With the exception of a council meeting there wasn’t much going on this week. This is my second slow week in a row.

Monday I met with the town directors, the town manager, and the Mayor Pro-Tem, to discuss the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting. Other than a few adjustments to the way certain staff reports were worded there wasn’t much to talk about. We did talk a little about the item to direct staff to provide information in relation to the Triangle Expressway Southeast corridor. To provide detailed information would require months and thousands of dollars in staff time. What we wanted to clarify is that staff would provide as much information as possible without taking a lot of time. Staff did mention that a web page giving the status of the project would be up and running this week.

Normally on Tuesday I meet with the town manager and Mayor Pro-Tem. Interestingly, this week none of us had much to talk about so we decided to cancel and catch up next week. This was a nice surprise and I used the time to have dinner with my youngest daughter.

Wednesday started very early. I was at West Cary Middle School at 6:45 to welcome guest speakers and students to career day.

In lieu of my weekly meeting with the town manager and Mayor Pro-Tem I talked briefly with the town manager on Wednesday. We briefly talked about a rail corridor study that will be proposed to CAMPO that should do an in depth analysis of Cary’s rail crossings. This study is extremely important to the town as we continue planning downtown revitalization. We also talked about the announcement that Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Director Mary Henderson will be retiring effective on June 1st. The town manager says he plans to use a full process to find the next director. Mary Henderson has been with the town for 27 years, 15 as director. She will be sorely missed. Through her leadership the town has one of the best Parks programs in the nation. God bless her for all her work.

The council meeting this week was held on Wednesday instead of Thursday. This was to accommodate the interest in the ACC basketball tournament. It is important for us to hold meetings and public hearings on nights when people can and will attend. Thus the decision was made early in the year to move this meeting.

The Wednesday council meeting was relatively short lasting less than a 1 ½ hours. There was a presentation from Bob Coats who was with the US Census group. BTW, PLEASE fill out your census forms which should be in the mail this week. Our discussions were on the CIRC (Citizen Issue Review Committee) process and directing staff to provide information on the I-540 impacts to Cameron Pond.

The proposed changes to the CIRC process will allow this group to help citizens get information to council. That is, citizens should be able to come to council meetings as usual OR they can petition to form an issue advisory group. The CIRC will then decide the best way for those citizens to get information to council. The options include creating an advisory group, providing written reports to council, working with an existing advisory group, or tabling the proposal for more assessment. I think these changes along with removing the town manager review from the process should make things run smoother.

There was also good discussion on having staff provide information about solutions to Cameron Ponds problems with buffers. Council member Smith noted that we might be setting high expectations which we cannot meet with our current economic situation. I think that is a very valid point. But we will see what the information allows in opportunities for assistance.

I received a few letters this week from elected officials congratulating Cary for receiving the 2009 Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging achievement award. Congressman Miller wrote “I could not be prouder to represent you, and the Town of Cary, in Congress.” NC Senator Stein wrote “I congratulate you and hope that you will extend congratulations to the town’s employees as I know this success involved the hard work and commitment of many.” I think that pretty much says it all.

Emails this week included a lot of support for the Cameron Pond issue I mentioned above. In addition, there were a few emails for and against abortions. Other emails included complaints about littering, questions about Google’s fiber offer, and complaints about solicitations.

Next week includes a meeting with the Wake County mayors, a talk with girl scouts, a talk with youth leadership, a taping for Cary TV, and welcome remarks for a triathlon.

Before I close I want to remind everyone that this is Sunshine Week. Here is what sunshine week is all about (from our web page at http://www.townofcary.org/Sunshine/SunshineWeek.htm ):

1. What is Sunshine Week?

Sunshine Week is a national initiative designed to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. This includes the public’s right to attend meetings and access documents deemed a “public record;” in North Carolina, this determination is made by the state’s General Assembly. Sunshine Week 2010 is March 14-20.

2. How is the Town of Cary participating in Sunshine Week?
As part of this year’s Sunshine Week efforts, we’re providing educational opportunities for our staff and elected and appointed officials to ensure everyone who carries out business on behalf of the Town understands the importance of the “sunshine” laws. We’re also maintaining this Web page, created in 2008, to answer your questions, help make it easier for you to make public records requests and know your rights under the law. It’s part of our ongoing commitment to be open, transparent and accessible. In fact, our Web site is a prime example of our commitment to Sunshine Week. Since 1997, the Town has been putting Council meeting materials on the Web for everyone - Council members, media and citizens - to access at the same time. It is the primary reason Cary’s Web site was created, and today, it boasts more than 55,000 files of “public records”.

Well that is all for this week. I plan to next post on Sunday, March 21^st. Please feel free to email me with a comment.