This week consisted of a few private meetings, a committee meeting, and a grant award ceremony.

Monday was spent celebrating the July 4^th holiday. I had a rare opportunity to relax and play. I filled the day with a little swimming, a little tennis, and a little yard work.

Tuesday was a busy day which started with a Triangle Transit workshop that was held in the town hall lobby. This is the first of three planned workshops in Cary. General transit plans were presented by video and charts. Several key transit people were on hand to answer questions. I estimate about a hundred visited the workshop which consisted mostly of business leaders.

Tuesday evening I met with a developer on a project that is being reviewed on Chapel Hill Road. He wanted to make sure I understood all that was involved in his project and offer any help in understanding.

After the developer meeting I joined Mayor Holcomb and met Cary News editor Jack Hagel. Our discussion centered on past inaccuracies and on building relationships. I believe relationships are important with the local media. They need to feel comfortable asking questions to make sure they are getting all the details in a story. We need to feel comfortable giving them feedback on stories we feel are inaccurate and misleading.

Wednesday I met with several developers and their representatives for the Peninsula at Amberly. I also had staff, the town attorney, and the town manager in attendance to help with questions. The developers complained that they are having difficulty developing because of upfront road and infrastructure improvements required. Part of these improvements should have been made by the developer of Phase 1 and 2 but the bank that held that guarantee defaulted. At the end of the meeting staff agreed to look at options to bring to council that would allow developers to pay for improvements for properties as they are developed. While it is important to do what we can to help these developers, it is also important to protect the taxpayers from having to take on the responsibility of infrastructure in this area.

Thursday I substituted for Councilman Erv Portman on the Planning and Development committee. We had three items on the agenda. The first two items were approved without discussion. They included accepting grants from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and accepting artwork from two local artists. The third item was a discussion on the options for the Weldon Ridge road alignment in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. We narrowed down the eight options to two and will bring that to council to begin the process of approval which includes a public hearing.

Thursday night I attended a grant presentation ceremony for several Cary CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) teams. CERT is a partner of Citizen Corps whose mission is to have everyone in America prepare, train, and volunteer. I had a great time at this event and was impressed to see and meet many of our citizens who are preparing and training to help others in case of a disaster. The big moment of the evening was a ribbon cutting of the new CERT trailer which was purchased with federal grant money provided to these teams.

Friday I completed an email interview by the Triangle Relocation Guide. This was an easy interview since we live in the most desirable place in the United States. J

Emails this week included complaints about the recently approved budget, lack of notification for the transit workshop, overpopulation of geese, the bicycle ordinance, the Weldon Ridge proposed road alignment, Prestonwood’s golf training facility, and our biosolids facility.

I also received many comments and emails this week regarding my letter to the editor on the Booth Amphitheater. You can read it (for the time being) at http://www.carynews.com/2010/07/04/18966/your-letters.html.

Well that is all for this week. I will begin a family vacation on July 17^th so that will be my next post. Please feel free to email me with a comment.