I'm tardy in reporting the significant action the PART board took at its December 14 meeting by officially approving the collection of a 5% tax on rental cars in Surry County at the unanimous request by the Surry County Commissioners. That tax will become effective on April 1, 2006 and will enable PART to offer eight round trips per day from Mt. Airy and Pilot Mountain to Winston-Salem by September. Forsyth and Guilford counties have been collecting that same tax for the past three years to fund the PART Express service.
Costs of providing this express bus service will be covered by the tax proceeds (estimated at $50,000/year), fares (estimated at $100,000/year), and a $250,000 per year grant from the NC Department of Transportation to replace the loss of Greyhound intercity bus service to this area. PART Executive Director Brent McKinney expects the service to be fully utilized by the large number of workers from Surry County (and Virginia) who are already commuting to work at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
The board also approved a contract with the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department to provide the air quality monitoring information essential to the region's transportation computer modeling that is required for all transportation projects.
The Long Range Finance Committee recommended that additional board members be added to the committee so that each county and city represented on the board would have a participant on the committee. Since most or all of any future additional revenues are likely to be in the form of one tax or another that these local governments would have to approve, it is important that their viewpoints and concerns are included in the discussions and those ultimate recommendations.
The full board approved the committee's request that PART conduct a Bus Efficiency Study to explore the financial implications of potentially merging Greensboro GTA, High Point Hi-Tran, Winston-Salem WSTA and PART into one region-wide bus system. There are possible operational savings as well as the ability to access additional state and federal funding for a larger, merged system. (And it could be even larger - the town of Elon is considering offering bus service to take advantage of federal transit dollars is currently losing due to the lack of a transit system in Alamance County.) Area transportation officials and members of the authorities operating the current separate systems will be called together to investigate the pros and cons of such a move.
Our next meeting will be on January 11.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Gasoline tax
A lot of folks are unhappy that North Carolina's gasoline tax is going up again, especially since ours is one of the highest in the US. I'm certainly not eager to pay those additional taxes either, but there is one important factor that most folks are overlooking when complaining about that high rate.
North Carolina has the second-largest STATE-maintained highway system, 78,000+ miles of roadways. NC counties do NOT build or maintain roads, therefore NC county governments do not impose property taxes to fund roads in their counties.
In many other states, the local counties DO have the responsibility of building, maintaining, and PAYING for the roads inside their jurisdiction. So, while the GASOLINE tax may be lower in most other states, those residents are paying for their roads through their local property and sales taxes that we NC residents do not. ((I shudder to think what Guilford County's property tax rate would have to be to handle this additional funding responsibility on top of the need for more schools and a new jail.)
Bottom line, drivers (and residents) are all paying dearly for our roadways through one type of tax or another. It just varies from state to state as to which "pocket" (gasoline, property or sales taxes) it's coming out of - no one is getting a free ride.
North Carolina has the second-largest STATE-maintained highway system, 78,000+ miles of roadways. NC counties do NOT build or maintain roads, therefore NC county governments do not impose property taxes to fund roads in their counties.
In many other states, the local counties DO have the responsibility of building, maintaining, and PAYING for the roads inside their jurisdiction. So, while the GASOLINE tax may be lower in most other states, those residents are paying for their roads through their local property and sales taxes that we NC residents do not. ((I shudder to think what Guilford County's property tax rate would have to be to handle this additional funding responsibility on top of the need for more schools and a new jail.)
Bottom line, drivers (and residents) are all paying dearly for our roadways through one type of tax or another. It just varies from state to state as to which "pocket" (gasoline, property or sales taxes) it's coming out of - no one is getting a free ride.
Time to catch up
I had not planned to take a break from blogging over the Christmas holidays. However, between the hustle and bustle of gettting ready, the barely-controlled chaos of having our three sons and their ENERGETIC kids coming for dinner and presents on the big day (we've decided the Carmany family has outgrown our home's capacity), and trying to get the household back to normal (whatever that is), there was little or no time to spend on the computer.
Plus, our youngest son lives in my late parents' house that my husband and I now own, and the old oil furnace in it decided to quit on Christmas Eve. So I've been dealing with repairmen for the last several days who have pronounced it "un-fixable" (not sure if that's a real word) and are preparing to install a new system - not exactly the holiday spending one plans on.
Despite that unpleasant sticker shock, we really are enjoying the holidays. It was fun having everyone over (even our ex-brother-in-law who would have been all alone), and it'll take months to get rid of the extra pounds we all have gained.
One late Christmas/early birthday present - I'm finally getting a notebook computer to take with me on my travels. I took advantage of a great special and got a new Compaq for $500 (after rebates). So I guess I'll have no excuses not to blog when vacationing down at Oak Island or on other occasions when I'm away.
Plus, our youngest son lives in my late parents' house that my husband and I now own, and the old oil furnace in it decided to quit on Christmas Eve. So I've been dealing with repairmen for the last several days who have pronounced it "un-fixable" (not sure if that's a real word) and are preparing to install a new system - not exactly the holiday spending one plans on.
Despite that unpleasant sticker shock, we really are enjoying the holidays. It was fun having everyone over (even our ex-brother-in-law who would have been all alone), and it'll take months to get rid of the extra pounds we all have gained.
One late Christmas/early birthday present - I'm finally getting a notebook computer to take with me on my travels. I took advantage of a great special and got a new Compaq for $500 (after rebates). So I guess I'll have no excuses not to blog when vacationing down at Oak Island or on other occasions when I'm away.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Weekly schedule
I'm late again in posting my weekly schedule. Between the holiday preparations, family visits, dental appointments and another day wasted in court, I just have not had time to blog lately. I'll try to do a bit of catching up this morning.
Monday, December 19 turned out to be a busy day with a meeting with the city manager in the morning and a tour of the Glenwood neighborhood in the afternoon. Glenwood is one of Greensboro's older neighborhoods that is experiencing a lot of problems that need the city's attention. There is a core group working through the Neighborhood Congress seeking ways to stop the decline.
The main event for Tuesday, December 20 is the city council meeting that has a number of controversial items on the agenda, including a proposed change to the Comprehensive Plan to allow a major apartment complex on the fringe of the Glenwood neighborhood off Freeman Mill Road and the possible purchase of the Agapion apartments on Cedar Street. (Although today's newspaper article states that the council is going to postpone action on the Cedar Street item, I'm not so sure that is going to be the case. We'll see!)
Wednesday, December 21 features a meeting of the Piedmont Triad Rural Planning Organization that coordinates transportation issues for Rockingham, Caswell, Davidson, Randolph and Montgomery counties. (I am an ex officio member of the board representing PART.) Then I will represent Greensboro at the regular meeting of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments where we will elect officers for the coming year. I want to give a special note of recognition and thanks to outgoing chairman Nate Hall, a commissioner in Caswell County, who did an outstanding job leading this organization the past two years despite undergoing brain surgery in the fall.
Of course, the highlight of the week will be to FINALLY attend the bloggers meet-up Wednesday evening - no schedule conflicts for a change! I'll remember to bring a toy donation and am looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Unless something comes up, there's nothing else on my OFFICIAL calendar until after New Year's Day. Maybe I'll be able to catch up on a number of neglected projects, and maybe I'll spend part of that time on my latest interest - Sudoku - which I find gives my brain a challenging workout.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Monday, December 19 turned out to be a busy day with a meeting with the city manager in the morning and a tour of the Glenwood neighborhood in the afternoon. Glenwood is one of Greensboro's older neighborhoods that is experiencing a lot of problems that need the city's attention. There is a core group working through the Neighborhood Congress seeking ways to stop the decline.
The main event for Tuesday, December 20 is the city council meeting that has a number of controversial items on the agenda, including a proposed change to the Comprehensive Plan to allow a major apartment complex on the fringe of the Glenwood neighborhood off Freeman Mill Road and the possible purchase of the Agapion apartments on Cedar Street. (Although today's newspaper article states that the council is going to postpone action on the Cedar Street item, I'm not so sure that is going to be the case. We'll see!)
Wednesday, December 21 features a meeting of the Piedmont Triad Rural Planning Organization that coordinates transportation issues for Rockingham, Caswell, Davidson, Randolph and Montgomery counties. (I am an ex officio member of the board representing PART.) Then I will represent Greensboro at the regular meeting of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments where we will elect officers for the coming year. I want to give a special note of recognition and thanks to outgoing chairman Nate Hall, a commissioner in Caswell County, who did an outstanding job leading this organization the past two years despite undergoing brain surgery in the fall.
Of course, the highlight of the week will be to FINALLY attend the bloggers meet-up Wednesday evening - no schedule conflicts for a change! I'll remember to bring a toy donation and am looking forward to seeing everyone there.
Unless something comes up, there's nothing else on my OFFICIAL calendar until after New Year's Day. Maybe I'll be able to catch up on a number of neglected projects, and maybe I'll spend part of that time on my latest interest - Sudoku - which I find gives my brain a challenging workout.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Friday, December 16, 2005
Coliseum holiday humor
I attended the annual staff Christmas luncheon at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday and enjoyed the good food and friendship there. Entertainment was provided by The True Brothers before and during lunch, and we got a big laugh at their choice of songs - Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It!"
Not only are the employees of the Greensboro Coliseum dedicated and hardworking, but they are talented as well. After-lunch entertainment was provided by "The Swishers and the Setters" directed by head housekeeper Mary Noah. (For those unfamiliar with these terms, "swishers" are the cleaning crew and "setters" are the folks who arrange chairs and bleachers, set up the basketball courts, etc.) The first selection, sung to the tune of "Silver Bells," was "Basketball" that related the staff's labor and preparation for the three-week marathon of basketball coming in March 2006 ("...It's ACC time in the ci-ty...").
But The Swishers brought the house down with their rendition of "Matt Brown Got Run Over by a Scrubber" sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
All humor aside, these folks contributed a large quantity of canned goods for the Urban Ministry as well as an envelope full of money donated to a fellow worker who had suffered a stroke and recently returned to work. That's what really made this occasion special.
Not only are the employees of the Greensboro Coliseum dedicated and hardworking, but they are talented as well. After-lunch entertainment was provided by "The Swishers and the Setters" directed by head housekeeper Mary Noah. (For those unfamiliar with these terms, "swishers" are the cleaning crew and "setters" are the folks who arrange chairs and bleachers, set up the basketball courts, etc.) The first selection, sung to the tune of "Silver Bells," was "Basketball" that related the staff's labor and preparation for the three-week marathon of basketball coming in March 2006 ("...It's ACC time in the ci-ty...").
But The Swishers brought the house down with their rendition of "Matt Brown Got Run Over by a Scrubber" sung to the tune of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
All humor aside, these folks contributed a large quantity of canned goods for the Urban Ministry as well as an envelope full of money donated to a fellow worker who had suffered a stroke and recently returned to work. That's what really made this occasion special.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The cake
Per the request in a comment, here's the German Chocolate cake I made for Bob's birthday. (Yes, I can bake when the urge strikes me.) I promise you, it tasted a whole lot better than it looks! YUM!
The Monkey Tree
In his presentation on leadership at the National League of Cities conference in Charlotte last week, Captain Michael Abrashoff used several good stories and illustrations to make his points. One of my favorites is this one he received from one of his enlisted men who was stressing the need for communication and understanding among all levels of their ship, the USS Benfold (or any other organization).
Think about it a moment, folks. It'll come to you! {big smile}
Captain Abrashoff says he always came down from his "perch" to make sure he saw things from everyone's perspective and credits that practice for the succcessful motivation of his crew.
"The hierarchy on this ship is like a tree full of monkeys. The commander sits on the top branch, the officers and commmand staff sit immediately below him, and the enlisted men are on the lower branches beneath them.
When the commander looks down from his perch, all he sees is smiling faces looking back up at him. But when the enlisted men look up....they have an entirely different view!"
Think about it a moment, folks. It'll come to you! {big smile}
Captain Abrashoff says he always came down from his "perch" to make sure he saw things from everyone's perspective and credits that practice for the succcessful motivation of his crew.
Schedule
This week's OFFICIAL schedule is light, but personal activities are keeping it busy.
Monday was spent doing much-neglected Christmas and birthday shopping (many of the Carmany clan's birthdays fall within the December-February time period) and baking my once-a-year made-from-scratch German Chocolate Cake for my husband's birthday on Tuesday, December 13.
I will chair the PART Board meeting at 8:30AM on Wednesday, December 14. A key item on the agenda is a public hearing on the question of imposing a tax on rental cars in Surry County to pay for PART transportation services to that county; a vote will be taken after that public hearing. The annual audit report will be given, and the Long Range Finance Committee will report on their progress. The board will consider a contract with the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department to assist with air quality modeling. Two committees will be appointed - a nominating committee to make recommendations for the 2006 officers and a personnel committee to conduct the annual evaluation of the executive director.
At noon, I plan to attend the Coliseum staff Christmas luncheon which is being donated by Centerplate. All attendees will be bring donations of food, clothing, or money for the Urban Ministry instead of the usual covered dish.
Then it's off to the Marriott downtown to preview the new voting systems being considered by the Guilford County Board of Elections. Formal demonstrations will be offered beginning at 2:00PM.
This day will conclude with the annual Christmas dinner for the executive committee of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments at 6:00PM.
I'll be supporting my son in court on Thursday in the next episode of his continuing child custody battle.
On Friday, I hope to find time to get my house cleaned up for a holiday visit on Saturday from my sister and her husband coming in from Tennessee. Then it's off to the Greensboro Symphony's Annual Holiday Concert at the Coliseum Friday evening - it's free admission with the donation of canned goods for area food drives. Hope to see you there!
Monday was spent doing much-neglected Christmas and birthday shopping (many of the Carmany clan's birthdays fall within the December-February time period) and baking my once-a-year made-from-scratch German Chocolate Cake for my husband's birthday on Tuesday, December 13.
I will chair the PART Board meeting at 8:30AM on Wednesday, December 14. A key item on the agenda is a public hearing on the question of imposing a tax on rental cars in Surry County to pay for PART transportation services to that county; a vote will be taken after that public hearing. The annual audit report will be given, and the Long Range Finance Committee will report on their progress. The board will consider a contract with the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department to assist with air quality modeling. Two committees will be appointed - a nominating committee to make recommendations for the 2006 officers and a personnel committee to conduct the annual evaluation of the executive director.
At noon, I plan to attend the Coliseum staff Christmas luncheon which is being donated by Centerplate. All attendees will be bring donations of food, clothing, or money for the Urban Ministry instead of the usual covered dish.
Then it's off to the Marriott downtown to preview the new voting systems being considered by the Guilford County Board of Elections. Formal demonstrations will be offered beginning at 2:00PM.
This day will conclude with the annual Christmas dinner for the executive committee of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments at 6:00PM.
I'll be supporting my son in court on Thursday in the next episode of his continuing child custody battle.
On Friday, I hope to find time to get my house cleaned up for a holiday visit on Saturday from my sister and her husband coming in from Tennessee. Then it's off to the Greensboro Symphony's Annual Holiday Concert at the Coliseum Friday evening - it's free admission with the donation of canned goods for area food drives. Hope to see you there!
Monday, December 12, 2005
City Connections
The latest edition of City Connections is now available. Check out the picture of the "new" city council.
The Hard Part
The editorial in the December 9 Charlotte Observer struck a chord with me and many of the attendees to the National League of Cities conference. You can access it by searching for "The Hard Part" in their archives at
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/
(Thanks for alerting me to the broken link, Roch!)
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/
(Thanks for alerting me to the broken link, Roch!)
More information on business waste pickup
In my post about proposed changes to the city's business waste pickup service, Roch commented about potential unintended consequences. A landlord friend of his is having problems with non-residents placing garbage into his apartment complex's dumpster and did not feel it would be fair for him to have to pay the city for this "unauthorized garbage." I passed the concern along to Environmental Services Director Jeryl Covington, and here is her response.
Per my presentation to Council at the November briefing, the City of Greensboro is proposing to charge collection and disposal fees based upon the type of container and the type of waste weight disposed in the standard 6 or 8 cubic yard container. Currently, we charge a standard fee for all units serviced ($116.50/unit/month). An 8 cubic yard container is charged at the same rate as a 6 cubic yard container. Wet waste is charged at the same rate as dry waste, and the 8 cubic yard compacted container is charged the same rate as the previously ones noted. Unfortunately, each type of container can hold a different amount of weight. The City will be paying on a weight basis for private disposal with Republic Waste. The fee that we charge our customers must cover the collection and the disposal costs incurred. We did not charge City trucks when waste was going to our public facility. The various weights of the container vary as such:
Waste Class, Pickup Weight (lbs/8 cubic yard)
Dry -- 343
Wet -- 770
Compacted -- 1,668
Private commercial collection service providers base their fees upon waste type, volume, and frequency of service since their operations have always had to cover the disposal costs. We have proposed this fee modification to ensure that we are collecting the correct amount in fees to cover the disposal and transportations costs associated with this service. Our current service fee does not reflect this variation.
With respect to management of “open and unsecured” dumpster containers, we are familiar with illegal dumping into these units. Unfortunately, we do not have staff able to police the utilization of these units at the various locations across the City. Likewise, we will begin to be more stringent on our review of the waste collected from dumpsters since it will be managed at a private facility that will scrutinize our waste for absolute compliance. We will have an opportunity to review waste at the transfer station prior to loading it into the trucks. Non-conforming waste will have an increased opportunity to be discovered prior to disposal. Currently, we screen at the landfill 4 – 6 commercial trucks per operating day. We additionally randomly pull additional vehicles for inspections too. These activities will continue as we move into the transfer station operation.
We have not developed a better means of managing private dumpster to reduce illegal dumping. Owners of these units should label their units for private use and inform their residents to notify them if they witness improper use.
Please let me know if additional information is needed.
Per my presentation to Council at the November briefing, the City of Greensboro is proposing to charge collection and disposal fees based upon the type of container and the type of waste weight disposed in the standard 6 or 8 cubic yard container. Currently, we charge a standard fee for all units serviced ($116.50/unit/month). An 8 cubic yard container is charged at the same rate as a 6 cubic yard container. Wet waste is charged at the same rate as dry waste, and the 8 cubic yard compacted container is charged the same rate as the previously ones noted. Unfortunately, each type of container can hold a different amount of weight. The City will be paying on a weight basis for private disposal with Republic Waste. The fee that we charge our customers must cover the collection and the disposal costs incurred. We did not charge City trucks when waste was going to our public facility. The various weights of the container vary as such:
Waste Class, Pickup Weight (lbs/8 cubic yard)
Dry -- 343
Wet -- 770
Compacted -- 1,668
Private commercial collection service providers base their fees upon waste type, volume, and frequency of service since their operations have always had to cover the disposal costs. We have proposed this fee modification to ensure that we are collecting the correct amount in fees to cover the disposal and transportations costs associated with this service. Our current service fee does not reflect this variation.
With respect to management of “open and unsecured” dumpster containers, we are familiar with illegal dumping into these units. Unfortunately, we do not have staff able to police the utilization of these units at the various locations across the City. Likewise, we will begin to be more stringent on our review of the waste collected from dumpsters since it will be managed at a private facility that will scrutinize our waste for absolute compliance. We will have an opportunity to review waste at the transfer station prior to loading it into the trucks. Non-conforming waste will have an increased opportunity to be discovered prior to disposal. Currently, we screen at the landfill 4 – 6 commercial trucks per operating day. We additionally randomly pull additional vehicles for inspections too. These activities will continue as we move into the transfer station operation.
We have not developed a better means of managing private dumpster to reduce illegal dumping. Owners of these units should label their units for private use and inform their residents to notify them if they witness improper use.
Please let me know if additional information is needed.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
The NLC conference
The time I spent in Charlotte this past Thursday - Saturday attending the National League of Cities' Congress of Cities was well worth it. I learned quite a few things that will hopefully help me do my job better, and I came home energized and challenged by several of the speakers.
The Friday morning session featured a panel moderated by broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff examining the topic of partnerships for disaster relief. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Charleston (SC) Mayor Joe Riley, NC Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety Bryan Beatty, and Deputy Director of Response (FEMA) Michael Lowder participated in the discussion. Most of the discussion focused on the preparation and relief efforts (or lack thereof) for Hurricanes Katrina and Hugo. It became evident that local, state and federal procedures are often inadequate to respond quickly, and coordination among the various levels is poor. There was a lot of the usual fingerpointing, but both Mayor Nagin and Mr. Lowder acknowledged there were things they each should have done differently. Mayor Riley repeatedly called for the military to step in and take over for a limited length of time in this disaster situations. Secretary Beatty noted that we have concentrate too much on preparing for terrorist attacks and not enough on "all hazards" situations. You can listen to this session by clicking on the 12/09/05 8:30AM General Session on the live webcast site.
Later that morning, I attended the workshop "Can Blogs Improve Your Constituent Communications?" along with 100+ other elected officials. You know that blogs are a really hot topic when NLC offers a session about them! After a quick "blogging 101" overview where it was noted there are over four million blogs out there, Mayor Bill Gentes of Round Lake, Illinois and Scott Neal, City Manager of Eden Prairie, Minnesota described their experiences and the benefits of blogging. During the "Q&A" portion of the session, persons with questions or comments were asked to identify themselves. There were a number of people, myself included, that went to the microphone and stated "I'm so-and-so from Anytown, USA and I'm a blogger too." This lead to a quip from someone in the audience who said "This sounds like a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous!" Other elected officials who blog include Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, DC, Mayor Tom Truex of Davie, Florida, and Mayor Jim Willey of Elburn, Illinois.
I enjoyed the Women in Municipal Government luncheon with Elizabeth Edwards as the speaker. This was one of her first public appearances after her successful battle with breast cancer, and she appeared to be strong and healthy. She shared the challenges she faced as a female attorney in the 1970's and urged attendees to open doors for the women who are following in our footsteps so our daughters will not have to fight the same battles.
The afternoon workshop was "Focused Strategies to Make CDBG Funds go Even Further." I did not learn much new in this session, but I was pleased to discover that Greensboro is already using the various techniques that were recommended.
Knowing the keen interest in Internet accessibility in Greensboro, I next attended the workshop "Should Your City Offer Broadband Services to the Public." The United States is #16 in the world when it comes to Internet access for citizens! Jane Smith Patterson of the North Carolina e-NC Authority noted that 83% of North Carolina has Internet availability NOT counting wireless access. Other states and cities are not as lucky and some are in the process of providing it where the private companies have not made it available. This utility is expensive to provide, and with the numerous private companies offering competitive service in Greensboro, it probably is not practical for us to pursue it.
The first session on Saturday morning featured Michael Abrashoff, former commander of the U.S.S. Benfold, and founder of Grassroots Leadership. Citing his experience in turning the U.S.S. Benfold from the worst ship in the US Navy into the best one, he offered tips on how to motivate one's staff to offer their best service to citizens. Commander Abrashoff wrote It's Your Ship that outlines his successful strategies that can be applied to other situations. His methods include:
Next I attended the workshop "This Land is Your Land. This Land is my Land" which addressed land use conflicts and strategies to deal with them. Topics included resistance/acceptance of affordable housing near existing neighborhoods and the proliferation of "big box" development and how to deal with it. There are no easy solutions to deal with these issues; recommendations included having plans in place BEFORE the situations arise and communicate, communicate, communicate.
The closing session was a special treat with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary providing entertainment and a heart-tugging message. After leading a nostalgic sing-along with Puff the Magic Dragon and Leaving on a Jet Plane, he shared a message of how the world needs to work to find common ground and for citizens to reconnect with each other. He shared how he came to become involved in the civil rights movement as he realized that "...with liberty and justice for all" did not apply to everyone in our nation at the time. (He said we're still not perfect on that one, but we're getting there.) Peter's latest endeavor is Operation Respect: Don't Laugh at Me that works with youth to foster understanding and respect instead of bullying and making fun of others. He urged us to focus on children and their needs as a way to make the world better.
In the business session, the policy agenda for the coming year was adopted and new officers were elected. I was tired so I skipped the evening's entertainment session with Charlotte's professional sports teams and The Four Tops and headed for home.
All in all, it was a good conference with useful information. I enjoyed networking with fellow elected officials from around the county - no matter the size of a community, we all face similar issues and situations. (And I've already received an email from The Blogging Mayor of Round Lake who says this blog is now on his favorites list.) No matter how long I have served, there's always new things to learn about this position and how to be more effective in it. This conference provided that opportunity.
The Friday morning session featured a panel moderated by broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff examining the topic of partnerships for disaster relief. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Charleston (SC) Mayor Joe Riley, NC Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety Bryan Beatty, and Deputy Director of Response (FEMA) Michael Lowder participated in the discussion. Most of the discussion focused on the preparation and relief efforts (or lack thereof) for Hurricanes Katrina and Hugo. It became evident that local, state and federal procedures are often inadequate to respond quickly, and coordination among the various levels is poor. There was a lot of the usual fingerpointing, but both Mayor Nagin and Mr. Lowder acknowledged there were things they each should have done differently. Mayor Riley repeatedly called for the military to step in and take over for a limited length of time in this disaster situations. Secretary Beatty noted that we have concentrate too much on preparing for terrorist attacks and not enough on "all hazards" situations. You can listen to this session by clicking on the 12/09/05 8:30AM General Session on the live webcast site.
Later that morning, I attended the workshop "Can Blogs Improve Your Constituent Communications?" along with 100+ other elected officials. You know that blogs are a really hot topic when NLC offers a session about them! After a quick "blogging 101" overview where it was noted there are over four million blogs out there, Mayor Bill Gentes of Round Lake, Illinois and Scott Neal, City Manager of Eden Prairie, Minnesota described their experiences and the benefits of blogging. During the "Q&A" portion of the session, persons with questions or comments were asked to identify themselves. There were a number of people, myself included, that went to the microphone and stated "I'm so-and-so from Anytown, USA and I'm a blogger too." This lead to a quip from someone in the audience who said "This sounds like a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous!" Other elected officials who blog include Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, DC, Mayor Tom Truex of Davie, Florida, and Mayor Jim Willey of Elburn, Illinois.
I enjoyed the Women in Municipal Government luncheon with Elizabeth Edwards as the speaker. This was one of her first public appearances after her successful battle with breast cancer, and she appeared to be strong and healthy. She shared the challenges she faced as a female attorney in the 1970's and urged attendees to open doors for the women who are following in our footsteps so our daughters will not have to fight the same battles.
The afternoon workshop was "Focused Strategies to Make CDBG Funds go Even Further." I did not learn much new in this session, but I was pleased to discover that Greensboro is already using the various techniques that were recommended.
Knowing the keen interest in Internet accessibility in Greensboro, I next attended the workshop "Should Your City Offer Broadband Services to the Public." The United States is #16 in the world when it comes to Internet access for citizens! Jane Smith Patterson of the North Carolina e-NC Authority noted that 83% of North Carolina has Internet availability NOT counting wireless access. Other states and cities are not as lucky and some are in the process of providing it where the private companies have not made it available. This utility is expensive to provide, and with the numerous private companies offering competitive service in Greensboro, it probably is not practical for us to pursue it.
The first session on Saturday morning featured Michael Abrashoff, former commander of the U.S.S. Benfold, and founder of Grassroots Leadership. Citing his experience in turning the U.S.S. Benfold from the worst ship in the US Navy into the best one, he offered tips on how to motivate one's staff to offer their best service to citizens. Commander Abrashoff wrote It's Your Ship that outlines his successful strategies that can be applied to other situations. His methods include:
* Stop complaining about those factors over which you have no control and focus on the things you CAN control.
* Every employee "owns the ship" and has a role to play in its success. No matter their rank, they should be empowered to do their jobs and their ideas listened to. Everyone is on the same team.
* Stop using rules and regulations as excuses - be creative.
* Be a good role model. Get out among the "rank and file" and don't stay holed up in your office all day.
Next I attended the workshop "This Land is Your Land. This Land is my Land" which addressed land use conflicts and strategies to deal with them. Topics included resistance/acceptance of affordable housing near existing neighborhoods and the proliferation of "big box" development and how to deal with it. There are no easy solutions to deal with these issues; recommendations included having plans in place BEFORE the situations arise and communicate, communicate, communicate.
The closing session was a special treat with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary providing entertainment and a heart-tugging message. After leading a nostalgic sing-along with Puff the Magic Dragon and Leaving on a Jet Plane, he shared a message of how the world needs to work to find common ground and for citizens to reconnect with each other. He shared how he came to become involved in the civil rights movement as he realized that "...with liberty and justice for all" did not apply to everyone in our nation at the time. (He said we're still not perfect on that one, but we're getting there.) Peter's latest endeavor is Operation Respect: Don't Laugh at Me that works with youth to foster understanding and respect instead of bullying and making fun of others. He urged us to focus on children and their needs as a way to make the world better.
In the business session, the policy agenda for the coming year was adopted and new officers were elected. I was tired so I skipped the evening's entertainment session with Charlotte's professional sports teams and The Four Tops and headed for home.
All in all, it was a good conference with useful information. I enjoyed networking with fellow elected officials from around the county - no matter the size of a community, we all face similar issues and situations. (And I've already received an email from The Blogging Mayor of Round Lake who says this blog is now on his favorites list.) No matter how long I have served, there's always new things to learn about this position and how to be more effective in it. This conference provided that opportunity.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Out of town
I will be out of town Thursday through late Saturday and unable to respond to your comments until I return. Be good!
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Heart of the Triad
Most of the people appointed by six local governments and four Chambers of Commerce to the steering committee for the Heart of the Triad project attended our Wednesday morning meeting to find out exactly what they will be expected to do. Members received a lot of background information about the concept and made several decisions about the committee itself.
Paul Norby, Forsyth County Planning Director, started off with a summary of how we got to this point. At a meeting at Kerner's Folly in April 2004, planners from the six jurisdictions were asked to scope out the current conditions and land uses. PART staff coordinated this effort that resulted in a series of maps depicting governmental jurisdictions, infrastucture currently in place, and land use plans for the area. The planners discovered that this area is "on the edge of everyone's radar screens" with no real plans or coordination, and if things continued in this mode, the area will likely develop with low density residential uses on large lots and some scattered warehouse-type businesses.
Once these preliminary findings were formally presented to the local governments, they agreed to work together in a regional planning effort to identify a plan that would enhance the region but not compete with individual county's and city's efforts within their own jurisdictions. PART was able to access $200,000 in state planning money, and the four Chambers of Commerce became the champions to raise the required $200,000 in matching local funds. This money is being used to fund a study conducted by HDR to examine the market place to see what "fits," develop a land use plan, identify the needed infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, etc.) and recommend a management structure to oversee it - all in the hopes of generating quality economic growth and jobs. The role of this steering committee is to guide and advise this study, be a cheerleader for the project, and present the final recommendations to the six local governments for their possible adoption and implementation.
David Jameson of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce noted that this gathering was "not just a meeting, but a moment in history" where the various jurisdictions were demonstrating "the power of working together." He cited a need for "transformational leadership" with people being willing to do things differently to create this "legacy project."
He then reported on the successful fundraising effort with the $200,000 raised in 30 days by asking six businesses and getting six "yeses," "the easiest sell in [his] career" due to the high support for this project. BB&T, Time-Warner, and Duke Power contributed $50,000 each with Piedmont Natural Gas, Wachovia, and the Piedmont Triad Partnership giving the rest. He requested that at least the top three contributors, and preferably all six, be granted membership on the steering committee. Later in the meeting, committee members voted to add one member each from the top three.
Brent McKinney, PART's executive director, gave an overview of the Triad region's growth and commuting patterns. Our current growth rate is 1.8% but that is expected to increase significantly. One problem identified in the planners' study was that of the road network in this Heart of the Triad - there are plenty of roads "to" the area, but few roads for internal circulation "in" the area.
David Tayor from HDR discussed the study process and timeline. It will be an intense effort with a lot of public input including numerous hearings and a 5.5-day planning charette. He noted that guiding principles would be "place making," complementary not competitive, and maximize investment. Information and progress will be posted on the PART website.
Brent McKinney then outlined the expectation for the committee - to provide general oversight of the planning process. It was noted that the committee has no bylaws, no money, and no power to do anything. A plan will be recommended to the six local governments, and it will have to be acceptable to ALL of them in order for the project to move forward. A technical committee composed of planners and transportation professionals will advise on technical aspects of the study.
After all that education and "getting up to speed," it was finally time to make some decisions about the committee itself. It was agreed to add three members representing the top contributors in the fundraising effort, a member from the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, a member of the Forsyth County Utilities Commission, and a member from the High Point Furniture Market Authority. A request from a resident of the nearby area to have at least two residents on this committee was rejected by committee members, with the reasoning being that the elected officials serving on this committee already represent those interests.
Due to my position as chairman of the PART Board of Trustees, I had been serving as the "default" presider at Heart of the Triad meetings up to this point. It was decided to appoint co-chairs, one from Forsyth and one from Guilford. Former Greensboro City Councilmember Robbie Perkins and Kernersville Chamber of Commerce representative Arnold King were elected to those positions. There was quite a bit of discussion about both men being in the real estate development business, but both assured the group they had no holdings in the area or conflicts of interest. Since the final decision-making power rests with the local governments, not this committee, members decided this should not be a problem and it would be a plus to have persons who are so familiar with land development process chairing the effort.
The committee will start out meeting monthly and will meet more often if and when the need arises. It is going to be an intense process that could eventually shape the future of this 7500 acres of land in the Heart of the Triad.
Paul Norby, Forsyth County Planning Director, started off with a summary of how we got to this point. At a meeting at Kerner's Folly in April 2004, planners from the six jurisdictions were asked to scope out the current conditions and land uses. PART staff coordinated this effort that resulted in a series of maps depicting governmental jurisdictions, infrastucture currently in place, and land use plans for the area. The planners discovered that this area is "on the edge of everyone's radar screens" with no real plans or coordination, and if things continued in this mode, the area will likely develop with low density residential uses on large lots and some scattered warehouse-type businesses.
Once these preliminary findings were formally presented to the local governments, they agreed to work together in a regional planning effort to identify a plan that would enhance the region but not compete with individual county's and city's efforts within their own jurisdictions. PART was able to access $200,000 in state planning money, and the four Chambers of Commerce became the champions to raise the required $200,000 in matching local funds. This money is being used to fund a study conducted by HDR to examine the market place to see what "fits," develop a land use plan, identify the needed infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, etc.) and recommend a management structure to oversee it - all in the hopes of generating quality economic growth and jobs. The role of this steering committee is to guide and advise this study, be a cheerleader for the project, and present the final recommendations to the six local governments for their possible adoption and implementation.
David Jameson of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce noted that this gathering was "not just a meeting, but a moment in history" where the various jurisdictions were demonstrating "the power of working together." He cited a need for "transformational leadership" with people being willing to do things differently to create this "legacy project."
He then reported on the successful fundraising effort with the $200,000 raised in 30 days by asking six businesses and getting six "yeses," "the easiest sell in [his] career" due to the high support for this project. BB&T, Time-Warner, and Duke Power contributed $50,000 each with Piedmont Natural Gas, Wachovia, and the Piedmont Triad Partnership giving the rest. He requested that at least the top three contributors, and preferably all six, be granted membership on the steering committee. Later in the meeting, committee members voted to add one member each from the top three.
Brent McKinney, PART's executive director, gave an overview of the Triad region's growth and commuting patterns. Our current growth rate is 1.8% but that is expected to increase significantly. One problem identified in the planners' study was that of the road network in this Heart of the Triad - there are plenty of roads "to" the area, but few roads for internal circulation "in" the area.
David Tayor from HDR discussed the study process and timeline. It will be an intense effort with a lot of public input including numerous hearings and a 5.5-day planning charette. He noted that guiding principles would be "place making," complementary not competitive, and maximize investment. Information and progress will be posted on the PART website.
Brent McKinney then outlined the expectation for the committee - to provide general oversight of the planning process. It was noted that the committee has no bylaws, no money, and no power to do anything. A plan will be recommended to the six local governments, and it will have to be acceptable to ALL of them in order for the project to move forward. A technical committee composed of planners and transportation professionals will advise on technical aspects of the study.
After all that education and "getting up to speed," it was finally time to make some decisions about the committee itself. It was agreed to add three members representing the top contributors in the fundraising effort, a member from the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, a member of the Forsyth County Utilities Commission, and a member from the High Point Furniture Market Authority. A request from a resident of the nearby area to have at least two residents on this committee was rejected by committee members, with the reasoning being that the elected officials serving on this committee already represent those interests.
Due to my position as chairman of the PART Board of Trustees, I had been serving as the "default" presider at Heart of the Triad meetings up to this point. It was decided to appoint co-chairs, one from Forsyth and one from Guilford. Former Greensboro City Councilmember Robbie Perkins and Kernersville Chamber of Commerce representative Arnold King were elected to those positions. There was quite a bit of discussion about both men being in the real estate development business, but both assured the group they had no holdings in the area or conflicts of interest. Since the final decision-making power rests with the local governments, not this committee, members decided this should not be a problem and it would be a plus to have persons who are so familiar with land development process chairing the effort.
The committee will start out meeting monthly and will meet more often if and when the need arises. It is going to be an intense process that could eventually shape the future of this 7500 acres of land in the Heart of the Triad.
Police appreciation goodies
Highland Park Community Watch leaders Barbara Gray and Julie Schindler joined other members of the citizens advisory committee for the Western Division police substation in providing a DELICIOUS holiday "thank you" this evening to the hardworking police officers based there. They will repeat this event tomorrow evening to serve those officers who were not on duty tonight and missed out on the goodies.
My husband and I were invited to the festivities and had a great time talking with police officers and neighborhood folks. Two of the advisory committee members there gave me a real "blast from the past" - the husband-and-wife duo of Bob and Levinia (King) Kollar taught at Southeast Guilford High School the same time I attended that school a L-O-N-G time ago. Miss King was one of my English teachers, and I thanked her for teaching me so well. We spent a lot of time reminiscing and asking "Do you remember...?" I don't think they revealed too many of my high school exploits to my husband (thank heaven!).
It was a fun evening and a great way for the community to thank those men and women who put their lives on the line for Greensboro citizens everyday. Kudos to both the officers and the volunteers who are really making the concept of "community policing" come alive.
My husband and I were invited to the festivities and had a great time talking with police officers and neighborhood folks. Two of the advisory committee members there gave me a real "blast from the past" - the husband-and-wife duo of Bob and Levinia (King) Kollar taught at Southeast Guilford High School the same time I attended that school a L-O-N-G time ago. Miss King was one of my English teachers, and I thanked her for teaching me so well. We spent a lot of time reminiscing and asking "Do you remember...?" I don't think they revealed too many of my high school exploits to my husband (thank heaven!).
It was a fun evening and a great way for the community to thank those men and women who put their lives on the line for Greensboro citizens everyday. Kudos to both the officers and the volunteers who are really making the concept of "community policing" come alive.
Monday, December 05, 2005
December coliseum report
The War Memorial Commission which advises on the operations of the Greensboro Coliseum met on Thursday, December 1 with chairman Kevin Green presiding. Various members of the staff gave updates and reports on a variety of topics.
Jay Kudla, General Manager of Centerplate that operates all the concessions and catering activity, reported $150,000 in gross sales in the Special Events Center in November, a $40,000 increase over November 2004. This was driven by significant growth in sales of Dippin' Dots at the Holiday Market and Hershey's hand-dipped ice cream and holiday goodies offered at The Craftsmen Classic. Catering revenue accounted for $17,000 this month.
Jerome Fletcher presented the financial statement ending October 31 that indicated a great month. (I have rounded off the figures that follow.)
* The various A&T Homecoming events held at the coliseum resulted in $90,000 in event income.
* The adjusted gross revenue was $467,987 which is $91,000+ better than projected in the budget.
* Total indirect expenses came in at $466,946, which is $91,000+ better than budgeted due to measures to control maintenance and operations expenses.
* These figures resulted in an operating loss of "only" $2,611 which is a full $190,000 better than the budget for the month of October.
* For the four months ending on October 31, the operating loss is $632,556 LESS than budgeted for the year.
Scott Johnson reported on numerous booking and maintenance activities. He noted that -
* Over 2,000 of the $125 tickets to the Aerosmith concert were sold during Internet pre-sale activity and expect that concert to do quite well.
* Ticket sales to the Disney on Ice event are up 55% from previous years.
* Attendance at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert was double that of last year.
* There are only 2800 tickets remaining to be sold for the NCAA first and second round basketball tournament in March; the site visit from NCAA officials went very well.
* The new basketball court is being installed, and preparations are being made for the February woodworking show, one of the most profitable annual events in the Special Events Center.
* The Professional Bull Riders event has shifted from its original February 2006 date to September 2006. This will result in the $90-100,000 in anticipated revenues being shifted into the next budget year.
Matt Brown reported that he is hopeful the coliseum will hit the revenue point in the contract with Centerplate that will put them into the 60% earnings bracket, resulting in a potential windfall for the budget. With or without that boost, the coliseum is currently on target to meet its 2005-06 budget projections.
He is particularly excited about the energy plan that is being developed by consultants. A detailed study will be made of potential energy savings, and those savings will be used to finance up to $2 million in improvements. If the measures implemented by the selected consulting firm fail to realize those savings, that firm has to make up the difference. If this project works out well for the coliseum, there is interest in applying it to other city facilities to conserve energy and save money.
Final negotiations are underway to have an arena football team in the coliseum this spring, and an official announcement should be made shortly about that. Staff is still working on securing a hockey team and should have a definite answer after the hockey league meetings in January. They are also in the midst of preparing bids to host future NCAA tournament events.
The smoking/no smoking issue in the arena building still has not been resolved. The potential sponsor for an external smoking deck declined to participate, and fire code requirements for installation of sprinklers have made it too expensive for the coliseum to finance. Matt is now considering placing a canopy or tent in an adjacent, external area to accommodate smokers once staff figures out how to control reentry into the coliseum without non-ticketholders sneaking in. It is anticipated that the city council will be asked to act on the city ordinance controlling smoking in the coliseum sometime in January.
Commission members were invited to attend the annual staff Christmas luncheon that Centerplate will provide free of charge. This will allow members of staff to make a Christmas donation to the Greensboro Urban Ministry by bringing canned goods or clothing items instead of providing the usual covered-dish fare.
Jay Kudla, General Manager of Centerplate that operates all the concessions and catering activity, reported $150,000 in gross sales in the Special Events Center in November, a $40,000 increase over November 2004. This was driven by significant growth in sales of Dippin' Dots at the Holiday Market and Hershey's hand-dipped ice cream and holiday goodies offered at The Craftsmen Classic. Catering revenue accounted for $17,000 this month.
Jerome Fletcher presented the financial statement ending October 31 that indicated a great month. (I have rounded off the figures that follow.)
* The various A&T Homecoming events held at the coliseum resulted in $90,000 in event income.
* The adjusted gross revenue was $467,987 which is $91,000+ better than projected in the budget.
* Total indirect expenses came in at $466,946, which is $91,000+ better than budgeted due to measures to control maintenance and operations expenses.
* These figures resulted in an operating loss of "only" $2,611 which is a full $190,000 better than the budget for the month of October.
* For the four months ending on October 31, the operating loss is $632,556 LESS than budgeted for the year.
Scott Johnson reported on numerous booking and maintenance activities. He noted that -
* Over 2,000 of the $125 tickets to the Aerosmith concert were sold during Internet pre-sale activity and expect that concert to do quite well.
* Ticket sales to the Disney on Ice event are up 55% from previous years.
* Attendance at the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert was double that of last year.
* There are only 2800 tickets remaining to be sold for the NCAA first and second round basketball tournament in March; the site visit from NCAA officials went very well.
* The new basketball court is being installed, and preparations are being made for the February woodworking show, one of the most profitable annual events in the Special Events Center.
* The Professional Bull Riders event has shifted from its original February 2006 date to September 2006. This will result in the $90-100,000 in anticipated revenues being shifted into the next budget year.
Matt Brown reported that he is hopeful the coliseum will hit the revenue point in the contract with Centerplate that will put them into the 60% earnings bracket, resulting in a potential windfall for the budget. With or without that boost, the coliseum is currently on target to meet its 2005-06 budget projections.
He is particularly excited about the energy plan that is being developed by consultants. A detailed study will be made of potential energy savings, and those savings will be used to finance up to $2 million in improvements. If the measures implemented by the selected consulting firm fail to realize those savings, that firm has to make up the difference. If this project works out well for the coliseum, there is interest in applying it to other city facilities to conserve energy and save money.
Final negotiations are underway to have an arena football team in the coliseum this spring, and an official announcement should be made shortly about that. Staff is still working on securing a hockey team and should have a definite answer after the hockey league meetings in January. They are also in the midst of preparing bids to host future NCAA tournament events.
The smoking/no smoking issue in the arena building still has not been resolved. The potential sponsor for an external smoking deck declined to participate, and fire code requirements for installation of sprinklers have made it too expensive for the coliseum to finance. Matt is now considering placing a canopy or tent in an adjacent, external area to accommodate smokers once staff figures out how to control reentry into the coliseum without non-ticketholders sneaking in. It is anticipated that the city council will be asked to act on the city ordinance controlling smoking in the coliseum sometime in January.
Commission members were invited to attend the annual staff Christmas luncheon that Centerplate will provide free of charge. This will allow members of staff to make a Christmas donation to the Greensboro Urban Ministry by bringing canned goods or clothing items instead of providing the usual covered-dish fare.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
A new schedule and new beginning
This week will be an intense one where "official duties" will take up most of the time.
Thankfully, the Triad Early Action Compact meeting originally scheduled for Monday afternoon has been cancelled for lack of business. Local governments have been steadily implementing the various recommendations developed by the EAC, and there is little to do at this point but monitor the progress being made.
The city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 6 will actually be two meetings. The "old" council will convene at 5:30PM in a regular session with no business on the agenda except for special recognition for retiring members of the council (Claudette Burroughs-White, Robbie Perkins and Don Vaughan) and their parting comments. I've enjoyed working with these folks for over the years so it will be bittersweet to bid them "farewell."
This meeting will adjourn with the "Organizational Meeting" beginning immediately afterwards with the "new" council seated. Everyone will be sworn in, including the new members of the council (Sandra Anderson, Mike Barber and Goldie Wells) . Next, the Mayor Pro Tempore will be elected, and I anticipate a unanimous vote for Sandra Anderson, the at-large member receiving the most votes in the November 8 general election. The 2006 council meeting and briefing session schedule will be adopted, and each member will have an opportunity to introduce family and friends. That's it - no long zoning cases this night! A reception outside the council chambers will follow this meeting.
The first meeting of the official Heart of the Triad steering committee will convene in the PART office at 8:30AM on Wednesday, December 7. This committee will guide the study of this project being conducted by consultants over the next six months. Items of discussion will include committee membership (should there be additional members?), election of a chairperson, overview of the Triad Study, challenges of the study, and status of project funding.
Members of the committee were appointed by participating local governments and the Chambers of Commerce. They include
* Forsyth County: Richard Linville, Gloria Whisenhunt
* Greensboro: Sandy Carmany, Robbie Perkins
* Guilford County: Bruce Davis, Carolyn Coleman
* High Point: John Faircloth, George Holbrook (Planning Board
member)
* Kernersville: Phyllis Mendel (Planning Board chair), Curtis
Swisher
* Winston-Salem: Greg Turner (assistant city manager), Jocelyn
Johnson
* Chambers of Commerce: Carole Bruce (Greensboro), Leah Price
(High Point), Arnold King (Kernersville), Gordon Sheeran
(Winston-Salem), and
* NC Board of Transportation: Nancy Dunn, Doug Galyon, Andrew Perkins.
Later that evening, my husband and I will be participating in a Christmas/holiday appreciation dinner sponsored by members of the community advisory group for the police officers in the Western Division substation on Swing Road . These citizens use this dinner as an opportunity to express their appreciation to the officers for all their hard work.
I will begin Thursday, December 8 in Raleigh attending a Charter Schools Advisory Committee meeting at 11AM.
After I leave Raleigh, I'll stop by home long enough to grab my packed suitcase and head off to Charlotte for the rest of the week. I'll be attending the Congress of Cities of the National League of Cities (that's CHARLOTTE, NC- not Hawaii). This will be the first League annual conference I have attended because it's always held in December, a tough time to be away from home. But with the available learning opportunities and the fact it is within driving distance, I decided to attend this year. So, no Christmas shopping will get done this week, and my poor husband will be left to fend for himself.
Thankfully, the Triad Early Action Compact meeting originally scheduled for Monday afternoon has been cancelled for lack of business. Local governments have been steadily implementing the various recommendations developed by the EAC, and there is little to do at this point but monitor the progress being made.
The city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 6 will actually be two meetings. The "old" council will convene at 5:30PM in a regular session with no business on the agenda except for special recognition for retiring members of the council (Claudette Burroughs-White, Robbie Perkins and Don Vaughan) and their parting comments. I've enjoyed working with these folks for over the years so it will be bittersweet to bid them "farewell."
This meeting will adjourn with the "Organizational Meeting" beginning immediately afterwards with the "new" council seated. Everyone will be sworn in, including the new members of the council (Sandra Anderson, Mike Barber and Goldie Wells) . Next, the Mayor Pro Tempore will be elected, and I anticipate a unanimous vote for Sandra Anderson, the at-large member receiving the most votes in the November 8 general election. The 2006 council meeting and briefing session schedule will be adopted, and each member will have an opportunity to introduce family and friends. That's it - no long zoning cases this night! A reception outside the council chambers will follow this meeting.
The first meeting of the official Heart of the Triad steering committee will convene in the PART office at 8:30AM on Wednesday, December 7. This committee will guide the study of this project being conducted by consultants over the next six months. Items of discussion will include committee membership (should there be additional members?), election of a chairperson, overview of the Triad Study, challenges of the study, and status of project funding.
Members of the committee were appointed by participating local governments and the Chambers of Commerce. They include
* Forsyth County: Richard Linville, Gloria Whisenhunt
* Greensboro: Sandy Carmany, Robbie Perkins
* Guilford County: Bruce Davis, Carolyn Coleman
* High Point: John Faircloth, George Holbrook (Planning Board
member)
* Kernersville: Phyllis Mendel (Planning Board chair), Curtis
Swisher
* Winston-Salem: Greg Turner (assistant city manager), Jocelyn
Johnson
* Chambers of Commerce: Carole Bruce (Greensboro), Leah Price
(High Point), Arnold King (Kernersville), Gordon Sheeran
(Winston-Salem), and
* NC Board of Transportation: Nancy Dunn, Doug Galyon, Andrew Perkins.
Later that evening, my husband and I will be participating in a Christmas/holiday appreciation dinner sponsored by members of the community advisory group for the police officers in the Western Division substation on Swing Road . These citizens use this dinner as an opportunity to express their appreciation to the officers for all their hard work.
I will begin Thursday, December 8 in Raleigh attending a Charter Schools Advisory Committee meeting at 11AM.
After I leave Raleigh, I'll stop by home long enough to grab my packed suitcase and head off to Charlotte for the rest of the week. I'll be attending the Congress of Cities of the National League of Cities (that's CHARLOTTE, NC- not Hawaii). This will be the first League annual conference I have attended because it's always held in December, a tough time to be away from home. But with the available learning opportunities and the fact it is within driving distance, I decided to attend this year. So, no Christmas shopping will get done this week, and my poor husband will be left to fend for himself.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Virus battles
Sorry for my absence for the last couple of days, but somehow, someway - despite all the protection programs on my computer - the Trojan.Vundo virus infected my computer. Hoping not to spread the "infection," I tried to stay off the Internet as much as possible until I could get rid of the darn thing. None of the Norton/Symantec programs could get rid of it, and there was an awful lot of "fussin' and cussin' " going on in the Carmany household as one technique after another failed.
Then the light bulb came on, and I called Sue who in turn called Ben. Problem solved! After patiently spending a good part of the afternoon on the phone with me walking me through various options, Ben found the Atribune.org site where a download with the right solution was just what the doctor ordered. I had to get a bit "creative" in following the directions, but I finally hit the right combination and the virus is GONE.
Thanks, Ben and Sue! You are great bloggers, but even greater virus problem-solvers! I owe both of you big time!
Then the light bulb came on, and I called Sue who in turn called Ben. Problem solved! After patiently spending a good part of the afternoon on the phone with me walking me through various options, Ben found the Atribune.org site where a download with the right solution was just what the doctor ordered. I had to get a bit "creative" in following the directions, but I finally hit the right combination and the virus is GONE.
Thanks, Ben and Sue! You are great bloggers, but even greater virus problem-solvers! I owe both of you big time!
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