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2021-09-16 Agenda Review NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 35 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 PAGE 210 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners met for Agenda Review on Thursday, September 16, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. via in-person and remote in the Harrell Conference Room at the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. Members present: Chair Julia Olson-Boseman; Vice-Chair Deb Hays (remote); Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, Jr. (remote); and Commissioner Rob Zapple. Members absent: Commissioner Bill Rivenbark Staff present: County Manager Chris Coudriet; County Attorney Wanda M. Copley; and Clerk to the Board Kymberleigh G. Crowell. Chair Olson-Boseman called the Agenda Review meeting to order and announced that the purpose of the meeting is to review and discuss the agenda items for the September 20, 2021 Regular Meeting with discussions as noted: Consent Item 4. Approval of Budget Amendments. In response to Board questions regarding budget amendment 22-009, Chief Financial Officer Lisa Wurtzbacher explained that there will be six new nurses and one new nurse supervisor for a total of seven positions that were paid for with federal funding. As of right now, the school district is unclear whether they would continue to fund the positions after federal funding runs out. The positions will likely be filled as time limited positions as was done with the American Rescue Plan funded positions. STAFF UPDATE Presentation on Cape Fear Change in Motion 2020 and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Oriented Services by Nick Cannon, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator for Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO). Nick Cannon, Transportation Demand Management Coordinator for the WMPO provided the update as follows:  Cape Fear Change in Motion 2020  Short-Range TDM Plan 2021-2025 - Purpose of Plan:  Identifies strategies that mitigate traffic congestion and diversify mode use in the WMPO region  Short-Range Strategies = 1 to 5 years  Overall goal to reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 10% in five years  Mission Statement: To provide WMPO Area residents with the resources and offer motivation to choose healthy, sustainable, and effective multimodal transportation to reduce stress on the road network and increase alternative means of mobility.  Development Process:  Convening the Go Coast Committee and review of TDM element in Cape Fear Moving Forward 2045  Review of Cape Fear Moving Forward 2045 survey responses and additional public survey for Cape Fear Change in Motion 2020:  Specific questions about biking, walking, carpool, and public transit  How WMPO area residents get around now versus how they want to get around in the future  Public Comment  Prioritizing Strategies  Community Feedback:  Strategies:  Seven strategies were outlined as viable opportunities to decrease traffic congestion and diversify mode use in the next one to five years  Alternative Work Schedules:  A variety of work scheduling options including telecommuting, flextime, compressed work week, and staggered shifts NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 35 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 PAGE 211  Benefits:  Reduced commuting trips  Mitigate traffic on the roadway during peak traffic hours  Challenges:  May discourage carpooling and vanpooling  Gathering accurate data  Application:  Driven through education, outreach, and promotion to area employers  Assist employers with the development of alternative work schedule policy  Bike Share Program:  A service in which bicycles are made available to rent on a short-term basis  Benefits:  Reduces the need for a single occupancy vehicle  Is healthy, environmentally friendly, and adds character to a city  Popular among tourists  Challenges:  Funding sources  Application:  Implement a bike share program in Wilmington that allows users to reach a variety of points of interest  Carpool and Vanpool:  Creates opportunities for people to share vehicles when traveling to and from nearby locations  Benefits:  Reduces traffic  Reduces demand for parking  Challenges:  Limits flexibility for arriving to and leaving work  Wilmington area has shorter commute times than American average by nine minutes  COVID-19  Application:  Market share the Ride NC, promote park and ride lots, share Wave pool opportunities with major employers  Consulting for Telecommuting Opportunities:  A service provided by Go Coast to assist employers in developing and implementing telecommuting policies and programs  Benefits:  Free to businesses with no obligation  Reduces need for parking infrastructure  COVID-19  Challenges:  New program/service from scratch  Connecting with employers  Application:  Assist area employers with developing telecommuting policies  Fostering a Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly Culture:  Increase safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, gives authority to bicycling and walking as legitimate modes of transportation  Benefits:  Reduce injuries and fatalities  Promotes culture and public spaces  Provide opportunity for education  Challenges:  Speeding and distracted driving  Lack of bicycle and pedestrian connectivity in some areas  Application:  Participate in programs like Be A Looker, Watch for Me NC, and Vision Zero  Hold successful bicycle-oriented events  TDM-Focused Collaboration:  Improves collaboration among Go Coast staff and member jurisdiction staff during developer review  Assist member jurisdictions in developing TDM-oriented ordinances  Benefits:  Increase applied TDM strategies  Increased advocation for multi modal infrastructure  Challenges:  Increased responsibilities of TDM Coordinator position  Application: NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 35 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 PAGE 212  Improved coordination with the member jurisdictions staff to decrease traffic congestion  Personalized Commuter Plans:  Catered plans to provide recommended ways to incorporate alternative transportation in one’s commute  Benefits:  Personalized introductions into TDM strategies and alternative transportation options  Promotion of bike and pedestrian infrastructure and transit routes  Challenges:  Collecting personal information like home and work addresses  Application:  This service may be offered to anyone living or working in the WMPO planning boundary to provide suggestion of using alternative transportation when feasible  Other TDM-Oriented Services:  In addition to these seven strategies, Go Coast can assist with locally identified TDM- oriented initiatives  Information/marketing  Ordinances and development conditions  Other comprehensive programs  Score Card:  Members of the Go Coast Committee created a Strategy Scorecard to grade each strategy on its ability to show the greatest success. The scorecard ranks each strategy’s feasibility and impact using the considerations of:  Ease of implementation  Cost  Existing conditions  Demand  Impact of traffic (Benefit)  Impact on VMT (Benefit)  Primary Priority:  Alternative work schedules  Consulting for telecommuting opportunities  Fostering a bicycle and pedestrian friendly culture  Secondary Priority:  Bike share program  Carpool and vanpool  Improved TDM focused collaboration  Personalized commuter plan  Plan Implementation:  Adoption by the WMPO Board  Present plan to WMPO member jurisdictions  Adherence to strategies work plan  Marketing outreach  Establish and maintain relationships with partners  Go Coast events  Data collection  Regular review by TDM Coordinator and the Go Coast Committee Commissioner Barfield expressed appreciation for the update. He would like this presentation to be delivered at an upcoming board meeting as the WMPO meetings are not televised. He believes that would bring more community engagement and involvement with this plan and on what the WMPO is doing. In response to Board questions about where the City of Wilmington (City) is in relation to the bike ride share program, Mr. Cannon explained the City spent quite a while redeveloping the main development ordinance. He and his staff will remind both the WMPO Board and the City about this initiative, and the WMPO staff will initiate again if that is the City’s directive. He further explained that he does not have a clear update as of right now on where the City is on the initiative, but WMPO staff is bringing this back to some of its governing boards this fall. Chair Olson-Boseman thanked Mr. Cannon for the presentation. ADDITIONAL AGENDA REVIEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS Wilmington International Airport (ILM) Terminal Expansion Chair Olson-Boseman reported that she toured the new terminal at ILM with Congressman Rouzer, Airport Authority Chair Donna Girardot, and Airport Authority Vice-Chair Spruill Thompson. The new terminal is beautiful and will be opening in January. She expressed appreciation to Congressman Rouzer for his support and the funds for the expansion. Chair Olson-Boseman also thanked Vice-Chair Hays for her help with ILM by bringing together the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Development Authority, Wilmington Industrial Development, and Wilmington Downtown to work together to support the region. NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOOK 35 AGENDA REVIEW MEETING, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 PAGE 213 COVID Vaccination and Metrics Discussion County Manager Coudriet reported that the County’s key COVID metrics are starting to level out and trend in the right direction. The first week of testing for unvaccinated employees has started. By the close of business on Tuesday, because of how the schedule is set up, 77% of County staff will be vaccinated. In response to Board questions, the metrics would change the number of people being tested and the number will continue to reduce as part of the weekly testing requirement. Nothing else is triggered by hitting the goal. As for the effect of the federal mandate and federal funding, staff is waiting on the actual rule which will come from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The initial reading is that anyone who works in a healthcare setting or is an employee of a public health department, irrespective of their job, because the department or organization receives Medicaid and or Medicare reimbursement will be affected. It may be mid-October when the rule is known, but it is believed that employees who work with federal dollars will be required to be vaccinated. It is still unknown how many will be affected at Health and Human Services but at this point it is believed that everybody will need to be vaccinated. Commissioner Zapple reported that the Governor Cooper visited the Cape Fear Clinic on September 15, 2021 where the monoclonal antibody treatment center is located. The treatment is incredibly effective, safe, medically accepted, and is meant to keep people out of the hospital. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Chair Olson-Boseman adjourned the meeting at 4:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kymberleigh G. Crowell Clerk to the Board Please note that the above minutes are not a verbatim of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners meeting.