Boylan Heights Association Meeting Minutes January 22, 2002

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m.

The meeting opened with general updates on projects as follows:

· ArtWalk-The 2002 ArtWalk was very successful due to good publicity and fine weather. Thanks to all who participated and to those organizing the event. A full financial report on the event will be presented at the February meeting.

· Garden Club-The Boylan Heights Garden Club is looking for new leadership. The Club is known for its service projects throughout the neighborhood, including neighborhood cleanup days, plant swaps, planting projects, and workshops. Contact Elizabeth Dunbar if you are interested in helping.

· Neighborhood Walk-through-Chief of Police Jane Perlov, Lt. Dennis Lane, and Sgt. Philip Capucille joined about a dozen Boylan residents for a community walk-through to examine and discuss key crime issues and to work toward solutions. We had great weather and the meeting was a success. Residents discussed specific locations in the neighborhood that experience significant crime, including drug dealing, prostitution, and personal property crime. Neighbors also discussed what is working in Boylan Heights, the use of the listserv to notify residents of crimes, heightened awareness of how to deal with panhandlers, and an interest in getting to know our beat officers. Chief Perlov has added Boylan Heights to the downtown Raleigh beat and this should result in officers on foot and on bicycle in addition to the car patrols, more consistent beat officers, and greater accountability for dealing with neighborhood issues. Thanks to everyone who participated and who shared their specific crime concerns via e-mail and telephone.

· Beautification Grant-The BHA has received a $1,300 grant from the City of Raleigh to help with improving the entrances to the neighborhood. Participants in the January 22 meeting received ballots to vote for sign colors. The BHA is soliciting donations to help with paying for the rest of the project. Although the BHA has some money in the bank, we still need your help. See Leslie Kellenberger if you would like to contribute. Also, Neighborhood Watch signs are available from Leslie for $10.

· Christmas Sponsorship-Amy Marschall discussed the annual Christmas sponsorship to celebrate the holidays with the four residents at CASA House (410 Boylan Avenue). Donations residents and from Yvonne Pugh's law firm were very appreciated. Also, thanks to those who took the women shopping. They were each able to buy something they really wanted. Following the updates, Project Enlightenment staff and Wake County Facilities Management staff presented their plans for the renovation and expansion of Project Enlightenment facilities. Louise Taft at Project Enlightenment has the detailed plans for the renovation. Interested residents can contact her at 856-7774 to schedule a time to view the planning documents. Basically, the project consists of three major components;

· Constructing a new addition. The new facilities will be added to the south side of the Project Enlightnment building (where the current stairway and picnic tables are). The addition is architecturally sensitive to the current structure. It will include a ground level entrance on the east side of the building (so visitors may enter from the parking lot), an elevator to service all four floors, and a new entrance on the western side (facing Boylan Avenue). Interior space will include larger meeting rooms, improved office space for existing staff, and a more spacious preschool. The existing parking lot will be paved and doubled in size to accommodate 60 cars. Work is scheduled to begin in April 2002.

· Renovation of existing space. Once the addition is complete and staff have moved into the new space, renovation of the existing facility will upgrade current meeting spaces, bring classrooms and meeting rooms to ADA compliance, and refurbish the overall interior.

· Changes to grounds. Although seventeen of the 100+ trees on the site will be removed to make way for the addition and parking area, Wake County will replace each tree with a specimen tree. A more decorative fence will replace he existing chain link fence, shrubs will be planted at the entrances, and the grounds will be made more accommodating for the preschool children who use the space during the week.

The TTA station location presentation followed Project Enlightenment. Don Carnell, Interim General Manager of TTA discussed how TTA staff have been working since late December on ideas for eliminating the at-grade crossing of Boylan Avenue. Staff members Juanita Sherer-Swink, Jon Roberson, and Kim Crawford presented various aspects of the project which include the following (Note: all of these solutions assume that the station would be moved to be parallel with West Street-where the Dillon Supply buildings are now):

At-grade on Boylan Bridge. This option maintains the at-grade crossing on Boylan Avenue, but moves the station to parallel with West Street. The crossing may be moved to the northern end of the bridge, rather than the south end. This option would move the noise and air pollution impacts farther from Boylan, but maintain the at-grade crossing and visual impacts from the neighborhood.

Under Fuquay Line. This option would eliminate the at-grade crossing by tunneling under the Fuquay rail line, with the train emerging from the tunnel just after going under the Boylan bridge. The track would then be elevated (although lower than the original Wye design) to West Street, with a platform above Hargett Street. This proposal would eliminate the at-grade crossing and lessen the noise and air pollution impacts on the neighborhood. However, this option would still have some noise and perhaps significant visual impacts to those residents on Kinsey Street.

Tunnel Under Boylan. This option is similar to the "Tunnel Under Fuquay Line" idea, with the difference being that the train would tunnel briefly under the Boylan bridge instead of the Fuquay rail line. It has the same advantages as the above option, although initial engineering drawings suggest that it may actually produce a more "roller coaster" effect for passengers and it would intrude more into the neighborhood.

Tunnel Under All Freight Tracks. This option would have the train entering a tunnel at the prison and emerging from the tunnel shortly before the West Street station. The advantages to this are minimal noise, air pollution, and visual impacts to the neighborhood and elimination of the at-grade crossing. Negatives include the high cost of tunneling (figures from similar cities have run about $5,000 per foot), need to relocate freight rail lines during the construction process, and the potential for serious problems with groundwater, existing storm sewers, etc.

Residents questioned TTA staff about how often trains might cross the potential at-grade crossing (once every 5-7.5 minutes during peak hours), possibility of raising the Boylan bridge (possible, but they are not pursuing the option due to the difficult engineering and high impact on the historic neighborhood).

Following the presentation, TTA staff left and the BHA continued its discussion, with the following points in mind:

· Despite opposition from many neighborhood residents, City Council endorsed the Wye station at its January 15 meeting, thereby taking off the table the Morgan Street (Shelton Furniture) location (alternate C).

· TTA has worked diligently and in good faith to create the above station location options.

· These are the only options up for consideration.

· City Council will meet on January 23 to endorse a station location. TTA Board will meet on January 29 to choose a location.

Community discussion included raising the bridge, why the station location moved to West Street (both TTA and the City believe that by putting the station closer to where commuters will want to go, they are improving the odds for a successful project), why the Morgan Street station is no longer on the table (see the above points), and various points both pro and con regarding the at-grade crossing.

After discussing the matter at length, BHA president Deanna Kerrigan proposed the following resolution (based on earlier BHA resolutions):

"The Boylan Heights Association fully supports the creation of a regional rail system for the Triangle. The BHA supports those station locations and rail line alternatives which maintain the grade separation at Boylan Avenue, avoid or minimize noise impacts, provide good pedestrian access from Boylan Heights and other neighborhoods, and which promote positive urban redevelopment and reinvestment around the downtown transit location. These locations include the Morgan Street Station (alternate C), the Under Fuquay Line, the Tunnel Under Boylan, and the Tunnel Under all Freight Tracks options, with preference for the Morgan Street and Tunnel Under all Freight Track options. The BHA will continue to work closely with TTA to enhance positive effects and to avoid, minimize or mitigate negative effects of the rail project."

It was noted by residents that the neighborhood should maintain its support for the rail project, that some residents do not believe an at-grade crossing would be a negative impact, and that some resident want the station closer to the neighborhood than to downtown.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the resolution. Participants voted 54-5 in favor of the motion and the motion was passed.

The next meeting of the BHA will be on Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Deanna Kerrigan