Citizen Will

Category: Government

  • WCHL Commentary: Library Expansion Next Year or Lot #5 Project, Not Both

    Ron Stutts and WCHL 1360 invited me to do a commentary on a Chapel Hill issue. I chose to speak out on the fiscally imprudent idea that we can “have our cake and eat it too”. Run this and the following four year’s budget numbers, look at anticipated impacts – funding Town retirees’ health-care, fixing […]

  • Library or Lot #5?

    Here is what I meant to say at this evening’s Council meeting. Like a lot of my remarks, I find myself editing on the fly, so what I managed to get out in less than 3 minutes wasn’t quite what follows but I believe I made the points I needed. The simple summary? We can’t […]

  • Applicants 2009 Chapel Hill Council Vacancy

    Here’s each of the interested applicants for the current Council vacancy. That vacancy will be discussed and probably filled at tonight’s special Council meeting. Over the last 8 years I’ve served this community mainly as a citizen activist and volunteer. Over the last 4 years I ran 3 times for Council in order to serve […]

  • Unfunded Liabilities: Pay As You Go Not Sustainable

    Following up on last night’s post Unfunded Liabilities, the presentation finance head Ken Pennoyer made is here [MS Powerpoint]. This graph isn’t only a call-to-arms for Chapel Hill but is reflective of why health care reform is critically needed NOW. If the Town decides to change its plan in response to the OPEB criteria, the […]

  • NRG Chapel Hill’s Mayor Candidate Forum

    Thanks to Madeline Jefferson, Bob Henshaw, Julie McClintock, Janet Smith, Alan Snavely, Mickey Jo Sorrel and the rest of the membership of Neighborhoods For Responsible Growth (NRG) for both sponsoring the recent Chapel Hill Mayor candidate forum and making the following video available to the wider community. While Julie did a great job of moving […]

  • Engage Now in the NC54 Planning Process

    Given the time of year and Durham’s recent problems in protecting the Lake Jordan watershed, the fiscal impact of mitigating damage which might well be shared by Chapel Hill’s taxpayers, I was tempted to title this post “Trick or Treat on NC54?” Even if the “development process is broken in Durham”, as LaDawnna Summers, who […]

  • IFC Men’s Shelter: Not Until Questions Have Been Answered

    According to today’s Chapel Hill News (IFC may delay new shelter), the Inter-Faith Council is looking at a delay while the questions raised by local residents over the last few weeks are resolved. Inter-Faith Council director Chris Moran said the agency may delay its development permit application amid neighbors’ opposition to a new men’s homeless […]

  • Rev. Robert Campbell’s Letter

    I first met Rev. Robert Campbell, an incredibly dedicated advocate for the Rogers/Millhouse community, over 8 years ago. At the time I was attending one of my first Council meetings. Fred Battle, Robert Campbell, Yonni ChapmanYonni’s Picassa, Aug. 28th, 2009, Peace and Justice Commemoration Fred Battle, then President of the local NAACP (and member of […]

  • Sorting Out the Facts: Scope of Street Crime Occuring Downtown and Near Homestead Road

    Beginning to get some of the crime statistics I requested 11 days ago. I had asked for crime statistics going back 1 year covering Parkside, Northwoods, Vineyard (Weaver Dairy Ext.) and other neighborhoods around the proposed Homestead Rd. IFC men’s shelter. Unfortunately, since I’m not a Council member (as yet) but only a citizen, a […]

  • Q&A IFC Community House

    There are a lot of questions about the IFC’s plans to site the new men’s homeless shelter on Homestead Road. As a candidate for Town Council, I have been reading concerned citizens emails and letters – almost 100 or so – on this project. Executive Chris Moran has prepared the following Q & A based […]

  • Trash Talk: Council Confusion

    Council seemed somewhat confused in making the decision to take the Rogers Rd./Millhouse community off the table as far as the new County transfer site. Details on the site selection criteria and an analysis of anticipated municipal fiscal impacts have been available since Spring here. The community-based, technical and exclusionary criteria were well established prior […]

  • Trash Talk: Plan B and Option D?

    September 1st, the Orange County Board of Commissioners will once again review the progress of siting a new trash transfer site within the county (agenda here [PDF]). The good news is that the “Plan B” option I pushed for in 2008 (here and here), utilizing Durham’s transfer site until Orange County sorts the site selection […]

  • Will Raymond for Town Council 2009

    A big thank you to all the folks who contacted and encouraged me to run. Below is my formal announcement, more posts to follow: Will Raymond Announces Run for Chapel Hill Town Council 2009 Chapel Hill, NC – July 17th, 2009 I am taking the next step in my eight year continuum of public service […]

  • Carolina North: Where is the Development Agreement?

    As some of you folks know I’ve been involved – as a citizen – fairly deeply in the attempt to create a successful agreement between UNC and the Town managing growth of the massive Carolina North project. The Carolina North project could either contribute greatly to or severely diminish the quality of life in Chapel […]

  • A Stream of Concerned Taxpayers

    Made a quick trip to Hillsborough to submit my application for an informal review of my tax revaluation (we took a %35 whack , $327,697 to $442,912 or an $115K increase!). I definitely wasn’t the only concerned citizen. A crowd of folks were milling about the assessor’s front desk when I entered at 4:30. From […]