The theme for this week was meetings including a marathon council meeting.

On Monday town manager Ben Shivar announced Mike Bajorek would be the new assistant town manager. There were a lot of excellent candidates from all over the nation, including some fantastic internal candidates, but Mike came out on top. I have had the good fortune to work with Mike over the years as council member and as mayor and I think he is an excellent choice. His expertise on customer service fits perfectly with this council’s focus on improving ways citizens can be heard.

Monday afternoon I met with directors and other staff members on the agenda. At the review it was clear this was going to be a long agenda. There were several topics that appeared to be somewhat controversial and would generate discussion. The meeting on Thursday ended around 12:30.

After my agenda meeting I met with a couple of gentlemen representing a service group in India. They provide housing, health care, and other services to the handicapped and under privileged in southern India. They were interested in how the town and town businesses could help especially since we have such a large Indian population.

Monday night I met with the Wake County mayors at the monthly Mayors Association Meeting. Discussions at this meeting were light and the main topic was about past elections and current elections of those running for office.

Tuesday was a work session on our historic preservation master plan. A consultant presented the draft plan outline to council members and we provided feedback. The plan will be revised and then public hearings will be held to get citizen input. One question that I asked that generated an interesting answer is what is considered to be historic. Basically, any structure over 50 years old can be considered to be historic but other factors come into play. So those folks that live in the town core in old homes might be in an historic structure and not even know it.

Wednesday I taped the August version of Cary Matters with council member Adcock. We were lucky in that we only had to do one retake on the first part. We completed the taping in less than an hour. The main topic for the August Cary Matters is of course the budget. We discussed the approved budget and why we chose some things differently from the recommended budget.

Wednesday night I met with people who were lobbying me on the Mixed Use Plan Amendments that were on the Thursday meeting. They were concerned with protest petition and asked that the item be tabled by council.

Thursday was a six hour council meeting. Items that generated a lot of discussion included the Mixed Use Items, the Land Development Ordinance change for parking cars on lawns, and a Comprehensive Plan Amendment proposal near Highway 55 and Carpenter Fire Station Road.

Discussion on the Mixed Use Proposal focused mostly on the process and protest petitions. I believe council thinks that we are very close to a good process but still thinks we can tweak it just a little to make it even better. The council decided to table this until the next meeting in August. This leaves some projects with the decisions to apply under the old process or the new. One of those projects is the Singh project at Evans and Cary Parkway. Citizens have already lobbied council to put a moratorium on new submittals until the next meeting. Council discussed this and decided it was not good policy.

Council also discussed ways to prevent parked cars on lawns. The main concern seemed to be houses with several occupants. That problem overlaps an ordinance that prevents large numbers of unrelated people living in a single family dwelling. Staff will look into this and other comments council made and will come back at a later date.

Council also discussed a plan amendment near Highway 55, Carpenter Fire Station Road, and the railroad tracks. The applicant had proposed “performance” based buffers which generated a lot of questions from council. Some council members seemed to have a problem with buffer reductions next to a historical district. In the end we decided to table this item to get further clarification.

Friday’s only meeting was with Mayor Pro Tem Robison. We talked for about 3 ½ hours on various topics. Of course we had to talk about our kids but talked about several serious issues including the one at Cameron Pond which I will mention later.

Emails this week covered a wide variety of topics. Two gentlemen emailed us and want the town to eliminate water conservation efforts because they say we have a fifty year supply of water. Um, no we don’t. We have about a seven year supply if we conserve before we will need another expansion. Remember plant expansions cost money and that money will be reflected in our water bills. So PLEASE conserve.

Other emails were on the Singh property mentioned earlier, a pedestrian culvert on Tryon (should be open by early next year), speed humps in Cary Park, a complaint about a utility bill, laws on dog cleanup, lobbying for board appointments, a complaint about voting Cary as the top tennis town, a complaint about Camp Canine, and Cameron Pond.

The Cameron Pond emails are absolutely heartbreaking. Residents had a beautiful neighborhood that was severely impacted by a clear cutting of a buffer . I have heard from almost every council member on this subject and I can assure you that we are all upset about it and will do what we can to make it right. The problem is the residents want immediate relieve and rightfully so but we have to proceed with extreme caution to avoid legal action. I plan to visit with residents soon after I return from vacation.

Well that is about it for this week. I will be on vacation next week and will plan to post in two weeks which will be Sunday, August 9^th. Please feel free to leave a comment on my post.

My first full week back as mayor after my mother’s death has been a full week of events and meetings.

Monday night my family and I met for a behind the scenes look at the RBC center. Members of the Centennial Authority provided a great tour and I now have a better understanding of how everything works. I was able to visit about everywhere including locker rooms and even the catwalk. There is a new $6 million high definition scoreboard that will be unveiled at the first Hurricanes exhibition hockey game. Although, I could only see are part of the scoreboard, I am sure it will be a big hit with the fans. One interesting fact I learned during my tour was that the RBC center was voted the number one indoor arena of its size in the US. That is very impressive.

Tuesday morning I attended the opening of North Carolina’s first green McDonalds on Kildaire Farm Road. This is a fantastic facility that has applied for Gold LEED certification. If you haven’t been by there yet it deserves a visit. Make sure to view the kiosk about the green components. The restaurant’s environmentally friendly characteristics will reduce electricity by over 40% and reduce water consumption by over ½ million gallons a year. The owner, Ric Richards, and his team should be very proud of their accomplishment and I hope they will inspire other entrepreneurs to also build green in Cary.

Tuesday evening I attended the Partners meeting of the Western Wake Wastewater Reclamation Facility. We received a couple of updates from staff members and went into closed session to get advice from attorneys. It is my hope that this project will continue to move forward. Delays will cause Apex harm since it nearly used up its sewer capacity. In addition, our water and wastewater agreements with the state are tied together by a temporary agreement called an Interbasin Transfer which expires 2011.

Wednesday I attended the Wake Transit Leadership Team. We talked about various issues including the NC Senate and House voting to allow a ½ sales tax for the Triangle for transit. In addition, we talked about how to get more information from the public. I believe the majority of Cary citizens would support expanded bus service. I think it will be important for Cary citizens to hear and provide more feedback on potential light rail through Cary.

Thursday I met with organizers who are interested in creating a Cary Marathon. Their desire is to start and end at Bond Park. They have several course options they are looking into but would like to include the American Tobacco trail and Cary greenways. The course will also include parts of Apex and the county. They are struggling with physical barriers but hope to finalize a course soon. Their target race date will be in March.

Thursday night I also attended a community meeting on the US64 corridor which was held at Green Hope High School. I said a few words to welcome the crowd of about 250 people. The DOT gave a presentation and members of the audience made comments. In attendance were myself, council members Adcock and Portman, Mayor Weatherly of Apex, Representative Dollar, Representative Harrell, and several members of the Chatham County Commissioners. Based on my understanding almost everyone in the auditorium was not happy with the potential plans presented by the DOT. This included all of the elected officials. Therefore, it is my hope that DOT members of this project will continue to look for better solutions to this corridor and hold more meetings.

Friday afternoon I met with the town manager and the Mayor Pro-Tem to discuss various issues. Most of our conversations centered around how the town should position itself on various issues. Sorry I can’t be more specific.

Friday night I attended a concert and presented a proclamation at the Page Walker. The concert was sponsored by the Little German Band and Dancers. They were hosting a band from Germany who performed for about two hours. This is part of an exchange arrangement where our band goes to Germany and vise versa. Interestingly, our band plays mostly German music and their band plays mostly American swing. This causes a little bit of a predicament since people in the audience expect German music from the visiting Germans and American music from the visiting Americans. At this concert they played about half “um pah” music and then some American swing. They gave a great performance which was thoroughly enjoyed by me and everyone in attendance. An important side note is that I received gifts and a letter from leaders from their towns that are interested in establishing a relationship. Maybe they will be our next sister city.

Saturday night I hosted members of the Mayor’s Association at Booth Amphitheater. We were treated to another excellent performance by the NC Symphony. Mayor Sears from Holly Springs was in attendance with his wife and two guests. Mayor Matheny from Zebulon was also in attendance with his wife and two guests. We all had a great time and I was proud to show off our amphitheater.

Sunday afternoon I was part of the charter dedication of the Cary Community Lions Club. I was also inducted as a charter member. Charter members include Chief Bazemore, Chief Cain, and several members of the fire and police department. There are 37 charter members. I am excited about the opportunities the brain trust in this organization can come up with on how we can better serve our community. If you are interested in serving and would be interested in being a Lion please contact me or another Lion Club member.

Emails this week have been informative and interesting. Here is an interesting email snippet I received about transportation equity:

…According to our recent analysis of all state and federal transportation expenditures by NCDOT between 1990 and 2007, the Triangle’s counties (Wake, Durham, Orange, Chatham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, and Johnston) have received about 12 percent of the state’s total transportation funding.

Those same counties have experienced 28% of the state’s population growth between 1990 and 2007 and are expected to experience 30 percent of the state’s population growth over the next 25 year. …

Part of the job of being mayor is receiving email complaining about various things. The staff reads all my email to help address complaints. It is important to note that all my email is public record. This week’s complaints include noise from Camp Canine, DOT’s proposal for US64, Cameron Pond’s buffer, wild cats, golf cart usage on streets, speeding in Lochmere Highlands, and odors from the reclamation facility. We take all email seriously and try to address all issues in a timely manor.

Unfortunately, we occasional receive email from a small group that consistently accuses staff and council members of being dishonest and corrupt. From everything I know about staff members and council this couldn’t be farther from the truth. This week I received an email complaining about the town asking citizens to vote for Cary to be the top tennis town in the nation (we are already top ten). We are now accused of accumulating emails and selling them for a profit which is absurd.

Positive emails this week include compliments to staff that work our convenience center on N. Dixon Avenue. To compliment guys that deal with trash day in a day out is a very nice and easy way to show appreciation for an unappreciated job. Thanks to the citizen who sent that one in.

This week was also marks the end of the filing period to run for town council seats. There is one challenger for the at-large seat held by Julie Robison, two challengers for the District C seat held by Jack Smith, and three challengers for the seat held by Jennifer Robinson. I will only endorse Julie Robison in the at-large seat. I will be glad to meet and talk with any and all candidates about issues. I will not endorse in any other race.

Well that is about it for this week. I plan to make another journal entry on Saturday, July 25^th.  Please feel free to leave a comment on my post.

It has been a week of mourning for the Weinbrecht family so all my meetings were cancelled for the week. I have started back to work and doing mayoral functions. I also attended the John Legend concert tonight.

In other news, I am glad to hear that DOT approved the traffic signal at Cary Glen and Green Level To Durham. I think a corridor study is now needed to address other problems.

Politics has also cranked up since the period for filing for office is now open. I have been asked to endorsed or get involved in several races. While I will be glad to meet with any and all candidates I intend to only endorse Mayor Pro-Tem Robison and only if she wants me to.

Well that is about it for this week. I plan to make another journal entry on July 19^th.  Please feel free to leave a comment on my post.

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother Barbara Wood. She is survived by 2 sons, Philip Weinbrecht of Raleigh and Harold and his wife Belinda, 2 granddaughters Audrey and Cara Weinbrecht of Cary, 2 sisters Fellas Bond of Cary and Mary Jane Safrit of Forest Park, GA., and 3 brothers Roy Wood Jr. of San Antonio, TX., Samuel Wood of Morrow, GA., and Tim Wood of N. Augusta, SC. A memorial service will be held at Cary Presbyterian on Thursday, July 8^th at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Cary Presbyterian Church, 614 Griffis Street, Cary, NC 27511. (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/NewsObserver/obituary.aspx?n=Barbara-Wood&pid=129364683 )

This week was a vacation week so the only event I attended was the July 4^th celebration.

I was vacationing in Hilton Head this past week and drove back early Saturday morning to be here in time for the Independence Day celebration at Booth Amphitheater. It was an honor to give the welcome to the large crowd in attendance. I especially appreciate the applause given for the men and women who serve and have served in our armed forces. It is because of them that we enjoy freedom today.

I have spent the rest of the weekend trying to catch up on emails and other issues. One issue that generated a lot of emails this past week was a modular unit that is currently being installed in Hillsdale Forest. According to staff reports the modular unit was delivered on wheels and appeared to be a mobile home which is not permitted in Hillsdale Forest. However, staff does say that modular units are permitted in Hillsdale Forest. So the question comes down to defining the difference between a mobile home and a modular home. Here are the staff comments on the difference:

During this week, staff investigated whether or not the residential unit being placed at 1182 Fairlane Road was a “modular” home as defined in our Land Development Ordinance (see LDO definition below) as well as by the North Carolina Department of Insurance, NCDOI.  The Manufactured Building Division of NCDOI is ultimately responsible for the approval of all “modular” homes within the State.  NCDOI considers all factory built homes of “modular” construction to be equal to conventionally constructed site built homes.  Both site built homes and factory built “modular” homes are required to be constructed in accordance to the North Carolina State Building Code, current edition.  A “mobile” home on the other hand is built in accordance with Federal standards regulated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.  Accordingly “mobile” homes are often referred to as “HUD” homes.   The only accurate way to determine the type of home in question is to look at the label.  ”Mobile” homes have a red, metallic HUD label on the exterior of the home.  ”Modular” homes will have a “State of North Carolina Modular Construction Validating Stamp” on the interior of the home.  The unit at 1182 Fairlane Road has been verified to have the State’s “Validating Stamp” and through discussions with NCDOI staff, we have validated this State’s approval of the specific unit in question.  Lastly it is acceptable under the North Carolina State Building Code and therefore acceptable to NCDOI for a “modular” home to be constructed with a steel and wood floor system.  A “modular” home with this type of steel and wood framing system is commonly called an “on-frame” modular unit.  A “modular” home which has a floor system framed entirely of wood, as in a conventional site-built home, is commonly called an “off-frame” modular unit.  Both systems must be designed to meet the loading requirements of the NC State Building Code and are acceptable by NCDOI.

Attached below is a grouping of NCDOI documentation further describing the differences between “mobile” and “modular” homes.

LDO definition:
“Modular” Home
A manufactured building designed to be used as a single family dwelling unit which has been constructed in accordance with the North Carolina State Building Code and bears the North Carolina State Approved label. For the purposes of regulation, these types of dwellings are treated as site-built dwellings.

The unit being installed on Fairlane Rd. is certified by NCDOI as a “modular” home and meets NC State Building Code requirements.  Since the Town of Cary has adopted and enforces the NC State Building Code and this type of unit is permitted in the existing zoning classification for Hillsdale Forest, the Town cannot prohibit its installation. Additional building inspections are required and will be performed to ensure code compliance before a “certificate of occupancy” is issued.

After reading the explanation it appears the difference is mostly based on whose tag is on the unit. I can understand why residents are angry. It may seem to the residents that this explanation is merely a technicality. Unfortunately, I am sure there are legal implications in trying to prevent something that is allowed in our building code. Although council and staff members will continue to try and work on a resolution to this problem, I am very pessimistic that there will be a solution to prevent this modular unit in Hillsdale Forest.

Well that is about it for this week. I plan to make another journal entry on July 12^th.  Please feel free to leave a comment on my post.