I apologize for going so long between posts, but my campaign for NC House has required so much of my “free time” as of late – and given my work, family and council responsibilities, I didn’t have much free time to begin with! ;-)
My council responsibilities this week consisted mainly of reviewing staff reports in preparation for Thursday evening’s council meeting.
Highlights from our meeting included a discussion on staff recommended sidewalk construction projects and changes to the sound level limit at Koka Booth Amphitheater.
Bottom line regarding sidewalk construction projects; there are more desired projects than money. Staff did a good job in ranking these projects based on need and cost resulting in 8 projects able to move forward within budget. You can see a list of the approved projects here.
Regarding the sound levels at Koka Booth; council voted to increase the sound level limit from 92 decibels to 95. We did this for two reasons.
1) SMG (our management company) has had a difficult time recruiting some big name bands to play at Koka Booth given current noise restrictions. (a couple of bands who did play even complained while on stage that the levels were too low)
2) In surveying concert patrons, the overwhelming complaint has been the low sound level.
Hopefully this change will not only provide a better concert experience for our patrons, but also improve our chances of booking big-name artists; resulting in increased concert ticket sales and revenue to Cary. Koka Booth Amphitheater, while doing much better than years past, continues to be subsidized through tax revenue. I would love to see this facility not just break even, but turn a profit.
Regardless, you would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful and fan-friendly concert venue in North Carolina. Many thanks to our staff and the hundreds of volunteers who work so hard to make Koka Booth such a huge success.
