Orange County Commissioner At-Large

At-Large Candidate	Percent	Votes
Neloa Barbee Jones	20.36	5,612
Bernadette Pelissier	50.30	13,865
Mary M. Wolff	29.34	8,087

Orange County Commissioner District 2

Candidate	Percent	Votes
Tommy T. McNeill	13.45	1,466
Steve Yuhasz	37.23	4,057
Leo L. Allison	27.72	3,021
Luther K. Brooks	21.6	2,354

State Senate

Candidate	Percent	Votes
Moses Carey, Jr.	34.12	11,885
Ellie Kinnaird	65.88	22,946

Transfer Tax

	Percent	Votes
For	33.75	14,288
Against	66.25	28,053

Orange County Board of Elections

Candidate	Percent	Votes
Eddie M. Eubanks	20.96	7,089
Stephen H. Halkiotis	21.97	7,432
Al Hartkopf	14.83	5,016
Tony McKnight	18.24	6,172
Jeff Michalski	12.29	4,156
Stan Morris	11.08	3,747
Write-In	0.64	217

 

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Schools

School System Requests Budget Increase
Orange County Schools Superintendent Patrick Rhodes recommended a $1.8 million increase, or 8.35 percent increase compared to last year’s budget figure to the school board March17. Rhodes' budget recommendation would add 1.39 cents to the tax rate.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools recommended to its board a $6.8 million increase next year which could be funded in part by increasing the county's per-pupil spending, adding 2.62 cents per $100 valuation to the county tax rate. An increase in budget funds would go mostly toward expected state increases in teacher pay and benefits and a change in the state's requirements for the number of exceptional children's program positions. The Orange County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to adopt its budget in June. For the full story, click here.

 

Two New School Sites Selected

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District’s next elementary school could be located in a historically black neighborhood. Two sites are being examined; one in the Northside neighborhood on the border between Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the other is in the Rogers Road neighborhood off of Purefoy Road. Both pieces of property are owned by Orange County and the elementary school is slated to open in August of 2011. For the full story, click here.

 

Chatham Hires New School Superintendant
Robert L. Logan was unanimously selected by the Chatham County Board of Education as the next superintendant in mid-April. Logan comes to Chatham from the State Department of Public Instruction, a position he has been at for about a year. Prior to working for the State, Logan was superintendant of Asheville Schools. Logan was selected by the Board from among 29 candidates for his enthusiasm and innovative ideas. He will receive a salary of $140,000 plus benefits. For the full story, click here.

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Orange County

Orange County Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing
This evening at the Gordon Battle Courtroom in Hillsborough, the Orange County Board of Commissioners will receive written and spoken input on a draft update to the Comprehensive Plan. This is a very important update and meeting as the Comprehensive Plan sets the direction and tone for development in the County for the next 20 to 30 years. The County’s development ordinances and regulations are supposed to be based on the vision put forth by the Comprehensive Plan. Please plan to attend this meeting if you live, work or own land in Orange County. The meeting will begin at 7:30pm. To review the draft Comprehensive Plan online, click here.

Nearly Six Cent Property Tax Increase Proposed for Chapel Hill
At the first Council meeting in May, Town Manager Roger Stancil presented his recommended budget for 2008-2009 and proposed a 5.9 cent property tax increase. The increase would go to fund the Town’s increasing debt service without diminishing current service levels. Manager Stancil stated during his budget message that, “This is a significant increase, but it comes on the heels of two consecutive years of zero tax rate increase and a doubling of the Town's debt load since fiscal year 2005.” The final Town budget as proposed would total $83.6 million, with $52.1 million going toward the General Fund, $14.6 million for the Chapel Hill Transit fund and the remainder for other funds. A public hearing has been set for Wednesday, May 14 at 7pm to allow the public to comment on the budget. The budget is scheduled for adoption on June 9.  
From Chapel Hill eNews

Carrboro Looking at Tax Hike
At Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, Carrboro Town Manager Steve Stewart presented an $18.4 million budget that includes a 3.23 cent per $100 valuation property tax increase. The only expansions in the budget are the addition of six waterless urinals at the Carrboro Century Center, two police officers and increased funding for the Orange County Land Trust. The first public hearing on the budget will be May 27. For more information, click here.

Orange County Sales Tax Revenues Falling
In a work session last Thursday Orange County Commissioners received a report from county manager Laura Blackmon and budget director Donna Coffey who said that sales tax revenue for the County will be $1.5 million under projections for FY 2007-2008. Manager Blackmon cited the slowing economy as the problem; county residents are reducing their spending and thus limiting the amount of sales tax collected on potential sales. County staff did report that there would be a small pot of state lottery money available for capital projects. For the full story, click here.

Chapel Hill Hires Public Arts Administrator
Roger Stancil, Town Manager for Chapel Hill, recently announced the appointment of Jeffrey York as Town Public Arts Administrator. York comes from the N.C. Arts Council where he was director of public art and community design. Stancil described what York’s role will be in Chapel Hill, “He will facilitate the transition of the public art staff to town staff and current independent board to an advisory role. Our goal is to integrate public art into the context of what the town does every day." For the full story, click here.

Orange County Hires New Economic Development Director
Orange County Manager Laura Blackmon announced the hiring of Bradly Broadwell, formerly director of economic development in Dorchester County, Maryland, as the new Economic Development Director in Orange County. Broadwell will begin May 19 and has worked for US Agency for International Development in Mongolia and U.S. deputy secretary of commerce in Washington D.C. In a written statement, Manager Blackmon said, “Brad's vast experiences in developing successful economic programs, as well as his extensive background working with international communities are skills Orange County can put to use today.” For the full story, click here.

OWASA Gives Drought Update, Reservoirs at 81 Percent
On Monday, May 5, the Chapel Hill Town Council received an update from Ed Holland, OWASA Director of Planning, regarding the drought. Holland reported that the drought is now considered “moderate” and that as of May 5, water reservoirs were at 81 percent capacity. OWASA will continue to monitor the situation and residents and businesses will remain under Stage 1 water use restrictions and surcharges. You can contact OWASA at 919-968-4421 for a free water audit and learn of new ways to be a wise water user.
From Chapel Hill eNews

UNC-Chapel Hill Names Thorp Next Chancellor
H. Holden Thorp, currently Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC-CH, was named the 11^th Chancellor of the University. Thorp is a Carolina grad and native of Fayetteville. He has served as Kennan Professor of Chemistry and previously director of UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. Thorp will take over for exiting Chancellor James Moeser in July. For the full story, click here.

Orange County Housing Program Struggling
If Chapel Hill Town Council members reject a plea by the Orange Community Housing and Land trust to allow flexibility in affordable housing requirements, the model could fail, according to trust Director Robert Dowling. Based on the projections for the number of Land Trust properties that will go on the market during the next three years, which tops at 116 by 2010, Dowling said his sales staff of 1.5 positions cannot handle the workload.  Dowling and Jim Tucker, board treasurer for OCHLT, asked the council to consider conducting a study of the market for condominiums such as the proposed 346-unit Residences at Grove Park.

Dowling and Tucker asked the council to give developers more options for affordable housing, such as allowing a mixture of required units and payment-in-lieu of affordable housing, while the market study is being conducted. Dowling said flexibility would help manage the number of units added to OCHLT's program while giving the town time to see the market in action as units from developments like East 54 continue to sell. Council members seemed split on the proposal and voted to accept it as a petition to be considered at a later date.
From the Herald Sun

Church’s Expansion Proposal Could Bring Park-and-Ride Lot
The Orange United Methodist Church at 1220 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. brought expansion plans before the Chapel Hill Town Council during its February 18 meeting. The church, almost 180 years old, is proposing to build a 57,000-square-foot addition and 188 extra parking spaces on the 16-acre site. The construction will include a new worship space, classrooms, a youth facility and administrative offices. Currently, the sanctuary has a capacity of 240 seats and the campus has 110 parking spaces. The Planning Board requested the council to encourage the church to consider a park-and-ride facility at the site. The board reasoned that it's a good location for one because, among other reasons, it is on the bus line and a park-and-ride lot would help the town meet its goal of increasing the number of residents who take advantage of the bus service. For the full story, click here.

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The Triangle

KB Home Rated Top Green Builder
Calvert Group, an investment management firm, and the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment released a joint report evaluating the largest public builders in terms of energy, water, timber and land use in early May. According to the report, KB Home was the best of the builders. The Calvert Report states, “One company is clearly leading the homebuilding industry in terms of environmental sustainability: KB Home…this company leads the pack because of its comprehensive approach to sustainability.” Behind KB Home were D.R. Horton and Pulte and Centex in second and third respectively. For the full report, click here.

Chatham County to Receive Aid Following Plant’s Closing
Chatham County commissioners will consider a resolution telling lawmakers how they can help the county deal with the closing of Siler City’s Pilgrim's Pride poultry plant. County Manager Charlie Horne said he is already working with Dianne Reid, director of the county's Economic Development Corporation, on various actions related to the plant's closing, which affects more than 800 jobs and 40 farms in Chatham County. For the full story, click here.

Durham Impact Fees Approved
Beginning July 1, impact fees, those paid by developers upon completion of new construction, will go up. Downtown Durham will see a 24 percent increase, southern Durham 30 percent, and northern Durham will see a 55 percent decrease. The Durham City Council voted on the fee revisions during its March 17 meeting, with a 4-3 vote. The fees will help pay for streets, parks and open space. For the full story, click here.

Durham Athletic Park to Undergo Renovations
At the end of April, Durham City and Minor League Baseball officials participated in a historic groundbreaking event at Durham Athletic Park. The DAP, where the movie “Bull Durham” was filmed will undergo a $5 million renovation over the next six months and soon become home of the NCCU and Durham School of the Arts baseball teams. The DAP will also serve as a training ground of sorts for minor league baseball grounds crews and umpires. If everything goes according to schedule, the park will be finished in November. For the full story, click here.

Cary Developers to See Raised Impact Fees
Beginning July 1, developers in the town of Cary will pay 21.7 percent more in water and sewer fees on an average, 2,500-square-foot home, totaling $5,261. Water and sewer fees for a 150,000-square-foot office building would total $130,230, an increase of 20.6 percent.  The town says that according to consultant studies, the fees are now at 75 percent of the "maximum" cost of providing water and sewer infrastructure to new developments. For the full story, click here.

Census Estimates Released, Big Growth in Wake County                                            
The Census Bureau released its annual population growth estimates last Thursday for counties nationwide. Wake County led the Triangle in 2007 adding 38,841 people. This jump made it the seventh fastest growing county in the nation for 2007. Over the past seven years, Wake added 205,124 residents, putting it on pace to become North Carolina’s largest county very soon. See the table below for other Triangle county growth figures. For the full story, click here.

County	2007 Population	Percent Increase (‘00-‘07)
Durham	256,500	14.9
Orange	124,313	7.6
Chatham	61,455	24.6
Johnston	157,437	29.2
Wake	832,970	32.7
Triangle	1,400,000	34

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State

Progress Energy Rolls Out Conservation Plan
Progress Energy announced three new programs aimed at energy conservation in the construction industry. One initiative in the plan, called Home Advantage, would pay builders and developers to build homes meeting federal Energy Star qualifications. The two other pieces of the plan target commercial builders and include “custom financial incentives” that would help builders recoup the costs of energy efficient measures in new projects and incentives to customers for retrofitting existing buildings. The goal of Progress’ strategy is to double the energy savings it gets through efficiency. For the full story, click here.

Governor Easley Releases Budget, Calls for Sin Taxes
Governor Easley’s recommended fiscal 2009 state budget was released last week and calls for $68 million to go toward changes in the state mental health system and a little more than $300 million to go toward an average 7 percent increase in public school teacher’s salaries. Funds for the mental health changes would come from a proposed 4 cent tax increase on beer and wine. The liquor tax would increase from 25 to 29 percent of the wholesale price as well. To pay for the teachers salary increase, Easley proposes increasing the cigarette tax from 35 cents per pack to 55 cents. For the full story, click here.