Wendell News Outlet

Board of Commissioners Friday Update

August 1, 2008

ITEM 1. NEW POLICE CHIEF

As you are aware, it was announced yesterday (Thursday, July 31^st) that Vance Johnson has been selected as the new Police Chief of Wendell. Mr. Johnson attended a “meet and greet” session with the Police Department staff today (Friday, August 1^st). The session went well.

Mr. Johnson will start work on September 2^nd. He is already looking for a home in our community to purchase.

Mr. Johnson is married and has two daughters, ages 14 and 9.

ITEM 2. PLANNING BOARD AND BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT TRAINING

Training sessions will be held in a couple of months for the Board of Adjustment and Planning Board members. Elected officials are also invited to attend but are asked to let staff know in advance if they wish to participate.

Zachry Nichols of the NC Department of Commerce will be hosting these training sessions, which will be held on the following dates:

· Planning Board Citizen Training - October 9^th at 7:00 PM

· Board of Adjustment Citizen Training - October 23^rd at 7:00 PM

Both training sessions will be held in the Wendell Courtroom.

ITEM 3. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING WAS HELD ON TUESDAY, JULY 28^TH

On Tuesday, July 29^th, the Wendell Board of Adjustment held a hearing to consider a variance request for additional signage at the renovated McDonald’s site. The request by McDonald’s was for two additional signs totaling approximately 85 square feet of signage (Two additional fascia signs for the building at 42.94 sq ft each).

SIGNAGE GENERALLY ALLOWED: Maximum Allowable Signage - 100 s.f.

PREVIOUSLY ALLOWABLE SIGNAGE:

- Existing Pole Sign 64.68 sq. ft.

- Three “M” signs 32.625 sq. ft.

97.305 sq. ft. total

183.185 sq. ft. – TOTAL

The BOA voted unanimously to approve the request.

ITEM 4. UPDATE ON PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR SEARCH

27 applications have been received for the Public Works Director position. The manager began reviewing these applications this week and hopes to have interviews within a couple of weeks.

ITEM 5. MEETING ABOUT LAKE MYRA PARK WAS HELD ON THURSDAY, JULY 31^ST

On Thursday, July 31^st, Wake County held a meeting about design proposals for the Lake Myra Park. Three drafts were presented, and participants divided into three groups to review the drafts and provide feedback.

The next meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9, when a draft master plan will be discussed, and Tuesday, Oct. 21, when a final master plan will be available. All meetings will be held at 7 p.m. in the Wendell gym. Visit www.wakegov.com/parks for more information.

ITEM 6. WATER / SEWER BOND PAID OFF

Payments on a water/sewer bond that originated in 1988 were recently completed. The principal sum of the bond was for $576,700. The last couple of payments were made through the merger agreement with Raleigh.

ITEM 7. RECREATION UPDATE

Recreation Director Brinkley Wagstaff offers the following tournament news:

The Wendell Boys 7/8 Coach Pitch team won the Tar Heel District Tournament held in Zebulon and finished second in the State Tournament, losing to West Raleigh in the finals.

The Wendell Boys 9/10 team finished fourth in the Tar Heel District Tournament but won the SWAC District Tournament held in Holly Springs. The team finished second in the SWAC State tournament held in Caswell County.

The Wendell Boys 11/12 team finished second in the Tar Heel District Tournament and will advance to the State Tournament August 7th as an at-large team.

Wendell had three girls softball teams participate in the Tar Heel State Tournament held in Smithfield. The U8 girls were 0-2 (tough start for a first year team in the state tournament). The U10 girls finished fourth (with a record of 3-2 ) from a field of 12 teams (not bad for a second year team). The U12 girls were 0-2 but played pretty well in both games.

Congratulations to all of the participants and coaches who represented Wendell well in the tournaments.

Fall Baseball/Softball practices will begin soon, with games beginning in September.

ITEM 8. NCLM CONFERENCE – OCTOBER 12-14, CHARLOTTE

Mark your calendars now for the NC League of Municipalities annual conference, which will be October 12^th – 14^th in Charlotte. This will be the “Centennial Conference” in which the NCLM celebrates its 100-year anniversary.

ITEM 9. OTHER:

A. The UDO Committee Meeting originally scheduled for Monday, September 1^st has been postponed to Tuesday, September 2^nd due to Labor Day.

B. Dr. Clayton has activated a preliminary website for Wendell citizens to access concerning his practice. It will be expanded in the near future.

http://www.actsmedicalclinic.com/

C. 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 10. UPCOMING EVENTS:

posted by Administrator  # 10:00 PM