Dec 15th, 2005 Council Meeting

[dhyatt]

Highlights and Concerns
<hr>
Item B) Newly re-elected CTC members Robinson, Smith, and Robison are being sworn in. I think it's interesting to note the individuals chosen to administer the various Oaths of Office.

Item C-3) Appointment of board liaisons. Any changes coming???

Land Use consent agenda
Item D-1-c) Call for public hearing on new 31+ acre development SW ( as in leap-frog ) of Cary. Vicinty map is here (http://www.townofcary.org/depts/dsdept/P&Z/annexationpetitions/2005cases/36vicmap.jpg).

Item D-2-a) Land Use amendment to allow 'coffee shop' drive-thru on Lowe's parcel at NW Maynard & Hwy 54. This is site that Aldi's withdrew from last year.

PDD consent agenda
Item D-3-a-1) Bend the rules to allow a proposed CVS at Tryon Plaza to have more impervious surface than is allowed in the Swift Creek Watershed due to the Reservoir Watershed Protection Ordinance.

Item D-3-a-3) Something to due with a Koka Bust. I have no response to this.

Item D-3-a-4) "The Residences At The Arboretum" Could have had a hotel, now we'll get 200+ condo's instead.

Item D-3-a-5) Comprehensive Annexation Program Details approximately how long Rono could live in 3 places at once.

Item D-3-b-2) "Public Art at Cary Dog Park" Fortunately, it sounds worse than it is.

Operations Committee consent agenda
Item D-4-a-9) Long-term Solid Waste Disposal
Committee unanimously recommended not entering into an Interlocal Agreement which provides for the cooperative management of the new South Wake landfill because of inequities between partners and future uncertainties in costs.
...This smells (pardon the pun) like trouble to me.

Public Hearings
Item F-2) Bond Issuance Extension
Consideration of adoption of orders extending the maximum time period for issuing bonds from 7 to 10 years for the bond orders approved by voters on February 2, 1999 (water bonds, parks and recreation facility bonds and street and sidewalk bonds).

delaying debt == delaying infrastructure

Is this good or bad? Will it "slow growth" or just cause infrastructure to lag? Will the money cost more money later? This is another one that I think is a bit more complicated than it may at first seem.

Item F-4) Apartments (~200) at Old Apex Road & West Chatham Street

Item F-7-a) Annexation. 47+ more acres into Chatham County. Yee Haa!!!

Land Development Discussion Items
Item H-1-a,b,c) Amberly. Anenxation and rezoning of ~40 acres in Chatham County. This was tabled last month.

Item H-4) TTA Development Items: (They get their very own category, a bad sign...)

Item H-4-a,b) Site Plan Triangle Transit Authority Downtown Cary Station
The site is located between North Harrison Avenue and North Academy Street, north of the northern most existing railroad track and south and west of the Cary Chamber of Commerce Building. The plan proposes a transit platform between two proposed TTA transit tracks, located north of the existing northern railroad track.

...Build it and hope they will come.

Committee Report
Item I-1-a) Harmony Subdivision Connectivity
Review of possible future street connections for the proposed Harmony Subdivision (formerly known as Turner Creek PDD 04-REZ-24).

Now this is hysterical. They couldn't get Turner Creek 'connected', so they just rename it 'Harmony' and all will be fine.

Item I-2-a) Payment of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Separation Allowance
Committee recommended by a vote of 2 to 1, Nels Roseland dissenting, to adopt a formal policy that will provide guidance on the payment of the special separation allowance to retired law enforcement officers.

...I guess Nels prefers not to have guidance and to just give them what they ask for???

Old/New Business
Item J-4) Proposed permanent Citizen's Budget Review Committee. I wonder if they'll still let any of us "help out"?

[Wuptdo]

Admin Hyatt wrote: I think it's interesting to note the individuals chosen to administer the various Oaths of Office.

Wake Superior Court Judge Evelyn W. Hill ????

Wuptdo :wink:

[Brent]

Highlights and Concerns
<hr>
Item B) Newly re-elected CTC members Robinson, Smith, and Robison are being sworn in. I think it's interesting to note the individuals chosen to administer the various Oaths of Office.

It certainly is. It would seem more appropriate (and save time, and make more seats available, and be more considerate of citizens, and minimize grandstanding) if all three of them were just sworn in at the same time by the town clerk.

Land Use consent agenda
Item D-1-c) Call for public hearing on new 31+ acre development SW ( as in leap-frog ) of Cary. Vicinty map is here (http://www.townofcary.org/depts/dsdept/P&Z/annexationpetitions/2005cases/36vicmap.jpg).

Verrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting. But (sigh) hardly surprising.

Item D-2-a) Land Use amendment to allow 'coffee shop' drive-thru on Lowe's parcel at NW Maynard & Hwy 54. This is site that Aldi's withdrew from last year.

And also the parcel for which the developer agreed, as a condition for getting Lowe's approved, to not have any drive-through uses. Coffee shop traffic will peak at the same time as morning school traffic, and that intersection may well become a bigger disaster than it is. However, most people seem content to get a coffee shop, drive-through or not (Sigh again). I was quite surprised that no one on P&Z dissented.

PDD consent agenda
Item D-3-a-1) Bend the rules to allow a proposed CVS at Tryon Plaza to have more impervious surface than is allowed in the Swift Creek Watershed due to the Reservoir Watershed Protection Ordinance.

I guess we can see the priority of Watershed Protection (sigh yet again).

Item D-3-a-4) "The Residences At The Arboretum" Could have had a hotel, now we'll get 200+ condo's instead.

A 5-star hotel, in fact. And don't forget the parking deck that goes with the condos!

Item D-3-a-5) Comprehensive Annexation Program Details approximately how long Rono could live in 3 places at once.

And Cathy too! :(

I hope and expect that some of these items get pulled off the consent agenda!


Public Hearings
Item F-2) Bond Issuance Extension
Consideration of adoption of orders extending the maximum time period for issuing bonds from 7 to 10 years for the bond orders approved by voters on February 2, 1999 (water bonds, parks and recreation facility bonds and street and sidewalk bonds).

delaying debt == delaying infrastructure

Is this good or bad? Will it "slow growth" or just cause infrastructure to lag? Will the money cost more money later? This is another one that I think is a bit more complicated than it may at first seem.

It won't slow growth, it will delay the infrastructure, exacerbating current problems. Delaying debt puts off the hard choices that will be necessary soon, and probably will make those future choices even harder.

Committee Report
Item I-1-a) Harmony Subdivision Connectivity
Review of possible future street connections for the proposed Harmony Subdivision (formerly known as Turner Creek PDD 04-REZ-24).

Now this is hysterical. They couldn't get Turner Creek 'connected', so they just rename it 'Harmony' and all will be fine.

If it weren't so outrageous and so full of bad faith, it would indeed be funny. Connectivity was a central issue in the Turner Creek approval, and now staff is doing an about face.

Old/New Business
Item J-4) Proposed permanent Citizen's Budget Review Committee. I wonder if they'll still let any of us "help out"?

This was actually one of the recommendations from the FIRST informal Citizens Budget Review committee; it's nice to see that it's now actually being proposed. The downside, though, is that it would be appointed, like other boards, and the appointments will undoubtedly become political, like other boards.

All in all, should be quite a meeting!

[dhyatt]

Almost forgot!!! Appointment of Mayor pro-tem also occurs at this meeting...

[Wuptdo]

Brent & AdminH wrote:
dhyatt wrote:
Item D-3-a-4) "The Residences At The Arboretum" Could have had a hotel, now we'll get 200+ condo's instead.

A 5-star hotel, in fact. And don't forget the parking deck that goes with the condos!

FYI - they are still getting the parking deck. Also, is this where they are asking to turn the 101' "right-of-way" buffer from "service road" to "service road & parking?"

Many of us in the area were happy with the idea of a hotel. Before the hotel, it was supposed to be a small grocery store with more shopping (an Aldi would of been nice).

AdminH wrote:
Almost forgot!!! Appointment of Mayor pro-tem also occurs at this meeting...

Any guess who the lucky person will be?

Wuptdo B-)

[Brent]

Many of us in the area were happy with the idea of a hotel.

...and the hotel would have been built, except for the single fact that the Planning staff DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY IT LOOKED! I don't blame Mrs. Goodnight for taking her hotel and going home. Thankfully, Cary will get the hotel anyway; no thanks to the Planners, it won't be built where it was intended to be built, and where a hotel was SUPPOSED to have been built.


Before the hotel, it was supposed to be a small grocery store with more shopping (an Aldi would of been nice).

LOL!

AdminH wrote:
Almost forgot!!! Appointment of Mayor pro-tem also occurs at this meeting...

Any guess who the lucky person will be?

Jeff Ulma? :-D

[dhyatt]

[snip]

Item H-4) TTA Development Items: (They get their very own category, a bad sign...)

Item H-4-a,b) Site Plan Triangle Transit Authority Downtown Cary Station
The site is located between North Harrison Avenue and North Academy Street, north of the northern most existing railroad track and south and west of the Cary Chamber of Commerce Building. The plan proposes a transit platform between two proposed TTA transit tracks, located north of the existing northern railroad track.

...Build it and hope they will come.

[snip]


I shouldn't even have to say it... I expect (maybe hope is a better word) the above referenced site plan to be tabled indefinitely. If the town insists on building the platform even though they now know TTA is toast, there will be hell to pay. I think we can all pretty much agree on that.

[Cathy]

Well..... TTA Counsel Wib Gulley said "Rumors of the demise of the rail project are greatly exaggerated."

But it WILL be interesting to see what the Council response will be to the denial of funding for the rail.


Cathy

[DarylB]

I'd like to hope that, with the death spiral of "FailRail" now being performed for our collective delight, David Price should end his campaign for a one way ticket to hell, and to that end, ask Mike Easley to roll back the gas tax. Between them, they've artificially raised us to higher gas taxes, as just an additional argument for rail by pushing private car travel to its most expensive extreme, and therein attempting to make rail seem like a more reasonable alternative. That's all a dark history of subterfuge now, which Easley can eliminate if he chooses. I doubt that he'll actually come through, but it's the right and reasonable thing to do.

[Brent]

Today's inexplicable N&O Headline: "Triangle gets bad news on rail".

Bad news? Shouldn't the headline say "Triangle taxpayers get fantastic news on rail"?

[ETJer]

Hyatt wrote

[...I guess Nels prefers not to have guidance and to just give them what they ask for???]

Ride Along

So you don’t like the ticket I just gave you.
Well, come take a ride with me.
A trip to the scene of an accident.
Where a person now struggles for freedom, and for life.
All because someone was in a hurry, or late for work.

You say you didn’t call me and you don’t need my help.
That this is a family matter and none of my business.
Come take a ride with me.
Where a child now cowers in the nearest corner, or bedroom closet.
They cover their ears and ask god “ please make them stop”.
Still think no one needs my help.

You’ve said all we do is eat donuts and drink coffee.
Come take a ride with me.
On the countless days after taking four calls in an hour.
We think we have time to sit down for dinner.
Only to be call away again.

You think we’re cold and have no heart.
Well, come take a ride with me.
To a place where the pipes now lay to rest.
A brother or sister who gave their life, for someone like you.
A place where tears fall like rain for their family,
For our family, and yes even for you.
Yeah, come take a ride with me.


R. S. B
2005

From www.odmp.org

[kellyc]

Nice Poem!

How's this?

I am the 17 year old who's life you saved by stopping me for speeding. The person who whipped past us as you were getting out of the car to speak to me, was killed as their car slid thru a turn up the streat.

I am the 25 year old first time mother, you kept from becoming a widow. That drunk driver you pulled was driving in the same lane as my husband. The drunk was going the wrong way and would have killed my husband. My little ones are too little to know how lucky they are to have their daddy.

I am the 35 year old woman. I called you for help, and when you arrived I was too terrified to tell you just how afraid I was of my husband. I told you the bruised eye was from walking into a door. You didnt believe me and you saved my life.

I am the 75 year-old recently widowed woman and I heard a bang in the night, and you were there for me. You walked thru every room helping me to feel safe in my home. You didnt laugh at me when it turned out to be the air conditioner cutting on. You said you understood why I was afraid, and told me to call anytime I was frightened.

It may seem silly to others but you are there for me when I call, and stay there until you think its safe. You are my brothers and sisters who stand beside me in times of crisis. You are my heros, and I thank you.

[ETJer]

I like it. Thanks Kelly. Sometimes the facts don't always tell the story. A short smart response doesn't tell the whole story either. We need t understand who is out there watching over our safety. There is not much reward to those men and women in uniform with salaries. They do it out of a sense of community, and the need to keep others safe. Try to remember that we are being protected as we sleep at home with our families 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. When you are home on Christmas morning with your family, all over the country officers are not at home with their families.