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Message from Mayor Rick Cross
The summer has flown by. It seems as if we were just speaking about pools opening, concerts getting started, and gathering together for various summer activities. Now, we are in the midst of back-to-school time and the coming fall season. As we look to the end of summer, we are preparing for the upcoming Labor Day holiday. We are also getting ready for another Food Truck Friday on Sept. 8, and our final concert of the season on Saturday, Sept. 16. Both of these events will take place in our Town Square.
In my message this month, I want to focus three key topics:
• Our recent Town Hall Session on August 22 at WinMock
• Upcoming Municipal Elections
• Highway 801/158 Intersection Improvement
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In last month’s message, I announced a plan to hold a Town Hall Session at WinMock on August 22, with the goal of sharing information regarding the following topics:
• Zoning for our Town/ETJ - What is it? Why does it exist? What is the process when an individual/developer seeks to purchase land and build/develop within our town or the Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ)? • Annexation - What is it? How does annexation work? What is the impact on our town and surrounding areas?
• 10/70 process - This is a technical process. What is this? How is it applied? What is its impact on development?
• Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use - Updating our progress on the output from the Comprehensive Plan and our current work on future land use across our town and ETJ.
Our intent for the session was to respond to what we have been hearing around the process relating to the above topics. We wanted to create an opportunity for people to more fully understand the various processes we must abide by as we, your town representatives, are managing our town’s business.
During the meeting, we committed to a series of actions that we would undertake. Next Steps from August 22 Session:
• Earlier this week, we made the PRESENTATION from the WinMock Session available on the town’s website.
• We are consolidating all questions provided prior to the session, questions and comments made during the session, and any we have received since. In the near future, we will publish questions in the form of a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs).
I am pleased that we had almost 300 attendees at the August 22 Session. I am also somewhat disheartened that a number of attendees indicated they were there because they understood through social media and signs posted around the community that this would be a public hearing where they would be able to express their thoughts on a specific project, or residential types.
As I explained at the outset of the session, as the town’s elected representatives, we are governed by state laws and statutes in how we are to conduct meetings. Since I had asked for this meeting, and it was considered a Special Called Meeting, we were obligated to a) Post the intent of the meeting in advance (topics), and; b) Faithfully adhere to those topics, and only those topics.
A few key points about Town Council Meetings:
• All Town Council Meetings are open to the public, are scheduled in advance, and are noticed in accordance with state statutes.
• All decisions made by the Town Council are made during these meetings as required by state statutes.
• All decisions made by the Town Council strictly adhere to the NC statutes regarding ethics and conflict of interest.
At times, information travels through social media and signs placed around the community very quickly and independent of our requirements as a town. In some cases, the information may be incomplete, out of proper context, or even incorrect. We are always working to improve our communications - I will also ask that you, residents of our community, also work to engage. Ask questions, share thoughts and concerns, and if you see or hear something that makes you wonder, reach out to me, our Town Council members, or our town staff.
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Our Municipal Elections are coming up in the near future. As part of our ongoing effort toward communication and engagement, we have had a group of residents coordinate a series of Candidate Forums so residents have an opportunity to get to know their candidates, and so candidates are able to share thoughts and ideas about their vision for our community. See specific information about these events in today’s newsletter. As time draws near, we will also be reminding you via Facebook and Instagram.
I want to say a special thanks to Angel Jackson, Gary LeBlanc, Carol Quinn, Cathy Ring, and Laurie Venuto for their leadership in making these Candidate Forums happen. These will truly be community events led by the community.
I also want to thank Town Council candidates David Gilpin, Rod Guthrie, Rae Nelson, Jeff Tedder, Marty Wilson, and Mayor candidate Mike Brannon for their desire to participate in these important events.
As a reminder, a primary election will be held for Town Council candidates on October 10, and the general election will be held on November 7.
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Some time ago, we began telling you that there would be an additional lane installed on northbound Highway 801 at the Highway 158 intersection (in front of Walgreens). This is an intial step in helping better manage traffic through that busy intersection. That work has begun. This will provide for two through-lanes in addition to the current left-turn and right-turn lanes, and is intended to help with traffic flow. See an overview of the plan and timeline from Town Manager Andrew Meadwell in today’s newsletter.
As we have previously stated, this is a short-term measure. We continue to work with NCDOT on longer-term solutions - including the Highways 801 and 158 corridors - and will keep you up to date as we make progress on those projects.
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I continue to have the opportunity to meet with residents, businesses, and organizations - one-on-one, in small groups, and even in large groups. In my role, I am very appreciative to have this opportunity to engage, hopefully to share some information, and most importantly to learn. Thanks to all who have helped make this happen.
As I have signed off each of my messages over these past four years, I appreciate all with whom I have been in contact - phone, text, email, and in-person. Thank you for your time and willingness to engage. I ask that you continue to reach out to me.
My phone/text is 336.391.1992 and my email address is rcross@townofbr.com.
I look forward to seeing everyone soon. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
Rick Cross
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