Town Manager Kip Padgett whisked through a lot of information in his PowerPoint presentation during Friday’s town board retreat. Here are some highlights and other information in a fast-paced meeting that began at 8:30 a.m. and ended before 2 p.m. with a morning break and lunch:
— The town is “nudging up to 40,000” residents, Padgett said, with an estimated 39,012 people in 14,782 dwelling units spread over 17.13 square miles. “It’s just remarkable,” he said, that the town is adding 2,000 people a year.
–“We fared pretty well during the recession,” he said, and in 2015 issued over 700 permits for single-family houses and 165 commercial permits. “We continue to grow; we continue to annex.”
— A new set of programs for special-needs children served 503 last year. “There is a large population here” and a large need.
— Padgett said the town needs to focus on goals and objectives, which are not the same thing. His example was McDonald’s and 5 Guys burgers. McDonald’s makes many more every day, “but 5 Guys has a much better burger.” He said the town needs to measure how many of its parks are within 15 percent of its population and “stop measuring quantity and start measuring quality.”
— He will provide much more information to town residents about town finances using something called the Popular Annual Financial Report. “This is how your money is being spent.”
— The current dates to install traffic signals at two intersections are late March for the Rogers Road/Marshall Farm Road with the signals at the Dr. Calvin Jones Highway and South Franklin Street to be constructed immediately afterward, Director of Engineering Eric Keravuori said. The signals are part of the 2015 bond package ($90,000) along with the already installed one at Chalks Road and Jones Dairy Road. The signal at the N.C. 98 Bypass and Franklin Street will be temporary until the southern extension of Franklin through Holding Village subdivision is complete and the intersection is treated as a superstreet.
— After the meeting Finance Director Aileen Staples said Booth & Associates have been studying the town’s electric rates in light of the changed financial situation since Duke Energy/Progress Energy purchased a large part of the town’s debt to the eastern electric cooperative. The hope was to be able to make the electric rates more affordable. Staples said Booth & Associates will meet with the staff late in March to present the findings and recommended rate changes. They may also present those findings and recommendations at the town board meetings in April. And ElectriCities voted last week not to raise the wholesale rate of energy to the town.
— There is a possibility the date for the Rogers Road bridge reconstruction could be moved from a date in June (a date which had been in March until recently) to late April or early March. Mayor Vivian Jones said the contractor rebuilding the West Oak Avenue bridge has a scheduling problem which may make it more convenient for the company to tackle the Rogers Road bridge immediately after completing the one on West Oak.
— The sprayground slated for the Taylor Street Park has to be delayed until next year, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Director Ruben Wall announced, because of “unforeseen issues with the contractor.” Those include a retaining wall (not explained) and the condition of the swimming pool from the 1950s which was filled with dirt and buried in the 1970s. He anticipates an opening on April 1, 2017.
— The consulting firm Raftelis has all the necessary information for its study about the fire impact fee, Staples said, and will explain its findings and recommendations at the town board’s March work session.
— The construction firms= hired by Raleigh to install new sewer lines along Smith Creek is behind schedule because of rock, Deputy Town Manager Roe O’Donnell said, but will finish by May. The similar project on Richland Creek is on schedule to finish in October. Once both are complete Raleigh and Wake Forest will “crunch the money” to close out the water/sewer merger agreement signed in 2005. There are good signs the town will get a refund from Raleigh, O’Donnell said.
— In the near future the City of Raleigh will return ownership of the Smith Creek Reservoir, the land around it, and the dam after the intake structure is repaired, O’Donnell said. Raleigh will retain ownership of the water treatment plant in case it needs the facility in the future. Plans for the new parking lot, boat ramp and dock are complete and waiting for the transfer. $259,396 of the $800,000 in the 2015 bond money has been spent.
