Town Council

Town Hall TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Town Council Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Meeting Minutes - Final Mayor Jessica Anderson Council Member Theodore Nollert Mayor pro tem Amy Ryan Council Member Adam Searing Council Member Camille Berry Council Member Elizabeth Sharp Council Member Melissa McCullough Council Member Karen Stegman Council Member Paris Miller-Foushee Wednesday, March 5, 2025 6:00 PM Library, Meeting Room B Language Access Statement In-Person Meeting Notification View the Meeting • Public attendance is welcome, and limited to room capacity • We will not live stream the event, but will provide the Post-Meeting Video https://www.townofchapelhill.org/councilvideo/ • The Town of Chapel Hill wants to know more about who participates in its programs and processes, including Town Council meetings. • Participate in a voluntary demographic survey before viewing online or in person - https://www.townofchapelhill.org/demosurvey Parking and Entry • Parking is available at the Library lots. 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ROLL CALL Page 1 of 4 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 5, 2025 Present: 8 - Mayor Jessica Anderson, Mayor pro tem Amy Ryan, Council Member Camille Berry, Council Member Paris Miller-Foushee, Council Member Adam Searing, Council Member Theodore Nollert, Council Member Melissa McCullough, and Council Member Elizabeth Sharp Excused: 1 - Council Member Karen Stegman OTHER ATTENDEES Interim Town Manager Mary Jane Nirdlinger, Deputy Town Manager Loryn Clark, Town Attorney Ann Anderson, Strategic Communications and Marketing Executive Director Susan Brown, Affordable Housing and Community Connections Director Sarah Viñas, Affordable Housing and Community Connections Assistant Director Ryan Campbell, Affordable Housing Manager Emily Holt, Business Management Director Amy Oland, Chief Of Staff Jeanne Brown, Public Housing Manager Felts Lewis, Police Officer Danny Lloyd, Town Clerk Brittney Hunt, and Assistant Town Clerk Brenton Hodge. OPENING Mayor Anderson called the Work Session to order at 6:02 p.m. She reviewed the agenda and mentioned that Agenda Item 3 had been deferred to May 2025. Council Member McCullough participated remotely, but left the meeting at 6:35 p.m. due to technical difficulties. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY COUNCIL MEMBERS AGENDA ITEMS 1. Discussion of Outside Agency Funding [25-0067] Deputy Town Manager Loryn Clark introduced the Outside Agency Funding item, summarized the non-profit organizations performance agreement process, and shared objectives of the partners for future budget discussions. The following agencies and representatives presented the mission, funding sources, how Town funds are spent, and performance agreements to Council: Community Home Trust Executive Director Kimberly Sanchez, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Executive Director Jeri Lynn Schulke, Inter-Faith Council for Social Service Executive Director Jackie Jenks, Marion Cheek Jackson Center Executive Director George Barrett and Self-Help Credit Union Project Manager Greg Wellemeyer, Orange County Partnership to end Homelessness Housing Director Blake Rosser, and Orange County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Laurie Paolicelli. Mayor and Council Members asked questions regarding the streamlining of Community Home Trust's application process, funding for a community green from Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, and strategies for addressing extreme weather challenges with Inter-Faith Council for Social Page 2 of 4 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 5, 2025 Service. Mayor and Council Members also inquired about the impact of rising property values, high construction costs on property acquisition, and rehabilitation efforts of Marion Cheek Jackson Center, discussed the increase in homelessness with the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, and compensation for women prisoners trained by Orange County Visitors Bureau. This item was received as presented. 2. Receive an update on the Town’s Public Housing Program [25-0098] Affordable Housing and Community Connections Director Sarah Viñas introduced Public Housing Manager Felt Lewis. Ms. Viñas highlighted the recent merger of the Town's Public Housing Authority and the Affordable Housing and Community Connections departments, which took place in April 2024. She explained that the purpose of the presentation was to update the Council and the community on the current state of Public Housing operations. Ms. Viñas provided an overview of Public Housing and Chapel Hill's unique approach to the program. Ms. Viñas outlined several key challenges facing Public Housing operations, including the aging of units, significant maintenance needs, funding shortages, and long-standing compliance issues. Ms. Viñas shared an update on next steps including addressing immediate maintenance needs, redevelopment of Trinity Court, maximizing existing resources and leverage more, addressing compliance challenges, and increasing resident engagement. Ms. Viñas discussed the department's future goals of development of contingency plans due to uncertainty of federal funding and repositioning plans for renovation, redevelopment, and disposition of property. Ms. Viñas shared a tentative schedule for upcoming Council actions and opportunities. Mayor and Council Members asked questions and discussed resident surveys, more frequent status updates, the possibility of changing the makeup of the Public Housing Authority oversight board, and the importance of sharing residents' success stories with the public. This item was received as presented. 3. Rewriting Our Rules - A Land Use Management Ordinance [25-0068] (LUMO) Update Page 3 of 4 Town Council Meeting Minutes - Final March 5, 2025 This matter was deferred. 4. Discussion about TPO request for Letter of Commitment for the [25-0070] Co-Gen Rail Transformation Project Interim Town Manager Mary Jane Nirdlinger presented a request to the Council for a letter confirming its commitment to contribute $10,000 toward the planning effort for the Co-Gen Rail Transformation Project, which aims to study the feasibility of converting a railway into a bike and pedestrian corridor. Council Member Nollert, the Council's representative to the project, summarized the group's discussions regarding the potential for a bike and pedestrian corridor and offered to provide short summaries of meetings with meeting minutes. Mayor and Council Members discussed performance metric ideas and potential benefits, and the need to factor uncertainty regarding federal funding into the budget process. This item was received as presented. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 p.m. Page 4 of 4