[00:00:01]
OKAY, WELL, IN, IN THE ESSENCE OF
[BikePedAC]
TIME, WE'RE GONNA START, IT'S, UH, 5 31.UM, SO I WANNA WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR THIRD MEETING OF THE NEW BERN BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN COMMITTEE.
AND WE'RE GONNA START WITH SOME INTRODUCTIONS.
I THINK WE KNOW EVERYBODY HERE, BUT FOR THE PUBLIC, IF YOU WOULD JUST GO AROUND THE TABLE.
UM, MY NAME IS DEANNA TROUBLE.
I AM THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION ADMINISTRATOR, WHICH MEANS I JUST DO LONG RANGE PLANNING AND I'M THE STAFF LIAISON FOR THIS, UM, COMMITTEE.
I'M JESSE RO, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, GEORGE CHOWS.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.
AND I'M BOB BRISSON ALDERMAN FOR CITY OF BERT MARY DAVIDSON, COMMITTEE MEMBER BILL SANDLER, COMMITTEE MEMBER, LARS COMMITTEE MEMBER.
ALRIGHT, AND WELCOME AND THANK YOU, UM, FOR THOSE THAT CAME OUT THIS EVENING.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA START, UM, OFF WITH A, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.
SO IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO COME TO THE PODIUM.
UM, AND YOU HAVE ABOUT THREE MINUTES TO ADDRESS THE BOARD.
AND, UM, SO WE'LL JUST OPEN THE FLOOR NOW IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED IN, IN BRIEFING ANYTHING RELATED TO THIS COMMITTEE.
I CAN, UM, JUST FOR A MOMENT, UM, I SPOKE BRIEFLY LAST TIME WHEN WE HAD MEETING.
CAN YOU STATE YOUR NAME PLEASE? EMILY ZA GREENBRIER.
I SPOKE BRIEFLY ABOUT OUR EFFORTS IN EMERALD VILE TO, UH, HAVE A, UH, FIBER PEDESTRIAN PATH, WHICH WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED WITH IT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS COULD BE DONE WITH MINGLING FUNDS, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF PUBLIC SUPPORT AND DONATIONS.
WE RAISED FUNDS WITH EVENTS SALES, AND THEN WE HAD A BIG BOARD WHICH HAD BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUAL FOLKS NAMES ON THEM AND THEIR LEVEL OF DONATION TOO.
AND IT RAISED A LOT OF MONEY TOWARD THIS VERY SAME PROJECT.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU COULD DO THAT IN A CITY LIKE NEW BERN, BUT IF YOU COULD, IT'S A WAY TO GET PEOPLE INVOLVED AND EXCITED ABOUT IT AND ALSO GET MORE MONEY.
WOULD ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO ADDRESS THE BOARD? HI, MY NAME'S NOAH SONI.
UM, I ACTUALLY SPOKE WITH YOU DEANNA AT ONE POINT.
REALLY GLAD TO BE ABLE TO COME OUT HERE AND SEE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON.
I LIVE MAYBE ABOUT HALFWAY BETWEEN JAMES CITY AND HAVELOCK, SO IF YOU GUYS KNOW WHERE THAT TOYOTA DEALERSHIP IS RIGHT THERE.
AND, UH, MAYBE NEEDLESS TO SAY THAT IT'S JUST ABOUT NO SIDEWALK OVER THERE.
AND, UM, SO I'M REALLY, I I GUESS I'LL SAY MY DREAM HERE IS TO GET A CONNECTION BETWEEN NEW BERN AND CHERRY POINT WHERE I WORK.
I'LL BE SELFISH AND SAY MY GOAL WOULD BE TO BIKE, TO WORK, IT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, BUT I KNOW A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE ON CAMPUS AT CHERRY POINT THAT HAVE THE SAME MENTALITY.
YOU KNOW, THEY JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET TO WORK BY OTHER MEANS.
AND SO, UH, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE UP TO AND I'M HERE TO HELP.
IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO, GET CHERRY POINT INVOLVED? JUST GET THE COMMUNITY OVER THERE INVOLVED.
UM, I'D REALLY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY.
ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED IN PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY, WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
THE, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO, UH, BRING UP MR. UM, BILL HAND, UH, ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, REACHED OUT TO THE CLERK AND MYSELF AND HE SAID THAT HE WAS GONNA MISS MOST OF THE MEETINGS THIS YEAR.
UH, AND HE HAD, IF THE BOARD WANTED, HE WOULD TENDER HIS RESIGNATION.
WE WOULD HAVE SOMEONE ELSE COME IN.
UM, I DID NOT WANT TO MAKE THAT DECISION AND I DIDN'T REALLY FEEL THE NECESSARY TO TAKE IT TO THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
SO I WANTED TO BRING IT TO YOU ALL AND FOR YOU TO CONSIDER.
UH, IF, IF HE'S GONNA MISS MOST OF THE MEETINGS, WOULD YOU HAVE, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE SOMEONE REPLACE HIM? HE CERTAINLY WOULD STILL BE INVOLVED, BUT HE'S NOT GONNA MEET THE MEETINGS.
UH, AND SO HE, UM, WON'T BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, RECEIVE THE INFORMATION OR PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO US.
AND SO, UH, WHAT I TOLD HIM WAS I WOULD, I WOULD LEAVE IT UP TO THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO DECIDE.
SHOULD WE JUST SAY HOW WE FEEL? WELL, THAT, THAT'S UP TO THE YOU, YOU FIVE, INCLUDING HIM, ARE THE ONLY VOTING MEMBERS OF THIS BOARD.
SO IT CERTAINLY, I'M, I'M PUTTING IT IN YOUR COURT.
SO I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS, SHOULD WE OFFICIALLY VOTE ON THIS? CAN WE OFFICIALLY VOTE ON THIS TONIGHT? UM, YOU, YOU CAN, YES.
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I, I, I, I MEAN, I WAS THINKING IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE THAT FORMAL.IT COULD BE NEITHER THAT COULD SAY GO FOR IT.
I, I THINK A CONSENSUS WOULD, WOULD BE FINE, BUT CERTAINLY I I WELCOME YOUR OPINIONS AND YOUR DECISION, I GUESS.
SO DID HE HAVE ANY PARTICULAR AFFILIATION THAT PUT HIM ON THIS BOARD? OTHER THAN THAT HE WAS JUST A MEMBER, LIKE THE REST OF US HERE.
HE, YES, HE, HE WAS, UH, SOMEBODY THAT VOLUNTEERED TO BE ON IT WAS A RECREATIONAL RUNNER, UH, RECREATIONAL BIKER.
AND 'CAUSE HE WAS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AS WELL.
THOSE WERE THE THREE CONSIDERATIONS WE HAD TO, FOR HIM TO BE PUT IN.
DO YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO BE BUT WERE NOT CHOSEN? YES, THERE WERE, THERE WERE MORE APPLICANTS THAN THE FIVE OF YOU.
UM, AND CERTAINLY IF, UH, HE WAS TO VACATE HIS SEAT, WE WOULD GO BACK TO THOSE INDIVIDUALS, UH, AS WELL AS THOSE THAT HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST SINCE THEN.
HAS, HAS ANY OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS BEEN AT THESE MEETINGS? THE ONES WHO WERE NOT CHOSEN? I KNOW ONE OF 'EM, BECAUSE THAT WOULD, I WOULD, I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE A I REALLY HAVEN'T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION.
THAT WOULD BE A CHOICE FOR ME THOUGH, WITH SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY WASN'T CHOSEN BUT THEN SHOWED UP ANYWAY, SO I DON'T THINK SO, BUT I'D HAVE TO.
AND HE VOLUNTEERED TO SUBMIT A LETTER OF RESIGNATION.
HE, HE VOLUNTEERED TO, UH, TO SUBMIT ONE.
BUT I THOUGHT I WOULD ASK YOU FOLKS FIRST, UH, IF THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO GO BACK TO HIM AND SAY YES, OR YOU WERE WILLING TO CONTINUE WITH HIM.
I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO GO BACK TO HIM AND SAY, WE'LL ACCEPT HIS RESIGNATION.
AND THEN WE WILL, UH, TAKE A LOOK AT THE OTHER APPLICATIONS AND OF COURSE IT'LL BE, UH, BOARD OF ALLMAN APPOINTMENTS, SO, YEAH.
UM, SO I GUESS FOR THE, FOR THE TV, WE, WE HAVE THE, ONCE HE RESIGNS, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER OPENING THAT WE NEED.
AND SO WILL YOU CONTINUE TO TAKE APPLICANTS? 'CAUSE MAYBE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE HERE TODAY? NO, ABSOLUTELY.
LIKE TO, ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY.
IF THOSE GO THROUGH, UH, BRENDA, UM, OUR CLERK, UH, AT THE CITY OF NEW BERN, IT'S ALSO ON THE WEBSITE.
YOU CAN GO ON THERE FOR VOLUNTEER BOARDS AND SUBMIT AN APPLICATION.
I, I WOULD SAY THAT, UH, THE BOARD MAY WANT TO CONSIDER LOOKING AT SOMEBODY WITH, UH, SOME RUNNING EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE WHEN I LOOK HERE, I SEE THREE CYCLISTS.
JUST SAYING YEAH, UNDERSTAND, KNOW SOMEBODY
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S UNFORTUNATE WITH HIM.
HE WAS A, A RECREATIONAL RUNNER AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE CONSIDERATIONS.
BUT WE'LL, WE'LL CERTAINLY GO BACK AND LOOK AT, UH, THE PREVIOUS APPLICANTS AND ANY NEW ONES THAT HAVE COME IN AND, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE AN APPROPRIATE RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF
IT'S KIND OF LONELY OVER HERE,
UM, SO MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM.
IT IS THE APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 6TH, 2023 MINUTES.
THE MINUTES WERE PROVIDED WITH YOUR PACKET LOOKING FOR, UM, MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
I MOVE, WE ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.
I SECOND MOTION IN THE SECOND.
ALRIGHT, SO, UM, THIS EVENING I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT KIND OF, WE'VE BEEN SPENDING THE LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS KIND OF EDUCATING WHATEVER THE PLAN.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, SOME THINGS THAT, UH, WE COULD WORK ON FOR DEFINITIONS, ET CETERA.
AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT WAS THE NEED FOR SAFETY.
KIND OF THE, UM, OVERARCHING THEME OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS IS, UM, MEDIA LOOK AT SAFETY.
SO I WANTED TO, UM, TALK ABOUT WHAT A, A BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY CAMPAIGN IS.
UM, SO, UH, A CAMPAIGN, A SAFETY CAMPAIGN NORMALLY HAS THREE ELEMENTS.
YOU HAVE LIKE THE PLAN SIDE, THEN YOU HAVE DESIGN AND THEN IMPLEMENTATION.
SO THE PLAN IS ESTABLISHING YOUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
YOU TEND TO HAVE A SAFETY ANALYSIS PIECE TO THAT.
SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT A SPECIFIC LOCATION THAT IS KNOWN FOR, FOR ACCIDENTS OR CRASHES.
AND THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR FIVE EASE.
HOW DO WE ENGAGE THE PUBLIC TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF THIS CAMPAIGN? YOU HAVE THE EDUCATION PIECE OF, UM, SHARING WITH THEM, UM, THE RULES OF THE ROAD.
HOW DO A BICYCLE AND A RUNNER AND A CAR
[00:10:01]
SAFELY, UM, USE THAT SAME LANE.SO WE HAVE THAT PIECE WITH OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND, UM, WE'VE GOT ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING IS MORE OF LIKE THE HARDSCAPE IMPROVEMENT.
SO THINK OF THAT AS LIKE A CURB RAMP OR A, UM, A BIKE LANE THAT'S ACTUALLY MARKED OR A CROSSWALK.
AND THEN YOU HAVE, UM, EQUITY.
SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE WHOLE CITY AND NOT JUST A SEC, A A SPECIFIC SECTION.
AND THEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT STRATEGIES AND SOME PROJECT IDEAS.
SO MAYBE YOU'D KNOW THAT, UM, YOU WANNA SEE SOME IMPROVEMENT IN A PARTICULAR LOCATION.
SO WE GATHER ALL THIS DATA AND THAT FORMULATES THE PLAN.
AND THEN FROM THE PLAN, WE MOVE ON TO DESIGN.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE GET A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC.
SO WE MIGHT BE LOOKING AT PRIORITIZING SOME OF THOSE PROJECT IDEAS.
UM, WE MIGHT TAKE ONE OF THOSE IDEAS AND SAY, WE WANNA MOVE THAT TOWARDS A DESIGN.
SO WE'RE GOING MORE FROM A CONCEPT TO A REALITY.
WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE IF WE WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO MAKE THAT IMPROVEMENT? IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS CREATING A WEBSITE WHERE WE'RE SHOWCASING HOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD AND WHERE YOU GET INFORMATION.
UM, WITH THAT IT COULD BE EDUCATION MATERIALS, UM, AND THIS COULD THE RANGE OF, FROM ELEMENTARY TO ADULTS.
AND THEN MOST IMPORTANTLY IS GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING THEM THE GENERAL STATUTES, SHARING, UM, OTHER RESOURCES FROM OTHER, UM, UH, SAFETY CAMPAIGNS, ET CETERA.
AND THEN THE LAST IS THE IMPLEMENTATION.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK OF IMPLEMENTATION AS CONSTRUCTION.
AND YES, THAT DOES INCLUDE THAT, BUT IT'S ALSO MAYBE TAKING THAT IDEA THAT WE HAVE A DESIGN AND COMING UP WITH A FUNDING STRATEGY THAT SOUNDS GREAT, LET'S MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS.
BUT HOW ARE WE GONNA GET THAT FUNDED? IT MIGHT BE EVENTS WHERE WE MIGHT BE DOING LIKE A BIKE RODEO WHERE WE PARTNER WITH THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT AND WE PUT TOGETHER A BIKE SAFETY, OR WE MIGHT GO AFTER A GRANT FOR BIKE HELMETS AND WE, WE KIND OF TIED THAT IN WITH A SAFETY COMPONENT.
AND THEN MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY ALWAYS HAVE SOME PART OF AN EVALUATION.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THESE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED ARE ACTUALLY SAFE, THAT WE'RE SEEING A REDUCTION IN CRASHES, A REDUCTION IN INCIDENTS, ET CETERA.
NOW THE BICYCLE SCHOOL AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY CAMPAIGNS RUN THE GAMUT.
YOU COULD HAVE A VERY, VERY FORMALIZED PLAN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS VERY SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE MEASURES, OR IT COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS WILMINGTON'S BE A LOOKER CAMPAIGN.
UM, BE A LOOKER CAMPAIGN IS ONE THAT'S PUT ON THROUGH THEIR GO GO COAST, WHICH IS A, UM, BICYCLE, UM, A COALITION.
AND WHAT THEY DO IS ON, IT'S JUST A WEBSITE BASICALLY, UH, WITH ALL THE CONTENT.
SO IT HAS, UM, TRAINING MATERIALS, EDUCATION MATERIALS, AND THEN THEY PARTNERED WITH, UM, THEIR DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES AND THEY HAVE LIKE A PLEDGE CARD.
SO YOU HAVE LIKE A QR CODE AND YOUR RESIDENTS WILL SIGN IT.
UM, YOU HAVE THE WATCH FOR ME, WHICH I THINK MOST OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH NC DOT'S PROGRAM THAT THEY PUT OUT.
AND WITH THAT THEY HAVE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND, UM, KNICKKNACKS THAT THEY GIVE OUT THROUGH GRANT RECIPIENTS.
AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER ARM CALLED LET'S GO NC, UM, THAT HAS, UM, A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, LIKE THINK OF IT, UM, LIKE COLORING FOR LITTLE FOR THE ELEMENTARY KIDS OR A TWO PAGE HANDOUT, BUT IT'S DIRECTED TOWARDS ELEMENTARY AND NOT NECESSARILY ADULTS.
AND THEN THE OUTER BANKS HAS A, UM, A BICYCLE PEDESTRIAN SAFETY COALITION, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO THAT REALLY BIG ROBUST WEBSITE WITH, UM, EDUCATION MATERIALS, ET CETERA.
SO THE POINT OF THIS IS THE SAFETY CAMPAIGN CAN BE WHATEVER WE WANT IT TO BE.
SO WITH THAT, THERE ARE, THERE ARE GRANTS AVAILABLE, UM, NOT ONLY TO DO YOUR SAFETY CAMPAIGNS, BUT ALSO TO DO IMPLEMENTATION.
SO WE HAVE FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS.
THERE ARE SOME PRIVATE GRANTS.
ALMOST ALL OF THESE REQUIRE AT LEAST A 20% CASH MATCH.
UM, AND SO THE DOWNFALL, DOWNFALL OF THIS IS THAT MOST OF THEM FOCUS, MOST OF THESE GRANTS FOCUS ON PLANNING AND DESIGN WORK AND NOT CONSTRUCTION.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S, WE TEND TO HAVE LOTS OF PLANS, BUT THEN ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING THE PLANS A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT.
SO ONE FEDERAL GRANT THAT IS AVAILABLE, IT'S CALLED SAFE STREETS FOR ALL OR SS FOUR A.
SO THIS FEDERAL GRANT HELPS COMMUNITIES DEVELOP TOOLS TO STRENGTHEN THEIR APPROACH TO PEDESTRIAN SAFETY.
UM, SO THINK OF IT LIKE IMPLEMENTING THE COMPLETE STREETS DESIGN.
SO THAT'S A HOW DO YOU SHARE THE ROAD WITH ALL USERS.
BUT IN ORDER TO HAVE THE FUNDING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION SIDE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY ACTION PLAN.
UM, AND SO THE OTHER DOWNFALL OF THAT IS, IS THAT YOU HAVE TO
[00:15:01]
EVALUATE WHATEVER YOU IMPLEMENT, YOU HAVE TO EVALUATE OVER THE PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, WHICH IS TYPICALLY ABOUT FIVE YEARS FOR IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.SO THAT MEANS THROUGHOUT THE FIVE YEARS OF THAT PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE, WE ARE HAVING TO DO, UM, OBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES TO INDICATE THAT WHATEVER WE CONSTRUCTED, WE ARE SEEING A REDUCTION IN PEDESTRIAN CRASHES, NEAR MISSES, ET CETERA.
SO THERE'S TWO GRANTS FOR THE SS FOUR A.
THERE'S THE PLANNING AND DEMONSTRATION GRANT.
AND SO THAT ALLOWS YOU TO DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN.
UM, AND SO THINK OF IT LIKE, UM, IT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE NEW BERN BIKING AND HEAD PLAN, BUT NOT QUITE.
UM, BUT YOU COULD DO A ROAD SAFETY AUDIT, WE COULD UPDATE THAT PLAN.
UM, WE COULD ALSO CARRY OUT DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES LIKE A FEASIBILITY STUDY OR A, A PILOT PROGRAM TO MODIFY BEHAVIORS.
SO IF WE'RE SEEING A HIGH CRASH RATE, LET'S SAY AT NIGHT, UM, WITH TEENAGERS ON THEIR PHONES, THEN WE COULD DO SOME TYPE OF SAFETY CAMPAIGN TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY SHOULDN'T BE DOING THAT IN HOPES THAT AS A RESULT, THE, UM, THE BEHAVIOR CHANGES AND THEN THE SAFETY INCREASES BECAUSE WE'RE NOT HAVING THOSE CRASHES.
SO ON THE PLANNING SIDE, THE MINIMUM'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND AND THE MAXIMUM IS 10 MILLION.
SO THESE, THIS IS, THESE TYPE OF PROJECTS ARE LIKE BIG AND THEY'RE MEANT FOR, UM, RUN THE GAMUT OF THE SIZE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OR STATE THAT YOU'RE UTILIZING.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS JUST FOR PLANNING.
SO IF WE TOOK OUR EXISTING NEW BIRD BIKE AND HEAD PLAN AND WE COMPARED IT TO THE FRAMEWORK OF STRAIGHT STREETS FOR ALL THE DARKER THE COLOR MEANS THAT IT MEETS THAT REQUIREMENT.
AND IF IT'S THE LIGHTER, THE COLOR MEANS THAT WE'RE LACKING IN IT.
SO IF WE WANTED TO COMPETE FOR THE PLANNING GRANT, WE COULD GO AFTER IT TO UPDATE OR MODIFY THE EXISTING NEW BURN PLAN.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE HAVE SOME OF THESE ITEMS THAT WE'VE TAKEN OR WERE GREAT OTHERS, NOT SO MUCH.
UM, SO FOR INSTANCE, LIKE THE PLANNING STRUCTURE WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE DOING, WE'RE A HUNDRED PERCENT ON THAT BECAUSE ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IS, IS CREATING A COMMITTEE OR A BOARD TO OVERSEE THE PLAN.
SO WE GET FULL CREDIT FOR THAT.
UM, SAME THING WITH EQUITY THAT WILL, WE'VE LOOKED AT THE ENTIRE CITY.
UM, WE JUST NEED TO PROBABLY ACT, ACT, LOOK AT IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
WE TALKED ABOUT POLICY AND PROCESS CHANGE.
THE PLAN ITSELF IDENTIFIES WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES TO OUR CODE.
SO I THINK THAT THE, IF WE WANTED TO GO AFTER THAT TYPE OF GRANT, THIS IS AN OPTION THAT WE COULD PURSUE.
AGAIN, IF WE WERE ABLE TO GET A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN, THEN WE'RE NOW ELIGIBLE TO DO THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT OF THE SAME GRANT.
SO ON THE IMPLEMENTATION SIDE, WHICH WOULD BE THE HARDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS, LIKE THE CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS ROADWAY, UM, LED STREET LIGHTS OR GRADE SEPARATE, I MEAN, THIS IS BIG PROJECTS AND THAT WOULD GET US THROUGH PLANNING, DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENTATION.
WE CAN BUNDLE IT, WHICH MEANS WE CAN COMBINE IT WITH, UH, UPGRADING THE PLAN WITH THE CONSTRUCTION.
NOW YOU'LL SEE HERE THAT THE MINIMUM FOR THIS IS 2.5 MILLION.
SO WE'RE TALKING BIG PROJECTS UP TO $25 MILLION.
SO THIS IS AN OPTION IF WE WANTED TO USE THIS GRANT.
I'M NOT SAYING WE HAVE TO, I'M JUST SAYING THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY.
SO THIS GRANT RIGHT NOW DOES REQUIRE AN 80% FEDERAL AND A 20% LOCAL MATCH FOR WHATEVER WE GO AFTER.
THE 20% LOCAL MATCH CAN BE CASH OR WHAT'S CALLED IN KIND IN KIND IS SOMETHING LIKE STAFF'S TIME.
SO WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO DOCUMENT THE STAFF'S TIME.
SO WE COULD DRIVE THAT 20% DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
THE NEXT GRANT CYCLE FOR THIS OPENS IN FEBRUARY AND IT WOULD BE, IT'S NORMALLY OPEN FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND THEN THE CYCLE WILL START AGAIN IN NEXT YEAR.
UM, IF THE, IF THE BOARD IS NOT INTERESTED IN PURSUING THE GRANT, N-C-D-O-T HAS STATED THAT THEY HAVE SOME MONEY AVAILABLE FOR US TO DO A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
AND I BELIEVE, BUT DON'T QUOTE ME, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A HUNDRED PERCENT AT THEIR COST, NOT POSITIVE.
UM, BUT THAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE COULD TAKE THE PLAN, UPDATE THE PLAN, AND SO NOW THAT WE HAVE A PLAN, AND THEN WE COULD STILL GO AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT IF THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO PURSUE AT A LATER DATE.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THESE THAT MY THOUGHT WAS IF WE UPDATED THE EXISTING PLAN AND NOW IT'S ELIGIBLE FOR THIS FEDERAL FUNDING, THAT AT SOME POINT WE COULD COMPETE FOR THE NEWS BOULEVARD CORRIDOR, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST PEDESTRIAN CRASH RATE.
IT IS A, IT IS A VULNERABLE USER CORRIDOR THAT'S IN THAT NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.
SO THIS MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTNER
[00:20:01]
WITH THEM, UM, AND MAYBE THEY WOULD GO AFTER THE FEDERAL GRANT AND THEN THEY COULD PUT THE 20%.SO THAT'S, THAT'S A STRATEGY WE COULD TALK ABOUT.
SO I JUST WANNA PAUSE FOR ONE MOMENT.
I KNOW I'VE SAID A LOT ABOUT SAFE STREETS, UM, BUT I DID WANNA BRING THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION.
WHERE'S THE GAP BETWEEN ORDER PLANT, RELATIVELY NEW PLANT IS AND WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE THAT REQUIRES AN UPDATE.
SO IF YOU WANTED TO THE TWO PAINTS, YES.
SO THE DARKER THE THE DARKER RED NEEDS WHERE IN COMPLIANCE.
AND, AND NOW I JUST WANNA CAVEAT, THIS IS ME JUST KIND OF LOOKING AT THE PLAN AND LOOKING AT THE REQUIREMENT.
SO WE WOULD HAVE TO GET ALL THE PINK TO RED.
SO YOU GAVE US EXAMPLES OF WHY THE PLANNING AND STRUCTURE WAS COMPLETE RED AND THE EQUITY WAS COMPLETE RED.
SOME STEPS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO GET ALL THE OTHERS IN THE COMPLETE RED.
UM, LET'S SEE WHAT'S SO SAFETY ANALYSIS.
SO THE SAFETY ANALYSIS SAYS, UM, SAFETY ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING CONDITIONS AND THE HISTORICAL TRENDS THAT PROVIDE A BASELINE LEVEL OF CRASHES INVOLVING FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES ACROSS THE JURISDICTION, LOCALITY, TRIBE OR REGION.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR PLAN, OUR PLAN IS FOCUSED PRIMARILY IN DOWNTOWN AND THEN THERE'S LIKE OTHER POTS, IT DIDN'T LOOK AT IT AS A HOLISTIC AS THE ENTIRE CITY.
AND SO WE DO HAVE, WE DO HAVE SOME, SOME OF THAT, BUT NOT A LOT.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE GONNA NEED TO HAVE, UM, A MODIFIED THE PLAN JUST TO ADD MORE DATA TO IT.
UM, SO ANOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE, UM, THE ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION.
SO IT STATES THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE, UM, PUBLIC AND RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT ALLOW FOR BOTH COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION AND FEEDBACK.
SO WE DID DO SOME OUTREACH, BUT I THINK WE DONE MORE ASKING FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS, ET CETERA.
SO THAT'S WHY I SAID I THINK WE'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE PROBABLY NEED TO DO A LITTLE BIT MORE.
SO AGAIN, THIS WAS JUST ME LOOKING AT THE DEFINITIONS AND LOOKING AT THE PLAN.
BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY DO NOT MEET THE DEFINITION OF A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN.
AND I WILL POINT OUT THAT WHEN YOU FILL OUT THE GRANT, YOU ARE CERTIFYING THAT YOUR PLAN MEETS THESE REQUIREMENTS, RIGHT? SO WHY ARE WE, UH, HAVE NO COLOR IN THE PROGRESS AND TRANSPARENCY METHODS? SO ON THAT ONE, SO IT SAYS WE ASSESS THE CURRENT POLICIES, PLANS, GUIDELINES, AND OR STANDARDS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE HOW PROCESSES PRIORITIZE TRANSPORTATION SAFETY.
SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED SOME OF IT, BUT IT DOESN'T TIE IT BACK SPECIFICALLY TO THE SAFETY COMPONENT.
WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET SAFE BY MODIFYING OUR PLANS, BUT WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC IMPROVEMENTS TO A, A LOCATION THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS NEEDING TO BE IMPROVED.
WE TALKED MORE ABOUT WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, SIDEWALKS AND CROSSWALKS, BUT WE DIDN'T TIE IT BACK TO THAT SAFETY PIECE.
DO YOU THINK THAT ANY DATA FROM THE PUBLIC, 'CAUSE WE HAVE ONE OF THESE SHEETS SHOWS ALL THE CRASHES AND WHETHER IT WAS FATAL OR, OR WHATNOT.
UM, HOW ABOUT THAT? OR PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY WON'T GO OUT AND USE ANYTHING THESE AREAS BECAUSE THEY FEAR FOR THEIR SAFETY.
SO THAT'S, THAT IS PROBABLY A LOT OF PEOPLE.
THAT ISN'T THAT I DON'T, DO WE HAVE THAT IN HERE SOMEWHERE? NOT THAT I'M AWARE OF.
BECAUSE THAT INFORMATION, AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THAT ENGAGEMENT COULD COME FROM, UM, WEEK THAT YOU WOULD USE IT IF, RIGHT? YEAH, I HAD MORE, BUT I DON'T WANNA HOW THIS STAGE HERE.
SAY WHEN YOU SAY THAT THE O GRANT OPENS IN FEBRUARY, SO HOW LONG DOES IT STAY OPEN? IT'S NORMALLY A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND THEN, AND THEN CLOSES AND THEN IT'S NOT OPEN AGAIN UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
SO IF, SO AGAIN, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF OPTIONS.
IF WE WANTED TO GO FOR THE GRANT, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN.
UM, AND WE WOULD BE VERY HARD PRESSED TIME-WISE TO GO AND GET THAT APPROVED, ET CETERA, WHICH WE CAN CERTAINLY, UM, IF THAT'S THE, THIS BOARD'S DESIRE, WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, BUT IF WE'RE MORE INTERESTED IN UPDATING THE EXISTING PLAN FOR IT TO BE COMPATIBLE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN, AGAIN, THE ONLY REASON WE WOULD NEED THAT IS IF SOME POINT WE WANTED TO GO AFTER THIS, THIS FUNDING, UM, WE, I CAN CIRCLE BACK WITH N-C-D-O-T AND VERIFY THAT, UM, THAT MONEY'S STILL AVAILABLE AND THAT IT WOULD NOT COST US ANYTHING.
SO, SO AGAIN, I DON'T, THE PLAN WE HAVE IS GOOD.
WE ONLY NEED TO MAKE THE CHANGES IF WE WANTED TO GO AFTER SOME BIG MONEY, BUT THAT BIG MONEY DOES REQUIRE SOME CASH AND
[00:25:01]
THAT'S WHAT I THINK.AND SO, AND THAT'S THE FUNDING STRATEGY PIECE THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT NEXT.
NOW, COULD WE GO AFTER THE BIG MONEY, THE NEXT OH YES, YES, YES.
SO MAYBE IT'S A LITTLE EARLY FOR THIS YEAR, BUT DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ON TARGET FOR THE FUTURE YEARS.
BUT BEFORE WE GO TO DOT THAT REQUESTS MONEY, WE NEED TO MAKE UP OUR MIND WHETHER WE WANT TO GO FOR THE BIG MONEY.
SO ONE OF THE PIECES, UM, ABOUT THE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAINTIFFS IS THAT EVALUATION PIECE WHERE WE HAVE TO DOCUMENT THAT, THAT THESE IMPROVEMENTS ARE DRIVING DOWN OR ELIMINATING THE SAFETY COMPONENT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S WORTH IT TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE CAVEATS.
IF YOU WANT THEIR MONEY, THEN YOU HAVE TO REPORT THE, THE END GOAL OF THE SAFETY BENEFITS.
UM, IF WE'RE WORKING WITH N-C-D-O-T, THEN THEY COULD POSSIBLY DO ALL THAT WORK FOR US AND THEN WE, WE COULD JUST BENEFIT IT FROM IT.
UM, BUT I WANT, AGAIN, WANTED TO BRING THE GRANT BEFORE THE BOARD FOR DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE.
UM, I'D LIKE TO ASK THIS LADY WHO IS DOWN IN, UM, UM, WHAT'S THE COASTAL TOWN INSIDE EMERALD ISLAND? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COSTS? ANY MILEAGE ON THAT? WELL, WELL ONE OF THE ROADS, WHICH WAS COAST GUARD ROAD WAS OUR, UM, IS THE TOWN A TOWN PAID FOR THAT? MM-HMM.
AND THEN, UH, EMERALD DRIVE, WHICH WAS THE TOTAL, UM, LENGTH OF THE TOWN.
SO IT WAS TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
SO DO YOU KNOW, UM, LIKE THE, THE BIKE PATH, THE BIKE GROUP, THAT'S THE ENTIRE TOWN.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COST REGARDLESS OF WHO PAID FOR IT? NO.
I WAS JUST THINKING, I JUST, WE JUST BRIEFED LAST MEETING AND I DON'T REMEMBER.
UM, SO I'M LOOKING AT THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING AND, UM, THE FIRST SIX MILES OF THE TRAIL WERE CONSTRUCTED WITH THE GRANT AND AX FROM THE TOWN AND THE REMAINING SECTIONS WERE FUNDED BY A 1 CENT TAX INCREASE THAT BE BEGAN IN 2012.
AND THEN THEY USE EVENTS TO HELP SUPPLEMENT AND, AND MAKE, UM, AND MAINTENANCE OF THE TRAIL.
BUT WE STILL DON'T HAVE A FIGURE.
UM, NO, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY GET A COST A COST PER IT JUST WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MUCH, UH, HOW MUCH MY, HOW MANY MILES YOU CAN GET PER MILLION
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COST PER LINEAR FOOT OF SIDEWALK, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO TAKE ONE SUCH AS
UM, YOU'VE GOT SOS THAT THAT TAKE UP WATER.
YOU DON'T HAVE AS MANY DRAINAGE ISSUES AND THEN TAKE THAT LINEAR FOOT COST AND TRANSFER IT TO SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY OF NEW AND JUST SO, SO BE, BE CONSIDERED OF THOSE DOLLAR TO DOLLAR WORKING.
JUST BE NICE TO HAVE SOME, SOME SOMETHING THAT WE COULD LOOK AT.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON THE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLANS OR GUIDANCE OF, WHAT WOULD THE BOARD, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE US TO DO,
SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO ANYTHING MAJOR, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE MONEY.
THE WAY I KIND OF INTERPRET WHAT'S BEEN SAID, IF YOU WANT TO GO AFTER THE MONEY, THE FIRST THING YOU GOTTA DO IS TURN THIS RED IF YOU WANNA PURSUE THIS FEDERAL GRANT.
BUT THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT LAST MEETING WHERE ONCE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OTHER GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, WE CAN, UM, GO THROUGH THE NPOS NC DOT'S PRIORITIZATION PROCESS.
UM, SO THERE ARE OTHER THINGS WE DO, AND NC DOT DOES HAVE THE HIGHWAY SAFETY FUNDS.
SO IF THERE'S A KNOWN CRASH AREA, THEN THEY'VE GOT SOME FUNDS THAT THEY CAN USE TO, TO MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS, TYPICALLY AT AN INTERSECTION.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO CONSTRUCT, YOU KNOW, A TRAIL OR A SIDEWALK, THEN YES, THAT TYPICALLY IS GONNA HAVE TO COME THROUGH, UM, A, A GRANT OF SOME SORT OR PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT.
SO I THINK THIS IS TOO BIG FOR THIS FEBRUARY.
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? OH, ABSOLUTELY.
UH, THE, THE, THE MAIN THING IS IF WE DECIDE WE WANTED TO GO FOR IT, WE GOTTA TURN THAT RED.
THAT'S NOT GONNA BE DONE OVERNIGHT.
[00:30:01]
NO.AND THEN YOU'RE, YOU'RE SAYING THOUGH, YOU THINK WE COULD GET N-C-D-O-T TO HELP US WITH THAT.
I BELIEVE WHEN I SPOKE WITH THE GENTLEMAN A FEW MONTHS AGO, THEY SAID THEY HAD SOME FUNDING AVAILABLE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THAT REQUIRED A MATCH.
SO LET ME CIRCLE BACK, HOW ABOUT I DO THAT? I'LL CIRCLE BACK WITH N-C-D-O-T AND UM, SEE IF THAT FUNDING IS STILL AVAILABLE AND I'LL GET THE SPECIFICS ON WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAYBE JUST UPDATE OUR PLAN TO MAKE IT, UM, A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN.
DOES THAT WORK FOR THE BOARD? I THINK SO, BECAUSE SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, LIKE I SAID, IF WE'RE GONNA DO ANYTHING MAJOR, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE MONEY.
THE ORGANIZATION, PEOPLE FOR BIKES, DO THEY ASSIST WITH FUNDING HELPING YOU ACQUIRE FUNDING? UM, THEY IDENTIFY FUNDING SOURCES, BUT NOT NECESSARILY ACTUALLY.
THE FUNDING TO CONSTRUCT ANYTHING, ARE THEY A A RESOURCE WE COULD USE? YES.
THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO THEM.
AND I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR OTHER GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, UM, IF WE WANTED TO, TO, UM, CONSTRUCT SOMETHING, BUT I HAVEN'T, I HAVEN'T REALLY FOUND ONE YET THAT WOULD MAKE, WELL THEN WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A, A PRIORITY EITHER THAT THE BOARD HAS GIVEN US AS FAR AS A LOCATION THAT WE WANTED TO FOCUS ON.
SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S MY NEXT QUESTION AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
SO I NEED TO GET SOMETHING STRAIGHT.
SO THIS IS, THIS IS, WHAT IS THE PLAN OF THE NAME OF THE PLAN? THAT WAS A HUNDRED THOUSAND TO, UM, WHAT? 10 MILLION? I, I FORGET.
SO, SO THERE'S TWO ARMS OF THE SAFE STREETS FOR ALL.
THE FIRST ONE IS PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION, OR I'M SORRY, PLANNING AND DEMONSTRATING PROJECTS.
AND THAT IS COMING UP WITH A PLAN, MODIFYING PLAN OR DOING A SHORT TERM LIKE FEASIBILITY STUDY ON ONE PARTICULAR AREA.
SO THAT IS A HUNDRED THOUSAND UP TO 10 MILLION.
AND THEN THE OTHER SIDE IS THE ACTUAL, YOU'RE GOING TO CONSTRUCT OR IMPLEMENT SOMETHING THAT'S IDENTIFIED IN YOUR, IN THE PLAN.
SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, WE WOULD APPLY FOR THIS GRANT TO UPDATE OUR PLAN? YES.
SO YOU SAID WE NEED TO PICK A PROJECT.
SO ONE, SO WE'VE BEEN TALKING THE LAST COUPLE OF MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, THE STAFF'S BEEN EDUCATING THE BOARD ABOUT TERMINOLOGY AND, YOU KNOW, UM, ANSWERING QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
BUT IN ORDER FOR US TO CONTINUE HAVING EFFECTIVE MEETINGS IS WE NEED GUIDANCE FROM YOU ON WHAT YOU WANT US TO LOOK AT.
SO IF THE GUIDANCE FROM THE BOARD IS WE WANT TO WORK ON A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN, THEN THAT WOULD, AND WITH THAT MAYBE, UM, WORK ON A WEBSITE TO, AT A BARE MINIMUM, JUST START PUTTING SOME OF THIS DATA OUT THERE FOR THE PUBLIC EDUCATION MATERIALS, ET CETERA, THEN WE CAN START WORKING ON THAT.
BUT WE NEED GUIDANCE FROM YOU ON WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF YOU DON'T, IF THAT'S NOT YOUR PRIORITY.
AND YOU WOULD LIKE US TO START LOOKING AT THE SPECIFICS OF HOW DO YOU GET A SIDEWALK FROM A TO Z? AND THAT MEANS HOW DO WE GO ABOUT FIND FINDING GRANTS AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO, TO GET, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? AND SO WE JUST, WE JUST NEED GUIDANCE FROM THE, FROM YOU OF WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE US TO FOCUS ON.
UM, DEFINITELY I THINK WE SHOULD AGAIN DO WHAT AL I DID.
I'VE USED THAT BY TRAIL A LOT.
WELL HOLD THAT THOUGHT 'CAUSE THAT'S PART OF THE CONVERSATION ON THE FUNDING.
THE SECOND THING I, UM, IDEA I, OR THOUGHT I HAVE IS IF YOU'RE ASKING FOR SPECIFIC AREAS, I'M, I CAN NARROW IT DOWN TO MOOSE BOULEVARD IS THE ONLY THING I WANT TO CONCENTRATE ON.
I CERTAINLY WILL CONCENTRATE ON EVERYTHING ELSE, BUT THAT'S TO ME THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THIS BOOK AND I'D LIKE TO FOCUS ON IT.
WELL, AND JUST, AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'VE MENTIONED IT.
SO, UM, NEWS BOULEVARD IS, UH, AN AREA THAT NNC DOT IS ALREADY WORKING ON.
SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT BASICALLY FROM RACETRACK ROAD ALL THE WAY TO BROAD STREET, I THINK.
UM, AND SO THEY'RE LOOKING, WE ACTUALLY WALKED, WE WERE OUT THERE FOR SEVERAL HOURS.
WE WALKED THE ENTIRE LIMITS AND NOTATING WHEN, WHERE WE SAW PEOPLE CROSSING AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT.
UM, AND WE SIT NEXT WEEK WHERE WE GET THE DRAFT ANALYSIS OF WHAT IMPROVEMENTS NEED TO BE MADE.
BUT THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THAT IS THEY NOW HAVE A STUDY THAT THEY CAN TURN AROUND AND GO BACK TO THE
[00:35:01]
HIGHWAY SAFETY FUND AND GET MONEY TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS.SO YOU'LL BE SEEING SOME PEDESTRIAN, UM, ACCOMMODATIONS HAPPENING, LIKE THE PUSH BUTTONS AND CROSSWALKS.
THEY WERE, THEY'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED SEVERAL INTERSECTIONS ALONG THAT CORRIDOR, BUT IT'S MORE THAN THAT IS HOW DO WE CONTINUE MAKING THIS SAFE.
SO I DON'T HAVE THAT DRAFT REPORT YET, BUT I'LL HAVE SOME MORE INFORMATION TO SHARE WITH THE BOARD AT THE NEXT MEETING.
SO THEY'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THAT ONE.
SO FROM REACH TRACK ROAD UP TO, WHAT IS THE INDUSTRY? THAT'S BOSCH.
ISN'T THERE SOMETHING GOING ON THERE TOO? UM, I ASKED THEM TO EXTEND THE STUDY TO BOSCH.
UM, AND LUCKILY WHEN WE WERE ON SITE, THERE WAS PEOPLE WALKING, SO THEY SAID YES, THAT MAKES SENSE.
UM, SO THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO INCLUDE IT UP TO BOSCH.
AND WE HAVE HAD A, UM, BECAUSE THE NM PO HAS IDENTIFIED NEWS BOULEVARD, THAT SECTION FROM BOSCH TO MLK IF NEEDING IMPROVEMENTS, THAT IS ON A, A SUBMITTED PROJECT WHERE WE ARE ASKING FOR IMPROVEMENTS NOT ONLY TO THE ROADWAY, BUT A SIDEWALK ON ONE SIDE AND A TRAIL ON THE OTHER.
BECAUSE, UM, WITH THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC THAT GOES BY THAT, THAT GOES TO BOSCH.
IF WE COULD GET THEM WALKING OR BIKING TO WORK AND THAT, I I BET YOU WOULD.
AND, AND BOSCH DID DO A, A SURVEY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES, UM, TALKING ABOUT, UH, BASICALLY WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU TO WALK OR BIKE TO WORK.
AND, UM, THEY HAD, THAT STUDY WAS VERY INFORMATIVE FOR THEM.
UM, AND IT ALSO KIND OF SHARED WITH US THAT, THAT THERE IS A NEED AND A DESIRE TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON IT, IT'S JUST NOT GONNA, IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT THIS MINUTE.
THE PROPOSAL YOU HAD ON THE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION GRANT POSSIBLY WAS MS. BOULEVARD.
SO IF WE WERE TO USE THIS PLANNING GRANT TO UPDATE THE BIKE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN AND THE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PORTION OF THAT, AND THEN LOOKING AT THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT, WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL FOR N-C-D-O-T? ARE WE DUPLICATING EFFORT NOW ON NEWS BOULEVARD FOR NC DOT? I GUESS SO, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON WITH NC DT AND NEWS BOULEVARD RIGHT NOW IS, IS THIS DUPLICATION OF EFFORT OR NOT, I GUESS, OR IS IT HELPFUL IF WE WERE DOING THE PLAN JUST BECAUSE OF NEWS? I WOULD SAY IT WOULD BE A DUPLICATE EFFORT.
BECAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY, WE COULD PROBABLY TAKE WHAT THEY'VE DONE AND INCLUDE IT IN OUR PLAN.
BUT BY GOING FOR THIS PLANNING GRANT TO UPDATE THE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN IN HOURS, IT WOULD INCLUDE MUCH MORE THAN JUST NEW BOULEVARD AND WOULD HAVE THE ENTIRE CITY.
AND THEN WE COULD HAVE A PRIORITIZATION OF THE SAFETY PROJECTS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT YES.
AND THEN WE COULD DECIDE WHETHER N-C-D-O-T NEEDS THE HELP WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION GRANT WITH NEW BOULEVARD, OR WE COULD PICK OTHER PROJECTS.
WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT WE'RE NOT GOING AFTER THE SAFE STREET GRANTS NOW THAT I'M GOING TO CONTACT DOT AND SEE IF THERE'S STILL FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO HELP US WITH OUR UPDATING, OUR TAKING OUR CURRENT PLAN AND MAKING IT A COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN.
UM, AND THEN I'LL REPORT BACK WITH MORE INFORMATION.
DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GOOD STEP, FIRST STEP, AT LEAST FOR THAT? I WOULD SAY YES.
SO, UM, LIKE I MENTIONED, ALL GRANTS REQUIRE SOME TYPE OF A MATCH.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WHEN WE GO AFTER GRANTS THAT WE'RE VERY MINDFUL OF THAT BECAUSE ALTHOUGH YOU'RE GETTING 80% OF FUNDING THROUGH THE FEDS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, IT STILL DOES REQUIRE THAT 20% MATCH.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THIS BOARD COULD, COULD DO IS, IS BE OUR ADVOCATE.
SO ONE ITEM WOULD BE TO ESTABLISH, UM, THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS WITH NEW BERN IS TO CREATE A, THAT LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENT, RIGHT? SO THAT AS THE CITY OF NEWBURN, THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN IS BUDGETING FOR THEIR ANNUAL BUDGET, THEY'RE ASKING THEM TO GO AHEAD AND JUST PUT SOME MONEY TO THE SIDE.
AND SO WHEN THE FEDERAL GRANT OR A GRANT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THAT MATCH, THAT MATCH ALREADY HAS SOME MONEY IN IT.
SO IT MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH, BUT AT LEAST IT'S A START.
UM, AND THAT MONEY COULD JUST BE A POT THAT WE KIND OF ADD TO, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY BUDGET CYCLE.
ONE ANOTHER OPTION MIGHT BE TO ESTABLISH A TAX LIKE EMERALD I DID, THERE WAS A SMALL
[00:40:01]
TAX THAT, UM, THAT EVERYONE PAID FOR.BUT YOU KNOW, A PENNY IS A LOT ON THE TAX.
UM, YOU COULD HOST, UM, EVENTS TO BENEFIT A SPECIFIC PROJECT, WHICH IS WHAT EMERALD AISLE DID.
EMERALD IS, UM, HAD A, THEY BUILT PART OF THEIR TRAIL AND NOW THEY HAVE A MARATHON THAT, UM, GO, PEOPLE GO OUT THERE AND THAT GETS A LOT OF MONEY, NOT ONLY FOR THEM TO DO MORE TRAILS, BUT TO REINVEST IN THE TRAIL THAT THEY HAVE FOR MAINTENANCE.
WE COULD SEE PLEDGES FROM COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES WHO MAY BE BOSCH WHO IS INTERESTED IN SEEING THIS, UM, A TRAIL COME OR A SIDEWALK THAT WE COULD ASK THEM TO MAKE A FINANCIAL COMMITMENT.
UM, WE COULD ALSO ESTABLISH FRIENDS OF THE TRAIL, RIGHT.
WHICH IS KIND OF WHAT WE HAVE HERE.
BUT FRIENDS OF THE TRAILS ARE NORMALLY A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO COLLECT SOME BIG, BIG DOLLARS DONATIONS AND THEN THEY COULD PARTNER WITH THE CITY TO ACTUALLY CONSTRUCT TRAILS.
SO THESE ARE JUST SOME FUNDING OPTIONS THAT I CAME UP WITH.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF MAYBE THE BOARD HAS ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS ON POTENTIAL FUNDING OPTIONS.
HOW MUCH KICKBACK YOU GONNA GET, YOU RAISE TAXES, EVEN ONE 10 OR WHATEVER DIVERTED THE WHOLE THING IS TO DO THAT'S GOTTA BE EDUCATED ON WHAT WE'RE DOING.
IF THEY SEE THAT BY GETTING ALL THIS STUFF IS GOING TO DECREASE THEM HAVING THE RIDE ROUND CYCLES AND ALL, MAYBE WE DON'T DO IT.
BUT THERE'S DEFINITELY AN EDUCATION COMPONENT TO ALL OF THIS.
AND THESE ARE JUST DEANNA'S THOUGHTS.
THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT I CAME, THAT I WAS ABLE TO FUND.
BUT YES, EDUCATION IS DEFINITELY A, I WONDERED IF YOU, IF YOU PICKED A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS AN E IT WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE THE FARTHEST OUT, BUT MAYBE AN EASY ONE TO IMPLEMENT A PLAN AND YOU COULD CHART HOW MANY MORE PEDESTRIAN CYCLISTS YOU'VE GOT TO COME INTO NEWBURG AND THE ALDERMAN COULD SEE THAT AND SEE THE EFFECTIVENESS THAT THAT WOULD HELP EDUCATE THEM LONG TERM TO THE VIABILITY OF THIS.
AND I'M JUST GONNA PICK A NEIGHBORHOOD, I DON'T LIVE THERE, BUT, UH, RIVERSIDE OR ONE OF THE, THE EARLY, UH, SUBWAY NEIGHBORHOODS OF NEW BERN THAT A CLO A FAR WAY, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH THAT YOU COULD IMPLEMENT THAT PEOPLE WOULD SAY, GOSH, THERE'S A, THERE'S A PATH ALL THE WAY DOWNTOWN.
WE CAN, THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN RIDE OUR BIKE DOWNTOWN AND DO WHATEVER.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD A ROUTE YEARS AGO FROM THAT.
THAT'S EVERYTHING CAME INTO NEW YEAH.
THAT WAS ABOUT EARLY
UM, WE ARE ALREADY HAVING DISCUSSIONS AND WE'LL HAVE DISCUSSIONS IN OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MONEY THAT WAS LEFT OVER FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR IN THE GENERAL FUND SETTING IT ASIDE FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.
SO IF WE WERE TO DO THAT, I WOULD ARGUE WITH THE ALDERMAN THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MONEY THAT WE'VE SET ASIDE FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE USED FOR LOCAL MATCHES.
SO I, I THINK I CAN REASONABLY SAY WE'RE ALREADY HAVING THE DISCUSSION ON THE FIRST ONE.
THE SECOND ONE, I WOULD BE VERY HARD PRESSED TO AS, AS IMPORTANT AS BIKES AND A BIKE RAISING.
AND, UH, SIDEWALKS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME.
I'D BE HARD PRESSED TO PASS A TAX.
I MEAN, IN OUR LAST BUDGET WE DIDN'T RAISE TAXES TO PAY FOR AN EMPLOYEE RAISE.
WE ACTUALLY TOOK IT OUT OF FUND BALANCE.
UM, AND SO I DON'T THINK THIS BOARD IS WILLING TO RAISE ACCESS.
UM, I'M JUST SPEAKING FOR MYSELF UNDERSTAND, JUST KIND OF READING, READING THE ROOM.
BUT, UM, WELL, ANYTIME YOU TALK ABOUT RAISING TAXES, THEN IF YOU'RE THE PERSON MAKING THE DECISION, YOU GOTTA WEIGH A LOT OF THINGS ON YOUR RIGHT.
AND SO WE, WE TOOK THE EMPLOYEE RAISE OUT OF FUND BALANCE RATHER THAN RAISE TAXES.
SO I, I THINK IT WOULD BE A HARD SELL, UH,
[00:45:01]
FOR A, A TAX RAISE TO, TO BUILD SILOS ANDBUT LIKE I SAID, WE, THE FIRST ONE WE'RE ALREADY HAVING DISCUSSIONS ON.
AND SO I THINK, UM, I COULD ARGUE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, IF WE ESTABLISH THAT PRECEDENT WHERE WE TAKE WHAT'S SO LEFT OVER AT THE END OF THE YEAR THAT WE DIDN'T SPEND AND PUT IT IN A CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THEN I COULD ARGUE THAT, HEY, YOU CAN USE THAT AS A LOCAL MATCH FOR THESE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
SO HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK YOU'D HAVE TO ARGUE? NOT VERY MUCH.
DO WE NEED TO DO ANYTHING TO HELP YOU? NO, I, I DON'T THINK SO.
I MEAN, WE, I'LL LET YOU KNOW.
I MEAN, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BUDGET WORKSHOPS HAVE NOT STARTED YET, BUT, UH, BUT IT WOULDN'T BE JUST FOR, UH, LOCAL MATCHES.
I MEAN, THAT GOES TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE VEHICLES, IT COULD BE BUILDINGS, IT COULD BE ANY OF THAT.
BUT, BUT CERTAINLY IT'S VERY EASY TO MAKE THE ARGUMENT OF AN 80 20 MATCH THAT HEY, WE'RE GETTING 80%, ALL WE'VE GOTTA DO IS PUT UP THE 20 AND WE WOULD HAVE THIS FUND ALREADY IF WE ESTABLISH IT.
SO I MEAN, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL SEE WHAT THE BOARD DECIDES, BUT I'M ALL FOR THAT.
UM, THE SECOND ONE, NOT SO MUCH.
I'VE ALSO SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN, UH, IN CONVERSATIONS RECENTLY AS THIS MORNING THAT WE WOULD LIKE THE LINE ITEMS. SO WE HAD MONEY SPECIFICALLY AVAILABLE WHEN THINGS CAME UP.
SO THAT WAS IN A MATCH FOR THIS COMMITTEE.
AND SO IT FOSTERS I THAT CONVERSATION OKAY.
SO OF COURSE IF WE SEE THAT LINE REFLECTED AND CREATED IN THE BUDGET, WE WOULD LOVE WHEN IT CAME TIME TO ADOPT THE BUDGET THAT YOU CAME AND SUPPORTED THAT NEW LINE FOR THE GREAT WORK AND THE TIME WE'RE PUTTING INTO THIS.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT QUITE AT THAT STEP YET, BUT I DO THINK WE WILL SEE, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL BE THE KIND OF MONEY THAT WE WOULD LIKE OR THAT WOULD BE COMPLETELY USEFUL IF, IF THERE WAS A BIG 20%.
BUT I PLANTED THAT SEED THAT THIS IS IMPORTANT, THERE'S GOOD WORK GOING ON, AND WE'D LIKE TO HAVE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR WHEN SHE FINDS THESE OPPORTUNITIES THAT SHE'S VERY GOOD AT FINDING.
SO WE HAVE THAT, THAT MATCH MONEY AVAILABLE.
THANKS FOR A HEADS UP,
AND, UM, SO IF, IF, IF WE COME UP WITH A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF MONEY, THAT COULD BE 20% OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND, IT COULD BE 20% OF 10 MILLION.
BUT DO WE HAVE TO SAY WE WANT 2 MILLION AND HAVE TO MATCH IT? OR DO WE, DO WE GET WHATEVER WE HAVE COME UP WITH? SO IT REALLY DEPENDS.
SO NORMALLY THE, EVERY FEDERAL GRANT OR EVERY GRANT HAS, UM, A FLOOR IN THE CEILING, MEANING THE MINIMUM, THE MINIMUM YOU CAN SIZE OF THE PROJECT TO THE MAXIMUM SIZE.
SO IN THAT, IN THAT PLANNING GRANT THAT WE HAD THAT IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH WAS A HUNDRED THOUSAND, IF WE HAD A PLAN THAT ONLY REQUIRED IT, THE COST WAS GONNA BE 50,000, THEN WE COULD NOT APPLY FOR THAT GRANT BECAUSE WE, WE NEEDED A HUNDRED THOUSAND AS THE MINIMUM.
SO THE BEST THING TO DO IS WHEN YOU'RE GOING AFTER GRANTS IS, IS THAT YOU HAVE A LIST OF PROJECTS ALREADY IDENTIFIED WITH A ROUGH COST SYSTEM OF WHAT THAT IS.
IT'S KIND OF ALREADY PRIORITIZED.
SO NOW, NOW YOU HAVE YOUR LIST, NOW STAFF KNOWS WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE, AND THEN AS THE GRANTS BECOME AVAILABLE, WE KNOW NUMBER ONE PRIORITY IS X AND WE THINK IT'S, WE BASED ON THIS, IT'S GONNA COST, YOU KNOW, LET'S SAY, UM, A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THAT WE WOULD KNOW THAT IF WE WANTED TO APPLY FOR THAT GRANT, WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH THAT 20% MATCH.
SO HAVING ALL OF THAT WORKED OUT AHEAD OF TIME HELPS US SO THAT WHEN WE GO TO THE BOARD OF ALDERMAN AND ASK FOR, CAN WE SUBMIT FOR THIS GRANT? AND WE TELL THEM WE NEED, YOU KNOW, $200,000 FOR A, A GRANT, THEN THEY GO, OH, OKAY.
AND NORMALLY WHAT HAPPENS IS THE MUNICIPALITY WILL OBLIGATE THOSE FUNDS OR ENCUMBER THEM SO THEY'RE NOT SPENT FOR ANY OTHER REASON.
AND THEN AS GRANT AS, UM, IT'S A REIMBURSEMENT RATE.
SO AS THE CITY OF NEW BERN PAYS AN INVOICE, THEY'RE GONNA PAY A HUNDRED PERCENT TO THE VENDOR, AND THEN THEY GO AND SEEK REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR 80% OF THAT COST.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE GIVING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 20% AND THEN THEY'RE GIVING ALL THE MONEY BACK TO US.
SO, UM, IT IS A TEDIOUS PROCESS, BUT YOU CAN BE CREATIVE.
SOMETIMES YOU CAN USE DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES.
SO IF WE HAVE SOME PRIVATE MONEY WITH FEDERAL MONEY AND SOME CITY MONEY, UM, SOMETIMES YOU CAN GET TWO FEDERAL FUNDING SOURCES AND YOU CAN COMBINE THEM.
UM, THAT'S RARE, BUT YOU CAN, UM, SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF IDENTIFYING WHAT THE PRIORITIES ARE SO THAT WE CAN BE PREPARED FOR WHEN THE GRANT, UM, PRESENTS ITSELF.
[00:50:01]
UM, THE STATE IS GOING TO BE DOING THAT.SO THEY ARE, THEY'VE, THEY'RE DOING A PLANNING STUDY TO IDENTIFY WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE, UM, THE SAFETY ALONG NEWS BOULEVARD AND, AND THEN WHAT THEY DECIDE THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DO.
AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE WANT.
NO, UH, UH, OVER AND ABOVE WANT VERSUS NEED.
SO IF IT'S ANYTHING ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT DOTS ACKNOWLEDGED, THEN YES, THAT WOULD BE AT CITY'S EXPENSE.
SO THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANY OF THAT.
THE THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT ABOUT MOOSE BOULEVARD IS MOOSE BOULEVARD IS OWNED BY NNC, DOT MM-HMM.
SO THAT'S WHY IT'S TO GO THAT WAY.
JUST THAT, THAT WAS MY MAIN FOCUS, BUT I DON'T WANNA FOCUS ON SOMETHING THAT, I MEAN, AS FAR AS GETTING MONEY FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT GONNA HAPPEN, WELL, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE ELSE IS GONNA DO THAT.
AND SO WHAT, WHAT WE WOULD DO IN LOOKING AT GRANTS IS THAT YOU WOULD WANNA FOCUS ON CITY OWNED ROADS.
THAT WOULD BE OUR, FOR THIS PURPOSE, THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD FOCUS OUR EFFORT.
NOW, WE COULD ALSO IDENTIFY IMPROVEMENTS ON DOT ROADS AND THAT THAT'S JUST A DIFFERENT POD OF MONEY TO WORK WITH DOT ON.
SO WE COULD RUN THEM CONCURRENTLY.
IT'S NOT ONE OR ALL, YOU KNOW.
UM, SO ANYWAY, SO I JUST WANNA KIND OF SUMMARIZE LIKE THE NEXT STEPS.
SO, UM, SOUNDED LIKE WE'RE IN SUPPORT OF THE CREATION OF THAT REVENUE ACCOUNT, UM, THAT, UM, JESSE AND SSON HAD ALREADY MENTIONED, UM, WE'RE, I'LL REACH OUT TO NNC, DOT TO TALK ABOUT THE 130.
THEY HAVE 130,000 TO FUND, UM, THE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLAN.
AND, UM, I, IF, IF THIS BOARD WANTS, AS AN INTERIM STEP, STAFF COULD START WORKING ON DEVELOPING, UM, A WEBSITE, THE COMPLI, THEY WOULD JUST COMPLIMENT ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE ABOUT SOME OF THE SAFETY CAMPAIGN INITIATIVES, LIKE, UM, HOW TO SHARE THE ROAD.
UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, WHEN YOU RIDE YOUR BIKE AT NIGHT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR REFLECTOR AND YOUR LIGHTS.
AND SO WE CAN, WE CAN, THAT'S A PRETTY EASY LIFT AS FAR AS TAKING EXISTING, UM, DOT, UM, INFORMATION AND PUTTING IT ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
BUT REALLY THE BOTTOM LINE, IT COMES DOWN TO WHATEVER THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO FOCUS ON, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU AND WHAT YOUR VISION IS FOR THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, SO, SO THE FUNDING, THE FIVE FUNDING OPTIONS THAT YOU WERE SUGGESTING? MM-HMM.
AND I'D LIKE TO BE PRETTY SPECIFIC AND LET'S JUST GET MOVING ON IT.
SO IF WE DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING FOR NUMBER ONE, THEN I'LL JUST WAIT FOR YOU TO REACH OUT TO US.
UM, SHOULD WE, SHOULD, SHOULD WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW OR SHOULD WE HAVE SOME TYPE OF SUB SUBCOMMITTEE,
UH, I WAS THINKING IF YOU HAD A REFERENDUM OF SOME SORT AND THAT WOULD TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF THE DERMAN, BUT MOST ODD THAT IT WOULD PASS.
I THINK I HAVE TO GO ALONG WITH BOB.
YOU MAY NOT WRITE THIS MINUTE.
YEAH, I'M NOT, I'M NOT INTERESTED DOING THAT EITHER.
SO MAYBE I SHOULD SUGGEST THIS.
WHAT IF, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE STILL RELATIVELY NEW COMMITTEE, WHAT IF WE HAVE, UM, STAFF CAN WORK ON UPDATING, UM, OUR WEBSITE AND TO PUT INFORMATION ON THERE SO THE PUBLIC CAN SEE THAT WE'RE MAKING SOME PROGRESS? ABSOLUTELY.
UM, THE MPO ACTUALLY RECEIVED A GRANT FOR HELMET, BIKE HELMETS, AND WE DISTRIBUTED THOSE RIGHT BEFORE BEGINNING OF DECEMBER.
UM, AND THAT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY OF NEWBURN TO GO AFTER THAT GRANT AGAIN, WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.
AND MAYBE WE PUT IT TOGETHER WITH A, A MUCH LARGER DRAW.
YOU COULD GET SOME COMMUNITY BUSINESSES TO DONATE HELMETS, YOU COULD DO BIKE REPAIRS.
I MEAN, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE YOU COULD DO, BUT THAT WOULD'VE LEND SOME AWARENESS TO THIS COMMITTEE.
AND MAYBE THAT WOULD BE THE TALKING POINT FOR THE NEXT STEP OF, UM, GETTING THE, UM, FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.
BUT THAT'S JUST MY SUGGESTION.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY
[00:55:01]
I SAID SHOULD WE DO THIS RIGHT NOW? OR IT SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE VERY, UH, KIND.WHY DON'T WE GO AND JUST, UM, MAYBE, UM, IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE LIKE A SUBCOMMITTEE YEAH.
WELL, UM, CAN, IS IT ALSO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EVENTS AND, AND UM, YOU KNOW, SEEKING PLEDGES AND STUFF, CAN WE INCLUDE THE PUBLIC, LIKE EVERYBODY HERE WHO WOULD LIKE TO HELP WITH THIS THEN, YOU KNOW, IS THERE SOME WAY WE CAN GET NAMES OF PEOPLE THAT WE COULD CALL AND SEE WHEN WE COULD ALL MEET AND, AND BRAINSTORM AND, AND CAN WE USE THIS ROOM? SURE.
I'VE GOT EVERYONE'S NAME THAT WHEN THEY'VE SIGNED IN, UM, FOR THE LAST THREE MEETINGS.
UM, AND I WOULD DEFINITELY, UM, TALK WITH CARRIE AND HAVE HER COME TO THE TABLE TOO.
'CAUSE SHE'S A GREAT RESOURCE WITH RECREATION.
BUT YEAH, I CAN DEFINITELY SHARE ALL THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU.
AND THEN I DON'T, CERTAINLY DON'T MIND, YOU KNOW, JUST COMPOSING AN EMAIL AND, AND IT, WERE YOU THE ONE WHO SENT OUT THAT CALENDAR WHERE EVERYONE CHOSE THEIR MOST IMPORTANT DATES AND YES.
AND I'M THINKING I'D LIKE TO USE THAT.
BECAUSE THAT WAY WE CAN BE RESPECTFUL OF AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE OF PEOPLE WHO WORK ALL DAY AND HAVE GRANDKIDS AT NIGHT AND ET CETERA.
ANY OTHER, SO WE, SO WE HAVE SOME, SOME ACTION ITEMS WHERE I'M DOING A LITTLE BIT OF WORK.
ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC PROJECTS THAT THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN? STAFF? KIND OF, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK LIKE, WHAT'S THE NEXT MEETING GONNA LOOK LIKE? WHAT, WHAT DO YOU GUYS WANT US TO FOCUS ON OR WORK TOWARDS? WELL, MY MAIN DOCTOR, I SAID THAT'S THE REASON WHY I SAY MONEY, BECAUSE MONEY'S GONNA HELP US A LOT TO DECIDE HOW WE'RE GOING TO GO FOR IT.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF SOME STEPS THAT WE, WE SHOULD TAKE OTHER THAN, YOU KNOW, ESTABLISHING SOME? NO, I, I THINK, I THINK AWARENESS IS PROBABLY, UM, THE NEXT BIG STEP.
AND THAT'S THE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU GUYS ARE WANTING TO DO SOMETHING BIG, LIKE ASK FOR MONEY.
BUT WE, AT ONE POINT WE, WE DEFINITELY NEED TO TAKE THIS PLAN AND IDENTIFY WHERE YOU WANNA FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS ON.
SO YOU'RE TALKING THE UM, AREA OF, OF CONCERN MA'AM, AT THIS POINT? YES.
SO SINCE, UM, I DID HAVE ANOTHER ONE OTHER THAN, UH,
THAT WAS MY TWO, THE ONES I USE EVERY DAY.
AND UH, BUT I KNOW THAT'S ANOTHER HARD ONE.
IT'S NOT A SIMPLE, YOU KNOW, 20 FOOT SIDEWALK THAT NEEDS TO BE REWORKED.
AND, AND I DEFINITELY AGREE THAT OAK ROAD IS, IS ONE OF THE KEY AREAS WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON WHEN IT DOES LINK MARIETTA FOR PARK DOWNTOWN NEW BERNON.
BUT THERE AGAIN, MY THING IS TR ROAD ALMOST HAS BEEN TR ROAD.
THAT'S THE MOST WELL TRAVELED TOWN, TRAVELED TWO LANE ROAD IN CRAVEN COUNTY PROPERTY.
AND THERE'S MORE CYCLISTS GOING DOWN THAT ROAD THAN ANY ROAD IN HUBERT.
AND I'M WILLING TO, TO NOT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T NEED TO HAVE MINE.
AND MY THING IS, I, YOU DON'T EVEN NEED MIKE LANE DOWN.
ALL I NEED TO DO IS MAKE IT CONTINUOUS THREE LANES ALL THE WAY DOWN AND THAT'S ENOUGH ROOM.
BUT THIS IN AND OUT STUFF IS DANGEROUS.
THEY START DOWN, THEY TRY TO PASS A BIKE AND THEN THE LANE RUNS OUT.
SO THEY CUT OVER AND IT'S A TURNING LANE.
BUT THEY USE IT FOR PASSING LANES DANGEROUS.
SO TRENT ROAD, IS THAT TRENT ROAD? YEAH.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE NARROW TOP FIVE TRENT ROAD'S? VERY DANGEROUS.
AND THAT'S THE MOST WORLD TRAVELED BY CYCLISTS AND CARS.
SO IF WE GO GIVE UP OAKS FOR TRENT JUST SO THAT WE CAN ALL WORK ON SOMETHING OH, THAT'S FINE.
SO TRENT ROAD ALSO TIES IN, IF YOU WANNA THINK ABOUT IT, TIES IN, UH, RIVER BEND, EVERYBODY COME IN, RIVER BEND, TRENT WOODS, SOUTH GATE, ALL THOSE ARE TIED INTO THAT.
THAT'S THE MAIN QUARTER IN THE TOWN ON THE BIKE.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION? UM, SO WHERE DOES THE AREA THAT IS COVERED IN THIS JUST NEW BERN ITSELF, OR IS THE OUTSKIRTS OF NEW BERN? LIKE, UM, BRYCE'S CREEK ROAD? IT IS THE CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF NEW.
IT IS THE CITY OF NEWBURN BOARD.
SO YEAH, WE COULD, I MEAN WE CAN PROVIDE INPUT TO THE MPO, WHICH IS THE GREATER NEWBURN AREA, BUT, WELL, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS LIKE, IF, UM, BRYCE CREEK ROAD WAS CONSIDERED
[01:00:01]
PART OF CITY OF NEW BERN, OR YES.IT'S NOT BECAUSE THAT'S ANOTHER ROAD THAT GETS TRAFFIC VERY HEAVILY BY CYCLISTS AS WELL.
AND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING, UM, FOR THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THE AREAS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF, OF NEW BERN, THAT WHEN THE MPO STARTS, WE UPDATE OUR LONG RANGE PLAN, WE'RE GONNA START THAT IN JULY.
THAT'S THE FEEDBACK THAT WE NEED TO PUT IN THAT PLAN.
THAT PLAN INCORPORATES, UM, UM, BRIDGETON RIVER BEND, TRENT WOODS, AND THE CITY OF NEW BERN AND PARTS OF CRAVEN COUNTY.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU NEED TO BE PLUGGED IN.
SO WE CAN HEAR YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT.
DOES ANYONE KNOW THE PAGE OF TRENT DRIVE AND THE PLANNER? NO.
I, I MEAN, WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THE LIST, I I WOULD, I WOULD NOT TRY TO LIMIT YOURSELF TO THOSE THREE ROADS BECAUSE THOSE THREE ROADS WE'RE, WE'RE AWARE OF YES.
THE SAME ISSUES THAT YOU'RE FACING.
SO Y'ALL ARE THE ONES OUT ON THE STREETS RIDING BIKES EVERY DAY.
YOU MAY HAVE OTHER AREAS, AND EVEN IF IT'S A SMALL IMPROVEMENT THAT COULD BE MADE TO ONE SECTION, DON'T KEEP THAT OFF THE LIST BECAUSE THAT MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD TAKE DIRECT ACTION TO REPAIR RIGHT NOW.
SO IT'S NOT, WE WOULDN'T NEED A GRANT TO FUND, SO WE WE'RE NOT OH, THAT'S GREAT.
I DON'T LIKE, I DON'T SEE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU SEE EVERY DAY.
THAT, THAT WE COULD GO AHEAD AND ADDRESS RIGHT AWAY, UM, AS YOU MAKE THE LIST.
BUT OAKS, OAKS NEW AND TRENT, WERE, WE'RE AWARE OF THIS ISSUES FACING.
SO IS TRENT IS COMPLICATED AS OAKS OR OAK ROAD? IS IT OAKS OR OAK OAKS? OAK OAKS, UM, IN DIFFERING MANNER.
UM, YEAH, THERE'S MORE, THERE'RE MORE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES ON THE TROBE SECTION.
UM, WITH, WITH CREEKS AND, AND JACK SMITH AND RANDYS THAT DAY.
SO YOU ASKED US TO FIND AN AREA TO FOCUS ON.
IS THAT WHAT WE JUST DID? UM, SO, SO YOU HAVE THE THREE, BUT YES, IF YOU GUYS COULD LOOK AT OTHER AREAS, LIKE, LIKE GEORGE JUST MENTIONED, SO THE, THE THREE THAT YOU MENTIONED ARE REALLY BIG ONES.
SO, BUT IF YOU CAN FIND SOME SMALLER ONES THAT MAYBE THERE'S SOME INFILL SIDEWALK THAT, THAT NEEDS TO BE PUT IN.
AND THAT JUST MEANS THAT YOU'VE GOT SIDEWALK AND THEN NO SIDEWALK AND THEN SIDEWALK AND IT, AND THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING GEORGE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO RELATIVELY SOON.
IN YEARS FOR US TO ACTUALLY COME UP WITH SOLUTION.
SO WE DON'T NEED THOSE ANSWERS TONIGHT.
BUT IF YOU COULD JUST KIND OF BE THINKING OF THAT AND THAT WOULD HELP US, UM, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A POTENTIAL SOLUTION.
SO I DO KNOW THAT LAST TIME WE MET, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, STOP THE WALK FROM THE PARK TO THE, THE FLASHING WALK SIGN, WHATEVER.
AND A BIKE RACK OUTSIDE OF THIS BUILDING THAT'S COMING.
SO, SO THOSE THINGS ARE IN THE WORKS.
AND GEORGE SAID HE WOULD GET ON THE, UM, THE TIMER THING.
SEE THAT'S WHAT I, THAT'S YEAH, I CAN COME UP WITH THOSE.
WE GET IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK AT THESE MEETINGS OR THINGS THAT
ALL THESE NEW BUSINESSES OPEN UP TO PUT THE SIDEWALKS IN FRONT OF.
IS THERE A MAP TO SHOW THAT SO WE CAN CONNECT 'EM TOGETHER? OR IS THEY JUST WAITING FOR ANOTHER BUSINESS TO OPEN UP TO, TO TAKE, TO FILL IN THOSE BLANKS? OR IS THE CITY GONNA FILL IN THOSE BLANKS WHEN IT'S, WHEN IT'S RUN IN FRONT OF OTHER PRIVATE PROPERTIES WAITING? IF THERE'S A VACANT PARCEL DECIDING WOULD AWAI THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PIECE USUALLY? UM, THEY, SO USUALLY, BUT IS THERE ANY REASON WHY WE CAN'T? WELL, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH, END THE DOMAIN TO TAKE THE PROPERTY PROBABLY.
USUALLY WE TRY TO PLACE THESE IN THE RIGHT OF WAY E EVEN WHEN IT'S DONE BY DEVELOPMENT.
UM, SO THERE ARE SOME CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE IT DOESN'T WORK AND WE HAVE EASEMENTS, UH, THROUGH THE PROCESS, BUT THAT'S DONE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE.
SO IF THERE'S SOME THAT YOU HAVE IN MIND, WHY DON'T YOU WRITE 'EM DOWN AND WE CAN SEE IF THERE'S ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT.
AND IF THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS, BUT WE CAN BRING IT UP.
LIKE, LIKE CURRENTLY WE HAVE AT THE END OF TR ROAD WHERE IT CONNECTS BACK TO MLK, IT'S ALREADY FUNDED TO CONNECT THAT SIDEWALK WITH A CROSSWALK IN FRONT OF THE DANCE STUDIO AND TAKE IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO GLEN BURNIE.
SO, I MEAN, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE ARE SLOWLY TRYING TO CONNECT ALL OF THAT.
BUT THOSE OF YOU THAT DO, WERE IN THAT AREA.
THAT WAS THE WHOLE REASON FOR CLEANING THAT PLACE OUT IN ORDER TO PUT A BRIDGE ACROSS, UH, JIMMY'S
[01:05:01]
BRANCH.IT'S TECHNICALLY JIMMY'S BRANCH OR IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DANCE STUDIO.
SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE ALREADY WORKING ON IN ORDER TO CONNECT SIDEWALKS, BUT IF THERE ARE PLACES WHERE YOU WOULD RATHER HAVE A PRIORITY OF CONNECTING IT SOONER THAN SOME OF THESE OTHER PLACES, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT TOO.
AND THEN AS WE TRY TO EVALUATE, AT LEAST IN MY DEPARTMENT, WE TRY TO CONNECT, IF WE ARE CLOSE TO ADJOINING A PIECE THAT ALREADY TIES IN WITH THE CITY SYSTEM, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA PRIORITIZE TIE TO THE NEXT STATION.
UM, WE, WE DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE INTENT TO GO OUT AND CONNECT TWO PARCELS THAT STANDALONE WITH SIDEWALKS AND, AND AREN'T A TACTICAL.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS YOU SAY, WE, WE TRY TO CONNECT ALL THE WAY, YOU CAN GO ALL THE WAY FROM LAWSON CREEK PARK NOW TO PIERCE BALL FIELDS AT NATIONAL CEMETERY.
SO THAT, THAT'S OUR INTENT TO TRY TO KEEP EXPANDING THIS LOOP OR AS YOU MENTIONED, EVEN IN THE SEVENTIES, A WHEEL.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT IS OUR INTENT TO TRY TO WORK OUR WAY TO, TO HAVE A CIRCUMFERENCE AROUND THE TOWN WHEN PEOPLE HAVE PEDESTRIAN.
AND, AND GEORGE KNOWS TOO, ONE OF MY LONG-TERM PRIORITIES IS TO TIE IN THE CITY OF NEW BERN SIDEWALKS TO THE SIDEWALKS OF SHE WOODS IS PUT.
SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IT IS ALREADY BEING DONE ON COUNTRY CLUB.
THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSING ON.
BUT WHEN THEY COME AROUND TO CHELSEA, WHEN THEY COME AROUND TO UM, GREENWOOD CEMETERY ROAD, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO TIE INTO TO THEIRS AS WELL.
SO THAT, BUT THAT'S A LONG TERM PLAN BECAUSE THEY, THEY'VE GOT A LOT.
SO ANOTHER THING WAS LISTED, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PRIVATE DONATIONS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
I WAS WONDERING IF WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE PROJECTS THAT'S IDENTIFIED IN HERE AND COME UP WITH A VALUABLE COST AND I THINK SOME OF THAT IS IDENTIFIABLE.
AND THEN SEE IF SOMEBODY LIKE BOSCH WANTED TO ADOPT A PROJECT OR SOMETHING ALONG THAT LINE.
SO IF WE HAD SOME KIND OF PROJECT OKAY.
I MEAN THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IT IS AND THAT'S GREAT.
THERE'S CERTAIN PROJECTS THAT, UH, THAT YOU WOULD LIKE US TO, TO WORK ON.
UM, WE CAN, THERE'LL BE JUST BUDGETING NUMBERS, BUT WE COULD, WE COULD CERTAINLY WORK ON ROUGH NUMBER, LIKE REALLY ROUGH.
DO T'S GOT, UM, A, UH, ESTIMATING TOOL FOR, UM, TRAILS AND SIDEWALKS.
SO, BUT IT WOULD, IT WOULDN'T INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OF WAY AND ALL THAT, BUT IT WOULD GIVE YOU AT LEAST A, AN IDEA IN SOME CASES YOU MAY HAVE A, THAT COULD A GRANT THING, YOU COULD ADOPT A 20%, GET 80% MM-HMM.
THEY SHOULD BE A LITTLE INTERESTING.
YEAH, THEY'LL, I'M SURE THEY'LL, SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.
UM, YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAYBE NEXT OR SEND ME AN EMAIL TO COME UP WITH SOME REAL LIST OF PROJECTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO, UM, LOOK AT FUNDING AND WE CAN CERTAINLY WORK ON AN ESTIMATE.
YOU WANT ME TO SEND YOU AN EMAIL IDENTIFYING THE PROJECTS OR GIVING YOU OKAY.
JUST GIMME THE LIST OF PROJECTS THAT YOU WOULD, WOULD LIKE US TO START WORKING ON AN ESTIMATE.
AND I'LL WORK ON THE ESTIMATE WITH ESTIMATING TOOL TO COME UP WITH ROUGH BUDGET NUMBERS, LEAST SORT GET US AN IDEA WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH DOES IT COST PER MM-HMM.
UM, I DO HAVE TO ADD THOUGH, I'VE LIVED IN A LOT OF CITIES AND NEW BERN IS THE BEST AT ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THEIR PROJECTS.
SO I REALLY WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS, THAT PEOPLE KNOW THIS AND WE REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
I KNOW WE'RE OVER TIME, BUT I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP.
DURING THE LAST MEETING, THE QUESTION WAS ASKED ABOUT THE FOUR FEET ROLLED.
UM, AND SO IT, THERE IS GENERAL STATUTE 20 DASH ONE 50 THAT THE, UM, AND THIS IS WHEN THE CARS COULD OVERTAKE A BICYCLIST MM-HMM.
IS THAT DRIVERS MAY CROSS THE DOUBLE YELLOW LINE TO PASS LIKE BICYCLIST WHERE THERE'S ENOUGH SIGHT DISTANCE TO DO SO.
AND THAT MOTORIST ALLOW AT LEAST FOUR FEET TO THE LEFT, OR THE MOTORIST COMPLETELY ENTERS THE OPPOSITE LANE TO PASS.
SO WHILE THIS IS THE, UH, LAW, UM, THAT SIGN THAT YOU SEE, I CANNOT FIND, UM, IN WHAT'S CALLED THE, UM, IT'S AN M-U-T-C-D.
IT'S THE MUNICIPAL OR NO, WHAT IS IT? THE MANUAL.
ANYWAY, IT'S THE, WHAT IS IT, GEORGE A C YOU KNOW, SAID IT WRONG WHEN YOU GOT ME CONFUSED.
IT'S A MUNICIPAL UNIFORM TRANSPORTATION IS WHAT IT IS.
AND IT GIVES YOU PARAMETERS FOR
[01:10:01]
DESIGN AND SIGN STANDARD.SO THIS SIGN IS NOT IN THAT, WHICH MEANS DOT WILL NOT INSTALL IT.
BUT I DID WANNA FOLLOW UP THAT THIS, WE DID DISCUSS THIS LAST TIME ABOUT THE SIGNS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO REPORT BACK THERE.
THE EDUCATION THING COMES IN BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THEY'RE ALLOWED TO CROSS THAT LINE.
I, I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL YOU GUYS MENTIONED IT LAST MEETING.
AND YOU GET PEOPLE TO SIT BACK THERE AND THE PEOPLE BEHIND 'EM GET TIRED OF IT.
BEFORE YOU GO ANYWHERE ELSE HAS GOTTA GO.
UM, AND JUST AS A REMINDER, OUR NEXT MEETING IS MARCH 4TH.
UM, WE SHOULD ALREADY HAVE IT ON THE CALENDARS, BUT IT'LL BE HERE AT FIVE 30.
UM, AND WE ALL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF HOMEWORK.
SO, UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? ALRIGHT, LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.