I'll post my observations about today's muddled session in the morning when I've had a chance to think it over a bit.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Schedule change
The budget work session scheduled for Wednesday, June 1 has been cancelled in order to give council members to mull over various proposals and city staff to fine tune some recommendations. We have rescheduled this meeting to Monday, June 6 in order to "count noses" and find out if there will be sufficient votes to approve the budget at Tuesday evening's meeting.
Graduation congratulations to our "daughter"
You never know where your city council duties might take you.
Back in June 2000, I traveled with the NC National Guard to Chisinau, Moldova to sign a Sister Cities agreement between Greensboro and Buiucani, one of the five districts of this capital city. The NC National Guard is partnered with Moldova in the Partnerships for Peace program, and the state of North Carolina has an official relationship with the country as well. In addition to the routine cultural and educational exchanges, we are assisting this new country (1989) with economic development, military self-sufficiency, and particularly democracy after 50 years of Soviet domination as part of the USSR. My main assignment on that first trip and two subsequent ones was to stress how open government operates in a free society and how the civilian sector controls the military sector, not vice versa. I fell in love with the country on that first visit, and my "official" duties quickly became a labor of love.
The result was that my husband Bob and I have been sponsoring Olesea, an 18-year-old orphan whose parents were killed in a car accident when she was small, to attend college since November, 2000 through a program operated by Carolina Adoption Services. We were "matched" by Marianna who served as my interpreter during my first visit, and our similarities are uncanny. Olesea's father was a police officer - my husband is a retired officer, and her mother was a teacher - I was heavily involved in the schools and PTA for many years. And Marianna absolutely insists that Olesea resembles me! Olesea speaks five languages and is fluent in English so communicating with her has been easy, especially after she got an email account. I had the privilege of meeting her and spending time with her during my last two visits.
Olesea is graduating from her university this month and will be teaching English in a Moldovan school and perhaps pursuing her Masters Degree. It has been a pleasure watching this shy girl blossom into a lovely, confident young lady. We are proud of her accomplishments and intend to stay involved in her life as long as she wishes.
Congratulations on your graduation, daughter!
LA Times article on Greensboro blogs
Reporter Martin Miller's excellent article on Greensboro's blogs ran in the Los Angeles Times on Monday, May 23.
The folks over at the News & Record got most of the ink and I got none, but David over at Hogg's Blog did get a mention.
Martin explained in an email how I contributed even though he didn't quote me: "...[the article] lacks the distinction of containing your name. I know that's probably frustrating for you, particularly since you were kind enough to take time out of your vacation to speak with me. Your comments helped shape the story - I know that's difficult for public officials to believe sometimes, but it did..."
That's fine, it's still a great article!
Another budget week
It's another busy week with the city budget being the main attraction again.
* There are budget work sessions scheduled from 1-5PM on both Tuesday, May 31 and Wednesday, June 1. Hopefully a majority of council members can reach agreement on what will be included and/or excluded so we can officially adopt it next week.
* Another meeting of the Greensboro Partnership's Strategic Planning Committee will begin at 7:30AM on Thursday, June 3 with a 12:30PM meeting of the War Memorial Commission (coliseum) later that day. This day ends up with Duke Power's Community Appreciation Dinner at Grandover.
* I get a break on Friday and hope to enjoy the Best of Broadway production of "Male Intellect: an Oxymoron" at the Odeon Theater at the coliseum. (Don't get offended, guys. It IS the name of the play.)
* Saturday, June 4 will be a working day for me when I bring official city greetings to the Alzheimers Association Memory Walk at Country Park. This will be a bittersweet assignment for me since I lost my mother and an aunt to Alzheimers.
Monday, May 30, 2005
City incentives fiasco
I greatly appreciated the editorial in Sunday's News & Record about the recently-approved new economic incentives guidelines. I stand by my comment about the standards being lowered when a majority of council members agreed to lessen the required private investment amounts, allow sales tax to be counted towards tax impact calculations, make retail businesses in defined areas eligible for incentives, and approve direct payment for jobs versus refunding of property tax payments for a specified period of time. When Allen Johnson interviewed me for this editorial, he asked if city council was really that desperate to be taking this kind of action.
The unfortunate thing is that the same majority of council members put that new policy into immediate use in closed session at the end of this same meeting. City council was asked to approve $300,000 and bail out Don Linder's project to redevelop the former Carolina Circle Mall site with a new WalMart and other potential stores there when a street acccess problem was discovered. There has to be some real legal footwork to apply this policy here since the payment is to go to the current property owner, not the "new" business, and the salary requirements are not going to meet our standards. Also, I question whether sales taxs from this site should be considered "new" revenue since a lot of it will likely be dollars formerly spent at other Greensboro WalMarts.
Does the city really need to be paying incentives to attract this type of development and its lower salaries? The response our city attorney received from the Institute of Government when she consulted them about this proposal was, "Yes, it's legal, but why would you WANT to do it?" My sentiments exactly!
The public hearing on this request is at our June 7 city council meeting, at which time the official vote will be taken for final action. If you have a strong opinion, I suggest you voice it. The incentive obviously passed during our closed session or it would not have made it this far. I would expect it to be officially approved by the same 7-2 vote.
I can hear the laughter now -- Winston/Forsyth gets a Dell. Greensboro gets another WalMart!
Getting scooped?
HMMM! When News & Record reporter Matt Williams called me Friday to ask for my comments on the latest incentive request coming before the city council, I mentioned that I could finally write about that subject now that the information was being advertised publicly. Matt sounded concerned that I would do that since his article was running in Sunday's paper but then noted I could do as I wished, of course. He's just lucky I was too busy to get to it THIS TIME!
Unexpected downtime
Please pardon my short unanticipated absence! Between budget study, the arrival of my new computer and related set-up and transfer of files, and babysitting my five- and two-year-old ACTIVE grandsons all day long yesterday, I just plain did not have time to do blog. It's catch-up time now!
Friday, May 27, 2005
Budget progress (?)
The city council spent another 3 and 1/2 hours yesterday reviewing the proposed FY2005-06 city budget. Additional information we had requested on some topics were provided after which we continued our examination of the operating budget and touched on the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) that covers major construction projects such as streets and sidewalks, fire stations, libraries, etc.
Some key points of interest include:
a Revenue from the Sportsplex facility covers approximately 70% of the expenses of that program compared with a 16% recovery rate from our "regular" recreation centers. The facility is heavily used and highly successful with 107,000 attendees from July/04 to April/05.
a The operating subsidy of the Bryan Park complex (which includes golf, operation of the Enrichment Center, and all the other non-golf activities) has dropped from $1.45 million in 2001-02 to $800,000 in 2003-04 as a result of the privatization of golf operations. These savings have benefitted the General Fund.
a The city manager explained why he equated $400,000 in police overtime pay to the addition of 8 officers. Many officers voluntarily work extra hours on their days off to perform special duties or teach in the police training academy. Under the old system, they would have received time off during their regular work schedule to offset these extra hours. With this new arrangement, they can be paid overtime for those hours. Use of off-duty officers reduces the need to hire new ones for these tasks.
After considerable discussion, we council members decided in a straw poll vote to support the manager's proposal NOT to hire additional officers in the coming year due to the additional 32 officers scheduled to "hit the streets" in early July.
a There was no effort made to raise city council salaries after a short discussion.
a The most contentious issue was the request made by the GTA board and private citizens for half-hour service on all GTA bus routes during peak ridership hours. It turns out that neither the city manager nor Florence Gatten who serves as council liaison to the GTA board knew that this request was going to be made. There was a lot of discussion about the need for the GTA board and city council "to get on the same page" with our visions and to communicate better. Robbie Perkins even suggested eliminating the GTA board, but the rest of us nixed that idea.
Comments made Tuesday evening by several GTA riders was the first time most of us councilmembers were aware that the buses are sometimes so full that some people are unable to board the regular bus. In those cases, GTA tries to send out another bus or van to pick up those riders. We were all in total shock to hear that this happened to 1,200 passengers in the month of April alone which would average out to nearly 60 riders a day! Several council members cited poor management as the cause of this problem.
[Clarification: GDOT director Jim Westmoreland helped me understand the problem more clearly in a conversation this morning. Not all of those 1,200 passengers were necessarily folks left stranded at a bus stop. Many of the 130 extra bus trips carrying these riders were to get folks to their final destination whose bus was late arriving at the Depot, making them miss their connecting transfer. Some of the buses are having difficulty meeting the one-hour schedule when there are too many people getting on and off and are not arriving at the Depot in time to meet connecting buses.]
All of us acknowledged that this is a problem that must be corrected, but there was not agreement on the solution. Staff was instructed to come back with possible remedies and their associated costs. Robbie expressed concern about GTA's cost recovery ratio, and I pointed out the low recovery ratio in other city programs such as recreation centers. The city is in the business of providing citizen services, and I doubt if ANY of our programs are self-sufficient or profitable.
a We ended the session by instructing City Manager Ed Kitchen to identify across-the-board reductions and/or specific programs to be cut in order to avoid a tax increase at all this coming year. I supported that motion on the grounds that I want to see what would be recommended and what effect it would have on services. If the results are too drastic and painful, I will not support the proposals, but I feel it is my fiscal duty to at least consider the possibilities.
Sorry if we ruined your upcoming holiday weekend, Ed! It looks like we're going to keep you busy 'til the bitter end on August 1.
Some key points of interest include:
a Revenue from the Sportsplex facility covers approximately 70% of the expenses of that program compared with a 16% recovery rate from our "regular" recreation centers. The facility is heavily used and highly successful with 107,000 attendees from July/04 to April/05.
a The operating subsidy of the Bryan Park complex (which includes golf, operation of the Enrichment Center, and all the other non-golf activities) has dropped from $1.45 million in 2001-02 to $800,000 in 2003-04 as a result of the privatization of golf operations. These savings have benefitted the General Fund.
a The city manager explained why he equated $400,000 in police overtime pay to the addition of 8 officers. Many officers voluntarily work extra hours on their days off to perform special duties or teach in the police training academy. Under the old system, they would have received time off during their regular work schedule to offset these extra hours. With this new arrangement, they can be paid overtime for those hours. Use of off-duty officers reduces the need to hire new ones for these tasks.
After considerable discussion, we council members decided in a straw poll vote to support the manager's proposal NOT to hire additional officers in the coming year due to the additional 32 officers scheduled to "hit the streets" in early July.
a There was no effort made to raise city council salaries after a short discussion.
a The most contentious issue was the request made by the GTA board and private citizens for half-hour service on all GTA bus routes during peak ridership hours. It turns out that neither the city manager nor Florence Gatten who serves as council liaison to the GTA board knew that this request was going to be made. There was a lot of discussion about the need for the GTA board and city council "to get on the same page" with our visions and to communicate better. Robbie Perkins even suggested eliminating the GTA board, but the rest of us nixed that idea.
Comments made Tuesday evening by several GTA riders was the first time most of us councilmembers were aware that the buses are sometimes so full that some people are unable to board the regular bus. In those cases, GTA tries to send out another bus or van to pick up those riders. We were all in total shock to hear that this happened to 1,200 passengers in the month of April alone which would average out to nearly 60 riders a day! Several council members cited poor management as the cause of this problem.
[Clarification: GDOT director Jim Westmoreland helped me understand the problem more clearly in a conversation this morning. Not all of those 1,200 passengers were necessarily folks left stranded at a bus stop. Many of the 130 extra bus trips carrying these riders were to get folks to their final destination whose bus was late arriving at the Depot, making them miss their connecting transfer. Some of the buses are having difficulty meeting the one-hour schedule when there are too many people getting on and off and are not arriving at the Depot in time to meet connecting buses.]
All of us acknowledged that this is a problem that must be corrected, but there was not agreement on the solution. Staff was instructed to come back with possible remedies and their associated costs. Robbie expressed concern about GTA's cost recovery ratio, and I pointed out the low recovery ratio in other city programs such as recreation centers. The city is in the business of providing citizen services, and I doubt if ANY of our programs are self-sufficient or profitable.
a We ended the session by instructing City Manager Ed Kitchen to identify across-the-board reductions and/or specific programs to be cut in order to avoid a tax increase at all this coming year. I supported that motion on the grounds that I want to see what would be recommended and what effect it would have on services. If the results are too drastic and painful, I will not support the proposals, but I feel it is my fiscal duty to at least consider the possibilities.
Sorry if we ruined your upcoming holiday weekend, Ed! It looks like we're going to keep you busy 'til the bitter end on August 1.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
The Generals -- better off with or without them?
I'm posting this in response to Don Moore's letter in yesterday's News & Record.
I agree that the Coliseum lost more money without the Generals than it did with them, but I don't believe the $4 million is accurate. There are a number of other significant factors in play here. For example, the Coliseum did not have the Men's ACC Tournament or the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in 2004, both profitable events. Also, very few big name performers have done touring concerts this past year, and that makes a big dent in revenue as well.
The Coliseum's main revenue is "parking and popcorn" (concession sales), so when there are not as many "bodies in the building," income suffers greatly. While Generals attendance was not particulary high, those patrons did provide a steady income stream to the building. Also, corporate advertising, box suite and club seating sales, and sponsorships have been negatively impacted with 35+ fewer events (hockey games) being offered.
The Coliseum's financial department is compiling the actual losses directly attributable to the absence of the Generals this year at my request. I do not know what the final number will be - I "guess-timate" it will be more than the $259,000 figure, but considerably less than $4 million.
Another explanation of that additional $4 million in the budget -- 2006 expenses are going to be considerably higher due to three basketball weekends in a row -- Women's ACC, Men's ACC, and 1st & 2nd Round NCAA Regionals. But then, these events will have offsetting revenues and will actually generate more income than the additional expense.
I agree that the Coliseum lost more money without the Generals than it did with them, but I don't believe the $4 million is accurate. There are a number of other significant factors in play here. For example, the Coliseum did not have the Men's ACC Tournament or the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in 2004, both profitable events. Also, very few big name performers have done touring concerts this past year, and that makes a big dent in revenue as well.
The Coliseum's main revenue is "parking and popcorn" (concession sales), so when there are not as many "bodies in the building," income suffers greatly. While Generals attendance was not particulary high, those patrons did provide a steady income stream to the building. Also, corporate advertising, box suite and club seating sales, and sponsorships have been negatively impacted with 35+ fewer events (hockey games) being offered.
The Coliseum's financial department is compiling the actual losses directly attributable to the absence of the Generals this year at my request. I do not know what the final number will be - I "guess-timate" it will be more than the $259,000 figure, but considerably less than $4 million.
Another explanation of that additional $4 million in the budget -- 2006 expenses are going to be considerably higher due to three basketball weekends in a row -- Women's ACC, Men's ACC, and 1st & 2nd Round NCAA Regionals. But then, these events will have offsetting revenues and will actually generate more income than the additional expense.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
City budget
As you probably know by now, City Manager Ed Kitchen has proposed a budget of $351.6 million for FY2005-06 that calls for a one-cent increase on the tax rate. I must say I was pleasantly surprised that it was not more than that, given the flat economic situation we find ourselves in - growth from 1996/97 to 2001/02 was 4.5%, from 2004/05 to 2005/06, it's projected to be 1.6% - and with the multitude of needs and requests out there. My tendancy is to cut some things rather than add to his proposal, but for the most part, I find it acceptable.
We had our first work session to review the budget page by page yesterday morning and held a public hearing on it last night. I found it interesting that all but one of the speakers last night were asking us to add things to the budget -- more police officers, expanded GTA bus routes, and funding for Triad Stage - rather than to cut it.
There is another work session tomorrow afternoon and additional ones scheduled for May 31 and June 1 if needed. Hopefully we will be prepared to vote on it at our regular June 7 meeting. The main item driving the potential tax increase is the addition of 29 new positions in the Fire Department to staff new stations that will be opening this fiscal year. This is clearly one of our most basic services and these new firefighters are definitely needed. I will definitely support this item.
There is some public concern that no new police positions are proposed in this budget; however I fully understand the manager's point that we will have 32 new officers hitting the street within the next 6 weeks and that we should take time to see what effect that increased manpower has. At this point, I THINK I am comfortable with the manager's approach of funding the career advancement program and offering overtime pay only.
From the speakers' comments last night, I think there may be some confusion about that overtime pay proposal. It does NOT mean that officers are going to be routinely asked to work longer hours than they already are. It DOES MEAN that when someone is stuck on a call and has to work past the end of the shift to finish it up, he/she will be paid for that extra time instead of earning "comp time" that they never seem to get to take off. Standard procedure is for the responding officer to complete the assigned call. Even if there were 50 additonal officers available to respond, the first officer would normally "finish the job" unless if was something routine like directing traffic.
I am supportive of the proposal to increase the transit tax by 1/4 cent given GTA's unacceptably low fund balance and the uncertainty of the federal funding. If we are serious about wanting more people to ride in order to relieve road congestion and improve air quality, we must offer reliable, efficient service. And like it or not, that costs money.
The proposal to double the amount available for neighborhood small grants pleased me. While many folks would like to see it increased even more, everyone should understand that this is NOT the only money being spent on neighborhoods. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent in neighborhoods throughout the city to install new playground equipment, upgrade parks and recreation centers, improve streets, construct new sidewalks, install 4-way stops and pedestrian crosswalks, etc. that do not fall under these grants.
No one likes yearly 10% increases in our water rates, but if we are to pay our share of the pumping station and distribution lines for Randleman Lake and to repair the aging sewer lines to eliminate the rainy day sewage overflows in Latham Park and other locations, we have no choice but to do so. Even with these regular increases, Greensboro is still in the middle of all NC cities with our rates, which is quite remarkable considering we do not have a nearby river from which to draw our water.
I do NOT support the request to replace a number of greens at the Bryan Park golf course. In my mind, this is more of a "want" than a "need" and can wait for better financial times. Given the aged and worn basketball court and the deteriorated Special Events Center carpet, I am more sympathetic to Coliseum requests to replace those items.
Despite the wonderful boost Triad Stage has brought to downtown and the local arts scene, I cannot justify handing out the $180,ooo they have requested for this privately-owned facility. There are too many city-owned facilities and services that have a higher funding priority for me. I have enjoyed their many excellent productions, but taxpayers should not be asked to contribute any more money.
This is the time of year I hear a common fallacy - just as businesses cut back in bad economic times, so should governments/the city. This seems to make sense until you really think about it. Usually when times are tough, demand for business goods and services declines so it makes good sense to cut production of unused products. However, the demand for government/city services often sharply INCREASES when the economy is depressed, and we have to deliver more, not less. So it's extemely difficult to cut back as a business would.
Various citizens make suggestions on cutting this or that program because they never use it or see it as frivilous. Yet to another citizen, this same program/service is an essential lifeline. It falls to the city council to make those judgments and decide what to fund or not.
That decision-time is only two weeks away. Whether you agree, disagree, or have other suggestions, I need to hear from you NOW before it's too late. Speak now or...
We had our first work session to review the budget page by page yesterday morning and held a public hearing on it last night. I found it interesting that all but one of the speakers last night were asking us to add things to the budget -- more police officers, expanded GTA bus routes, and funding for Triad Stage - rather than to cut it.
There is another work session tomorrow afternoon and additional ones scheduled for May 31 and June 1 if needed. Hopefully we will be prepared to vote on it at our regular June 7 meeting. The main item driving the potential tax increase is the addition of 29 new positions in the Fire Department to staff new stations that will be opening this fiscal year. This is clearly one of our most basic services and these new firefighters are definitely needed. I will definitely support this item.
There is some public concern that no new police positions are proposed in this budget; however I fully understand the manager's point that we will have 32 new officers hitting the street within the next 6 weeks and that we should take time to see what effect that increased manpower has. At this point, I THINK I am comfortable with the manager's approach of funding the career advancement program and offering overtime pay only.
From the speakers' comments last night, I think there may be some confusion about that overtime pay proposal. It does NOT mean that officers are going to be routinely asked to work longer hours than they already are. It DOES MEAN that when someone is stuck on a call and has to work past the end of the shift to finish it up, he/she will be paid for that extra time instead of earning "comp time" that they never seem to get to take off. Standard procedure is for the responding officer to complete the assigned call. Even if there were 50 additonal officers available to respond, the first officer would normally "finish the job" unless if was something routine like directing traffic.
I am supportive of the proposal to increase the transit tax by 1/4 cent given GTA's unacceptably low fund balance and the uncertainty of the federal funding. If we are serious about wanting more people to ride in order to relieve road congestion and improve air quality, we must offer reliable, efficient service. And like it or not, that costs money.
The proposal to double the amount available for neighborhood small grants pleased me. While many folks would like to see it increased even more, everyone should understand that this is NOT the only money being spent on neighborhoods. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent in neighborhoods throughout the city to install new playground equipment, upgrade parks and recreation centers, improve streets, construct new sidewalks, install 4-way stops and pedestrian crosswalks, etc. that do not fall under these grants.
No one likes yearly 10% increases in our water rates, but if we are to pay our share of the pumping station and distribution lines for Randleman Lake and to repair the aging sewer lines to eliminate the rainy day sewage overflows in Latham Park and other locations, we have no choice but to do so. Even with these regular increases, Greensboro is still in the middle of all NC cities with our rates, which is quite remarkable considering we do not have a nearby river from which to draw our water.
I do NOT support the request to replace a number of greens at the Bryan Park golf course. In my mind, this is more of a "want" than a "need" and can wait for better financial times. Given the aged and worn basketball court and the deteriorated Special Events Center carpet, I am more sympathetic to Coliseum requests to replace those items.
Despite the wonderful boost Triad Stage has brought to downtown and the local arts scene, I cannot justify handing out the $180,ooo they have requested for this privately-owned facility. There are too many city-owned facilities and services that have a higher funding priority for me. I have enjoyed their many excellent productions, but taxpayers should not be asked to contribute any more money.
This is the time of year I hear a common fallacy - just as businesses cut back in bad economic times, so should governments/the city. This seems to make sense until you really think about it. Usually when times are tough, demand for business goods and services declines so it makes good sense to cut production of unused products. However, the demand for government/city services often sharply INCREASES when the economy is depressed, and we have to deliver more, not less. So it's extemely difficult to cut back as a business would.
Various citizens make suggestions on cutting this or that program because they never use it or see it as frivilous. Yet to another citizen, this same program/service is an essential lifeline. It falls to the city council to make those judgments and decide what to fund or not.
That decision-time is only two weeks away. Whether you agree, disagree, or have other suggestions, I need to hear from you NOW before it's too late. Speak now or...
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Airport construction tour
I had my own private tour of airport construction activities yesterday afternoon when two other scheduled council members failed to show up. The afternoon began with a PowerPoint presentation from executive director Ted Johnson that highlighted the airport's market area and efforts to attract other airlines to improve service, the various businesses and training facilities located on the airport's premises, highway needs in and around the airport, and of course, the FedEx project and its impact on the economy and community as well as an explanation of the financing behind it. That session was quite revealing - I had no idea there were so many jobs related to the aviation industry out there and what an economic generator the airport itself is.
Mr. Johnson shared a map of all the roadway changes that will occur in the vicinity of the FedEx site, Old Oak Ridge Road, new & old Bryan Boulevard, etc. All I can say is that I hope there will be plenty of excellent signage because it looks like a giant bowl of spaghetti - one could easily get lost and drive in circles for hours.
Then it was off on a bouncy driving tour of the FedEx site itself and on the cleared earth for those relocated roads. I absolutely could not believe the amount of clearing and earthmoving that is going on out there - one only glimpses a very small portion of the activity when passing through the area on existing roadways - and we didn't even visit the nearby construction area for the western portion of the urban loop. Those HUGE earthmoving machines are literally resculpting the entire landscape in those areas. (Believe me, we backed off and quickly yielded to one of those monstrosities when trying to cross the temporary bridge over Bryan Boulevard -- looked like a 2-story building looming over us!)
And yes, Roch, I asked them to show me Brush Creek as you suggested. It doesn't look so great right now although it is being protected by silt fences, etc. Mr. Johnson pointed out that $5 million+ is being spent to restore 100 acres of wetlands in various locations to replace the 25 acres that are being disturbed by this project. I have to trust that all will be well once the construction is completed.
I definitely support the FedEx project and the strong boost it is bringing to our economy, yet it was really sobering to see how many trees and green areas have been destroyed to make way for it. Everything has to be measured against what is best for the greater good, and I realize full well that a big price is being paid for that progress.
Mr. Johnson shared a map of all the roadway changes that will occur in the vicinity of the FedEx site, Old Oak Ridge Road, new & old Bryan Boulevard, etc. All I can say is that I hope there will be plenty of excellent signage because it looks like a giant bowl of spaghetti - one could easily get lost and drive in circles for hours.
Then it was off on a bouncy driving tour of the FedEx site itself and on the cleared earth for those relocated roads. I absolutely could not believe the amount of clearing and earthmoving that is going on out there - one only glimpses a very small portion of the activity when passing through the area on existing roadways - and we didn't even visit the nearby construction area for the western portion of the urban loop. Those HUGE earthmoving machines are literally resculpting the entire landscape in those areas. (Believe me, we backed off and quickly yielded to one of those monstrosities when trying to cross the temporary bridge over Bryan Boulevard -- looked like a 2-story building looming over us!)
And yes, Roch, I asked them to show me Brush Creek as you suggested. It doesn't look so great right now although it is being protected by silt fences, etc. Mr. Johnson pointed out that $5 million+ is being spent to restore 100 acres of wetlands in various locations to replace the 25 acres that are being disturbed by this project. I have to trust that all will be well once the construction is completed.
I definitely support the FedEx project and the strong boost it is bringing to our economy, yet it was really sobering to see how many trees and green areas have been destroyed to make way for it. Everything has to be measured against what is best for the greater good, and I realize full well that a big price is being paid for that progress.
City Manager Search Update
City council members received the following email from Larry Kerr, the city staff person who is assisting us with our search for Ed Kitchen's replacement. Please note the public sessions and plan to attend one of them to share your wisdom with us as we proceed.
This is to give you an update on the City Manager Search process. Bob Slavin has been working behind the scenes preparing for the formal advertising, getting network contacts in order and working on the early draft of the profile that will be used later in the process. In addition Mr. Slavin will be in Greensboro the afternoon of June 1 and all day June 2. During this time we will be conducting five public sessions (one in each Council district – see schedule below) to give citizens an opportunity to share characteristics they believe we should be seeking in a new City Manager, key issues they anticipate the community must deal with in future years and any input they may have on criteria that should be considered in making the ultimate decision...
To publicize this effort we are sending postcards announcing these sessions to over 300 people representing a large number of community organizations, a press release has been sent to all media outlets, the process will be publicized on Channel 13 and our website and we have set up an interactive page on the website for individuals who choose to so to send their comments in directly.
While Mr. Slavin is in Greensboro we will also establish a more specific schedule for remaining steps in the process as well as provide him with a tour of the community, a step that will be valuable in his personal contact with potential candidates who are not familiar with Greensboro...
June 1, 2005
5:30 pm: Lewis Recreation Center, 3111 Forest Lawn Drive
7:30 pm: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Road
June 2, 2005
7:30 am: Lake Townsend Conference Room, WROC 2-11, 2602 S. Elm-Eugene Street
5:30 pm: Maple Street Substation, 1106 Maple Street
7:30 pm: Hemphill Branch Library, 2301 W. Vandalia Road
This is to give you an update on the City Manager Search process. Bob Slavin has been working behind the scenes preparing for the formal advertising, getting network contacts in order and working on the early draft of the profile that will be used later in the process. In addition Mr. Slavin will be in Greensboro the afternoon of June 1 and all day June 2. During this time we will be conducting five public sessions (one in each Council district – see schedule below) to give citizens an opportunity to share characteristics they believe we should be seeking in a new City Manager, key issues they anticipate the community must deal with in future years and any input they may have on criteria that should be considered in making the ultimate decision...
To publicize this effort we are sending postcards announcing these sessions to over 300 people representing a large number of community organizations, a press release has been sent to all media outlets, the process will be publicized on Channel 13 and our website and we have set up an interactive page on the website for individuals who choose to so to send their comments in directly.
While Mr. Slavin is in Greensboro we will also establish a more specific schedule for remaining steps in the process as well as provide him with a tour of the community, a step that will be valuable in his personal contact with potential candidates who are not familiar with Greensboro...
June 1, 2005
5:30 pm: Lewis Recreation Center, 3111 Forest Lawn Drive
7:30 pm: Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Branch Library, 1420 Price Park Road
June 2, 2005
7:30 am: Lake Townsend Conference Room, WROC 2-11, 2602 S. Elm-Eugene Street
5:30 pm: Maple Street Substation, 1106 Maple Street
7:30 pm: Hemphill Branch Library, 2301 W. Vandalia Road
Monday, May 23, 2005
City Manager's budget message
The City Manager's budget message is included in the latest edition of City Connections. It is a good summary, and I highly recommend it to those who do not want to wade through the entire budget document.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Budget study week
The proposed FY2005-06 city budget is going to consume most of my city council time this week with three separate sessions devoted to it. (I'll do a detailed post on that subject later.)
I'm taking advantage of an invitation to all elected officials from the Airport Authority on the afternoon of Monday, May 23 to take a guided tour of all the construction taking place in and around the airport. It should be an interesting excursion.
The first study session on next year's budget begins at 9AM on Tuesday, May 24 in the Plaza Level Conference Room with a public hearing on the proposed budget beginning at 6PM in the city council chambers that same evening. This day has an early start with a 7:30AM Legislative and School Board Breakfast sponsored by the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association at the City Club.
There is another budget study session from 1-5PM on Thursday, May 26.
The week will finish up with a meeting with Mayor Holliday and GDOT director Jim Westmoreland on Friday, May 27 to get an update on the latest- if any- progress in identifying new state transportation funding sources.
Not too bad a week!
I'm taking advantage of an invitation to all elected officials from the Airport Authority on the afternoon of Monday, May 23 to take a guided tour of all the construction taking place in and around the airport. It should be an interesting excursion.
The first study session on next year's budget begins at 9AM on Tuesday, May 24 in the Plaza Level Conference Room with a public hearing on the proposed budget beginning at 6PM in the city council chambers that same evening. This day has an early start with a 7:30AM Legislative and School Board Breakfast sponsored by the Greensboro Regional Realtors Association at the City Club.
There is another budget study session from 1-5PM on Thursday, May 26.
The week will finish up with a meeting with Mayor Holliday and GDOT director Jim Westmoreland on Friday, May 27 to get an update on the latest- if any- progress in identifying new state transportation funding sources.
Not too bad a week!
Friday, May 20, 2005
Successful (?) negotiations with NCDOT
I'm cautiously optimistic that Thursday's one-on-one session with NCDOT staff on the Greensboro area's 2006-12 TIP (Transportation Improvement Plan) was worth the effort. At least GDOT staff, Highway Division 7 staff, our NCDOT board member Doug Galyon, and I left Raleigh with slight smiles on our faces as opposed to the frowns we encountered on Mayor Becky Smothers and other members of the High Point delegation whom we ran into on the street at the finish of THEIR meeting.
As expected, NCDOT staff informed us of tight budget restraints caused by a "true-ing up" of allocations among the highway divisions (our Division 7 actually gained a little extra money in this category) and the department's need to better manage their cash flow which triggered a significant slowdown in funding - and sometimes outright elimination - of some projects. Where we really got slammed was in the urban loop funding category (more on that in a minute).
The most shocking revelation was that $450 MILLION IS BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND EVERY YEAR to help balance the state's General Fund ($250 million/year) as well as pay for the Highway Patrol, Drivers Education, and various programs in other state agencies. That $450 million/year would build and maintain a lot of roads! This is an issue we definitely need to be talking to our General Assembly members about - when the Highway Trust Fund was created, it was supposed to be limited to highway and transit needs.
NCDOT had to really put the brakes on funding for urban loops when they discovered they had programmed $2 for every $1 they actually had available to spend. This happened because of decreasing revenues and increased demand - two additional cities have now become eligible for loop funding, Fayetteville and Wilmington. Greensboro scored well when objective selection criteria was applied by NCDOT staffers, but once their recommendations passed through the offices of the Secretary of Transportaion and the Governor, funding for sections of our eastern loop from Wendover/US70 up to US29 was mysteriously delayed and the beginning of actual construction dropped into the never-neverland of "post year" - off the 7-year plan totally.
Mr. Galyon and I argued adamantly that this was not acceptable, stressing our belief that funding should be applied on a "first in, first out basis - finish what you have already started before you begin something else. " We noted that this corridor is critical to Greensboro's efforts to direct growth to the east. This portion of the loop is to become I-785, providing direct access from Rockingham County to I-85/40 and is Rockingham County's #1 transportation priority even though this project is located entirely inside Guilford County. We alerted NCDOT that they will shortly become recipients of a deluge of letters from area businessmen, spurred by efforts of the Greensboro Economic Partnership and Chamber of Commerce efforts. I think we got our message across, and I hope to see some positive changes in our loop funding situation.
I think we were successful in securing an additional $9 million in funding for the 220/68 connector to take advantage of some recent positive decisions and permits. Hopefully that project can now move ahead on schedule - it will be part of the I-73 corridor and is critical.
The news about the interchange at High Point Road and the urban loop/I-40 bypass was not as good. It appears there will be a 2-year gap between the time that portion of the loop is opened and when drivers will be able to access/exit it from High Point Road. Ouch!
We also talked about some creative ways to build the Hornaday Road bridge project NOW at Greensboro's own expense and be reimbursed by NCDOT in later years of the TIP when the funding is more available - in essence, giving NCDOT a short-term loan. This would allow that bridge over the I-40 bypass to be constructed DURING the current construction of the bypass rather than doing it AFTER the bypass is open for traffic and having to shut down lanes soon after that for bridge construction.
While we didn't get everything we wanted, we were successful with some things - much more than I had hoped. So I consider it a good day!
As expected, NCDOT staff informed us of tight budget restraints caused by a "true-ing up" of allocations among the highway divisions (our Division 7 actually gained a little extra money in this category) and the department's need to better manage their cash flow which triggered a significant slowdown in funding - and sometimes outright elimination - of some projects. Where we really got slammed was in the urban loop funding category (more on that in a minute).
The most shocking revelation was that $450 MILLION IS BEING TAKEN OUT OF THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND EVERY YEAR to help balance the state's General Fund ($250 million/year) as well as pay for the Highway Patrol, Drivers Education, and various programs in other state agencies. That $450 million/year would build and maintain a lot of roads! This is an issue we definitely need to be talking to our General Assembly members about - when the Highway Trust Fund was created, it was supposed to be limited to highway and transit needs.
NCDOT had to really put the brakes on funding for urban loops when they discovered they had programmed $2 for every $1 they actually had available to spend. This happened because of decreasing revenues and increased demand - two additional cities have now become eligible for loop funding, Fayetteville and Wilmington. Greensboro scored well when objective selection criteria was applied by NCDOT staffers, but once their recommendations passed through the offices of the Secretary of Transportaion and the Governor, funding for sections of our eastern loop from Wendover/US70 up to US29 was mysteriously delayed and the beginning of actual construction dropped into the never-neverland of "post year" - off the 7-year plan totally.
Mr. Galyon and I argued adamantly that this was not acceptable, stressing our belief that funding should be applied on a "first in, first out basis - finish what you have already started before you begin something else. " We noted that this corridor is critical to Greensboro's efforts to direct growth to the east. This portion of the loop is to become I-785, providing direct access from Rockingham County to I-85/40 and is Rockingham County's #1 transportation priority even though this project is located entirely inside Guilford County. We alerted NCDOT that they will shortly become recipients of a deluge of letters from area businessmen, spurred by efforts of the Greensboro Economic Partnership and Chamber of Commerce efforts. I think we got our message across, and I hope to see some positive changes in our loop funding situation.
I think we were successful in securing an additional $9 million in funding for the 220/68 connector to take advantage of some recent positive decisions and permits. Hopefully that project can now move ahead on schedule - it will be part of the I-73 corridor and is critical.
The news about the interchange at High Point Road and the urban loop/I-40 bypass was not as good. It appears there will be a 2-year gap between the time that portion of the loop is opened and when drivers will be able to access/exit it from High Point Road. Ouch!
We also talked about some creative ways to build the Hornaday Road bridge project NOW at Greensboro's own expense and be reimbursed by NCDOT in later years of the TIP when the funding is more available - in essence, giving NCDOT a short-term loan. This would allow that bridge over the I-40 bypass to be constructed DURING the current construction of the bypass rather than doing it AFTER the bypass is open for traffic and having to shut down lanes soon after that for bridge construction.
While we didn't get everything we wanted, we were successful with some things - much more than I had hoped. So I consider it a good day!
Back to more serious topics
I know I have been giving you "Sandy lite" lately, but I honestly have not had the time to delve very deeply into blogging this past week. It's amazing how far behind you can get on accumulated household chores by being gone a couple of days, not to mention catching up on all the beach laundry.
Couple that with a city council meeting and a half-day trip to Raleigh to haggle with NCDOT, throw in time for legal consultation and another half-day sitting in a courtroom in the ongoing saga of my son's child custody battle, and most of my blogging time disappeared. So much for the rest and relaxation gained from the beach trip!
But I 've survived the week, and I think I now have time to try to get back to city council issues. At least, I'm going to try!
Couple that with a city council meeting and a half-day trip to Raleigh to haggle with NCDOT, throw in time for legal consultation and another half-day sitting in a courtroom in the ongoing saga of my son's child custody battle, and most of my blogging time disappeared. So much for the rest and relaxation gained from the beach trip!
But I 've survived the week, and I think I now have time to try to get back to city council issues. At least, I'm going to try!
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Newspaper reporting on blogging
I had a good telephone interview with Los Angeles Times reporter Martin Miller on Monday afternoon while I was at the beach. Mr. Miller (a Greensboro native) is writing a feature article on blogging and what effect - if any - it may have on newspapers and their readership. He asked the usual questions like "Why are you doing this? What kind of response are you getting? Has blogging changed the way I interact with constituents?" He mentioned he was going to be in Greensboro yesterday interviewing John Robinson and others on this same topic so I hope other Greenboro bloggers had the chance to talk with him as well.
Mr. Miller also said that the New York Times is writing a similiar article, and they are racing to see who can get published first. Seems like blogging is getting more and more attention these days!
Mr. Miller also said that the New York Times is writing a similiar article, and they are racing to see who can get published first. Seems like blogging is getting more and more attention these days!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Catching up
The couple of days down on Oak Island were great! I did quite a bit of walking on the beach, kayaking, and doing absolutely NOTHING. I feel rested and ready to go again!
My sister-in-law and one of my sons watch while my brother prepares the "Lisa-Lee" for departure from the dock at his cottage.
View of my brother's house from the walkway/dock.
Commercial time: anyone interested in renting this 3-bedroom, 2-bath cottage with AC and a wide-screen TV (gorgeous inside) within walking distance of the Long Beach Pier, let me know and I'll put you in touch with my brother.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Getting away from it all, sort of
The car is packed and I'm ready to head off Oak Island for a couple days of "escape." But then, in addition to the swim suit, sunblock and mosquito repellant, I've packed my council agenda and a bunch of other "council reading materials" I need to catch up on.
Plus, I've agreed to do a telephone interview on Monday with a reporter from the Los Angeles Times who is doing a feature story on blogging.
Oh well, at least I'll be working in pleasant surroundings! <smile>
Plus, I've agreed to do a telephone interview on Monday with a reporter from the Los Angeles Times who is doing a feature story on blogging.
Oh well, at least I'll be working in pleasant surroundings! <smile>
Weekly schedule
One last "light" week before the busy budget preparation/adoption process kicks in with all its extra meetings!
I'm at my brother's place at the beach Sunday-Tuesday, hoping to get back to town in time for the 6PM city council meeting on Tuesday, May 17 after scooting over to Wilmington for the noon awards luncheon of the NC Public Transportation Association. For once, it appears that the council agenda may let us adjourn at a decent hour.
Thursday, May 19 is the busy day beginning with a 7:30AM meeting of the strategic planning committee for the Greensboro Partnership.
The rest of the day will be consumed with a trip to Raleigh with several members of GDOT staff to attend what is called our "TIP negotiation session" with NCDOT. This annual ritual is where we complain about the local transportation projects in the 2006-12 TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) that were delayed or not funded. Then NCDOT will explain to us that there is a severe shortfall in funding and there's nothing they can do about it. It's all part of the process, and I appreciate the opportunity to confer with state officials. But in all honesty, I could accurately post here what will be said BEFORE that meeting ever takes place.
I'm at my brother's place at the beach Sunday-Tuesday, hoping to get back to town in time for the 6PM city council meeting on Tuesday, May 17 after scooting over to Wilmington for the noon awards luncheon of the NC Public Transportation Association. For once, it appears that the council agenda may let us adjourn at a decent hour.
Thursday, May 19 is the busy day beginning with a 7:30AM meeting of the strategic planning committee for the Greensboro Partnership.
The rest of the day will be consumed with a trip to Raleigh with several members of GDOT staff to attend what is called our "TIP negotiation session" with NCDOT. This annual ritual is where we complain about the local transportation projects in the 2006-12 TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) that were delayed or not funded. Then NCDOT will explain to us that there is a severe shortfall in funding and there's nothing they can do about it. It's all part of the process, and I appreciate the opportunity to confer with state officials. But in all honesty, I could accurately post here what will be said BEFORE that meeting ever takes place.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Mama Mia!
If you haven't seen Mama Mia! at the coliseum's War Memorial Auditorium, I highly recommend seeing it on Saturday or Sunday if there are any tickets left. This old ABBA fan absolutely loved the performance, and judging from the audience sing-alongs and standing ovations, so did everyone else. Great show!!!
Thursday, May 12, 2005
The ignored public hearing
I rushed back from my Raleigh charter schools meeting this afternoon (and spent 30+ extra minutes inching along in a traffic jam caused by an accident on I-40 near Rock Creek Dairy Road) to attend a well-publicized public information session on the 2006-2012 draft MTIP (Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program). This is the plan, schedule and budget for state-funded transportation improvements (highways, transit, bike and walking trails, etc.) in our area for the next six years.
Despite much preparation by GDOT staff who presented detailed maps and excellent information that outlined various projects and their timetables, ONLY ONE CITIZEN ATTENDED. No other council members nor any press attended either.
It's hard to get the word out when people aren't paying attention!
Despite much preparation by GDOT staff who presented detailed maps and excellent information that outlined various projects and their timetables, ONLY ONE CITIZEN ATTENDED. No other council members nor any press attended either.
It's hard to get the word out when people aren't paying attention!
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Reporting on PART
This morning's meeting of the PART Board of Trustees was fairly routine. Items of business included the following:
* Purchase of an acre lot at Reedy Fork Ranch for $53,000 which includes utilities and maintenance costs for a Park-and-Ride lot on the US29 corridor.
* Authorization to enter into an agreement with Davidson County and Thomasville for their 10% share of the construction costs of a Park-and-Ride lot in Thomasville at Highway 109 and West Cooksey Drive.
* Adoption of the FY2006 general administration budget with total expenditures of $8,636,900, an 8% increase over this year. Growth in the rental tax revenue, investments and federal grants account for the increased income. New expenses include the addition of a tranportation planner late in the year, administration of an air quality program and the traffic safety council, transit and/or vanpool service to the new Dell plant, and moving forward with the construction of a permanent transportation terminal.
* Adoption of the FY2006 RSVP (vanpool program) for a total of $558,530, a 4% increase over this year. Increasing vehicle maintenance costs and more aggressive advertising efforts account for most of the cost increases.
* Approval of a resolution urging that intersate highway construction and maintenance costs be exempted from the "equity formula" so all our state highway funding is not eaten up for I-40 and I-85, leaving little money for other needed road construction. NC Board of Transportation member Doug Galyon warned that the equity formula is one of the General Assembly's "sacred cows" and chances are slim they will agree to change it, particularly since this move would shift money from the rural "down East" part of the state to the more urban areas.
* Adoption of a resolution recognizing the regional planning strategy for the "Heart of the Triad" project which could create a Research Triangle Park-type development in the area on the Guilford/Forsyth border. A steering committee will be appointed, composed of an elected official from each of the affected jurisdictions - Forsyth and Guilford counties, Greensboro, High Point, Kernersville, and Winston-Salem - to provide guidance to the planning staffs working on this proposal.
* Executive Director Brent McKinney reported that the NC Turnpike Authority will be meeting in the Triad on June 14-15 to explore the possibility of constructing the I-74/73 Connector as a toll facility. A Public hearing will be held on June 15 at 10AM at the PART office.
* Purchase of an acre lot at Reedy Fork Ranch for $53,000 which includes utilities and maintenance costs for a Park-and-Ride lot on the US29 corridor.
* Authorization to enter into an agreement with Davidson County and Thomasville for their 10% share of the construction costs of a Park-and-Ride lot in Thomasville at Highway 109 and West Cooksey Drive.
* Adoption of the FY2006 general administration budget with total expenditures of $8,636,900, an 8% increase over this year. Growth in the rental tax revenue, investments and federal grants account for the increased income. New expenses include the addition of a tranportation planner late in the year, administration of an air quality program and the traffic safety council, transit and/or vanpool service to the new Dell plant, and moving forward with the construction of a permanent transportation terminal.
* Adoption of the FY2006 RSVP (vanpool program) for a total of $558,530, a 4% increase over this year. Increasing vehicle maintenance costs and more aggressive advertising efforts account for most of the cost increases.
* Approval of a resolution urging that intersate highway construction and maintenance costs be exempted from the "equity formula" so all our state highway funding is not eaten up for I-40 and I-85, leaving little money for other needed road construction. NC Board of Transportation member Doug Galyon warned that the equity formula is one of the General Assembly's "sacred cows" and chances are slim they will agree to change it, particularly since this move would shift money from the rural "down East" part of the state to the more urban areas.
* Adoption of a resolution recognizing the regional planning strategy for the "Heart of the Triad" project which could create a Research Triangle Park-type development in the area on the Guilford/Forsyth border. A steering committee will be appointed, composed of an elected official from each of the affected jurisdictions - Forsyth and Guilford counties, Greensboro, High Point, Kernersville, and Winston-Salem - to provide guidance to the planning staffs working on this proposal.
* Executive Director Brent McKinney reported that the NC Turnpike Authority will be meeting in the Triad on June 14-15 to explore the possibility of constructing the I-74/73 Connector as a toll facility. A Public hearing will be held on June 15 at 10AM at the PART office.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Triad Early Action Compact
I attended Monday's meeting of the stakeholders group of the Triad Early Action Compact, a coalition of 40 local governments in the Piedmont Triad area trying to implement strategies to reduce ozone air pollution in our area. This steering committee is composed of local elected officials; planning, environmental protection, and transportation staff from several cities and counties plus PART; Chamber of Commerce representatives; Sierra Club members; and business and industry representatives such as Duke Power and gas station operators and is staffed by folks from the Piedmont and Northwest Councils of Government. This working group formulated the proposals to reduce ozone in our area that were accepted by the EPA, helping us avoid the dreaded "nonattainment designation" and its accompanying consequences.
Anne Tazewell, from the NC Solar Center at NC State, shared potential opportunities this area could access by joining the US Department of Energy's Clean Cities Coalition. That could entail educational programs aimed at reducing vehicles' idling time (one tractor trailer idling for one hour consumes a gallon of gas and releases large amount of pollutants), increasing fuel economy, and encouraging the use of hybrid vehicles. Possible grants may be obtained to offset the costs to governments or private businesses to purchase hybrid vehicles, to build a biodiesel fueling facility, and assist with retrofits of diesel engines to make them less polluting.
Anne is also working with "The Pantry" locations across the state to install E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) pumps to service the growing number of cars using that cleaner fuel. She distributed a long list of cars that are "flex fuel vehicles" that are capable of using this fuel, such as Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 Series, Mercury Mountaineer, Chevrolet Avalanche, Mazda Pickups and Mercedes Luxury Sedan, to name a few. All right! There's a good excuse to buy a new Mercedes -- to reduce air pollution. :)
We also learned about several bills pending in the General Assembly that would effect mobile source (vehicle) pollution. Rep. Pricey Harrison is the sponsor of several of them. These bills would do the following:
* mandate the use of more hybrid vehicles in the state fleet,
* exempt biodiesal and ethanol from the state motor fuels tax to make them more price-competitive,
* base one's annual car registration fee on your vehicle's air pollution and fuel economy rating (gas guzzlers and "dirty" cars would pay more),
* offer tax credits with the purchase of alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles,
* and adopt Californina's low-emission vehicles standards for cars sold in North Carolina.
All these pending bills are in various Senate committees at the moment. I anticipate the debate will get quite lively as they are considered.
Lastly, there will be an Air Quality Leadership Event on Thursday, May 12 at 10AM at SciWorks Science Center in Winston-Salem recognizing North Carolina's participation in the pilot program of the EnviroFlash System. This air quality alert program allows you to receive email alerts about code orange and red ozone pollution days.
Work continues as we prepare our six-months report to EPA and disseminate information to all our member governments about practical air pollution reduction strategies and possible programs.
Anne Tazewell, from the NC Solar Center at NC State, shared potential opportunities this area could access by joining the US Department of Energy's Clean Cities Coalition. That could entail educational programs aimed at reducing vehicles' idling time (one tractor trailer idling for one hour consumes a gallon of gas and releases large amount of pollutants), increasing fuel economy, and encouraging the use of hybrid vehicles. Possible grants may be obtained to offset the costs to governments or private businesses to purchase hybrid vehicles, to build a biodiesel fueling facility, and assist with retrofits of diesel engines to make them less polluting.
Anne is also working with "The Pantry" locations across the state to install E85 (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) pumps to service the growing number of cars using that cleaner fuel. She distributed a long list of cars that are "flex fuel vehicles" that are capable of using this fuel, such as Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 Series, Mercury Mountaineer, Chevrolet Avalanche, Mazda Pickups and Mercedes Luxury Sedan, to name a few. All right! There's a good excuse to buy a new Mercedes -- to reduce air pollution. :)
We also learned about several bills pending in the General Assembly that would effect mobile source (vehicle) pollution. Rep. Pricey Harrison is the sponsor of several of them. These bills would do the following:
* mandate the use of more hybrid vehicles in the state fleet,
* exempt biodiesal and ethanol from the state motor fuels tax to make them more price-competitive,
* base one's annual car registration fee on your vehicle's air pollution and fuel economy rating (gas guzzlers and "dirty" cars would pay more),
* offer tax credits with the purchase of alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles,
* and adopt Californina's low-emission vehicles standards for cars sold in North Carolina.
All these pending bills are in various Senate committees at the moment. I anticipate the debate will get quite lively as they are considered.
Lastly, there will be an Air Quality Leadership Event on Thursday, May 12 at 10AM at SciWorks Science Center in Winston-Salem recognizing North Carolina's participation in the pilot program of the EnviroFlash System. This air quality alert program allows you to receive email alerts about code orange and red ozone pollution days.
Work continues as we prepare our six-months report to EPA and disseminate information to all our member governments about practical air pollution reduction strategies and possible programs.
Monday, May 09, 2005
City Connections newsletter
The latest edition of "City Connections" has been published - check it out!
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Sportsplex activities
Looking for something to do? Posted below is an email I received listing all the available activities at the Greensboro Sportsplex. I'm impressed with all the fun opportunities for adults and youth. I guess purchasing that complex wasn't such a bad deal after all! Take your pick!
Come join us for a summer of fun at the Greensboro Sportsplex. Below are scheduled activities for all of our sports at the Sportsplex. Tons of tournaments, camps and open play opportunities for the local sports enthusiast. Contact us for more information on any of the described programs.
Basketball
Summer Camps:
* June 6-10: 5-Star Basketball Camp - Session for 8-16 year olds from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Session includes five-star station, individual instruction, competitions and contests, and giveaways. Camp fee is $195 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Delaney at 665-0103 for more information.
* June 13-17: All-Sport Summer Camp - Come try your skills at various sports each day - including basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton and others. This camp will be recreational in nature and great for a child who enjoys all sports. Ages 6-18 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Camp fee is $150 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Nikki at 373-3273 for more information.
* June 27-July 1: Brendan Haywood Summer Basketball Camp -Ages 6-17 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. daily. This camp will emphasize skill development through teaching of contemporary basketball fundamentals with Wizards Brendan Haywood and other NBA stars. Camp fee is $185 payable to One-on-One Basketball. Call One-on-One for more information at 336-992-4667.
*July 17-22: Achievements Unlimited Basketball School -Ages 8-18 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. This camp includes fundamental instruction, daily refreshments, progress reports, anti-drug education, Daily Lunch (except Friday), Camp T-Shirt, and lectures by NBA greats. Camp fee is $285 payable to Achievements Unlimited. Call Achievements Unlimited at 336-226-6965 for more information.
Basketball Tournaments/Special Events:
* May 20-22: USSSA State Championships - Boys & Girls Tournament
* May 27-29: Lady Phoenix Invitational
* June 3-5: USSSA Tournament
* June 10-12: Dreams In Motion Basketball Tournament
* June 17-19: USSSA National Warm-Up Tournament
* June 19-21: International Basketball Review
* June 24-26: USSSA Tournament
Call the Sportsplex for more information on these tournaments at 373-3272.
Miscellaneous Basketball:
Private Instruction - The NC basketball Academy provides private instruction for those youth and adults needing some one-on-one attention. Call to schedule your appointment. Delaney at 373-3272 for more information.
Open Play offered for adults any time courts are available. Call to ensure space is available at 373-3272. Scheduled open play is available from 8-10 p.m. on Wednesday nights.
Inline Hockey
Summer Camps:
* June 13-17: Intermediate Inline Hockey Camp #1 - All Ages from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. This camp is aimed at the inline hockey enthusiast who wishes to focus on improving their skills. Camp fee is $149 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* June 27-July 1: Beginner's Inline Hockey Summer Camp - All Ages from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. daily. This camp is geared to the beginner focussing on teaching basic skills needed to begin enjoying this great sport. Camp fee is $100 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* July 18-22: Intermediate Inline Hockey Camp #2 - All Ages from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. This camp is aimed at the inline hockey enthusiast who wishes to focus on improving their skills. Camp fee is $149 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* August 15-19: Advanced Bootcamp Inline Hockey Camp - Ages 8-14 years old from 9 a.m. - 4p.m. daily. This intense camp is geared to the elite skaters and focusses on perfecting skills needed in this sport. Camp fee is $149 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
Leagues:
* Summer Fun League will be forming soon. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* Learn to Play Hockey League in progress. Call Ed at 373-3272 for more information if interested in learning the sport.
Soccer
Summer Camps:
* June 20-23 Soccer Tots Summer Camp - Ages 4-6 years old from 8:30 a.m. - Noon daily. This camp is geared to the beginner soccer athlete. No experience with the sport is needed. Camp fee is $80 for one week or $120 for two weeks payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
* June 27-July 1: Carolina Dynamo All-Star Summer Indoor Camp - Ages 6-18 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. daily. This camp is designed to teach the young soccer player the foundation of soccer. Camp fee is $125 payable to the Carolina Dynamo. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
* July 18-22: Soccer Tots Summer Camp - Ages 4-6 years old from 8:30 a.m. - Noon daily. This camp is geared to the beginner soccer athlete. No experience with the sport is needed. Camp fee is $80 for one week or $120 for two weeks payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
* July 25-29: Carolina Dynamo All-Star Summer Indoor Camp - Ages 6-18 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. daily. This camp is designed to teach the young soccer player the foundation of soccer. Camp fee is $125 payable to the Carolina Dynamo. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
Leagues:
* Summer Adult League will be forming soon. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
Field Rentals:
Does your organization need a location to practice on a stormy summer night? Keep us in mind. Fields rentable at $50 an hour or $75 for 1-1/2 hours on a first-come, first-served basis during the summer.
Volleyball
Summer Camps:
* June 6-10: Beginner Volleyball Camp - Boys & Girls Ages 8-18 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. daily. This camp is geared to the beginner volleyball player or for those just wanting some practice over the summer. Several instructors will teach during the week to provide various coaching styles and the fundamentals will be concentrated on. Camp fee is $100 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. For more information, call Nikki at 373-3279.
* June 16: NC A&T Day Camp - This camp will be a fast-paced intense training session with the NC A&T team and head coach Millicent Sylvan. The camp is for all ages from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Camp fee is $60 payable to the NC A&T Volleyball Team. Call Millicent for more information at 334-7310.
June 23: NC A&T Day Camp - This camp will be a fast-paced intense training session with the NC A&T team and head coach Millicent Sylvan. The camp is for all ages from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Camp fee is $60 payable to the NC A&T Volleyball Team. Call Millicent for more information at 334-7310.
July 11-14 :Quest 4 Excellence Individual Skills Camp - Boys & Girls Ages 10-18 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Each camper will spend time with each skill coach through the course of each day helping develop a well-rounded game. Concentration is on individual skills. Camp fee is $200 payable to Quest 4 Excellence. Call Chuck McCracken for more information at 669-9730.
July 25-28: Quest 4 Excellence Team Skills Camp - Boys & Girls Ages 10-18 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. A portion of each session will be devoted to skill development with the rest of the session devoted to application through team play. Individuals and teams accepted for this camp. Camp fee is $200 payable to Quest 4 Excellence. Call Chuck McCracken for more information at 669-9730.
* August 8-13: Beginner Volleyball Camp - Ages 8-18 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. daily. This camp is geared to the beginner volleyball player or for those just wanting some practice over the summer. Several instructors will teach during the week to provide various coaching styles and the fundamentals will be concentrated on. Camp fee is $100 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. For more information, call Nikki at 373-3279.
Volleyball Tournaments:
* May 14-15: Quest 4 Excellence Pre-National Warm-Up Tournament (All Ages)
* August 27-28: Great 8 Invitational Volleyball Tournament
Volleyball Leagues:
* All Summer Long - Coed 4's B League - This league is for those looking for exercise through a fun league. Come out and join the league as an individual or bring a team. Play takes place on Wednesday nights from 7-9 p.m. The cost is $50 for each 2-month session you participate in. Call Nikki for more information at 373-3279.
* July 5 - August 5: High School and Middle School Leagues - Get your team together from school and come out and practice your skills to prepare for tryouts in August or just get a group of friends together to join the league. We will offer a middle school and high school division and parents are encouraged to get involved in coaching the teams if the school coach is not available. Team fees are $250 for the league. Sign Up Today. Call Nikki for more information at 373-3279.
* Coming in July: Corporate Leagues - Corporate leagues are forming now. Get a group of coworkers together and come out and join in the fun. We will offer leagues year-round for those looking for a team-building opportunity for your workers or just a chance for some fun exercise. Call Nikki for more information at 373-3279.
Miscellaneous Volleyball Information:
All Summer Skills Clinics - Skills clinics are offered every Tuesday and Thursday year-round for beginner volleyball players looking to work on their fundamental skills. Clinics are held from 5:30- 7 p.m. Come out and learn a lifetime sport.
MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS
* Have a church youth group? daycare? group of nieces and nephews coming for the summer? Looking for ideas to keep your group busy? Come to the Sportsplex for an outing. Call Kathy at 373-3277 for more information on programs available and pricing.
* Need a place to workout this summer? Our weightroom is available for anyone looking for a place to get some exercise in.
Need a meeting room or a field or court for a special event? Contact Lane to see what we have available that may be what you are looking for.
THANKS for your time and HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come join us for a summer of fun at the Greensboro Sportsplex. Below are scheduled activities for all of our sports at the Sportsplex. Tons of tournaments, camps and open play opportunities for the local sports enthusiast. Contact us for more information on any of the described programs.
Basketball
Summer Camps:
* June 6-10: 5-Star Basketball Camp - Session for 8-16 year olds from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Session includes five-star station, individual instruction, competitions and contests, and giveaways. Camp fee is $195 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Delaney at 665-0103 for more information.
* June 13-17: All-Sport Summer Camp - Come try your skills at various sports each day - including basketball, volleyball, soccer, badminton and others. This camp will be recreational in nature and great for a child who enjoys all sports. Ages 6-18 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Camp fee is $150 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Nikki at 373-3273 for more information.
* June 27-July 1: Brendan Haywood Summer Basketball Camp -Ages 6-17 from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. daily. This camp will emphasize skill development through teaching of contemporary basketball fundamentals with Wizards Brendan Haywood and other NBA stars. Camp fee is $185 payable to One-on-One Basketball. Call One-on-One for more information at 336-992-4667.
*July 17-22: Achievements Unlimited Basketball School -Ages 8-18 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily. This camp includes fundamental instruction, daily refreshments, progress reports, anti-drug education, Daily Lunch (except Friday), Camp T-Shirt, and lectures by NBA greats. Camp fee is $285 payable to Achievements Unlimited. Call Achievements Unlimited at 336-226-6965 for more information.
Basketball Tournaments/Special Events:
* May 20-22: USSSA State Championships - Boys & Girls Tournament
* May 27-29: Lady Phoenix Invitational
* June 3-5: USSSA Tournament
* June 10-12: Dreams In Motion Basketball Tournament
* June 17-19: USSSA National Warm-Up Tournament
* June 19-21: International Basketball Review
* June 24-26: USSSA Tournament
Call the Sportsplex for more information on these tournaments at 373-3272.
Miscellaneous Basketball:
Private Instruction - The NC basketball Academy provides private instruction for those youth and adults needing some one-on-one attention. Call to schedule your appointment. Delaney at 373-3272 for more information.
Open Play offered for adults any time courts are available. Call to ensure space is available at 373-3272. Scheduled open play is available from 8-10 p.m. on Wednesday nights.
Inline Hockey
Summer Camps:
* June 13-17: Intermediate Inline Hockey Camp #1 - All Ages from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. This camp is aimed at the inline hockey enthusiast who wishes to focus on improving their skills. Camp fee is $149 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* June 27-July 1: Beginner's Inline Hockey Summer Camp - All Ages from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. daily. This camp is geared to the beginner focussing on teaching basic skills needed to begin enjoying this great sport. Camp fee is $100 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* July 18-22: Intermediate Inline Hockey Camp #2 - All Ages from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. This camp is aimed at the inline hockey enthusiast who wishes to focus on improving their skills. Camp fee is $149 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* August 15-19: Advanced Bootcamp Inline Hockey Camp - Ages 8-14 years old from 9 a.m. - 4p.m. daily. This intense camp is geared to the elite skaters and focusses on perfecting skills needed in this sport. Camp fee is $149 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
Leagues:
* Summer Fun League will be forming soon. Call Ed for more information at 373-3272.
* Learn to Play Hockey League in progress. Call Ed at 373-3272 for more information if interested in learning the sport.
Soccer
Summer Camps:
* June 20-23 Soccer Tots Summer Camp - Ages 4-6 years old from 8:30 a.m. - Noon daily. This camp is geared to the beginner soccer athlete. No experience with the sport is needed. Camp fee is $80 for one week or $120 for two weeks payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
* June 27-July 1: Carolina Dynamo All-Star Summer Indoor Camp - Ages 6-18 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. daily. This camp is designed to teach the young soccer player the foundation of soccer. Camp fee is $125 payable to the Carolina Dynamo. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
* July 18-22: Soccer Tots Summer Camp - Ages 4-6 years old from 8:30 a.m. - Noon daily. This camp is geared to the beginner soccer athlete. No experience with the sport is needed. Camp fee is $80 for one week or $120 for two weeks payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
* July 25-29: Carolina Dynamo All-Star Summer Indoor Camp - Ages 6-18 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. daily. This camp is designed to teach the young soccer player the foundation of soccer. Camp fee is $125 payable to the Carolina Dynamo. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
Leagues:
* Summer Adult League will be forming soon. Call Scott or Chad for additional information at 375-7728.
Field Rentals:
Does your organization need a location to practice on a stormy summer night? Keep us in mind. Fields rentable at $50 an hour or $75 for 1-1/2 hours on a first-come, first-served basis during the summer.
Volleyball
Summer Camps:
* June 6-10: Beginner Volleyball Camp - Boys & Girls Ages 8-18 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. daily. This camp is geared to the beginner volleyball player or for those just wanting some practice over the summer. Several instructors will teach during the week to provide various coaching styles and the fundamentals will be concentrated on. Camp fee is $100 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. For more information, call Nikki at 373-3279.
* June 16: NC A&T Day Camp - This camp will be a fast-paced intense training session with the NC A&T team and head coach Millicent Sylvan. The camp is for all ages from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Camp fee is $60 payable to the NC A&T Volleyball Team. Call Millicent for more information at 334-7310.
June 23: NC A&T Day Camp - This camp will be a fast-paced intense training session with the NC A&T team and head coach Millicent Sylvan. The camp is for all ages from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Camp fee is $60 payable to the NC A&T Volleyball Team. Call Millicent for more information at 334-7310.
July 11-14 :Quest 4 Excellence Individual Skills Camp - Boys & Girls Ages 10-18 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. Each camper will spend time with each skill coach through the course of each day helping develop a well-rounded game. Concentration is on individual skills. Camp fee is $200 payable to Quest 4 Excellence. Call Chuck McCracken for more information at 669-9730.
July 25-28: Quest 4 Excellence Team Skills Camp - Boys & Girls Ages 10-18 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily. A portion of each session will be devoted to skill development with the rest of the session devoted to application through team play. Individuals and teams accepted for this camp. Camp fee is $200 payable to Quest 4 Excellence. Call Chuck McCracken for more information at 669-9730.
* August 8-13: Beginner Volleyball Camp - Ages 8-18 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. daily. This camp is geared to the beginner volleyball player or for those just wanting some practice over the summer. Several instructors will teach during the week to provide various coaching styles and the fundamentals will be concentrated on. Camp fee is $100 payable to the Greensboro Sportsplex. For more information, call Nikki at 373-3279.
Volleyball Tournaments:
* May 14-15: Quest 4 Excellence Pre-National Warm-Up Tournament (All Ages)
* August 27-28: Great 8 Invitational Volleyball Tournament
Volleyball Leagues:
* All Summer Long - Coed 4's B League - This league is for those looking for exercise through a fun league. Come out and join the league as an individual or bring a team. Play takes place on Wednesday nights from 7-9 p.m. The cost is $50 for each 2-month session you participate in. Call Nikki for more information at 373-3279.
* July 5 - August 5: High School and Middle School Leagues - Get your team together from school and come out and practice your skills to prepare for tryouts in August or just get a group of friends together to join the league. We will offer a middle school and high school division and parents are encouraged to get involved in coaching the teams if the school coach is not available. Team fees are $250 for the league. Sign Up Today. Call Nikki for more information at 373-3279.
* Coming in July: Corporate Leagues - Corporate leagues are forming now. Get a group of coworkers together and come out and join in the fun. We will offer leagues year-round for those looking for a team-building opportunity for your workers or just a chance for some fun exercise. Call Nikki for more information at 373-3279.
Miscellaneous Volleyball Information:
All Summer Skills Clinics - Skills clinics are offered every Tuesday and Thursday year-round for beginner volleyball players looking to work on their fundamental skills. Clinics are held from 5:30- 7 p.m. Come out and learn a lifetime sport.
MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS
* Have a church youth group? daycare? group of nieces and nephews coming for the summer? Looking for ideas to keep your group busy? Come to the Sportsplex for an outing. Call Kathy at 373-3277 for more information on programs available and pricing.
* Need a place to workout this summer? Our weightroom is available for anyone looking for a place to get some exercise in.
Need a meeting room or a field or court for a special event? Contact Lane to see what we have available that may be what you are looking for.
THANKS for your time and HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Speakers from the Floor" legislation has changed
Remember Rep. Earl Jones' bill to require speakers from the floor at the beginning of meetings of all city council, county commissions, and school boards (H635)? It has changed considerably - it now only requires that these elected bodies hold at least one public comment session quarterly (every three months). Our city council well exceeds that requirement with sessions at every meeting so we are in good shape if this becomes law.
Light schedule
Thank heaven - a light-duty week for a change! Maybe I can finally catch up on yard work and spring cleaning that is so woefully behind.
Monday, May 9 at 2PM in Kernersville brings the every-other-month meeting of the stakeholders committee of the Triad Early Action Compact. Now that our clean air strategies have been submitted and accepted by the EPA, we are working hard to make sure they get implemented.
Tuesday, May 10 will find me in a meeting with Mayor Holliday and GDOT director Jim Westmoreland discussing possible transportation funding strategies for the mayor to consider in his NC Thinking Ahead committeee meetings.
Wednesday, May 11 at 8:30AM is the monthly PART meeting where we will be asked to approved land purchases and/or plans for park-and-ride lots in Reedy Fork Ranch off US29 and in Thomasville. Adoption of the 2005-06 is also on the agenda as well as discussions of the Equity Formula (state transportation money allocation) and the Heart of the Region project.
No city council duties are on my calendar at this time for Thursday or Friday (although I'll spend all day Thursday in Raleigh interviewing applicants for the one remaining available charter school opening). I'm looking forward to the Friday night performance of Mama Mia! at the War Memorial Auditorium at the Coliseum.
I'm teaching a workshop on bylaws (doesn't that sound s-o-o-o-o exciting) at the Guilford County PTA Council's spring leadership training on Saturday morning, after which I'm escaping to my brother's house at the beach for a couple of days.
After attending a lunchtime ceremony in Wilmington to pick up a local leader transportation award I am receiving from the NC Public Transit Association, I'll make a mad dash back up I-40 and hope I'm not TOO late for the start of the May 17 city council meeting.
Since I don't have a laptop to take with me, that means I will be "silent" on this blog from Saturday - Wedneday. And hopefully, I will be well-rested and not too sunburned!
Monday, May 9 at 2PM in Kernersville brings the every-other-month meeting of the stakeholders committee of the Triad Early Action Compact. Now that our clean air strategies have been submitted and accepted by the EPA, we are working hard to make sure they get implemented.
Tuesday, May 10 will find me in a meeting with Mayor Holliday and GDOT director Jim Westmoreland discussing possible transportation funding strategies for the mayor to consider in his NC Thinking Ahead committeee meetings.
Wednesday, May 11 at 8:30AM is the monthly PART meeting where we will be asked to approved land purchases and/or plans for park-and-ride lots in Reedy Fork Ranch off US29 and in Thomasville. Adoption of the 2005-06 is also on the agenda as well as discussions of the Equity Formula (state transportation money allocation) and the Heart of the Region project.
No city council duties are on my calendar at this time for Thursday or Friday (although I'll spend all day Thursday in Raleigh interviewing applicants for the one remaining available charter school opening). I'm looking forward to the Friday night performance of Mama Mia! at the War Memorial Auditorium at the Coliseum.
I'm teaching a workshop on bylaws (doesn't that sound s-o-o-o-o exciting) at the Guilford County PTA Council's spring leadership training on Saturday morning, after which I'm escaping to my brother's house at the beach for a couple of days.
After attending a lunchtime ceremony in Wilmington to pick up a local leader transportation award I am receiving from the NC Public Transit Association, I'll make a mad dash back up I-40 and hope I'm not TOO late for the start of the May 17 city council meeting.
Since I don't have a laptop to take with me, that means I will be "silent" on this blog from Saturday - Wedneday. And hopefully, I will be well-rested and not too sunburned!
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Another great PTA night!
I just returned from the Annual Awards Banquet of the Guilford County Council of PTAs where I estimate attendance near 1,000 parents, teachers, and principals. To put that into perspective, attendance at the recent STATEWIDE PTA convention barely topped 300. PTA is alive and well in Guilford County thanks to tremendous volunteers who give so freely of their time.
Numerous awards were given for outstanding teachers, assistants, principals, volunteers, single projects, and overall PTA excellence. Of course, my favorite is the one I had the honor of presenting, the Sandy Carmany Executive Board Award, to PTA Council co-newsletter chairman, Margie Lester.
To outgoing president Uma Avva and her board, "Great job this year." To incoming president Marsha Elam, "Good luck and stock up on your vitamins, you're going to need them!"
Numerous awards were given for outstanding teachers, assistants, principals, volunteers, single projects, and overall PTA excellence. Of course, my favorite is the one I had the honor of presenting, the Sandy Carmany Executive Board Award, to PTA Council co-newsletter chairman, Margie Lester.
To outgoing president Uma Avva and her board, "Great job this year." To incoming president Marsha Elam, "Good luck and stock up on your vitamins, you're going to need them!"
Bridge award!
One of the "me" things I do is to play bridge when I have the time. In addition to my once-a-month "girls night out" session with some long-time friends, I participate in the Charity League's "Bridge Marathon." This is a scholarship fundraising program for $1,000 college scholarships for local female students.
We bridge players pay a small fee to play within an assigned group once a month from October - April. Scores from our monthly games are collected, and the teams with the highest culmative total for the seven months of play are recognized.
I have to brag and announce that my master-player partner, Margaret Austin, and I were the winners in our group! We were quite surprised - had high scores for the first couple of months then hit a long dry spell when we couldn't get decent cards at all. But we ended up on top after all -- thanks, partner!
We bridge players pay a small fee to play within an assigned group once a month from October - April. Scores from our monthly games are collected, and the teams with the highest culmative total for the seven months of play are recognized.
I have to brag and announce that my master-player partner, Margaret Austin, and I were the winners in our group! We were quite surprised - had high scores for the first couple of months then hit a long dry spell when we couldn't get decent cards at all. But we ended up on top after all -- thanks, partner!
City manager search update
I'm posting some excerpts from an email council members received from Larry Kerr, former Human Resources Director for the city who has come out of semi-retirement to assist the city council in the city manager search. This information will provide some insight into the process we are following and a rough time line, including public input sessions in which you may be interested.
... With the background and input you [the council] have provided, Mr. Slavin will be able to begin the placement of advertising materials, begin the preliminary steps in the outreach process and start developing the profile which will be critical later in the process.
Per your direction, we plan to arrange several opportunities for the public to have input into the process, specifically soliciting their input as to the qualities and characteristics needed in the next City Manager. We have tentatively scheduled June 1-2 for this activity. During these days (and evenings) a number of open forums will be arranged for citizen participation. Some of these will be open to everyone and will be advertised as such. We should have the opportunity to have some smaller sessions with specific groups and we need your input on this topic. If there are groups that you would like to be specifically contacted and invited to participate in this process, please let me know by Tuesday, May 17.
... You will receive a draft “Greensboro City Manager Profile” shortly after these meetings for your modification and/or approval. This will be instrumental in later candidate screening by Mr. Slavin.
In approximately two weeks we will begin trying to get some specific dates set on your calendars for key decision making steps in the process. These key dates will be:
* Presentation of initial “long list” of candidates (a verbal presentation of 10-15 top candidates by Mr. Slavin). This should be approximately mid-August and will probably require one 2-4 hour block of time.* Initial interview times. This should be 2-4 weeks after the previous session and will probably involve at least two half-day time commitments.
* Finalist’s Interviews/Follow-Up. This should be 2-4 weeks after the initial interviews and probably will involve one half-day time commitment.
* Final Decision Meeting. This may be combined with the previous session or could be a separate meeting scheduled very shortly after the final interviews. The time could vary on this session depending on the degree of unanimity (or lack of it) on the final candidate..
Hmmm, looks like we're going to be busy! I guess I shouldn't plan too many beach trips this summer.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Let the search begin!
The official search process for a new city manager to replace retiring Ed Kitchen began in earnest yesterday with council's decision to hire Slavin Associates as our executive search firm. All of us council members were impressed with Bob Slavin (who will personally conduct that search) during our interview with him yesterday in a public meeting immediately before the regular city council meeting. After he shared how he conducts his searchs and told us about the many successful placements he has made in the past (including our two newest assistant city managers, Ben Brown and Bob Morgan), we unanimously agreed to hire him to conduct the search.
Mr. Slavin assured us that we will get lots of interested, qualified candidates applying for the position due to Greensboro's outstanding reputation. It will be his job to help the council create a profile of the characteristics we are seeking in a new manager, screen the applications against our criteria, and make recommendations to council on which candidates best match that profile to interview. He will conduct criminal history, credit, newpaper clippings, and driving record checks as far back as 10 years or more. He will also make site visits to candidates' current jurisdictions to check out their management style, observe staff interaction and relationships, and "walk up and down the streets to see how people relate to him/her."
Mr. Slavin will also help the council set performance goals with which to evaluate the new manager's performance. And if after all this diligent effort, the new person does not work out to our satisfaction, he will conduct a new search at no cost except for travel expenses to repeat the process. Sounds pretty comprehensive to me!
We jumped right in today with separate interviews with Mr. Slavin for each council member to individually share what skills/characteristics were most important to him/her. Those conversations were confidential so I will not share details of my meeting except this one comment - "Find me an Ed Kitchen clone, and I will be happy!"
Mr. Slavin assured us that we will get lots of interested, qualified candidates applying for the position due to Greensboro's outstanding reputation. It will be his job to help the council create a profile of the characteristics we are seeking in a new manager, screen the applications against our criteria, and make recommendations to council on which candidates best match that profile to interview. He will conduct criminal history, credit, newpaper clippings, and driving record checks as far back as 10 years or more. He will also make site visits to candidates' current jurisdictions to check out their management style, observe staff interaction and relationships, and "walk up and down the streets to see how people relate to him/her."
Mr. Slavin will also help the council set performance goals with which to evaluate the new manager's performance. And if after all this diligent effort, the new person does not work out to our satisfaction, he will conduct a new search at no cost except for travel expenses to repeat the process. Sounds pretty comprehensive to me!
We jumped right in today with separate interviews with Mr. Slavin for each council member to individually share what skills/characteristics were most important to him/her. Those conversations were confidential so I will not share details of my meeting except this one comment - "Find me an Ed Kitchen clone, and I will be happy!"
Lessons learned...or not
Call it “sour grapes” if you like since I was on the losing end of these votes at last night’s council meeting. But the old adage - “He who does not learn from his mistakes is destined to repeat them” – keeps coming back to me today.
First case in point:
One of the ways Project Homestead was so successful in getting city funding for its past projects was the ability to perform “end runs” around city staff and the Community Resource Board (CRB). Rev. Michael King would come directly to the city council and get a political decision to raid this fund or that fund to pay for a proposal not recommended for funding by staff and/or the CRB.
Déjà vu! Beacon Management/George Carr, a past sometimes-partner with Homestead on projects, came straight to the city council last night to get money for a project that had not been recommended for funding by the CRB. (I must note that Beacon has an excellent record and their proposal is a good one, but there just isn’t enough money in the regular housing budget to fund everything.) Raiding a contingency fund set up to cover a possible required reimbursement to HUD for failed projects, six councilmembers agreed to allocate that money to Beacon’s project IF HUD releases that money.
The processes the city uses to allocate funds are there for good reasons – to make sure the best projects are chosen, a variety of needs are covered, and everyone has an equal and fair chance of accessing scarce money resources. This process was bypassed AGAIN with last night’s action. For example, if the “found money” had not been promised to Beacon, the CRB would have had the opportunity to reprogram it for other (perhaps more urgent) housing needs in the future through Habitat for Humanity or the Housing Coalition. But they were totally blocked out with this political maneuver.
So it’s obvious Mr. Carr studied and learned his lesson well on how to successfully access city funding. On the other hand, a majority of council obviously DID NOT learn about the pitfalls of this dubious practice that led to the loss of so much city tax money when Project Homestead failed.
Second point:
Being an “old timer” on the city council, I well remember the days when we had a “Speakers from the Floor” segment at the beginning of the council meetings. Folks, why do you think we changed it?!!! IT WASN’T WORKING! Council was being bombarded by anything and everything, delaying consideration of the scheduled council business and making those citizens who came to comment on those business/public hearing items have to wait. Looks like we’re headed down that same road AGAIN too.
“He who will not learn…”
First case in point:
One of the ways Project Homestead was so successful in getting city funding for its past projects was the ability to perform “end runs” around city staff and the Community Resource Board (CRB). Rev. Michael King would come directly to the city council and get a political decision to raid this fund or that fund to pay for a proposal not recommended for funding by staff and/or the CRB.
Déjà vu! Beacon Management/George Carr, a past sometimes-partner with Homestead on projects, came straight to the city council last night to get money for a project that had not been recommended for funding by the CRB. (I must note that Beacon has an excellent record and their proposal is a good one, but there just isn’t enough money in the regular housing budget to fund everything.) Raiding a contingency fund set up to cover a possible required reimbursement to HUD for failed projects, six councilmembers agreed to allocate that money to Beacon’s project IF HUD releases that money.
The processes the city uses to allocate funds are there for good reasons – to make sure the best projects are chosen, a variety of needs are covered, and everyone has an equal and fair chance of accessing scarce money resources. This process was bypassed AGAIN with last night’s action. For example, if the “found money” had not been promised to Beacon, the CRB would have had the opportunity to reprogram it for other (perhaps more urgent) housing needs in the future through Habitat for Humanity or the Housing Coalition. But they were totally blocked out with this political maneuver.
So it’s obvious Mr. Carr studied and learned his lesson well on how to successfully access city funding. On the other hand, a majority of council obviously DID NOT learn about the pitfalls of this dubious practice that led to the loss of so much city tax money when Project Homestead failed.
Second point:
Being an “old timer” on the city council, I well remember the days when we had a “Speakers from the Floor” segment at the beginning of the council meetings. Folks, why do you think we changed it?!!! IT WASN’T WORKING! Council was being bombarded by anything and everything, delaying consideration of the scheduled council business and making those citizens who came to comment on those business/public hearing items have to wait. Looks like we’re headed down that same road AGAIN too.
“He who will not learn…”
Monday, May 02, 2005
Land use charette
I spent Friday morning in Kernersville in a fun exercise brainstorming about what type of development would make sense around various transit stations IF AND WHEN PART is successful in devloping a light rail commuter system in the Triad.
My group's assignment was to make recommendations for a station to serve the A&T campus and adjacent neighborhoods. With an arial photo of the area, tracing paper and colored pencils, a group of planners, real estate folks and I got to share ideas and draw our "what if" recommendations on the map. That unscientific and unfunded proposal needs to be shared with the East Market Street Development Corporation, A&T and Bennett, and neighborhood groups to see if it fits with their vision and plans for this area. But, in my very biased opinion, I think we came up with an exciting plan that could bring much needed redevelopment and investment to this corridor, much like what we witnessed on our Charlotte excursion.
All we need is some VERY DEEP POCKETS!!! [SMILE]
Here's another perspective on that session thanks to a link provided by an anonymous commenter.
My group's assignment was to make recommendations for a station to serve the A&T campus and adjacent neighborhoods. With an arial photo of the area, tracing paper and colored pencils, a group of planners, real estate folks and I got to share ideas and draw our "what if" recommendations on the map. That unscientific and unfunded proposal needs to be shared with the East Market Street Development Corporation, A&T and Bennett, and neighborhood groups to see if it fits with their vision and plans for this area. But, in my very biased opinion, I think we came up with an exciting plan that could bring much needed redevelopment and investment to this corridor, much like what we witnessed on our Charlotte excursion.
All we need is some VERY DEEP POCKETS!!! [SMILE]
Here's another perspective on that session thanks to a link provided by an anonymous commenter.
Congratulations, Guilford County PTA leaders!
Guilford County PTA teachers, students, and leaders captured a number of key awards at this weekend's NC PTA annual convention. It's obvious we have many dedicated people working to help our students succeed!
Winners included:
Northwest Guilford Middle School PTA: Building Self-Esteem Award
Ed Herring of Florence Elementary in High Point: Outstanding District Educator
Michael Hettenbach of Jefferson Elementary: James B. Hunt Jr. Outstanding Teacher Award (statewide)
Greg and Lennis Livesay of Jefferson Elementary: Spirit of PTA Award (recognizes exceptional and enthusiastic volunteer)
Guilford County Council of PTAs: Outstanding PTA Council (for the entire state!)
Newsletter Awards went to Claxton, Florence, Guilford Primary, High Point Central, Jamestown Elementary, Jefferson, Millis Road, Murphey Traditional Academy, Northwest Guilford High School, Southeast Middle School, Southwest Elementary, and Weaver Academy.
Legislative Advocacy Awards were earned by Guilford County Council of PTAs, Jamestown Middle School, Millis Road, Northwest Guilford Middle School, and Summerfield Laughlin.
Achievement Awards were awarded to the Guilford County Council of PTAs, Claxton, Early College, Florence, Millis Road, Northwest Guilford Middle School, Southeast Middle Schoool, and Stokesdale.
The Teacher Scholarship to assist a teacher to earn his/her Masters Degree went to Darrin R. Callicut of Kernodle Middle School.
Students Josh Sommer of Western Guilford and Sarah Elizabeth Wiles of Northeast Guilford won $1,000 college scholarships.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!!
Winners included:
Northwest Guilford Middle School PTA: Building Self-Esteem Award
Ed Herring of Florence Elementary in High Point: Outstanding District Educator
Michael Hettenbach of Jefferson Elementary: James B. Hunt Jr. Outstanding Teacher Award (statewide)
Greg and Lennis Livesay of Jefferson Elementary: Spirit of PTA Award (recognizes exceptional and enthusiastic volunteer)
Guilford County Council of PTAs: Outstanding PTA Council (for the entire state!)
Newsletter Awards went to Claxton, Florence, Guilford Primary, High Point Central, Jamestown Elementary, Jefferson, Millis Road, Murphey Traditional Academy, Northwest Guilford High School, Southeast Middle School, Southwest Elementary, and Weaver Academy.
Legislative Advocacy Awards were earned by Guilford County Council of PTAs, Jamestown Middle School, Millis Road, Northwest Guilford Middle School, and Summerfield Laughlin.
Achievement Awards were awarded to the Guilford County Council of PTAs, Claxton, Early College, Florence, Millis Road, Northwest Guilford Middle School, Southeast Middle Schoool, and Stokesdale.
The Teacher Scholarship to assist a teacher to earn his/her Masters Degree went to Darrin R. Callicut of Kernodle Middle School.
Students Josh Sommer of Western Guilford and Sarah Elizabeth Wiles of Northeast Guilford won $1,000 college scholarships.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!!
Another week, another schedule
This week is another one with busy days mixed in with lighter ones, so maybe I'll survive it!
Today I brought greetings to the opening luncheon of the eastern US region of the Association of Public Communications Officers (our 911 operators) and thoroughly enjoyed their keynote speaker. Harry Freedman was introduced was one of President Bush's key advisors on homeland security so I was expecting to hear an update on the latest security measures. Boy, was I wrong! After a couple of real zingers like - "I was going to give a technical briefing at the White House, but then I realized 'this is the BUSH administration' so I didn't bother." - I realized he was a stand-up comic (and a very good one at that). Everyone laughed the whole time - was much more enjoyable than recent city council meetings!
Tuesday, May 3 will be the marathon day with an 8AM breakfast with the Library Board of Trustees followed by a 9:45AM meeting with some proponents of an upcoming zoning case. The city council meeting will begn at 5PM with an interview with the potential executive search firm for a new city manager to see if we like them followed by our regular 6PM business meeting. The agenda is lengthy with numerous zoning cases so it's probably going to be another wee-hours-of-the-morning adjournment time AGAIN. [NOTE: I have not included the usual link due to problems I'm experiencing with the Blogger program. If I include a link, my computer freezes up. Their support gurus are checking into it.]
I have a one-on-one meeting with Slavin, the executive search firm, on Wednesday afternoon to share my ideas about the characterstics and skills I'm looking for in a new manager. [So if you have ideas you want to share with me, I need it NOW! Of course, you will get your own chance later on as council has agreed we want to have community meetings to gather public input into this as well.]
Thursday, May 5 begins with a 7:30AM meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Greensboro Partnership. Unfortunately I will miss the War Memorial Commission (Coliseum) due to a personal schedule conflict so I won't have an update for you on that this month. This day will finish up with the annual awards banquet of the Guilford County PTA Council (usually around 1,000 attendees!) where I get to present the award named for me that honors the most hard-working member of the PTA Council's board.
Nothing official on tap for Friday or the weekend, but I'm hoping to be able to take my grandkids to the GYC carnival at the Coliseum and attend a family reunion picnic at Hagan Stone Park on Saturday. Pray for good weather!
Today I brought greetings to the opening luncheon of the eastern US region of the Association of Public Communications Officers (our 911 operators) and thoroughly enjoyed their keynote speaker. Harry Freedman was introduced was one of President Bush's key advisors on homeland security so I was expecting to hear an update on the latest security measures. Boy, was I wrong! After a couple of real zingers like - "I was going to give a technical briefing at the White House, but then I realized 'this is the BUSH administration' so I didn't bother." - I realized he was a stand-up comic (and a very good one at that). Everyone laughed the whole time - was much more enjoyable than recent city council meetings!
Tuesday, May 3 will be the marathon day with an 8AM breakfast with the Library Board of Trustees followed by a 9:45AM meeting with some proponents of an upcoming zoning case. The city council meeting will begn at 5PM with an interview with the potential executive search firm for a new city manager to see if we like them followed by our regular 6PM business meeting. The agenda is lengthy with numerous zoning cases so it's probably going to be another wee-hours-of-the-morning adjournment time AGAIN. [NOTE: I have not included the usual link due to problems I'm experiencing with the Blogger program. If I include a link, my computer freezes up. Their support gurus are checking into it.]
I have a one-on-one meeting with Slavin, the executive search firm, on Wednesday afternoon to share my ideas about the characterstics and skills I'm looking for in a new manager. [So if you have ideas you want to share with me, I need it NOW! Of course, you will get your own chance later on as council has agreed we want to have community meetings to gather public input into this as well.]
Thursday, May 5 begins with a 7:30AM meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Greensboro Partnership. Unfortunately I will miss the War Memorial Commission (Coliseum) due to a personal schedule conflict so I won't have an update for you on that this month. This day will finish up with the annual awards banquet of the Guilford County PTA Council (usually around 1,000 attendees!) where I get to present the award named for me that honors the most hard-working member of the PTA Council's board.
Nothing official on tap for Friday or the weekend, but I'm hoping to be able to take my grandkids to the GYC carnival at the Coliseum and attend a family reunion picnic at Hagan Stone Park on Saturday. Pray for good weather!
I'm back!
Sorry for my short absence! Between my hectic PTA weekend, reading the lengthy city council agenda and visiting proposed zoning sites, listening to several hours of briefing session tapes, and catching up on missed weekend housecleaning chores, I have not had an extra minute to think "blog." I'll try to catch up now.
The state PTA convention went well, and my limited parliamentary skills got a real workout. Let's just say that governmental bodies are not the only ones that have to deal with scheming members and hidden agendas, but we worked through it and accomplished what needed to be done on behalf of children. It was wonderful to see former colleagues and rehash old times and adventures we shared together as well as see the enthusiasm of the new generation of leaders.
I got a real surprise strolling throught the exhibits area during some free time. I was greeted by one of the representatives of one of the fundraising companies there who stopped me with "Hi, Sandy! How do you like blogging?" I had never met him, but he knew all about me because of this blog. I'm not sure if that's good or bad! [SMILE]
The state PTA convention went well, and my limited parliamentary skills got a real workout. Let's just say that governmental bodies are not the only ones that have to deal with scheming members and hidden agendas, but we worked through it and accomplished what needed to be done on behalf of children. It was wonderful to see former colleagues and rehash old times and adventures we shared together as well as see the enthusiasm of the new generation of leaders.
I got a real surprise strolling throught the exhibits area during some free time. I was greeted by one of the representatives of one of the fundraising companies there who stopped me with "Hi, Sandy! How do you like blogging?" I had never met him, but he knew all about me because of this blog. I'm not sure if that's good or bad! [SMILE]
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