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Dear Chapel Hill community,
As we prepare to welcome the new year, I’d like to share a few reflections on 2024 and highlight things we’re looking forward to in 2025.
I’m happy to report that in my first full year as your mayor, Chapel Hill saw important progress on many fronts. Here are three things that stood out:
First, leadership changes for both the Town and the University have opened up new conversations about how best to move into the future together. Much of our focus so far has been on next steps for downtown vibrancy, including solidifying our innovation hub. It's exciting work and I am grateful to Chancellor Roberts and his team for their partnership.
Second, we are truly beginning to see the pieces of Complete Community and Chapel Hill's Everywhere to Everywhere Greenway Network come together as several big projects—like the Estes Drive bike/ped facilities and East Rosemary parking deck—were completed and new ones were begun. To hear more, please listen in to my WCHL 2024 “Looking Back” conversation from last week.
Third, is the successful passage of the 2024 bond referendum, which will allow us to invest $44 million to expand greenways, improve parks, create affordable housing, and more—without raising taxes to pay for it. Many, many thanks to Chapel Hill voters for your overwhelming support for strategic investment in our town!
As we move into 2025, our most immediate priorities will be to hire a new Town Manager while continuing our policy and planning work.
Key initiatives we’ll be working on include:
1. Creating an exciting new downtown public space on the old parking lot at the corner of Rosemary and Colombia Streets.
2. Developing a town-wide Parks Master Plan and Stormwater Plan.
3. Adopting a new set of Land Use Management Ordinances (LUMO), which establish the rules for growth and development in town.
We’ll lead off with budget season. Starting with our January 11th retreat, we’ll be engaged in important budget discussions and talking about ways to be more effective, efficient, and transparent in how we do our work overall. In recent years we've made good strides by implementing five-year budget outlook. The county will be doing its periodic property revaluation this year, which adds another dimension to our budget planning.
Each is an important initiative for our community’s future. As always, we are eager to hear your thoughts on the things that are important to you—big or small. So please make time to stay in touch—your voice matters! You can email the Mayor and Council inbox here.
Wishing everyone a happy New Year,
Mayor Jess
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