This past week was a busy one for people working in local governments all across Orange County.

It’s that time of year elected officials take a fresh look at interlocal agreements. But pressing development issues are crowding agendas as well.

“We’re kind of at this sweet spot in time, where different agreements we have with other governments are coming up for renewal,” said Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt.

That’s Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt. By his own account, he logged about 50 hours of mayor time last week, in what is counted as his part-time job. He’s also an attorney with Tin, Fulton, Walker & Owen.

Elected officials and Chapel Hill’s town staff still have a lot of issues to iron out when it comes to development plans for Ephesus-Fordham, Obey Creek and The Edge.

“The development pressures on town are as high as they’ve ever been,” said Kleinschmidt, “so there’s a lot of stuff for the Council to be reviewing.”

And Chapel Hill can look forward to some serious renegotiations between the town and county early next year, regarding county contributions to the Chapel Hill Library.

Those have more than doubled over the past couple of years, in an effort to reflect the high number of county users of Chapel Hill’s library.

Right now, the county is kicking in around $580,000, and the mayor said he hopes that contributions will remain close to that level.

Residents of Orange County are in the unusual position of having two separate library systems. The county is set to open a library branch under its auspices in Carrboro in 2017, and as Kleinschmidt told WCHL earlier this week: “There’s the rub.”

This past Wednesday, The Chapel Hill Town Council joined The Carrboro Board of Aldermen and the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners for an Assembly of Governments meeting in Hillsborough.

Proposed changes to the 37,000-acre Rural buffer surrounding Chapel Hill and Carrboro inspired a lot of discussion at that meeting.

Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle has also been unusually busy in her second job lately.

In addition to chairing her own Board meeting on Tuesday and attending the Assembly of Governments meeting the next night, she began with week by speaking to the Chapel Hill Town Council at that meeting on Monday.

Lavelle said it’s just that time of year.

“Over the last several years, it just seems that way,” she said. “September, October, early November – they’re just crazy.”

Related Stories
‹
Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill Honor 50 Years of Cat's Cradle
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen’s chambers were crowded with local musicians and members of the local music community to see the board pass a joint resolution with the Town of Chapel Hill to honor and celebrate the music venue Cat’s Cradle last week. The resolution declared 2019 the ‘Year of the Cradle,’ an idea brought […]
INDY Week Releases Endorsements for Local Elections
The alternative weekly newspaper INDY Week released their endorsements for the Orange County municipal elections on Tuesday evening. In the Chapel Hill mayoral race, the paper endorsed mayoral candidate and incumbent Pam Hemminger, citing her work securing the affordable housing bond in 2018 and her prioritization of combating climate change as main reasons it is […]
Endorsements Continue as Local Elections Approach in Chapel Hill, Carrboro
Candidates in the upcoming Chapel Hill and Carrboro municipal elections received endorsements from the NEXT Chapel Hill & Carrboro advocacy group. NEXT, which describes itself as a group that supports progressive values in the two towns, shared the candidates the group supports in the 2019 election races on Monday. It said it evaluated candidates based […]
Halfway Through 2019 Election Filing Period, Orange County Races Taking Shape
There's still one week left to go in the filing period for this year's municipal elections, but there's already a crowded field of candidates.
Endorsements In From INDY Week, Breakfast Club
They agree on Carrboro, Hillsborough and CHCCS, but disagree on Chapel Hill. (No Breakfast Club endorsement for Chapel Hill Mayor?)
Endorsements Rolling In For OC Candidates
For Chapel Hill Town Council, CHALT rejected the incumbents and the Sierra Club found only three candidates to endorse.
NEXT: New Local Advocacy Group Hosts Candidate Forums
Chapel Hill residents: head to the Varsity this Thursday at 7. Carrboro residents: head to the Looking Glass next Thursday at 7.
Aldermen Call For NC To Repeal House Bill 2
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen spoke out against NC House Bill 2 in an emergency meeting Saturday afternoon. “We want to be out front as a municipality, as a county, with our outrage at House Bill 2,” said mayor Lydia Lavelle. “And lead the way for other counties and municipalities to follow.” The aldermen unanimously […]
Unopposed Carrboro Candidates Use Campaign Season to Promote Voter Turnout
Municipal races will be over in less than a month, and candidates in Carrboro are taking the opportunity to urge voters to make their voice heard. While most eyes in local politics are focusing on the races for Chapel Hill Mayor and Town Council as well as the Chapel Hill – Carrboro City School Board, […]
Local Governments Ending 2014 With Much on Their Plates
This past week was a busy one for people working in local governments all across Orange County.
›