Tuesday I contacted council members to hear of concerns or questions about Thursday’s agenda. There were some concerns about the Ivey-Ellington house in the Developer agreement for the Harrison Avenue and Chatham proposal.
Wednesday at noon was the Town of Cary annual employee luncheon which was held in the Herb Young center. Employees were treated to great food in an informal atmosphere that included couches. I started the remarks by introducing council members and thanking employees for all they have done this past year and all they will do in the coming year. Cary is blessed to have an incredible staff. They are truly the best of the best.
Monday I contacted council members about any questions or concerns they may have had about Thursday’s upcoming agenda. The agenda was fairly straight forward so there were no questions. However, more than one council member expressed concerns about the number of apartment proposals we are getting.
Monday was Veteran’s Day which included a program at the Veteran’s Memorial in Cary. Veterans and their families have given so much to protect our freedom and keep us safe. If you see a veteran, please thank them for their service.
Monday I met with the town manager for our weekly one-on-one. We spent most of our time talking about the upcoming quarterly meeting. We also spent time talking about future parks.
Monday evening I recorded a podcast with the “Guys who do stuff” group. We had a great interview about how I became involved in government and the challenges we faced and are expecting to face.
Monday I met with the First Lego League Robotics team about issues related to the environment. They created a plan and a model for Carpenter Park to include items like solar power, rain barrels for water, and trees to shade for play structures. It is so very encouraging to have youth at this age focusing on ideas that will make their community better. This type of engagement is what makes our community great. Thanks to the youth for visiting and sharing their ideas. They plan to meet with our Parks Director next.
Monday night I attended a meeting of the Wake County Mayors Association. Eight mayors were in attendance. Mayors not attending were Apex, Knightdale, Morrisville, and Wendell. The first speaker was the Executive Director of InterAct who talked about the need for more municipal partnerships. The second speaker was the Wake County School Board chairman who fielded questions and talked about naming schools and school assignments. The current Wake County School board has adopted a policy to not name schools after municipalities and instead name them after regions. He also mentioned the need for educational diversity and stated to me that Panther Creek may change in the future. I responded with “Good luck with that” since Panther Creek and all Cary schools have a very strong parent base. The meeting of the mayors lasted about two hours.
Later Tuesday I joined council members Lori Bush, Don Frantz, and dozens of supporters at Jordan Lake Brewery to watch the election results. This year it took hours for the results to come in and we didn’t know the outcome until after 10 PM. I was blessed to be reelected with 83.9% of the vote.
Monday I provided welcoming remarks for the SAS Championships media day. In my remarks I talked about the tournament’s economic impact on the community and the opportunities it provided to our citizens to see the legends of golf.
Monday I attempted to contact all council members to hear of questions or concerns about Thursday’s agenda. Questions and concerns were centered around the hotel proposed in the Weston Office park.
Later in the day I met with staff to go over the agenda items. Most of the discussion was about what to put in the staff reports. That meeting lasted about fifteen minutes.