conservation district in the Mason Farm/Whitehead Circle neighborhood at a business meeting Monday night.
The council approved neighborhood conservation district plans for the Greenwood, Kings Mill/Morgan Creek and Pine Knolls neighborhoods June 12.
Past districts have raised concerns among students who say the districts limit rental and affordable housing options.
Among the limitations in some already established districts is a ban on future construction of duplexes.
The council received a proposal for the establishment process from consulting firm Clarion Associates in June and discussed the manner in which it would proceed at Monday's meeting.
A memorandum from the town planning board recommended establishing a committee to organize the process. But council staff responded with a recommendation that development rely on neighborhood consensus.
A June 26 memorandum from former town manager Cal Horton said the council should proceed with "a neighborhood discussion process" rather than "attempt to determine such objectives without the input of the neighbors."
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strom expressed similar ideas, referring to the Greenwood neighborhood conservation district efforts, which used the consensus model as an example.
"It may have been more difficult (with the committee model) to get the neighborhood to agree on representatives," Strom said.
Council member Sally Greene sided with the planning board.
"I really think that their recommendations deserve a lot of weight from us," Greene said.
The council also discussed the town's sidewalk construction program.
Five of the seven sidewalk projects proposed in the 2005-06 program have been completed or will be finished by the end of the fall. The Hillsborough and North Street projects remain in the planning phase.
Jim Heavner, chairman of the Gimghoul neighborhood's sidewalk petition project, asked for the council's help in constructing sidewalks in his neighborhood.
"In a nutshell, we say 'Please don't tell us no, tell us how,'" Heavner said.
The council also discussed future plans for the State/Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program.
The council is concerned with obtaining state funding for the traffic signal replacement project. The project is scheduled to receive $5 million in 2011, but the council discussed ways to obtain the money sooner.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(09/26/06 4:00am)
Eighty-one-year-old Louis Shook was riding his bicycle across the intersection of Churchill and Long Leaf drives Sept. 17 when he collided with a car.
Shook, who suffered a fractured skull, said he is about a quarter of the way through his four-week recovery.
Though residents have long complained about traffic in the neighborhood, the accident prompted a new wave of community action.
Lisa and Wayne Richardson and Hugh Stevenson filed two separate petitions requesting the installation of a four-way stop at the intersection. Both petitions will be addressed at the Chapel Hill Town Council meeting Wednesday.
"Regardless of who is at fault, the intersection is an infamously dangerous one and needs to be fixed ASAP - before someone else gets hurt or killed," Stevenson wrote in his petition to the council.
Lisa Richardson explained her reasons for the petition Monday.
"There's been talk about putting a four-way stop at that intersection for as long as I've lived in this neighborhood, which is probably about 10 or 12 years," she said.
Shook said he rode through the intersection because he thought it was a four-way stop. He is now a strong advocate for adding one.
"I would feel a heck of a lot better and a heck of a lot safer," he said.
Residents also have expressed concern about the intersection's proximity to Ephesus Elementary School.
"It's a walk zone," Richardson said. "It's certainly not safe in the morning when people are trying to get to work and people are cutting through the neighborhood."
The neighborhood can easily be used as a shortcut to U.S. 15-501, which is about a mile from the intersection.
The Chapel Hill Traffic Engineering Program will play an important role in any action taken.
"I have received several complaints in the last few weeks," Chapel Hill Traffic Engineer Kumar Neppalli said.
"I have completed my investigation and will be presenting it at the Oct. 9 (council) meeting."
Neppalli also said that the town deals with similar issues every month and that there are "a lot of complaints in the town right now for speeding problems and cut-through traffic problems."
Council member Sally Greene expressed confidence in the engineering department's responses to citizen requests.
"That's a terrible thing, and I think a four-way stop is probably a good idea there."
Should the decision to add stop signs be made, Neppalli said construction would begin soon.
"They will be installed within two weeks from Oct. 9, or maybe earlier."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.