Wendell News Outlet

Board of Commissioners Friday Update

June 13, 2008

ITEM 1. ANNEXATION MORATORIUM DISCUSSED IN FINANCE COMMITTEE ON THURSDAY

By a vote of 25 to 4, the House Finance Committee on Thursday gave a favorable report to HB 2367- Involuntary Annexation Moratorium. This bill will place a moratorium on all city-initiated annexations, including pending annexations, until June 30, 2009. An amendment to shorten the period of the moratorium failed. The bill now moves to the House Judiciary II Committee. Members of the House Judiciary II Committee include Rep. Dan Blue (Chair) and Rep. Jennifer Weiss (Vice-Chair), both of Wake County.

ITEM 2. DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT MARKER DEDICATION / JULY 4^TH PARADE

The manager and police chief met with Nora Cambier, President of the Wendell Historical Society, on Tuesday concerning a desire for an unveiling ceremony for the downtown historic district marker. The town Public Works Department staff will install the sign.

Mrs. Cambier filled-out a parade permit for the festivities. An unveiling ceremony is planned for 4:00 p.m. at the corner of Depot St. and Main St., and then there will be a “bicycle and stroller parade” to J. Ashley Wall Park, where lemonade and cookies will be served. The society hopes that this will be the beginning of an annual 4^th of July celebration for Wendell.

An announcement about the parade is online at the town web site. Click here to view the announcement.

ITEM 3. CONCERN ABOUT WATER SUPPLY / DROUGHT STATUS UPDATE

A News & Observer article details concern of water managers about (1) water lost to evaporation, and (2) increased demand due to irrigation of landscaping. To read the article, click here.

So far, Falls Lake is still full (251.34 feet MSL as of 1:00 p.m. today – 251.50 feet MSL is considered full). To check on the level of Falls Lake, click here.

Wake County has been upgraded from “Abnormally Dry” to “Moderate Drought” on the NC Drought Advisory Council web site. To view the map, click here.

ITEM 4. UPDATE ON FIRE DISTRICT TAX

Wake County Commissioners appeared ready Monday to approve an increase in the fire tax paid in the 19 rural fire districts the levy goes to support. County Manager David Cooke has proposed a fire tax for next year of 8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, a nearly 8 percent increase over the current tax (but a decrease from the current rate of 10 cents). The money would pay for more full-time firefighters at fire stations historically staffed by volunteers. Last month the Wake County Fire Commission voted unanimously to ask the commissioners to raise the fire tax 31 percent next year and 73 percent by 2015 to add more professional firefighters.

The county may adopt this rate at its June 16^th meeting.

For more information on this issue, click here to read a June 10^th News & Observer article.

ITEM 5. RALEIGH WATER FEES

The City of Raleigh is considering alternatives to raising water use fees in the 2008-09 budget. Adopting such a water/sewer impact fee was discussed last week during the Raleigh council's budget deliberations. Several council members argued that the revenues generated by the fee would help shield Raleigh's water customers from future rate increases.

City Manager Russell Allen's proposed budget does not include capacity fees for water and sewer. It does, however, include a 15 percent increase in the water and sewer rate, which would amount to a $4.86 monthly increase for an average Raleigh household that uses 6,000 gallons a month.

The Raleigh City Council currently has budget meetings scheduled for June 16^th and 23^rd. The water/sewer impact fee option is expected to be discussed during these meetings.

For more information on this issue, click here to read a June 9^th News & Observer article.

ITEM 6. TIME-WARNER CABLE SPIN-OFF FROM THE TIME WARNER PARENT COMPANY

The board will be asked to in the near future to approve a transfer of the local Time Warner franchise as part of the spin-off of Time Warner Cable (TWC) from the Time Warner parent company. Quite simply, TWC will ask the board to put forth a resolution approving the transfer of the franchise. Nothing about our local services or operations is supposed to change.

ITEM 7. LAKE MYRA PARK UPDATE

The second community forum about the plans for Lake Myra Park (concerning programming and visioning) was held on Thursday, June 12^th. The town was well represented. The presentation from this forum is available online here. Design alternatives will be discussed at the next forum, which will be held on Thursday, July 31^st at 7:00 p.m. at the Wendell Community Center.

ITEM 8. OTHER:

A. Verizon Wireless has spoken to town staff about the possible co-location of a wireless antenna at the water tower on 315 Poplar Street. If this comes to fruition, it would help improve cell service in the area.

B. The Board of Commissioners has been invited to the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce annual Partners Dinner. The dinner will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 24^th. Space is limited on a first-come, first-served basis. RSVP by July 13^th to Kathryn Write at 664-7090 or at kwright@raleighchamber.org.

C. El Cerro Grande continues to move forward with its permits and renovations of The Meeting Place.

D. El Fagon is back on the table. A sign was installed this week. There may be two Mexican restaurants in Wendell’s not-so-distant future.

E. Town Manager David Bone will be on vacation June 16 – 18. He will be at the NC City / County Managers Conference June 19 -21.

F. A copy of the June 16^th Planning Board Meeting agenda is at the end of this memo.

G. The portion of Martin Pond Road that closed on April 14^th for the Wendell Falls construction is scheduled to re-open around the middle of August.

ITEM 9. UPCOMING EVENTS:

posted by Administrator  # 5:03 PM