Follow the meeting live on Twitter starting at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The Raleigh City Council will have another crack at the debate of the Clarence E. Lightner Pubclic Safety Center again this week. The $205 million building is designed to replace the downtown police station. The issue has come up in every meeting so far this year as councilors debate final approval of the project.
Outdoor noise permits for two bars in the Glenwood South area could get a final vote Tuesday. The permits are for Cafe Helios on the 400 block of Glenwood Avenue and The Hibernian Irish Pub on the 300 block.
At the last council meeting, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker asked about local campaign finance reform. The state legislature does not give cities such as Raleigh the power to have publicly financed elections similar to public financing programs on the state and federal levels. Council could vote on a resolution (PDF) asking the General Assembly to give municipalities the option to use a public financing program for local elections.
City Manager Russell Allen will bring a proposal to council to move to a new biweekly recycling program. Instead of the blue recycling bins the city uses now, the program recommends using a larger bin like the city trash cans and have thevSolid Waste Services Department pick up recycling every other week instead of once a week. Allen’s recommendations say that the initial costs will be high, but the program would save the city $2 million a year in the long run. Allen says that if approved the program could be city wide in two years.
In the evening session, council will hold public hearings on two new text changes that will alter the way rezoning petitions are approved by planning commission and city council. Read more about the changes here.
From the consent agenda:
Items on the consent agenda can all pass with one motion or councilors can pull individual items for debate and a vote.
The city’s 2010 annexation plan is taking shape.
The downtown farmers’ market could be moving from Moore Square to the new City Plaza that opened recently on the 400 block of Fayetteville Street. If council approves the street closure permit, the farmers’ market will continue operating on Wednesdays from April through October at the new site.
Council could pick the general contractor for the planned $1-million amphitheater to go in the lot across the street from the convention center. North Carolina-based Shelco Inc. submitted to winning bid of $1.044 million. The project will also be up for a hearing later in the meeting on its special outdoor noise permit.
