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19 BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, that the sum of $172,500.00 is hereby appropriated to expenditure account 26-020-051540 in the Capital Fund for renovation of three (3)thh, Ouses and construction of one house on Hinton Avenue between Avon Street and 6 Street. Of that $172,500.00 in funds, $30,000 will be received from Piedmont Housing Alliance, and $142,500 is appropriated from the Priority Neighborhood Account in the Capital Fund. REPORT: UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITIES Mr. O'Connell presented Council with a cost estimate ofundergrounding of utilities in various sections of the City, and noted that while the costs have focused on electric undergrounding, cable and television is also involved: Mr. O'Connell said that after researching the issue, staff feel there are legal difficulties in forcing Virginia Power to pay for the undergrounding. Mr. O'Connell suggestion that Council: 1) Designate a pilot location from the seven areas identified and include funding in the capital budget: (Mr. O'Connell suggested completion ofundergrounding downtown and undergrounding as new development occurs, especially on West Main Street.) 2) Once a location is chosen, staff should go to Virginia Power for specific cost estimates: 3) Tie the project to the capital budget; 4) Refine the cost estimates independently (to include other utilities and assure that Virginia Power's costs are accurate). Mr. O'Connell recommended that a 5-20 year program be developed over the next year in relation to other projects. Mr. Cox asked ifVDOT road project funds could be diverted from other areas to be used for undergrounding. Ms. Judith Mueller, Director of Public Works, said that the City was recently given the flexibility to divert funds, but they must be used as part of streetscape improvements. Mr. Caravati said he feels a cost benefit analysis needs to be done and some sort of matrix needs to be developed for prioritizing undergrounding projects to make their selection more equitable. Mr. Caravati said he always viewed other projects in the capital budget as a higher priority than undergrounding. Mr. Cox noted that undergrounding utilities on Ridge Street was omitted from the list provided by staff. Ms. Daugherty said she likes the idea of a matrix and would favor working out some scheme for the long-term, devoting a certain amount of capital funds and other funds. Mr. Toscano said he has a lot of concerns given the capital funding needs for parks, schools and drainage. Mr. Toscano said he wants to support undergrounding initiatives, but feels the City needs to proceed cautiously with input from the community and the Planning Commission, perhaps during the budget process. Mr. Toscano said that Council may want to consider convening a task force. Responding to a question from Ms. Richards, Mr. Clyde Gouldman, City Attorney, said that the current City ordinance requires utilities in new subdivisions to be put underground at the developer's expense. Ms. Richards requested more information on legal groundwork laid by other localities, and asked whether technological advances could reduce the cost of undergrounding. Mr. Cox said he would like to know the impact on road priorities if $1 million to $2 million was used for undergrounding. Mr. Cox said he thinks citizens would be interested in convening a task force. Mr. Cox said his priorities would be the side streets of the mall, West Main Street, Water Street and Market Street. Mr. Toscano suggested possible criteria for selecting areas for undergrounding: spurring economic investment; in the context of building projects; and the extend to which a developer would bring a match to the table.