Town Manager One-On-One
Monday I had a brief meeting with the town manager. We talked about the Atlantic Tire Tennis Championships, South Hills Mall redevelopment, and about Epic Games on the old mall site. Later Monday I attended the Atlantic Tire Tennis Championships.
Diwali Dance Practice
Tuesday I participated in the weekly Diwali Dance practice. We have been practicing weekly since the beginning of summer. We have finished 90% of the dance steps and now are focusing on doing them correctly and transitioning. I have to practice additional hours just to keep up with “real” dancers.
State of Cary Address at Searstone
Wednesday I gave an updated version of the State of Cary Address at Searstone. It was based on my first address in January but with new information on parks, roads, and development projects. I was there about an hour and only had one question from an audience of about 100.
Wednesday at the Tennis Championships
Later Wednesday I attended the Atlantic Tire Tennis Championships and was able to meet and greet several people. At this point in the week we had already surpassed previous attendance records. It was great to see full stands on a weeknight during school.
Covid-19 Omicron Booster
Thursday morning I received my Covid-19 Updated booster for Omicron (my 3rd booster). I believe Covid-19 will be with us for many more years. It is imperative that we all stay updated on our vaccinations and boosters.
Cary Chamber After Hours at Atlantic Tire Tennis Championships
Thursday I provided remarks at the Cary Chamber After Hours event which was held at the Atlantic Tire Tennis Championships at the Cary Tennis Park. I talked about how the tournament had grown in years, how our community benefitted economically, and how it gets us recognition nationwide and throughout the world.
After my remarks I attended one of the singles matches that evening.
North Carolina Metro Mayors
Friday the North Carolina Metro Mayors heard from a Senior Climate Policy Advisor from NCDOT. The following is a summary of her remarks from the Executive Director:
- Overview of Federal Program – National EV Charging Infrastructure (NEVI)
- $5 billion was appropriated for EV charging as a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
- It is a five-year program with an estimated $109 million coming to North Carolina over those five years. NC is expected to receive approximately $16 million in year one.
- NEVI Station Criteria
- Phase 1 requires the build out of fast charging stations along the Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs). The station must be within one mile of the AFC and each station must be located within 50 miles of each other.
- Phase 2 focuses on Community-based charging. After 50 miles of spacing is met, stations can be placed along any public road on a site that is publicly accessible.
- There are currently 10 NEVI-compliant stations along AFCs in North Carolina.
- Eligible Items for Funding
- Planning such as how many stations are needed and where they need to be.
- Site design and operation which includes capital expenses for EV chargers, operations and maintenance, and signage.
- Utility upgrades for on-site utilities.
- Tentative Schedule Public engagement sessions will begin once the plan is approved at the end of this month.
- Public engagement for Phase 2 Community Grant Program is anticipated to begin in the Spring of 2023.
Asia Fest
Saturday I attended the opening of Asia Fest at Booth Amphitheater. Remarks were provided by the NC Secretary of State and a NC Senator. I was asked to do a Q&A instead of providing remarks.
Afterwards the elected official sat in one of the Dragon Boats for pictures.
Atlantic Tire Tennis Doubles Championships
Saturday afternoon I attended the doubles championships at the Atlantic Tire Tennis Tournament. I was able to provide remarks after the match. Congratulations to the US team Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow for winning the doubles championship.
Atlantic Tire Tennis Singles Championships
Sunday I attended the singles championships at the Atlantic Tire Tennis Tournament. I provided remarks and handed out the finalist trophy. Congratulations to Michael Mmoh on winning the singles championship.
Town Manager’s Report
The Town Manager’s report for this week included:
Russ’ Message
It was great to see so many staff and community members last night as Mayor Weinbrecht welcomed attendees to the Chamber Business After Hours at the Cary Tennis Park. We are fortunate with the weather forecast this coming weekend to welcome many to Cary for multiple community events including the Atlantic Tire Championship. For a full list of community events occurring this weekend, click here.
Have a great weekend!
Russ
MacGregor Downs HOA Meeting
MacGregor Downs Homeowners Association held their annual meeting and invited staff and Council to attend. Public safety staff provided an update to those in attendance. In addition to staff, Council Members Jack Smith and Carissa Kohn-Johnson were also in attendance.
Ed Yerha Park Sign Installed
In August, Council recognized the service of former Cary Council Member Ed Yerha by renaming White Oak Park in his honor. The newly named parks sign was installed this week.
Fire Hosts ICS 400 Class
About 45 employees representing departments from across the organization came together this week for an ICS 400 class. This National Incident Management System training program course is designed for personnel who would be involved in large, complex incidents or events and is a follow-up to the ICS 300 class taught in August. The class was taught by emergency management experts Leslie O’Connor and Darshan Patel. On the first day of class, Fire presented Public Safety Director Toni Dezomits with a fire helmet befitting her position.
Dominion Energy Gas Line Replacement Project
Staff is in the process of working with Dominion Energy on a gas line replacement project along E. Chatham St. A new 12″ steel gas line will be installed, replacing an existing 8″ gas line, along Reedy Creek Rd.
A pre-construction meeting has been set for the week of September 26. The expectation is for the project to start early October and last for up to 8 weeks. Additional updates and traffic alerts will be provided as these dates are confirmed and traffic control measures are well defined.
Growing Interest in the Composting Pilot
A Toward Zero Waste representative joined Waste Strategy and Impact Consultant Srijana Guilford at the NC DEQ’s Sustainability Team meeting to share about Cary’s pilot food waste drop-off. The team sought details on the design and successes of Cary’s model as well as how it may be applied to their sustainability efforts.
Growing Cary’s Gardens
Last week, over 250 residents participated in 13 different agricultural programs. Volunteers gathered at fire station gardens for environmental service-learning activities, including harvesting, amending soils, and planting in honor of the 9-11 National Day of Service. Carpenter Park Community Garden’s Open House welcomed guests of all ages for tours, crafts, and more. Good Hope Farm hosted compost giveaway workshops and an Organic Gardening class to over 150 students that received free compost, guidebooks, and instruction for successful composting and gardening practices for their lawns at home.
Regional Water Supply Plan – “Out for Bid”
The Triangle Water Partnership (TWP), a regional coalition of water utilities working together to solve water issues, initiated the process for a new Regional Water Supply Plan, which will look at collective water supply needs through 2070. This is one of the hallmark deliverables of the TWP and will update the 2014 Plan which was instrumental in the recent round of Jordan Lake supply pool allocations. Cary remains well positioned with Jordan Lake as robust water supply thanks to continued proactive future water resource planning.
Black Creek Greenway Sewer Rehab
Following the reopening of the Crabtree Creek Greenway in late July, crews have been preparing to rehabilitate sewer lines along the Black Creek Greenway. Over the past several weeks, construction mats have been placed at key locations, temporary stream crossings have been constructed, and a system of temporary pumps and above-ground piping has been installed to manage sewer flows along the Black Creek Greenway between Dynasty Drive and North Cary Park.
Sewer rehabilitation is now underway along the Black Creek Greenway, with installation of the first cured-in-place pipe liner this week near West Dynasty Drive. This first phase of sewer improvements along the Black Creek Greenway is scheduled for completion later this Fall. While this portion of the Black Creek trail is closed, all other portions of the Black Creek Greenway and the Crabtree Creek Greenway are open to the public.
Current information regarding the status of the greenways, detour routes and project details are available at www.carygreenwaydetour.com.
E-Notary Class Offered for Cary Notaries
On Wednesday, several staff members took their first step to become electronic notaries. Legal Assistant Karen Gray organized this training led by Wake Tech Community College with the help of the NC Secretary of State’s Office. Cary is now better positioned to move toward truly paperless transactions, as electronic notaries are authorized to notarize purely digital documents.
Women in Law Enforcement Appreciation Luncheon
In honor of National Women in Law Enforcement Day, the police department’s very own Captain Kat Christian served as the keynote speaker at the Salisbury Police Department’s Women in Law Enforcement Appreciation Luncheon. Kat shared uplifting words of encouragement with her audience of up and coming female police leaders, and discussed her journey navigating the profession to becoming a member of the department’s executive command staff. Despite nationwide efforts to increase representation, women constitute less than 13% of total officers and a much smaller proportion of leadership positions within law enforcement. The Cary Police Department is truly humbled and honored that Kat’s leadership journey is serving to inspire future female police leaders across the State.
American Legion Post 67 Officer and Firefighter of the Year Awards
Congratulations to Cary Police Officer Andrew Reuther and Cary Fire Engineer Tyler Riva, recipients of the American Legion Post 67 2022 Officer of the Year and Firefighter of the Year awards. Andrew was recognized for his life saving efforts on an individual suffering from multiple stab wounds. Tyler, a Marine Corps veteran, was honored for going above and beyond in his pursuit of education and training and for his service on the swift water rescue team during a 2021 deployment. In addition, Wake County EMS District Chief Marion Houle was selected by his peers for the chapter’s EMT of the Year award in honor of 30 years of dedicated service. Police and Fire are incredibly proud of these employees, honored by their recognition, and grateful for the service of the men and women of Post 67.
My Tree, Our Tree Registration Opens with Enthusiasm
Cary residents showed their continued interest and enthusiasm for planting native trees as they reserved more than 500 of the 550 trees within 24 hours of the My Tree, Our Tree registration opening. Between now and early October, the remaining trees can be claimed to take root in Cary’s community and contribute to the canopy.
NW Maynard Sidewalk Construction
The construction for a sidewalk gap at NW Maynard is substantially complete. This is a sidewalk infill project just west of N Harrison Ave. The work included demo, new sidewalk, curb and gutter, cross walk markings, sewer clean out adjustment, and landscape restoration. The contractor, White Oak, has two more things to complete which includes placing sod and crosswalk markings at the nearby access.
Upcoming Meetings
Hybrid Public Art Advisory Board
Wednesday
Sept. 21
6:15 p.m.
Council Meeting
Thursday
Sept. 22
6:30 p.m.
Mayor’s Mailbox
- A suggestion for a type of electronic bus
- A complaint that elected officials displaced parents seated to watch their children at Asia Fest
- A question about the town auctioning off firearms. The response from the police chief:
“This is a required public notice prior to selling all types of unclaimed property. Non firearms are sold via auction to the general public.
Currently under NC law when we dispose of firearms we are required to sell them to licensed firearm dealers (not the general public). However, the public notice still applies. The current law does not allow for us to destroy them unfortunately.
The same holds true for those cities in NC who conduct buy back programs. Studies have shown that such programs are not truly effective and this is compounded by the inability to destroy confiscated or bought back weapons.
I hope this helps,
Terry Sult
Chief of Police
Cary Police Department”
Next Week
Next week’s activities include staff meetings, a meeting with World University Games representatives, a Wake County Mayors Association meeting, a tour of the new Duke Health facility, a meeting of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Executive Board, a meeting with Turner Creek 3rd Grade classes, the last regularly scheduled council meeting of the month, playing George Washington as Part of the Cary Trolley tours, and Good Hope Farm’s Farm to Fork event.
Well, that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday, September 25th. 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.
Harold's Blog 