———- Forwarded message ———
From: Jeanne Brown <jbrown2@townofchapelhill.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 9:35 AM
Subject: Re: AURA concerns
To: ritamarie.may@gmail.com <ritamarie.may@gmail.com>

Dear Ms. May,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Chapel Hill is committed to ensuring that our government processes are both above-board and fair, so the Mayor appreciates that you reached out to share your concerns.

At Mayor Hemminger’s request, I have investigated the matter and am writing to follow-up.

The Town Council solicits recommendations from several of our advisory boards as part of a multi-step development review process, leveraging their expertise to help them look deeper into issues.  As a result, community members on these boards include architects, developers, engineers, planners, and other professionals who work actively in their fields.On those occasions when a conflict arises, the Town has created clear policies and guidance to manage the conflict and provide transparency to the public.   This includes having the member remove themselves from consideration during the discussion (by leaving the dais or removing themselves from the screen).  The board must, also, recuse the member prior to any discussion, consideration or vote on the matter.

Based on a review by our Town attorney, it is our understanding that Ms. Dancy’s actions and those of the Community Design Commission (CDC) during the recent review of the Aura project followed those steps and appear to have been consistent with the law and ethical guidelines.

Please know that we understand your concerns and will continue to monitor the situation as the process moves forward.  Should you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Brown

Mayor’s Aide
919-968-2714

From: Rita Marie May <ritamarie.may@gmail.com<mailto:ritamarie.may@gmail.com>>
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2021 6:45 PM
To: Pam Hemminger <phemminger@townofchapelhill.org<mailto:phemminger@townofchapelhill.org>>
Subject: AURA concerns

External email: Don’t click links or attachments from unknown senders. To check or report forward to reportspam@townofchapelhill.org<mailto:reportspam@townofchapelhill.org>
Dear Mayor Hemming,

Thank you for your leadership of the Town of Chapel Hill during what has been a trying year for all of us.

I write to you to bring to your attention Ms. Susana Dancy’s apparent violation of the Ethics Guidelines for Town Advisory Boards and Commissions<https://www.townofchapelhill.org/home/showdocument?id=37178> and to request that you do what you can to prevent the violation from recurring at any future Town Advisory Board meetings.

The Ethics Guidelines state:

“Members of advisory boards and commissions shall not discuss, advocate, or vote on any matter in which they have a conflict of interest or an interest which reasonably might appear to be in conflict with the concept of fairness in dealing with public business. A conflict of interest or a potential conflict occurs if a member has a separate, private, or monetary interest, either direct or indirect, in any issue or transaction under consideration. Any member who violates this provision may be subject to removal from the board or commission.”

I attended (virtually) both the Housing Advisory (HAB) and the Environmental Stewardship Advisory Board (ESAB) that were convened prior to yesterday’s Community Design Committee (CDC) meeting.  At both the HAB and ESAB meetings, it was clear Ms. Dancy is under contract from Trinsic to represent the AURA project.  At each of these meetings, Ms. Dancy advocated for AURA interests with cheerleader-like emotion.  To quote Ms. Dancy at the HAB meeting, “We are excited to bring AURA to this Board.”  She was, clearly, including herself as part of the AURA Team.

After these meetings, my husband and I were astonished and alarmed to learn that Ms. Dancy holds the position of chair of the Community Design Committee (CDC).

The CDC is, I understand, unique in the State of North Carolina and has been put in place by the State because of the singular nature of this Town as the home to the state’s premier University.  Yet Ms. Dancy has openly functioned as a paid representative of the Texas developer, flagrantly promoting the project as a member of the Trinsic team, and still remains the chair of this important committee—recusing herself, then participating at the CDC meeting as the AURA representative.  This shows an astonishing confidence on the part of Ms. Dancy; she expects that there will be no consequences for her actions.  But from a citizen perspective, it is hard to see Ms. Dancy’s actions as anything other than an affront to the Ethics Guidelines for the Town.

Again from a townsperson’s point of view, removal of Ms. Dancy from this important Advisory Board is fully warranted and would illustrate the Town’s commitment to honest and forthright government.

Respectfully,
Rita M May

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May Consulting, Inc.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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