Entries by Harold Weinbrecht

Harold’s Blog: Green Level High School, Constitution Week and More

September 23, 2019 /3 Comments/in , , , , /by

Tuesday I met with two representatives from the Taylor Family YMCA.  The YMCA is working on their Long-Range Plan for the next 10 years. As they prepare for that Long-Range Plan the Corporate Development Office is interviewing local officials and leaders to help them shape their vision. I answered dozens of questions and told multiple stories in addition to providing information about how I thought Cary will grow in the future. We talked for about an hour.

Harold’s Blog: Town Council Meeting, Cary Bonds and More

September 16, 2019 /20 Comments/in , , , , /by

Monday I attempted to contact council members to hear of questions or concerns about the agenda for Thursday’s regularly scheduled meeting. There was very little comment with one concern about the rezoning proposal at I540.

Later Monday I met with management and directors to go over the agenda. We did not have any major issues with the agenda, and I predicted the meeting would last about an hour and a half to two hours.

Harold’s Blog: Tennis Award, Economic Development and More

September 9, 2019 in , , , , /by

Monday I joined the Directory of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources in New York at the USTA (United States Tennis Association) annual awards breakfast to accept the 2019 Featured Facility Award for the Cary Tennis Park. Our parks system continues to be the best of the best and our venues continue to be nationally recognized. Thanks to Doug McRainey and his staff for creating such an excellent park system.

Harold’s Blog: Quarterly Meeting, Tennis Award and More

September 3, 2019 /7 Comments/in , , , , /by

Thursday the council held its 2019 fourth quarter meeting and covered several topics including six main areas on interest.

The meeting started with key budget outcomes. Revenues were at 95% of budget and expenditures were at 89% of budget. It should be pointed out that we are not allowed to go over budget. One significant note was that utility fund was down by 3%.

Harold’s Blog: Lazy Daze, Tourism Award and More

August 26, 2019 /1 Comment/in , , , , /by

Monday I attended a meeting of the Wake County Mayors Association. Attending were mayors from Apex, Cary, Holly Springs, Morrisville, Rolesville, Wake Forest, and Zebulon. After a brief presentation on police training, we talked about local issues. The focus of our conversation was on the CAMPO LAPP projects (more on that later). We also decided that we should send a letter to the school board asking that municipalities have a say in the naming of schools within their jurisdiction. Our meeting concluded after about two hours.

Harold’s Blog: Xerox Announcement, Town Council Meeting and More

August 19, 2019 /6 Comments/in , , , , /by

Tuesday was a very busy day. It started with the job announcement from Xerox that they planned on a $18.4 million investment that included 600 jobs with an average salary of $112,000. I joined council member Smith, the town manager, Director of Economic Development, and several key chamber members at the state capital for the announcement.

Harold’s Blog: Bond Referendums, Lyman Collins and More

August 5, 2019 /7 Comments/in , , , , /by

Monday I joined the town manager, the chief financial officer, the deputy town clerk, the bond attorney, and a representative of the bank to sign legal documents for the sale of the last portion of the 2012 General Obligation bonds. The amount was $16,050,000 and will be used to implement promises made in 2012. Since we have the highest bond rating possible our bonds are at the lowest interest rate possible. The interest rates will be almost nothing since it is just barely above inflation.

Harold’s Blog: Cary Town Council, Cary Towne Center and More

July 22, 2019 /9 Comments/in , , , , /by

My last meeting on Monday was with the Deputy Town Manager and the Mayor Pro-Tem. We mostly talked about the hotel occupancy and meals tax. Approximately $52 million in hotel/meals (“Hospitality”) tax revenue was generated in Cary from FY 2010 through FY2016, and I estimate we generated another $30 million plus in the last three years to make the ten-year total somewhere north of $80 million. During that ten years, Cary received $21 million in Hospitality Tax revenues.