At our meeting this past Thursday the council approved the
fiscal year 2018 Budget. The budget totals roughly $311 million with $242
million for operations and $68 million for capital projects. The FY18 budget is
2.9% LESS than the FY17 budget.
Budget highlights include:
·
Cary’s tax rate remains unchanged at 35 cents
·
Solid waste fee remains unchanged at $16 per
month
·
Funds a new Police Detective Position to help
address the growing opioid crisis.
·
$3 million for a grade separated crossing at
Carpenter Firestation Road and the CSX Railroad
·
$1 million for historic preservation initiatives
·
Funds the design of the new Cameron Pond Park
·
Reedy Creek Road Widening Project (more on this
later!)
This will be our first budget year shifting away from an
annual budget event to one that more closely resembles the corporate model
where our town staff will present quarterly updates to council using rolling
forecasts of both revenues and expenditures. Should we discover during the
quarterly update process that our revenue forecast is beating budget, we might
be able to fund another project before the next budget cycle. Should we
discover that our revenue forecast is lower than budgeted, we could decide to
put a project on hold. This will provide for greater flexibility and responsiveness
to our community’s needs.
The completion of the Higgins Greenway project for example is one that could
be considered at the next update as we are waiting for more information
regarding Parks and Rec payment-in-lieu funds. The Higgins Greenway project
would provide a greenway connection to downtown for a number of area
neighborhoods and is something that both Mayor Pro Tem Yerha and I have been
trying to get completed for years.
I can’t thank our town staff - especially the fine folks in
budget and finance - enough for their amazing work in helping us craft a fiscally
responsible budget that meets our community’s goals, advances the policies and
vision set forth in the new Cary Community Plan and keeps taxes low – the lowest
of any municipality in Wake County btw ;-)
Downtown Park Dedication
This past Saturday we FINALLY dedicated the new downtown
square and fountain. About time right? This was a wonderful event despite the
fact that somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature it wouldn’t be a good time for
a severe thunderstorm. I was completely blown away at how many folks chose to
weather the storm in nearby businesses and CAME BACK once the rain stopped. The
place was packed before and after the storm!
Both Mayor Weinbrecht and myself spoke prior to the
ceremonial coin flip and fountain light show.
My remarks were brief (I know, surprise right?) and can be
summarized as follows: 1) Heck yeah this is awesome and 2) You aint seen
nothing yet!
The downtown square and fountain (phase 1 of the downtown
park) is but one acre of what will be a seven acre park in downtown Cary. We
still have six acres to go. So if this is what one acre of the downtown park
looks like, I can’t wait to see how the remaining six acres turns out! You can
read more about the plans for phase 2 of the downtown park here.
We were also thrilled that NC House Representative and former Town Council Member, Gale Adcock could join us for the festivities. Gale was on the council when we approved the park and was also a big part of making this happen. While we greatly appreciate everything she is doing for us in Raleigh, we still miss having her on the council - oh boy do we ever.
Great things are happening in and around our downtown and
with your continued support we intend to keep it that way!
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| Downtown Park Dedication Ceremonies |
On a related note – Cary’s Downtown Manager, Ted Boyd will
be giving his third “Ted Talk” at The Cary Theater on July 19th. He
will be updated folks on current and future projects downtown to be followed by a
question and answer session at the end. You can learn more about the event here.
Reedy Creek Road Widening
At our meeting this past Thursday the council approved the Execution
of the Locally Administered Project Agreement for the Reedy Creek Road Widening
Project with NCDOT.
The Reedy Creek Road Widening Project will:
·
Widen Reedy Creek Road between Harrison Ave. and
Maynard Road to a consistent three lane cross-section
·
Provide sidewalks for pedestrians
·
Provide bike lanes for cyclists
·
Provide a 12’ landscaped median where turning
lanes are not required
·
Include roundabouts at both the entrance to the Middle
and Elementary Schools as well as the intersection of Reedy Creek Road and
Dynasty/Electra Drive to reduce vehicle speeds and better protect pedestrians –
especially school children.
Improving Reedy Creek Road has been a priority of mine and
the surrounding community for a long time. I can’t tell you how pleased I am to
finally see this project move towards construction. Thanks so much to the fine
folks in Cary’s Transportation and Engineering Departments for all of their hard
work, the surrounding community for all your input and NCDOT. This has truly
been a team effort.
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| Conceptual image of the Reedy Creek Road Improvements |
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| The proposed roundabout at the entrance to Reedy Creek Middle and Elementary Schools |
