This week was a pretty light week as far as council responsibilities are concerned...not so light in regards to work and the "honey do list" however. ;-)
On Tuesday I met with Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore and key members of the Cary Police Dept. to discuss gang related issues in Cary. I wanted to better understand this issue, and learn more about what Cary P.D. was doing to address this ever growing problem in our region. There isn't a whole lot I can say about what was actually discussed at this meeting due to security concerns - some gang member could be reading this blog on a stolen computer ya know ;-) What I can say however is that I left this meeting encouraged that Cary's finest are doing everything in their power to address this issue before it becomes the problem it is in communities such as Wilmington and Durham. It is always better to be proactive than reactive. Last year, of the 6793 crimes committed in Cary, 33 had some connection to gang activity - that is down 33% from the previous year. Obviously Cary P.D.'s initiatives are working.
Coincidentally, Cary released this press release this week regarding gangs.
On Wednesday I met with a group of citizens who were looking for more information on what Cary was working on in regards to the schools/reassignment issue. I spent a great deal of time explaining Cary's legislative agenda, at-large school board elections, and council's roundtable schools initiative.
Thursday evening was our council meeting. One of the highlights was a proclamation to former Cary Town Council member Marla Dorrel renaming Kids Together Park in her honor. Marla was very instrumental in bringing this park to reality back in 2000, and to this day continues to stay involved by her service as President of Kid's Together.
Public hearings were held regarding the proposed Land Development Ordinance (LDO) amendments and changes proposed to the Southwest Area Plan and the Conservation Residential Overlay District. We heard from a number of residents and property owners in the affected areas who were not happy to say the least. They were concerned the proposed changes would decrease the value of their property by reducing the amount of development that could occur. Council agreed with my recommendation to hold a worksession on the proposed changes before we make a final decision. We still have work to do on this one.
I was however very pleased with the proposed signage amendments relating to the downtown area. I swear I think someone is listening every now and then. ;-)
Council also voted to send the Green Level Stream Restoration and Greenway Project back to the Planning and Development Committee for further review - we still have work to do on this one also.
Well, unless ya'll want to hear about my exciting experience plumbing up a bathroom on Saturday - and I'm pretty sure you don't - then that's about it for now. Thanks for reading!
