Posts

Cary Mayor

Harold’s Blog: Downtown Park, Local Mayors and More

Cary, NC – This was a busy week but typical for this time of year.

Monday – Town Advisory Board

Monday I contacted all council members but one to hear their concerns and questions on the upcoming agenda for Thursday’s regularly scheduled meeting. Since the agenda was short there were very few questions.

Monday afternoon I met with key staff members to go over the agenda. Our meeting was short and we believed the council meeting would be short as well. Read more

Cary Town Council

Cary Town Council: Downtown Park Master Plan and More

Cary, NC – The latest Cary Town Council meeting saw a vote to approve the master plan for the final phase of Cary’s downtown park, a project more than a decade in the making, as well as Public Hearings on annexations and rezonings around town. Read more

Cary Mayor

Harold’s Blog: Quasi-Judicial Hearings, Economic Update and More

Cary, NC – This week was a typical week for mayoral duties.

Monday – Preparing for the Week

Monday I met with the town attorney, town clerk, chief strategy officer, our quasi-judicial attorney, and others to go over our quasi-judicial process. Recent rulings have now required evidence to be presented in opposition to a proposal from an expert witness to deny a proposal. So no matter how bad we think a proposal may be we can’t vote against it without an expert witness giving us reason. Many council members feel this basically ties our hands in quasi-judicial matters. That is, we will basically have to approve every quasi-judicial proposal since it is rare that an expert witness speaks in opposition to a quasi-judicial proposal. I suspect that council will create a new process which takes us out of the decision process since we basically have no decision to make. Read more

Downtown Cary

New Study Ranks Cary as Safest Town in the Country

Cary, NC – Cary has topped lists of safest towns and cities in North Carolina in the past but a new study finds Cary is not just the safest in the state but the safest municipality in the entire United States. Read more

Cary Mayor

Harold’s Blog: Plans from Mayors, Ribbon-Cutting and More

Cary, NC – This week was a slower week than last week.

My Monday meeting with the town manager was cancelled due to illness. Get well soon Sean!

Tuesday – Cary Tennis Park

Tuesday I taped the first version of Cary Matters ever held on location. The episode was at the Cary Tennis Park promoting the Cary Tennis Park. I was joined by Mayor Pro-Tem Bush for the taping. I was so excited to be on location and at the Cary Tennis Park that I adlibbed a lot which caused us to do three takes. After taping the episode we taped promotions for tournaments that will be held at the tennis park throughout the year. We finished after about 45 minutes.

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Lidl

Cary’s First Lidl Preparing for Construction

Cary, NC – One of Cary’s planned Lidl grocery stores canceled last year following a candid interview by the company’s then-CEO, but construction is gearing up now on the town’s first of the German grocery chain. Read more

Cary Mayor

Harold’s Blog: Cary Work Retreat, Downtown Park and More

Cary, NC – This was a very busy week with several meetings in addition to the annual council-staff working retreat.

Monday – Local Government Leaders

Monday I joined council member Robinson and the town manager in a meeting with TJCOG (Triangle J Council of Governments) officials. The purpose of the meeting was to find out how we could help each other. We offered to take more of a leadership role to help communities in need (we have already been doing this in several areas such water and sewer). Read more

Cary Mayor

Harold’s Blog: Butterfly Preservation, State Legislature and More

Cary, NC – This was a slower week than normal since it included Valentine’s Day.

Monday – Neighborhood Traffic Safety

Monday started with my weekly one-on-one meeting with the town manager. We were joined by the Public Information Officer. We spent about 30 minutes talking about issues including the upcoming staff-council working retreat and a legal matter.

Later Monday I joined the Deputy Town Manager, two police captains, the director of transportation and facilities, engineers, and others in a meeting with Cameron Pond residents about traffic safety issues. Their neighborhood is divided by Carpenter Fire Station Road which means residents have to cross that road to get to neighborhood amenities. While this is a state road, town staff agreed to work with the neighbors and NCDOT to try and find a solution. The solution may include a mid-block crosswalk with median for pedestrian refuge. Read more

Cary Fire Department

New Fire Station No. 9 Opening Early 2020

Cary, NC – Cary’s newest fire station is currently under construction on Walnut Street, relocating from SE Maynard Road, and weather permitting, plans are for the station to open early next year. Read more

Cary Mayor

Harold’s Blog: Town Council Meeting, Morrisville Community and More

Cary, NC – This week was relatively short in comparison to typical weeks this time of year.

Monday – Planning for the Week

Monday I called council members to hear of concerns or questions they may have had about the upcoming council meeting on Thursday. Since the discussion part of that meeting was quasi-judicial I was not allowed to discuss those topics with council members. Read more