Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Council passes budget, approves library project

Posted on June 10, 2010June 10, 2010 by Staff

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

CHAPEL HILL — The Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved the town’s annual budget Monday night then quickly pivoted to take up funding for a proposed library expansion, approving $20.41 million in bonds by a 7-2 vote.

In its meeting at Town Hall, the council approved a bond package that includes $14.26 million for the library expansion, $2.45 million for sidewalks and other improvements and $3.75 million for parks and recreation projects.

While the council was in general agreement with Town Manager Roger Stancil’s $52.6 million budget for fiscal year 2010-11, council members Matt Czajkowski and Laurin Easthom said they were not willing to move ahead with financing the library expansion.

Czajkowski said that while he was not opposed to one day expanding the library, he was worried about adding to the town’s tax burden. The council, he said, is constantly hearing complaints about taxes.

“There are storm clouds on the horizon,” he said.

Easthom said she wanted more information about the possible effect of charging non-town residents for using the library and said the project was fiscally irresponsible. She said she was concerned that once the library is expanded, there won’t be funds to adequately staff the facility.

“What I fear we’re looking at is a situation where we’ll have a really, really nice library, but we’re not going to be able to have it open as much as we’d like to,” she said.

Council member Jim Ward said in response to Easthom’s concerns that the council had enough information to make a decision on the library project.

“You’re never going to get all the information,” he said, adding that the favorable bond market may evaporate if the council delays the decision again.

Voters approved a bond referendum in 2003 for the project. The council has delayed the expansion for the past two years because of concerns about the recession and an uncertain municipal-bond market. Stancil has said he believes the bond market is now more stable and that interest rates are favorable for the town.

In saying they would vote for the project, several council members said the citizens who approved those bonds had waited long enough.

Ward also took aim at the argument that moving ahead with the bond sale would make it difficult for the town to borrow money for any other purpose.

“We’re not tying up capital funds, we are using them for well-defined, identified and highly supported public projects,” he said.

Council member Gene Pease said as a new council member he had struggled with balancing the town’s long-term interests with its short-term needs before deciding he would vote for the bonds and moving ahead with the projects.

“I think they’re all important to continuing to build and maintain Chapel Hill’s long-term infrastructure,” he said.

In other action Monday night, the council delayed consideration on a proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance until its June 21 meeting. The proposal would amend the town’s Land Use Management Ordinance to require that nearly all future developments include affordable housing.

The council’s current policy requires developers seeking a change in zoning for a development to set aside 15 percent of the units for affordable housing. The new rules would apply that standard in most circumstances and sets up a system whereby developers could seek greater density in projects that provide additional affordable units.

The council also received a petition from its planning board asking for clarification on the standards and siting guidelines the board is reviewing for shelters. Members of the board and residents of neighborhoods near a proposed new Inter-Faith Council for Social Services shelter at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Homestead Road wanted to know if and how the new standards will apply to the proposed shelter.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme