Thanks to Mother Nature this week was a fairly light one. Tuesday’s affordable housing worksession and a Wednesday meeting were both cancelled due to the snow and ice. I hope everyone was able to take a little time away from the rat race and have some fun playing in the snow – but not too much fun. ;-)
I spent a good deal of time this week catching up on emails and phone calls as a result of the council retreat this past weekend. It’s amazing how far behind you can get when you’re without your computer for only two days.
This week I met with and spoke to town staff on a number of occasions regarding transportation improvements associated with Wake Med’s new Women’s Pavilion. Improvements to Tryon and Kildaire Farm Roads are required per our town’s Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) and there was confusion pertaining to the timing and funding responsibilities of these improvements. Thankfully the majority of issues were resolved prior to this item coming before the Planning and Development Committee meeting on Thursday evening. This was the only item on our committee’s agenda.
Town staff, Singh Development, and I also worked this week to schedule another community meeting and notify residents in the Silverton Community regarding the proposed development at Evans, Cary Parkway and Winfair. The goal of this meeting is to present and review the various alternatives discussed at the previous meeting. This meeting will take place in the Maple Room at Bond Park at 6:30 on Feb 17.
On Thursday I met with parents to review and discuss data discrepancies in WCPSS’s proposed reassignment plan and offer advice. It was very enlightening to review the spreadsheets these parents created (which I know took a great deal of time and energy) detailing each school’s current and proposed capacity percentages and low income student population numbers. While a lot of data, it can best be summarized as this: Many of WCPSS low income and growth calculations are incorrect (WCPSS has admitted such), and after reassigning 25,000+ kids across the county to “relieve overcrowding and balance enrollment”we will still have schools 150% over capacity while others sit only 70-80% occupied. It boggles the mind.
On a related note, on Friday I met with a friend and colleague to discuss the upcoming school board elections. Four school board seats are up this fall and rumor has it that three current school board members will not be running for reelection. We have a huge opportunity here folks.
Saturday was sad day for not only North Carolina, but for sports fans and cancer survivors across the country as we learned that NC State Women’s Basketball Coach Kay Yow past away after her very long and very public battle with breast cancer. Kay was an incredible woman who led by example and inspired greatness. Firm but fair; she earned the respect of everyone she came in contact with – even her opponents. While her record of 737 wins, twenty one 20+ win seasons, an Olympic Gold Medal, and 4 ACC Championships are amazing accomplishments and speak to her abilities as a coach, Kay will be most remembered for her strength, courage, and never give up attitude. We’ll miss you, Kay.
