This week was a busy week which included a council meeting and some interesting events.

Monday started with the usual agenda meeting. In attendance were town management, directors, attorneys, and the town clerk staff. Earlier in the day I called council members to see if there were questions or comments about the agenda. The two items of interest included allowing employees to share sick leave and whether or not to try for LEED certification for fire station #8.

On Tuesday I was a judge in a biscuit contest held at the Gold LEED McDonalds on Kildaire Farm Road. This is the first time I have ever been a judge in a food contest. I was judging with a food writer from the N&O who had done many food judging competitions. She warned me in the beginning to take very small bites. Well, I was a little hungry so I took large bites. By the 10th contestant I was more than full. Although the contestants, from all over the region, used the same ingredients and the same oven the biscuits were different. I was told that the difference was created in the preparation and the cooking. And I COULD tell.  The judging criteria we used were appearance (pimply golden on top with white sides and 1 ½ inches high), taste (melts in your mouth and of course tastes good), and presentation (interesting since most cooks spoke very little English). The winner got a cash prize and was able to compete in the next level of competition. I was also a winner (in a sense) because I left with a food gift certificate, a pin, and a McDonald’s apron. It was a LOT of fun and I really enjoyed it. However, I will probably skip the biscuits for a while.

Tuesday evening I had an informal interview with a reporter from the Triangle Business Journal. They are interested in doing several interviews in the future with me regarding our downtown area. Some of their interest peaks around the railroad and how it impacts the downtown area. I explained that we currently had 3 major crossings. All of these are “at grade” meaning they do not have a bridge or tunnel and require crossing arms. Cary is in the process of designing a tunnel at Walker Street which will give the downtown a grade separated crossing. This is important because NCDOT Rail plans to increase traffic on the rail over the next few years. One of the goals of the high speed rail is to reduce and/or eliminate at grade crossings from Raleigh of Charlotte. This would include Cary crossings at Maynard, Academy, and Harrison. However, eliminating or grade separating those crossings will be difficult because of several reasons: 1) they are vital links that connect the town, 2) the rail station is being rebuilt with federal dollars fixing the vertical and horizontal position of the tracks at Maynard and Harrison, and 3) the tunnel at Walker Street will also fix the vertical and horizontal position of the tracks. And of course all the rail issues could have a significant impact on how our town develops in the future. More on this at a later date.

Wednesday I played in a 4 game tennis exhibition at the Cary Tennis Park as part of the Senior Appreciation Day. Our exhibition included the head pro Sean Ferreira, Western Wake Tennis Association Donna Gast, NC Tennis Association Kelly Gaines and myself. I got off to a slow start but was paired with Kelly Gaines who is a strong player. We rallied to end in a 2-2 tie. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. I thanked the crowd for their attendance and support of the Cary Tennis Center and encouraged them to help get youth interested in the game to keep it moving forward.

Wednesday evening I attended the “Step into Africa the AIDS crisis” exhibit being held at the YMCA on Cary Parkway. This exhibit allowed you to step from room to room as the story was presented via headphones. Volunteers also interacted with you to enhance the experience. The experience walked you through the tragic lives of those who have AIDS in Africa and the help they need. It was a moving experience and I was glad I went.

Thursday I met with Hub Sum representatives to brainstorm on events for this year. I am an honorary member of Hub Sum board. Their biggest event is Diwali which will be held in September. This will be the 10th year of the Diwali celebration in Cary. The Diwali celebration is Cary’s biggest event at the amphitheater and usually draws in the 12 to 15 thousand range. We brainstormed about ideas of promoting the event to help Cary citizens understand that this is a Cary event and not an Indian event.

Thursday night’s council meeting focused on two topics as predicted. The first discussion was the shared sick leave which was a staff recommendation that came from council direction. I agreed with the staff report but also wanted it to go back to committee to get more information about further things we could do. The majority of council agreed.  The second item that generated discussion was on whether or not to pay for LEED to certify the new fire station being built. The council decided to not pursue LEED certification because of the $41,000 cost. I contended that the staff cost of ensuring the fire station met the green standards might be the same as or exceed the cost of the LEED certification by a third party. We have no way of knowing since this information wasn’t provided but we do know significant staff time will be involved. It is also disappointing to me that we ask our citizens and businesses to become more environmentally sensitive and encourage their LEED certification but we don’t. Thank goodness for McDonalds (Ric Richards), Siemens, and SAS who continue to step forward to lead our community in LEED certification.

Friday I briefly attended the Public Works celebration over at the town facility on James Jackson Avenue. Our public works people go out of their way to bring the best possible service to our citizens. A perfect example was three of them who noticed 6 year old and 10 year old girls walking next to US1. They called police and stayed with the girls until the authorities arrived. Thank God they cared. Without them there might have been an unthinkable tragedy. At the event on Friday I thanked the three men: Cliff Norman, Larry Coe, and John Spey. Their acts were heroic in my eyes.

Friday night I attended a private dinner with a friend and member of the Indian Community’s political action committee. We had great food and conversation and of course talked politics. I look forward to their support next year.

Emails this week included a complaint about the required irrigation backflow testing, a complaint about barking dogs, a complaint about a water bill, a complaint about a utility project on Stephens Road, a request to make fire station #8 LEED certified, an invitation to an eagle scout ceremony, and a request for an interview.

Next week looks busy for me. On Monday I have the privilege of playing the Augusta National Golf course which is one of the most, if not the most, prestigious privately owned golf courses. The rest of the week includes a budget work session, a couple of receptions, a retirement ceremony, and a banquet. I will probably be speaking at all of these which require some preparation on my part.

Well that is all for this week. I plan to next post on Sunday, May 23^rd. Please feel free to email me with a comment.