January 2023 meeting summarY: affordable housing, ACORNS unit, Council retreat
I hope everyone had a good holiday and enjoyed some time off. I'm back with January meeting summaries.
1) We authorized the City Manager to enter into a new transit services contract with RATP Dev USA, Inc. The city's transit services (GoRaleigh and GoRaleigh Access) are operated by third-party contractors. The city provides the buses, equipment and facilities, and the transit company provides all labor, corporate support and operating/maintenance. RATP was the highest rated company that submitted a proposal, and they presently provide similar services to other cities in NC. The transition should be complete in the next few months. If you use an app to track our buses in real time, the software might change. Check out the GoRaleigh website for more information soon: https://goraleigh.org/
2) We extended an additional $2.3 million in gap financing for an affordable housing development, Preserve at Gresham Lake, bringing the city's total commitment in funds to the project to about $5.5 million. Preserve at Gresham Lake is a 156-unit rental development affordable to households earning between 30% and 70% of the Area Median Income (AMI). At least 32 units will be set aside as supportive housing for people with disabilities or experiencing homelessness.
3) We received an update from the ACORNS unit. The Police Department ACORNS initiative (Addressing Crises through Outreach, Referrals, Networking, and Service) has been tasked to connect with individuals in crisis and provide them with the resources. There are currently 3 officers and 3 social workers in the ACORNS unit. Since August 2021, they've made 546 contacts with individuals needing assistance.
4) We approved a number of rezoning cases to help facilitate the construction of more housing, including a case for CASA, an affordable rental provider. CASA asked to rezone their properties near Glenwood South from 3 to 7 stories, greatly increases the number of affordable rental units they can provide in this location. https://www.casanc.org/
5) We had our annual City Council retreat. Day 1 was in Durham; we took the train there and toured one of their new, mixed used affordable housing developments downtown. Phase 1 of the development has affordable rentals, playgrounds, a gym, co-work spaces, and a dental clinic on the ground floor. Phase 2 will have affordable senior rentals. We learned about the challenges and successes they had in facilitating the development. Day 2 of the retreat was in Raleigh, and we discussed community engagement, budget, and governance issues. You can watch day 2 on the City of Raleigh YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@cityofraleigh
Our next City Council meetings are Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Also, next Saturday, February 11, 2023 I'll be holding "Community Office Hours" beginning at 11 a.m. at Deja Brew Coffee House in District A, 5001 Falls of Neuse Rd. I hope you'll join me for informal discussions!
