This week was not as busy as anticipated due to two big cancellations.

Monday I attended the Honor a Teacher Event at the Booth Amphitheater. This was the 12th year that the Chamber of Commerce has sponsored this even, started by the Ashworths. I gave a few remarks and then later in the program joined council member Smith to present an award to the Turner Creek Elementary winner, Denise LaPorta. Congratulations Denise! 26 other teachers were also awarded for their excellence. Award winners took home a nice trophy and a $1000 check. The event lasted about an hour and a half.

Tuesday the council held its first work session on the fiscal year 2014 budget. We started with a quick review of the manager/staff recommendations which include: increasing the property tax rate to 35 cents (an increase of two cents as a result of the Cary Community Investment Bonds approved by voters in November, 2012), a $15.00 per month Sanitation Fee (It is an increase of $1 per month. The fee was last increased in FY2009.), an increase of 4.7% in utility rates for a residential customer using 4,500 gallons of water per month, and an increase of 5% in developer permit fees (for a new 4,000 square foot home increase is $54 from $1,080 to $1,134; fees last increased in FY2002). The recommended budget can be reviewed at http://www.townofcary.org/Departments/Administration/Budget/recommendedFY2014.htm.

The council discussed several items on the budget for about two hours. The majority of the time was spent on recommendations from the technology task force which were not included in the budget. Staff’s reason was that no matter what was included it would take additional staff time. And since they are already understaffed they would need additional staff to cover these requests which adds to ongoing costs. The majority of council reluctantly agreed with staff recommendations to not include additional staff for these technology initiatives. Other questions and discussions included recycling, costs for the Western Wake Regional Wastewater Facility, how we are messaging the budget, and a potential capital project to add a sidewalk on Louis Stephens Drive.

The council’s next work session on the budget will be on May 21st. One of the main topics of conversation at that work session will be Imagine Cary.

Wednesday and Thursday I was scheduled to meet with attorneys in the afternoon and evenings. The issue was resolved so I had the time free to see my wife and catch up on work.

Saturday morning I participated in the Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy forum. Mayor Jones of Wake Forest and I were hosts at one of the breakout sessions. We talked about our roles as mayors and the skills needed to be successful in those roles. It was a good session with a lot of interesting questions.

In the local newspaper this week there was a story about the budget. There were several glaring omissions that I would like to rectify. 1) The employees added would take us to staffing levels of 2008 even though we added more than 20,000 residents. In addition, we would have 8.3 employees per 1000 residents when the average is 11. This would be one of the lowest employee/citizen ratios in the state. 2) The amount of savings being used is the excess above what the council has marked as restricted. That amount is three times what is required. Currently savings are making little to no money in interest. It makes no sense to pay higher interest on debt when you can use cash, reduce operating costs, and still maintain a balance well above what is required. 3) It was mentioned that the tax rate increase was approved by the voters last year. What was not mentioned is that we will still have the lowest tax rate in the county unless another municipality cuts taxes. 4) Developer fees will be increased but we are still very competitive. In addition, the impact of development is not completely covered by our fees. That means taxpayers pay the difference. So the more developers pay in fees the less the taxpayers pay. 5) The new planning retreat scheduled for late this summer is to answer several questions that may impact next year’s budget. For example, does it make sense to have over $48 million in excess of what is required in savings especially when we can reduce debt that is costing more interest and in turn reduce operating costs?

Emails this week included congratulations and complaints about the kickoff for Imagine Cary. Other emails complained about tickets at the amphitheater being too expensive, requests for traffic lights, a claim that I am pushing high density in Cary, requests to deny a rezoning, and a couple of character assassinations related to comments in my blog on Imagine Cary.

Well that is all for this week. Next week I travel to Augusta, Georgia, then to New York City to see my oldest daughter graduate from graduate school. Once we all return we will head out for a week long family vacation. So my next post will be on Sunday June 2nd. Although I have Facebook and Twitter accounts those are not the best means of communications with me. Please send all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org and email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was another busy week for me. This is the toughest time of year for me with event upon event combined with preliminary budget meetings and regularly scheduled council meetings.

Monday started with a quick unplanned visit to greet the MetLife executives who were in town. We should start seeing MetLife folks moving into the area soon. There should be at least a couple of hundred here before the end of the year.

As is the norm on weeks with regularly scheduled council meetings, I attempted to contact all council members for questions or concerns about Thursday’s council meeting agenda. I was able to contact all but one council member. In those calls there was a request to pull the downtown fire art sculpture and the downtown consultants from the consent agenda for discussion. Later in the evening I met with management, administration, legal, and directors to go over the agenda. Based on our discussion and my conversations with council members I predicted the meeting would last until about 8:30 PM.

After the agenda meeting I met with the town manager and a member of staff to discuss issues related to the upcoming CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) meeting scheduled for Wednesday. This meeting was mostly an information sharing meeting.

My only scheduled meeting Tuesday was with the town manager. We discussed the changes in the budget preparations since our last preliminary budget meeting. The staff will make their budget recommendations to council in detail at work sessions starting on May 14^th. Council will have to approve a balanced budget by the end of June.

Wednesday afternoon I attended the monthly CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting and there were two votes that had a significant impact on Cary funding. The Harrison Avenue Study was approved to be rolled over to the next fiscal year. Cary’s Morrisville Parkway Interchange design request was not included in this year’s funding. However it was agreed that CAMPO would help fund Cary’s project once NCDOT determined what they were funding.

Later Wednesday I attended the 20th anniversary of the Stevens Nature Center. The Stevens Nature Center was created in 1996 through the generosity of the late Colonel William Stevens and the support of his family. Shortly after opening, the town designed, established and installed exhibits thanks in part to a large grant from Wake County. At the time, the late Colonel’s nephew, Richard Stevens, was serving as the Wake County Manager. He later represented Cary in the NC Senate. In 2010, we revamped and updated our exhibits to make them more fun and interactive. The overhaul was completed with additional funds for the Nature Center left in the late Colonel’s will. We are forever indebted to him for his support and will continue to incorporate his spirit and love of natural science in everything we do here at Stevens Nature Center.

Thursday started with a local developer lobbying me about the Boulevard property to be voted on at the council meeting later in the day.

Later in the afternoon I met with representatives for developers doing an expansion at the Glenaire retirement community. The meeting was to answer any questions and address any concerns I may have about the expansion.

Thursday night’s regularly scheduled council meeting had two controversial issues; Whether or not to landscape or remove the fire art sculpture on the performance green at Academy Street and the Boulevard rezoning proposal off of Cary Town Boulevard.

The council voted to remove the fire art sculpture. Moving experts have determined that moving the sculpture will more than likely destroy it. Staff will now come up with a proposal on how to move the sculpture. I was the dissenting vote because I believed that staff’s proposal to wait a few months until the Art Master Plan was finished was a fair compromise. That would have allowed a more appropriate permanent location for the fire sculpture if it were successfully moved. It was also important to note that the proposed landscaping that would be used for the fire sculpture would remain on location as the 13 acres built out in a couple of years.

I received a lot of very emotional email about the fire sculpture both for and against it. It is clear that this piece of art was very polarizing. I was proud that the council did not become art critics in our deliberation but instead focused on the location. That is, whether or not any piece of art is appropriate at the location.

The second controversial issue was the proposed rezoning of the state property off Cary Town Boulevard from Office and Institutional to mixed use which would allow mostly residential. The developers interested in this property stated that they wanted to build the Cary version of Inside Wade on this property. The vote was very close and the rezoning proposal failed by a 4 to 3 vote.

I voted against the rezoning because I believe it was not the ultimate best use of the property. Cary has three entry points at major highways: I-40 and Harrison, US1 and Tryon, and I-40 and Cary Town Boulevard. The I-40 and Harrison entry has two beautiful office parks: SAS Institute and Weston Office Park. Thousands of high paying jobs are located at this entry point. The US1 and Tryon entry has Regency Office Park which is also a great office park. Again, high paying jobs are here. One of the most recent companies to locate in Regency was Lexis Nexis that I blogged about last week. It is my belief that the I-40 and Cary Town Boulevard entry to Cary also has this great potential. There has been and will always be demand for great residential projects which was the case in this proposal. But it is our decision to make sure properties are developed with the best possible use.

Friday evening I attended Cary’s National Night Out on Academy Street along with council members Smith and Frantz. National Night Out is an annual crime and drug abuse prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. The event brings citizens and Cary police together to strengthen neighborhood spirit and foster partnerships for safer communities. In addition to the police were Cary’s fire departments. There were lots of activities, booths, and things to do. I was able to try beer goggles and found that I couldn’t pass the sobriety test even with the ones at the lowest level. I spent time talking to citizens, officers and firefighters, and vendors. It was a well-attended event.

Saturday morning I gave remarks at Cary’s National Train Day. National Train Day is a holiday started by Amtrak in 2008 as a method to spread information to the general public about the advantages of rail travel and the history of trains in the United States. It is held each year on the Saturday closest to May 10th, the anniversary of the pounding of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah which marked the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Events are held at Amtrak stations as well as railroad museums across the country and often have passenger cars and model railroad layouts on display. Cary was fortunate to have the Cary Town Band and several national train dignitaries at our celebration. Cary’s very existence was predicated on the railroad. Frank Page, Cary’s founder, heard that there would be a railroad form New Bern to Hillsboro. He bought 300 acres in speculation of this information. He guessed right and the Page-Walker hotel was built right next to the tracks and Cary was born.

The event was festive and had a lot of activities for children including a miniature train that ran from the Chamber of Commerce to the Page-Walker hotel. After my remarks I talked with people both at the train depot and the Page-Walker. It was another well attended event in our downtown.

I was scheduled to attend the Ritmo Latino festival but it was postponed until June 22^nd due to the threat of bad weather.

There were lots of emails from citizens this week. Unfortunately some of them were, let’s say, not nice. Regarding my comments last week on the Summit for the Future I received one email that said I was arrogant and closed minded. In another email a citizen stated: “… Taxpayers need to know how your elaborate scheme is going to further pinch their wallets.   … the revealing of conspiracy by town managers and planners; deceit; exploitation of civic minded citizens; gross abuse of office…” Wow! I guess some people have very good imaginations. Fortunately, I can inequitably say that I know of no person or “Scheme”. I would invite the conspiracy theorists and critics of Imagine Cary to send me their ideas of what they think the future of Cary should be in the upcoming decades. After all, THAT is what we are trying to plan.

I also received many emails regarding the fire art sculpture as I mentioned earlier. What is sad is now some of them are sending requests to have other art in downtown Cary removed. As someone pointed out to me, if you tried to please everyone with art you would end up with a Norman Rockwell painting. To me we need to be careful with the placement of art and not become art critics.

The remaining emails I received were mostly about the Boulevard rezoning. In addition, there were several developers that left voice messages. I did talk and meet with most of them.

Next week I will be busy mostly in my “other job” trying to prepare for two weeks of being out of town. I am scheduled to give remarks at the Teacher Awards and to participate in a Leadership Forum. Our first budget work session is also scheduled for this week.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday May 19^th. Although I have Facebook and Twitter accounts those are not the best means of communications with me. Please send all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org and email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was full of events and speaking engagements. A busy week with speaking engagements is tough for me since the talks require figuring out what to say and in some cases practicing.

Monday the town staff received a call from the White House staff asking me to participate in a mayors’ teleconference. While these requests are not unusual, they usually come by email only. So to get a call was different. Usually these calls are advocating for a federal issue and asking for support from the mayors. This was no different. It announced the nomination of Charlotte Mayor Foxx for the Transportation Secretary and asked mayors to contact Congressional leaders. Hosting the call included Director of Intergovernmental Affairs - David Agnew, Senior Advisor to the President - Valarie Jarrett, and outgoing Transportation Secretary - LaHood. After their comments mayors from various cities commented and included mayors from Philadelphia, Atlanta, Niagara Falls, Columbus Ohio, Durham, and Carrboro. The call lasted about 20 minutes.

Monday night I joined council and several staff members for a tour of West Cary. This included driving in Chatham County towards Jordan Lake. We looked at current and future developments, trail sites, future parks sites, future community center sites, and fire station number 8. Our tour lasted about 2 hours. We are thinking of taking a tour of district B next quarter.

Tuesday started by meeting briefly via telephone with the town manager. We mostly discussed the announcement about downtown manager Ed Gawf announcing his retirement. It is important to understand that this was no surprise and that Mr. Gawf has been talking about this since last fall.

Tuesday night I gave welcoming remarks and handed out awards at an event sponsored by Advocates for Health in Action. The event included a film released by HBO and a follow up panel discussion with experts. The film, released about a year ago, was in conjunction with the Institute of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of health, and in partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente. There are actually 4 one-hour films in the HBO series “Weight of the Nation”, which can be watched online. The film shown for discussion was the third film and was called “Children in Crisis”.  It detailed issues about childhood obesity and showed how Nashville, Tennessee, is making some very positive changes as a community to improve their health. This was a very thought provoking film and really emphasized issues and problems related to the United States having over 63% of its population overweight or obese.

Wednesday morning I visited Lexis Nexis to welcome and hear Senator Burr speak. Lexis Nexis serves four primary customer segments: Corporate Legal, Large Law, Small Law, and MicroLaw. They help customers to: manage legal matter workflow, track time, billing and legal spend, leverage relationships and knowledge to drive growth, use data to improve decision making and firm performance, and elevate the value of the legal department. We started with a short meeting that included the Senator and me and several management folks from Lexis Nexis. In their initial comments about the companies work environment they noted that no one usually wears ties. Senator Burr said he had to wear a tie but not socks (he really wasn’t wearing socks). Cool! In the small group setting we were shown a brief demo of one of the Lexis Nexis products. Then we discussed a variety of issues from the national financial situation to human trafficking. Next we took a tour of the facility. It has changed a lot since I was there a year ago with the governor. It is my understanding that they have put over a million dollars in upgrading the facility. One of the interesting work environments was a laptop connected to a treadmill set at a 2 mph pace. They lady using it says she works at that treadmill about two hours a day. After the tour we headed to an area of about 100 employees for a town hall. The senator gave a short opening and then answered questions for about thirty minutes. He was an impressive speaker and handled the questions very well. On our way out we signed a visitors’ wall which had hundreds of signatures. The entire visit was a little over an hour.

Wednesday night I had the honor of being one of the judges at the Healthy Snack Challenge held at Oak Grove Elementary. One of their initiatives was to bring a healthy atmosphere to the school and to get students involved in making healthy choices. The students participating in a Healthy Snack Challenge submitted delicious, creative healthy snack recipes. The 6 finalists presented samples of their snacks to the judges and we selected a winner (though all were winners in my mind).  I am grateful that the Oak Grove Health and Wellness Committee held this event and believe it will reinforce positive nutrition to the staff and families at Oak Grove.

Thursday started with a brief meeting of the chaperones for Le Touquet’s Culinary Student, here as an exchange with Wake Tech. I have known one of the chaperones for over a decade and my wife and I have hosted numerous students in the past. It was great to catch up before they left town.

Later Thursday I gave opening remarks at one of the largest crowds in town event history. The event had 950 sign up but there were probably 700 in attendance. Here is an excerpt from my opening remarks:

…As we embark on this journey of planning Cary’s future I wondered about Cary’s past. Recently I was provided a document from former Cary Mayor Waldo Rood’s son written about 60 years ago in the form that is similar to a state of the town. Waldo Rood was mayor of Cary from 1949 to 1961. In that document he says:

“In 1950 the census showed a population of 1458 and rapid growth has been in progress since that time. There have been many new homes and places of business built in the last few years and the town has experienced its greatest era of progress. There are a number of reasons for this progress. The people of Cary are cultured and friendly and make other people want to live here.”

And he finishes by saying:

“Of all the things said about Cary the one that describes it the best is that it is a good place to live.”

I wonder if Mayor Rood could have imagined Cary as it is today. I wonder if he could have imagined Cary would be a place where people from all over the world would move to.  And I wonder if Mayor Rood could have imagined Cary would be national recognized as one of the greatest places to live, work, and play in America. …

The rest of the summit involved three sections. Each section had data, trends, and other information provided by the speaker. The attendees were then given a series of questions on a topic. Each attendee had a handheld selector to choose from a range of responses from strongly agree (to the statement or question) to other or none of the above. The summit was scheduled to last about two and a half hours but ran about twenty minutes long. At the conclusion I stood by the door to greet people and receive feedback. Attendees that spoke to me unanimously said it was an outstanding event. Of course I did receive emails from attendees that believe our entire planning process is a conspiracy to bring in urbanism and change what Cary is today. That is absolutely, 100% ridiculous. I KNOW that this council wants to have a process that will involve the citizens and take their feedback into account as we move forward. This event was the kickoff of a two year process that will include several events next month. If we all work together on this plan I am sure it will be a guide to a Cary that builds on what we have today and makes us an even greater town in the future.

Saturday morning started early for me as I made remarks at the start of the Purple Cloth 5K held at Bond Park. This was a fundraiser put on by Genesis Methodist Church to raise money for Dorcas ministries. Many know Dorcas Ministries for a place to drop old clothes and goods for the needy. What you may not know is that Dorcas has an outreach ministry that includes a Crisis ministry, a food pantry, adult education, job training, and childcare. We all need to support Dorcas year round. To find out more go to their website at http://dorcas-cary.org/.

Sunday I headed down to Fuquay Varina for the annual Wake County Preservation celebration sponsored by the Capital Area Preservation and the Wake County Historic Preservation Commission. I was joined council member Yerha who gave remarks on behalf of Cary as we received a plaque designating Cary First Christian Church cemetery at 300 West Cornwall Drive as an historic landmark. It is the only historic landmark for African Americans in Cary who played a big part in our history.

In email news from staff the Black Creek Greenway finished another section. It now starts at the Fred G. Bond Metro Park and continues northeast to connect to Wake County’s Lake Crabtree Park and Umstead State Park. The project involved completing about a half mile of paved greenway and a 30-foot pedestrian bridge. Work began in summer 2012 and construction costs included federal grants.

Emails this week included several requests and invitations to events. May is a VERY busy month for that. Other emails from citizens included a concern that our 911 calls have increased dramatically and wanted to know if that was because of crime. This is an item that has been on the news several times. Apparently people accidentally call 911 instead of the 919 area code which is now required for all phone calls. If you do happen to make that mistake, stay on the line and save our 911 staff from having to track you down and make sure you are OK. The remainder of my emails was from the conspiracy theorists that our Summit for the Future was a farce.

Next week will be another busy week for me and includes a council meeting, several meetings, and numerous events including National Night Out which is Friday. BTW, please come to National Night Out on Academy Street and talk with us and the heroes from our police and fire departments

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday May 12^th. Although I have Facebook and Twitter accounts those are not the best means of communications with me. Please send all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org and email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week included meetings, events, and personal celebrations. Every year during this week in April my wife and I celebrate our anniversary (26 years this year) and both our daughters’ birthdays.

I started out the week with a phone meeting. A citizen was very concerned about two group homes in a particular part of Cary. Her main concern was the way the property was not being kept and that was hurting the community. I agree, if there are homes (of any type) in your community that are not being kept then it will definitely hurt the value of your home.

Later Monday I met with the State Representative who is selling the state property by the Wake Med Soccer Park which is about 95 acres. There is an option by Lennar Homes to build a project like Inside Wade on this property. There have statements made that a “North Hills” type project could be built here instead. In my meeting with the state representative she wanted to make sure that I understood that the property was well advertised and this was the best offer. She also pointed out that if this proposal fails then the state would take the property and use it for state purposes. The council will make a decision on this proposal at its May 9th meeting.

Later Monday I participated in the Cary/Morrisville Joint Issues Committee. I was joined by Mayor Pro-Tem Adcock and council member Robinson. We discussed a variety of issues which impact both towns. Here are some of my take away points:

• Morrisville bonds passed and they will have the Evans Road Extension in this coming year’s budget. Initially it will be a 2 lane road but buildout will have a 4 lane median divided road.
• There was a public workshop on the future of Highway 54. NCDOT projects that traffic will more than double on this road by 2030. They will hold another workshop in June.
• Airport Boulevard is being looked at and the committee will hear a report at our next meeting on ways to close the gaps in the road.
• The Morrisville Parkway grade separated rail tracks will be starting late this year. The project should be awarded in October and should be completed by the end of 2016.
• There are no plans to punch through Crabtree Crossing in the Morrisville Transportation Plan. Council member Robinson asked that information be provided about traffic that would be on this road if it did connect.
• Crabtree Creek greenway in Morrisville will go from Davis Drive to Crabtree Creek. Cary’s portion is in line with Morrisville. There is an 18 month design process and construction starts in 2015. The greenway should be finished by 2017 which would allow travel all the way to I540.
• Cary and Morrisville are working on greenway connections for Indian Creek, Grace Park, and other areas using CMAQ funding (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program).
• Wake Tech is planning on opening a campus in Morrisville.
• Morrisville will have a Cricket Park of about 25 acres. Bids are accepted in June and construction should take about a year.

The committee meeting lasted just under an hour.

Monday night I met with Mayor Pro-Tem Adcock to catch up and discuss issues. It is important for us to meet at least once a quarter. The Mayor Pro-Tem will be running our May 23rd meeting since I will be in New York City for my daughter’s graduation. We talked about issues that could possibly occur during that meeting and how to best address them.

Tuesday’s first meeting was with the town manager for our weekly one on one. In our meeting we mostly discussed three issues: the Walnut Street repaving which basically goes from the elementary school to the high school, a notification by the federal government of interest in Cary of an ICE facility (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) with a detention center, and my discussion with the state representative on the Boulevard rezoning across from the mall.

Later Tuesday I met with the town’s transit service administrator, the planning director, and council member Bush to discuss CTran. Some interesting points and trends include:

• Fixed routes have been averaging a 25% increase in riders for the past 4 or 5 years.
• Door to door riders have been increasing about 5% a year.
• 75% of riders have average household incomes of $30,000 or less.
• Almost half of fixed route riders are between the ages of 16 and 34.
• 40% of our riders transfer to or from Triangle Transit and CAT.
• All fixed route buses are equipped with video surveillance cameras for safety, security, and liability reasons.
• Electronic fare boxes are on all fixed route buses.
• The town is investigating the costs to add Wi-Fi to buses.
• The system has never had a fare increase. Fare increases are proposed in both Door to Door and Fixed services for this coming fiscal year.
• If we expand the number of routes by CTran then any future transit expansion from a ½ cent sales tax would not include that route.

Our meeting lasted a little over an hour. It was clear that most of our riders were the young, elderly, and those in service jobs. These folks are vital in keeping are businesses running and our community strong. Therefore our transit system remains an important service for our citizens.

Wednesday I joined many of the council members at an elected officials reception held at MacGregor Downs Country Club. This event was sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and was our time to thank the other elected officials for all they do for Cary. Senators representing Cary were present but all NC House members were absent since they were in session. There were several elected officials, including judges, from the state and county levels attending. I gave a few welcoming remarks and so did a few others.

Thursday my calendar was blocked so that I could spend the evening with my wife since it was our 26^th wedding anniversary. We had a nice quiet dinner which was special since my wife flew out on an early bird flight the next morning. We also celebrated the fact that both our daughters had birthdays this week. This week has always been a celebratory week for the Weinbrecht family.

Saturday morning I attended the Jefferson Jackson breakfast held at the North Raleigh Hilton. This was a Democratic event with several hundred in attendance.

Sunday I joined Mayor Holcombe of Morrisville and we spoke at the North Carolina Indian-American Political Action Committee’s luncheon. We each spoke about 20 minutes before answering questions from the audience. The event lasted about 2 ½ hours.

I picked my wife up at the airport and headed over to the Baisakhi festival at the Booth Amphitheater. This festival is celebrated across the northern Indian subcontinent, especially in the Punjab region by the Sikh community. For the second year in a row we have seen rain at this festival but this year they were able to get in most of the performances. I gave a few remarks along with Council member Rao from Morrisville. We both spoke about diversity and what it means to our community and this region.

In information from staff and other sources the Senate Commerce Committee gave a favorable report to HB 150 Zoning/Design & Aesthetic Controls Tuesday morning, sending the bill to the Senate floor. The bill previously passed in the House of Representatives and would thus become law if it is passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory. Fortunately, this approval has been delayed since the bill was sent to the Rules committee. It is important to understand that HB 150 was introduced at the request of the N.C. Homebuilders Association and would prevent cities from imposing aesthetic controls over 1- and 2-family dwellings in all zoning districts, unless these controls are agreed to by the developer. While proponents argue that these controls are an overreach by local government, almost all cities contend that eliminating them would render local governments unable to ensure that infill development is consistent with the character of existing neighborhoods, harming both economic development efforts and the property values of existing development.

Staff sent out the quarterly report this week. Here are some notes from that report:

• Phase 1 of the construction on the roundabout located at West Chatham Street and Old Apex Road is well underway.
• Phase 2, construction of the roundabout located at East Chatham Street and East Durham Road started in mid-April. Construction is expected to last for 90 days.
• C-Tran’s fixed route services reached one million passenger trips provided mark since service began in FY06. Ridership continues to increase ridership on our fixed route services.
• All eight of the major construction contracts for the Western Wake Regional Wastewater Facility are under way and on schedule.
• Investment rates remain low. Two year treasury bills are yielding 0.23%, down from the 0.26% we reported last quarter.
• Water consumption for the three quarters of the fiscal year was 3.2 billion gallons which is 2% less than the gallons billed at this point last year.
• As of April 1, 2013, the Town of Cary’s population is estimated at 144,316, an increase of 2,703 people (+1.91%) in the last year
• Since the last quarterly report, the Town grew by 65 acres through annexation of Town owned land bringing the size of Cary to 36,043- acres (56.31 square miles).
• During the 1st quarter 2013, 287 new single-family dwelling (SFD) permits were issued, up 26.4 percent from both the previous quarter (227) and the same quarter last year
• Fire Station 8 is tentatively scheduled to be completed in early June, with a grand opening/dedication ceremony planned for later that month.
• From 2003 to 2012 reported property crimes have decreased 0.12% based upon the raw numbers. However, the population of the town has increased throughout that period. Therefore, the overall reported property crime rate per thousand populations is the lowest it has been in the ten year period - a 39% decrease from 2003 to 2012 per thousand in property crime rates. Just from 2011 to 2012, there was 12.5% decrease in property crimes per thousand.
• 40 apartment communities are now actively participating in Project Phoenix which is a zero crime tolerance commitment.
• The Cary Downtown Theater construction began this quarter with the building addition rising next to the original building. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

Almost all trends, of things Cary has control over, are moving in a positive direction.

Emails from citizens this week included complaints about the downtown park proposal, concerns about downtown development in general, complaints about our upcoming Summit for the Future, and a false accusation that Cary is trying to take over areas south of Cary.

Next week will be busy with several events and speaking engagements.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday May 5^th. Please feel free to email me with a comment. I do not have an active Facebook or twitter account so email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was a tough one, after having a week of vacation, with mayoral duties scheduled almost every day.

Monday started with calls to council members to see if they had concerns or questions about the agenda for Thursday’s regularly scheduled council meeting. I was able to talk with all but two council members. Questions and concerns were related to an agenda item on electronic meeting participation and clarification on an agenda item about the Architectural Standards for buffering buildings. Later in the day I met with management, administration, legal, and department directors to go over the budget. We discussed the concerns and questions of the council members. In addition, I was notified that we would have a closed session. Based on that information I estimated the council meeting would last until about 8 PM.

Monday night I attended the Mayors Association meeting in Cary. Paul Meyer, Director of Governmental Affairs for the NC League of Municipalities gave a summary of State House and State Senate legislation that could harm municipalities. His short list included 94 Items. One spreadsheet showed taxes that could be in jeopardy for towns that include: beer and wine, natural gas, electricity excise, privilege licenses, and 1 cent sales tax on food. If these taxes went away it would be a $7.5 million loss in revenue for Cary or about 4 additional cents to our tax rate. Hopefully, our new legislators will realize this and not harm municipalities and its citizens.

I introduced a letter to be sent to our federal delegation on the elimination of the current tax exemption on the interest earned from tax-exempt municipal bonds. If this change occurs it would drive up the borrowing costs on financial critical infrastructure, shift more of the burden for financing infrastructure from the federal to the local levels, and increase taxes on the middle class. The letter was approved unanimously and will be sent to our delegation from the Mayors Association.

Wednesday I attended the CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization - Transportation Advisory Committee) yesterday. There were two public hearings with no speakers. The following actions items were approved:

• 2013-2014 Unified Planning Work Program
• Self-Certification of Planning Process
• Status of System Report
• May is Bike Month

Julie White, of the Metropolitan Mayors, presented a legislative update to the CAMPO members. I noted the following from her updates:

• The Governor’s budget is irrelevant since there is a major tax reform.
• There is a lot of legislation originating out of issues from Asheville. These are harmful to municipalities in general.
• Bills were introduced or passed one body related to ethics, metropolitan planning organizations, and tolling for I95 and I77.

The NCDOT report including the following points:

• Bids have been received for I40/I440. The Secretary needs to award the project. Worst scenario has the project taking 3 1/2 years with 2 lanes open. However, some contractors will have 3 lanes open.
• The I40/I440 project was expected to be $190 million. Bids have been received at $120 million.
• NCDOT is investigating adding an extra through lane on the I40/I440 project since this expansion may be one of the last opportunities for widening. They are also looking at tolling, express lanes, and HOT (High Occupancy) lanes.
• The “Bus on the Shoulder” pilot project has been successful with no incidents so far. The pilot will end soon and NCDOT is looking for opportunities.

The CAMPO meeting lasted one hour.

Later Wednesday I attended the last meeting and graduation of the Cary School of Government which was held at the Wake Med Soccer Park. First we toured the expansion of the facility which included 3000 new seats, new locker rooms, party decks, sky boxes, and other rooms. Afterwards the Wake County Manager spoke of the relationships between county and municipalities. He also talked about the hotel/motel/food & beverage taxes which were used to build most of the soccer park and several other facilities like the Raleigh Convention Center and the Mudcats stadium. After his talk he answered questions from the participants. Then the participants asked questions of the council members present which included Smith, Bush, and me. Once the question and answer session concluded we handed out the course certificates. It was a good time and I appreciate and congratulate all the School of Government participants for caring about their town.

Thursday I joined Mayor Pro-Tem Adcock and council member Robinson as we did our final budget preview with staff. Some of the topics covered were the Capital Improvements Budget, Development Fee trends, General Capital Reserve Fund, special capital projects, and implementation approaches for the Technology Task Force. After staff finishes previewing with all the council members they will finalize their budget which will be presented to council.

After the budget preview meeting I participated in a council group photo which was taken in the council chambers. We took several photos around the town seal with us seated and standing.

Next I headed outside to greet the Exchange culinary students from our sister city Le Touquet France. Wake Tech and the business school in France have been exchanging students for several years. My wife and I have hosted students several times in the past which has resulted great friendships. We still keep in touch with our first student from over ten years ago.

Thursday night the council held its regularly scheduled council meeting. In addition to presentations, recognitions, and public hearings, the council took several actions. The council amended an ordinance to allow electronic meetings for board appointed members once a year. The council also approved subcommittee recommendations to clarify architectural standards for building facades and buffering. Due to the lengthy closed session our meeting lasted until about 9:45.

Saturday I gave remarks at a Community Garden dedication at the Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church. I was joined by council member Bush who gave remarks on sustainability. This community garden was a culmination of actions by many in our community. Funding for the community garden was provided in part by the Town’s Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program. The amount of raised garden beds was doubled thanks to hard work by local Eagle Scouts. Local home improvement and garden centers generously donated plants. This summer, the garden will benefit from the work and efforts of two Appalachian Service Youth projects and a class project by NC State Agriculture students. And the fruit of their labors will be shared with those who benefit from the Interfaith Food Shuttle, the local organization that helps provide healthy meals for families in our area. What a beautiful project with such positive results!

Emails from citizens this week included questions about the Waldo Rood house, concerns about the downtown park site, concerns and questions about the Summit for the Future, a complaint about a police officer, comments about electronic meetings, and a complaint about a developer causing issues.

Next week will continue to be busy. It includes a joint issues meeting with Morrisville elected officials, an elected officials reception sponsored by the Cary Chamber, a breakfast, and a cultural event.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday April 28^th. Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was a vacation week (sort of). I was working in Augusta, Georgia at the Masters Golf tournament for most of the week.

Monday before leaving town I had a budget preview meeting with staff. This is the time of year when each council member gets a high level overview of the budget. One, two, or three council members at a time meet with the budget director and town management. We provide our input to preliminary thoughts presented by staff as they shape their final budget recommendation. In this meeting there were a couple of facts that were very interesting and will require decisions by council. First, our population has increased about 20,000 over the last few years but our staff count has remained the same (except for fire and police). Staff is stretched to the limit and in many cases is doing the work of multiple people. Our levels of service will start suffering as we move forward unless staff count is increase. This will be a decision point for council. Second, our General Fund reserves may need to be adjusted. Cary is required to have 2 months of reserves or about $18 million. Years ago council established a policy of 4 additional months over what is required which amounts to about $43 million. Since interest rates are very low this money is not making much interest. We might want to consider changing our reserve policy and using some of that money to pay down the debt. This will be another decision point. There will be much discussion once the staff makes its recommendation to council. This preliminary meeting lasted about two hours.

Tuesday I headed to the Masters Golf tournament and the following are my observations and thoughts:

Wednesday:

• I arrived at the course for the first time this year. The course was immaculate as usual however this is probably the best it has ever looked.
• I, along with other scorers, met at a pre-tournament meeting and then checked our equipment and working areas.
• The Augusta National announced that it is creating a youth contest called Drive, Pitch, and Putt. The youth that make the finals will be invited to the Augusta National next year the week before the Masters.
• Wednesday kids were allowed for the first time with a ticket holder. This made for a very large crowd. There was much applause and cheering making it feel like a tournament day.

Thursday:

• I started the day with a 6:20 AM live interview on WRAL’s morning show. I talked about the tournament and the fact that I have volunteered on hole 17 since 1978.
• The tournament started out with a bang. There were a lot of good scorers including seniors Couples, Lyle, and Langer.
• Storms were all around but we made it through the round. As we were turning in our equipment the automatic storm warning went off on the course telling us to leave. Whew!

Friday:

• Friday started with showers. I stayed in the scoring area until players were about 4 holes away then I headed out. I only had to stand in the rain about 30 minutes and then it stopped. The rest of the day was beautiful.
• The 14 year old phenomenon Guan was penalized for slow play. Moments before I radioed and questioned the huge 20 minute gap. The rules official assessed the penalty right in front of where we were on 17. He looked as he was giving the 14 year old a lecture. To Guan’s credit he handled it very well.
• Tiger Woods hit one of the most unfortunate shots that I can remember. On the par 5 15^th he hit the flag stick. Instead of being close and putting for an Eagle and the tournament lead it bounced in the water. Little did anyone know that would only be the beginning of the problems with that shot.

Saturday:

• The morning started with an announcement that Tiger Woods would be assessed a two stoke penalty for an improper drop on hole 15 Friday when he hit the flag and went into the water. This was the big news that everyone was talking about for most of the day.
• In golf tournaments, Saturday is called “moving day” in golf and there were several golfers that moved themselves within 4 strokes of the lead. At the end of Saturday I was predicting Jason Day would win and hoped Adam Scott would be close.

Sunday:

• What an incredible day despite the rain.
• On the front side Cabrera took a two stoke lead. He immediately lost it on the back side.
• Jason Day took the lead with several others close by. He lost it.
• Then it was down to Cabrera and Scott.
• Scott sank a long putt on 18 and I thought he had won.
• Then Cabrera’s approach was about 3 feet away so he birded also and tied Scott.
• A playoff ensued and Scott sank a putt of about 12 feet on the second playoff hole, hole 10, to win his first Masters and become the first Australian winner.

My experience was a memorable one and I had a lot of fun. But I was very tired and glad to get back to Cary.

In emails received this week it was announced that Prestonwood had two of the top 100 golf courses in the state. Very cool.

Emails received from citizens included several complaints based on misinformation about a downtown park. I have spoken about this in my previous blog. Other emails included a request about the town’s street light policy, concerns about the May 2^nd Summit for the Future, a complaint about an incident at the town’s convenience center, a concern about a retention pond, a comment that Cary to give Chatham County money for development near Jordan Lake, a question about available land, a question about electronic meetings, a concern about the closing of the ESC office in Cary, and kudos for our animal control officers.

Next week promises to keep me busy. It includes a Mayors Association meeting, a CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) meeting, and a council meeting to go along with a few ceremonial events.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday April 21^st.

Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was a light week relatively speaking. It allowed me to catch up on personal matters and prepare for my trip out of town next week.

Monday there were no meetings so I stayed late at work and then had dinner with my wife which is a treasure these days.

Tuesday I spoke to about two dozen business leaders at the Chamber’s Cary Leadership held at town hall. I went over my roles as mayor, my thoughts in executing my duties, the business climate in Cary, our partnerships with the chamber and businesses, and then current issues the council is focusing on. I talked for about twenty minutes and answered questions for about ten minutes.

Later Tuesday the town manager and I went over a few issues. Those include the school board’s naming of a future high school on Roberts Road (I favor SW Cary), minor issues with Bass Pro Shops coming to Cary later this year, our rezoning process with information provided in public meetings, and potential issues with Gig.U.

Wednesday I had my first meeting with a political group. I suspect there will be many of these in the upcoming months. I will gladly give my advice to any group who wants it. However, I do not plan to get involved in any campaign for council.

Emails this week included a press release and additional information from Deanna and Colin Crossman about the Mayton Inn to be built on Academy. Here is there information:

The Mayton Inn: New Boutique Inn Located In Downtown Cary, NC

Colin and Deanna Crossman, owners of The King’s Daughters Inn in Durham, NC, plan to open a 45 room boutique hotel in downtown Cary, NC. With resounding success in their first renovated boutique, the Crossmans were approached by the Town of Cary to develop a new construction project that will blend and match the historic surroundings of downtown Cary. With the location of the property nestled on the corner of East Park Street and South Academy Street and the acquisition of two historic homes that will be moved to the site - the Waldo-Rood House and the Mayton House. The Mayton Inn will include 33 spacious rooms and 11 deluxe suites and a private cottage ,the first floor will boast over 13,000 square feet of public space including a library, full bar and restaurant as well as event spaces including reception space, meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace that will face the Cary Town park.

Due to break ground in August of 2013, the Crossmans are working with Center Studio Architecture to create the essential blend of historic character and quintessential luxury. Derived from classic architecture, the Mayton Inn will blend with the current buildings downtown. The property will include up to six room concepts and will be faithfully designed by the talented Megliola Beal Interior Design team.

With current plans to open before Lazy Days in August of 2014, the Inn will tear a page from their sister property and offer amenities including afternoon tea, turndown service with port and chocolate, a gourmet hot breakfast for guests in the full service restaurant as well as complimentary WIFI, in-room iPads, and 42 degree HDTVs. In addition, the Mayton Inn will offer a high tech gym facility and spa on property for guest use.

Local downtown businesses, non-profit organizations and Cary citizens have positively endorsed the Mayton Inn. The Friends of the Page-Walker, an active Cary community organization that supports historic preservation and community culture, has been a strong advocate for the project. “The Friends of the Page-Walker are delighted to welcome The Mayton Inn to downtown Cary,” said Friends President, Brent Miller. “We believe that this luxurious Georgian-style hotel will be an asset to our community and attract more people to enjoy the historical and cultural resources downtown. We are very pleased that the owners have paid such careful attention to compatibility with the Town Center Historic District and preserving the Waldo House and Mayton House as part of the project.” In addition, many local businesses and citizens have reached out to express congratulations and excitement for the Crossman’s newest venture. Deanna Crossman notes, “We’re thrilled to be a part of the renaissance in downtown. Everyone has been so welcoming, we feel like we’re already neighbors and friends.” The Mayton Inn and the Crossmans will be a true fit for the Cary community.

For more information or questions, please contact info@maytoninn.com. To follow the project, follow us on the Mayton Inn’s Facebook Page or our blog: Musings at the Mayton Inn.

The Crossmans also sent the latest rendering of the Mayton Inn.

In emails this week staff sent the current projects under review. Projects entered in March include:

• The Jones House on Academy Street
• A 38,100 square foot expansion of Autopark Honda
• A 66,398 square foot building in the Bradford at Davis Drive and High House
• An addition of three modular classrooms at Green Hope High School
• An addition of two modular classrooms at Panther Creek High School
• A 7,340 square foot expansion of Land Rover in the Cary Autopark
• A 49,928 hotel on Academy Street
• A 6,109 square foot McDonalds on Walnut Street
• 294 apartments on Highway 55 in Parkside Town Commons
• A Sheetz convenience store on Highway 55.
• 56 single family homes in the Southerlyn Subdivision on Green Level Church Road
• A retail Verizon wireless store on Walnut Street
• A 6,000 square foot building in Glenaire

Emails from citizens included information from a young man that is part of a group of students studying and promoting the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum. He is part of a part of a FRC team, The Hitchhikers, team 2059 http://thehitchhikers.org. They recently placed sixth in a recent regional robotic competition. I hope to get more information from the group soon.

In other emails from citizens I received thanks for the town’s installation of signal arms at Academy and Dry, a request for electronic meetings, a complaint that we are spending too much money on parks and greenways, a complaint about spending too much money on downtown, and several people saying we should build a park downtown as promised (as I noted last week there was never a plan for a 13 acre park, however council will be considering options for a 6 to 8 acre park).

I will spend most of next week out of town working at the Masters Golf tournament. If you are there please drop by hole 17 where I will be scoring.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday April 14^th. Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was typical for a week that has a regularly scheduled council meeting.

On Monday of weeks with regularly scheduled council meetings I call all council members to see if they have any questions or concerns about the upcoming agenda. I was able to contact all council members this week. The biggest item of interest was the proposed rezoning on Cary Towne Boulevard across from the mall. The proposed development would eventually have 200 single family homes and 200 townhomes very similar to the Inside Wade development. The dilemma the council members have is whether to approve a very nice product on one of the last large parcels near a key gateway intersection OR wait for a proposal similar to the North Hills type development.  After talking with council members I met with staff later in the day to go over the agenda. We spent time going over agenda to make sure I could answer questions and bring up issues about each item. Based on the information I predicted the council meeting would last until about 9:30 or 10:00.

Tuesday I met briefly with the town manager. He wanted to let me know that the staff was finalizing their budget and would be presenting their recommendations to council in about two weeks. We also talked about the downtown opportunity site.

Wednesday I taped the April episode of Cary Matters with Mayor Pro-Tem Adcock. The major topic was detailed information about the Summit on the Future. Our taping was done in less than half an hour.

Later Wednesday the Mayor Pro-Tem and I discussed various issues including the Bradford project and the Cary Towne Boulevard project.

Thursday started with a short staff meeting to hear preliminary ideas about the budget. Based on the information being gathered it appears that this budget season might be tougher than ones in the past few years. The council will have tough decisions to make.

Thursday night’s council meeting took much longer than I expected. The Public Hearing on the Cary Towne Boulevard rezoning had several speakers in favor of the rezoning and generated much discussion from council members. As mentioned earlier, the dilemma was whether or not to accept this very nice proposal or hold out in hopes of something grander like a North Hills development. Staff and some council members have stated to me that there has been other interest in this location. After a lengthy discussion the council decided to table the item for one month.

The next Public Hearing was for an annexation and rezoning in Chatham County. There were several speakers from Chatham County that believed the proposed 8000 square foot lots so close to Jordan Lake (our drinking source) was too small. I tend to agree. This proposal is at the beginning of the process and will next be sent by the Planning and Zoning Board for their recommendation. It will be interesting to see if this project changes as it goes through the process.

One Public Hearing was for the approval MetLife incentives announced a few weeks ago. This was unanimously approved by council (rare for an incentive proposal). The MetLife incentives will be paid annually once we receive their taxes and verify that the jobs they promised were actually created. The amount the town pays will be less than what is received via taxes from MetLife. This incentive agreement will start in fiscal year 2016 and continue until fiscal year 2023. Once MetLife is fully operational they will be one of the largest employers in Cary.

Another item that generated a lot of discussion on council was the rezoning for apartments at the intersection of Old Apex Road and Chatham Street. This location is adjacent to the Phillips Swift Creek apartments. The rezoning was approved 5 to 2 and replaced a rezoning that was all commercial with apartments and very little commercial.

After all the items on the agenda the council went into closed session to discuss three issues. Afterwards we reconvened and adjourned the meeting around 10:45.

Emails from staff this week included an update on the water quality of Jordan Lake which is experiencing algae blooms. The algae are harmless, but oftentimes can create unpleasant taste and odor to the water if not removed by the treatment process.  The Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant does have the ability to remove these compounds with our advanced multiple barrier treatment approach. Staff wanted to assure everyone that Cary’s water system is producing high quality and safe drinking water and is aggressively treating to remove any taste and odor caused by the algae. The algae condition is temporary and should subside very soon. Our town staff has extensive experience in treating water to remove taste and odor, and Cary’s utility customers should not see any changes in their water.

In another email staff responded to questions about our water fluoridation. Fluoridation of drinking water supplies is strongly encouraged by state and federal regulatory agencies and public health organizations.  As a public water supplier, the Town of Cary relies on this type of guidance and professional technical support provided by organizations including the American Water Works Association (AWWA) to help us properly apply water treatment technologies.  AWWA maintains regular contact with organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the American Dental Association (ADA) on drinking water treatment practices.  At this time all of these public health organizations continue to support drinking water fluoridation and promote its public health benefits. The goal of fluoride treatment is to add the optimal amount of fluoride needed to help prevent tooth decay and promote good dental hygiene.  In January 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a proposed recommended optimal level of 0.7 mg/L for fluoride in drinking water to replace the previous federal recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L.  The State of North Carolina also issued a statement supporting the new recommended level. In February 2011, the Public Water Supply Section of the NC Division of Water Resources permitted the Town of Cary to adjust its treatment process to achieve a fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L in its treated water. The Town of Cary’s water is fluoridated in strict accordance with State and Federal regulatory requirements and guidelines. Fluoride levels in the treated water are measured daily and the levels are reported to the State’s Public Water Supply Section weekly.  The Town of Cary will continue monitoring important public health effects research which affects drinking water treatment and will consider such information while following the guidance of our regulatory authorities and the AWWA in making decisions regarding the treatment of our community’s water supply.

Staff also provided information for the repair of Cary Parkway. The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $482,120 emergency repair contract to replace a fire-damaged culvert under Cary Parkway that has had the westbound lanes between Two Creeks Road and Lake Pine Drive closed since last Thursday. The fire caused the 12-by-8-foot culvert to partially collapse. Removing the damaged portion of the pipe will require its excavation across the westbound lanes and the median. Once the damaged pipe is removed and the new pipe installed, the pavement and median will be restored. Lane Construction has begun work on the already closed westbound lanes, mobilizing its equipment and starting with erosion control and pavement cutting. Excavation of the pipe will start Monday, requiring the eastbound lanes to be closed as well. Access to the residential communities along the road will remain open during construction. Cary Parkway is expected to re-open by April 15.  Work is scheduled to take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., although it could switch to 24 hours a day, if needed to finish the work on time.

Emails from citizens included several about a downtown park. Apparently, there is a LOT of misinformation about the downtown opportunity site and proposed park. Here is an excerpt from one of my responses to those emails:

Thank you for contacting the town council about a downtown park.

The site where a downtown park will be located has been in plans for years. There was never an approved plan for the entire site to be a park. Currently, there is a boutique hotel approved and two historic structures that will be on the site. That leaves 11 out of the 13 acres. For years town plans have shown a park in addition to other structures on that site. Council, at its latest work session, wanted staff to come back with options for a park of 6 to 8 acres. It is my opinion that council favors some shops and restaurants along Walker but nothing else on Academy or Walnut. We will see.

Regarding the “plan”, there is not one approved plan but there have been several approved plans over the years. That is what we are doing now, finalizing a plan to move forward.

As you might suspect there is a lot of information/misinformation going around about this topic. Some of it is true and some of it is not. For example, “the bond referendum was for a 13 acre park downtown” which is not true. Actually, the bond referendum would provide funding for about 3 acres of a park downtown.

Here is an email from council member Robinson which has a lot of good correct information:

Thank you for writing about the downtown park.  I love parks, too, and want to see our network of parks expand.  Unfortunately, this parcel was never intended to be a stand-alone park.  To do that at this juncture would be a departure from what we have planned and funded.  We have been working on this parcel since 2002.  Since the beginning of our discussions, we intended to have this block host other uses in addition to a park.  Originally, we were only acquiring about 2/3 of the block with the land along Walker and Walnut remaining in private hands.  Our intent was to use the site for a park, an arts center, and some public buildings such as a library.  At some point, we also talked about having the Chamber relocated to sit on Academy in conjunction with the library and arts center.  After some time, we were approached by one of the land owners on Walker who offered to sell his land to the Town.  We evaluated the expenditure and thought that it was worthwhile because we would then have a say in the type of development that abutted our park and public facilities.  That set a new course for the Council as we decided to master plan the block in order to spur development.  We pursued purchasing the entire block as an “opportunity site” which was intended to be a mix of uses (commercial, office, residential, and public amenities, and parkland).  Some of the conceptual plans presented to us also included a parking deck.

Now we are at the point of developing the site in order to achieve the economic development for which we invested $11.2 million.  While the Council members are huge park advocates, it is safe to say that we would not have spent $871,000 per acre on the parcel with the intent to have a large urban green space.  Compare the expenditure for this parcel to that of other land acquisitions in recent years:

Thomas Brooks Park       178 acres             $3,269,000           $18,365 per acre

Mills Park                        245 acres             $5,200,000           $21,224 per acre

Downtown Site               12.9 acres            $11,200,000        $871,000 per acre

I hope this email helps explain why the Council is pursuing the course of action that was established several years ago.  I believe that the synergy created between the restaurants, hotel, retail, public amenities, and an urban park on that site will make our investment worthwhile.  And, that mix of uses will ensure that the park is lively, energized, and well used throughout the day and night.

Sincerely,

Jennifer

I think it is important for everyone to understand that council members also want a large park but at the same time are trying to revitalize downtown. So we have a tough job of balancing those two interests.

Other emails from Cary citizens included a complaint about potholes, a request to use recyclable hang bags, a complaint that we need to do long term planning (we do), a complaint about the Summit on the Future speaker, and a concern about a vacant office building across from Cary HS.

Next week’s big event for me will be speaking at the Leadership Cary Government Session. They have me scheduled to speak for an hour. Wow! I could give the state of town twice in that amount of time. We’ll see how it turns out.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday April 7^th. Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was busier than expected with more meetings than I thought and several long nights.

Monday afternoon I met with the property owner that owns the land at Piney Plains Road and Dillard Drive. He is having problems developing his property that is mostly zoned for Office and Institutional. We discussed his idea of a retirement community at this location.

Monday night the Mayors Association met at Campbell University Law School in downtown Raleigh. We discussed recent and future legislative actions with Paul Meyer, Director of Governmental Affairs for the NC League of Municipalities. Our meeting lasted about two hours. Nine mayors were in attendance.

Tuesday the council held two work sessions. The first work session was on Cary’s Transportation Development Requirements. Attorney’s and town planning staff went over tools available to the council as we work on a permanent development process without the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance for Roads which was repealed last month. The town has authority given from the Town Charter and General Statutes that includes street and sidewalk improvement assessments, road project regulatory or development fee, subdivision requiring construction of community facilities, zoning, regulatory codes, special assessments, taxing, establishing control of streets, traffic, and parking, and building inspections. Council asked staff to proceed creating more detail with a goal of promoting and preserving a high quality transportation system that provides an appropriate level of service to assure public safety and the general welfare of all town citizens and the traveling public.

The second work session Tuesday was a presentation and discussion of the downtown charrette. The proposal from the charrette showed the opportunity site with a three acre park surrounded by development. This proposal was presented to the public over the last few months and received much criticism. Feedback from citizens was mostly to make the entire site a park. Interestingly there was also the opposite feedback asking for more development on the site. It is important to know that council has the authority to condemn a site for a park. So if council wanted to make the entire site a park they could have saved millions by just condemning the properties. I am not sure that would have been popular but it was an option.  Instead the town negotiated with owners to get them to sell with the intention of receiving some return by having some development. The amount of development was a big discussion point at this work session. Council directed staff to come back with options for a 6 to 8 acre park with much less development. The majority of council leaned toward a larger park, 8 out of the remaining 11 acres, with some development along Walker Street. Most of the council wanted a clear view of the park from Academy Street, Kildaire Farm Road, and Walnut Street. Staff will bring new recommendations back to council in a work session to be held in late spring or early summer.

Wednesday afternoon I attended a meeting of CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) TAC (Transportation Advisory Committee). There were two public hearings and several presentations including a presentation on the Transportation Improvement Program, a presentation on the Comprehensive 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, and a presentation on a policy modification by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Turnpike Authority. The policy modification with the Turnpike Authority is important to Cary because it may impact if the Cary interchange at Morrisville Parkway and I-540 will be funded. I asked the committee to allow comments from Cary town staff which were presented. Hopefully, those comments and concerns will be addressed in the final policy.

Later Wednesday I attended a meeting of Economic Development Committee. Information highlights include:

• The Chamber is working with Carolina Pottery on a new location in Cary.
• Bass Pro Shops will locate at the current Carolina Pottery location.
• A company that provides software for clinical research is looking to expand with 47 new jobs.
• Blue Bell ice cream is looking to build a $2 million distribution center in Cary that will employ 30 people.
• aap3, an IT service company is locating in Weston and should initially employ 20 people.
• Fortnight Brewery should open at their location near Maynard and Old Apex this summer.
• Cary has a Class A office vacancy rate of around 10% and there is approximately 400,000 square feet available in the market area.
• Developers interested in building office still need around 50% preleased before they can get loans.

Accolades include:

• #2 Fastest Growth Rate of Largest Metros
• #7 Best city for Job Growth
• #5 America’s new tech hot spots
• #2 in population growth from 1985 - 2011 (Raleigh/Cary)
• #3 for creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth

The committee also received a report from council member Smith about his trip to Ireland to help our sister city in their quest to create a strong Chamber of Commerce and a mini research park. A Technology update was also given and included:

• The Technology Task Force (TTF) continues working in the area that Cary should become a “Community Driven Technology Hub”.
• Open Data day had 70 people attending, with a waiting list of 12 with two weeks of promotion. The Town through the ‘liberated’ data sets, donated WiFi hotspots, and availability of Technology Services staff during the day, etc. They are working on the next Open Data Day.

The meeting ended after about an hour.

Thursday I was scheduled to have several meetings including private meetings. My first meeting was with the pastor of Colonial Baptist Church. Unfortunately he was battling a case of food poisoning. Yuck. I had that once and it took several days to recover. My thoughts and prayers are with him. Since that meeting was cancelled I joined a meeting in progress between two council members and a developer. They had finished discussing business so I really was there to chat with everyone.

My next meeting on Thursday was with school board members Susan Evans and Bill Fletcher. They wanted to make sure I was aware of their budget requests, the legislation to change school funding, and the legislation to change how the school board is elected. They are looking for ways to communicate their message to the public. I let them know that anyone can speak at the Public Speaks Out portion of our council meetings. They said they planned to speak at a future council meeting.

The remainder of Thursday’s meetings was private.

Saturday I had the privilege of being a part of the Ribbon Cutting for the new Kiddie Academy in Cary near Tryon Road and Walnut Street. This new day care is very well equipped and should be rated as a five star day care once the required six months of business has been achieved. I wish them much success.

In emails from staff this week it was announced that the westbound lanes on Cary Parkway will remain closed because of the culvert fire. Traffic will be detoured to Tryon Road then Lake Pine Drive.  They hope to have a contractor by March 29^th.  Once the repair work starts, it is anticipated that BOTH directions of Cary Parkway will have to be closed for the duration of the repair for safety reasons.

Emails from citizens included several comments about the 13 acres the town purchased for the opportunity site, a complaint about House Bill 150, complaints about Cary’s process for the Cary Summit of the Future, and several invitations to events.

Next week includes a regularly scheduled council meeting and a taping of Cary Matters.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday March 31^st. Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.

This week was a typical council meeting week.

Monday started with calls to council members to see if they had issues or concerns about Thursday’s upcoming agenda. One item was requested to be pulled from the consent agenda for discussion. Consent agenda items are approved without discussion. This particular item was a Land Use Plan Amendment for property, located adjacent to US1 and Kildaire Farm Road, to allow and office and institutional use. Since this property is zoned low density residential it would have to come back for a council decision even if the Land Use Plan were approved. Nevertheless, the residents adjacent do not trust that they will be protected. Therefore we decided to pull it for discussion to allow them to speak at Public Speaks Out. Other than the pulled consent item there was nothing exciting on the agenda. The agenda included a few presentations and a quasi-judicial hearing. My estimation was that the meeting would end around 8 PM.

Later Monday I met with the town attorney to be briefed on a variety of issues including current and past law suits. Our town attorney’s office is doing a great job representing us and we are seeing the results of their efforts in several recent actions. In addition, to law suits we talked about the quasi-judicial process and House Bill 150.

House Bill 150 would eliminate Cary’s ability to impose aesthetic controls over single and two family dwellings in all zoning districts (with limited exceptions), unless these controls are agreed to by the developer. Basically, the bill would eliminate Cary’s ability to shape the look and feel of our community. This could cause irreparable damage not only to Cary but to communities around the state. Unfortunately, the state homebuilders association and their allies in the North Carolina Legislature have enough votes to make this happen. So it will be up to the municipalities to try and figure out a way to protect their communities. One mayor said he would recommend stopping all annexation until the legislation is changed. Hopefully, someone will step forward and provide some common sense to what is being proposed. If you feel so inclined I would recommend contacting to local representatives: Tom Murry at Tom.Murry@ncleg.net or Nelson Dollar at Nelson.Dollar@ncleg.net.

Tuesday I met with the town manager and the staff liaison to the legislature. We talked about several legislative issues including House Bill 150. I also discussed a proposal on quasi-judicial hearings.

Wednesday I joined council members Smith and Bush in welcoming the newest class of the Cary School of Government. The class provides the community with an opportunity to learn how municipal government functions, what services are provided, and how citizens can become involved. Students get a behind-the-scenes look at Town government structure, culture and decision-making. The Town staff chooses a small group of citizens for a mix that represents a cross-section of Cary by age, gender, length of residency and area of town. Through discussion and hands-on activities, students obtain greater awareness of the breadth and depth of Town planning and operations.

Later Wednesday I attended a meeting of the Wynston Ridge Homeowners Association meeting along with council member Smith. We spoke after the official meeting summarizing legislative issues, road issues, and park plans in the area. Afterwards we answered a variety of questions about sidewalks, developments, and lighting in the neighborhood. I would be glad to speak at any homeowners association meeting. So if you’re interested let me know.

Thursday started with a meeting of the Western Wake Partners Policy Advisory Committee. This committee is made up of the “partners” who include mayors from Apex, Cary, and Morrisville. At this meeting we approved the settlement agreement for Holly Springs to withdraw from the partners, received an update on the current budget, and an update on the proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2014 which begins in July. Since we were all provided materials in advance our meeting was very short.

Thursday night the town council met for the first regularly scheduled meeting of the month. We were delighted to receive a check from Whole Foods designated for Parks scholarship funds. Last year that provided funding for almost 70 kids. Thanks to Whole Foods for being a great corporate citizen. We also presented a proclamation recognizing Girl Scout Week. A NC Forest Service Ranger presented Cary with Tree City USA award for the 30th consecutive year. And the last presentation recognized Arbor Day and our celebration scheduled for Saturday. The meeting included a quasi-judicial hearing for a medical office building on Carpenter Fire Station Road that asked for more parking and for a change in traffic mitigation. These requests were granted. Our final item was the Land Use Amendment to allow Office at the site located at Kildaire Farm Road and US1. This was also approved. We did point out that before that site can be developed the applicant would have to go through a rezoning which would allow a citizen protest. If such a protest were valid then it would require six council members (out of seven) to approve.

Saturday I had the pleasure to kick of the Arbor Day celebration in Cary. There were about 100 people in attendance visiting several informational booths and a craft booth. In addition, 100 Dogwood saplings were available for attendees to take home and plant. Like last year, the highlight was the planting of a 15 foot tree on the town hall campus. BTW, the tree planted last year is doing great.

Sunday morning I gave welcoming remarks at the third annual Tobacco Road marathon at 6:30 AM. I don’t know how many participated but I believe it was well over a thousand. It took almost five minute for runners to cross the starting line. I had a great view from atop the tower at the starting line. While I would LOVE to participate in this event I know my knees would quit long before I was ready to. So I guess I will just have to be happy with my five mile runs.

Sunday night my wife and I joined over 400+ people at the Cary Arts Center to celebrate Basant Bahaar through witnessing great Indian cultural performances. This year’s theme was “Kalakriti” which is a creative culmination of diverse hues and expressions. The show was fantastic and we were treated to over two and a half hours of great talent.

In emails from staff this week the council was notified that at a statewide meeting in Raleigh, the Town of Cary’s residential permitting process for electric vehicle supply equipment was highlighted as a statewide “best practice” by Advanced Energy’s Katie Drye. Congratulations Inspections and Permits staff!

Emails from citizens this week included a complaint about a development, a complaint about barking dogs, a concern about traffic related to the Bradford project, several requests related to the Keisler property, a request to save the water tower next to Cary High School, a complaint about greenway construction at Lake Macedonia, a complaint about the town’s proposals for the downtown opportunity site, a complaint about backflow inspections, a complaint about the town dump (same person complains on a regular basis), a complaint about the town’s streetlight policy, a complaint about the town allowing clear cutting (we don’t), a complaint about the hotel going on Academy Street, and several invitations to attend events.

Well that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday March 24^th. Please feel free to email me with a comment. Email all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org. Email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.