The Raleigh City Council may be able to strike a deal with the state to move ahead with the Moore Square redesign.
The state, which owns the square, objected to the city putting bathrooms and a kiosk in the park because of potential liability issues.
Mayor Charles Meeker said during a city council meeting Tuesday that he had spoken with state representatives and offered a compromise: the state can remove the structures if they cause problems.
The question of whether or not to move ahead with the current design will be back before the council in two weeks when, the mayor said, the city hopes to have a different answer from the state.
Designer Chris Counts, who won a juried design competition for Moore Square last year, presented the evolving design to the full council Tuesday.
The design includes areas for children to play, lots of seating, a kiosk to buy drinks and snacks, a built-up hill with bathroom facilities underneath and more trees. The final design may even include a water feature for children to play in.
Counts said right now “the state of Moore Square is about passage.” The new design, he said, would encourage people to use the park as a destination.
Parking Changes
Councilors voted to approve a set of changes to the city parking program this week. They are trying to fill a projected $1.4 million gap in the parking program.
A report from the city manager says the shortfall came from less parking than expected, an increase in debt payments and the loss of off-street parking contracts.
The changes are:
- Remove a stipulation in the City’s booting ordinance which states that a vehicle must be found illegally parked before it can be booted for outstanding parking tickets or fines
- Initiate a tax refund intercept to collect delinquent parking tickets or fines of $50 or more from state income tax refund
- Seek authority to obtain state Department of Motor Vehicle holds on vehicle registration renewals involving owners who have unpaid parking tickets or fines
Bonds on the Ballot
Councilors voted to approve two bonds that will go to voters in the October election.
Raleigh voters can expect to see a $37 million bond to roads, sidewalks, greenways and transit, and $15 million for fair housing when they go to the polls October 11.
No More Sidewalk Assessments
Sidewalk assessments are officially a thing of the past in Raleigh. Councilors voted Tuesday to end fees for residents when the city installs or repairs sidewalks on residents’ properties.
