Coffee and conversation with Mayor Pam Hemminger

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger gathered with residents over coffee at Mediterranean Deli Thursday to answer questions and discuss improvement plans for the downtown area.

The event, hosted by Friends of the Downtown, included Hemminger’s explanation of recent events, including the ice storm.

She commended the staff for their work during the ice storm, but said they are going to debrief to figure out a more efficient process to remove ice.

Hemminger also said she wants to find a way to fix the form-based code at the Ephesus Fordham district.

“Form-based code is a great concept, we just didn’t implement it very well,” she said.

Hemminger mentioned an ongoing initiative during the summer months to feed 3,300 children who qualify for free and reduced lunch.

She said because of cutbacks, there are 10 weeks in which children do not receive food subsidies.

Hemminger said she has a meeting Wednesday to discuss the project.

The promise of coffee and conversation with Hemminger brought in many Chapel Hill residents.

Jim Copeland, the former head of The Medical Foundation of North Carolina Inc., said he attends most town programs.

“Although I supported (Hemminger) in her campaign, I haven’t gotten to know her as well as I’d like,” Copeland said.

“So I’m interested in hearing her response to questions.”

Another attendee, Patrick Mateer, was present with Seal the Seasons, a local frozen produce company, which he said is partially funded by the downtown partnership.

Seal the Seasons works at Launch Chapel Hill, a start-up accelerator.

“I’m just here to see who our funders are, and perhaps thank them for the support of office space,” Mateer said.

“We’ve really used it well as a company and it’s really been beneficial to us.”

During the event, Hemminger also addressed parking concerns in the downtown area.

Chapel Hill Town Council member Ed Harrison explained that the council did not get to choose the parking payment system.

He encouraged residents to look for payment options in other areas and mentioned one he liked in Austin, Texas.

“There wasn’t much that impressed me about Austin, but the parking system looked like a lot more fun than ours,” he said.

Hemminger said the hassle of the current system is one reason why residents avoid coming downtown.

She said she has a meeting Monday to discuss parking and is interested in making the parking process less confusing.

“We want (tourists) to come back, we want them to have that great experience, we want our citizens to come back downtown,” Hemminger said.

“I know that involves the parking issue.”

@janelittle26

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