Wendell News Outlet

Board of Commissioners Friday Update

March 20, 2008

ITEM 1. TOWN FACILITIES CLOSED ON FRIDAY, MARCH 21^ST FOR HOLIDAY

Town facilities will be closed on Friday, March 21^st for the Good Friday holiday.

ITEM 2. AIRPORT SITE VISITS HELD ON MARCH 20^TH

Mayor Broadwell, Commissioner Hinnant, Commissioner Connolly and the manager participated in site visits of the Burlington and Sanford General Aviation Airports today, along with Wake County Commissioners and staff. A lot of good information was shared, and participants were shown two airports with a varied history and strengths.

The Burlington airport (click here for additional) :

· is older;

· has a 5,000-foot runway (planned expansion to 6400 feet in 5 years);

· is on 500 acres;

· has about 122 aircraft based on-site;

· has 13 aircraft-related businesses (with about 142 jobs) on-site (on airport property – NOT in an adjoining industrial park); and has about 43,000 visitors per year.

The Sanford airport (click here for additional information) :

· opened in 2000;

· has a 6,500-foot runway;

· is on about 700 acres;

· has about 101 aircraft on-site (only 54 registered in Lee County, for some reason);

· has a couple of service-related businesses on site; and has about 7,300 visitors per year.

Neither airport is in the city limits, but the Burlington airport receives funds annually from the city, and the Sanford airport received initial start-up funds from the city.

The tax revenue from the Sanford airport is put into an airport reserve fund, which helps generate operating revenue for the airport.

ITEM 3. APRIL 3^RD PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT AIRPORT ADJUSTED

Plans for the April 3^rd Public Meeting about a possible general aviation airport in eastern Wake County have changed slightly. An informational workshop is now scheduled from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at the community center. A public comment period is scheduled to start at 7:30. It was felt that there may be a number of people who attend the meeting who have not attended a previous board meeting where this item was discussed, and they may need some background information. The workshop is planned to be casual, with numerous maps and information board set-up, with consultants available to talk more on a more personal, one-on-one basis.

Staff has received some clarification on what the board may want to consider on this matter at the April 3^rd meeting or another future meeting. The board will NOT have to decide, at this point, if it wants to support an airport in eastern Wake County; rather, the board may decide if it wants to support further evaluation of potential sites for an airport in eastern Wake County. The next step would be for Wake County to conduct an environmental assessment of potential sites. This could provide the possible information for Wake County and the municipalities in eastern Wake County to decide whether or not they want to pursue a general aviation airport. There has also been some discussion about the possibility of conducting an economic impact analysis of a GAA in eastern Wake if the county decides to move forward.

ITEM 4. RESOLUTION ABOUT SECONDARY AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

Attached is a copy of Resolution #R-08-02 – a Resolution of Support and Commitment to Mitigative Measures to Address Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Associated with Water and Sewer Utility Projects. The resolution is item #2 on Monday’s agenda.

ITEM 5. RESULTS OF National Historic District Citizen Information Session HELD ON march 17^th

There was a good turn-out of interested citizens on Monday concerning a potential National Historic District application for Wendell Boulevard. There were a couple of individuals who spoke against the application, but a majority of attendees seemed to be positive about the potential application. Planning Director Teresa Piner asked participants for written comments by March 24^th, and she plans to report on the response to her request during the “Other Business” portion of the March 24^th work session.

ITEM 6. DROUGHT UPDATE

The Raleigh City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to repeal Raleigh's most severe water restrictions as soon as Falls Lake is 90 percent full. The water supply pool in Falls Lake, which supplies water to Raleigh and six Wake County towns, is at 74 percent. Recent rains have raised the level of the reservoir significantly, and with more rain, Falls Lake could reach 90 percent of capacity in a matter of weeks.

The council's action allows City Manager Russell Allen to repeal the Stage 2 rules when the trigger point is reached. The move was meant to give some guidance to businesses that have been hurt by the restrictions, which have been in place since Feb. 15. Raleigh will return to its so-called Stage 1.5 rules once Falls Lake is 90 percent full. Click here to read the N&O article.

According to CORPUD Director Dale Crisp, The lake level as of 6 A.M. Tuesday (March 18^th) is 249.28 feet MSL, which is only 2.22 feet below the level of the lake when the water supply pool is full. The lake level has experienced significant recovery over the last two weeks due to the rain events that occurred – 5.5 feet of lake level recovery!

The water supply pool storage in Falls Lake is approximately 73.9% based on the COE’s estimate (on March 18^th), for a total of 10.8 billon gallons. When the water supply pool in the lake is 100% it holds 14.6 billion gallons. The water supply days projection using the current 30 day pumpage average indicates we have 284 days of water supply pool currently in storage at Falls Lake (assumes worst case scenario of no rain during this period). Using the predicted total water supply days remaining, the water availability projects to December 27, 2008.

Even with the significant rain events over the past two weeks, according to the NWS rain gauge at RDU Airport, the Triangle Area this morning is still 1.3 inches below normal rainfall in 2008. This same rain gauge ended 2007 with a deficit of 7.2 inches of below normal rainfall, for a current total deficit of 8.5 inches since January 1, 2007.

ITEM 7. BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE REPORT MEETING HELD ON MARCH 18^TH

Mayor Broadwell and the manager attended a meeting on March 18^th updating the status of the Wake County Blue Ribbon Committee concerning the future of Wake County. One item of discussion was a potential additional ¼-cent sales tax. Last year, the General Assembly allowed counties to enact a quarter-cent county sales tax with voter approval as an additional revenue stream. In November, 16 counties put the measure on the ballot, and only five walked away with the authority to raise the extra money. Wake left the measure off the ballot last year, but looming growth costs are pushing the county to consider putting the tax before voters. Click here to read the N&O article.

Another item discussed was the possibility of conducting the revaluation of real property every four years, as opposed to every eight. Shorter lulls between revaluations will lessen the "sticker shock" many Wake homeowners experience with the revaluation process. If Wake commissioners approve the plan, the next revaluation would happen in 2013, with the following in 2017. Wake and Guilford are the only metropolitan counties in North Carolina that conduct property revaluations every eight years. Click here to read the N&O article.

ITEM 8. OTHER:

A. Shamaury Myrick has submitted his resignation with the Wendell Planning Department, effective April 3, 2008.

B. Town Clerk Jonnie Driver will be on vacation from March 28^th through April 4^th.

C. Concerning the trash disposal ban, the Raleigh City Council voted 7-1 this week to keep the ban in place. The council also agreed to study the issue further in its Budget and Economic Development Committee. Click here read to the N&O article.

D. A recent Elon University poll shows that NC residents favor impact fees. Click here for more information.

E. Another Elon University poll shows that 58% of NC residents favored giving local governments the option to use a half-cent sales tax to pay for bus and rail transit service. Click here to read the N&O article.

ITEM 9. UPCOMING EVENTS:

DATE TIME EVENT LOCATION

03/21 Good Friday – Town offices closed

03/22 11:00 a.m. Chamber Easter Egg Hunt Carver Elementary

03/24 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Committee Town Hall

Meeting (including presentation of the

Draft FY 2009-13 CIP)

03/27 East Wake Education Foundation’s East Wake H. S.

“Stars in the East” event Gym

04/03 Special Called Meeting – Community Community Ctr.

Meeting about a General Aviation

Airport

6:00 p.m.- Informational Workshop

7:30 p.m.

7:30 p.m. Public Comment Period to start

04/07 6:00 p.m. UDO Meeting Town Hall

04/14 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting Town Hall

04/21 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting Town Hall

04/22 10:00 a.m. Board of Commissioners Budget Town Hall

Work Session

04/28 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Committee Town Hall

Meeting

05/05 6:00 p.m. UDO Meeting Town Hall

05/12 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting Town Hall

(including presentation of the

Manager’s FY 2008-09 Proposed Budget)

05/14 1:00 p.m. Wendell Chamber Golf Tournament Wendell Country

Club

05/19 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting Town Hall

05/26 Memorial Day – Town offices closed

05/27 7:00 p.m. (RE-SCHEDULED DUE TO HOLIDAY)

Board of Commissioners Committee Town Hall

Meeting (including the public hearing

on the budget)

06/02 6:00 p.m. UDO Meeting Town Hall

06/04 NCLM Town Hall Day NC Legislature

06/09 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting Town Hall

(including, potentially, adoption of the

FY 2008-09 Budget)

posted by Administrator  # 4:06 PM