Board of Commissioners Work Session Meeting Summary
The board discussed legislative priorities and concerns on parking, cemetery use and pet waste.
The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners met Monday, Feb. 26 at the Town Hall Annex. Following is a brief summary of noteworthy actions. It does not include all actions taken at the meeting and should not be viewed as official minutes. The meeting is available to view on the town’s YouTube channel.
Legislative priority meeting
The board met with Sen. Graig Meyer and Rep. Renée Price to discuss short- and long-term priorities for Hillsborough. They reviewed the town’s 2023 legislative priorities, which included:
- Water and sewer affordability and infrastructure maintenance
- Affordable housing
- Transportation and connectivity
- Environmental sustainability and carbon reduction goals
- Preemption of local government authority
- Shortage of qualified finance professionals and auditors
The board plans to continue working with legislators to help refine priorities for 2024.
Downtown parking
The board received an update on downtown parking efforts. Planning and Economic Development Manager Shannan Campbell reviewed comments on parking availability concerns from downtown business owners related to construction parking, lack of lighting, and the availability of county garage spaces and accessible parking overall.
Campbell said the town has created temporary spaces for construction vehicles and is researching additional lighting, individual rental of spaces and how to most effectively provide education on available parking, time limits and alternative transportation options. She also noted topics for further consideration, including expanded enforcement.
Campbell said the town is working toward a comprehensive parking study for the downtown and West Hillsborough business areas. The study will provide information on the current parking inventory, trends in public parking, strategies for event parking and options for additional parking, including accessible spaces. The study will be funded jointly by the town, Tourism Board, Tourism Development Authority and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Cemetery and pet waste concerns
The board discussed strategies for maintaining cleanliness and respectful use of all town cemeteries. Recent resident concerns have highlighted an increase in off-leash dogs and uncollected pet waste. Public Space and Sustainability Manager Stephanie Trueblood explained that town staff are working to address these issues through:
- Updating rules signage at the town’s three cemeteries.
- Promoting a townwide pet waste cleanup campaign.
- Installing new leash signage in identified problem areas.
Trueblood explained how uncollected pet waste serves as a source of pollution for waterways and a concern for stormwater and environmental services. The board requested updates to the town code to restrict certain forms of active recreation, such as sports, on cemetery grounds to ensure respectful use of public spaces. Staff will continue to promote cleanliness through news releases, social media and the community newsletter.
