Council-Staff Retreat

Town Manager One-On-One

I had a brief meeting with the town manager Monday evening. Our discussion included the upcoming retreat, a potential bond, and the Harrison Avenue extension.

Council-Staff Retreat

Friday and Saturday the entire council and about thirty staff members spend all day working on important town issues.

Council Dinner

Thursday night the council met for dinner, which was advertised as a public meeting. This is something that we do every year. We do not talk about town business and instead spend the time getting to know each other since we don’t have that opportunity as a group. I loved learning about our newest council members Sarika Bansal and Michelle Craig.

Ice Breaker

Friday morning the council and staff started with an ice breaker of “three truths and a lie” about each attendee. Other members were to guess the lie. It was a fun exercise that allowed us to learn interesting facts about each other. For example, one of my truths was that I was a foreman in a cookie factory.

Dr. Furman Presentation

Next, we had a leadership talk from Dr. Melissa Furman, who happened to speak at the annual Cary Chamber conference last summer. One of her interesting points is how different generations communicate and interact with others. She explained that this is based on events that shaped their lives. For example, being a baby boomer, I was shaped by the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Woodstock, Rock-N-Roll, the assassinations of MLK and JFK. These events influenced the goals I have in life and how I communicated with others. Of course, I am leaving out a lot of details. To find out more you can go here.

Meeting Wilmington Council

At lunch on Friday the council was scheduled to meet with three Wilmington Council members. Unfortunately, only one, Salette Andrews, was able to make it. It was interesting to share issues that each municipality was dealing with. We found out that council member Andrews was also a previously elected official in Arizona and how state authority there differed from North Carolina.

Capital Projects Update

After lunch future capital projects were presented to the council with the latest information. These are potential projects that the council has been discussing since last year’s retreat and could be on a bond this fall. After the presentation the council did an exercise to reprioritize major capital projects since there are two new council members. The ranking showed tennis and pickleball was first, four projects tied for second, and the Earnest Jones Property was a close third. Here is the order of the ranking with the estimated cost:

Cary Tennis Park Pickleball and Expansion Project: $60 million
  • 30 pickleball courts for play and tournaments
  • Clubhouse expansion including NC Tennis Hall of FameFlexible courts that can be converted into a 3000-seat stadium to hold higher professional tournaments. This will significantly increase economic benefit.
  • Structured Parking
Cary Community Sports and Recreation Center: $560 million with $75 million from Wake County

  • Community Center
  • Senior Center
    • Flexible Competitive Space for multiple sports options
    • A 4000-seat arena
    • Structured parking
    • This has the potential to have an economic impact equal to or greater than all our sports venues combined. It will help transform the South Hills area.
Mills Park Community Center: $150 million
   
  • Community Center
  • Senior Center
  • Structure parking.
Walnut Creek Greenway: $30 million
  • Downtown Cary to Fenton and to South Hills
Asian Garden: $10 million
  • Rock gardens, water elements, winding paths, bridges, meditation areas, shelter, restroom, parking
Earnest Jones Property of 217 acres: $10 million
  • Phase I – foot trails, restroom, parking, & restoration of historic structure

The council then spent the rest of the day discussing financing such a large amount of money. While financially Cary and its citizens could afford such a large bond, council was not comfortable with that amount especially when re-evaluation of properties will have an impact on citizens. End the end the council agreed that a $560 million Cary Community Sports and Recreation Center would have to be phased with the first phase not including the arena portion. And that the cost would have to be under $200 million which would result in a smaller design but keep all the features of the community center and senior center portion in tack. It is important to note that the bonds would be spread over ten years and the earliest sale would be 2027.

Saturday Recap of Friday

Saturday began with a group picture of all attendees and a recap of Friday. The council confirmed that a potential bond would not include an arena at South Hills.

Financial

Saturday’s first topic was a financial update. There were a lot of interesting facts on property values:

  • Residential property value change in Cary averaged a 56% increase while Wake County averaged 53%.
  • Commercial property value change in Cary averaged a 39% increase while Wake County averaged 45%.
  • Cary’s assessed value was 34.4 billion in 2023 and now is 49.7 billion which is a 44.4% increase in one year.
  • Our tax base was 70% residential and 30% commercial in 2020 and is now 68% residential and 32% commercial.
  • Average residential property value was $415,951 in 2020 and is now $647,748.

There was also interesting information on individual property values. The staff presented six random properties in Cary showing the value of the property and taxes over time based on today’s dollars. All properties showed a significant increase in value but four out of the six showed a decrease in taxes (today’s dollars).

One of the examples was a house near Maynard, Cary Parkway, and Castalia Drive.

It was first built in 1982 with a value of $63,500 (today’s dollars) but today is worth $445,018 which is an increase of 601%. At the same time the original taxes in 1982 were $1,786 (today’s dollars) and today is $1,536.

A lot is attributed to the increase in property values. Some of the contributing factors noted since 1998:

  • 81 miles of greenway
  • 20 new parks (including Downtown Cary Park, USA Baseball, Cary Tennis Center)
  • 4 new fire stations
  • 215 street miles

Cary’s current tax rate is 34.5 cents per $100 of value which is the lowest in Wake County by 4.5 cents. Our revenue neutral rate would be 24.5 cents per $100 of value. Other points noted from the financial report included:

  • A penny on the tax rate was $3.5 million last year and is $5.1 this year.
  • To maintain levels of service staff recommends 32.5 cents per $100 of value.
  • Services would have to be cut to move to a revenue neutral tax rate. Many factors such as inflation, additional expenses, supply chain, etc. are causing the increase.

The council will decide the tax rate at the beginning of the fiscal year 2025 which begins on July 1st.

Council Elections

The rest of Saturday morning was spent talking about council elections. Currently council elections are held on odd years in October. If a candidate does not get 50% + 1 then there is a runoff in November. The cost of elections is shared with other entities holding elections during that time. For years Raleigh and Wake County shared the cost of October elections. Now Cary, by itself, is paying all the cost. In 2023 Cary paid $690,711 for the election and $133,796 for the runoff. The council agreed that Cary should consider moving to November for elections. But to do that Cary would have to give up the runoff and 50%+ 1. This could mean a council race with multiple candidates could result in the winner getting something like 30% of the vote which means that 70% voted for someone else. The council will discuss this further in the future.

The discussion on council elections also included a segment where two council members expressed the desire to consider even year elections to save money and have better voter participation. Staff pointed out that even year elections would cost the same as odd year elections in November. In addition, changing to even year elections would require legislative approval from a unanimous council, and since one council member stated that they would never agree to that, it became a moot point.

In my opinion, even-year elections would be very harmful to Cary. Citizens that vote in odd-year elections, in general, vote because they are engaged and care about local issues. In even year elections the ballots are very long with races on all levels of government. Council elections would be at the bottom. My biggest fear is that uninformed voters would marginalize informed voters and that partisan politics would play a bigger role in electing council members. Political parties hand out slate cards at the polls. It is amazing how many people take them. Voting for someone because they are a Democrat or Republican is not good for local government. It doesn’t matter if it is a Democrat or Republican that keeps you safe, puts out fires, provides water/sewer, runs parks, etc. If councils turn partisan, then they are more likely to engage in partisan issues such as passing resolutions for or against Israel or Humas. This has absolutely nothing to do with the core services we are sworn to provide. Cary, unlike most municipalities, has become one of the greatest places in the nation partly because we remain apolitical. Should we change? I think not!

Development

The presentation on development covered a lot of areas. The following are some of the points I noted:

  • Cary’s office vacancy rate is under 13% while the Triangle, North Carolina, and the US are above 17%.
  • Office vacancy rates are expected to grow in Cary to 16% by the end of 2025. By that time the Triangle, North Carolina, and the US will be around 20%.
  • Interest rates have not significantly slowed development in Cary.
  • 41% of Cary is working from home which is one of the highest in the nation.
  • Fenton had a parking deck approved in January with 5 levels and 722 spaces. It should be completed in a little over a year.
  • Fenton’s Crawford Steakhouse is scheduled to open this fall.
  • The South Hills project is moving forward and will have a Public Hearing this spring.
  • Alston Yards near Parkside Commons will have 850 multi-family units, 400,000 square feet of office space, 55,000 square feet of commercial space, 200 room hotel, and a landing for a pedestrian bridge across Highway 55. They should have a Public Hearing this spring.
  • The Weston office park is being visioned for lakefront development. The council will have a work session on this during the fall.
  • Weston Parkway is being studied to add bike-ped trails on each side as part of the visioning process.
  • The town hall campus issued an RFQ in May of 2023. Eighteen applications were submitted. The council has not seen these and is expected to review them before the end of June. The council’s process is only to select a developer before the public gets involved to help decide what should go on the town hall campus.

Environmental Video

The council watched a short video on Cary’s numerous environmental initiatives. I noted that Cary has 161 EV charging stations, will be the 5th community in the nation with an electric firetruck, and will be the 1st in the nation with an electric garbage truck.

Housing

Staff presented over 30 slides covering our housing initiatives. Here are some of my notes:

  • Cary has been making an impact and investing in housing initiatives for over a decade.
  • Major initiatives are in progress, including development of Town-owned land and more housing options for seniors.
  • As we evolve, we will continue using high-impact, proactive strategies to further Cary Housing Plan goals.
  • Cary has 474 affordable units in progress which will be added to our 790 existing units.
  • Rose Park Manor will have 80 affordable units and should be completed next year.
  • The White Oak Foundation is building 15 affordable townhome units along with a daycare, and a resource center. They should be completed this year. They are working on an additional project for senior housing.
  • Greenwood Forest Baptists Church is partnering with Cary owned land to build 60 to 68 units with daycare. This is in the beginning stages of the rezoning process.
  • The Stable Homes Cary will supply housing stability support scaling up the current Dorcas model. There will be a council vote on March 14.
  • Cary is working on changes to allow ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units). There will be a public hearing this spring.
  • There is a Housing & Community Partnerships Website which will have resources for residents, project profiles, and an impact dashboard.
  • Some of the things in progress or being considered for new housing opportunities include grants for housing, identifying land for housing, acquiring land for housing, changing to LDO to allow ADUs and other types of housing, transit-oriented housing zones, senior housing, entitlement incentives, and homebuyer down payment assistance.
  • Some of the things in progress or being considered for existing housing rehab include Healthy Homes Cary, grants for housing rehabilitation, partnerships with rehabilitation partners, a landlord rental rehab program, and an affordable market housing inventory reinvestment strategy.
  • Some of the things in progress or being considered for housing stability and affordable living support include Stable Homes Cary, workforce development, community programming, the Play it Forward program, Oasis Utility Bill fund, and the Digital Access Equity program.
  • Some of the things in progress or being considered for nonprofit capacity building include strengthening partnerships with faith based and nonprofits, building capacity of nonprofits, participating in regional housing groups, facilitating partnerships with developers and lenders, and expanding support for nonprofit executive leadership growth.
  • The Staff is proposing an 84% increase in the housing budget which would be $9.65 million.

Summary

We covered a lot of ground in two days but did not cover all we had planned. Some topics were cut short and will be covered in upcoming work sessions. Other topics were omitted such as a Stormwater discussion which is now scheduled for the March 14th work session. A discussion about Cary events, such as the Cary Christmas parade, will also be held at a future work session. All in all, it was a great retreat, and I am proud and honored to work with a great council and the best staff in the nation.

Mayor’s Mailbox

  • A concern of a social media post that said, “I think some Molotov cocktails through the windows of some developers’ offices is what it will realistically take for meaningful change.”
  • Invitations to several events.
  • A complaint that someone in a van with Florida tags parks at Barnes and Noble at night and we are doing nothing about it (From what I understand the private property owners must complain about trespassing otherwise it is OK).
  • A complaint about panhandling at Waverly (Again, if the private property owner is OK with it, there isn’t much we can do. Trespassing is up to the private property owner).

Next Week

Next week’s activities include private meetings.

Well, that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday, March 10th, 2024. Although I have Facebook and Twitter accounts those are not the best means of communication with me. Please send all Town of Cary questions or comments to Harold.Weinbrecht@townofcary.org and email personal comments to augustanat@mindspring.com.