Padgett unveils 2024-2025 budget

After a county-wide real estate revaluation that increased property values by almost 50 percent or more, Wake Forest Town Manager Kip Padgett is recommending a new tax rate of $0.42, a rate above the revenue neutral tax rate of $0.3460. He unveiled the plan Tuesday night, May 7, during the town board’s work session. Padgett’s proposed $128,668,100 budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year   includes 13 new staff positions, seven of them for the Wake Forest Police Department. There were no increases in the town’s health insurance premiums for the sixth year, but there were mandated increases in the two retirement funds for town employees. In Padgett’s full three-page letter to the town commissioners, he says the reason for the change from the revenue-neutral rate to the $0.42 is because, in a reassessment year he must add to the revenue-neutral rate of $0.3460 the following: Fire station 6 and public safety

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No gas on Faculty Avenue

100 years of history By Carol Pelosi A small brick building on North Main Street made zoning and state history in 1930, becoming the subject of the first zoning case heard by the North Carolina Supreme Court. In 1923, quiet dead-end Faculty Avenue had become part of U.S. 1, stretching from Maine to Florida, when federal engineers conquered the bluff at its north end. Automobiles and tourists rolled down the broad street which had recently been paved and edged with granite curb stones. Twenty years before, in 1905, A.J. “Jack” Medlin had built the brick general store which is now an office owned by Cooke’s Restoration. “I bought my first air rifle there,” Dr. I. Beverly Lake Sr., then retired as a Supreme Court justice recalled in 1982. The Lake family lived down the street, and Lake was a year older than the store. Medlin made arrangements to keep some

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‘Unruly teens’ continue to plague FNOW

The teens who were a problem last September during Friday Night on White have returned, Bill Crabtree, the town’s communications and public affairs director, told the Wake Forest Town Board Tuesday night. Crabtree said he and others who had put up signs and appealed to parents to control their teens thought earlier this spring that the problem had been solved or lessened, but the most recent street concert demonstrated “the September problem is back.” The FNOW committee met, talked about the problem and decided on some further corrective actions. First, since the Wake Forest Police Department can assign only a limited number of officers to the concerts, they have asked for help from other departments. Franklinton and Youngsville will send three officers each to the Friday, May 10, concert and Fuquay-Varina and Apex will each send one officer. “There may be others, but those have been confirmed,” Crabtree said Wednesday.

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Board agrees on nondiscrimination ordinance

Tuesday’s Wake Forest Town Board’s work session started with a presentation by Danya Perry, the director for diversity, equity & inclusion for Wake County, and that led to an hour’s discussion and a request for a Wake Forest ordinance that mirrors the county’s agreement. In 2021, Wake County began talking about a way to fight discrimination at the local county level. The federal and state nondiscrimination laws are for corporations or businesses larger than 15 employees. In February of 2022 the Wake County nondiscrimination ordinance went into effect, and shortly afterward the county began urging Wake County’s towns and cities to adopt its ordinance. Today the only towns who have not joined are Fuquay-Varina and Wake Forest. When the request was on a Wake Forest agenda last year, Mayor Vivian Jones said it would not be acceptable to local businesses and the town board moved on to the next item.

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Irresistible Groove on FNOW stage Friday night

Irresistible Groove will headline the May 10 Friday Night on White (FNOW). The free outdoor concert will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. along South White Street in historic downtown Wake Forest. Food & Refreshments Food and refreshments will be available for purchase at several downtown restaurants. A variety of food and dessert trucks will also be on site in the Depot Parking Lot, 110 S. White St., and along East Owen Avenue. Food and dessert trucks scheduled to participate on May 10 include VFW Chuck Wagon, Cousins Maine Lobster, Virgil’s Jamaica, Sister Lui’s, Lawrence and Perry BBQ, Tacos Las Gringas, The Cheese Curd Shack, Golden K Dog, The Flat Drum, Hot Totz Potato Munchies, The Tasty Turkey Que, Soulbachi,  Lumpy’s Ice Cream, Dusty Donuts, and Kona Ice. Menus for these food trucks are provided on the Town website at https://bit.ly/FNOWFoodTrucks and as a function of the Town app (see Friday Night on

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New scam targeting accident victims

The Wake Forest Police Department is again urging residents to guard against becoming the victim of fraud following several recently reported phone scams involving Venmo and Apple Pay. Over the past few days, several residents involved in different traffic accidents have reported receiving calls from someone posing as a Wake Forest Police officer who claims they owe money for missing a subsequent court date. According to various reports, the caller, who uses the names of actual WFPD officers, says a warrant has been issued for their arrest, or soon will be, but they can pay a fine now via Apple Pay, Venmo, or some other form of electronic payment and avoid being arrested. It’s a scam. Neither the WFPD nor any other government agency make such calls, nor would they ever ask anyone to make a payment via Apple Pay, Venmo, Cash App, Green Dot cards, store gift cards, Playstation/Xbox

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Free Family Movie Nights begin on May 25

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department will host a free, monthly outdoor movie series from May through August at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. The first in the series of Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park will feature the 1991 animated version of the film “Beauty and the Beast” on Saturday, May 25, at 8:30 p.m. Family Movie Nights will feature a variety of family-friendly film favorites and genres, including comedies, dramas, and action, all projected on a 26-foot inflatable movie screen in the park’s amphitheater. Future film screenings are scheduled on the following Saturdays: June 15 (Minions: The Rise of Gru), July 20 (Kung Fu Panda 4), and August 3 (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3). Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Anyone planning to attend is urged to arrive early as viewing space may be limited. Family Movie Nights are free and open to

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Soul Psychedelic on stage at Six Sundays

Sponsored by the Town of Wake Forest and ARTS Wake Forest, the free outdoor concert series will be offered from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on consecutive Sundays from April 28 through June 2 at the Joyner Park Amphitheater, 701 Harris Road. From big band and R&B to beach and jazz, there’s something for all music lovers at this year’s Six Sundays in Spring. Marcus Anderson will draw a crowd on May 19, The Magnificents on May 26, and Sensory Expressions Band on June 2. A variety of food and dessert trucks will be on site for each concert. Concert goers are also invited to bring a picnic from home but are reminded that alcoholic beverages, unleashed pets, and grills of any kind are prohibited. Two large charcoal grills are provided on site. For more information about this year’s Six Sundays in Spring, visit https://bit.ly/WFSixSundays or contact PRCR Events Coordinator Suja Jacob at 919-435-9558 or sjacob@wakeforestnc.gov.

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RenCen offering concerts and special events

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre is introducing a series of concerts and special events from June through August featuring nationally renowned acts and performers. The “Summer at the Centre” Performance Series gets underway with The Embers: Featuring Craig Woolard on Saturday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m., continues with Malpass Brothers concerts on Saturday, July 27, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and concludes with Murder Mystery Dinners on Saturday, Aug. 24, at noon and 6:30 p.m. Tickets to these events and performances are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.wakeforestrencen.org, in person at the RC Box Office, or by calling 919-435-9458. Renaissance Centre Partners, Patrons, and Friends can purchase their tickets now. For more information about ways you can support the Renaissance Centre, visit https://www.wakeforestrencen.org/donate. For more information about the “Summer at the Centre” Performance Series, email Renaissance Centre Director Debbie Dunn at ddunn@wakeforestnc.gov.  The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre (RC),

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Free Expressive Art series in May and June

The Town of Wake Forest, the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, and Resources for Seniors are partnering with Village of C.A.R.E. to offer a free Expressive Arts Series at the Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave., from 10 a.m.-noon on the following Saturdays in May and June: May 4, 11, 18 and June 1, 15, 22, and 29. Open to families and people of all ages, the intergenerational arts classes will encourage participants to discover how expressive arts can be therapeutic and foster meaningful connections by creating their own music, paintings, poetry, ceramics, quilting, dances, and more. Online registration is required at www.ohwci.com/events. For more information, call 919-714-3854. This event is part of the Town of Wake Forest’s “Focus on Mental Wellness” series. For more information about the Town’s commitment to mental wellness, visit https://bit.ly/FocusonMentalWellness or email Community Outreach Manager Andrew Brown, Jr. at abrown@wakeforestnc.gov.  The Town of Wake Forest, the Wake Forest

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