Citizen Will

Tag: chapel hill

  • Our Next Police Chief

    [UPDATE:] I blew it! As Fred Black reminded me, the Chief is selected by the Town Manager. While the Council can talk about the parameters and criteria of selection, the choice is Roger Stancil’s. Just got home from tonight’s Council meeting. The meeting ended with a closed session to consider personnel matters so they shooed […]

  • Farewell Chief!

    I rushed back from Asheville this evening and missed the announcement (WCHL1360 and Daily Tar Heel) that Chief Brian Curran is resigning effective Nov. 30th. I posted Sept. 24, 2007 when Brian was appointed. I’ve had an opportunity to meet Brian in a few different venues these last few months and my initial impression that […]

  • Parks Impact Fee: How Many (More) Goodies Do High Density Developers Need?

    I spoke before Council this evening on the proposed changes to Section 5.5 (Recreation) of the Town’s Land Use Management Ordinances (LUMO). The changes, which were discussed over a decade ago, approved by the NC Legislature July 10, 2008, essentially amount to an impact fee paid by developers to support parks and recreation. To quote, […]

  • Well Done Rogers Road Coalition!

    Some welcome news on the Rogers Road front. The Rogers-Eubank Neighborhood Association has been awarded a Federal EPA Environmental Justice grant to help address some of the long term environmental issues that neighborhood has faced as a consequence of taking on our trash disposal burden. Recipient: Roger-Eubanks Neighborhood Association Project Name: PITCH (Partnerships in Transforming […]

  • Coming Events: Summer Slumber? Not!

    Summer in Chapel Hill can be somewhat slow as far as community initiatives. Council is on hiatus. UNC downshifts. Most folks have their hands full dealing with the heat, their jobs, kids home from school, vacations. Summer, though, is not always a time for sluggish vigilance. For instance, I learned many years ago UNC’s favored […]

  • IFC Community House: Balanced Social Services?

    One of the common criticisms of the Inter-Faith Council’s (IFC) proposed Community House site is that the Homestead area of Chapel Hill already hosts more than it’s fair (“a four letter word for responsible growth”) share of social services. Is that the case? The IFC and UNC’s School of Social Work put together this map […]

  • A Bit Older, Less Grayer

    I ended up talking about the troubling aspects of both East54 and the Lot $5 with a native Chapel Hillian after a recent community meeting. While introducing myself they exclaimed “you’re Will Raymond? I saw you speak several years ago about the Town’s Downtown project” but, they went on, I “looked different”, even younger than […]

  • A Special Request For A Special Cause

    Elaine and Lee are my next door neighbors. I’m usually hesitant to participate in these corporate campaigns but….the need is there and Elaine and Lee are working hard to address the growing demand for recreational opportunities for special needs folks in this community. That was enough to get me beyond my initial trepidation. Please consider […]

  • 140West: RAM Development’s Money Tree, Chapel Hill Taxpayers Moneypit

    Local commentator and involved citizen Fred Black invited me to do a WCHL1360 Who’s Talking segment last week. It airs this evening (Tues. Aug. 3rd, 2010) at 6PM. While the subject was supposed to be the Lot #5/140 West project, which is slated to finally get started later this month, Fred used this opportunity to […]

  • Great SCoTS

    Chapel Hill’s Locally Grown Summer series kicks off this Thursday with a concert by Southern Culture on the Skids. I remember when SCoTS first formed (they were friends of friends) in 1983 (wow, that feels like a zillion years ago!). The Parks & Rec Locally Grown series features music and movies throughout the Summer and […]

  • 2010 Final Spring Meeting Chapel Hill Council

    Over the year’s I’ve seen some rather jam packed final spring term Council meetings. This one was about average in length, light on content but big in setting the stage for two broad initiatives – siting an emergency shelter and legally mandating affordable housing – to move forward. I left prior to Council’s revisiting Laurin […]

  • Downtown Development Framework: Compact, Connected, Anchored and Green

    Chapel Hill 2030? A quick update on yesterday’s report (“Radical Shift In Vision For Downtown”) about the Downtown Development Framework and Action Plan charrette. First, the Downtown Partnership has posted the DRAFT Downtown Development Framework Presentation here [PDF:14M]. The Town’s webserver had a little trouble downloading it so I’ve also put a copy here. The […]

  • Radical Shift in Vision For Downtown

    Just got back from another presentation/planning charrette covering the Town’s new Downtown Development Action Plan and Framework. The plan, created with input from UNC, the Downtown Partnership, Downtown businesses and local citizens, is supposed to look at economic, cultural and social development opportunities over the next 5 to 8 years and layout a fairly structured […]

  • May 4th, 2010 Primary: On Your Marks, Get Ready…

    Been awhile, November 2006, since I scrambled around trying to cover all the precincts in Carrboro/Chapel Hill. Visited all 29 precincts, placed 45 new signs for Sheriff Candidate Clarence Birkhead, repositioned another 40+ so that most folks will have to pass at least 3 signs before voting. Started about 5pm in a light drizzle punctuated […]

  • Clarence Birkhead, A Sheriff for the Future

    I have been asked by a few folks who I’ll be voting for this primary season. In the most contested race, at-large County commissioner, the three candidates have unique strengths, each of which appeals to some facet of my concern for where the County is going, each of which makes the decision a bit tough. […]