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.