Friends of the Downtown, a group of local businesses and residents with a passion for Chapel Hill and the future of the community, convened at the Franklin Hotel on Thursday morning for a town budget presentation.
At Thursday’s Friends of the Downtown meeting, Town Manager Roger Stancil sang a familiar tune. Stancil, who gave this month’s presentation on the town’s financial condition, spoke of budget constraints, urban sprawl and the need to create business in Chapel Hill to prevent University students from going elsewhere after graduation.
At a Tuesday night meeting, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen heard a presentation on the status of conservation easements at the proposed Carolina North site. The property, which spans 947 acres across Chapel Hill and Carrboro, is expected to generate up to 3 million square feet in mixed use campus activities. Carolina North is planned to take over 133 acres of the overall area. The board approved changes to the lines of the conservation areas, but did not change the areas acreage.
After the 210 Hillsborough Road site for the Orange County Public Library’s southwest branch was rejected on Aug. 23, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen decided to rework the criteria used to select a new location at their Tuesday night meeting.
Monday night’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting stretched into Tuesday morning as members, residents and protestors discussed controversial topics ranging from Northside to the Yates building raid.
UNC students may be heading towards holiday break and Chapel Hill residents might be wrapped up in festivities, but Chapel Hill’s government and community groups will be working through December.
A number of often-aired issues found their way into the Chapel Hill Town Council’s discussion again Monday night. The council decided that the town’s proposed food trucks ordinance, which would have allowed the trucks to vend in town, will come to a vote this January after months of discussion and multiple public hearings.
Two land use ordinance amendments, if passed, would increase the number of mixed-use facilities in Downtown Carrboro as well as widen North Greensboro Street to two lanes. The Board of Aldermen discussed the amendments at their Tuesday night meeting and heard comments from the public on the issue.
A proposed towing ordinance caused controversy at a public hearing held by the Chapel Hill Town Council Tuesday night.
Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt is joining a throng of 7,000 fans aboard the USS Carl Vinson to watch UNC play Michigan State in the Carrier Classic this evening — on an invitation from the White House.
Looks don’t really matter — unless you’re building a development in Chapel Hill, that is. Plans to move forward on the Charterwood development were stalled again at Wednesday night’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting after members expressed reservations about the appearance of the project.
As the last few minutes of the voting day ticked away, two voters were still completing their ballots at the new North Carrboro precinct.
As the final two hours of voting approached, things at East Franklin precinct had yet to pick up. Fewer voters than expected cast their ballots at the precinct’s poll as of 5:15 p.m., officials said. Seventy-eight residents had voted at the precinct, according to election officials. Their votes were cast for mayor, town council candidates, school board officials and the quarter-cent sales tax referendum.
Thomas Brittian voted Tuesday to ensure he is represented and to break stereotypes. “I just don’t think enough African Americans and Latinos get out to vote unless they have a cultural interest,” he said. “I want to break that stereotype.” Brittain was one of 73 people voting today at the Northside precinct as of 4:20 p.m. Another 71 people voting in One-Stop No Excuse voted last week, and overall turnout at the precinct met officials’ expectations, Chief Judge James Weathers said.
Fewer voters than expected had cast their ballot at the Battle Park precinct’s polls as of 3:00 p.m., officials said. Lynn Knauff, vice chair of the Battle Park precinct said she was not disappointed with the turnout.
Country Club precinct’s Chief Judge Carol Hazard said votes at her precinct are where she expected — but she wishes more students came out to cast a ballot. “If you don’t vote for people who are looking for your interests, you’re shooting yourself in the foot,” she said. The expected number of voters had cast their ballot at Country Club precinct’s poll shortly after 1 p.m., officials said.
Craig Ashton, a Chapel Hill resident, said the fact that his grand-daughter just began school caused him to come out and vote at the St. John Precinct. Ashton said he supports the quarter-cent sales tax due to its proposed benefits to local schools. “I want to make sure (my granddaughter) has good schools to go to,” Ashton said. He was one of 153 people to cast a ballot at the McDougle Middle School polling station so far today.
Voting was slow at the East Franklin precinct poll as of noon, officials said. Forty residents had voted at the precinct, according to election officials.
Voter turnout for local elections was expectedly slow at the Greenwood precinct’s poll as of 10 a.m., officials said. Forty-eight residents had voted at the precinct, which includes Chapel Hill Mayor, Chapel Hill Town Council, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education and the quarter-cent sales tax referendum on its ballot.
More voters than expected had cast their ballot at Booker Creek precinct’s poll as of 8:40 a.m., officials said. Forty-two residents have voted at the precinct, according to election officials.
