Wendell News Outlet

Board of Commissioners Friday Update

April 3, 2009

ITEM 1. EASTER EGG HUNT

The Wendell Parks and Recreation will be hosting a FREE Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4^th. The hunt will take place on the new side of Wendell Park (right across the street from the Tennis Courts) at 11:00 a.m. This event is open to anyone 8 and under. Please bring a basket and be on time, because the eggs get picked-up very fast.

ITEM 2. ADVISORY BOARD APPLICATIONS

The town has been accepting applications for advisory boards for the last month. The application deadline was today. A letter will be sent to the applicants acknowledging receipt of their applications and thanking them for their desire to serve. Nominations for the various advisory boards are scheduled for the April 27^th Board of Commissioners meeting.

ITEM 3. MEETING WITH COMMISSIONERS SCARBORO AND BAYNES ABOUT THE CORPUD MERGER PROJECTS WENT WELL

On Monday, March 30^th, staff (and Town Engineer Chris Windley) met with Commissioner Buddy Scarboro and Commissioner Sid Baynes concerning Item #3 from the March 23^rd board meeting. We reviewed each of the merger projects and the status of each project.

One question that came out of the meeting was whether or not the City of Raleigh would consider moving the WW24 (East Wake Sewer Study) Project beyond 2010.

After this meeting, staff followed-up with Raleigh. The Raleigh staff agreed that the project could be moved back, but they did not give a specific year. We hope to have this answered prior to the April 13^th meeting. This item will come back to the board at that time.

Please remember that this item only involves the delay of certain merger projects. It does not involve the larger financial buy-in involved in the merger.

ITEM 4. MERGER FINANCIAL PRO FORMA ISSUE

The manager has communicated with Raleigh that the Wendell board is very interested in seeing an updated pro forma with the new project cost estimates considered, as well as the new Raleigh rates (with the proposed 17% increase). Some questions the manager asked included:

· What type of rate increase would we need to institute July 1, 2009 to avoid a surcharge in October 2011 and to stay on schedule to complete the merger buy-in by October 2018?

· If the current difference between Wendell and Raleigh’s rates is maintained year-to-year, how long would the pro forma need to be extended to reach “pay-off” status?

The manager communicated that the board has a desire to consider adjustments to water and sewer rates during the budget process and asked for a preliminary staff meeting to discuss these issues.

CORPUD expressed difficulty in providing an update to the pro forma each time changes are made, because they do not have the staff to run the pro forma in-house. However, CORPUD has asked Jeff Atkins, who was involved as a consultant with the mergers agreements (and who is currently with McKim and Creed), to help with the annual pro forma update. CORPUD staff stated that they will attempt to get the information to us for our upcoming budget process.

ITEM 5. BUDGET WORK SESSION – TUESDAY, APRIL 14^TH AT 1:00 P.M.

The Board of Commissioners will hold a budget work session on Tuesday, April 14^th at 1:00 p.m. in the Wendell Courtroom. A draft budget will be discussed.

ITEM 6. WATER TOWER AT THOMPSON FIELD TO BE PAINTED THIS SUMMER

This summer (most likely in July) the City of Raleigh is planning to paint the water tower at Thompson Field. As a part of that process, the cell antennas on the tower must come down. AT&T, the provider located on the tower, is required by the FCC to maintain cell service in this area, not only for regular cell service but also for E911 service. Therefore, AT&T will need to set up a mobile cell facility similar to the one shown below. Currently, AT&T is working with the school board to secure an agreement to place this facility on the property. AT&T and CORPUD feel like it will be a 60-90 day process to remove the antennas, paint the tower, and reinstall the antennas. They also plan to put a fence around this mobile facility for protection of their equipment and safety.

ITEM 7. TRIANGLE J COG 50^TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT – SEPTEMBER 23^RD

On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, Triangle J will celebrate its 50^th anniversary with a reception and dinner event at the Raleigh Convention Center. To prepare for the event, the COG is asking for a rough head count of those interested in attending. Please let Town Clerk Jonnie Driver know by Friday, April 3^rd if you (and, possibly, your spouse) are interested in attending.

ITEM 8. NCLM TOWN HALL DAY – WEDNESDAY, MAY 6^TH

The NC League of Municipalities’ Town Hall Day will be on Wednesday, May 6^th from 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Please let Town Clerk Jonnie Driver know by the Budget Work Session on Tuesday, April 14^th if you would like to attend the Town Hall Day events.

ITEM 9. OTHER:

A. Mayor Broadwell and the Mayors of Zebulon and Knightdale taped an informational piece about recycling on Monday. Look for the broadcast of this item on East Wake TV in the near future.

B. The first house in Bob Doyle’s Foxborough Subdivision is currently under construction.

C. Siding is going up on the first two houses in the Woods of Blair Hills Subdivision.

D. Eight building permits were issued this week for Edgemont Landing.

E. The Wendell Historical Society is once again planning its July 4^th festivities, which will be held at J. Ashley Wall Park.

F. On Thursday, April 2^nd, the manager made presentations about local government careers at the Wendell Elementary School Career Day. He will make similar presentations at the Wendell Middle School Career Day on Tuesday, April 7^th.

G. Phillip Smith, from the Recreation Department, made a presentation about the draft park master plan at the Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, March 31^st.

ITEM 10. UPCOMING EVENTS:

posted by Administrator  # 9:46 AM