Last week’s council meeting set a record for speed, and last night’s meeting, with its short, 
noncontroversial agenda, had the makings of a two-peat. Then right before the Carolina North update, it was as if council members checked their tweets as one and learned that Game 6 of the World Series had been postponed a day because of rain. And all of a sudden, they had the whole night free.
I hope that candidates for Town Council not already on the dais – grasshoppers, I believe Donna Bell calls them – were watching last night, and thinking hard about just how many how many hours of their lives they want to devote to watching PowerPoint presentations. (Sally Greene was lucky to be absent due to a work commitment.) Town manager Roger Stancil and the UNC team, led by Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction, and architect Anna Wu, director of facilities planning, presented a classic.
In among the eye-glazing details of the color-coded maps and graphics, alert council members picked up on an important nuance. In the final rush of approving the development agreement with UNC nearly three years ago, council members were assured that they weren’t approving the details of the plan. Those would evolve along the way, with plenty of public input and council scrutiny. But the plans presented last night gave the appearance of a done deal, and council members spoke up.
Poor communication was one issue. Work on the ductbank had commenced over the summer, taking residents by surprise. Then there was a Forest Management walkabout on the property recently that Jim Ward would have invited himself to, had he known about it. The event was open to the public, one of the UNC team members said, and had been posted on UNC’s website. Ward, evidently familiar with the thousands of pages on the UNC website, asked to be sent a link to the Forest Management page.
Matt Czajkowski asked how long the Pumpkin Loop Trail would be “temporarily” closed, and Wu deftly sidestepped the question. He pushed back, and asked that she send council her best guesstimate.
Council members didn’t object to UNC’s plans outright. In fact, many aspects of the plan pleased them. But they had entered into the agreement with the understanding that the public would have input along the way, and that the council could vote up or down. We applaud their leadership in holding UNC to its end of the bargain.
– Nancy Oates
DOM
/ October 27, 2011Speaking of Carolina North’s future, it’s astounding to me why the Horace Williams airport remains open. It’s gotta be costing us taxpayers a pretty penny, and now that any University business is no longer conducted there, it seems like a total waste — especially since UNC has been forced to make so many cutbacks in academic areas. What gives, Chancellor Thorp?
Nancy Oates
/ October 27, 2011I would be willing to bet that “what gives” has to do with a perk for members of the boards of directors and trustees and big donors. Flight activity increases on the days when board meetings are held and high-profile football and men’s basketball games take place. At last night’s meeting, UNC reps said they expect the airport to close toward the end of 2012.
DOM
/ October 27, 2011“Flight activity increases on the days when board meetings are held and high-profile football and men’s basketball games take place.”
Ah, so. The 1 percenters win again.
John Kramer
/ October 27, 2011I just so love the fact that the town still thinks they have any actual jurisdiction over State owned property. Some people just never get it, do they? The entertainment value of this is priceless. But it is depressing to think the local elected officials don’t get it.
And yes, DOM, I heard that once the 1 percenters realized they did not own “the other 53 percent” they were up in arms and demanding that they own that 53 percent too, in the name of fairness since they pay all those taxes. A pretty compelling argument I think.
DOM
/ October 27, 2011John Kramer –
Huh?
John Kramer
/ October 27, 2011I hate to repeat myself, but you seem to insist:
Some people just never get it, do they?
Let me spell it out for you folks:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6633406/we-are-the-1
Scott Maitland
/ October 28, 201157% John…..57%………your lack of attention to facts even gets in the way of your humor…….
John Kramer
/ October 28, 2011My, my we are picky today! I had confused the percentage numbers with this:
http://the53.tumblr.com/
Still I was within 10%, in my business that is close enough! LOL Sorry to disappoint you.
Scott Maitland
/ October 29, 2011John that is an AWESOME website! Seriously. Thanks for posting it.
John Kramer
/ October 29, 2011See, my failure is your success!! LOL