Wendell News Outlet

Board of Commissioners Friday Update

(distributed on Thursday, October 1, 2009)

ITEM 1. HARVEST FESTIVAL
Hopefully, everyone will have a great time at this year’s Harvest Festival. The weather forecast looks pretty good. Festivities start at noon on Friday and 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. The parade will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

ITEM 2. NOTICE TO PROCEED RECEIVED ON GOVERNOR’S HIGHWAY SAFETY GRANT
This week, the town received a notice to proceed on the two Governor’s Highway Safety Grants. A press release on this item was sent to the media this afternoon. A copy is attached.

ITEM 3. ARRA GRANT – CROSSWALKS ON THIRD AND MAIN STREETS
A press release (attached) about the town’s ARRA (Stimulus) grant for crosswalks in the intersection of Third and Main Streets was also distributed this week.

ITEM 4. UDO REVIEW CONTINUES
Please remember that if you have questions or comments about the wording in the UDO, you do not have to wait until the meetings to communicate your questions / comments. Feel free to email comments and questions to the Planning staff. (The UDO questions received thus far were sent in a previous email.)
The remaining UDO informational meetings scheduled are as follows:

Day Date Time Proposed Action Location

Mon. Oct. 5th 6-8 pm Discussion of Chapters 9-13 @ Town Hall Courtroom

Thurs. Oct. 15th 6-8 pm Discussion of Chapters 14-19 @ Town Hall Courtroom

ITEM 5. I/T TECHNICIAN STARTED WORK
Caprisha Watkins has been hired by the Town of Knightdale as an Information Technology Technician. She will be providing contract information technology services to Wendell and began working this week. She will be working in Wendell half a day, twice a week.

ITEM 6. DROUGHT STATUS
Recent rains have placed Wake County back in the “Abnormally Dry” category, along with 33 other NC counties. 13 counties remain in the “Moderate Drought” category. The latest drought advisory map is available online.

ITEM 7. OTHER
A. Registration for Youth Basketball has begun. Basketball registration forms are available at the Wendell Community Center. The registration deadline is Thursday, October 14, 2009.
B. The City of Raleigh has launched a new website for the Little River Reservoir project.
C. The Grand Opening of the Zebulon Community Center (the former National Guard Armory) will be at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 16th.
D. Kids Voting and the NC Museum of History are co-sponsoring an Educational Forum for Middle and High School Students on Saturday, October 17th. The groups are asking each town to set-up an information table in the lobby of the museum from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. that day.
E. The Zebulon/Wendell-Raleigh Express (ZWX) route is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 26th. Please encourage anyone interested in the service to sign up for Triangle Transit’s e-mail rider alerts. They can sign-up here.
F. The Town of Wendell (in conjunction with the Wendell Historical Society) will hold a meeting on November 19th at 6:00 p.m. to inform property owners within the town’s two national register historic districts about the tax benefits available. During this meeting, there will be two short presentations: one on tax credits for historic renovation work and the other on the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for renovation.

ITEM 8. UPCOMING EVENTS:

DATE TIME EVENT LOCATION

10/02 – 10/03 HARVEST FESTIVAL
Noon start time – Friday, 10/02
9:00 a.m. start time – Saturday, 10/03
10:00 a.m. parade – Saturday, 10/03

10/05 6 – 8:00 p.m. (Mon.) UDO “Discussion Meeting” Discussion of Chapters 9-13 @ Town Hall

10/12 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

10/15 6 – 8:00 p.m. (Thurs.) UDO “Discussion Meeting” Discussion of Chapters 14-19 @ Town Hall

10/16 9:00 a.m. (Fri.) Grand Opening, Zebulon Community Center @ 301 S. Arendell, Zebulon

10/17 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. “Government Matters” Education Forum @ NC History

10/19 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting @ Town Hall

10/25 – 10/27 NC League of Municipalities Annual Conference @ Greenville Convention Center

10/26 Start Date for ZWX Bus Service

10/26 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

11/09 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

11/16 7:00 p.m. Planning Board Meeting @ Town Hall

11/19 6:00 p.m. Public Information Meeting about Tax Credits Available for Historic District Properties @ Town Hall

11/23 7:00 p.m. Board of Commissioners Meeting @ Town Hall

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PRESS RELEASE

FROM: David B. Bone, Town Manager

DATE: September 29, 2009

Re.: Town of Wendell notified of grant award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for the installation of crosswalks and curb cuts at the intersection of Third and Main Street

The Town of Wendell recently received construction authorization for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the construction of two crosswalks at the intersection of Third and Main Street. The crosswalks will involve curb cuts at the corners of Main and Third Streets and will be constructed with either stamped asphalt or concrete. $52,000 is authorized and available for construction. A location map for the project is below.

The Town of Wendell submitted a request for ARRA funding of this project through the Capitol Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO).

Wendell and its engineer for the project will proceed with the solicitation of bids for construction of the project.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT 919-365-4444.

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PRESS RELEASE

FROM: Vance W. Johnson, Chief of Police

DATE: October 1, 2009

Re.: NC Governor’s Highway Safety Program

The Town of Wendell has received two grants from the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program (NCGHSP). A letter from the program was received this week, awarding $188,641 in support of two traffic officers and $23,525 for the purchase of traffic-related equipment.

The traffic officer grant will be affective on October 1, 2009 and will continue for one year. A second year of funding may also be available. The traffic officer grant requires a first year local match of $33,290 from the town. The traffic officer grant funds will be utilized to establish two traffic officer positions with various responsibilities to include:

• Increased DWI enforcement,

• Enforcement of various traffic laws,

• Crash reduction and

• Safety classes/seminars.

The traffic-related equipment grant does not require a local match.

The grant application process began in January 2009, at which time the Town Board of Commissioners voted to support pre-applications for the grant funds.

“We believe that traffic safety issues are a major concern in our town. These grants will allow us to focus on DWI enforcement, vehicle collisions and vehicle safety, in general”.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT 919-365-4444.

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