I Give A Cluck

So it looks like the chicken issue is coming back to council for decision...again. I gotta give these folks credit - they don't give up. Heck, I admire their passion and persistence. And while I may not agree with what they are fighting for, I support their right to fight for it.

About a year ago a group of citizens petitioned the town requesting that we modify our ordinance to allow folks to keep chickens in Cary town limits. Council denied the request. These citizens, not taking no for an answer, then submitted an application to the recently created Citizens Issue Review Commission (CIRC) requesting a recommendation from CIRC that council sanction their group to form an issue Advisory Group (IAG). This would allow them to make a formal presentation and plead their case to council. CIRC approved their request. Council however still has yet to decide whether or not to sanction this group - this will happen at a future council meeting.

Assuming (and we all know what happens when you assume) that no one on council has changed their mind regarding chickens in Cary, there is a good chance that their request will be denied. Council has already discussed the issue and said, "no". While I have concerns that our CIRC has given these folks false hopes, I also believe they know what they are up against, and it is up to them to change our mind...or at least one of our minds - they only gotta count to 4 after all.

So I figured this was as good a time as any to review why I do not support their request.

Reason #1 - a picture is worth a thousand words.


This is not some picture snagged off the Internet. This was taken just outside of Garner NC city limits. It is referred to as the "chicken and duck house" by many. Garner does not allow chickens in city limits. Since this is not in Garner city limits (it is so close however that most folks think it is in Garner) their is nothing that Garner can legally do to address the many complaints they receive on an almost weekly basis regarding this property.

Would you be ok if your neighbor's property looked like this?

Now sure, the town could create standards and ordinances to prevent such an occurrence, but what would be required to do so? How much would it cost? How much staff time and resources would this require? How would zoning enforcement police this? Would we discover that we need to hire additional staff to enforce violations and/or respond to complaints? Would we need an additional animal control officer?

Reason #2 - Chicken Coops.



Now how many of you would like to see one of these in your neighbor's backyard? Unlike the first image, both of these images were snagged off the Internet and yes, they are examples of worst case scenarios. They came from ww.backyardchickens.com - a popular website among those who keep chickens as pets - a site I have spent way too much time on in an effort to learn more about urban chickens. Along with these images were comments such as "Good Job!", or "Great idea!" The funniest comment however was "at least the chickens will be dry" :-) I digress.

Now this chicken coop is actually cute. No different in appearance than most tool sheds (besides the smell of course). So how would Cary ensure that those who built a chicken coop did so in a tasteful manner such as that above? Would it require ordinance amendments with design guidelines for chicken coops? (Cary coops would have to be beige of course) What if folks couldn't afford to build a coop like this but they do have an old dryer laying around? What about those citizens who construct a coop that does not conform to our design guidelines? Do we now end up with chicken police?

Reason #3 - increased predators.

In my research I have come to the conclusion that chickens do and will attract predators such as snakes, raccoons, foxes, skunks, weasels, and even dogs. Yes you can take steps to limit the chances of attracting predators by keeping chicken feed off the ground (attracts mice which attracts snakes) and ensuring your coop is constructed in a manner that discourages predators, but things can and will happen. According to rodriguezpoultry, Chickens eat chicken feed. Mice like chicken feed. Mice live close by the food source. Snakes eat mice. Snakes live close to the food source.

What if a chicken gets lose into a neighbors yard who happens to have a dog or two? Yes I know dogs don't like cats either, but the cat is much harder to catch than a chicken, and chickens taste like, well, chicken. Yum.

Reason #4 - Smells, noise, and disease.

In reviewing backyardchickens.com for information on disease I was a bit overwhelmed. There were over 450 pages and 12,000 different threads pertaining to emergencies, disease, injuries and cures. Yes dogs and cats get sick too, but most folks are familiar enough with "normal"dog and cat behavior and can "usually" tell when something is wrong. I tend to believe that most folks who decided to keep chickens in town limits would be doing so for the first time and would be unfamiliar with a chicken's "normal" behavior, possibly not realizing something is wrong until it is too late. Could a disease spread to another animal such as a dog or cat? What about humans? Many folks order their chickens through the mail (seriously). What about avian flu? (yes I am aware we haven't had a confirmed case in the US yet but....)

I also have concerns regarding odors and to an extent, noise. I have friends who keep chickens in the country - they smell. My wife also had chickens for a number of years. She did not like the smells (much less finding dead chickens due to predators) either. Yes you can keep the coop clean and limit most odors, but how many of Cary's busy urban families have time to care for their coops properly in between taking little Johnny to T-ball practice or little Suzy to dance? What about Cary's postage stamp sized lots? While folks may believe they have the right to keep chickens, their neighbors have rights also.

Reason #5 - HOAs

Most homeowners associations in town already prohibit their residents from keeping chickens. Many that did not, after hearing about the request from folks to keep chickens worked quickly to modify their covenants to prohibit it. "Most" folks in town would not be permitted to keep chickens since most of our neighborhoods have HOAs.

Reason #6 - Majority of citizens oppose the idea.

The majority of Cary citizens I have spoken to during the last year have made it clear. I cannot tell you how many folks have grabbed me in the grocery store, at the ball field or some other event, called or emailed opposing the idea of Cary allowing folks to keep chickens in town limits. The general comments of those who weren't totally opposed to the idea were along the lines of, "Well, I guess I am ok with it AS LONG AS MY NEIGHBOR DOESN'T HAVE CHICKENS." In other words, it's ok as long as I don't have to deal with them. In my opinion that comment speaks volumes about peoples thoughts regarding chickens in their neighborhood.

Reason #7 - Dinner.

I am all for folks having fresh eggs for breakfast. Heck, one of my favorite dinners is a breakfast dinner with pancakes, eggs, and bacon....lots of bacon! But what about those who want chicken for dinner? What about those folks who might not think twice about slaughtering a chicken in the backyard for dinner? What if little Suzy were to whitness that?

And last but not least - Reason #8 - Precident

Would allowing folks to keep chickens open the door for folks who might want to keep pigs, goats, or other farm animals? There is a place for this - it's called the country. While I live in Cary, I also own a house in rural Smithfield. Our neighbors have all kinds of farm animals such as horses, chickens, sheep and cows. But it's the country - it's expected. Everyones property is 5 acres or larger - much larger than the postage stamp lots we have in Cary.

I am sorry for such a long post. I am well aware that there are those in Cary who share a passion for having chickens and I believe they deserve a thorough explanation of why I oppose allowing it. They won't, and don't, like my position and that's fine - I respect that. I have probably made more people mad regarding this particular issue than any other issue that has come before council. I hope that those reading this appreciate the time and effort that I have taken to further educate myself on this topic, and explain my position as I appreciate and respect their position. I hope that if nothing else, we can agree to disagree.

Week in Review 6/8/09 - 6/12/09

I'm posting a bit early as this weekend I will be busy as a delegate at the NCGOP State Convention.

Council held our third and final budget worksession this past Tuesday evening. Highlights (or lowlights depending on how you look at it) from the meeting included:

Old Cary Elementary School’s restoration and renovation into the Cary Community Arts Center will remain on schedule.

Downtown Cary Streetscape project delayed one year due to the economy and concerns over mounting debt service and lower than expected revenues to the town.

Open space funding of $5.8 million from the utility and general fund approved - $10 million in COP (certificates of participation) bonds delayed.

The proposed Downtown Manager position will not be filled this year. The Planning Department will take on a more active role in this regard until funding becomes available to fill this position.

And council denied Cary EMS’ request for $5,000.00 in non-profit assistance by a vote of 5-2. Mayor Weinbrecht and I voted to approve EMS’ request.

I was very pleased to see council reconsider our earlier decision to delay old Cary Elementary. Of all Cary’s planned capital projects, this particular project – in this council member’s opinion – is by far our most important. Not only is old Cary Elementary one of our town’s most treasured historic resources, but it is also in dire need of repairs. One needs look no further than the leaning front porch roofline to see what I mean. The longer this project waits, the further the building will continue to deteriorate, and the more expensive this project becomes. We may also discover that due to the economy and increased competition that construction bids come in lower than expected.

Given my passion for old Cary and our downtown it was very difficult for me to support delaying the downtown streetscape project. However given the town’s financial outlook and economy the choice….well, we really had no choice. We could either move forward with this project and raise taxes, or not. I voted not. Raising taxes in a down economy is the LAST thing government should do (are you listening NCGA??) Hopefully next year the town’s financial outlook and the economy improve enough to where we can bring this project back. Until then the council will review this project and our plans for downtown to see if their may be better phasing options and/or changes that may be made to better achieve our goals downtown.

What really surprised me at our budget worksession however was the decision to NOT grant Cary EMS $5,000 in non-profit funding. For those of you who may be unaware, Cary EMS is a non-profit entity and is not funded by Cary. They do receive county and private funding. Cary EMS “rents” space from Cary Firestation #5 so they can position an ambulance in the western Cary area to better serve our citizens. Cary EMS requested $5000 from Cary to help offset these costs. I believed this to be a no-brainer – given all that Cary EMS does to serve and save the lives of our citizenry I felt $5000 was the least we could do to help. We are after all granting over $130,000 to other local non-profits like the Carying Place, Kids Voting, Triangle Family Services, and Child Care Services Association. Unfortunately I was in the minority.

After our worksession council went into closed session to discuss and review the performance of two town employees. I can’t say much given that this was a closed session discussion but FWIW council only has the authority to hire and fire 3 town employees. We weren’t discussing the town manager. The rest is up to you to figure out. ;-)

Our council meeting was held on Wednesday this week due to local high school graduation ceremonies. The council meeting went rather quickly as there was not much on our agenda. Meeting highlights included council’s adoption of an annexation moratorium in Chatham County until September, agreement to direct our town staff to review Cary’s open house signage restrictions and report back to council to see how we may be more flexible in allowing folks to better market their homes in these tough economic times, discussion and decision regarding Cary’s high efficiency toilet (HET) rebate program, and council held another budget public hearing.

A number of folks spoke during the budget public hearing regarding their concerns over potential delays in the downtown streetscape and old Cary Elementary projects. I was very encouraged to see so many come out in support of our efforts downtown. While streetscapes will unfortunately be delayed, the majority of folks I have spoken to have been very understanding given the economic climate and are pleased to see that Cary will at least continue to move forward with old Cary Elementary.

At the request of citizens who are having difficulties selling their homes in this economy I sponsored the request to have our staff reevaluate our sign ordinance pertaining to open house signage to see if we can become a bit more flexible. Currently our ordinance only allows folks the opportunity to advertise their open houses with signage twice a year. Yet some folks are having upwards of 4,5,or even 6 open houses. Now I don’t know what the magic number should be, I learned a while back its better to identify the issue and allow the professionals time to work their magic before getting more specific, but I am optimistic that we can find a way to allow folks a bit more freedom without compromising the visual landscape throughout town that our citizens value so much.

I voted against adoption of an annexation moratorium in Chatham County (again) for a few reasons. 1) Chatham County has no development moratorium in place so why should we be expected to? 2) I believe the moratorium largely responsible for Cary and Chatham’s inability to come to agreement on a joint land use plan thus far, and 3) Given the comments from some Chatham County Commissioners I doubt we ever will come to an agreement.

Thursday evening Mayor Weinbrecht and I attended Cary High School’s graduation ceremony at the convention center in downtown Raleigh. This was extra special for me as our son Whitt was one of the graduates! I was also pleased that this year’s graduation had air conditioning. Previous graduations were held in Reynolds Coliseum which has no air conditioning. A suit and tie in June is bad enough – a suit and tie in June with no A/C is criminal. Congratulations to all our area graduates and CONGRATULATIONS WHITT!!!

This weekend is the NCGOP State Convention which will be held at the convention center in downtown Raleigh (seems like I was just there). I will try to post an entry on the convention’s activities early next week.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading!

Help Wanted....or not.

Ok - question for you. Let’s say you are the apartment manager of a low end apartment complex that has seen a steady increase in crime over the years.

The elected official(s) and police department of the town in which your apartment complex is located wants to help - so much so that they dedicate additional police officers and step up patrols in the area. New programs are initiated that place officers in the area on foot and undercover. The police department even goes so far as to set up a police substation inside the apartment complex ensuring an even greater police presence and a means for residents to contact and locate an officer quickly. Heck, they even create an after school program for the neighborhood children.

Crime rates drop 21% from 2008-2009 indicating that the town is having success, but that we still have much work to do.

Now my question is: as the apartment complex manager, would you decide to:

A) Throw the police department a party thanking them for all their hard work.
B) See what else you can do to help.
C) Ask the Chief of Police out for a date.
or D) KICK THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OFF OF YOUR PROPERTY AND CUT OFF ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE TOWN.

If you chose A, B, or C you might make a pretty decent apartment complex manager someday.

If you chose D then congratulations! You are the apartment complex management of Briarcliff Apartments off of Wrenn Drive right here in Cary.

The good folks at Cary PD can do a lot – but they can’t fix stupid.

Its much easier and way more effective for the town and apartment complex to work together. It becomes pretty difficult when the people that need the help don't want the help. But whether they want it or not, they're going to get it. Some people gotta learn the hard way.

Weeks in Review 5/18/09 - 5/29/09

Yes, I know I didn’t post last week. I had the choice of either blogging, or celebrating Memorial Day with family and friends. Ice cold margaritas made the choice pretty easy. ;-) But not to fear – this week you get a two-fer. That’s right folks, two – count em – TWO weeks in review for the price of one. This special is only good for a limited time so READ NOW! Operators are not standing by, and this offer is void where prohibited by law.

May 18 – 22:

Something about Monday was different. The sky was a beautiful North Carolina Blue, birds were cheerfully singing in the trees and as I looked out into the backyard I saw our cat happily playing with the neighbor’s dog – it was almost surreal. Then it hit me. Today was my birthday. 29 years old…..again. ;-)

On Tuesday the town hosted a volunteer appreciation picnic at Ritter Park. The mayor and yours truly served as Master Chefs cooking over 80 hotdogs and hamburgers for some hungry volunteers. We even cooked some veggie burgers (no, I wouldn’t eat one) BTW - have you ever tried to cook a veggie burger on the grill? It’s weird – you’re not really “cooking” it – you’re “heating” it. I kept expecting it to catch fire like a piece of wood. Anyways, everyone had a great time – I only wish there was more we could do to show our appreciation to folks who give so much of themselves to make Cary the great place to live that it is.

Afterwards I attended the Downtown Turnaround dinner/social at Spirits in Downtown Cary. It was great to see so many downtown residents in attendance who share a passion for their community and I spoke to the group about current downtown plans and the economy’s effect on them.

Thursday evening was our Planning and Development Committee meeting. Meeting highlights included our committee deciding to not enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with DOT regarding the US 64 corridor between Pittsboro and Cary and consideration of amendments to the town’s Community Development Block Grant Annual Action Plan to allocate $122,433 in stimulus funds. I think you all know I oppose the fed’s stimulus package and Cary’s participation. However, what’s done is done and we have been allocated these funds. I believe The Serving Cup’s Green Level Apartment roadway improvements, housing rehab, and the Christian Community in Action’s project at the corner of High House and Old Apex Rd. appropriate projects to receive these funds.

My council week ended with a meeting between our Zoning Enforcement Department and a local business to work through a zoning compliance issue. The meeting went well - a few minor adjustments to the business’s storage and screening practices and alls well.

May 26 – 29:

Council held our second budget worksession this week. Council decided – at the town manager’s recommendation – to delay the downtown streetscape project out of concerns for increasing the town’s debt level during a recession. What really disappointed me however was that council also delayed moving forward with the renovations and conversion of old Cary Elementary into the community arts center. While I understand and agree that this isn’t the time to increase the town’s debt, this particular project is funded with cash on hand and does not impact our debt. I do not support delaying old Cary Elementary. This project is too important to our downtown, our town’s heritage and history. The longer we wait, the more this project will cost as the condition of old Cary Elementary will continue to deteriorate. Emergency roof repairs have already had to be contracted and the front porch is visibly sagging.

I believe that government must take care of existing facilities and infrastructure before looking to build new. The old Cary Elementary renovations do just that.

I also met with the owners of the Carolina Railhawks this week to learn more about their operation and hear from them regarding their vision for the program and Wake Med Soccer Park.

Thursday evening was our council meeting. Other than a few public hearings for annexations and rezonings notable items of discussion included the request from Councilors Robison and Portman to extend the annexation moratorium in Chatham County and a request by Councilor Portman and myself to consider amending the town’s approval process for new projects from 2 years with a 1 year renewal to 3 years with a 2 year renewal.

I opposed renewing the annexation moratorium for a couple of reasons. First, Chatham County asked us to reinstate the moratorium but they have not done the same in regards to development plan approvals, and secondly I believe that the annexation moratorium is what is largely responsible for Cary and Chatham not agreeing on a joint land use plan thus far. With a moratorium there is no incentive to hustle and get things done – no deadline. I voted against extending the moratorium and was the only one to do so. Enough “playing nice” – it’s time we lock both boards in a room and get this done.

Council unanimously directed staff to investigate extending the town’s approval process for new projects and to bring it back for committee review and ultimately council decision. Anything we can do to help the business community during these tough economic times makes sense, and once the economy turns around should we find these changes aren’t working well for us anymore we can revisit them. Just like businesses adjust when the economy dictates so should the town.

Well that’s about it for now. Thanks for reading!

Letter to the Editor

Sent to the News and Observer:

Regarding Mr. Keung Hui's May 12 report Dissent erupts at schools forum; I have to ask, “What forum was Mr. Hui at anyways?”

I mean, he couldn’t have been at the Town of Cary’s Climate for Student Success Forum as he reported. I was there, as were a number of elected officials and community leaders and parents from across the county. I saw no “eruption of dissent”. I did however hear 3 ½ hours of innovative ideas and opinion from our guest speakers Elaine McEwan and Amy Holcombe. At the conclusion of the forum both citizens and elected officials were given the opportunity to ask questions of our guests. Everyone did so in a professional manner.

I also wonder why (not really - I know why) the only “organizer" of the event Mr. Hui chose to mention in his opinion piece – oops, I mean report - was Kathleen Brennan, a co-founder of WakeCARES, the parent group who recently lost a Supreme Court ruling. For some reason Mr. Hui forgot to mention the other organizers which included members of the town council, WCPSS committees, PTA’s, and other local civic groups.

We at the Town of Cary believed a diverse group of organizers beneficial to ensuring a balanced and non-biased forum as possible. I thought diversity was a good thing?

Don Frantz
Cary Town Council District B
919-612-6870
don.frantz@townofcary.org

(we'll see if they print it)

Week in Review 5/11/09 - 5/16/09

What a very busy but productive week!

The week started off bright and early Monday morning with the Town of Cary’s Climate for Student Success Education Forum. We invited elected officials, community leaders, and parents from all over Wake County to hear from Elaine McEwan, bestselling author of 10 Traits of Highly Effective Schools and Amy Holcomb, Talent Director of Guilford County Schools. EVERY municipality in Wake County was represented….except Raleigh. Go figure.

Elaine spoke about the distinguishing qualities and unique characteristics of schools that help ALL students make gains in academic performance. Amy spoke about Guilford County’s Mission Possible Program – a comprehensive teacher incentive program that recruits highly skilled teachers to teach in high needs schools and rewards them financially based on student success. The better the students do – the more the teachers get paid. Pay for performance, what a concept huh?

Afterwards elected officials and parents were given an opportunity to address our guests and ask questions. The majority of questions pertained to Guilford County’s Mission Possible program (folks were obviously impressed and wanted to hear more) and of course reassignment. Parents asked our guest’s opinion regarding busing for diversity. Amy said it best. “You can either put your money into buses, transportation and fuel, or you can put your money into your people. We chose to put our money into our people so our children could go to their neighborhood school.” After seeing the performance gains of their high needs schools I say they made a wise decision.

Tuesday evening could held our first of what I am sure is to be many budget worksessions. Although considering the town has no money, I can’t imagine the budget process taking but too long. Anyways, Town Manager Ben Shivar and staff presented the budget to council and we conducted a general review of the budget. More in depth worksessions will follow. This year is going to be tight. But like everyone else we have to tighten our belts and focus on essentials to get through the slumping economy. The council is committed to upholding the high levels of service our citizens expect without raising taxes.

Some highlights include:

The proposed FY2010 budget is 25% LOWER than FY2209’s

NO TAX INCREASE. Cary will continue to have the lowest tax rate in the county at 33 cents.

60% reduction in the capital improvement budget.

Over $3 million reduction in General Fund Expansion reductions.

24 open town staff positions will not be filled.

Some lowlights include:

The downtown streetscape project may be postponed or modified.

No sidewalk constructions in FY2010

An 8% increase in water rates. The primary driver for this is the new Western Wake Water Reclamation Facility and reduced revenues due to low/no new development and conservation. The last one really stinks. Our citizens work really hard and make sacrifices to conserve water – the town therefore doesn’t sell as much water as anticipated resulting in a rate increase.

The Council and staff met with Chatham County Commissioners and their staff this week to discuss a number of outstanding issues pertaining to the Chatham County/Cary Joint Land Use Plan and annexation. I was pleased that the meeting went well and i believe that we can work through our differences towards an agreement that benefits both Chatham County and Cary.

On Thursday my wife and I attended the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Awards Banquet at Embassy Suites in Cary. Our business, Frantz Automotive, was honored to be named the Cary Chamber’s Small Business of the Year last year. This year’s Small Business of the Year Award winner is Rockett Interactive. Other award winners included the Eye Care Center at Barnes & Noble Plaza, Kniffen Wealth Management, Rush Hour Kartingand the Carying Place. The Entrepreneurial Award in Education went to Cary High School. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and special thanks to the Cary Chamber for supporting and recognizing Cary’s small businesses.

Thursday evening was our council meeting. I had the honor of presenting a proclamation designating May 2, 2009 as Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. This was particularly meaningful to me as I spent 3 days in the hospital back in 2001 as the result of a motorcycle accident. I had a collapsed lung, 4 broken ribs and broken shoulder. While I am thankful I am alive to talk about it, I am also thankful I was wearing a full face helmet. If you saw the helmet (which I keep near my bike to remind me of what could have been) you’d better understand. I took the helmet to the council meeting to show folks the importance of appropriate safety gear.

Council also agreed to change the land use plan of 13 acres in the west Cary area from low density residential to medium density residential. The majority of council found this appropriate due to the high density bordering the property to the north, and the low density bordering the property to the south. It provided a good transition. Council also agreed to hire an environmental manager contingent on receiving federal grant funds to cover the cost associated with this position.

I also spent a great deal of time this week responding to citizen emails and phone calls regarding the proposal from Triangle Aquatics Center to the town to purchase, the proposed town budget, and the proposed automated water meter reading system. Thanks to everyone who took the time to contact either myself or the council with your thoughts and concerns on issues important to you. Government works better when more citizens are involved.

I also wrote a letter to the editor in response to Keung Hui’s opinion piece – oops, I mean report – on Cary’s education forum. I knew the N+O was in the tank for WCPSS but geez…. I’ll post it here once I submit it. Neighborhood schools supporters might find this interesting.

That’s about all for this week. As always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 5/4/09 - 5/9/09

This was a great week. After four years of hard work both on and off the football field our son Jordan graduated from the University of Central Florida on Friday! Our first to graduate college – we are so proud! Having red-shirted one year due to injury he has one more year of eligibility left. He’s decided to stay at UCF to play one more year and work on his masters while he’s at it. Too cool.

On Monday council members Adcock, Robinson and I, along with citizens and staff who have been assisting us with this Monday’s Climate for Student Success Education Forum met at town hall to finalize planning and participate in a practice run-through of the event to ensure that we all are as prepared for the forum as we can be. I also spent a good deal of time this week following up with elected officials who had yet to RSVP for the forum. One of the goals of this forum is to help foster a dialogue between municipal leaders regarding education in Wake County. Having as many elected officials in attendance as possible will better help us achieve this goal.

Mayor Weinbreht and I had the honor of attending the Town of Cary’s Citizen's Police Academy graduation ceremony this week. This was the 25th graduating class since the program’s inception back in 1997. I am proud to be a graduate of the academy myself – go class 15! ;-) I thanked the graduates for taking the time to become more involved in and learn more about our town and its police department, and I also encouraged everyone to stay involved with the department by joining the Citizens Assisting Police (CAP) team. The more support our police department receives, the more time our officers have to focus on fighting crime. Afterwards I attended the Friends of the Page Walker monthly meeting.

Council continues to receive emails in support of the proposal from Triangle Aquatics Center (TAC) to the town to purchase the facility. I would estimate I personally have responded to over 60 at this point. I have received about 7 in opposition to the proposal. Council will discuss this proposal during the upcoming budget deliberations. Speaking of the town’s budget, council has received quite a bit of input regarding the budget over the course of the last week. The majority of comments dealt with addressing stormwater issues in the Swift Creek area, the town’s proposed automated meter reading system, and requests to not fund any road/infrastructure projects that might encourage development or result in developers not paying their fair share of development. Council holds our first budget worksession this Tuesday.

That’s about it for now. As always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 4/26/09 - 5/1/09

Monday evening was the Western Wake Republican Club’s second annual Spring Fling event at the Business Network Center in Cary. The event was well attended and special guests included North Carolina Republican Party Chair candidates - in no particular order other than my personal preference ;-) - Chad Adams, Tom Fetzer, Bill Randall, and Marcus Kindley. Local officials from Morrisville, Holly Springs, and Apex were also in attendance, as was WCPSS School Board Member Ron Margiotta.


Citizen volunteers who have been assisting us (greatly) with the Town of Cary’s Climate for Student Success Schools Forum, our Forum Moderator Steve Strauss, Councilor Jennifer Robinson and myself also met on Monday to further discuss the upcoming education forum. It was a good meeting as our moderator had the opportunity to hear about our goals and vision for the forum which will in turn allow him to better moderate the discussion – which I am sure will be lively.

On Tuesday evening council held a worksession with no set agenda. It was an opportunity to discuss whatever we felt important. Council reviewed our goals from the council retreat as well as the role of board and commission liaisons and our upcoming education forum.

This was council meeting week. There wasn’t much on the agenda as there aren’t many development projects taking place these days. Council did however make a decision on whether or not to change the method of elections in Cary. After exploring the possibilities of instant runoff voting (IRV) and plurality elections council decided to stick with the non-partisan traditional runoff election method. I am pleased. If you have been reading my blog you know my thoughts regarding IRV – I don’t like it (and that’s putting it nicely). I was genuinely interested in hearing citizens thoughts regarding the switch back to plurality elections (Cary utilized this method until 2000 when we switched to runoff elections). Unfortunately I didn’t get a lot of feedback regarding plurality (until I stated such at a council meeting – then I received a few emails). Most folks I heard from were special interest groups and politicos both in support and in opposition to IRV. Don’t get me wrong – I appreciate any and all feedback, I just wish more “average citizens” had taken the time to weigh in on the topic. I would like to thank Chris, Joyce, Perry, and Andrew for all their help.

30+ citizens spoke during the public speak out portion of our meeting to voice their support of the $14 million proposal from Triangle Aquatics Center (TAC) to the town to purchase the aquatics center. The majority who spoke were children – some as young as 9 years old. You couldn’t even see one girl who spoke – she was shorter than the podium. All you saw was her hand go up to grab the microphone. It was adorable. It was very encouraging to see so many children so passionate about their sport and its future in Cary. Council also received a lot of emails this week in support of the proposal. I received one email in opposition. Council will review the proposal along with all capital expenditures during the budget process beginning this month.

I also want to remind everyone about the Town of Cary’s Climate for Student Success Forum that is coming up on May 11, from 8am – 1 pm. in the Cary Town Council Chambers at 316 North Academy Street in downtown Cary.

The forum is an opportunity for local leaders to come together to discusshow municipalities can support the Wake County Public School System.Successful case studies and keynote speaker, Elaine McEwan -- thebest-selling author of 10 Traits of Highly Effective Schools -- will highlight distinguishing qualities and unique characteristics of schools that help all students make outstanding gains in performance.

We’re inviting local municipal and county government elected officials and staff, business leaders, WakeEd Partnership officials, and the general public. Your participation and voice are vital. We hope you can join us aswe discuss how to work together to cultivate a high performance schoolsystem that focuses on student achievement in every school.

Please RSVP tohttp://www.townofcary.net/cssf/cssf.php to reserve your seat and if you have any questions please contact climateforstudentsuccess@townofcary.org.

Well that’s about all for now – as always, thanks for reading and see ya next week!

Week in Review 4/20/09 - 4/25/09

This week I had the pleasure of participating in the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Day at the Capital.

The day began with a meeting of NFIB’s Leadership Committee – which I serve as a member. We discussed a number of issues pertaining to small business such as card check legislation and its impact on small business, as well as the NC Senate’s budget proposal.

The Senate’s budget proposal is a crock. They hype lowering the sales tax to 6% (a whopping .75% decrease) while at the same time levy a 6% tax on services – “non-professional services” that is. Legal and accounting services, as well as medical services will not be taxed. Considering how many lawyers there are in the senate this – unfortunately – is no surprise. Now I can agree with not taxing medical services considering how darn expensive medical care is these days, but the fact is we shouldn’t be taxing ANY services – we should focus on reducing state government spending. What a concept huh? The state is trying to make up a $500 million shortfall. Revenue neutral this isn’t.

To give you an idea how this new tax will affect YOU the consumer: let’s say your car needs a new engine (and I KNOW your getting it replaced at Frantz Automotive right???) ;-) Anyways. Say the labor is $1000.00 to replace. You will pay an additional $60.00 in labor taxes ON TOP OF the 6% in sales tax. Nice.

NFIB members also heard from Governor Beverly Purdue – who basically said she wanted to raise taxes “but now isn’t the right time”. She showed up 5 minutes prior to her speaking time then left immediately afterwards. Lt. Governor Walter Dalton (I love that name) spoke after Beverly Perdue followed by Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco. Keith definitely seemed the most “real” of the bunch, and being a former business owner himself actually spoke to what mattered to us – creating a business friendly environment in NC.

Wednesday evening was the annual Elected Officials Reception at the Mathews House in downtown Cary. This is always a fun event and a great opportunity to speak to and lobby our state officials. It was interesting however that NO state senate members were in attendance. I guess they figured they wouldn’t be too popular at a business event after their proposal to raise business taxes

Council’s Planning and Development Committee meeting was this week and the only discussion item on the agenda was consideration of FY 2010’s Community Development Block Grant Action Plan and 2010-2014 Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan.

In order to remain in compliance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, the Town must update its Consolidated Housing and Community Development Plan every five years. The current 2005-2009 Consolidated Plan expires this year.

The Town of Cary is designated as an Entitlement Community by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is eligible to receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. For the past five years the Town of Cary has prepared an Annual Action Plan describing the projects the Town plans to undertake in each upcoming fiscal year. HUD’s projection for the amount the Town will receive for the next fiscal year is $450,746.

Proposals for the use of the FY 2010 CDBG funds were solicited from citizens, developers of affordable housing, nonprofit agencies and organizations and Town departments beginning in March. Nearly $1.7 million in proposals were received for the available $450,746 in funds.

While I compliment staff on all their hard work, I really wish council could have held a worksession on this issue. We had one last year. Before I decide on how to distribute nearly half a million dollars in CDBG funds I want more details than what you typically get in a staff report.

On Saturday I was delegate at the Republican Party’s 13th Congressional District Convention. Turnout was better than previous years as we had over 100 delegates in attendance. While a close race between David Williams and David Robinson, we elected David Robinson 13th District Chair. We also had the opportunity to hear from candidates for the NCGOP Chair’s race – including front runners Chad Adams and Tom Fetzer. While I respect Tom Fetzer greatly, I support Chad Adams for NCGOP Chair. I believe our party needs new leadership and fresh ideas – someone who an motivate and excite young people. I believe Chad Adams provides that leadership.

That’s about all for this week. Thanks for reading and thanks for allowing me the opportunity to serve you.

UPDATE: Climate for Student Success Forum

UPDATE: The Cary Community Foundation - a non-profit organization - has agreed to collect donations on behalf of the Town of Cary allowing contributors to now make a tax deductible donation. Thanks to Councilor Jennifer Robinson for arranging this.

Checks may be sent to:
Cary Community Foundation
2440 S.W. Cary Parkway #201
Cary, NC 27513

Make sure to write Town of Cary Climate for Student Success Forum in the subject line of your check.

Also, if you prefer to donate funds using a credit card, you may go to www.carycommunityfoundation.org and click on Giving. From the drop down menu, select How to Give.

As many of you probably know, the Town of Cary is sponsoring an education event on May 11 titled Climate for Student Success. While municipalities do not have the responsibility nor the authority to govern education in Wake County, municipal leaders are often called upon by citizens to take a role in the future of Wake’s schools. At the Climate for Students Success forum, municipal leaders will be given important information about practices that have been successful in improving overall student achievement and an opportunity to discuss Wake’s current and future educational climate.

Wake government, business leaders and citizen leaders will be invited and remaining seats will be made to the general public. The event will also be videotaped for later viewing. In today’s economic environment, public funding for the forum was approved with the understanding that private funds would be raised to reimburse the town for outstanding costs.

As this forum is an important beginning in understanding what role municipal governments can plan in creating a Climate for Student Success, I have started the fundraising off with a personal donation of $750.00, but unfortunately this only covers about 10% of the total cost of the forum. While I understand that the economy is tough right now, I am asking for your help in the form of a contribution. Your donation will bring the Town of Cary closer to the goal of funding this forum with private funds, and potentially result in the Town of Cary hosting future forums. Please consider a contribution - any amount would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration,

Don Frantz
Cary Town Council District B
919-612-6870
don.frantz@townofcary.org

Hate Mail

A few people have asked recently, "do you get any hate email as a member of council?"

Absolutely.

They typically don't bother me as I have thick skin and I sleep well at night believing in the decisions I make. I realize I will never make everyone happy - nor do I try to. I do my very best to respond to every email I receive and explain my actions or decisions. Once in a while however council gets an email that, well, deserves an appropriate response. ;-) I received the email below from a "Mr. Albert Einstein" (obviously not his real name).

Subject: Please make sure the new Cary Recycle Monster Wheel Bins are not the same color as the Monster Trash Bins...........

From: aeinstein@nc.rr.com

To: ervin.portman@townofcary.org; gale.adcock@townofcary.org; harold.weinbrecht@townofcary.org; jennifer.robinson@townofcary.org; jack.smith@townofcary.org; julie.robison@townofcary.org; don.frantz@townofcary.org

CC: ":barry.saunders"@newsobserver.com; ruth.sheehan@newsobserver.com; drescher@newsobserver.com; sford@newsobserver.com; kwallace@newsobserver.com; keung.hui@newsobserver.com; billlumaye@wptfmail.com

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:06:30 -0400

Please make sure the new Cary Recycle Monster Bins are not the same> color as the Monster Trash Bins.........

Please use another color.............

How about pink???? Like your new prison clothes......

I think it is a good idea for automated recycle pick up like the trash pick up with the big bins with wheels. If it will be SORTED....

But someone still has to sort it at some time????

We all know the recyclables will just be lumped together and dumped into the same trash pits as the trash. So who are you fooling????

We will ride the trucks and vote you pathetic pukes out and into jail.

AE :)
Preston
Cary, NC

PS. If recyclables where valuable; some one buy them and government would not have to charge for them to be carted away.....

Here is my response:

Dear Al,

Thank you so much for taking the time to contact council - and everyone at the news and observer - with your thoughts regarding Cary's new automated recycling program. While pink would have been a great color for the recycle bins (my personal favorite was actually Carolina Blue), this is Cary - anything other than a shade of beige would be unacceptable. We have an image to maintain after all. Besides, Cary's trash containers are green, and green and pink just don't go well together....it would look pukey.

You'll be happy to know that once all of the recyclables are collected, they will in fact be sorted. Changes to Cary's recycling program are being made for the following reasons:

a) To accommodate the addition of new materials (junk mail, mixed paper, chip board and phone books)

b) Employee safety

c) Cost reduction - 5 year payback ($600,000 per year in annual operating expenses)

That's right, Al. Those old phone books that you have been using for a booster seat at your parent's kitchen table can now be recycled. How cool is that?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts regarding Cary's recycling program. I really appreciate your passion for better protecting our environment. Cary has become the wonderful place to live in that it is thanks to compassionate and caring citizens such as yourself.

If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.

Don Frantz
Cary Town Council District B
919-612-6870
don.frantz@townofcary.org

Now I can respect a difference of opinion. I do not respect anonymous insults.

Ya, I get some hate mail. And sometimes so do others. :-)

Week in Review 4/6/09 - 4/12/09

Due to spring break and the Easter Holiday this week was pretty light in regards to council business.

A great deal of my time this week was spent working the phone and email in an attempt to raise private contributions for the Town of Cary’s Climate for Student Success education forum this coming May. A number of folks have committed to help – I thank them dearly.

The Walker Street Extension Project Artist selection panel met again this week to interview our three finalists before making our final selection – which we did. All three artists are very talented and each brought a different perspective in regards to community engagement. After a healthy discussion the panel selected Vicki Scuri to serve as the artist on this project.

On a related note, while funding has been appropriated for the design of the Walker Street extension, construction funding has not been allocated, and in all honesty given the current state of the economy and budget constraints it may be 3-5 years before this project receives funding.

I continue to receive a number of emails pertaining to instant run-off voting (IRV). The majority of which oppose Cary utilizing IRV. While I expected this topic to receive a great deal of debate, the fervor of folks on both sides of the issue has been very surprising to say the least, and the amount of input from special interest groups has been very concerning to me.

The group that concerns me the most is Fairvote. The name of the organization alone throws up red flags – Fairvote. What’s not fair about voting? Every citizen who is registered to vote gets to do just that – vote. If there happens to be a run-off election they get to come back and vote again. What’s not “fair”?

From Fairvote’s website: There is no affirmative protection of the right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. Certain states have implemented restrictive election practices regarding voter registration, identification requirements and the voting status of people with felony convictions. This leads to an election system under which the status of a person's right to vote, even in federal elections, depends on nothing more than the state in which that person lives.

In other words Fairvote supports “automatic” voter registration, and believes that people with no identification and convicted felons should be allowed to vote.

Also from Fairvote’s website: The Municipal Right to Vote Intiative is an innovative approach that local governments can take to support the goal of an equal right to vote for local, state and federal elections. At the local level, governments may be able to allow non-citizens or people with felony convictions to vote for school board or city council.

Allow non-citizens the right to vote??? Are you %#$*& kidding me???? Now how is any of this “fair” to you or me? How is this “fair” to legal citizens? How is this “fair” to those who care enough to register to vote and participate in a transparent and verifiable process? All Fairvote’s initiatives do is empower rabid campaign supporters the ability to grab any Tom, Dick, or Harry off the street and into a voting booth, or the ability to vote multiple times under different names. None of these initiatives will actually increase voter turnout – they will however increase the number of votes cast.

Oh, and for what it's worth they also support eliminating the electoral college - effectively giving California and New York the power to choose this nation's President. Nice.

Support integrity in elections. Support requiring verifiable voter registration. Support identification requirements. And for gosh sakes do not support allowing non-citizens the right to vote.

Well that’s it for this week in review. Thanks for reading and HAPPY EASTER!