Remember why we celebrate Memorial Day

As we celebrate Memorial Day I want to share a poem written by Mary Castaldi. It is a tribute to her father who was killed in Korea when she was six years old.

Over 1 million brave men and women have died fighting for freedom, liberty, and democracy since 1775. Over 400,000 were killed in WWII alone. Many were husbands, wives, sons and daughters who never returned to their families. We are forever in their debt. Freedom isn't free.

World War II called out to him
And that was all it took
But he was there when I was born
I saw my baby book.

When I was six he left again
He looked into my eyes
"I'll be back with hula skirts"
And then he said good-bye.

His uniform was crisp and green
He held me in his arms
I knew he wasn't coming back
No Dad, no skirts, no charms.

And though I was a little girl
I cried upon his shoulder
I knew deep down this was good bye
He wasn't getting older.

I felt so old, so wise that day
I still can feel the shame.
The family gathered round and played
I thought they were insane.

Twas Christmas day and he was gone
Korea was the name
Two months later MIA
No words can share the pain.

Fifty years have come and gone
Since we received the letter
He never came back home to us
It never does get better.

I need to tell the story
Because old men forget.
It's not just soldiers that we lose
their families are bereft

They hold a family update
To pacify our hurt
And then they send more babies
Out to die on foreign dirt.

It's not that I'm a pacifist
I'm not against all war
But I'm for talk and talk and talk
And then you talk some more.

The wars may be inevitable
And we will be prepared
But war should be the last resort
So little girls are spared.

What an Honor!

Don Frantz named 2010 NFIB NC Small Business Champion

Week in Review 5/9/10 - 5/14/10

Monday was our monthly Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board (PRCR) meeting. I serve as the council liaison to PRCR. The highlight – or maybe lowlight is a better word? – was a brief retirement reception for Cary’s outgoing PRCR Director Mary Henderson. Mary’s passion and dedication to making Cary a better place to live, work and especially play will be sorely missed.

On Thursday I attended the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Awards Luncheon at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary. Council members Jack Smith, Jennifer Robinson and Julie Robison were also in attendance. A good time was had by everyone – especially the folks at S&A Cherokee, the 2010 Cary Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award Winner! Other businesses and community partners receiving awards were:

· Carolina Auto Spa: Award for Innovation
· Avcon Inc.: Community Service Award
· Tri-Clean Inc: Employer of the Year
· Green Hope High School: Entrepreneurial Award in Education
· Triangle Aquatics Center: Charitable Partners Award

Congratulations to all the award winners and thank you for everything you do for our community!

Afterwards was our council meeting. Two notable topics included whether or not to pursue LEED certification for Cary Fire Station #8 (being built soon) and a shared leave policy for Cary Town employees.

The council voted 4-3 to not support pursuing LEED certification due to the additional $41,000 it would cost Cary taxpayers. The council did however agree to pursue a green-build. In a nutshell, the fire station will be built to LEED standards, but without the certification due to cost. These are trying economic times. To fund this initiative would mean we would have to cut somewhere else and our budget has already been scraped to the bone. Make no mistake, the council takes environmental protection seriously. The definition of environmental protection is just that – protecting our environment. By constructing the fire station to LEED standards that’s exactly what we are doing.

The shared leave policy is a program that allows an employee to donate some of his or her vacation time to another employee if that employee or an immediate family member experiences a catastrophic medical event. For example, if a town employee was diagnosed with cancer, and after using up their own sick leave and vacation time, town employees could donate some of their own vacation time to help the individual meet his or her financial obligations while they recover. Since an employee is donating time that they would otherwise be paid for to another employee, it costs the town nothing. The discussion centered on how much time an employee may ever receive. The council approved the town staff recommendation of 160 hours (4 weeks) and directed staff to investigate the effects of expanding that to 480 hours like that of many other area municipalities.

That’s about it for this week. Thanks for reading!

Week in Review 4/26/10 - 5/2/10

On Monday afternoon Mayor Weinbrecht and I taped the May episode of Cary Matters – the monthly program designed to help keep you informed about and involved in the issues that we, the members of your town council, are working on as your elected representatives ;-) Taping Cary Matters is always a lot of fun and who knows, maybe the Mayor and I will win another award!

Afterwards I attended the Western Wake Republican Club’s monthly meeting at Ragazzi’s near Cary Town Center.

On Tuesday I met with the developers of a potential project in northwest Cary. While they are in the early planning stages, and most of what they are proposing makes sense, I encouraged them to meet with the area residents to better understand whatever concerns they may or may not have. Things tend to work out for the best when all stakeholders have a voice up front in the process.

Afterwards the council held a worksession to discuss stormwater runoff and flooding. The council has worked hard over the last couple of years to strengthen our stormwater runoff and retention ordinances which are now the strongest in the state. While I am confident they will better protect area residents from any runoff associated with future development, unfortunately these ordinances were not in place 5, 10 or 20 years ago. Some of the older areas of town that didn’t used to have any stormwater issues now do.

The majority of council felt that Cary’s current policies (policies 35 and 146 which enable residents to petition the town for assistance) are working well and that we did not need to make any significant adjustments. While I too believe these policies are working well, I believe we can do better.

What council ultimately directed staff to do was:

· Better incorporate flood control measures into future stream restoration projects
· Reevaluate the 50/50 cost share associated with policy 35
· Perform a FEMA Floodplain study and report back to council

(note – it appears that Cary will be receiving a $750,000 federal grant to perform this comprehensive study. When council approved our Federal Legislative Agenda a few months back I had requested we include a request for federal assistance to address stormwater/flooding issues. It appears that request was successful)

On Wednesday I attended the Civitas Poll Luncheon in Raleigh and the Cary Chamber of Commerce Elected Officials Reception at the Matthews House in downtown Cary. Thanks to everyone at the Chamber and the Matthews House for their hospitality. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time…, well, almost everyone ;-)

Our council meeting was Thursday evening. Notable agenda items included five annexations – all voluntary, two comprehensive transportation plan amendments, one comprehensive plan amendment, a rezoning, the award of contract for C-Tran services, and a partridge in a pear tree.

The discussion regarding the C-Tran contract award took much longer than expected as one council member believed this to be a good time to try and reengineer and expand the current program. While that discussion may or may not have merit, that was not what was on our agenda. The town’s contract with our current service provider is expiring and it was council’s responsibility to review the eligible bids received, and award a new contract. That was all. The council selected MV Transportation as our new service provider, replacing First Transit as MV offered increased services at a lower cost than what we are paying now.

After a healthy discussion, the council voted to deny the Weldon Ridge Planned Development District rezoning. The property in question was previously restricted to a school or church use during a previous rezoning and the applicant was requesting a change to allow age restricted (senior) housing. Council members that were on the council when the original rezoning was approved stated that their basis of support for the original rezoning was the reservation of this site for a school – and that had they anticipated this site being developed as residential they never would have supported the original rezoning in the first place.

On Friday morning I spoke to a group of area businessmen and women about the economic climate in Cary and North Carolina and my work during the last 2 ½ years on the council. I also answered a number of questions from those in attendance regarding business and town policies.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the Historic Landmark Plaque Presentation Ceremonies hosted by Capital Area Preservation and the Wake County Historic Preservation Commission at the Guess-Ogle House in downtown Cary. It was truly an honor to be a part of the event’s festivities recognizing four area historic properties, including the old Carpenter Farm Supply Complex located on Morrisville-Carpenter Road in Cary. Thanks to Carroll and Sheila Ogle for opening up their home for this special event.

Before I wrap it up I want to take a minute and say, “Good Luck” to all the candidates running for office who have a primary election this Tuesday. It has been a pleasure to get to know each and every one of you, and while everyone can’t win, you’re all winners in my book. Anyone with a desire to become involved in their government and the guts to stand before the voters will always have my respect. May the best man or woman win!
That’s it for this week. As always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 4/11/10 - 4/17/10

What a busy week!

On Monday I had the honor of participating in Cary’s National 911 Appreciation Week Kickoff. National 911 Appreciation Week (April 11-17) recognizes and honors all telecommunications personnel in the public safety community for their hard work and dedication towards making our communities a safer place. Cary’s 911 calltakers and dispatchers provide a vital link to our public safety personnel in the field so they may respond to emergencies faster and better prepared. I spoke to those in attendance about a personal experience I had with Cary 911 about 7 years ago when I was thankful to have a calm and professional 911 operator on the phone. I caught a burglar breaking into a downtown business and I held him at gunpoint as best I could while Cary PD was in route. Unfortunately he got away (Crackheads run fast let me tell you!) but Cary PD caught up with him two days later. I also presented a proclamation in honor of National 911 Appreciation Week and Cary’s telecommunicators.

Afterwards I met with Town Manager Ben Shivar to discuss a couple of items related to our upcoming council meeting and an issue I have been working on with a downtown business owner. It is so frustrating sometimes when something that should be so simple becomes so complicated.

On Monday evening I attended Cary’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board Meeting. Notable discussion Items included a review and recommendation of approval for Cary’s proposed Historic Preservation Master Plan and a review of Cary’s Biennial Survey results.

On Tuesday I met with two separate business owners to learn more about their plans to open a business in town and provide them with feedback. Both proposals are very exciting and would add significant value to our community. I hope they decide to move forward with their plans and I wish them both the best of luck.

Cary’s Sign Ordinance Review Task Force met on Wednesday evening. Main discussion topics included canopy, wall, awning and window signage. We were supposed to discuss neon signs as well, but time was running out and that one’s sure to generate quite a bit of discussion. ;-)

Thursday stunk. Not only was it tax day - and boy did we get hit hard again this year – but our council meeting was very disappointing to say the least.

The two main discussion items at our council meeting were the consideration of a resolution in support of public campaign financing for municipal elections, and Cary’s state legislative agenda.

I have already blogged about my position regarding public campaign financing here, but it’s worth saying again. I adamantly oppose public campaign financing of municipal elections for the following reasons:

· Loss of Freedom: A citizen’s tax dollars would be used to fund a candidate’s campaign that citizen might not otherwise support.

· Public campaign finance does not help candidates spend more time campaigning and less time fundraising as advocates claim. We see this with Judicial candidates who utilize a similar version of public financing (the majority of which comes from attorneys btw). They spend all their time traveling the state trying to collect enough contributions to meet the program’s requirements and deadlines.

· It would not prevent outside interest groups from spending money on the candidate(s) of their choice. They just could not give directly to the candidate.

· We have much more important items to spend tax dollars on.

· Candidates might not use public funds as responsibly as those which were given directly to them by a known supporter.

· The argument that an average citizen can’t beat money is a crock. The following municipal election results prove this.

In 2007, Harold Weinbrecht spent roughly $60,000 in his bid for Mayor. Incumbent Mayor Ernie McAlister spent nearly $200,000. Weinbrecht won.

In 2007, Durham Mayor Bill Bell spent $52,000 in his bid for reelection. Challenger Thomas Stith spent nearly $200,000. Bell won.

In 2007, Cary Councilman Nels Roseland spent nearly $38,000 in his bid for reelection. Challenger Vickie Maxwell spent roughly $12,000. I spent $8,000. I won.

In 2007 Cary Councilwoman Gale Adcock was outspent in her bid for a seat on the council. She won.

After discussion and debate the motion to approve the resolution passed 4-2. One councilmember in particular surprised me by supporting the resolution once language was changed to imply – but not guarantee – that a referendum (public vote) would be held to gauge citizen support before council approved such a program. State law however would only require that Cary hold a public hearing. Assuming the state grants Cary the authority to use public campaign financing this year, the earliest Cary could hold a referendum (without a special election) would be in 2011. Four council members are up for reelection in 2011. Three of the four supported the resolution endorsing public campaign financing and just might want the program in place before their election. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

Approval of Cary’s state legislative agenda – specifically whether or not to support the North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM) position on involuntary annexation - also proved to be contentious debate. I oppose the League’s position on annexation because:

· The NCLM does not support providing the affected residents a vote in the process.

· They do not support requiring that the annexing municipality covers the cost of water and sewer hook-ups (this can cost individual property owners upwards of $20,000)

· They do not support requiring county commissioner approval (County Commissioners are an unincorporated resident’s only locally elected official)

· And the NCLM does not adequately define “meaningful services”.

What was really disappointing to me however was that during our legislative committee meetings the committee agreed to compromise in order to get an agenda we could unanimously support. I agreed to state that we would support a municipality’s authority to annex (vague statement I know), and they agreed to not support the league’s opposition to referendum. Yet once the issue came to the council table, that all changed. The Council ultimately supported the NCLM’s position on annexation by a vote of 5-1. I was the 1. It is absolutely stunning to me that we can support policy that significantly impacts people’s lives and financial situation without even allowing them a voice in the process.

On Friday I had the honor of attending a reception honoring Cary’s Animal Control Officers in celebration of Animal Control Officer Week. Long-gone is the stereo-type of the dog catcher who did little more than round up loose dogs and put them in his truck. The reality is that Animal Control Officers save the lives of dogs and cats - and make their communities a safer place for people and animals every day.

According to National Animal Control Association, Animal Control Officers face more one-on-one contact with the public than any other public safety employee. They risk their safety and health on a daily basis dealing with aggressive and dangerous animals. Additionally, they are exposed to multiple zoonotic diseases through contact with infected animals. It was an honor to attend and show my appreciation for all their hard work and dedication.


Well that’s about it for this week in review. I hope that what I’ve shared has been of value to you and as always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 3/29/10 - 4/4/10

Cary’s State Legislative Agenda Committee met again this week to finalize our agenda and discuss a few outstanding issues that we had requested more information about from our staff. Most of the discussion however focused on whether or not Cary should support a number of items agreed upon by all Wake County cities and towns, and the North Carolina League of Municipalities’ (NCLM) legislative agendas. My concern pertained to NCLM’s position on annexation, which other municipalities were endorsing as well.

I cannot support the NCLM’s position on annexation for the following reasons:

· The League does not believe affected residents deserve a vote in the process.
· The League believes annexed residents should bear the cost of water and sewer hook-ups instead of the annexing municipality.
· The League does not support legislation that requires county commissioners also approve the annexation (county commissioners are the only unincorporated resident’s locally elected officials) *NOTE – if unincorporated residents were allowed a vote in the process this probably would not be necessary.
· The League has yet to define what they believe to be “meaningful services”.

After hearing my reasons for opposing the League’s position on annexation, the committee agreed to not include support the NCLM’s position on annexation on Cary’s State’s Legislative Agenda.

I do value much of the support that the NCLM offers to cities and towns throughout North Carolina, but we must always keep in mind the League’s primary goal is to assist municipalities – not those citizens residing in the unincorporated areas. Those folks have rights too.

I had the pleasure of attending the Friends of the NRA Banquet in Raleigh this past Wednesday. I saw a number of old friends and even made some new ones – which is pretty easy to do when everyone in the room shares the same values of liberty and freedom. This was a lot of fun and everyone had a great time.

I also attend the North Carolina Heroes Fund Breakfast at the VFW this past week. U.S. Senator Richard Burr and State Senators Neal Hunt and Richard Stevens were also in attendance.

The North Carolina Heroes’ Fund was created in 2007 with the mission of aiding North Carolina servicemen and women, or those serving at one of North Carolina’s many military installations. The vision of the Fund began with its founder, Scott Stone, and his drive to help those that are defending our freedom. It was devastatingly clear to Stone that many of our men and women were returning from active duty and facing very difficult transitions as well as financial hardships.

The support is primarily centered on hardships in which these men and women, or their families, may be enduring as a direct result to their service overseas. In addition to financial hardship assistance the Fund has established an educational grant process to assist the dependents of our military men and women with the cost of continued education. For more information about the NC Heroes Fund please visit http://www.ncheroes.org/ .

Other events I attended this past week included the Republican Women of Cary and Southwest Wake’s monthly meeting and the Civitas Poll Luncheon in Raleigh.

I took a break from work and our campaign this weekend to celebrate Easter with family and friends. Good times! I hope your Easter Holiday was as joyful as ours!

Well that’s about it for this week – Thanks for reading!

Week in Review 3/21/10 - 3/28/10

On Tuesday afternoon I had two meetings: Cary’s State Legislative Committee meeting and our Town Council Meeting.

Cary’s State Legislative Committee members this year are Mayor Weinbrecht, Council Member Adcock and myself. We reviewed a number of topics but most of the discussion centered around two items in particular; public financing of municipal elections and annexation.

The committee discussed whether or not Cary should add support of HB120 – which is currently still in committee - to our legislative agenda. This legislation would grant municipalities with a population of 50,000 residents or greater the authority to use public financing (taxpayer funded) for municipal elections. Just so we are clear, if HB120 were to become law it does not mean that Cary would automatically begin utilizing public campaign financing. Cary would still have to hold a public hearing and then decide for ourselves if this is right for us.

I adamantly oppose public financing of municipal elections for the following reasons:

· A citizen’s tax dollars could be used to fund a candidate’s campaign that citizen would not otherwise support.
· It would not prevent outside interest groups from continuing to spend money on the candidate(s) of their choice. They just could not give directly to the candidate.
· We might not get a true read on citizen support at the public hearing (all committee members acknowledged this at our meeting). We witnessed this during the IRV debate. Only elections advocates such as the League of Women Voters or Fairvote came to speak.
· We have much more important items to spend tax dollars on.
· Money doesn’t buy you love. The following municipal elections results prove this.

In 2007, Harold Weinbrecht spent roughly $60,000 in his bid for Mayor. The incumbent Mayor Ernie McAlister spent nearly $200,000. McAlister lost.

In 2007, Durham Mayor Bill Bell spent $52,000 in his bid for reelection. Challenger Thomas Stith spent nearly $200,000. Stith lost.

In 2007, Cary Councilman Nels Roseland spent nearly $38,000 in his bid for reelection. Challenger Vickie Maxwell spent roughly $12,000. I spent $8,000. I won.

The committee agreed to not place this item on our legislative agenda.

The committee also discussed whether or not to support the North Carolina League of Municipalities Legislative Agenda and Wake County’s Joint Legislative Agenda. I opposed both of these given the League’s position on annexation, and that Wake County’s Joint Legislative Agenda also includes support of the League’s agenda. I believe we need comprehensive annexation reform in North Carolina. You can read more about my position on annexation here.

The committee also unanimously recommended including the request to exclude municipal email listserv databases from being classified as public information. This would hopefully prevent folks from requesting the town’s email list of thousands of citizens for the sole purpose of spamming them. To be clear, we are only requesting that the email addresses themselves not be classified as public information – not actual emails or other public information.

After our Legislative Committee Meeting was our Council Meeting. Notable discussion items included:

· The approval of a special use permit, annexation, and site plan for a church to be constructed at 910 Twyla Road
· Designation of the Old Carpenter Farm Supply Store on Morrisville-Carpenter Road as a Historic Landmark
· Consideration of Cary’s first Historic Preservation Master Plan. Council forwarded this to our Planning and Zoning Board for review.
· Approval of a request by Mayor Weinbrecht and myself to amend Policy 123 regarding guidelines for Cary’s Government Access Channel. You can read more about this issue here. Council decided to create a blackout period that prevents council members from appearing on Town of Cary programming such as the CaryMatters TV show or BudTV 90 days before their general election.

I met with a citizen on Wednesday to discuss his interest in becoming more involved in government; possibly to include a run for office one day. I spoke about the responsibilities of a council member, the time commitment and rigors of running a campaign. I encourage everyone to become more involved in their government and will gladly speak with anyone interested in doing so.

On Thursday I had the privilege of speaking with two 3rd grade civics classes at Saint Michael the Archangel School about local government. The students were very bright and asked a number of great questions. This was a lot of fun and I hope they invite me back.

Thursday evening I attended the “What’s Up Downtown” event at Havana Grill on Chatham Street in downtown Cary. It was great to see so many downtown friends and Heart of Cary Association members. I didn’t have very far to travel either as Havana Grill is right next door to Frantz Automotive. ;-)

On Saturday I had the honor of officially kicking off the Miracle League of the Triangle’s spring baseball season by throwing out the first pitch. The Miracle League provides children with special needs, regardless of their disability the opportunity to play baseball. The Miracle League was started by Robin Rose and Tony Withers, who after seeing an HBO special about a similar program in Georgia, believed the same could be done here in the triangle. A board of directors was soon formed and over $750,000 was raised to cover the costs of field construction and programming. Kenny Moore, owner of Andy’s Restaurants donated $250,000 towards the program. The field is named Andy’s Field in his honor.

The Miracle League has come a long way from the first game held in the Adams Elementary School parking lot with 40 kids. Today the program serves 258 kids and fields 20 teams. They will soon be looking to add a second field to further provide for the special needs children in our region.

The Miracle League is always looking for volunteers and sponsors. Please consider helping out by volunteering your time or donating today.

Well that’s about it for this week in review. As always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 3/8/10 - 3/14/10

My week began with a meeting with Town Manager Ben Shivar. We discussed a number of topics including transportation and rail, a signage issue we are trying to work through in the Silverton community, and Cary’s upcoming budget.

Afterwards I visited with a successful business owner in the Raleigh area and was given a tour of their North Carolina manufacturing facility – very impressive. We also discussed the need for increased vocational education and training for service and manufacturing jobs in North Carolina.

A highly skilled and educated workforce is critical to our state and nation’s economic future. Preparing our children to compete in a global economy must include investments in vocational education for those children who do not want to go to college. We must educate not only the next Fortune 500 CEO or pharmacist but also the next electrician, service technician, and nurse. Providing increased opportunities for students to learn a skill or trade not only increases their chances of success once they leave the public school system, it will also significantly reduce North Carolina’s abysmal high school drop-out rate.

Our council meeting was this Wednesday evening. Notable discussion topics included a request to amend policy 157 pertaining to the Citizen Issue Review Commission (CIRC) and a request from Council Members Robinson and Portman to direct staff to prepare a staff report outlining the I-540 impacts on Cameron Pond so that Council may determine the best manner in which to address these concerns. The request regarding Cameron Pond was a no-brainer and passed unanimously. Thanks to council members Robinson and Portman for their work on this.

While I supported the requested amendment to Policy 157, I still have concerns regarding the CIRC process in general. The proposed amendment reads as follows:

Amend Policy 157 pertaining to the citizen issue review commission (CIRC) as follows: (1) All applications will be initially reviewed by CIRC staff liaison to ensure eligibility by meeting the criteria set forward in Policy 157 and then all applications will be forwarded to CIRC with a recommendation. (This replaces current policy which engages Town Manager). (2) CIRC can do one of the following: deny application; or forward application to council with recommendation to form an issue advisory group; or recommend applicants present to other board/or refer town department; or recommend applicants send a written report to council; or table application in order to request more information or to continue assessment of application.

I supported creating CIRC over a year ago because I believed it could better help citizens bring issues of concern to council. I fear I was wrong.

While well intentioned, I believe the CIRC process has created another level of government bureaucracy that lengthens the time it takes to get an issue to council for discussion, increases costs and possibly gives folks false hopes.

We already have a great system in place to determine whether or not an issue warrants forming a task force or issue advisory board. It simply takes the support of two council members (a sponsor and co-sponsor) to bring any issue to the council table for discussion and vote. While not every idea is adopted, every request receives a fair hearing and an up or down vote.

Two examples are the Animal Issues Task Force and the Sign Ordinance Review Task Force – two advisory groups created by council to assist us on two important issues. They didn’t require months of process or have to go through a staff liaison or our town manager and then to a committee before coming to council to be sanctioned.

With the CIRC process we essentially have a committee to study whether or not to form a committee. Why would a citizen or group of citizens want to go through the CIRC process when all they really need to do is earn the support of two council members and their request is on our next agenda for discussion and decision?

We'll see how it goes after these most recent changes.

Council received the unfortunate news this week that Mary Henderson, Cary’s Parks and Recreation and Cultural Resources Director will be retiring effective June 1st. Mary has worked for the town for over 27 years and has given so much of herself to help make Cary one of the best places to live in the country. She will be sorely missed and I wish her all the best in her retirement.

Well that’s about it for this week in review – as always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 3/1/10 - 3/6/10

What an incredibly busy but productive week!

The week began with our monthly Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board meeting. The board received a number of reports from sub-committee members as well as an update from Joy Ennis and Sal Cammarata regarding the Town of Cary’s Volunteer Banquet, awards presentation and silent auction fundraiser. Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard to make this event such a huge success!

I had the honor and privilege of reading to students at Kingswood Elementary School on Tuesday for Read Across America. The book I chose to read was one of my all time favorites – Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The kids were a lot of fun and I can’t thank the staff and teachers at Kingswood enough for all their hospitality.

Cary’s Sign Ordinance Review Task Force met again on Wednesday evening. Main discussion and decision items included monument sign height and required materials, the allowable number of pieces of information that sign may have, text colors, and directory signage. Not all the task force’s decisions were unanimous, which just goes to show how diverse a group the council assembled to perform this important review. I am very pleased with the task force’s work thus far and I believe that what will ultimately be brought to council will be a good reflection of our community’s values. I can’t thank the task force members enough for taking so much time out of their busy schedules to assist us in this endeavor.

Thursday evening I was the guest speaker at the Cary-Kildaire Rotary Club’s meeting. I spoke to the club about ongoing and future downtown projects including the renovations to old Cary Elementary School, the streetscape project (on hold), the recently approved way-finding signage concept and the proposed high speed rail project.

On Friday and Saturday I attended the 2010 Annexation Law and Reform Conference held at the Hampton Inn at Brier Creek. Notable guest speakers included Daren Bakst from the John Locke Foundation, Kathy Hartkopf of FreedomWorks, Tryon NC. Town Council Member Doug Arbogast, Rowan County Commissioner Tina Hall and NC Property Rights Coalition founder Kieran Shanahan.

This was an incredibly informative conference and all speakers did a great job of articulating the issues with the current annexation and eminent domain laws in North Carolina.

The conference concluded with a panel of state legislators who included Representatives David Guice and Bill Faison and State Senators Phil Berger and Larry Shaw – 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans; who all support annexation and eminent domain reform in North Carolina.

It is sad that there is obvious bipartisan support for reform, yet no real reform laws have been passed. It just goes to show how broken our government is when a few powerful people control which legislation comes to the floor for debate and a vote.

Real annexation reform should include the following:


Prohibits municipalities from annexing an area unless that area is in clear need of water and sewer service, police and fire services, and the municipality can adequately provide those services.


County Commission approval of forced annexations.


A simple majority vote of the property owners being annexed.


The annexing municipality – NOT the forcibly annexed citizens - will be financially responsible for water and sewer infrastructure.

Well, those are the highlights from this past week. I’m sorry I didn’t post a week in review last week but given my extra busy schedule these days I hadn’t seen the family much lately and I wanted to spend time with them. I can’t thank Lisa and the kids enough for all their support – I am one lucky man.

Editorial Regarding the Proposed High Speed Rail

I have submitted the following to The Cary News:

The Triangle Transit Authority’s plans for regional and light rail, along with increased bus service have merit, and further planning for additional transit options now so that our region is well positioned to handle the expected growth over the 10-20 years makes sense.

Increased rail service in Cary will also help to spur reinvestment and redevelopment in Cary’s downtown, and in other areas along the rail corridor.

NCDOT Rail’s current plans for high speed rail however, could have just the opposite effect.

During a council worksession, NCDOT Rail Director Patrick Simmons stated that the primary goals of high speed rail is “to move people”, and “public safety”

Public safety to NCDOT Rail means eliminating at-grade rail crossings and the train/car conflict. NCDOT Rail has already recommended eliminating 156 at-grade crossings between Raleigh and Richmond. That means 156 roads that may now dead end where they meet Railroad tracks – unless of course the local municipality invests millions in above or below grade crossings.

Think about how many at-grade rail crossings currently exist in Cary, and how much it would cost Cary taxpayers to grade separate (bridge or tunnel) each one of them. Are you willing to bear a substantial tax increase so that a few hundred people can now get to Charlotte an hour faster than Amtrak’s current service?

Would closing crossings at Maynard Road, Academy Street, Harrison Ave, Cary Parkway and other roads throughout Cary be acceptable to you?

What sense does it make to improve an existing transportation system that negatively impacts another? Why invest so much money in a system that only 3% of the population will ever utilize? And who will want to invest in Cary’s downtown if the majority of road access is eliminated?

The congestion on our roads and highways is not because everyone is trying to get to Richmond or Charlotte. The overwhelming majority is caused by folks traveling to and from work each day, to school, and running errands.

TTA’s plans of regional and light rail, and especially increased bus service to major employment and activity centers might help in this regard. NCDOT Rail’s plans will not.

You may see the majority of council support NCDOT Rail’s plans for high speed rail once we are assured that their plans will not negatively impact our community, our road network, and our taxpayers. Unfortunately that hasn’t happened yet.

In the meantime you can be assured that we will do everything in our power to ensure that Cary’s interests are represented to NCDOT. It might help if they heard from you as well. You can contact them at http://www.bytrain.org/redbarinfo/feedback/

Week in Review 2/15/10 - 2/20/10

I want to start by thanking all of you who have taken the time to contact me to express your appreciation of my efforts to better communicate with citizens through this blog. It means a lot to me.

I realize that some of you may not always agree with every decision I make, but I have committed to keeping each and every one of you informed about why I voted a certain way, or why I supported a particular initiative. I do work for you after all.

I was sent to town hall to do a job – not to be everyone’s best friend. Heck, that’s government’s biggest problem today. The more government tries to be everything to everyone, the more it becomes nothing to no one and we can’t afford it any longer. But I digress.

Anyways, thanks again – Now on with my week in review.

The Town of Cary’s Sign Ordinance Review Task Force met again on Tuesday evening. Discussion items included potential changes regarding ground signs, monument signs, and directory signage, as well as allowable colors. While at times it seems we are going around in circles, I do believe we are making progress towards Cary becoming a little more business friendly while continuing to protect the visual landscape of our town. One of the challenges we face is Cary’s strict buffer and streetscape ordinances – which no one wants to tamper with. But requiring so much screening of development makes it very difficult for potential customers to see what businesses are in a particular development – often resulting in businesses going out of business due to lack of exposure. One example is Waverly Place (yes I realize Waverly also has topography issues). Unless you regularly patronize a particular business inside Waverly, you have no idea what other businesses are in there.

Cary’s Planning and Development Committee met this past Thursday. We had three consent agenda items and only one discussion item on our agenda. There just isn’t any development occurring in town right now to speak of. While it makes for a rather quick meeting, it doesn’t make for a sound financial situation. Just as business needs to grow to remain financially healthy, so does the town – or any municipality for that matter. A growth rate of around 3-4% provides new revenues to the town to fund new capital projects while at the same time allowing infrastructure to keep pace with development.

Our one discussion item was the re-adoption of Cary’s existing resolution of consideration of annexation. Cary has a comprehensive annexation program and state law requires it be readopted every two years. This program identifies land or properties that may be considered for future annexation. Re-adopting this resolution does not mean that Cary intends to annex these properties any time in the near future, but it does make it a lot easier for Cary to annex when and if the council decides to do so.

I oppose involuntary annexation and believe that affected property owners deserve a voice and a vote in the process. Given the ongoing debate in the General Assembly I also believe that Cary should wait and see what changes the state implements before moving forward with any annexation plans. The committee recommended sending this item to our next council meeting for discussion as we were divided on whether or not to approve it, and because this is a political issue that deserves council discussion. I intend to vote against this resolution.

Friday morning was a lot of fun. I spoke to 5th graders at Davis Drive Elementary School regarding the importance of reading. I spoke both from my experiences as a business owner and as a member of the council. The students were a lot of fun and asked a number of great questions.

Afterwards I attended a follow up meeting with town staff and Councilwoman Julie Robison regarding an issue we have been working on in the Silverton Community. Staff will be following up with us in the near future with potential options.

On Saturday I had the honor and privilege of representing the Mayor and Council at the 12th annual African American Celebration held at the Herb Young Community Center. I spoke to those in attendance about the importance of diversity, encouraging youths to become involved in their community, and that while we have made great progress towards eradicating racism in America; we still have a lot of work to do. I also presented a proclamation recognizing February and National African American History Month.

Well those are the past week’s highlights – as always, thanks for reading!

Week in Review 2/6/10 - 2/13/10

On Tuesday council held a worksession to hear from a number of presenters regarding the proposed high speed rail, light rail, and regional rail projects. Speakers included Mr. Pat Simmons from NCDOT Rail, Mr. David King from TTA, Mr. Joe Durham and Mr. Tim Maloney from Wake County, and Mr. Ed Johnson from CAMPO. All presenters spoke to the current status and long term goals for these projects.

Council requested this worksession since Cary had received little to no information regarding these initiatives – and given these projects will directly impact Cary, we want to know what is going on – and who is planning what for our town. Sounds fair enough right?

What we learned is simply unbelievable. While the light rail and regional rail projects have merit, and we should be planning for these initiatives now so that in 20-30 years when they really would be an asset to our region we are prepared, the high speed rail project is absolutely absurd.

$5 Billion Boondoggle. The high speed rail project will cost taxpayers $5+ billion. So what do you get for $5 Billion? You’ll get to Charlotte 30 minutes faster than Amtrak currently does. That’s worth $5 billion right? Now I’m not sure what data NCDOT Rail is looking at, but the folks trying to get to Charlotte or Richmond aren’t the ones clogging up our roadways. It’s the folks who are trying to get to work and back each day.

What is terrifying is that NCDOT Rail’s goals are to ELIMINATE every at-grade crossing from Raleigh to Charlotte, and Raleigh to Richmond. Yet they will most likely not be the one’s paying to construct above or below grade crossings. Guess who will have to pay to grade separate should we desire to keep crossings open in Cary? Cary citizens, that’s who. NCDOT Rail has already submitted their recommendations regarding the route from Richmond to Raleigh. Care to guess how many crossings they recommend being closed? 156. That’s 156 roads that will now most likely dead end where they meet a RR crossing.

Mr. Simmons stated their goals are to move people and public safety. Now I can understand their concerns regarding public safety, but how in the heck does this project “move people” when they have shut down every at-grade crossing? How will you be able to drive through Cary – or any other municipality for that matter – when NCDOT Rail has essentially eliminated your ability to cross over RR tracks?

This dark cloud might have a silver lining however. The feds have currently allocated NCDOT Rail $545 Million – they still require another $4.5 Billion to complete the project. Given the current makeup in Washington and their lust to spend, spend, spend they might have a shot at getting it. However, after this fall’s elections I am not so sure that will be the case. For all our sake let’s hope not. In the meantime you can be assured that we will do everything in our power to represent Cary’s interests.

Wednesday morning I attended the North Carolina Community Foundation Breakfast at the Mathews House in Downtown Cary. The guest speaker was James W. Narron, Chairman of the Board of the North Carolina Community Foundation. He gave a great speech on how to better encourage folks to become more involved in their community by giving back through charitable contributions.

Our council meeting was Thursday evening. Notable topics included a potential partnership between SAS and the town regarding the Veteran’s Freedom Park, a comprehensive transportation plan amendment, and our federal legislative agenda.

Council directed staff to work with SAS and prepare a report to come back to council for discussion regarding SAS’s offer to donate the Veteran’s Freedom Park property to the town and their desire to construct a monument in the park honoring our veterans. While the specifics of what may be required of the town aren’t available yet, for us not to consider such a partnership would be criminal. I’ll report more on this item once I know more.

I pulled our federal legislative agenda off our consent agenda for discussion to propose the addition of a request to seek federal assistance regarding stormwater/flood damage protection. Stormwater and flooding problems are a big concern for a number of Cary citizens and I believe any assistance we can obtain from Washington to help assist us in this regard might better help us provide some relief to folks in town. Council unanimously approved my request.

On Friday I attended a meeting with Councilwoman Julie Robison and representatives of Silverton to discuss a signage issue they have been trying to work through with our staff. We will follow up with our town’s Planning Director to discuss further.

Well that’s this past week’s highlights. As always, thanks for reading!