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!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
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/
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/
Monday, February 22, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
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!
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!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Week in Review 1/25/10 - 1/30/10
I hope everyone had a great time playing in the snow and stayed warm and safe! The kids had a blast and we now have a miniature snow family in our freezer. ;-)
I attended Cary’s Planning and Zoning Board meeting on Monday evening so I could hear the board’s thoughts on two items of interest. The first was a public hearing on the proposed Silverton/Singh development at the corner of Cary Parkway and Evans Road. Much progress had been made in regards to satisfying neighborhood concerns, but unfortunately one in particular we recently learned is in conflict with our town’s Land Development Ordinance; specifically the proposed turning restrictions out of the development onto Winfair Drive. This is very disappointing to me as I believed this concession went a long ways towards reducing the amount of traffic on Winfair. The elimination of the proposed turning restrictions also further impacts a property owner at the corner of Winfair and Cary Parkway. The applicant requested this item be tabled so they could have more time to try and address these concerns.
The second item of discussion was proposed amendments to our LDO regarding signage. After a healthy debate the board recommended that the majority of the proposed amendments be addressed by the Sign Ordinance Review Task Force which is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of our ordinance. The board did however recommend for approval to increase the number of open houses a homeowner could advertise with signage from two to five. Currently Cary only allows homeowners the ability to advertise 2 open houses with signage. Yet given the current economic climate many homeowners are having a difficult time selling their homes and may need to host 3, 4, 5 or more open houses. The proposed amendment was recommended to have a two year sunset clause (will revert back to the current ordinance in two years) in the hopes that the economy will improve by then. Given how well the feds have done thus far however, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Tuesday evening council held a worksession to discuss Cary’s Public Art Master Plan and hear from the town’s consultant and staff. Needless to say I was not surprised to hear that they were further recommending ways in which to implement public art into town constructed facilities. What was shocking however was that they were also recommending we create an ordinance or policy that requires a certain percentage of the cost construction be allocated to public art – 1% was their recommendation. What this means to Cary taxpayers is that if Cary were to build a $10 million community center for example, $100,000 must be allocated to public art. Sound familiar? What about made me fall out of my chair was that they stated this would NOT increase the cost of construction…seriously! When I asked how that was possible the consultant stated we could reduce construction costs by using cheaper doorknobs. I am not kidding! While council did agree to perform a comprehensive review of the town’s Public Art Master Plan – as it has been ten years since the plan was created and it’s probably time to review it – I will NOT support any plan that requires a percentage of construction be spent on public art. And honestly I don’t believe our current plan is broken so I’m not sure why we’re trying to fix it.
On Wednesday morning I attended the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s Eye Opener Breakfast to hear Mayor Weinbrecht’s State of the Town Address. Mayor Weinbrecht did a great job with his speech and it was wonderful to see so many friends and business colleagues.
On Thursday afternoon I had the honor and privilege of attending the Lady Daze Grant Awards presentation at the Page Walker Hotel. Monies generated from Cary’s annual Lazy Daze festival are given back to the community in the form of grants to local non-profits. $31,000 was presented to 28 area non-profit organizations.
Afterwards I high-tailed it to council chambers for our council meeting. Notable topics included LDO Amendments pertaining to adult businesses and home day cares, and a rezoning of the Russell Hills neighborhood in downtown. While I believe most everyone would agree we would rather not have any adult businesses in town, the reality is we cannot legally prohibit them from locating “somewhere” in town. The proposed ordinance amendment would require they not be sited within 1000 feet of a school, not be sited within 2000 feet of another adult business, and be allowed in the office, research, and development district in the airport overlay. Council directed staff to pursue making adult business a special use in the airport overlay and bring back information to council at our next meeting. Since our meeting I have heard from a citizen asking why 1000 feet from a school, yet 2000 feet from another adult business? – shouldn’t it be the other way around or 2000 feet for both? I can’t argue with that logic and I have asked our legal department to address.
In regards to home daycare uses I believe the ordinance amendment passed is a good compromise that protects both the rights of home day care operators and residents of residential neighborhoods. The amendment also only pertains to new home day cares – existing day cares would be grandfathered in.
On Friday I had the pleasure of speaking to 5th graders at Weatherstone Elementary about government, and my role as a member of the council. This was a lot of fun. Kids are so honest and have no idea what political correctness is. ;-) Some of the more interesting questions I was asked were, “What is the difference between a Republican and a Democrat?” “Have I ever met President Obama?”, and “Why doesn’t Cary have its own school system?”
That's the highlights from this week - as always, thanks for reading!
I attended Cary’s Planning and Zoning Board meeting on Monday evening so I could hear the board’s thoughts on two items of interest. The first was a public hearing on the proposed Silverton/Singh development at the corner of Cary Parkway and Evans Road. Much progress had been made in regards to satisfying neighborhood concerns, but unfortunately one in particular we recently learned is in conflict with our town’s Land Development Ordinance; specifically the proposed turning restrictions out of the development onto Winfair Drive. This is very disappointing to me as I believed this concession went a long ways towards reducing the amount of traffic on Winfair. The elimination of the proposed turning restrictions also further impacts a property owner at the corner of Winfair and Cary Parkway. The applicant requested this item be tabled so they could have more time to try and address these concerns.
The second item of discussion was proposed amendments to our LDO regarding signage. After a healthy debate the board recommended that the majority of the proposed amendments be addressed by the Sign Ordinance Review Task Force which is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of our ordinance. The board did however recommend for approval to increase the number of open houses a homeowner could advertise with signage from two to five. Currently Cary only allows homeowners the ability to advertise 2 open houses with signage. Yet given the current economic climate many homeowners are having a difficult time selling their homes and may need to host 3, 4, 5 or more open houses. The proposed amendment was recommended to have a two year sunset clause (will revert back to the current ordinance in two years) in the hopes that the economy will improve by then. Given how well the feds have done thus far however, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
Tuesday evening council held a worksession to discuss Cary’s Public Art Master Plan and hear from the town’s consultant and staff. Needless to say I was not surprised to hear that they were further recommending ways in which to implement public art into town constructed facilities. What was shocking however was that they were also recommending we create an ordinance or policy that requires a certain percentage of the cost construction be allocated to public art – 1% was their recommendation. What this means to Cary taxpayers is that if Cary were to build a $10 million community center for example, $100,000 must be allocated to public art. Sound familiar? What about made me fall out of my chair was that they stated this would NOT increase the cost of construction…seriously! When I asked how that was possible the consultant stated we could reduce construction costs by using cheaper doorknobs. I am not kidding! While council did agree to perform a comprehensive review of the town’s Public Art Master Plan – as it has been ten years since the plan was created and it’s probably time to review it – I will NOT support any plan that requires a percentage of construction be spent on public art. And honestly I don’t believe our current plan is broken so I’m not sure why we’re trying to fix it.
On Wednesday morning I attended the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s Eye Opener Breakfast to hear Mayor Weinbrecht’s State of the Town Address. Mayor Weinbrecht did a great job with his speech and it was wonderful to see so many friends and business colleagues.
On Thursday afternoon I had the honor and privilege of attending the Lady Daze Grant Awards presentation at the Page Walker Hotel. Monies generated from Cary’s annual Lazy Daze festival are given back to the community in the form of grants to local non-profits. $31,000 was presented to 28 area non-profit organizations.
Afterwards I high-tailed it to council chambers for our council meeting. Notable topics included LDO Amendments pertaining to adult businesses and home day cares, and a rezoning of the Russell Hills neighborhood in downtown. While I believe most everyone would agree we would rather not have any adult businesses in town, the reality is we cannot legally prohibit them from locating “somewhere” in town. The proposed ordinance amendment would require they not be sited within 1000 feet of a school, not be sited within 2000 feet of another adult business, and be allowed in the office, research, and development district in the airport overlay. Council directed staff to pursue making adult business a special use in the airport overlay and bring back information to council at our next meeting. Since our meeting I have heard from a citizen asking why 1000 feet from a school, yet 2000 feet from another adult business? – shouldn’t it be the other way around or 2000 feet for both? I can’t argue with that logic and I have asked our legal department to address.
In regards to home daycare uses I believe the ordinance amendment passed is a good compromise that protects both the rights of home day care operators and residents of residential neighborhoods. The amendment also only pertains to new home day cares – existing day cares would be grandfathered in.
On Friday I had the pleasure of speaking to 5th graders at Weatherstone Elementary about government, and my role as a member of the council. This was a lot of fun. Kids are so honest and have no idea what political correctness is. ;-) Some of the more interesting questions I was asked were, “What is the difference between a Republican and a Democrat?” “Have I ever met President Obama?”, and “Why doesn’t Cary have its own school system?”
That's the highlights from this week - as always, thanks for reading!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
4th Annual George Almond Officer of the Year Banquet
Dear Friends of Law Enforcement:
On behalf of the Cary Chapter of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the fourth annual “George Almond” Officer of the Year awards banquet.
The North Carolina Police Benevolent Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving officers working for North Carolina public law enforcement entities. We support personnel by advocating changes to improve the quality of work life for our members along with addressing issues through political action. The Cary Chapter was formed in the fall of 2005 and has been very active in working for our membership and also in the Cary community.
The Cary Chapter board, in its first year, chose to sponsor an Officer of the Year Award in honor of retired Detective George Almond. Almond, a PBA member, was shot in the line of duty in October 2001. Almond survived the shooting and returned to duty as a Detective in juvenile investigations before retiring in August 2004. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in the areas of leadership, community service, mentoring, excellence in performance, and valor. Five finalists will be selected from a group of nominees for this year’s award. One of these individuals will be selected as the Officer of the Year for 2009. The award will be presented by Almond at the Embassy Suites in Cary on February 27, 2010. The doors to the event will open at 5:30 p.m.
We, as a chapter, would welcome your attendance at this event. Tickets are $50 per individual. We are also raising funds for the event to help defray some of the expenses. All contributors will be recognized at the ceremony in a special section of our program literature. Contributors who choose to be a Host ($250) or Sponsor ($500) will be formally recognized during the ceremony and through placards that will be placed on the dining tables. The deadline for receiving these funds is February 1, 2010. Checks should be made payable to the NCPBA. Cary Officer of the Year Banquet should be written on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Holly Doychak – Southern States PBA, 2155 Highway 42 South, McDonough, GA 30252.
As part of our event the Police Benevolent Foundation has created as successful partnership with Cary Crime Stoppers to raise funds at the event through a live auction. The Police Benevolent Foundation is a charitable arm of the PBA which provides aid to the families of our fallen members, scholarships to well deserving youth and funding for law enforcement officers in times of natural and man-made disasters. Cary Crime Stoppers is a volunteer organization comprising local citizens dedicated to the reduction and quick resolution of crime. The Cary Crime Stoppers organization gathers funds to reward individuals who provide information anonymously to the Cary Police Department so that crimes can be solved.
For more information please contact:
Randy Byrd- Cary Chapter President
North Carolina Police Benevolent Association
1-800-233-3506 ext. 311
rbyrd@sspba.org
*contributions are not tax deductible for IRS purposes
On behalf of the Cary Chapter of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the fourth annual “George Almond” Officer of the Year awards banquet.
The North Carolina Police Benevolent Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving officers working for North Carolina public law enforcement entities. We support personnel by advocating changes to improve the quality of work life for our members along with addressing issues through political action. The Cary Chapter was formed in the fall of 2005 and has been very active in working for our membership and also in the Cary community.
The Cary Chapter board, in its first year, chose to sponsor an Officer of the Year Award in honor of retired Detective George Almond. Almond, a PBA member, was shot in the line of duty in October 2001. Almond survived the shooting and returned to duty as a Detective in juvenile investigations before retiring in August 2004. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in the areas of leadership, community service, mentoring, excellence in performance, and valor. Five finalists will be selected from a group of nominees for this year’s award. One of these individuals will be selected as the Officer of the Year for 2009. The award will be presented by Almond at the Embassy Suites in Cary on February 27, 2010. The doors to the event will open at 5:30 p.m.
We, as a chapter, would welcome your attendance at this event. Tickets are $50 per individual. We are also raising funds for the event to help defray some of the expenses. All contributors will be recognized at the ceremony in a special section of our program literature. Contributors who choose to be a Host ($250) or Sponsor ($500) will be formally recognized during the ceremony and through placards that will be placed on the dining tables. The deadline for receiving these funds is February 1, 2010. Checks should be made payable to the NCPBA. Cary Officer of the Year Banquet should be written on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to Holly Doychak – Southern States PBA, 2155 Highway 42 South, McDonough, GA 30252.
As part of our event the Police Benevolent Foundation has created as successful partnership with Cary Crime Stoppers to raise funds at the event through a live auction. The Police Benevolent Foundation is a charitable arm of the PBA which provides aid to the families of our fallen members, scholarships to well deserving youth and funding for law enforcement officers in times of natural and man-made disasters. Cary Crime Stoppers is a volunteer organization comprising local citizens dedicated to the reduction and quick resolution of crime. The Cary Crime Stoppers organization gathers funds to reward individuals who provide information anonymously to the Cary Police Department so that crimes can be solved.
For more information please contact:
Randy Byrd- Cary Chapter President
North Carolina Police Benevolent Association
1-800-233-3506 ext. 311
rbyrd@sspba.org
*contributions are not tax deductible for IRS purposes
Monday, January 25, 2010
Week in Review 1/18/10 - 1/23/10
The highlights of this week included the groundbreaking of the Cary Community Arts Center, a Planning and Development Committee meeting, Cary’s Sign Ordinance Review Task Force meeting and a few meetings with citizens.
Cary’s Sign Ordinance Review Task Force met on Wednesday evening. The goal of this task force is to see if there are ways in which Cary can be more flexible in allowing businesses to advertise while continuing to protect the visual landscape and character in Cary.
Councilwoman Gale Adcock joined the task force this week replacing Councilman Portman who had to resign due to scheduling conflicts. Welcome aboard, Gale! This was the task force’s second meeting and discussion topics included principle ground signs and shopping center signs. We reviewed Cary’s current ordinance and that of a number of different communities and discussed what changes – if any – we might be amenable to. The consensus of the group was to continue to require materials found in the associated development (brick, stone, etc..) but to also see how we might be a little more flexible regarding materials used to construct the sign itself to allow for more creativity, as well as different fonts, sizes, and logos. There was also an interesting discussion regarding signs and their readability on roads with different speed limits; should we allow larger signage on highways with higher speed limits to increase readability? I look forward to seeing what staff brings back to the group after our input.
On Thursday I met with a citizen to discuss the proposed zoning changes to the Russell Hills community and her desire to see us protect the character of the existing community while still allowing for reinvestment and redevelopment.
Afterwards was our Planning and Development Committee meeting. We had two consent agenda items and one discussion item. The item for discussion was consideration of acceptance of a design concept for integrated art enhancements for Cary’s C-Tran bus shelters. Approving the concept is one thing – paying for it is another. While I support the proposed artwork, I do not support funding it until Cary’s financial situation improves. I also would like to see Cary pursue sponsorship opportunities with the private sector to help cover these costs.
Saturday was a great day for Cary as we broke ground on the new Cary Community Arts Center in downtown. 147 years after it began, old Cary Elementary School is embarking on a new adventure in education, once again poised to play a critical role in the next chapter of Cary!
Preserving our heritage and our history is of utmost importance to me and the council. Old Cary Elementary School is one of Cary’s most precious historic resources, and is in dire need of repairs. Of all our town’s capital projects, this particular project – in my opinion – is our most important. I cannot in good conscience support new capital projects in Cary while Cary Elementary further deteriorates. The longer we wait to make these improvements, the more expensive this project becomes, and by moving forward now we are able to get it done for nearly $4 million LESS than anticipated. This project will be funded with cash on hand, and will not add to the town’s debt level or tax burden of our citizens.
I cannot thank the hundreds of volunteers and our town staff enough for all their efforts to make this project a reality. I believe Councilman Jack Smith said it best, “Finally!” Yes, Jack, Finally!
You can read more about it and see photos here.
I also attended two political functions this week - the Wake County Republican Party’s Executive Committee meeting and the Wake County Young Republican Club’s meeting. Remind me next time to avoid Hillsborough Street until they finish construction – what a mess! ;-)
That’s about it for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
Cary’s Sign Ordinance Review Task Force met on Wednesday evening. The goal of this task force is to see if there are ways in which Cary can be more flexible in allowing businesses to advertise while continuing to protect the visual landscape and character in Cary.
Councilwoman Gale Adcock joined the task force this week replacing Councilman Portman who had to resign due to scheduling conflicts. Welcome aboard, Gale! This was the task force’s second meeting and discussion topics included principle ground signs and shopping center signs. We reviewed Cary’s current ordinance and that of a number of different communities and discussed what changes – if any – we might be amenable to. The consensus of the group was to continue to require materials found in the associated development (brick, stone, etc..) but to also see how we might be a little more flexible regarding materials used to construct the sign itself to allow for more creativity, as well as different fonts, sizes, and logos. There was also an interesting discussion regarding signs and their readability on roads with different speed limits; should we allow larger signage on highways with higher speed limits to increase readability? I look forward to seeing what staff brings back to the group after our input.
On Thursday I met with a citizen to discuss the proposed zoning changes to the Russell Hills community and her desire to see us protect the character of the existing community while still allowing for reinvestment and redevelopment.
Afterwards was our Planning and Development Committee meeting. We had two consent agenda items and one discussion item. The item for discussion was consideration of acceptance of a design concept for integrated art enhancements for Cary’s C-Tran bus shelters. Approving the concept is one thing – paying for it is another. While I support the proposed artwork, I do not support funding it until Cary’s financial situation improves. I also would like to see Cary pursue sponsorship opportunities with the private sector to help cover these costs.
Saturday was a great day for Cary as we broke ground on the new Cary Community Arts Center in downtown. 147 years after it began, old Cary Elementary School is embarking on a new adventure in education, once again poised to play a critical role in the next chapter of Cary!
Preserving our heritage and our history is of utmost importance to me and the council. Old Cary Elementary School is one of Cary’s most precious historic resources, and is in dire need of repairs. Of all our town’s capital projects, this particular project – in my opinion – is our most important. I cannot in good conscience support new capital projects in Cary while Cary Elementary further deteriorates. The longer we wait to make these improvements, the more expensive this project becomes, and by moving forward now we are able to get it done for nearly $4 million LESS than anticipated. This project will be funded with cash on hand, and will not add to the town’s debt level or tax burden of our citizens.
I cannot thank the hundreds of volunteers and our town staff enough for all their efforts to make this project a reality. I believe Councilman Jack Smith said it best, “Finally!” Yes, Jack, Finally!
You can read more about it and see photos here.
I also attended two political functions this week - the Wake County Republican Party’s Executive Committee meeting and the Wake County Young Republican Club’s meeting. Remind me next time to avoid Hillsborough Street until they finish construction – what a mess! ;-)
That’s about it for this week. As always, thanks for reading!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Let's Help Cary Crash the Superbowl!
Let's help James and all the folks at 5 Point Productions in Cary crash the Superbowl!
Out of over 4500 entries, BOTH of 5 Point Production's videos made the top six finalists. They are the only finalists from North Carolina and the east coast.
But they need your help to win.
Please visit http://www.doritoscontest.com/ to see both videos. WARNING - According to the Video General, 5 Point videos might cause uncontrollable laughter.
Once you are done wiping the Dr. Pepper off of your monitor, please vote for your favorite video! It's that simple. Please forward this link to your friends and family and encourage them to vote as well.
Good Luck 5 Point Productions - North Carolina is rooting for you!
Out of over 4500 entries, BOTH of 5 Point Production's videos made the top six finalists. They are the only finalists from North Carolina and the east coast.
But they need your help to win.
Please visit http://www.doritoscontest.com/ to see both videos. WARNING - According to the Video General, 5 Point videos might cause uncontrollable laughter.
Once you are done wiping the Dr. Pepper off of your monitor, please vote for your favorite video! It's that simple. Please forward this link to your friends and family and encourage them to vote as well.
Good Luck 5 Point Productions - North Carolina is rooting for you!
Retreat Take 2
The fine folks over at CaryCitizen.com did a much better job at reporting on our council retreat than I could ever hope to, so I thought I'd share the links to their online articles. Heck, they even have pictures! :-)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 2 part 2
Day 1
Day 2
Day 2 part 2
Monday, January 18, 2010
Week In Review 1/11/10 - 1/16/10
This week mainly consisted of a few meetings with local residents and elected officials, a council meeting and our retreat.
I met with WCPSS School Board member Debra Goldman on Tuesday to discuss relocating a bus stop at Evans and Evans Estates Roads to better protect children from the existing high speed traffic on Evans and future construction traffic associated with an approved subdivision. We also discussed her service on the school board thus far and her thoughts about how things are progressing along.
Council’s last meeting was on December 10th last year. It’s been over a month since we last met and not one development related item on our agenda for discussion. We continue to feel the effects of the struggling economy. While no development might be good news to some folks in Cary, the reality is that if this trend continues for much longer Cary will have a very difficult time maintaining the high levels of service that our citizens expect. A healthy growth rate of around 3-4% provides new revenues (tax base) to the town that funds new infrastructure projects, amenities, and services. Hopefully this trend won’t continue for much longer.
After a month of debate both on a local and national level I am pleased to report that the council voted 6-1 to approve my request to call the town’s tree lighting ceremony Cary’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, and to call our Community Tree Cary’s Community Christmas Tree. I have already blogged on this topic HERE so I won’t recap it again.
Council also unanimously voted to deny the proposed single quadrant intersection design proposal for the Cary Parkway and High House intersection, and we directed town staff to further solicit citizen input and look for other alternative designs and options. A number of folks have expressed concerns that existing traffic at this intersection are not that bad, and were confused as to why we were looking to redesign the intersection. For the most part they are correct. However, once the approved Davis and High House projects and the Park West project in Morrisville are completed, and as our community continues to grow, the level of service at this intersection will continue to deteriorate. This is unacceptable to council and we are trying to plan ahead and ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place before growth occurs.
I have attended six council retreats over the years – three as a member of council, and three as an observer. It may sound cliché but this year’s retreat was hands down the best I have ever attended. I think this was due largely in part to less presentation and more discussion among council and staff.
Day one consisted of a comprehensive review of the town and its departments (where are we now) and a visioning exercise (what do we envision Cary looking like in 2030?) Council discussed a wide range of topics including stormwater quantity and quality, growth, densities, public safety, environmental protection, parks and recreation and cultural arts, and technology.
Day two focused on Cary’s downtown. Yes I know we’ve talked about downtown at nearly every retreat Cary has had, but this time it was different. Given the current economic climate and our lack of confidence that we will rebound anytime in the near future we reevaluated current plans and focused on how we can better work with the county to site a regional library downtown, and how we may better incent the private sector to implement our vision for us.
Council agreed that the new library would best fit in the future downtown park, and we agreed to locate the future performing arts center near town hall to both help incent redevelopment on the north side of downtown, and to take advantage of existing structured parking.
Council also discussed the future high speed rail and light rail plans and how that will impact our downtown. We will be working very closely with all stakeholders involved to ensure that these rail initiatives –should they become reality – do not negatively impact our vision for downtown.
That's about it for this week, as always, thanks for reading!
I met with WCPSS School Board member Debra Goldman on Tuesday to discuss relocating a bus stop at Evans and Evans Estates Roads to better protect children from the existing high speed traffic on Evans and future construction traffic associated with an approved subdivision. We also discussed her service on the school board thus far and her thoughts about how things are progressing along.
Council’s last meeting was on December 10th last year. It’s been over a month since we last met and not one development related item on our agenda for discussion. We continue to feel the effects of the struggling economy. While no development might be good news to some folks in Cary, the reality is that if this trend continues for much longer Cary will have a very difficult time maintaining the high levels of service that our citizens expect. A healthy growth rate of around 3-4% provides new revenues (tax base) to the town that funds new infrastructure projects, amenities, and services. Hopefully this trend won’t continue for much longer.
After a month of debate both on a local and national level I am pleased to report that the council voted 6-1 to approve my request to call the town’s tree lighting ceremony Cary’s Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, and to call our Community Tree Cary’s Community Christmas Tree. I have already blogged on this topic HERE so I won’t recap it again.
Council also unanimously voted to deny the proposed single quadrant intersection design proposal for the Cary Parkway and High House intersection, and we directed town staff to further solicit citizen input and look for other alternative designs and options. A number of folks have expressed concerns that existing traffic at this intersection are not that bad, and were confused as to why we were looking to redesign the intersection. For the most part they are correct. However, once the approved Davis and High House projects and the Park West project in Morrisville are completed, and as our community continues to grow, the level of service at this intersection will continue to deteriorate. This is unacceptable to council and we are trying to plan ahead and ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place before growth occurs.
I have attended six council retreats over the years – three as a member of council, and three as an observer. It may sound cliché but this year’s retreat was hands down the best I have ever attended. I think this was due largely in part to less presentation and more discussion among council and staff.
Day one consisted of a comprehensive review of the town and its departments (where are we now) and a visioning exercise (what do we envision Cary looking like in 2030?) Council discussed a wide range of topics including stormwater quantity and quality, growth, densities, public safety, environmental protection, parks and recreation and cultural arts, and technology.
Day two focused on Cary’s downtown. Yes I know we’ve talked about downtown at nearly every retreat Cary has had, but this time it was different. Given the current economic climate and our lack of confidence that we will rebound anytime in the near future we reevaluated current plans and focused on how we can better work with the county to site a regional library downtown, and how we may better incent the private sector to implement our vision for us.
Council agreed that the new library would best fit in the future downtown park, and we agreed to locate the future performing arts center near town hall to both help incent redevelopment on the north side of downtown, and to take advantage of existing structured parking.
Council also discussed the future high speed rail and light rail plans and how that will impact our downtown. We will be working very closely with all stakeholders involved to ensure that these rail initiatives –should they become reality – do not negatively impact our vision for downtown.
That's about it for this week, as always, thanks for reading!
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