Renewable energy and storm management up for discussion at Board of Aldermen meeting -

Budget discussions for the upcoming fiscal year centered on the environment and housing affordability at the Tuesday Carrboro Board of Aldermen meeting.

During a public hearing for the 2016-2017 budget, a suggestion to install solar panels on roofs of buildings in the town sparked discussion about the town’s renewable energy use.

Board of Aldermen member Jacquelyn Gist said she wants the town to look into a public/private partnership that would meet the energy goals for the town and generate revenue by placing solar panels on land the town already owns.

“I want to find out where return on investment is for the town,” Board of Aldermen member Sammy Slade said.

Colleen Barclay, vice chair for the Carrboro Bicycle Coalition, proposed that the town allot some of the transportation budget to bicycle and pedestrian needs, such as parking, creating safe routes to school and increasing public education.

Barclay said Carrboro is ranked a silver level for bike friendliness, but wants the town to achieve the gold ranking.

Expanded funding for affordable and workforce housing were also brought to light during the public hearing.

The executive director for the Community Home Trust, Robert Dowling, gave a summary of the Home Trust’s successful year, thanked the Board of Aldermen for their role in this success and asked for an increase in funding from $64,000 to $75,000.

Dowling said the Community Home Trust works to create more permanent affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families.

“We could not have achieved any(thing) without support we have gotten from local governments,” Dowling said.

Braxton Foushee, a member of the town planning board, introduced another problem in Carrboro — many can still not afford the “affordable” housing.

“I would like us to use our dollars in a different way to help a greater part of our population with housing,” Foushee said.

Foushee explained the need for more workforce housing in the community, and suggested the town explore “small housing” as an option for individuals who could not afford a house otherwise.

“I don’t think we have properly addressed workforce housing. Teachers, hospital workers and other service workers cannot afford to live here. I think that’s something that gets lost in discussion,” Board of Aldermen member Randee Haven-O’Donnell said.

After the public hearing, the board discussed their personal goals for the upcoming budget.

Gist said the town needs to solve the problem of flooding in the budget for Carrboro residents.

“My priority with the budget — and it’s not glamorous and it’s not very flashy and you can’t see it — is improving our storm management system,” Gist said.

Town Manager David Andrews said the town is considering getting a hydrology report done to get a more accurate budget prediction for the areas of town that often flood.

Notable:

Arche McAdoo, finance director of the Capital Improvement Plan Advisory Committee, said the Carrboro Police Department has added a new firearms training simulator that the department wants to require as a training program for all officers. The simulator costs about $92,000.