CaryCitizen » green

Mayor Weinbrecht Delivers State of the Town Address

Matt Young — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:49:39 +0000

Cary, N. C. – Mayor Harold Weinbrecht delivered an optimistic and forward-thinking State of the Town Address to a packed house at the Cary Chamber “Eye Opener Breakfast” this morning at Prestonwood Country Club.

After introductions of the Cary Town Council and government officials in attendance, the Mayor began by talking about Cary as a great place to live and do business and proceeded to run off the many awards and accolades that Cary has received over the years.

Even in the throes of this recession, Cary is surviving, one might say on the verge of thriving. Cary’s unemployment rate “peaked” at 6.9% in July, Weinbrecht explained, and is now at 6.2% (versus North Carolina at 11%). He pointed out, as a sign of things to come, the division of Deutsche Bank’ AG’s move to Cary (approved in August 2009) bringing more than 300 jobs with an average salary of $88,000/year. This, the mayor said, “says a lot”.

Growth

Mayor Weinbrecht stated that Cary’s population today is 139,000 - “within the 3% we planned for.” He believes that growth will moderate over the years and go to 35% growth in 20 years. “Today we are close to build-out”, he commented. He went on to explain that buildings, including homes, are getting smaller. He touched on Cary’s new diversity and commented on the Asian population growth that is at 12.4% today. The Mayor dismissed the discussions about a Morrisville-Cary merger as simply an off-hand conversation.

He made a plea for all citizens to complete the census being executed in March of this year as funding to the town will be based on this.

Events as a Source of Town Revenue

The Mayor talked about the new sources of Cary revenue coming from NCAA and other sporting events, which are part of the “plan”. He mentioned Cary’s Tennis Park and the USTA events held there, the USA National Baseball Training Complex and focused on the $3m in revenue Cary received from the NCAA Soccer Championship games held here.

The Short-term Future

Harold Weinbrecht boasted about Cary’s deserved reputation as one of the safest places to live and that we had a 16% drop in violent crime from 2008 to 2009. Continuing the effort, the Mayor mentioned bringing in more police officers , geo-policing and surveillance technologies. He went on to speak about transportation and the increased mobility of our nation, Caryites included.

“In a few years, we will see increased buses, and the advent of light rail.”

But this alone, he added will not solve our congestion problems.

He touched on the desire to use new social media techniques and the use of on-line surveys to involve the community in Cary’s future. Also, the Town is beginning to deploy virtual planning tools to allow for easier and more efficient preparation for the future. The automation of utilities will continue with Aquastar electronic meter reading which will save us $2-$4m/year.

Green Cary

Mayor Weinbrecht spent some time talking about Cary’s “Green” Projects and the advisory boards formed to make progress in this area. Our new recycling process now allows for 20% more materials being recycled versus the old system. Cary’s Chamber and Cary participate in Green Plus which connects small employers with online green assessment tools. The Town sponsors ”Spruce” – a volunteer-based program designed to connect citizens to beautification, litter reduction, and environmental service projects in our community. He cited our Green MacDonald’s and our implementation plans for solar power.

Hard Choices

Over 380 capital projects are in the Town’s plans. Nearly $90m worth have been delayed or postponed in the spirit of fiscal conservatism. The town will focus on “priority projects“, the Mayor said. There is still $413m on the table to be dedicated to parks, roads and quality of life, he reported.

“We are in great shape regarding our debt, and there is no need to raise taxes in the next few years.”

The Mayor went on to say that despite this “…we remain as the the town with the lowest tax rate in Wake County.”

The Future Will Continue to be Bright

The message was promising. He explained to the crowd that we are ”in great shape to continue to lead the region in this long, slow economic recovery”. The Mayor said “how blessed we are” to live in Cary with such a high quality of life, and that he has been gifted with a great staff. He closed by mentioning how honored he is to serve such a community.

The Mayor is known for his unassuming and genuine style. This address was not an exception to that reputation.

Cary Makes Job Search Greener and Easier

Matt Young — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:23:28 +0000

Screen shot of the Town's VIP tool for developers.

CARY, NC – The Town of Cary has unveiled two new online tools. One helps people apply for jobs. They other is designed to simplify the development process. Both have the side benefit of reducing paper usage.

APPLY FOR TOWN JOBS ONLINE

The online employment application tool, powered by NeoGov, provides applicants with an enhanced level of customer service by making all aspects of the employment process easily accessible. Job opportunities, job descriptions, and other employment information are kept in one central location. The employment application is designed to be filled out online and sent electronically; beginning today, the Town will accept applications for employment through its online employment application tool only.

“Moving to an online application process will enable us to better reach out to a global audience and potentially double the pool of qualified applicants seeking to become a part of the Town of Cary team,” said Town of Cary Human Resources Consultant Renee Poole. “Online-only applications also support the Town’s commitment to preserving and protecting the environment by using less fuel and paper.”

In the last fiscal year, more than 4,500 paper applications were received and processed by the Town.

Applicants who do not have a computer can use one of the two self-assisted computer kiosks available in the Town of Cary’s Human Resources Department to complete their application. Other options for accessing a computer include local libraries, local Employment Security Commission offices or assistance from friends or relatives. Appropriate accommodations will be made for people with disabilities who are unable to apply on-line.

VIP – The Virtual Interactive Planner

The Town’s second new online tool — Virtual Interactive Planner — is designed to help reduce the confusion and intimidation sometimes associated with complex, comprehensive processes like land development. By clicking on VIP from the Town’s Web site – visit vip.townofcary.org – and entering an address, users are given a guided tour of the Town’s planning and development process in a format that is easy to understand. Video and animation are used to break the process down in easy to follow steps.

Users also have a choice of accessing a text-only version of VIP. Both the animated and text-only versions of the tool include a wide variety of development-related information such as downloadable applications, fee schedules, and definitions. Citizens are also made aware of the points in the process where the public is encouraged to provide input to the Town.

“We’re committed to providing the highest level of customer service and we’re continuously looking for innovative, effective ways to help those we serve be successful. VIP is the latest in a long line of tools we’ve developed or employed to help our citizens be better involved in the decision-making that impact their lives and their community,” said Town of Cary Customer Resource Planner Dan Matthys.

MORE NEW ONLINE TOOLS COMING

The new online tools are the latest additions to the Town of Cary’s revamped Web site, which launched in October 2009. Throughout the year, the Town will unveil improvements to the site, including more online tools designed to meet the needs of its citizens.

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McDonald's Goes Green In Cary

Leslie Huffman — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:58:31 +0000

Staff Photo by Leslie Huffman

The 25-year-old McDonald’s restaurant on Kildaire Farm Road was torn down and replaced in July by a “green McDonald’s”. This is the third green McDonald’s store in the nation and the first for North Carolina. The first two were in Savannah, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois. The objective of this rebuild is to earn a Gold Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Cary site is presently LEED registered and hoping for that Gold Certification.

“When the initial investment was made, we knew we had to make a reinvestment in the old building,” says Ric Richards, Owner and Operator (and local resident). “It was determined more feasible to do a redo with a brand new restaurant. Cary is the perfect community to built an environmentally friendly McDonald’s. The Town leaders in Cary were very supportive.”

How green is it to tear down an existing building for a brand new one? It’s hard to believe, but 99.1% of the old building was either reused or recycled. The new building will use 45% less utilities and save 500,000 gallons of water a year. This McDonald’s features green technologies like LED and solatube lighting, insulation made from recycled blue jeans (!), energy star appliances, tankless water heaters and furniture made from renewable resources like bamboo and soy beans.

“Most of the parts and equipment for the new building came from local suppliers and industries. This helped us reduce our carbon footprint by buying local goods and reducing transportation costs,” says Richards.

Is a green McDonald’s a contradiction in terms? McDonald’s has been linked to rainforest destruction by selling meats fed from deforested lands. Cows produce 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The meat industry itself is one of the leading contributors to climate change and McDonald’s is one of the largest beef consumers in the world.

While I applaud Mr. Richards for bringing this “green” concept to Cary, McDonald’s as a Corporation has a long way to go before it can call itself a green company. McDonald’s is such a huge part of our culture, with 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries, that to really make an impact McDonald’s should require all franchises to be LEED Certified. But I think any attempt by the company to mitigate their effect on the environment is helpful.

As far as green building goes, the new Cary McDonald’s is an excellent example of environmentally-conscious architecture. This green McDonald’s is attempting to educate its patrons by posting messages and notes about its green design all over the restaurant. They have also installed a flat screen Educational Dashboard that is designed to inform customers about the building and its environmental efforts.

Environmentally conscious construction like this helps to legitimize the green movement and can educate home owners by giving them ideas on how they can be more green in their own environment. This type of building shows that McDonald’s Corporation is takings steps in the right direction. In my opinion, the next “green frontier” for McDonald’s would be to make sure that all their restaurants were supplied with foods strictly from local farmers.

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