April 27, 2008

A school visit, meetings, and a charity event, were among some of the activities that made up my week as mayor.

Monday morning I visited a gathering of the 4^th grade classes at Briarcliff Elementary. These kids were very polite, inquisitive, and well informed. They asked questions for close to an hour. Some were serious, some were silly, and it was a lot of fun. They seemed to enjoy it too as I got them to laugh a few times. Questions included: “What is more important, President or Mayor?”, “Can I get your autograph?”, “Do we have enough water?”, and “Do you get to meet anyone famous?”.  Later in the week I received letters from most of the students telling me what they enjoyed most about my visit. Some actually thought I was funny.

Monday evening was a meeting of the mayors of Wake County. This month’s presentation was from Raleigh Chamber President Harvey Schmidt, former school board member Tom Oxholm, and former school superintendent Ann Denlinger. They presented information about the relationship between the school board and the county commissioners and a proposed solution to the problems. Their data showed that most of the school board meetings were spent on issues related to building, land acquisition, and growth related issues. One interesting factoid showed the school board spent a very small percentage of their time on actual education decisions. Their proposed solution was that the county commissioners take over building and land acquisition issues. They argued that this would free up the school board to focus mostly on educational issues. While this proposal is a great attempt to solve a problem which is characterized by some as finger pointing, it still leaves the big reassignment problem in the laps of the school board members. That is, the county commissioners would control how much is built when and the school board would have to figure out how to deal with what they have been given through reassignments. Based on the current make up of both boards I believe this would only exacerbate the reassignment process.

After the mayor’s meeting on Monday my wife and I had dinner with the chaperone for the LeTouquet culinary students visiting Cary. Madame Chatel is a wonderful lady and this culinary partnership is a win-win for Cary and La Toque.

On Tuesday I was a judge at the “Fine Arts League of Cary 14^th Annual Juried Art Exhibition”. I was asked to pick a piece of art that I really enjoyed. The art was very impressive and all should have had awards. Though I have no artistic bone in my body I was able to pick one that I thought was interesting and generated thought.

Later Tuesday I met with staff on the first round of budget review. Like I mentioned in my campaign, debt is a serious problem that we are going to have to deal with for years. The biggest debt hurdles will occur within the next five years to address mostly the new wastewater treatment facility. I am concerned about proposed debt for the coming year that adds to our existing amount. We are in danger of being over 15% of cost, which may affect our bond rating, which could result in higher interest rates on our bonds (the last thing we need). One big ticket item of note for this coming year is the 35 million dollar debt for streetscape downtown. This is in addition to 17 million that will have to be spent renovating the old Cary Elementary (which is at the point of “now or never” in renovation). It will be interesting to see where the council goes this year with the budget.

My final meeting on Tuesday was a work session on the Mixed Use Overlay. This was the third work session on this topic. The council spent about two hours hearing and discussing issues related to the Mixed Use Overlay Proposal Process and the metrics for a Mixed Use Overlay. Staff will present our recommendations at a future Planning and Development committee meeting which will then find its way to council for approval. The new proposed process has more public hearings and a community workshop. This should give citizens more time to understand, question, and comment on a proposed Mixed Use Overlay. Under the metric discussion we redefined guidelines for a Neighborhood Activity Center, a Community Activity Center, and a Regional Activity Center. It is important to note that 80% of the activity centers planned for Cary have already been built.

Wednesday started with a tour of Wake Med Cary and a meet and greet of their administration. Their presentation showed that there are $5.9 million in costs to people that cannot pay and most of those live in Cary. I thought this was a fascinating point. One other interesting point was that they strive to have a higher level of service to match what Cary residents expect. In addition, they will become more and more of a full treatment facility. That is, about the only thing they won’t be able to do in Cary are stints for heart patients (which will be done in Raleigh). The tour showed state of the art rooms which will provide more comfort for family staying and visiting with a patient. While I hope I never have to be in one of those rooms it is nice to know such a great facility with great care is within a couple of miles of my house.

Since Wednesday was my youngest daughter’s birthday I cancelled evening appointments to attend her dinner party. There were a dozen of us and the party lasted until late in the evening. Unfortunately, this caused me to miss the elected officials gathering held at the Matthews house. But the town was well represented by the other council members.

Thursday was a council meeting day proceeded by a short meeting of the retreat committee to approve minutes. The council meeting’s most controversial topic was the Highland Village proposal to change to more senior rental housing. This change in plans allows more senior rental units with financial assistance. I believe this will benefit many Cary residents who want their older parents living closer to them that are not quite ready for assisted living. And it provides housing for seniors who are on a smaller fixed income.

Friday, my anniversary, was spent at work and then playing tennis at Anna’s Angels fundraiser for Downs syndrome. I have participated in this event every year and really enjoy playing tennis for a good cause. On Friday I played tennis from 1:30 until about 7:30 and on Saturday from about 9 until 11:30.  It was a great time for a great cause. And I was still able to have an anniversary dinner with my wife on Friday night. Saturday evening we celebrated my oldest daughter’s birthday (actually on Sunday but she had to go back to college). Sunday, I attended the annual youth fundraiser at my church which was a talent show. The youth of today have so much talent and it is great to see it used for a good cause.

So after a week of meetings, fundraisers, and celebrations, I am about wiped out. Hopefully next week will be a little lower keyed. So I’ll close for now and hopefully post again by Sunday, May 4th.