Town Manager One-On-One
Monday I met with the town manager for our weekly one-on-one. Our conversation included storm preparation and recent council actions.
HRID Meeting
Tuesday I joined a meeting of the Human Relations, Inclusion, and Diversity committee. The committee discussed demographics for surveys and the prioritization chart of accomplishments. Afterwards there was a presentation on 311. My remarks included the Walnut Street Road Diet project, the Cary Tennis Classic, the Cary bonds new web page at https://carybonds.org, and actions taken because of tropical storm Debby.
Cary Chamber Leadership Dinner
Wednesday night I joined council members Smith, Robinson, Kohn-Johnson, and Craig and the Cary Chamber Leadership Dinner. Elected officials from all levels of government were in attendance including Congresswoman Ross, and NC Secretary of State Marshall. Remarks were provided by the Chamber President, the presenting sponsor, and me. In my remarks I thanked elected leaders, business leaders, and citizens for helping make Cary the best of the best or “top of the arc”. I encouraged all to support the bond referendum this fall which would keep Cary at the top of the arc for years to come.
Tropical Storm Debby (Quarterly Cancelled)
Due to Tropical Storm Debby the staff and council decided to cancel their quarterly meeting. That allowed key staff members to focus on preparing and responding to the storm. Cary was very lucky in this storm. Here is a summary of impacts from the fire chief:
The brunt of the storm hit Cary before noon Thursday, with peak water flow and calls for service happening Thursday morning. Crews responded to 22 downed trees, a handful of high water/flooding calls, three signal outages, and closed three street segments due to standing water, downed trees, and power lines, or both. Several greenway segments are under shallow waters, as to be expected with this much rainfall in such a short period of time. GoCary operated as expected, and all inspections scheduled for Thursday were completed. Call volume in 911 and cases into 311 have returned to at or below-typical levels for a Thursday, and one street that was initially closed has since reopened (Bowden Street).
Thanks to all our emergency personnel who kept us safe in this storm.
Mayor’s Mailbox
- Three complaints about the tax rate.
- A complaint about panhandlers (This is allowed on private property unless the property owner complains. On public land there are court cases where it is protected as a first amendment right).
- Two emails from people struggling with mental illness.
- A compliment on Downtown Cary Park from someone visiting from Maryland.
- A complaint about traffic line-of-sight on Joshua Tree Court.
- A complaint about GoCary door to door.
- Dozens of cut-and-paste emails urging me to condemn violent against Bangladeshi Hindus (It has been my practice to not get involved in issues outside our core services. Making a statement on one of these international, national, state, etc. issues will open the door to getting involved in all kinds of issues that we have no authority over. That is not the purpose of this council. So, I will not be making a statement.).
- A request to build housing for homeless veterans.
- A complaint about 311 not helping with Cary Parks.
- Two complaints from Friends of the Pager Walker and an additional complaint about the budget related to the Nancy Jones House.
Next Week
Next week’s activities include staff meetings, activities related to the Cary Tennis Classic, and an India Independence Day celebration.
Well, that is all for this week. My next post will be on Sunday, August 18th, 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.
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