The Downtown wish list

The media reported extensively on the presentation of Action Greensboro's suggested downtown greenway plan at Tuesday's council briefing session, but they didn't say much about the other projects the city council was asked to consider for inclusion in the 2006 bond referendum package. Here are all the items on the "wish list" presented by Action Greensboro and Downtown Greensboro Inc.

l A four-mile downtown greenway loop beginning at Battleground Avenue, going south on the (hoped-to-be-abandoned by Norfolk Southern) rail line to Freeman Mill Road, east along Broad and Bragg streets to Morrow Boulevard, north on Morrow to Summit Avenue, then west back to Battleground. Cost estimate = $20-25 million

l Additional parking garages on the southern end of Downtown to provide parking for the increasing number of bars/clubs, restaurants, and residential uses. The request included a 400-car deck in the Elm/McGee area, a 350-car deck on Davie Street, a 400-car deck in the Church/Washington area, and facade improvements to the existing Greene Street deck. Cost estimate = $16-18 million

l Streetscape improvements on Elm Street, Smith Street, Church Street, and Washington Street. Cost estimate = $14-16 million

l Parks and Open Space projects to include the greenway, improvements to Hamburger Square Park, and construction of the Railyard Park. Cost estimate = $36-38 million (I believe this figure includes the $20-25 million noted above for the greenway.)

l The "other" category that included Arts and Culture projects such as the Carolina Theater, International Civil Rights Museum, and the Greensboro Historical Museum, workforce housing for downtown workers, and economic development projects. Cost estimate = $8-12 million.

The grand total was in the $64-84 million range. I would note that this figure is near the total amount the council had heard earlier for potential bond projects covering the entire city (fire stations, branch libaries, parks and recreation centers, etc.) NO DECISIONS OR COMMITMENTS WERE MADE BY THE CITY COUNCIL. We merely received this as information to consider as we formulate the 2006 bond referendum package over the next year. Whatever projects the city council decides to include, the final (and only) decision that truly counts will be made by the voting citizens of Greensboro in November, 2006.

City not off the hook for WalMart money yet?

Sitting here at my desk checking email, I received a fax from Don Linder clarifying WalMart's recent purchase of a site at the former Carolina Circle Mall. Following are key excerpts from that fax:

* [Speaking to his decision to withdraw his request for city incentive money] "...and also because several Council members had expressed their interest in facilitating this development through other means such as infrastructure credits." He cites a News & Record editorial that endorsed that concept.

* "...After that public support was stated, I received a loan commitment from my bank offering to provide not only the necessary financing for the first stage of the mall development but also for the resolution of the easement rights of which you are aware...In that executed loan agreement letter there is a contingent covenant specifically stating that, in order to proceed with this financing proposal, within 60 days the bank requires written confirmation that infrastructure credits or other funds in 'an amount acceptable' to them will be provided by the City. Therefore it is critical that our project receive assistance from the City in order to maintain this necessary financing..."

* Dr. Linder then explains that it became necessary to proceed with closing on WalMart's purchase of the land to avoid losing the contract with them and allow them to proceed with their development plans on their required time schedule. He also notes he assumed the responsibility to develop the mall site.

"...I could not have assumed that liability without the financial commitment from the bank along with your expressed interest in assisting our project. I hope that you will ascertain...that my financing for this development is contingent on receiving aid from the City. I would sincerely appreciate any assistance that you can provide which is reasonable and consistent with aid that has been provided to other projects in the area that will significantly benefit our Community."

It appears the City Council will be dealing with this issue again - same song, next verse.

Disappointing presentation on Center City Park

When I saw the last item on last Tuesday's city council briefing agenda - Update on Center City Park (time permitting) - I assumed that questions various council members have raised about the park would be addressed. They included concerns about the operating and maintenance costs of the proposed "water feature" in the park and the compatibility of street lights in the city-funded streetscaping outside the perimeter of the park with other lighting fixtures in the downtown area . Sadly, I was quite disappointed when those concerns were not addressed.

The only information architect Bruce Cantrell offered in a quick AV-change break between two other presentations concerned the construction timetable - Phase I consisting of demolition, relocation of utilities (i.e., tearing up surrounding streets and sidewalks), and grading will begin on July 5 and last about 60 days. Construction on the fountain, pavilion, and sidewalks would begin in August-September in an effort to have the park open and operational within the next year. We were told if we had questions or wanted further details, we could review the plans in the Action Greensboro office at any time. That was it, and we moved on with other items on the agenda.

But it turns out, that wasn't the end of the discussion. Council member Tom Phillips was out of the room at the time of Mr. Cantrell's quick presentation and did not know it had occurred. At the end of our meeting, he asked why we weren't having the Center City Park presentation. I whispered to him that it was done while he was out of the room but that he hadn't really missed anything because our questions were not addressed and construction would begin immediately after the Fun Fourth was finished. Then things got REALLY interesting.

Tom rightly pointed out that it would be foolish to proceed to tear up city streets when the various issues had not been resolved up front. If things grind to a halt to work out details, the public would be greatly inconvenienced. I noted that Action Greensboro needs to know details of the city's commitment lest the council decide upon lower amounts than AG is expecting and find themselves in a situation where they don't have enough funding to operate the park as anticipated. The mayor and Deputy Manager Mitchell Johnson got involved in our conversation, with the mayor agreeing that we needed these answers sooner rather than later. Mitch told us a consultant is working on these issues, but the information is not ready yet.

Bottom line, there will now be a special briefing session scheduled for July 12 to review the situation and get these questions answered BEFORE things proceed beyond the point of no return. That makes me feel much better, as I had the distinct impression of being railroaded and being told in the future "Oops, it's too late to do anything now." Hopefully this July 12 meeting will produce the needed answers so everyone is clear about what obligations - if any - the city will accept or fund in the operation of this park. Stay tuned!

Kudos to city workers and other organizations

City council members usually receive more complaints than "thank yous" about city actions, so the following email from Mark Sills of Faith Action is a welcome and refreshing message. Great job, folks!

First, I want to express our appreciation to those public servants and volunteers who made an otherwise tragic event so much less traumatic this past weekend. As many of you will know from news reports, there was a large fire at the apartments on Cedar Street in downtown Greensboro. Most of the residents of these apartments are refugees or immigrants from various parts of the world.

The Greensboro Fire Department, working in cooperation with the American Red Cross, the Guilford County Emergency Management Service, and the Greensboro Police really did an outstanding job. They did much more than simply putting out a fire. It was a hot time for those poor people who were watching their homes
being destroyed by fire. These great community organizations set up tents to provide shelter for the victims. They brought in portable toilets. They set up misting fans to keep people cool, and then they brought in food and drink. In spite of language and cultural differences, the victims of this tragic fire were made to feel supported and cared for in an incredible way. We can really be proud of the way our community institutions are working together to provide for the needs of ALL our residents, and this was a very clear example of how things can be done RIGHT!

Green bean blues

Why am I blogging after midnight tonight?

My husband and I plant an extensive vegetable garden every summer, and I do a lot of canning and freezing of tomatoes, beans, broccoli, etc. We've eaten so much broccoli lately, I think we are both turning green.

When he mentioned that he needed to pick the green beans today, I thought, "Oh great, maybe there will be enough to cook for supper this evening." WRONG! Not only did he pick enough between rain showers this afternoon to have for supper (and as leftovers for several more suppers), I just put the last batch of green beans into the pressure canner for a grand total of 21 pints today. It will be after 1AM before I can remove them from the cooker and retire for the day. So I might as well catch up on this blog while I can.

[Groan] It's going to be a busy summer, but it will be worth it this winter.

City Manager search update

Although there has not been much public activity lately in the search for a new city manager, that effort is actually progressing at a rapid pace. A profile of the desired person has been finalized by Slavin Management Consultants using input from city council members, city staff, and numerous citizens. Advertisements have been placed in a wide variety of professional publications about the position, and applications from interested persons are tentatively due back to the firm by July 22.

It is hoped that the search firm will be able to produce a list of 15-18 qualified applicants by August 1, from which the city council could select 3-4 outstanding candidates for indepth investigations and interviews. If all goes well and council members are in agreement, we could name a new manager as early as September 1. (I personally think this is an extemely optimistic schedule and could quite likely take longer.) In the meantime, we will need to name an Interim Manager until the new manager is hired and on board.

For those citizens who want to celebrate Ed Kitchen's accomplishments and wish him well in retirement, I urge you make plans to attend his retirement dinner on Wednesday evening, July 27 at the Coliseum's Special Events Center. Ticket information should be available shortly. From the snippets of information I hear now and again from members of the planning committee, it will be an evening to remember!

City Connections

The latest edition of City Connections is available. Check it out!

Weekly schedule

This week will be another semi-busy one with several meetings early in the week, then things taper off for the holiday weekend.

On Monday, June 27, I have a 1:30PM meeting at PART to review a developer's proposal for some land in the Heart of the Region area. Then it's a quick dash to City Hall for a conference with the city manager.

Tuesday, June 28 will be the busiest day with the official grand opening of the Water Resources Operations Center (2602 South Elm St.) at 9AM followed by a tour of the facility and a council briefing session in the Lake Townsend Conference Room on site.

Items for discussion on the briefing agenda include:

* Proposed revisions to the water and sewer extension policy

* Action Greensboro presentation of Center City Greenway Proposal

* DGI proposals for bond referendum projects for Downtown, and

* Update on Center City Park (time permitting).

My only official obligation on Wednesday, June 29 is the annual meeting of the Piedmont Triad Partnership at 4PM.

A meeting of the Infrastructure Subcommittee of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Greensboro Partnership starts Thursday, June 30 off at 8AM.

After that, it appears I am free to enjoy some free time celebrating the Fourth. I hope everyone will take advantage of the various activities planned for downtown the entire holiday weekend and Monday, the 4th! Look for me on the elected officials' float at the beginning of the Fun Fourth Parade on Monday at 10AM!

2005 City Council election

With all the recent announcements about which incumbents ARE running for the Greensboro City Council in November 2005 (Mayor Holliday and Florence Gatten) and those who ARE NOT running (Claudette Burroughs-White and Robbie Perkins), I guess it is time to officially make my intentions known.

Yes, I plan to run again for the District 5 seat.

Finally, a budget!

On an 8-1 vote last night, we passed the amended version of the FY2005-06 city budget presented by city manager Ed Kitchen at our final June 14 budget work session with no additional changes. I'm pleased that we were able to agree on a budget without an increase in the property tax rate without seriously harming the provision of city services.

Next year's budget will present a significant challenge with the main impacts being the full cost of operating the garbage transfer station, taking another look at the need for additional police officers and firefighters, and addressing a growing list of deferred maintenance and personnel needs. City council members have agreed to begin an in-depth department-by-department review of city programs and services beginning in August to look for possible efficiencies and ways to cut costs. That will give us the opportunity to thoughtfully examine and discuss our options before deadlines are looming instead of the last-minute scrambling we went through this budget cycle. Sounds like a much more sensible approach to me!

A "CRASH" course in human relations

I was one of the 100+ citizens who attended the private viewing of the movie Crash Tuesday morning as a guest of the Greensboro Police Department. I agree with Chief Wray - it is an excellent training film. The movie focuses on our prejudices and racial stereotypes and how they affect us in our everyday lives. It's a film that really makes you think. I highly recommend it for ADULTS. ( It could impart excellent lessons to our children as well, but I cannot recommend it for them due to the excessive use of foul language throughout the movie.)

Hmmm! Sound familiar?

I guess Greensboro is not the only city experiencing ice hockey woes!

Weekly schedule

This week's council-related schedule has a little bit of everything on it as well as several personal obligations interspersed within it.

* I have a meeting on Monday morning, June 20, with a local attorney to review one of the zoning cases on Tuesday night's city council agenda.

* Tuesday morning, June 21, I am attending a screening of the movie CRASH along with members of Other Voices, Human Relations, Office of Develpment and Communication, and the NCCJ.

The city council meeting begins at 5:30PM that same day with several rezonings and (hopefully) the adoption of the FY2005-06 city budget on the agenda.

* At 9AM on Wednesday, June 22, I am bringing greetings on behalf of the city council to the opening session of the Youth Leadership Forum sponsored by the Human Relations Department. This is a program where city youth learn about the city's operations and intern with various city departments.

The monthly meeting of the Greensboro MPO's TAC (Transporation Advisory Committee) begins at 1:45PM in the county commissioner's Blue Room. Items on this agenda include formal adoption of the 2006-12 MTIP (our state-funded transportation program for the next six years), consideration of changes to the Thoroughfare Plan, and an update on the I-73 Connector (US220-68 Connector).

* The Sponsors Recognition Breakfast for the Fun Fourth Festival will be held at 7:30AM on Thursday, June 23.

That's it for now, but if it's like usual, more will be added to it as the week goes by.

Toll-tally surprised!

The NC Turnpike Authority met at the PART office this morning after attending a nice reception and dinner for its members last night hosted by PART and the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce.

At the Authority's public hearing, twelve speakers from around the Triad - including the mayors of High Point, Rural Hall, and Winston-Salem as well as the Mayor Pro Tem of Kernersville - spoke in favor of designating the "Airport Connector" (also called the I-73/I-74 Connector) from Winston-Salem's future western urban loop over to Piedmont Triad International Airport as a toll road facility, citing the current congestion problems on I-40 between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. We acknowledged that no one really wants to have to pay a toll to drive on a roadway, but given the choice of "toll road or no road," we would support a toll road.

With Dell and FedEx coming in addition to our continued emphasis on becoming an East Coast logistics and manufacturing distribution hub, traffic tie-ups are absolutley unacceptable. However, there is no alternate route if I-4o is experiencing construction or traffic accident problems. Traffic projections on the Airport Connector exceed 50,000 vehicles a day the moment it opens. It is anticipated that a large number of the big 18-wheelers traveling through our area would use the toll road, freeing up capacity on I-40. So motorists who choose to stay on I-4o instead of paying to use the toll road will benefit as well from the reduction of traffic on I-40.

We must have presented a great case for the project because the Authority members voted to add our proposal to the current list of potential projects to study. That does NOT mean the roadway will be built tomorrow (or at all, for that matter), but it does mean it will be seriously considered. That's a giant step in the right direction. We had not expected such quick action and were caught totally off-guard by their supportive response (but are greatly appreciative of it).

That's the nice kind of surprise I like!

No city tax increase!

Barring a change of heart after this afternoon's work session, it appears a majority of us city council members will approve the latest version of the city manager's proposed FY2005-06 budget next Tuesday evening. The GREAT NEWS is that there is NO TAX INCREASE! The proposal actually lowers the current General Fund tax rate by 1/4 of a cent, then raises the transit tax 1/4 of a cent for a net gain of ZERO in the total tax rate. There is also a one-time allocation of $200,000 to provide a temporary fix to the overcrowding problems on GTA buses.

Here is a summary of the relatively painless changes that are recommended to achieve the magic figure of $2,280,000 to produce this result.

Personnel:

* Impose hiring delays averaging 3-4 months on vacant positions (NOT in the police or fire departments) for a savings of $227,650

* Dip into the Reserve Account for Health Insurance and Worker's Comp for $425,000. This should not have any negative effect on these programs unless we have an unusually high number of expensive medical claims.

Program Service Cuts:

* Reduce the fall loose-leaf pickup program from three to two collection cycles, a $100,000 reduction - you can still bag or can your leaves weekly

* Delay the citizen survey for a year for a savings of $100,000

* Eliminate the $100,000 increase in the Neighborhood Small Projects (leaving it at the current $100,000 level).

* Reduce the amount for citizen-requested street lights by $50,000

* $200,000 will be cut from the Nussbaum Housing Fund, but the effect will be minimal. The Targeted Loan Pool for small business establishment funded by CDBG federal funds will be reduced by $100,000. That $100,000 in CDBG money will be reprogramed to cover costs of the homeless shelter program and housing rehabilitation loans (no reduction in those programs , just money out of a different "pot"). The other $100,000 comes from a $20,000 reduction in administrative costs and a $80,000 reduction in the Affordable Housing Loan program for city-financed second mortgages. (Andy Scott explained that all the money in that program has not been used for the past several years so he really views this $80,000 as "surplus" funds that potentially would not be used anyway.)

Capital/Other Cuts:

* Eliminate the $43,000 in "Council Contingency Funds" that we use to fund unanticipated requests throughout the year. (Some folks label this item as "Council's slush fund.")

* Eliminate the $150,000 for replacement of golf greens at Bryan Park

Other M/O Cuts (Maintenance & Operations): A reduction of $391,350 spread over all city departments for supplies, training, software, consulting, equipment repair, printing, etc. which cuts an average of $1,000-1,500 per department.

Revenue Increases: An additional increase of $100,000 from Building Permit Fees was estimated in light of continuing increases in building activity - does NOT change the actual amount of the fee.

* Increase the Powell Bill Fund (gasoline taxes) transfer to the General Fund by $100,000 (from $3.5 million to $3.6 million) - essentially a shift of $100,000 from capital expenditures to operating expenses.

* Add in $43,000 in revenue from the Guilford College Fire District that was erroneously omitted from the original revenue projections.

Mayor Holliday, Florence Gatten, Yvonne Johnson, Robbie Perkins (participating by telephone) and I have tentatively agreed to vote for this budget. A couple of others indicated they MIGHT support it as well, but wanted to review it before making a firm commitment. If only five of us vote "Yes," we will have to hold a special meeting to conduct a second vote to confirm that vote. If a sixth person votes in favor of it, then one meeting will take care of business and we can move on to other pressing issues (like identifying our next city manager).

I want to publicly thank Ed Kitchen, his assistant city managers, and the Budget and Finance staffs for all the hard work and extra hours they put in to produce this budget that protects our basic services without imposing a tax increase. Well done!

Clean Water Conference postponed

Due to the lack of registration, this Saturday's conference on clean drinking water - Protecting Your Drinking Water at its Source - has been postponed until September 18. It's unfortunate that this topic is not of greater interest to many folks in the community, but on the other hand, I'm not upset about getting my weekend back either.

City Academy

If you want to know how the city REALLY works, I highly recommend your participation in the City Academy. Here is the press release about the next class that will be beginning soon.

NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CITY ACADEMY SET TO KICK OFF THIS FALL

GREENSBORO, NC (June 13, 2005) – The City of Greensboro is gearing up for its second annual community wide public education program slated to begin this fall. Government Works: A City Academy, recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors as the premier government educational program, teaches participants about City government through experiential learning and in-depth exercises. The program helps to develop future leaders and build a better community through well informed and civically engaged residents. Classes are held every Thursday for 10 consecutive weeks beginning September 8 from 6 to 9 p.m. and concluding November 10. A special graduation ceremony will be held Tuesday, November 15 in front of City Council. Cost to attend the academy is free and meals are provided.

“Government Works provides the residents of Greensboro an inside look at the public policy process,” says City Manager Ed Kitchen. “This in turn fosters an environment where residents and government officials work in conjunction to increase the quality of life that we all enjoy in Greensboro,” he adds.

Class participants will get the chance to take part in activities such as a simulated “balanced budget” game, authentic firehouse meal, plan their own neighborhood, tour of the new Guilford Metro 911 Center, vehicle extrication exercises, a visit to the firing range, tour of a water treatment plant and more.

Government Works is open to any resident who lives or works in Greensboro, with special preference given to those who reside within the city limits. Students must submit an application and go through a selection process. Twenty-five individuals that represent all council districts and different backgrounds will be selected for the academy. Other selection criteria include:

* 18 years of age or older
* Preference given to non-city employees
* Must attend 80% of classes
* Written statement
* Preference given to those wanting to serve on a board or commission
* Efforts will be taken to select individuals who represent “diverse” groups (race, religion, education, age, sex, sexual orientation, etc.)

Applications are available online at

www.greensboro-nc.gov starting June 13 or by calling Brian Cockman at 373-7980. Deadline to apply is July 1, 2005.

Another week, another schedule

This week isn't too bad, all things considered. We make another attempt to reach agreement on the FY2005-06 city budget at 4PM on Tuesday, June 14. I am cautiously optimistic that we will make it this time; City Manager Ed Kitchen told me last week he intends to follow council's directions and put something on the table that at least six council members can support. I hope he's right!

[NOTE: I noticed in an email that has been circulating through the housing advocacy groups that they are being told to come speak out at this meeting against potential cuts to the housing program. That will not be possible since there is not "Speakers from the Floor" time at our work sessions.]

I will be attending a reception and dinner for the NC Turnpike Authority in the evening. (Sympathies to my husband who will be on his own AGAIN for leftovers or whatever he can find.)

You will find me at the 9AM meeting of the NC Turnpike Authority on Wednesday, June 15 speaking at their public hearing in favor of building the Airport Connector as a toll road.

Next, it's off to the Coliseum for the meeting of the full board of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments where there will be a speaker from NCDOT.

Thursday, June 16 brings another meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Greensboro Partnership at 7:30AM. (UGH! I hate early morning meetings!)

At noon, there is the luncheon sponsored by supporters of the Greensboro Historical Museum, a lovely annual event.

Finally, this is one of those weeks when I have to give up my Saturday as I have agreed to participate in the "Protecting Your Drinking Water at its Source" conference at UNCG on June 18. I will be a panelist discussing political action strategies. (Although my experience is in the clean air arena, not water, I've been assured my "expertise" will be sufficient. I hope so!)

Air quality report

The Southern Environmental Law Center's report on the Triad's air quality as reported in today's News & Record is worth your time to read. While I wish the Triad Early Action Compact and PART had been given more credit for our efforts to improve the air quality in this area, I cannot dispute any of the findings or recommendations in the report.

Today's PART meeting

As I predicted, today's meeting of the PART Board of Trustees was fairly routine.

We moved forward with the establishment of several park-and-ride lots in Thomasville, Lexington, and Pilot mountain and at Reedy Fork Ranch by approving the purchase of property and awarding of construction contracts. There were some concerns expressed about the prices we paid for those properties, but they are by necessity in areas zoned for business/commercial in heavily traveled areas, and the prices were confirmed by independent appraisers. Thank heaven that the costs for these lots are covered by our federal grant!

Ted Johnson, executive director of the Piedmont International Airport, presented an update on the expansion of the airport and the various activities occurring there (the same one Tom Phillips and I saw when we took our "field trips" there). Besides the obvious outdoor activities that are going on with the grading for the FedEx site, new runway, and highway construction in the area, the airport terminal itself is being expanded to add additional boarding gates and to install a conveyor belt/X-ray machine for quicker security screening of luggage.

Mayor Holliday pressed Mr Johnson about airport-owned land abutting the rail line parallel to West Market St. and the possibility of PART being able to establish a station on it if/when we are able to establish light rail service in the Triad. I liked his suggestion about a possible spur line running into the airport to let folks get to the airport by light rail as is the case in many other cities. Something to think about!

Board members were encouraged to attend next Wednesday's meeting of the NC Turnpike Authority to gauge interest in a toll road being constructed in our area, possibly the "Airport Connector" as reported by Amy Dominello in yesterday's News & Record. No one particularly likes toll roads, but if it comes down to getting this road built within the next 10 years versus no road at all, I'll go for the toll road. Other funding for it is just not available.

Due to lack of business, we have cancelled our July meeting so we will get a short break until August.

Incentive request withdrawn

Dr. Linder wisely requested to withdraw his incentive request for the Carolina Circle Mall/WalMart project from city council consideration at this evening's meeting. Word has it that two more council members had slipped into the "NO" column, setting up a potential 6-3 vote against approving the $300,000 incentive. (I'm going respect their right to identify themselves - or not - as they so choose.)

That does NOT mean that this project is going to disappear. As I stated earlier, I firmly believe it will happen if WalMart truly wants to be in that location. I do know that some council members are working with city staff to identify infrastructure improvements to the site that could possibly be funded out of the city water and sewer fund or transportation budget. It will be interesting to see what - if anything - they come up with and if it is something I can support.

No budget vote yet

We did not reach agreement in this afternoon's budget work session, so it will be at least June 21 - if not later - before we have an official vote on the FY2005-06 city budget. After a majority of us expressed interest in trying to eliminate the proposed 1-cent tax increase, the city manager is going to come back to us with additional recommendations at our next work session at 4PM on June 14.

Mayor Holliday did some homework this weekend and compiled a list of items he proposes "shaving" or delaying versus outright cutting or elimination. Some are things we have discussed in previous sessions; some are new. If all are accepted, the tax rate will remain the same and the $200,000 "bandaid fix" for overcrowded GTA buses would be included.

The Mayor's list includes the following:

X Elimination of the replacement of golf greens at Bryan Park ($150,000) - already agreed to by a majority of council members

X Elimination of the city council's Contingency Fund ($43,000) - already agreed to (I think)

X Reduction in our contribution/dues to the Piedmont Council of Governments ($18,000) and the Piedmont Triad Partnership ($12,000) - Given the valuable staffing of the Triad Early Action Compact the PTCOG has provided to deal with our air quality issues, I would have a hard time supporting this reduction.

X Elimination of the public information position in the Police Department ($40,000) - This is one of the cuts the police chief identified earlier. The city has an excellent public information office that could absorb these duties.

X Delay replacement of some fire department vehicles ($137,000) - This was identified by the Fire Department as a potential cut last week. If we do this, we will have to play "catch up" in a future year.

X Reduce the fall curbside leaf pick-up program from three collection cycles to two ($125,000) - This was identified by GDOT last week as a cost-savings measure. Citizens can still bag their leaves throughout the "leaf season."

X Reduce the Downtown Fund by $30,000 - This applies to the city's contributions to the administration of Downtown Greensboro Inc. and some of its programs.

X Delay the "Citizen Survey" that the city conducts every five years for another year ($100,000) - Self-explanatory

X Eliminate the additional $100,000 included in the proposed Capital Improvements Program for small neighborhood projects ($100,000) - This would leave the funding for this program popular with the Neighborhood Congress and neighborhoods at the current funding level of $100,000.

XReduce the amount of money in the Targeted Loan Pool ($100,000) - These are loans to small start-up businesses; this move would leave $127,000 in that program. This program is funded out of CDBG (federal money), but other housing programs funded by the General Fund could use the federal dollars instead.

X Eliminate the purchase of a new basketball court and replacement of the carpeting in the Special Events Center at the Coliseum ($213,000) - There is some concern about embarassing failures of the basketball floor during next March's three weekends of basketball marathon. The SEC carpet is not as big a concern.

X Delay the implementation of a swipe card system in city parking decks ($250,000) - This system would allow parkers to swipe a credit card or debit card to exit city parking decks.

X Eliminate or reduce the frequency of bulk trash collection (up to $400,000 if eliminated completely) - This is the city pick-up of your old furniture, mattresses, and other materials too large to fit in the green garbage can. Many cities no longer provide this service, and Greensboro is one of the few that offers it every week. We had a lot of discussion about this with legitimate concern being expressed about the unsightly dumping problem this may cause.

X Reduce the Human Resources "market adjustment" amount to bring city salaries more in line with those offered by other governments and private businessess ($200,000) - Self-explanatory

X Reduce the amount for employee pay increases from 3.5% to 3% ($300,000) - Greensboro does not award across-the-board salary increases, but uses a merit system. Some employees might earn larger raises, others less, but the average would be 3.5% or (3%).

Robbie Perkins recommended removing $800,000 from the Nussbaum Housing Fund; this would be a huge savings, but would also drastically reduce support for affordable housing efforts. The thought here is that we have made tremendous strides in eliminating the housing problems so we could afford to ease up on those efforts. The city manager will ask Andy Scott to identify which projects/programs would have to be scaled back if this cut is implemented.

Except as noted, none of these proposals had unanimous support. The manager was instructed to research what impact and consequences these cuts would cause and and report his findings to us on June 14. Is there enough support to enact some of them? Yes, I think so. Will all of them be approved? I doubt it.

A couple of council members have some items to ADD to the budget. It's no secret that Claudette Burroughs-White wants more police officers. Florence Gatten is championing Triad Stage's request for $180,000 for their capital campaign. I do not know if there is enough support to include these items or not.

If you have strong feelings about any of these proposals, please let me know.

Will we have a budget a majority of council members can support on June 21? Who knows!

Four down, one to go!

Man! The public reaction to the Linder/WalMart incentive request has been intense. Normally we do not receive many public comments about these requests except from the business recruiters and company representatives speaking in favor of them. But as of this evening, I estimate I've received 30-40 emails, faxes, letters, and phone calls expressing strong views about this issue, and that does not include comments on various blogs. The "count'' is running about 10-to-1 AGAINST approving the $300,000.

This public reaction is making a BIG difference as most council members seem to be paying close attention. There are now four publicly stated "NO" votes (Tom Phillips, Florence Gatten, Don Vaughan, and me). One more, and this incentive request will not be approved.

In my mind, such a defeat will not doom the development. If WalMart truly wants to be at the Carolina Circle Mall site, they will come, incentive or not. There are other ways to accomodate the needs of all concerned, including redesigning the site plan to fix the road access problem.

I hope we can "have our cake and eat it too" - just not at taxpayers' expense!

Busy week ahead

This is one of those "everything hits at once" weeks so I will be on the go constantly, including two trips to Raleigh.

* The Triad Early Action Compact meeting begins at 2PM on Monday, June 6 in the Kernersville Town Hall where we will take a look at possible next steps in trying to reduce ozone pollution in the region.

I will have to leave that meeting in time to get back to Greensboro for our 4PM budget work session. Let's hope the city manager has worked miracles in the last couple of days and has come up with a revised proposal that most of us are willing to accept.

* I serve on the North Carolina League of Municipalities' TCPS (Transportation, Communication & Police Safety) Policy Committee and will be attending a 10AM meeting in Raleigh on Tuesday, June 7.

That should end by noon or so, allowing me plenty of time to get back to town for the 5:30PM city council meeting. This will be the first time we have Speakers from the Floor scheduled at the beginning of the agenda, so it will be interesting to see if anyone takes advantage of that opportunity. The main items of interest for this meeting are the votes on the incentives request for Dr. Linder/WalMart and the adoption of the 2005-06 city budget.

* Wednesday, June 8 brings the PART Board of Trustees meeting at 8:30AM. The agenda is fairly routine with the main business being approval of contracts for Park-and-Ride lots.

Then there is a 1PM conference with GDOT staff to review some roadway plans.

The day ends with a 5:30PM meeting of the executive committee of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments on which I represent the city.

* Thursday, June 9 finds me back in Raleigh for a Charter Schools Advisory Committee meeting at 11AM. Once that meeting concludes, I'm free and clear (unless something else pops up as usually is the case).

The Male Intellect: an Oxymoron

For those folks who enjoy a good laugh exploring the differences and disconnects between the sexes, I highly recommend you see "The Male Intellect: an Oxymoron" currently playing in the Odeon Theater at the coliseum. Actor Robert Dubac does a fantastic job in portraying multiple characters in this one-man show. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

Guys, do not be concerned one bit that this is a "male-bashing" show -- far from it! There are plenty of zingers on female behavior as well. According to Mr. Dubac, the feminine version of oxymoron is "female logic." And so it goes.

Definitely recommended for "mature audiences only."

Additonal benefits of blogging

Local TV reporters are reading my blog these days and using it as a "source" for stories. I've done two TV interviews today as a result of my recent posts.

Caron Myers from Fox8 and photojournalist Chris Weaver came to my home to do a story on the Coliseum and the hockey team (or lack thereof) and a shorter blurb on the WalMart incentives issue. The stories are supposed to air at 5Pm and6PM this evening.

They were followed by WXII12's Bill O'Neill getting my comments on the WalMart incentive story which will also air this evening.

I found it interesting that both reporters wanted shots of my blog and of me working at my computer. My home office is a total wreck right now with my new and old computers set up so I can finish transfering files. I agreed on the condition that they do "tight" shots and not reveal to the world how MESSY my space is right now. I hope they keep their word! [smile]

Good news on our air quality efforts

Allen Purser of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce shared this good news from the EPA this afternoon. He and I serve together on the stakeholders group of the Triad Early Action Compact which developed strategies to reduce ozone pollution in our area and keep us in compliance with EPAs' air quality standards. It looks like we are making progress!

Communities Reduce Smog Ahead of Schedule

Fourteen communities across the United States are ahead of schedule in the effort to reduce ground-level ozone, or smog. Because these communities have reached a specific milestone to clean the air sooner than required, EPA proposes to defer Clean Air Act requirements for these areas regarding ozone pollution until Dec. 31, 2006.

As part of EPA's voluntary Early Action Compacts program, these communities committed to meeting EPA's more stringent 8-hour ozone standard by Dec. 31, 2007, one to two years sooner than required by the Clean Air Act. Early Action Compacts provide a strong incentive to State and local governments, civic leaders and business interests to work together to develop innovative, cost-effective strategies for improving ground-level ozone air quality in ways that are tailored to individual communities. Communities with Early Action Compacts are starting to reduce smog one to two years sooner than required by the Clean Air Act.

There are a total of 29 Early Action Compact areas in the country. Fifteen of these communities are already meeting the 8-hour ozone standard, but chose to join the compact in order to take proactive steps toward smog reduction. The remaining fourteen areas are working toward meeting the standard sooner than the Clean Air Act requires and are the focus of this proposal:

Frederick County/Winchester, Va.
Roanoke, Va.
Washington County/Hagerstown, Md.
Berkeley & Jefferson Counties, W.Va.
Hickory area, N.C.
Greensboro area, N.C.
Fayetteville, N.C.
Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, S.C.
Columbia area, S.C.
Chattanooga area, Tenn.
Nashville area, Tenn.
Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol area, Tenn.
San Antonio area, Texas
Denver-Boulder-Greeley-Ft. Collins-Love area, Colo.

EPA will accept comment on this proposal for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. After reviewing all comments, the Agency anticipates issuing the final rule in September 2005. For more information about the proposed rule and the Early Action Compact Program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/oar/eac/.

In plain English, this means that the EPA is satisfied with our progress on meeting the standards, and we have avoided being labeled "non-attainment for ozone" (put on the bad list). That's important because it means our federal transportation dollars will not be withheld from us (as well as the obvious plus of having cleaner air to breathe).

Loss of hockey team cost the city

I received a memo from Coliseum Director Matt Brown this afternoon supplying the information I had requested about the financial impact of no hockey on the Coliseum's operating budget. It was no surprise to me to learn that the coliseum/city incurred more losses without the team this year than we did last year when the coliseum operated the Generals (and received so much criticism for doing so).

(The full memo is included at the end of this post. The calculations are on an Excel spreadsheet which did not transport well into this post so I am not including it. If you want to see it, send me a request at scarmany@aol.com and I will send it to you directly.)

With an anchor hockey team in the Coliseum in 2003-04, the loss was $259,000. If the Generals Brigade organization had paid the $200,000 they promised, it would have been down to $59,000. Greensboro taxpayers DID NOT pay for this $259,000 loss; it was covered from funds from the concession agreement with Centerplate.

Without the team in the building during 2004-05, the losses have been calculated to be $331,974; this is 28% higher than the previous year with hockey.

In addition to loss of parking and concessions money for 36 games, revenue in three other critical sources (Advertising and Sponsorship Sales, Luxury Suite Leases, and Carlyle Club Memberships) fell for a total loss of $574,399. This amount was offset by $242,425 in savings in operating expenses from not having to staff hockey events, put down the arena ice, clean-up, utilities, etc. to reach the net figure of $331,974.

So the answer to the question - "Were we better off with a hockey team in the building?" - is a resounding "YES" according to this information.

Text of the memo:

Date: June 1, 2005

To: Councilwoman Sandy Carmany, Liaison
War Memorial Commission
From: Coliseum Director Matt Brown

Re: Negative Financial Impact of No Hockey on the Coliseum Operating Budget

Per your request, our staff has calculated the negative financial implications on the Coliseum from not having a Hockey Tenant this fiscal year, a summary of which is attached for your review.

As you may recall, one of the primary reasons for the City Council’s decision to support our recommendation to have the Coliseum operate the Hockey team last year was to protect against the potential loss of revenues from three critical sources of Coliseum annual revenue. Those revenue sources include Advertising & Sponsorships sales, Luxury Suite Leases and Carlyle Club Memberships, which historically have accounted for approximately $1.2M in annual revenue.

Our concern centered on a possible scenario of what if those revenues fell by 20% or $243,000 because of no Hockey. Our staff believed that we could successfully operate the Team at breakeven and in fact came within $59,000 of our goal (not taking into account the failure of the Generals Brigade organization to fulfill their commitment to contribute $200,000).

In fact, our report shows that revenues from those three critical revenue sources fell by 32% or $414,000 without hockey. In addition, the Coliseum also lost revenues from Parking and Concessions from the 36 game home season and from potential higher commission payments from escalating gross Concession sales.

The total loss of revenues to the Coliseum as a result of no hockey is $574,399.
The total revenue loss was partially offset by estimated savings of $242,425 in Operating Expenses from not having Hockey events and from retained revenues that would have otherwise been shared with the hockey team.

Therefore, our calculation of the actual negative financial impact on the Coliseum as a result of no hockey is $331,974 or 28% higher than the $259,000 actual loss incurred by the Coliseum which was offset, not with taxpayer dollars, but with funds from the sale of our Concessions contract to Centerplate. The $331,974 negative impact without hockey is also 48% higher than what we projected the negative impact of no hockey would have on our FY 04/05 operating budget.

Please feel free to contact Laura, Jerome or myself to answer any questions you may have.

CC: City Council, WMC, E. Kitchen, M. Johnson, L. Smith, J. Fletcher

The ongoing city budget process

Tuesday afternoon's budget session was frustrating for me. I commented to several folks afterwards that it felt like we were in a "zombie zone" flying off in 50 different directions and getting nowhere. There seemed to be a lot of "disconnects"going on without a clear majority agreeing on what should be funded or not. I hope we can get everything straightened out at next Monday's session and craft a budget a majority of us can support.

Mayor Holliday is leading a charge not to have a tax increase at all instead of the 1-cent that the manager's budget proposals. That's a goal I would love to achieve, but there is one major problem in getting there. That is NOT the direction we gave the manager back in January when we set our budget priorities. The manager made it clear to us at that time that there likely would be a 2-3 cents increase and there were no instructions given to him otherwise. (Frankly, I was very relieved when the proposed tax increase was only the one penny, having been prepared for much worse. )

So we left staff scrambling with only one working day over the Memorial Day holiday weekend to identify enough "across the board" cuts in every department to remove $2.2 million from the budget. Perhaps this could have been achieved with more thought and less pain if they had been clearly instructed earlier. No wonder the reductions proposed by department heads were so painful, given the rush job they had to perform. Of course, larger departments with larger budgets were affected the most with 83% of the cuts coming from the seven largest department; police and fire accounted for 44.5% of that total. So what was on the chopping block?

r Police: cutting two of the four crime analysis positions, the Public Information position, the only gang-enforcement officer, and the school safety officer and all crossing guards

r Fire: reducing the money for "hirebacks" (substitute firemen when someone is out sick, on vacation, etc.) with the effect of leaving some squads under-staffed on calls and delaying the replacement of some service vehicles

r Transportation: reduce the streetsweeping cycle by one-half and reduce fall leaf collection service from three rounds to two

r Parks and Recreation: change the mowing cycle for parks from 11-14 days to 18-21 days, reduce the hours of operation for city playgrounds

r Engineering and Inspections: eliminate security guards from the libraries and Cultural Arts Center during the weekdays, reduce the overgrown lot clean-up and removal of abandoned vehicles programs

r The additional cuts were in smaller departments such as Planning, Finance, etc. and included reductions in printing, travel, and other routine expenses.

A majority of us rejected most of these cuts, citing concerns about public safety, citizen expectations, and problems on which we get numerous complaints already such as overgrown lots, etc. We discussed numerous other cost-cutting options such as elimination of the Commission on the Status of Women, elimination of the Targeted Loan Pool for Small Business Development, reducing the frequency of bulk trash collection (the large items that won't fit in your green garbage can) to once a month, and initiating a hiring freeze. (Florence Gatten drew a big laugh when she jokingly asked "Would that apply to the city manger position as well?") But when all was said and done, there was not consensus on what to do.

At this point, there MIGHT BE five of us who will support the manager's original proposal with a little tinkering here and there:

- combine the $150,000 from the elimination of the replacement of Bryan Park golf greens with the council contingency fund of $43,000 and $7,000 from other sources to fund a "band-aid fix" to the problem of over-crowded GTA buses.

- reduce the frequency of bulk trash collection, and

- other changes the manager may identify between now and Monday's work session.

But it's never over until the voting buttons are pushed, so what will happen is anybody's guess at this point. Stay tuned!