Update - Cary State of the Town Address

Here's a nice picture of the USS Cary, and it is not difficult to imagine that Ernie McAlister is at the helm. He's telling the crew not to worry about a little extra water in the hold, he has grand plans for a new bilge plant which will right the ship -- All is Well !!!

These days Ernie's time is probably consumed with tallying the contributions to his campaign fund from developers ($80K and counting), so I don't think he'll have the spare time to update us on the State of Cary.

I'll do it instead.

It is important to focus on recent history, so I'll use the 2007 Cary Town Council retreat as a starting point. In April, Ernie hosted the council and some of the Wake County BoE folks down at the beach. There, our leaders applied all their brilliance to solving the problems facing Cary, and returned with new ideas, full stomachs and a tan.

What's happened since then?

Ernie showed true leadership by inviting the BoE to participate in the retreat, and he has stood by the board even when a judge ruled that they acted illegally. Immediately after the retreat, Ernie reinforced the need to work 'more closely' with the BoE. A couple of months ago, The Cary News was kind enough to print my open letter to Ernie McAlister in which I asked a number of valid questions concerning how he was representing Cary citizens' interests to the BoE. Let me take a minute to describe all the meetings the CTC has had with the BoE... wait a minute, there weren't any. The simple fact is that while Cary parents were being tortured over their children's education, Ernie ran for cover and has stayed there since. I wish I could point to any substantive actions on Ernie's part which supported his campaign promise of 'choice in schools for Cary students,' but that promise turned out to be worth less than the glossy paper it was printed on.

Fiscal responsibility is something Ernie has beat his chest about as long as he's been in office -- In fact, it was an integral part of his campaign platform. Today, Cary's debt load is at record levels, and the operating fund margin is at its lowest in 20 years. Ernie & Gang just approved a $385M budget for 2008, $220M of which goes toward building new roads and yet another water/sewer expansion project. We need these things because Ernie's developer-funded agenda is to leave no tree behind and build out Cary as fast as possible. In a recent TV interview, Ernie talked about growth paying for itself. Call me stupid (you wouldn't be the first), but when I see 2/3 of my taxes being used to pay for new capital improvement projects, it feels more like I'm helping to pay for the growth.

On the subject of growth, Ernie & gang recently gave a whole lot of Cary citizens a crystal clear reminder that developers are running Cary. Approval of the Davis & High House demonstrated Cary political machinations at their best. Last-minute project plan changes to manipulate protest validations, a huge group of concerned citizens being utterly ignored (when not being chastised) at the Town Council meeting, and at the end Ernie banging the gavel of approval with a resounding 'Aye.'

So this is how far we have come since the Cary retreat, and this is the state of Cary.

My apologies to Ernie for not addressing him as 'Mayor.' In my mind, that title needs to be earned -- by fulfilling the promises that got you elected, by listening to and representing the people who elected you, and by being accountable for your actions. Ernie still carries the lowly title of politician, nothing more.

Where's a Friend When You Need One

After leaving their website dormant for at least six months, our Friends of Wake County (Fowc'ers) finally deactivated it. Prior to last September's school bond referrendum, this group of 'concerned' civic leaders were outspoken regarding the need for investment in education, and in their commitment to sponsor joint public/private partnerships with the BoE to ensure a healthy Wake County school system.

The day after the referrendum passed, these friends went back into hiding (in most cases, they went back into building new homes). I find it ironic that this same developer-driven consortium could raise a small fortune to promote the school bond, but are spending even more on lobbying efforts to deny counties the choice of levying transfer taxes to support the same school system.

These folks must be making a ton of money strip-mining Cary, Ernie already has an $80K campaign war-chest which has been built from their contributions. Seems they always show up with money to keep the development gravy-train rolling, but in truth they don't give a damn about the quality or capacity of our schools and fade into the shadows until they feel threatened.

2007 Campaign

As the 2007 campaign season begins, I thought I'd pitch in a few thoughts on slogans and sound bites that Mayor McAlister can use in his bid for reelection. Some of these (as noted) came from other sources who are smarter than me....

"I just love the sound of bulldozers in the morning" Captures that Apocolypose Now feeling, as Agent Ernie is used to defoliate Cary.

"No tree left behind" -- Source Anonymous

"You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" 'Nuf said

"Greed is good" Wall Street comes to Cary

"Paving the way to success" With concrete, one acre at a time, until we're done

"There's no such thing as a bridge too far" Just ask the handful of people that use the one over US 1/64

A successful campaign needs a theme song to rally the voters, here are a few potentials...

"This Land Was Your Land" Need Al Yankovich for this one....
This land was your land,
This land is their land,
And when we're done here,
It's built by Crosland.....

"School's Out For Summer" by Alice Cooper. Oh, never mind, can't use that one anymore

"I Can't Drive 55" by Van Halen. Holds true in Cary except between midnight and 6am.

"My Humps" by Black-Eyed Peas. More traffic-control humps going up every day.

"Love Train" ... ie. "People all over the world, join me... In Cary, Cary

"Lying Eyes" by The Eagles.... 'nuf said

"Our Future's so Bright We Have to Wear Sunglasses" Unfortunately it is mortgaged to the hilt.
(Bonus points here for anyone who can name the band)

Let The Strip-Mining of Cary Continue !!!!

Well, its official -- The CTC voted unanimously at tonight's town council meeting to approve the proposed 2008 budget. We are going to spend $220M on roads, water and sewer infrastructure to either catch up with growth which has already occurred or, more likely, to fund the cost of future development.

This same budget includes a generous apportionment of a whopping $1M for preservation of open space.

A good point brought up by Brent Miller regarding Cary EMS. This is the organization we count on for ambulance service and EMT's. They are volunteers, and these people save lives. In the past, Cary has provided them with around $10K a year in funding. For '08, they asked for $25K in funding. Cary's fiscally-responsible response was to give them nothing. That's right, but budget they approved tonight subsidizes developers to the tune of $220M, but nothing for EMS. The message they are sending: Please come and buy one of the many new houses being built in Cary, but if you have a heart attack and need ambulance service you're sh*t out of luck.
In fact, even if you already live here you may be sh*t out of luck.

Thankfully, the budget still supports the Cary ballet. I'm thinking if our EMS staff wears tutu's, they may get more attention at town hall and stand a better chance of being funded.

As the town's own budget report shows, Cary debt is at an all-time high (as is our debt service), and our general fund operating margin is as low as it has been in twenty years, and is probably the lowest in history on a percent-of-expenditure basis. The rate of residential building permit approvals has increased four-fold in the past three years.

Earlier in tonight's meeting, a majority of residents from the Quail Ridge subdivision petitioned to increase the zoning density for their property. Their once pastoral neighborhood of 5-10 acre propertys has been enveloped by Cary mega-development on all sides. These people are looking to bail out and want the denser zoning to increase the sale value of their lots. Erv Portman raised a very good point... These people are long term (in some cases 30+ years) residents of Cary, and are suffering with increased traffic and noise because of all of the surrounding growth. He supported the rezoning, and I can't argue with the justification. He went on to point out that Cary should see a lot more similar requests in the future -- no doubt. When developers buy up large parcels of land and receive their rubber stamps of approval to increase density, our planning staff and CTC never account for the domino effect it will cause.

I wish I were smart enough to compute how much residential development is supported by a $220M in infrastructure, then calculate how many students that will add to our already over-crowded school system. The subject of schools was brought up by one CTC member (J-Low of all people) and summarily dismissed by the rest.

BTW, the $220M represents two-thirds of our budget. In other words, if development truly paid for itself, then our taxes would be one-third of what they are now (alright, maybe getting a little carried away here).

Watching the CTC smile and unanimously approve this budget made me sick. I'm sure the developers who are sucking this area dry are having a big party right now, probably at the Umstead Hotel. Wouldn't be surprised if some of our CTC members show up there. I just hope noone there needs an ambulance.

Cary Beer Garden

For the past month, a public debate has raged over the decision by the folks running Lazy Daze to add a beer garden to this year's event.

For the record, I am no stranger to beer gardens, Especially when they serve big ones like this picture. Sometimes a tall frosty one just hits the spot.

What dumbfounds me (among many other things) is the amount of media attention and citizen activism this issue has spawned. Hundreds of citizens are voicing strong opinions, mostly against having a beer garden at the festival. A few courageous beer lovers are fighting the good fight, despite being outnumbered at least 10-1. Read the last three editions of The Cary News to fully appreciate the public rancor over the infamous beer garden.

Read those same editions and you'll find a few pieces from citizens regarding Cary's exponential growth and the problems it has created with schools, roads and overall quality of life.

I have to wonder why people get so worked up over a few innocent beers served on one day in Cary, when EVERY day in Cary our roads and schools are jammed, and every month we hear about a new high-rise commercial complex being built amidst what was once a beautiful small town. By next year the beer garden will be a non-issue because there will be a 10-story mega-commercial complex occupying the space instead.

From Joe's warped perspective.... Imagine heavyweights like Anheuser-Busch and Miller came to town with lots of money to back their candidates for office. They build a beer garden on every corner in Cary, enticing beer-lovers from across the country to drive here for a cold one. The beer is cheap compared to where they come from, so they decide to stay. Martha Stewart decides to open up a Southern Drinking beer cafe, and the mayor shows up at the ribbon-cutting ceremony (then, back to Buschwood Country Club for the next fund-raiser). Now is when you scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." Substitute Highwoods and Wakefield for the beer companies -- why can't we scream the same thing ?????

BTW, I think the beer garden is a bad idea.

The Truth Comes Out... Well, A Little Bit

Finally some Wake County politicians are admitting that our taxes will increase, directly attributed to our rapid growth rate (See N&O Article). County taxes will increase 5.7%, and could go higher. Meanwhile in Cary, our growth continues unabated and we are approaching the point where tax collections no longer keep up with the growth rate -- see previous post regarding $185M of our money that Agent Ernie & the Orange Team are spending to build infrastructure, just next year. I can see the Friends of Wake County jumping back into the fray on this one, defending the politicians they helped put into office. They have spin doctors that are a lot smarter than me, I can't wait to hear their dribble.

New Cary Flag Unfurled !!!

The United States flag bears a stripe for each of the original 13 colonies, and a star to represent each state.

I believe the Cary flag hasn't been updated in the past 20 years, and things have changed quite a bit over that time. Much as our national flag is a representation of those entities which comprise our collective government, I'd like to apply that same spirit to Cary's flag and do justice to those who are the true 'movers and shakers' at town hall:






















This flag is a tribute to all those who are helping make Cary a better place to live for another 120,000 people (provided they are coming from Atlanta or Southern California).