I’m at that age where I repeat myself. For more than a year and a half, I’ve been nagging Town Council members to fix the Ephesus-Fordham form-based code so that we can repay the $10 million loan we took out for improvements to the area. Bear in mind, we put up Town Hall as collateral. […]
All posts in category Council Members
What, me worry?
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 15, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/08/15/what-me-worry/
The Deciders
Recently I asked the town manager for an organizational flow chart of town staff that would show who was in charge of what. I received 18 pages of charts in response, most of which broke out the hierarchy of positions in each department. The collection led off, however, with a master chart of management levels. […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on August 9, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/08/09/the-deciders/
Discretionary Zoning
Listen to Raleigh’s city attorney, Tom McCormick: “It is important to remember that when making a zoning decision, the council must consider all potential uses in a proposed district and cannot make a decision based on one specific use.” McCormick said council members have “wide discretion” in deciding whether to rezone a property for a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 11, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/07/11/discretionary-zoning/
Fireworks at stadium, not council meeting
Viewers expecting fireworks at the last Town Council meeting of the 2015-16 season turned off their TVs and computers disappointed. Though we had reserved time on June 29 for a spillover meeting should we not finish our agenda before the hour grew too late, the June 27 meeting got over comparatively early, thanks in part […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on July 4, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/07/04/fireworks-at-stadium-not-council-meeting/
‘We’re moving too fast’
Every Town Council member should be required to watch a video of one of our council meetings. We’d be mortified by our pettiness. I missed the June 20 meeting because I was part of a church polity updating positions on such issues as the church’s treatment of the LGBTQ community, interventions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 28, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/06/28/were-moving-too-fast/
Ask the experts
Lead, follow, or get out of the way. When it comes to working on the problem of not enough affordable housing, town and county elected officials would do well to choose Door #3. At the joint board meeting of county commissioners and Town Council members on June 2, county commissioner Bernadette Pelissier suggested forming a […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on June 20, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/06/20/ask-the-experts/
The Woman Card
It didn’t take long, after Donald Trump accused Hillary Clinton of gaining an advantage in the presidential race by playing the Woman Card, for an editorial to circulate on the Internet delineating the advantages of having a Woman Card — like receiving a 25% discount on your salary and paying 10% more for personal care […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on May 9, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/05/09/the-woman-card/
Horsetrading at the Council Corral
Two weeks ago, Chapel Hill hired a new planning director, Ben Hitchings, who came to the April 11 Town Council meeting. Much to my surprise, he did not resign immediately; in fact, he participated in our work session two days later. That says he’s a man undaunted by challenges. In a nutshell — we embarrassed […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 18, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/04/18/horsetrading-at-the-council-corral/
#WeAreNotThisEither
Years ago, Chapel Hill adopted a campaign contribution policy to encourage voter-owned elections and make it harder for donors to “buy” elections. Individual campaign donations were limited to $336, a sharp contrast to the $5,100 limit for county commissioner, U.S. president and other partisan elections. Given the recent news about campaign finances of council member […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on April 4, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/04/04/wearenotthiseither/
HB-2 & You & Me & Us & Them
I wish our state lawmakers would do something useful like pass legislation to quell the sex life of trees. My allergies tell me pollen season has started with a vengeance. Instead, the N.C. General Assembly that wants to see a driver’s license before you vote, now wants to see a birth certificate before you use […]
Posted by Nancy Oates on March 28, 2016
https://chapelhillwatch.com/2016/03/28/hb-2-you-me-us-them/