Harold’s Blog: Town Business and Cultural Celebrations

Cary, NC – This week saw an increase in events as we approach the busy fall season.

Tuesday – Setting Agenda

My wife had a minor medical procedure on Monday so my week started on Tuesday.

Tuesday I called council members to hear of any questions or concerns they had about Thursday’s council meeting agenda. In my individual conversations there were questions about an applicant wanting to table a rezoning request for Regency Park. Council members also were interested in learning more about issues Morrisville neighbors had with connectivity in a proposed rezoning on the border of Cary.

After the agenda meeting I met with the management staff: town manager, deputy town manager, and two assistant town managers. We went over several items that are of concern including storm damage issues, applications to bring events to Cary, and issues related to other governing bodies.

My final meeting on Tuesday was with the new town manager. Since he had only been on the job for five days at this point we talked about impressions and perceptions.

Wednesday – Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday I attended the Cary Chamber of Commerce’s elected officials leadership dinner. All council members were in attendance except one who was absent only because she was celebrating her 25^thwedding anniversary. Also in attendance was our new town manager, our assistant to the town manager and liaison to the General Assembly, several school board members, and several county commissioners, legislators from the Cary delegation, and representatives from congressional and senator’s offices. I joined the speakers from the chamber in thanking the elected officials for all they do. Later in the program I introduced our council members. The reception and meal concluded after about three hours.

Thursday – Town Council Meeting

Thursday the council held its first regularly scheduled meeting of the month. The agenda included 12 consent items, 4 public hearings, and 4 discussion items. Most speakers for this meeting showed up for the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment and rezoning for the Carpenter Village and Ferrell Farms. They expressed concerns with the connectivity requirement to a road stub into a Morrisville community.

On another item speakers voiced opposition to a proposal to build a parking lot in Regency Park. This proposal was only before council because the developer wants to build a parking lot before a future office building.

Under the discussion portion of the meeting, council approved the appropriation of $630,000 for storm damage and a change for the 2017 calendar for work sessions. In addition, I appointed council members to non-town organizations. Our meeting concluded after about two and a half hours.

Saturday – India Celebration

Saturday I attended the India Independence celebration at the Hindu temple in Morrisville. I have attended this every year since I have been mayor. Several dignitaries were there to unveil the American flag, the North Carolina flag, and the India flag. On a stage were Governor McCrory, state representative Adcock, state representative Avila, and Mayor Stohlman of Morrisville. There were also several council members from Morrisville and Cary in attendance. Overall the event had several hundred people from the Indian communities in the region.

Sunday – Fundraiser

Sunday I attended a fund raiser for state representative and former Cary council member Gale Adcock. Joining me at this event were several dignitaries including Attorney General and Gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper. We all praised our good friend Gale and vowed to support her as she continues to provide excellent representation for Cary and surrounding municipalities.

Emails From Staff

Emails from staff this week included the construction, planning, and zoning report for July. Here are some of the interesting points:

The average single family dwelling was 3491 square feet compared to 3590 square feet in 2012.
70 Certificates of Occupancy were issued for single family dwellings, 9 for multi-family, and 3 for non-residential.
County wide Cary had the second most single family permits at 13.6% of all county permits.
16 new development plans were submitted including 44 single family dwellings, 182,529 square feet of commercial, and 527,400 square feet of mixed use.
Currently there are 18 rezonings, 10 annexations, and 5 Comprehensive Plan Amendments in review.

To see the current plans in review go to http://www.townofcary.org/Assets/Planning+Department/Planning+Department+PDFs/planreview/Active+Projects+in+the+Review+Process+(sorted+by+date).pdf.

Emails From Citizens

Emails from citizens this week included:

A concern from a developer that there are no options to develop his site.
A complaint that workers on Sheldon Drive were parking on private property.
A complaint about a rundown property on Adams Street being a health hazard.
A request to put bike lanes on Maynard and other major streets.
A complaint about flooding on Wicklow Drive.
A complaint that town officials are spending money on downtown when they should be spending money on homeless veterans.
A complaint that road sealant will be applied to a street with utility markings making those markings permanent.
Several requests for speaking engagements and meetings.

Next week will include a meeting of the Mayors Association, a meeting of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, a dinner with a delegation from France, and other meetings.

Get In Touch

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

From the blog of Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht. Photos by Hal Goodtree.