Jaws

For some reason, tonight I felt compelled to leave the comforts of my command center (Recliner) behind, drive across Cary, and attend the Cary Town Council meeting. Maybe it was because the ’08 budget was on the consent agenda. Maybe it was just that I had a tough day at work and needed the reassurance that our town leaders were still hard at work representing folks like me.

Most people in Cary don’t go to these meetings, neither did I until MYR threw my family life into turmoil. Most people in Cary shouldn’t have to go to these meetings, and we couldn’t all fit in the auditorium anyway. So….. Let my sacrifice be to your benefit. Rather than hiking across Cary to be ignored, you can be ignored right at home, read this posting, and feel like you were there in person. I’ll give you a stream-of-consciousness accounting of the evening’s events….

Got here late, in the middle of yet another rezoning discussion. First thoughts; Right about now the puck’s dropping at the Hurricanes. I probably have a better chance of seeing a fight here than if I’d stayed home to watch the game. Other thought: This is a long meeting, the black bean soup was not a good idea.

OK, now they are discussing closing a railroad crossing. Installing a stoplight timer nearby to ease residents egress will take a while because the light going in a custom-made of cast iron and we won’t get it for a year. Interesting factoid, DOT regulations require 3 existing crossings to be closed in order to open one new one. The debate is over whether to close a RR crossing down town to make it easier to open one in West Cary where all the development is. The conclusion they’re headed toward is to proceed because DOT has the crossing in the cross-hairs anyway. Council could fight a protracted battle to keep this open, but deciding this one’s out of their control. A familiar refrain, but this time probably right. Done, I’m glad I’m not one of the people who have lived in that neighborhood for 50 years and now are stuck.

Jennifer Robinson calls it an early night. I wonder if she’s going home to watch the hockey game.

Now for public hearings on the subject of the upcoming ’08 budget. If you can’t be here to speak, you can send an email to budgetinput@townofcary.org.

First speaker asking that they reconsider funding the aquatics boondoggle. Quick speech, and the council was clearly riveted.
Done.

Next topic: Citizen-initiated Annexation. The property is south of West Lake Elementary. These people asked to be annexed. We can keep growing in a southerly direction, the only thing stopping us is the South Carolina border (unless we annex South Carolina). Done.

Next topic: Another citizen-initiated annexation. Same area of town. Nice plot map provided by the developer. Nice way to make money. Start your development in Wake County with lower impact fees than even Cary has, get yourself annexed, and you can sell houses for more money. Done.

Next: Rezoning again, making property near Cary Park higher density. Approved to be sent for P&Z review.

Next: Another rezoning. 150 acres which today are undeveloped. Nice aerial photos, it has lots of trees. Borders on where the outer loop is planned. This is all zoned for residential, high-density residential and commercial. Protest petition was filed, but not enough people signed. Staff recommends forwarding to P&Z. Representative of the developer here to make sure this doesn’t affect their ability to develop surrounding properties. Approooooooooooooooooooved !!

Wonder how the ‘Canes are doing.

And now, back to annexation. 8.7 acre property, citizen-initiated request. This site houses the Hospice of Wake County. For a change, adding something to Cary we can be proud of. Approved.

Got bored and scanned the room. They have two security guards here. Think tonight I’ll keep my mouth shut.

And now, Public Speaks out. 5 guys lined up and they look ready to rumble. Group of people who live adjacent to Cary. They cut a deal years ago with M/I homes to allow them to rezone the property next to them, increasing density by six times. They say M/I has not honored their promises regarding buffers and berms. M/I has a consulting company running the project, it is run by the former Cary planning director. These guys are pissed and I don’t blame them. Developer actually had the cojones to tell one of them that he had to give up 10 feet of his property to get the berms built. Stormwater from this development is a problem for their septic systems. Great quote regarding the Cary town staff… “When we speak to them, we feel like we speak to the developer.” I’m just thinking out loud here… well not out loud, but maybe if folks from M/I had spent money on building berms instead of funding campaigns, these citizens would be a little better off. I’m not sure what the Cary government can do here, but based on what these citizens had to say I hope that our planners think a little harder about the next project that this company proposes.

Alright, Brent Miller is up. Great reminder to the council of what their responsibilities are.

Don Hyatt brings up good points regarding CTC appointments to different boards.

OK meetings done, maybe I can catch part of the third period.