Wendell News Outlet

Happy 4^th of July!

July 3, 2008

ITEM 1. DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT MARKER DEDICATION / JULY 4^TH PARADE

The Wendell Historical Society has festivities planned for July 4^th. An unveiling ceremony for the downtown historic district marker 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.

ITEM 2. DROUGHT CONCERNS

This week, all of Wake County has been upgraded to the “Severe Drought” category. To view the drought map for North Carolina, click here.

According to Raleigh Public Utilities Director Dale Crisp, the lake level as of 6 A.M. on Tuesday, July 1^st was 251.19 feet MSL, which is 0.31 feet (approximately 4 inches) below the level of the lake when the water supply pool is 100% full (251.5 feet MSL). Falls Lake level is approximately 11 inches above the level on this same date in 2007. As you recall, the lake reached a new all-time record low level of 241.52 feet MSL on Christmas Day in 2007 as a result of the exceptional drought.

The current rolling 30 day pumpage demand average from Raleigh customers for the EMJWTP is 54.4 MGD, which is an increase of 15.6 MGD from the lowest value recorded during the Stage 2 restrictions. With the current lake level at 251.19 feet MSL, the COE estimate of the water supply pool storage remaining in Falls Lake is 96%, which equals 14.1 billion gallons of water available for use. The water supply days projection using the current 30 day pumpage average indicates the City has 259 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 then projects to March 17, 2009, the current 30 day pumpage average is significantly below the pumpage average for this same 30 day period of time in 2007 (61.6 MGD), equal to a 12% reduction.

Since implementing the Revised Stage 1 water use restrictions on May 21^st, the EMJWTP pumpage average has been 51.7 MGD, which is a 10.5 MGD or 25% increase when compared to the pumpage average during the Stage 1 restriction period. However, during this period the Triangle area experienced four (4) consecutive days of temperatures 100 degrees or greater, setting record high temperatures for these dates in June. Typically, water demand increases significantly on 100 degree days in Raleigh.

ITEM 3. ANNEXATION MORATORIUM BILL UPDATE

By a vote of 98 to 18, the House gave final approval to HB 2367 – Involuntary Annexation Moratorium yesterday. The bill imposes a broad nine-month moratorium on city-initiated annexations. It would prohibit municipalities from adopting resolutions of consideration, resolutions of intent or annexation ordinances between Aug. 31, 2008 and May 31, 2009. City-initiated annexations that have already started (resolutions of intent or consideration) also would be affected. The bill does not affect citizen-requested annexations by petition, including satellite annexations. The bill now moves to the Senate. You may want to contact Senator Vernon Malone.

ITEM 4. NEW PLANNER

David Burgmark has been hired as the new Planner for the town. David recently finished his master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill. David will start work on July 7^th.

ITEM 5. WAKE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO VOTE ON LITTLE RIVER RESERVOIR

The Wake County Board of Commissioners will consider the recommendations of the Little River workgroup, including the interlocal agreement and planning implementation strategies at their July 7th, 2008 meeting. The meeting begins at 2pm in the Wake County Courthouse, 7th floor, Room 700. Originally, this had been slated for their second meeting in June, but it was rescheduled to July 7th. All workgroup participants are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

ITEM 6. RECREATION UPDATE

In an effort to create additional recreation programming with existing facilities, the Recreation Department tried to start a new dodge ball league. Interest in such a program around the country grew from the dodge ball movie from a couple of years ago. It also builds upon a retro movement based on boomers and Gen X’ers reliving their youth. Another example of this is Knightdale’s kick ball league.

The registration deadline for dodge ball was extended until the end of June, but the Recreation staff still did not have enough interested teams to make a league. Tim Kay is trying to get in touch with some of the churches and the youth to see if they are interested in playing pick-up games in the evenings in order to stimulate interest for a future league.

ITEM 7. ALL-STAR TOURNAMENTS

Beginning on Monday, July 7^th, Wendell’s all-star teams will be in District Tournaments. The 9 & 10 Blue Team plays on July 7^th at 6:15 at Wilders Grove. The 9 & 10 White Team plays on July 7^th at 8:00 at Wilders Grove.

Beginning on Wednesday at the Carver Fields, Wendell Parks and Recreation will be hosting the 11 & 12 Little League District Tournament. The tournament will run through Sunday, July 13^th. Wendell Blue plays on July 9^th at 6:00 at Carver #2, and the Wendell White team plays on July 10^th at 6:00 on Carver #1.

The 7 & 8 Coach pitch teams will be in Zebulon beginning on Friday, July 11^th. Both teams play at 6:30. Wendell White vs. Rolesville on the upper field, and Wendell Blue plays on the lower field.

The 13 & 14 All Star team plays at Wilders Grove on Friday July 11^th at 6:00 on Field #4.

The girls’ softball teams will be in Smithfield later in July.

ITEM 8. OTHER:

A. Town offices will be closed next Friday for the July 4^th holiday.

B. The UDO Meeting scheduled for July 7^th has been cancelled.

C. Todd Hill Drive is prepped for paving. If you recall, this work is being done as a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project. Hopefully, the paving will take place next week.

D. Repair work on the municipal building roof began this week.

E. The posting for the Public Works Director position is on the town’s web site and several others, including the NC League of Municipalities and NC Association of County Commissioners web sites.

F. The WRAListens community forum about issues of Northeastern Wake County (which was taped on June 18^th) is scheduled to air on July 26^th at 7:30 p.m. (WRAListens is a 30-minute public affairs program that allows viewers to hear about issues facing local communities.)

G. The Triangle Business Journal will host a continental breakfast / symposium about “The State of Eastern Wake” on Friday, July 18^th from 7:15 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. at Faith Baptist Church in Knightdale. The cost is $15. Click here to RSVP or call Becky at 327-1004.

H. Chic-Fil-A will have a “Wendell Parks and Recreation Night” on Monday, July 21^st from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Chick-Fil-A in Knightdale. 10% of sales to Parks and Recreation supporters will go towards the Wendell Parks and Recreation Capital Campaign. Also, there will be games for the kids to play during dinner. These games will cost $1 each; however, all of these proceeds will go back to the Wendell Parks and Recreation Capital Campaign.

I. 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.

J. 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 8. UPCOMING EVENTS:

DATE TIME EVENT LOCATION

07/04 (Fri.) July 4th holiday – Town offices closed

07/04 4:00 p.m. Wendell Historical Society July 4th Festivities @ downtown

07/14 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

07/18 7:15 a.m. Triangle Business Journal “State of Eastern Wake” breakfast @ Faith Baptist Church, Knightdale

07/21 5pm - 7pm “Wendell Parks & Rec. Night” @ Chick-Fil-A, Knightdale

07/21 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting @ Town Hall

07/24 6:00 p.m. Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Annual Partners Dinner

07/26 7:30 p.m. WRAListens Series focus on Northeast Wake County

07/28 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

07/31 7:00 p.m. Community Forum #3 about Lake Myra County Park @ Wendell Community Center

08/04 6:00 p.m. UDO Meeting @ Town Hall

08/11 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

08/18 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting @ Town Hall

08/25 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

09/01 (Mon.) Labor Day holiday – Town offices closed

posted by Administrator  # 8:05 AM