Board of Aldermen - Regular Meeting

Second 2026 meeting of the Carrboro Town Council. This is a regular business meeting this evening. And we will start out by saying go Canes! Go Canes, go Canes. Okay, I'm off script. I'm sorry. We'll start our meeting off as we do all of our meetings with a poetry reading from our Carrboro Poet Laureate, Dr. Amanda Bennett. Dr. Bennett, welcome.

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here.

What was that?

So tonight, in honor of Pride Month, I wanted to share a poem by a black queer poet named Jericho Brown. He is rooted in Atlanta, and this is from his collection, The Tradition. It actually won the Pulitzer Prize. And this is a poem called Four Day in the Morning. My mother grew morning glories that spilled onto the walkway toward her porch because she was a woman with land who showed as much by giving it color. She told me I could have whatever I worked for. That means she was an American. But she'd say it was because she believed in God. I am ashamed of America and confounded by God. I thank God for my citizenship in spite of the timer set on my life to write these words. I love my mother. I love black women who plant flowers as sheepish as their sons. By the time the blooms unfurl themselves for a few hours of light, the women who tend them are already at work. Blue. I'll never know who started the lie that we are lazy. But I'd love to wake that bastard up at 4 day in the morning, toss him in a truck, and drive him under God past every bus stop in America to see all of those black folk waiting to go to work for whatever they want. A house, a boy to keep the lawn cut, some color in the yard. My god, we leave things green. Thank you.

Very good, Dr. Bennett.

We thank you so much for that poem. And so we'll move right into proclamations. We are going to start out with our Pride Month proclamation brought to you by Mayor Pro Tem Posada Orozco and Council Member Frey.

All right, we've got a joint reading tonight. I'm going to start it off. Whereas Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer LGBTQ Plus Pride Month is celebrated nationally each year in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots of 1969, and whereas the town of Carrboro has a proud history of advancing the rights of LGBTQ plus people, including adding sexual orientation to the list of protected categories in the town's Equal Employment Opportunity Policy in 1990, being the first municipality in the state to create a domestic partner registry in 1994, being among the first to support civil marriage for same-sex couples and inclusion of LGBTQ plus families in comprehensive immigration reform, being the first to call for repeal of the discriminatory House Bill 2 in 2016, being among the first with the towns of Hillsborough and Chapel Hill and Orange County to adopt a local ordinance prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations and employment in 2021. And whereas the town of Carrboro has been a pioneer in queer representation with 28 consecutive years of LGBTQ plus mayors after being the first to elect a gay mayor in 1995 and later the first to elect a lesbian mayor in 2013 and the first to elect a second gay mayor in 2021, having elected multiple LGBTQ plus aldermen and council members and being first to elect a Latinx LGBTQ plus council member in 2022 and being the first to elect a non-binary council member in 2023, and whereas there is much physical and psychological violence inflicted on LGBTQ plus people. LGBTQ plus people, especially trans people and LGBTQ plus people of color, experience disproportionately high rates of poverty. Over 30% of trans and gender nonconforming people have experienced homelessness. LGBTQ plus youth make up a disproportionate number of homeless youth in the United States. and LGBTQ plus youth experience high rates of bullying, harassment, and parental rejection with accompanying heightened risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. And whereas the General Assembly continues to target LGBTQ plus people through laws such as House Bill 574, which prevents trans youth from participating in middle and high school sports, House Bill 808, which bans best practice medical care for trans youth, and Senate Bill 49, North Carolina's own Don't Say Gay bill, which were all vetoed by North Carolina Governor then Roy Cooper and later overturned by the Republican members of the General Assembly.

And whereas the town of Carrboro is committed to defending the human rights of LGBTQ people and ensuring that all residents, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression are treated with respect and dignity. And whereas in 2024, Carrboro received a high score of 91 out of 100 in the Municipal Equality Index, a measure of how inclusive a town's laws, policies, and services of LGBTQ people are. And whereas the town of Carrboro and the town of Chapel Hill have long been partners in affirming their opposition to discrimination, prejudice, homophobia, and transphobia, and where we share commitment to create a place where all are welcome. And whereas the town of Carrboro and the town of Chapel Hill co-host Small Town Pride, a series of celebrations that include community and partner events like Carrboro Pride happening here in Carrboro in a couple of weeks. Therefore, I, in the name of Barbara M. Fushi, mayor of the town of Carrboro, Hereby proclaim June 2026 to be Pride Month in Carrboro. I encourage all residents of Carrboro to celebrate and affirm the LGBTQ family members, friends, and neighbors to take action to defend their human rights and to participate in small town pride events in Carrboro and Chapel Hill throughout this month. This, the second day of June 2026. Did you have any? Before we bring on one of our local community members who was here to receive the proclamation and share some comments, I wanted to thank my colleagues, of course, Council Member Frey and all of you on this dais for the continued support of queer people here in North Carolina, in Carrboro and North Carolina, and to all the staff of Carrboro for their continued engagement with our community. In a time where we have Over, last time we checked, over 500 legislative attacks against queer people all over the United States. We need local communities like Carbro to continue to stand up. Here in North Carolina, just last session, we had 13 anti-LGBTQ bills. We were able to defeat 12 of them. And every time we had advocacy in the legislature, not only did we have my colleagues there, whether it's in person or through their continued support, we also had residents of Carrboro showing up. So to the council, to the staff, and to all the members of Carrboro, thank you so much for your continued support of the queer community. With that, you want to invite our guest?

Sure. I have one off-the-cuff thought. As I was walking here, somebody asked me, looking up at Town Hall, which is flying several pride flags right now, somebody asked me, didn't the General Assembly ban those? Didn't they have some bill where they were going to regulate what flags towns could fly to stop towns from flying pride flags? I said, yeah, but they didn't. And we're not touching those flags. We're not going to roll over. We're going to keep doing what we are here to do and upholding our values. So thank you very much for your attention. And I'd like to ask Cody Meyer to come up to receive the proclamation and say anything they'd like to.

Welcome, Cody.

Hello to the council, everyone in attendance. I am very honored to receive this proclamation. I moved here in July of 2023. I am transmasc, non-binary, a lot of different flavors of queer. I came from a place that was not as inviting. Actually, I would say it was a little bit homophobic in a lot of respects. And moving here was like a breath of fresh air in that I felt like I could finally breathe. I have been loved and supported by this community. And I thank you so much for keeping it a safe town for me to live in and with my family and my wonderful wife, who I love with all my heart, to finally hopefully thrive. So please, keep doing what you're doing. Please keep fighting. It means the world to me and I think to every other LGBT plus person in this town. Thank you.

You're welcome. You like the photo?

The picture. The picture. Is it on? Are we ready?

Very good.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. I have two more proclamations for this evening. The first one is in honor of Pollinator Week. Whereas pollinators, including bees, butterflies, birds, and beneficial insects, are the silent architects of our ecosystem, essential for biodiversity and the agricultural productivity that sustains us. And whereas our local farmers, gardeners, and conservationists depend on these species to grow the fruits, vegetables, and natural beauty that define Carrboro's economy and character. And whereas global pollinator populations face unprecedented threats from habitat loss and pesticide use, making local conservation efforts more urgent than ever. And whereas the town leads by example through the installation of native bee nesting sites, the maintenance of dedicated pollinator gardens, and the restoration of riparian buffers with native flora. And whereas every resident and business can play a vital role in this effort by planting native species, reducing chemical use, and protecting the natural habitats that serve as life support for these species. Now, therefore, I, Barbara M. Fushi, Mayor of the Town of Carrboro, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim June 22nd through June 28th, 2026 to be Pollinator Week in Carrboro. Be it further resolved that the Town Council calls upon all residents to champion the protection of our pollinators, we urge our community to plant natives, reduce pesticide use, and cultivate pollinator-friendly landscapes to ensure Carrboro remains a sanctuary for generations to come for the pollinators that sustain us. This, the second day of June 2026, and accepting is Scott Muir, SEAC member. Welcome, Scott.

Well, thanks for having me. I believe the proclamation sort of sums up a lot of the, you know, the reasons this is important. I just wanted to read a little poem, author unknown to me, just to give you a moment to reflect on all the insects provide. Basically, every time we go to the grocery store and we're in the produce section, all those fruits depend on pollinators. And so they're sort of the basis of our food chain. So what poem about that? A flutter of gold and a dusting of wings, a quiet vital dance as the warm season springs. From the deep sleepy blossom to the open blue sky, the keepers of harvests go buzzing on by. Without their small footprints, the gardens would fade and leave us without all the beauty they made. From the tiniest meadow to the towering tree, the whole world depends on a hardworking bee.

Thank you so much for that, Scott, and for accepting the proclamation. The last proclamation is to raise awareness about National Gun Violence Awareness Day. And whereas every day more than 132 Americans are killed by gun violence and more than 300 are shot or wounded, And whereas Americans are 26 times more likely to be murdered with guns than people in other developed countries. And whereas firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens. And whereas, North Carolina ranks 19th among states for gun deaths in the United States, with an average of 16.3 deaths per 100,000 people every day, with 58% of gun-related deaths by suicide. And whereas, support for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens goes hand in hand with keeping guns away from dangerous people. And whereas, together with our neighbors in Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Hillsboro, the Town of Carrboro supports efforts to enact common sense gun safety laws and educate the community on gun safety. And whereas, anyone can join this campaign by pledging to wear orange on this Friday, June 5th, to help raise awareness about gun violence. And whereas, by wearing orange on June 5th, Americans will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives and lost human potential of Americans stolen by gun violence. And whereas, we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep firearms out of the wrong hands and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our children safe. Now, therefore, we the Carrboro Mayor and Town Council hereby proclaim June 5, 2026 as the National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Carrboro and encourage everyone to support the local community's efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human lives as well as to advocate with state and local elected officials for passage to maintain and enact common sense gun legislation this the second day of june twenty twenty six and police chief uh... chris attack will except uh... this proclamation and while he's coming On Friday at 9 a.m. at Peace and Justice Plaza, there will be our annual gun violence awareness event. It is joint with Orange County, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsboro. And representing our council will be council member Fred Joyner. And so come on out. There will be tabling and speeches and the reading of a joint proclamation. TFA Tech.

Thank you, Mayor and Council Members. You know, as I reflect on this issue, the harm that I've seen in my career, the damage to folks in the community, the anxiety and the fear, this is a challenging issue. And I think, Harbor, we're very lucky, but we also have the impacts here. We've seen them recently. And I just feel grateful for the folks that I work with, our first responders that are there. We've got a lot of mental health initiatives going on now in the county. We've got the care team going out there trying to connect to folks in crisis, trying to de-conflict, trying to de-escalate, trying to support folks so we don't get to that level, right, because the prevention is a large part of that. and then to all the community organizations, all the volunteers, all the folks, Safe Kids, all these that are trying to do their part to address this issue. So I feel very grateful to be part of a team as well as in a partnership with the community. So thank you very much, Mayor.

Okay, so we're down to our town manager's update. Town manager, Tony.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and council members. Just wanted to reiterate all of the events that we have in June. Please visit our website. We have some great events for Pride, for Juneteenth, for Frederick Douglass reading, and so forth. So please visit our website, carboralnc.gov, to get an update on our June activities in the town. Also, just to mention, there are probably questions around what's happening on NC54. And so this is a partnership with NCDOT that is creating some pedestrian improvements on NC54 at Abbey Road near Royal Park Apartments, as well as Westbrook Road near Carolina Apartments. This project should be completed around the end of this year. And the improvements will allow for signalized pedestrian crossings, which all have bus stops on both sides of the highway. They will be also refuge islands in the median and will allow pedestrians to walk across the highway until the next signal. So we are excited any time there's opportunities for pedestrian safety and improvements in Carrboro. And that's it, Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you, Town Manager Toney. We are now down to the public comment period. I have one person signed up. Comments are limited to three minutes per speaker. I ask that you adhere to those three minutes. And as the time winds down, just please try to finish up your comments and prepare to take your seat. And so the council wants to keep the public comment period equitable for everyone. And the only person signed up for general public comment is at the podium. Welcome, Bill.

Good evening, counsel. First of all, if I want to start off and just mention that everything I have to say is my own personal opinion. I'm not speaking on behalf of anybody else. And as I had said at a previous meeting, I wish that you would change the name of the town and be done with the car and his history. I believe that calling this the town of Progressive would be the most apt name to describe the people that live here. And it would also avoid a lot of arguments. Last year, I sent an email about a self-described nonprofit called Opportunity South Carolina. And I included this town council in that email. And I heard nothing more from y'all. Tammy Gruber, good for her, had a front page article in the Raleigh News and Observable this past April 13th. Nonprofit partnerships are reducing local tax revenues. A week later, April 20th, a different reporter, also for the News and Observer, had an article on the top of the front page. Lawmakers put property tax cap on NC ballot end loopholes. The article on the 13th, again, with Tammy Gruber, it says... In Orange County, the loophole affected five properties valued at a total of $56.6 million this year, creating a $742,844 loss. property tax revenues. Four more properties owners are seeking exemptions next year for a total potential revenue loss of about $1 million, data shows. These are the words of Tammy Gruber and another reporter with the Raleigh News and Observer. Carrboro is the most significantly affected town, followed by Chapel Hill and Hillsboro, due in part to older, more affordable apartment complexes. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are also losing significant public dollars, data shows. So I really think that if I hadn't sounded the alarm, nobody would have noticed. Because when a document is recorded in the public registry, it's like the ending of that 1980s film, The Raiders of the Lost Ark, where something gets put in a box and it's in this warehouse and basically won't get found. You would be surprised what I have found. And I wish you would be nicer to me.

Thank you so much, Bill, for your public comment. We have one item on our consent agenda. Council members, this approval of the minutes from the town council meeting held on May 19, 2026. So we just need a motion to approve those minutes.

I move that we approve the minutes.

Second. All right. It's been moved and properly seconded that we approve the minutes from the town council meeting on May 19, 2026. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0. The minutes from that date are approved. And we're moving to the next item, which is a public hearing. Town Manager Toney, want to introduce that item?

This is our second opportunity for a public hearing on the budget for the FY27 budget and capital improvement plan.

Welcome, Mr. Keyes. I'll go ahead and open up the public hearing. I'll give a short presentation, I imagine.

Yes.

And we'll hear from members of the public.

Good evening, Madam Mayor and town council members. This evening I will be providing you all with an overview of the manager's recommended budget and capital improvement plan. The total FY27 recommended budget is $44.6 million across all funds. The manager recommended budget is balanced, meaning that total revenues plus available fund balance equals total expenditures. This slide shows a breakdown of our revenue sources by type and the general fund. Property taxes account for 56% and it serves as our main source of revenue. The total recurring revenue is $33.4 million. The recommended budget does include fund balance appropriation, which represents 8% of the general fund budget, which is $36.2 million. Here are some revenue budget drivers. The first driver is the Blue Ridge Lupo which will have a negative impact on our property tax base. We are projecting a decrease of $82 million with a potential revenue loss of $463,000. However, we are projecting modest growth across other revenue sources such as local sales and use taxes, fees and permits. As I mentioned in the previous slide, the recommended budget does include fund balance appropriation of $2.76 million, and that is to support one-time expenses related to Tropical Storm Chantal and recurring expenses in order to close the revenue and expense gap. The manager's recommended budget does not include a property tax increase. The rate will remain at 56.53 cents per $100 of assessed value. This slide shows a breakdown of our expenditures by function in the general fund. Our top areas are public safety, general government, and public works. Here are some of our expenditure budget drivers by category in the general fund. Personnel, the recommended budget does include livable wage implementation which will require us to make adjustments to our current pay plan. The recommended budget addresses the rising cost of health insurance and it includes a 2.5% cost of living adjustment. operations. The recommended budget allows us to continue maintaining current service levels, provide free transit services to the community. Our contract with the town of Chapel Hill will be increasing by 217,000, and the budget allows us to cover one-time expenses related to Tropical Storm Chantal recovery, and that includes expenses, leases, and supplies. Our last category is transfers. Our transfer schedule includes transferring funding from the general fund to the parking fund to provide free parking services to the community and to provide one-time transfer for capital projects related to Tropical Storm Chantelle recovery. Let's move on to our capital improvement plan. The recommended CIP includes 43 proposed projects and one of those projects is the Bowling Creek Phases 3 and 4 and the revenue source to offset the costs will be debt financing. The proposed investment for FY27 is $5.6 million, and the impact to the general fund is $1.7 million. Our overall five-year estimate cost is approximately $71.6 million. The investment priorities include infrastructure and mobility, sustainability initiatives, ADA improvements, and storm recovery and resilience. So what's happening next? Today, June 2nd, we will have our second public hearing. And after that, we will have a motion to adopt FY27 budget and the capital improvement plan. That concludes my overview. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Keyes. Council members will hear from the public, I presume. And maybe there will be questions or comments afterwards. Does that sound OK? I have, and first on the list, Ms. Robertson is making her way up, Diane Robertson, and I have comments about the budget.

Right, thank you. So I did want to note that the last slide showed resilience and sustainability as a priority in the budget. Diane Robertson, resident of Carrboro since 1991. I live in Spring Valley along Bowling Creek, and I am on record on this matter before the council since 2011. I know that the Friends of Bowling Creek have sent a letter to the mayor and to Manager Tony on this matter as well. So for the record again, this area is still a floodplain and will remain a floodplain. The destruction of Tropical Storm Chantal is fresh and still evident. This area is a sensitive riparian buffer that must be protected, as noted in today's pollinator proclamation. It is fiscally irresponsible to commit resources to this project. There are certainly higher priorities for taxpayer dollars in this economically challenging time. If there is an extra $500,000 for an engineering study and $20 million to complete the project in the Treasury, perhaps it should be saved for the upcoming maintenance at a time when FEMA, which I also noted in your report, may not exist. That is the current situation, that FEMA is under destruction and may not have the resources that we've relied on in the past. Were there a concrete path during Chantal, it would have been moved into the creek. And that is a fact. Water always wins. And we see the evidence of that still from Chantal. So thank you for considering this and thinking about this very strongly as you look at the budget and what our priorities need to be.

Thank you so much, Ms. Robertson, for your comments.

Next, I have Melba.

Could you pronounce your last name so I won't? And Tilly Peck or Peck? Peck. All right. So each of you are talking for three minutes each or sharing the three minutes or less?

Okay. Thank you and welcome. Tilly Peck, 144 Northfield Circle. Thank you for having us.

And Melba Rivero, 405 James Street.

Dear Mayor and Council, on May 30th, 2026, a group of citizens of Carrboro, North Carolina, convened to discuss our concerns about the fiscal 2026-27 budget proposed by Town Council and management staff. This document, which has been shared with you, outlines system level and project specific issues recommended for remediation prior to approving the budget. There are five issues that we have highlighted that we believe require remediation. I'm going to summarize them briefly and then go into detail. The first one is showcasing the financial stewardship that is actually behind the budget. It's unclear. Number two is providing clarity around funding. Number three is adhering to open government decision making. Number four is holding onto the Bowling Creek Greenway projects. And number five is continuing human services support. I'll start with the first one, showcasing financial stewardship. The effect of financial stewardship of the town's resources with 56% coming from property taxes is unclear in the documentation. This issue is exacerbated by seemingly insufficient attention and resources for economic development strategies and projects. We, as a group, recommend a task force composed of financial professionals and Carver residents be created and funded for the purpose of reviewing and providing feedback on the town's financial strategy, decision making, governance, and reporting, with processes and results being shared with the community prior to the fiscal 28 budget public hearings. Item number two, provide funding clarity. Carrboro homeowners saw a significant spike in mortgage payments and cost burden resulting from last year's massive property re-evaluations. And yet this year's general fund is 1% lower than last year. The current budget does not reflect the additional revenue generated by the increase in property tax revenues. We recommend clearly documenting how funds from increased property revenue are being deployed. We also recommend that Carborough not increase property tax in any amount for fiscal 26-27. I'll do one more. You do it. Let's do it. Item number three, adhere to open government decision-making. The current economic and sociopolitical climate has a direct impact on the citizens of the town of Carrboro. We are concerned that the town's current approach and practices to the capital improvement plan, CIP, creates a financial risk that is not clearly recognized or understood by town residents. As a result, we recommend clear documentation of processes, community engagement, governance, and reporting of all new debt financing, consistent with the town's goal of pursuing participatory budgeting as outlined in Carrboro Connects. The balancing strategy that refers to debt financing.

I'm going to ask you to finish up or either pass over to Melba, if you don't mind. Thank you so much.

Yeah, you're welcome.

Right there. Melba has solid three minutes.

So the balancing strategy that refers to debt financing on the slide 10 of the FY27 recommended budget in CIP dated 5-12-2026 feels too broad, generic, and permissive. Number four is hold on Bowling Creek Greenway projects. The Bowling Creek 3 and 4 Greenway project constitutes nearly 45% of the FY27 CIP budget with a projected $20 million future cost. Whether the project is a good idea or is even feasible is beside the point right now. What matters is that town leadership is supporting and recommending a project and resource allocation that fails to recognize the risky financial climate we are living in. We recommend removing the Bolin 3 and 4 greenway from the FY26-27 capital improvement plan. And last, continue human services support. Also because of the current economic climate and because of the town of Carrboro's historical commitment to race and equity as reflected in the town of Carrboro 2022 to 2024 comprehensive plan, we strongly oppose cuts in human services funding. We recommend openly revisiting options for funding for human services. And so we have about 34 signatures of residents, and I think mostly reside in the northern part of Cardinal. I don't know. It's everywhere. I will just add, from my perspective, I'm a single female living by myself, one income. And the tax increase has been tremendous. It's a tremendous burden right now. And so we just ask that you guys consider what's on the docket.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Next up, I have Celia Pierce. Welcome, Celia.

Good evening, mayor and town council. I haven't had the pleasure of addressing you before. But I want to add on. I live at 307 Oak Avenue. I want to add on to what Melba was talking about. I kind of represent the other end of the spectrum, not a young woman living alone, but an older person. My family has been in Carrboro since my grandmother came to town in the back of a wagon as a child. And I'm living in the house that my grandmother was a child in. And I was a child in and my mother was a child in. Deep, deep roots. We worked to have what we have. Nothing was given to us. We started out with my grandfather working in the mill and just passed on a real strong work ethic. However, the things that are going on in this country and in this town, so far as the economics are concerned, is causing me a great deal of concern about whether or not family that has been able to work hard, nothing was given to us, but be able to pass on and help culture and give back to Carrboro. whether or not we're going to be able to stay. And I say the we because I'm hoping my son will be able to keep our house. So I urge you to keep in mind that the decisions that are made by the Carrboro Town Council, and we have voted you here to do this for us, for us, Your decisions are going to have a direct impact on all of us. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Celia. Thank you for your comments. Next, I have Terry Buckner. So Terry is okay. Margaret Wiener? Is it Wiener? I hope I said her right.

Welcome, Margaret. Well, thank you, and good evening. I wanted to say I support the suggestions for remediation in the Carrboro Citizens Tax Action Group budget feedback documents, and I urge you to pay very close attention to the details of those documents. I want to also underline the point about Boland Creek. But I also want to add the following. Budgets project the past into the future. The past appears in the budget plan in the form of old projects, capital improvement projects, treating events, more recent events such as Chantal as one-time occurrences. But what if what once counted as normal is gone? For the coming year, consider two additional concerns. Some predict that the 2026 El Nino may be the strongest one ever. This could lead to more devastating storms as well as droughts. In addition, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz is devastating the world's economy, leading to massive inflation, which we're all feeling here. By autumn, there may also be a food crisis due to the war's impact on the availability of fertilizer and diesel. These issues should figure into planning for the coming year. Thank you.

Thank you so much for your comments, Margaret. Next, I have Piper. Please pronounce your last name so I won't murder. Honigman. Welcome, Piper.

Hello. I am Piper Honigman, and I live on Hillsborough Road. Good evening, Mayor and members of the council. Before you cast your vote tonight, I urge you to look honestly at what this budget says about our town's priorities and what it commits our taxpayers to down the road. To absorb rising costs and storm recovery, this budget cuts human services funding by 45%. Yet we are still authorizing $80,000 for the Phase II design and a separate $240,000 out of our general fund over the next few years just to design Phases III and IV of the Bowling Creek Greenway. Actually building this greenway will cost upwards of 14 million. Assuming federal grants will cover 80% of that construction, Carrboro taxpayers are still legally on the hook for 2.8 million, which we will most likely borrow. The federal funding is never guaranteed. If we don't get those grants, the town has paid for a costly design we cannot use. This Greenway project is a want, not a need, and every year we see true need increasing all around us. Last year was a difficult budget year, and this year is yet another. In fact, last year the Greenway design was intentionally excluded because of budget constraints. Despite how many residents stand up at these meetings to argue against paving through our woods in an active flood zone, the council continues to stick to this plan year after year. Perhaps your support stems from the results of the survey taken a few years ago, a survey I didn't know about until after the fact, so I went back and I looked at it. There were no concrete numbers referenced, nor any of the difficulties or drawbacks or other options like a path along Sewell School Road. Now that we actually have the numbers, the majority of the public speaking to this issue at these meetings has been against it. Are you hearing something completely different? Speaker after speaker comes up here, makes their argument, and we hear basically nothing in response from the council. The project just quietly stays on the agenda. I would like to know, what are your thoughts? What are you hearing? We are already on the hook for $1.5 million per year just to service our past debt. If you think I am being an alarmist regarding our financial constraints, tell me how I'm wrong and explain how more debt is totally affordable. I believe a paved path through a flood zone when less expensive, less controversial alternatives exist is a bad idea that we should not cram into an already strained budget. And I urge the council to strip it from the budget once again, and hopefully for the last time. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Piper, for your comments. And the last person I have signed up is Rob Crook. Welcome, Rob.

Good evening, everybody. And I'd just like to state that I also am opposed to paving the path along Bowling Creek. I'm not going to go into the budgetary considerations because I think so many other people have done a very good job of laying out the numbers and the strategies that you need to consider for this budget. To sum it up, it's a waste of money. Margaret brought up some global issues. One of the things that came to my mind was there is a lot of activity in the global bond market right now. And I don't think anybody really knows what you're going to be paying for interest rates on a lot of this debt that you seem to want to take on for the taxpayer of Carborough. Ta-da. Done. I've been talking about this issue since 2009 to you guys. And you do keep it on the books because staff keeps bringing it up. You guys keep on allocating funds for this thing, even though Sungate, your engineering firm that you want to have design work done on it, has already said in their signed and sealed report that there are a number of issues regarding this path which are going to make it technically very, very difficult. It's a really dumb idea. It just is. Environmentally, you're going to end up taking out a lot of trees along the creek. That's going to increase sunlight penetration into the water column. That's going to increase temperatures in your water. That's going to drive algae growth. It's also going to kill off a lot of biodiversity within the creek. That creek, Boland Creek, drains into Jordan Lake, and that is a drinking water source that you're playing around with. We don't have other drinking water sources in this region except for Jordan Lake. We have no aquifers. Jordan Lake is the water source for a lot of these towns to use as drinking water. You're playing around with things, and you don't even understand it. I mean, honestly. And for other pathways, the Jordan Lake rules also states that you cannot put in a pathway if there are practical alternatives that exist. There are practical alternatives that exist. You can put one along Sewell School Road, and you can also wait for the time and the opportunity when it presents itself to put in a greenway that goes from the Libby Cotton pathway up the railroad line all the way to Durham. I mean, you can get all the way up to NC 10. And that would be a regional greenway that would lower your vehicle miles traveled. Right now, this path that you're talking about is pure recreation. As somebody described it, as Piper described it, it's a want. It's not a need. It's time to put a nail in the coffin of this project and just kill it and be fiscally responsible. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Crook, for your comments. Those are all the folks that I have signed up. If anyone else wants to speak, I see your hand. Come on up. I believe that is Lori Carter in probably Human Services. Welcome, Lori.

Yes, Mayor. It is. Good evening, Mayor, council members, and staff. I am, in fact, Lori Carter, living on 209 Simpson Street for 21 years, having married a townie. Thank you for the opportunity to speak again. And thank you for those of you who took the time on your holiday weekend to respond to my emails pleading for additional funding for human services. I am also here in the face of extraordinary financial times, as otherwise mentioned by other folks, and to ask you to do all that you can do to fund human services for fiscal year 2027. I am personally looking for ways that those of us with resources can share them. with those in need, whether that's in financial means or through gifts of time. And I am saying this because people are watching. I invite all of us who are in the privileged position to do so to do that, because this financial situation is not going to get solved by the town writing a gargantuan check any more than it is by any one of us doing one part. It's going to take our collective effort to do so. I'm here because I didn't see any change in the proposed budget paperwork. So I'm here asking again. And I'm here specifically to plead with you on the behalf of those in our community who cannot be here. Those people work in three jobs. Those elders. Those people who are going to rely on the services that have been cut. And so I ask you to consider a new creative. I honestly am happy for any way that you want to figure this out. Go with God. Please do so. Just please do it.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Lori, for those comments about human services funding. A decision that we have to talk about and make this evening. Is there anyone else that would like to give public comment?

I'd just like to offer, if any of you ever want to talk.

Come on to the microphone, Mr. Crook, so we can hear you.

I just wanted to really quickly offer, if any of you ever want to talk about the route from Carrboro out to old NC-10 and how we can create a regional greenway that will serve more people, a lot of a diverse community, it would be a really good project. And if you want to talk about it, contact me. I'd be happy to talk to you about it. I presented to the Orange County commissioners a couple of years ago, and they loved the presentation. So if you want to, contact me.

Thank you so much for that information, Mr. Crook. I appreciate it. Since no one else is wanting to give public comment, and our speakers have spoken, I'm going to go ahead and close a public hearing. Council members, just a couple of things ahead of our discussion, which actually... We are going to the action item. Are there any questions for Mr. Keyes? Any points of clarification? If not, I've closed the public hearing and I would just move forward to the adoption where we can discuss, do some discussion and make a decision if it's the council's pleasure. Anything for Mr. Keyes?

Good.

So we're going to move to the agenda. Town Manager Toney, is there anything about our action item, our first one that you want to add before we just pop right into it? All right, let's pop into it. So things we have heard, colleagues, we have heard that community members do not want a property tax increase in any amount for the next fiscal year. The recommendation to remove the Bowling 3 and 4 Greenway from the fiscal year 26-27 CIP and the recommendation to openly revisit options for funding human services, which I think that one we are pretty close to a solution. We just have to talk it through tonight, chew on it a little bit. I'm reading from this document, and out of the five items, you know, those were just kind of items that may have just bubbled to the surface for our discussion anyway, which is why I'm bringing them up. So here we are. Whether we're going to adopt the budget tonight or not, the next opportunity, of course, would be June 16th if we don't adopt it tonight. There was also some concern about us adopting our budget ahead of Orange County. I believe maybe they're scheduled to adopt Maybe June 9th. 19th. Is it June 19th? I thought it was the 19th. I saw Friday.

That's the date I've seen floating around as well, but I agree that it is a Friday, and so I'm not sure if it's correct.

Oh, June 19th? That's what I saw. Oh, yeah, I wasn't. Okay.

I'm not confident on that either.

Okay. So let's get down to business and decide what we're going to do. Let's discuss, chew on some of these items. I think in our last meeting, human services funding, we can go ahead and just start there and just hear from council members about what their thoughts are about how to fill that gap. Oh, I see a hand. Council Member Palmer. Council Member Palmer.

Madam Mayor, I would like to give some comments, but I would like to just start by offering an amendment to match the previous fiscal year's human services funding out of fund balance. And I want to explain myself a little bit, if colleagues will bear with me briefly. At our previous meeting, I mentioned potentially doing this with a 0.53% tax increase. After conversations with members of the public, my fellow members of council, the town manager, I'm given to understand that we are in a fiscal position where we can do this out of fund balance this year and that appropriate limiting functions exist in future fiscal years to do that now. And I believe we have the votes tonight to adopt such an amendment to the manager's recommended budget. I want to pause and speak extremely briefly about the Bowling Creek Greenway. And note that from this dais, we do not respond directly to members of the public when they give public comment. That's not how our procedure works. And there are good reasons for that. That does not mean that we either agree or disagree with specific comments. I know that my reading, backed by people who have expertise, is that Bowling Creek Phases three and four are core to our active transportation moving forward. And that we can do this, we should do this, if we want to adapt to climate change. I trust expertise. I trust experts in their field. I have a degree in information science. My focus was scientometrics. I strongly encourage people to listen to experts in their subject area. And I should stop there for now.

Can I ask, was there a motion in your comments?

He semi-gave a motion.

I'm sorry. If you want me to formally, I would like to now make a motion, and I would ask for a second.

Can I propose some friendly language?

I would accept a friendly amendment.

Is this motion, are you going to say the exact amount of money or just whatever money?

That's the idea.

Let's go.

I would like, if it's amenable to you, colleague, to propose that we adopt the budget ordinance with an amendment to allocate an additional $197,130 to the recommended budget to restore human services grants to base level funding. to be offset by a matching appropriation of fund balance of the general fund. If you're making that motion, I will second it. Great doing business with you. I've got $197,130. Madam Mayor, if it's your pleasure, I would add comments to that.

Do you have comments? Oh, go right ahead.

Yeah, mostly I just want to... to reflect on the really strong work by our financial staff to put us in this position. We have talked about some difficult trade-offs here, and none of our choices have been perfect, and we've had a far-ranging discussion about it through this budget season. Long-time listeners of the program will know that I have hesitations in pursuing the strategy that we're pursuing tonight. To restate some points I've made, every year we don't raise our revenues to keep up with inflation. We are functionally losing revenue. As we too well know in Carbro, that means property taxes and sales taxes. I think after conversations that we've had, it's not the year for a tax raise. Many years are not. More years are not than years that are since I've been on this board. But we're going to need to, you know, these are recurring expenses. It is my understanding that we are ahead of our appropriation and fund balance for fiscal year 2025. And this is like the really good work. of our staff is we had a really good budget that put $3.5 million of fund balance appropriation in front of us. And then the really good budgeting work turned into really good finance work to keep us from actually tapping into that $3.5 million. So relative to FY 2025, we are roughly $3.2 million in the black against projected. If I have that right. And that is an extraordinary testament to our financial office. And then, you know, our fund balance policy to kind of underline something like in the spirit of transparency, because I know that we've heard a lot of comments from people who are motivated about this. Carborough's fund balance policy is to carry a fund balance in excess of three times the recommended fund balance that the North Carolina League of Municipalities stipulates. So the conservative end of the North Carolina League of Municipalities, I think, is 8%. And I think ours is 22. So not quite 8%. We're looking at about three times, a little bit less than three times, what the North Carolina League of Municipalities considers conservative. And I think that that's a wonderful policy for us because I think it puts us in a position to do what we are doing here tonight. which is to have an avenue toward making hard choices and listening to our residents and threading needles that might not be available to us to thread if we were at 8% rather than 22%. So there's sort of an inborn conservatism to our policy that I think is bearing fruit tonight. That said, we are kicking the revenue can down the road a year, as we have done in the past. We have questions that we need to disentangle about our strategy and overall allocations of human services. As we sort of tabled in our first discussion, we owe it to ourselves before budget cycle next year to talk about the special revenue fund and its relationship to the general fund. and to make that decision without the pressure of cuts. We were surprised by a healthcare increase this year. We will not be surprised that we can guarantee a healthcare increase next year. And so between the healthcare and a couple other expenses, we're looking at about three quarters of a cent next year off the bat to maintain this budget. I'm really really pleased that we have a balanced budget that we don't have to raise taxes on. I'm really really pleased to not have to cut human services. I'm really really pleased to be making progress on all of our approved infrastructure projects. as every year. You know, we need this to be a year-round discussion. And, you know, I think the one thing that I somehow forget to say in all of the things that I say is this is the land use ordinance. That's the other thing. It's like, this is the land use ordinance. And that's the work that's in front of us and why it's so vital is because we have heard from a number of the Folks that we've heard from tonight over the years and other commenters, but certainly some folks tonight we've heard repeatedly and have well heard the necessity of expanding our revenue streams. We are dying on the vine here and we are going to keep putting it on the backs of a small number of homeowners unless we get this land use ordinance done, dusted, and in a position for us to start making some money off of it. So really, really pleased here with our work. And I just kind of wanted to close the loop on a couple of things we've been talking about over the past couple weeks.

Good comments. Thank you so much. Council Member Nell, I see Mayor Pro Tem Posada-Orozco.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, and thank you, colleagues, for your consideration. And to the staff, and especially you, Manager Tony, for the work on this. I'm conflicted. We're going down, like Council Member Nile said, again and again, and every time I've voted on a budget, we've pulled from the fund balance. It's something that we keep saying we're going to fix, we're going to fix, we're going to fix, we're not going to get to it. And once again, we're looking at pulling from the fund allowance for ongoing expenses. Yes, I agree. We're in a good financial position, and I agree that we can do this. Doesn't mean that because we can do something, we should continue to do the same thing over and over again. With that said, I deeply believe in the work that all these nonprofits are doing, and I don't want us to kid ourselves thinking that the small amount we're taking from the fund balance to make up for the small gap in funding that doesn't cover the entirety of what nonprofits are asking for is going to make It is gonna make a difference, but we're not solving the problem. The town cannot continue to just throw more money at the issues. I mean, when you're looking at, and I think one of our speakers mentioned this, it's not just the town. All of us in a community need to come together to support these organizations. I was doing the math, if 200 community members here in Carrboro can donate $100, that makes up, hey, I lost my numbers. I had to think. But a little bit over 200 members of the community donate $100 each. That fits everything that we have to do that communities are asking us to meet that gap. Now, if we continue to promote events, use town resources to be able to show the important work that these community organizations are doing for the residents of Carrboro, that goes beyond just simply allocating more money from the fund balance that we're later going to have to increase taxes to make up. I understand how this is a small amount of money compared to the entire budget. And I'm not going to ceremoniously vote against the budget, because I agree, just like last year, with 99% of what is in here. And I, again, believe that the staff has done a great job at putting things together. But let's not kid ourselves. And let's not pat ourselves on the back saying that because we're taking money from the fund balance to support these nonprofits, we're doing that huge of a difference. We're not funding their entire requests. We're not meeting the actual gap that these community members and organizations are feeling out there. And we cannot continue to act as a foundation because we're not. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

All right, thank you so much, Councilmember Posada-Orozco. Are there any other comments or concerns about any portion of the budget?

I'm happy to say so.

Maybe not happy to, but I'd like to. Councilmember Mayer.

All right. So, yeah, I think other folks have done their version of this, and I'm, for whatever reason, inclined to do my version of it tonight, too. But just want to kind of frame our decision in the larger kind of trajectory of things. When I was riding my bike here tonight, I passed a couple of neighbors walking their dog and pushing a stroller with their great grandbaby in it. And they said, are you going to raise taxes on us again? And I said, I don't know. I haven't decided. But what I am sure of is that we won't go another 10 years before we raise taxes again. And that's why it hurt so bad last year is because for 10 years we didn't raise taxes again. And so we're not going to do that again because we don't want to put people through that pain again. What we are going to do is do our best to keep pace with inflation at the bare minimum so we can continue to provide the services that make this town run so we can continue to pay people a reasonable wage that they still can't afford to live in Carborough on to keep this town running. And I also want to frame that In the trajectory, kind of in the larger work that we're doing around the land use ordinance that council member now mentioned, there's an adage in the planning world. You can have good services, low taxes, and low population density, pick two. Right now, we have low population density and good services, which is why we have high taxes. So what we're trying to do with the land use ordinance, the downtown area plan, and I hope that putting this in perspective will help gain some support for these ideas, is we're trying to increase the population density near the core where we have the infrastructure in place and we can make better use of that. infrastructure and actually be revenue generating so that when we bring more people downtown and we have more businesses downtown, we are reducing the burden per household. So just kind of want to frame all that, where we came from, how we got here, where we're trying to go. So that's my, I won't call it $0.02 again. That is my brief comment. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Council Member Merrill and colleagues. Absolutely great comments, as I feel like we're rounding a corner with a motion still on the table about human services. I've not forgotten about that. Are there other...

comments?

Oh, I'm sorry. Council Member Frey.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'll be very brief because I think my colleagues' comments have covered a lot. My personal preference would have been to do the very small increase because I feel that we owe people that honesty. If we do not grow our tax base We will either cut services, or we will consume our savings, or we will raise taxes. Those taxes are going to have to go up every year. We do not find a way to increase our revenue. So I understand for this year we've opted, and I get the sense of the consensus of the council, is to use the fund balance. That's not personally my favorite. I think that it is incumbent on us to make the case to our residents that $5 per household per $100,000 of home value COMPARING, I THINK AS COUNCILMEMBER, AS MAYOR POSADO-OROSCO POINTED OUT, IF 200 CARBUROUGH RESIDENTS GAVE $100, THAT WOULD COVER IT. THE OTHER WAY TO COVER IT IS FOR EACH HOUSEHOLD TO GIVE $5 PER $100,000 BECAUSE THAT'S THE WAY THAT THE STRUCTURE WORKS. SO FOR THE MEDIAN HOME IN CARBUROUGH, THAT IS $20. I think that is well worth it to close that gap. And that's not to get into questions about are we where the buck stops for human services? No, we can't be. Are we off the hook for human services? No, we can't be. We're in this interesting spot in the middle in between the county and the federal government, right? But we're an important site of services for our residents and especially those who need most. So to me that is worth it. We will have to pay for it next year and we will find our way to do that. So I think we've all sort of given notice that we're gonna do our best to grow that tax pace so that we can start having that rate come down each year. But until we get that work done, it's going to have to go up. And if it's not every year, it's going to be more in the years than it does. I thank my colleagues for keeping the important thing front and center, which is to fill that gap in the funding.

Thank you so much, Council Member Frey. Are there any other comments? I'm sure there are no questions.

Madam Mayor, if I could, I just want to thank my colleagues and thank staff for all their hard work in helping us come to a humane decision, because that was my appeal the last time we sat here, is to think about how we can have the highest, not just the highest and best use of our resources, but the highest expression of our humanity towards our community members. And so I know it doesn't permanently fix that gap, but I do like the discussion that I'm hearing about what we can do as a community together. I think it's a both and. I think, yes, we do this, but let's put some teeth in trying to figure out how we can pull, the community can pull their resources to execute this, because I think we're definitely going to need it. We're definitely going to have to think about these things moving forward, but I like that I like the energy behind us pulling our resources together, because I think that's the ethos of who we're trying to be as a town. The essence of what we're trying to project, not just to each other as neighbors, but also to the state and to the country. So anyway, I want to thank you all for helping me as the newbie here to get up to speed and understand things, and then to all the work that happens behind the scenes to help us make, I think, the most humane decision that we can with the resources that we have. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Joyner, for those great comments. So I'm going to open this up because we've had so many comments and emails about the recommendation to remove Bowling 3 and 4 Greenway from physical year CIP. Now, my first inclination from my colleagues, as I know it, I think that that would not be what my colleagues would be in favor of, but there is the concern that we continue or that we are going to support this project and the resource allocation, which Mr. Keyes, he did talk about that earlier, about how that would be financed, and I'm raising it because we have heard those concerns. Are there any comments or questions, colleagues, or are we leaving it where we're at? Council Member Nowell, you have the floor. Thank you.

It's an approved project in our transit plan. It is. And we're going to continue to try and fund all of our approved projects. We have approved the project, legislating whether or not we will pursue Bowling Creek 3 and 4 is behind the work of Bowling Creek Greenway 3 and 4. There are complications in planning any greenway that one does not wave a wand and get a buffer permit. One does not wave a wand and automatically comply with the Jordan Lake watershed rules. But like the Morgan Creek Greenway, which is set to begin construction, the professional planners and our employee work with the relevant state agencies to get the buffer permits and comply with the relevant watershed rules. AS A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE IN TOTALLY DE REGUARD FOR THOUSANDS OF CREEKSIDE GREENWAYS IN THE JORDAN LAKE WATERSHED. WHICH IS TO SAY THAT WE HAVE BEEN VOCAL ABOUT THE HURDLES IN FUNDING THIS PROJECT. THE TOTAL PROJECT COST IS HUGE. SO THE CROSSING ANALYSIS IS A HUGE STEP TOWARD COMPLYING WITH THE WATERSHED RULES, TOWARD CONCRETIZING OUR ACTUAL ALIGNMENT. From there on we'll need to negotiate easements with property owners, with OWASA, we'll have to like, yeah, it's still a lot. And we as a council will have to almost certainly phase the project out to bid it into smaller chunks than the overall total cost in the capital improvement plan. But I think we, to the extent we wanna have a community discussion here and put our cards on the table, just like the restriping for Greensboro Street, just like the South Greensboro sidewalk, just like the Shelton Street Contraflow Lane, just like the dozens of projects in our Safe Routes to School and Bicycle project. This is an approved infrastructure project that we will be pursuing construction and funding for.

So I thank you for those comments, Council Member Nowell. I did want to open it up because there has been quite a few emails and comments here this evening. It is an approved project with a long, long, long way to go. And I'm not even sure any of us will probably not even be at this dais unless, you know, there's a magic wand and we have $20 or $30 million left. $20 or $30 million to just kind of fall upon us. And also not sure about paving. I think things change over time, and ideas may change about how to make this area more accessible, and paving may not be what we're thinking. It could be the crush and run. Everybody seems wildly enthusiastic about that, the work that AWASA has done there. And I've heard a couple of other ideas. So we just don't know. And as Council Member Now alluded to, you know, it's just far down the road to just be kind of thinking that far ahead. But it is an approved project. To answer some questions we heard earlier about why it keeps coming up, it's because the project has been approved. And so periodically there will be some movement on the project. And as I said, Mr. Keyes explained it about how it will be financed. We received a lot of emails using the word loan. And Mr. Keyes, it was debt service, right? So he described it as debt service. And I know that it's not popular. But again, we're always listening when community speaks about this project. But it is an approved project. And so periodically, there will be money spent on this project.

Anyone else? I see two hands.

Frey and Palmer.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just some brief notes to fill in the holes between things that have already been said. The project remains popular, as best I can tell. We know that the comments that we receive in person are a small subset of the expression of public opinion to this council. That doesn't mean that they don't matter. I'm glad that you're here to give them to us. They say if nobody around you is telling you that you're wrong, then you're in a bubble. I am glad to have all of you to tell me that I am wrong frequently and at volume. But when we talk to members of the larger community, not just the folks who are able to show up to these meetings, we continue to find that this project is popular. As folks have noted, it is also slow. So just a note for anyone who is listening at home who has been getting communications saying that the bulldozers will roll through Bull and Forest next year should we approve this. The next year's budget is for a crossing study, and that's it. This is just the very slow progress of a very large project. Thank you.

Thank you. I just, I did want to

clarify one thing, and that is specifically the word amenity. A range of folks did write to us, and it's actually less than in previous years. And they may think that it's not clear that a very small group is feeding them a misreading of public documents, but it is extremely clear when you reuse words like amenity, which have a technical meaning. I want to be super clear. Bowling Creek Greenway is not an amenity. It's part of our transportation network. It is an approved plan to be part of our active transportation network. It may also serve as an amenity, but that's not why it's an approved project. I'm angry tonight, but I'm not angry at you all. I'm angry because we are downstream of, one was mentioned from the podium, we are downstream of two things at a national level that directly affect our budget. The Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP benefits, all of those tax changes that were passed July 4th of last year, That's why human services funding requests are ballooning. When we hit January 1, a lot of people are going to have a lot more need. Direct line from federal changes to our budget. A war of choice. Freedom of navigation has been a priority for this country for an absurdly long time. and the current occupant. Anyway, it's directly downstream of decisions at the federal level. I'm mad about that. I don't want to be mad at my fellow residents. And so I do want you to hear it from me, but I do take personally an accusation that we don't respect open meetings. That's the law. We take that extremely seriously. If we accidentally show up somewhere and there are four of us, one of us will leave because that's a quorum. We take this very seriously. We either swore an oath or solemnly affirmed we all take this process extremely seriously. I deeply respect all of my colleagues. I deeply respect the work of our town manager. And I want folks to hear that from me. Thank you.

All right. So I think I have heard from everyone about everything. And so, colleagues, I think what I want to know, and maybe I should ask Nick, we can go ahead and pass the amendment for human services to fund that. Go ahead and pass that first.

Why don't you just go ahead and do that, and then you can entertain it.

And then go through the rest of the adoption of the budget, if it's the council's pleasure to do that tonight. So the motion is on the floor already.

I believe the motion that's on the floor is to approve the entire budget with the amendment attached in one motion.

We could also do that. If that was the intent of Danny.

Yes.

So it's okay to put A, B, C, and D just all together? Yeah, Council Member Frey is right.

I didn't hear Danny say anything about the main budget. Just clarify it.

Yes, I would like to move the entire budget with the amendment.

All right, along with your motion for the funding gap.

And I'm still happy to be the second with that clarification.

OK, all that's on the floor. Council members, are you ready for the question?

Yes, ma'am.

All in favor, please say aye. Aye.

Any opposed?

Motion carries 7-0. Our budget is adopted for next fiscal year. Thank you so much. Town Manager Tony, our award-winning budget and finance team led by Chaz, just thank you so much, and all the department heads for the hard work that went into delivering a balanced budget with no property tax increase, but just so grateful that we were able to come together as a council and fill that funding gap for Human Services, which could not be more important than it is right now. Thank you so much. Next item, action item, Town Manager Tony.

Yes, second action item is consideration of the North Carolina DOT ordinance and subsequent Harborough Town Code amendment to change the speed limit of Homestead Road to 35 miles per hour. And Christina Moon is going to review this item.

Looking at the clock and you've already received this if it's okay I'm gonna hit the highlights and keep moving and then we can circle back for questions if you have them The principal purpose of bringing this before you tonight is for you to review and vote on NCDOT or to concur with NCDOT's ordinance, which is to lower the speed limit from 45 to 35 on a portion of Homestead Road. This is a little smaller than I thought. The yellow line here shows Homestead Road. This is a project, and we'll talk about it in a little bit more depth in just a minute, but this is a project which involves both Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and NCDOT together, just like the crossings on 54 we talked about earlier today. This is a great example of all the partners working together and to take advantage of a resurfacing project to put in place other improvements and particularly reducing the speed limit. This is an extra slide. I think we've all been on Homestead Road, but sometimes seeing it again is a helpful refresher when you're talking about it. So what you can see here is this is a road that used to be relatively rural that's now experiencing quite a bit of growth. It is used heavily by vehicles as well as some cyclists. There is very little in the way of shoulder, and so this is an effort to try to get a little bit more shoulder in as well as to make the The travel lane is a little bit more narrow. And so the important element here, and I've included it on the right-hand side, the image of attachment C in your packet. This is the actual ordinance that DOT has provided for us for the clerk and the manager to review and complete following your discussion this evening. And so all DOT speed limit changes involve the approval of an ordinance. For those speed limit changes that go through a municipality or so the town limits, Concurrence with that board is the elected officials, the governing board is also needed. And those places where the road simply goes through the county, that concurrence is not needed. So that's why we're only looking for this one section. There are some other sections along Homestead Road which are technically part of the town's planning jurisdiction but are not part of the town's limits. So that's the distinction and the inclusion of that last slide so you can see those little segments. Should you move forward and concur with DOT's ordinance and they formally approve it, the subsequent step would be to make sure that the town code, which is where the town lists speed limits, that that would be in alignment. So a subsequent step would be to update the town code. Rather than bringing this back to you in the fall, we're providing that second attachment, the town code amendment. If you'll notice that language on the bottom, that would be subject to move forward only if DOT approves the ordinance for the speed limit in their office first. The piece that you might find a little bit more interesting is the resurfacing. And so while this is not a decision item, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to share it with you. And I realize it is a little bit small. You can see it perhaps a little bit better in the handouts. But what we're essentially doing, and again, this is partnering with Chapel Hill. The resurfacing will go the entire length of Homestead from Martin Luther King Jr. or Airport Road all the way to old NC86. So Chapel Hill is going to focus a little bit more on trying to squeeze in bike lanes that have a little bit more right of way. We are going to focus here in Carrboro on slowing traffic. So the portion in Carrboro where there isn't quite enough space to add more than just a little bit of asphalt, lane widths will become more narrow. So they'll go from about 11 feet to 10 and a half feet for travel lanes and about 10 feet for turn lanes. Again, this is just a small segment just to give you a sense of this is what a pavement marking plan looks like. And you can see this section right outside of Claremont. No real change to the existing configuration other than making the lanes a little bit more narrow. So again, in terms of procedural notes, that first bullet is the description of the section, the segment that we're talking about. And the actual action for the resolution, which is provided as attachment one, is to vote in approval of concurring with DOT's ordinance to repeal the 45-mile-per-hour segment. And then subsequent to that would be the adoption of the town code.

So I'm happy to answer any questions if you have them all right Thank you so much Tina for the presentation council members looks pretty straightforward to me, but you may have some questions or comments maybe Council Member Mero.

I just had a question about the lane marking. Can we go back to the slide? Just didn't know if there was any, I noticed like on Claremont Drive, there's two different types of crosswalks there. One's high-vis, one's just kind of the lines. I don't know if there's any consideration for that as part of that, or is this kind of the wrong part of the process for that?

Generally speaking, where there's an opportunity to go to high-vis, we're doing that.

Okay. That was really my only question. I don't know. I'm a little skeptical of narrower lanes and lower speed limits, as you know.

Yes, we know.

Bad joke. I think it's great. I love it. Can I make the motion? Go for it. All right. I don't think there are any questions or comments. I haven't had it. Well, yeah. Motion to do this. Okay.

That's attachment A and B. Yes, please. We could do a little more than that.

All right. Somebody feed me my lines. Motion to adopt attachment A and B.

Second. It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0. Thank you so much, Tina. That was the joy of civics, y'all.

That was real easy. Didn't you get a master's? Not yet. No, I did. He's done.

But not in public policy.

He's done. Everyone's getting giggly now we have a budget.

That's true.

Town Manager Tony, we have two information items.

Yes. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I would like to present both of them together, if you don't mind. They will be both presented by our economic development director, Mr. John Hartman Brown. First, he's going to discuss the impact of Savannah bananas, impact on the community, and then explain a little bit about local tourism agencies that we probably hadn't really heard much details about.

Welcome, John. We never see you. How are you? I'm well.

I'm well. How are you all doing?

We're good.

We're good. Let's go. We have a budget, so that's always good. We are. Yeah. So good evening. I just wanted to go over a few things. So we're going to go over some information on the Savannah Bananas, results from the event that they came, and we'll also talk a little bit about the Tourism Development Authority as well as the Orange County Visitors Bureau and some of that dynamic. So I do want to qualify some of the information we're going to see on the Savannah Bananas presentation. We're still kind of finalizing or trying to narrow down more specifically the impacts for Orange County, and ideally, specifically, Carrboro and or Chapel Hill. And the reason for that is a lot of these economic numbers we're going to be looking at are region-wide. So they're taking a kind of the, think about the whole Durham, Chapel Hill area. And so they're not going to be a direct impact to Carrboro unless we specifically say so. So just a heads up on that. So setting the stage, as many of you know, this was a really good opportunity for us to do some multi-jurisdictional partnerships. We worked at the Carrboro TDA, the Orange County Visitors Bureau, UNC Athletics, the town of Chapel Hill Economic Development Department, and the Carrboro Economic Development Department all worked together to really leverage this opportunity to bring additional tourism and more specifically those tourism dollars into our community. And on April 11th and 12th of 2026, Savannah Bananas came to Kenia Stadium and conducted two performances, two games there, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. So talking a little bit about the impact from their event, we had over 88,000 people that visited unique footprints that visited downtown Carrboro and Chapel Hill during the weekend of the event. Direct spending impacts. Again, this is the direct dollar input. This is not kind of induced and implied economic numbers. And this is a regional number of $17 million that came into our region as a result. of this event. And we reached over 30,000 travelers that traveled more than 30 miles away to attend the game. And the map here shows a little bit about where folks came from. So we had representation from over 36 states. I also want to note that what you can't see on here is we cannot track international visitors, although we do know we had some Canadians that came to the event as well. So unfortunately, the data that we use doesn't track international travelers.

Do you have Canadians?

So how do we really kind of apply this on a local level and see the impact to our local community? So we focused on specifically the economic development departments really focused and drilled down on visitor spending and how do we drive those visitors to our businesses. So we developed promotional and fan incentive collateral for businesses. So as you can see, we had brochures that really talked about eating and shopping opportunities within downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro, as well as the pins, which I think you all have received some of those pins as well. put those at various businesses throughout the community, and really kind of incentivize our fans to inquire and ask, hey, where can I get one of those? And then, of course, we tell them, hey, you've got to go visit a business if you want one. And we also worked directly with our business owners and the managers to implement special promotions. So you might have seen, if you were kind of hopping around town, different specials at restaurants or maybe unique things that you could get at a retail shop that you wouldn't normally be able to get. that were banana themed in an effort to really encourage the fans to visit our local businesses and take advantage of those unique things. We had over 30 different local businesses between downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro that participated in these programs. So some of our local business impact here in Carrboro. I'm not going to read through all these, but as you can see, Carrboro, Ray Mosher from Carrboritos had a great day. The hotel was full, almost full. And we had a lot of businesses that were also reporting dramatic increases in sales from year over year during this weekend. All in all, I think we could say, most of our business community would say this was a great success. So some of the lessons learned and things we're going to take away. Synergy is key. Going forward, the coordination that we have between the tourism agencies, the economic development departments, UNC, and the athletics, really we all stepped up to the plate. And I think we hit a home run. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

John, are we getting a backflip out of you at this point now? No backflips.

No backflips. Sorry. Are you a dad yet? So I think that's something that we're definitely going to be taking away, is that it's really economic development and tourism is a team sport. And so we're going to really have to make sure that we're all working together to make it a success. The other thing, of course, was direct engagement with our local businesses, making sure that they had opportunities. We were months out from the event, we were reminding them, hey, don't forget this is coming up. Figure out how you can engage. So really making sure that we were engaging a business community, encouraging them to find ways to engage as folks were coming into town. And so going forward, I think this is a reproducible model, something that we'll look to. Our colleagues in Chapel Hill, the Visitors Bureau, as well as UNC Athletics all agreed that this was a great success, and so we look to replicate this for future events. And we also want to continue to support regional event attraction efforts going down into the future. So with that, are there any questions on the Savannah Bananas presentation before we go into the tourism stuff?

Got any more dad jokes? I don't, sorry.

Hold on, let me get to the next presentation and we'll see. All right, so this is just a little bit of an outline, a brief overview of some of the tourism agencies and structures we have in both Carrboro and Orange County. I'll talk a little bit about the similarities and some differences, and if there's any questions, we can address those as well. So we'll kick it off with the Orange County Visitors Bureau. So the Orange County Visitors Bureau is a department of the Orange County government. And it is primarily, mostly funded by the occupancy tax that Orange County collects. Its governance model is technically under the Technically under the County Commission, however, there is an advisory board that is made up of various stakeholders composed of staff and elected officials from Orange County, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Hillsboro, and other tourism business leaders within the community. So from Carrboro, we have Councilmember Joyner sits on the Orange County Visitors Bureau as well as myself from the staff side. For their legal framework, they operate under a special private act in Orange County that allows them to collect the occupancy tax. Generally, this does not conform to kind of the standard statutory guidelines that the state has more recently adopted under the tourism development authorities. So they're legal, they're legally operating, but it's a little bit of a different structure in how they collect and how they can spend those funds as a result of their private act. And the town of Chapel Hill has supported the Orange County Visitors Bureau in the past. And I should also note that Chapel Hill also has a private act and functions similar to Orange County Visitors Bureau. So the Cardboard Tourism Development Authority, organizationally, it's a separate and distinct entity from the town council. It's a component agency of the town. So they have their own spending authority, budgeting authority. The town council does, however, appoint, as you all know or may know, that the town council does appoint the members of the Cardboard Tourism Development Authority. But they do have their own kind of entity. They do their own auditing and all that kind of stuff. Legal framework, they operate, again, within the kind of modern North Carolina state statutes regulating tourism authorities. So they generally fall under that category. And again, the governance model is the same. They're by the state statutes, and they also have the financial accountability and board composition is regulated by the state statutes also. The TDA does not maintain any of its own staff, dedicated staff. We provide at the town operational support for them. So the Economic Development Department and the Finance Department provide staffing to the Carbro Tourism Development Authority to carry out and help them execute their desires. They currently provide funding for the Cardboard Music Festival, the Film Festival, Poetry Festival, Freight Train Blues, Concert Series. And they also pay for approximately half of the Hampton Inn parking deck. The general fund pays for the other half of that. So some key structural differences, as we just discussed, the legal foundations. Orange County Visitors Bureau operates under a special private act. The CTDA, while also operating under a private act, that private act generally conforms to the modern statutes regarding tourism development authorities. The taxing jurisdiction, obviously, Carborough is within the Carborough town limits, and Orange County is countywide. Operationally, the Orange County Visitors Bureau is a department of the county, and the CTDA is a separate entity supported by town staff. And as we discussed a couple of times, the CTDA structure adheres to modern state regulatory standards. Again, kind of just running through some of the regional, looking around the area. Chapel Hill operates, as I mentioned before, similarly to Orange County. Hillsboro TDA operates similar to Carrboro, again, following that Tourism Development Authority standard under the state statutes. And the CTDA and Orange County Visitor Bureau work together financially on various marketing activities and promotions. So there is cooperation and collaboration between the two entities. But they are separate and have the ability to kind of do their own thing when necessary. So with that, are there any questions on Visitor's Bureau or tourism?

Any questions or comments for John?

Thank you for that and for the dad jokes. They were great. You were talking about doing some similar events. I heard somewhere there was a potential to bring the banana people back. Is that something? What are they called? Savannah Bananas. Do you have any kind of idea what are some of these potential future events look like?

are not the primary recruiter of those. UNC Athletics is. So we work with them. The Savannah Bananas recruitment effort was initiated by UNC Athletics. When there was more security and a clear understanding of what was needed to bring them to Kenan, that was when they came to the communities and said, the Visitors Bureau, the CTDA, and said, if we're going to do this, here's kind of what we need to be able to have to do that. And so, for example, bid packages, you know, doing bidding on events is not an uncommon thing. And so that may be a thing that we will consider in the future. So those are the types of things that will be necessary to recruit larger events.

Thanks. Sounds like a pretty strong rotation came together to close out the save.

Huh?

Thank you for your work, John.

You're welcome. Y'all know I'm not a sports person. I don't think one closes out a save.

We are a part of a rotation. We got the save, but anyway. A couple other people had to pitch first. Broadly speaking, this works. Y'all are stretching this metaphor. It's gone too far.

The metaphor is gone. Yeah, it's gone.

It's too far. It's too far. So I had one question for you. Sure. So in reference to the Hampton Inn parking deck lease, in light of the fact that we have our parking deck with the Drakeford Library complex, And so are we still holding on to the Hampton Inn parking deck lease or still need it or what?

Yeah, that will be coming up for renewal. And so we'll be looking at that.

So you're going to look.

OK. Yeah. We're looking at the potential for leasing fewer spaces. There is some wiggle room there in the last parking counts. So that deck was not completely full. So those are some areas that we'll be looking at when that lease comes up.

Yeah, that was my only question. Anything else, colleagues? Thank you. Thanks for the hard work. Thank you so much, John, for the report. Colleagues, we are at the end. Give me a second.

Who's ready?

We're at the end of our agenda for the evening. So we always want to entertain a motion to move to adjourn. Yes.

Second.

We're just making you wait. Something about that Savannah bananas. I don't know, John. Something about that agenda item. So it's been moved and properly seconded that we adjourn the meeting. Colleagues, all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries 7-0. We are adjourned and go Canes.