Public Meeting Notice: Senior Centers

The 3rd and final public meeting for Raleigh’s Senior Centers will be held 

Tuesday, July 28, 2009, at 3:00 pm 

at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, located at 2209 Fairview Road.  

For more information call 919-996-4784 or parkplan@ci.raleigh.nc.us

Designs for the Whitaker Mill Center and Millbrook Exchange Center will be presented.  

More information on the Raleigh Parks & Greenway Planning & Development Process.

City Council Agenda 7/21/09

Full text of City Council agenda.

• Pilot Residential Fats Oils & Grease Collection Program - The City Manager is asking the Council to approve a pilot program similar to Town of Cary's Residential Curbside Grease Collection Program. After a period of public education from Raleigh's Public Affairs Department, a trial program of curbside yellow grease collection will determine the feasibility of officially adopting this program. City's Fats Oils and Grease (FOG) program staff and the Solid Waste Services Department, which will implement this program, have determined the cost to be about $8500. Triangle Biofuels Industries will provide containers for storage and will accept the cooking oil for processing into biofuel. They will reimburse the City $0.25 per galloon, with an estimated maximum of 17000 gallons to be collected from the 100,000+ Raleigh Solid Waste Services accounts. Currently Raleigh spends lots of time and resources dealing with sewer overflows resulting from grease being inappropriately deposited down residential and commercial drains. Even though there is a City ordinance requiring commercial grease traps, there are far more residential opportunities for grease to get into the system. Therefore a curbside grease collection program could help Raleigh save resources which are currently taken up by cleaning up grease in the sewers.
• Parks & Rec staff will report on the status of the Senior Centers at Whittaker Mill Rd. and Millbrook Exchange park. This project has been a cooperative effort between Wake County government, Resources for Seniors and Meals on Wheels in order to maximize local expertise and service collaboration. The third and final public meetings for input will be this Tuesday July 28 at Hayes Barton Methodist on Fairview Rd. The project is expected to go out for bid in 2010 and construction to be completed by early 2011.

Joint Public Hearing Tonight with the Planning Commission 6:30pm

• Widening & Realignment of Falls of Neuse Rd. from Raven Ridge Rd to Fonville Rd. Summary of Phase II design modifications.

Parks & Rec Month

July is Parks & Recreation Month in Raleigh!

The Parks & Rec Department compiled this extensive list of ways to enjoy and explore Raleigh's parks throughout the month of July. Click the image to download a copy.

It is no surprise that our Parks & Rec Department was nominated for a Gold Medal Award from the National Recreation & Parks Association.  Raleigh Parks & Rec is 1 of 4 national finalists for cities with over 250,000 people.  We owe this recognition to our excellent staff, quality facilities, diversity of programs for all ages, natural and green spaces as well as consistent City funding.

Goodnight Raleigh did an excellent job of highlighting some of the great parks, buildings, and recreational resources available in Raleigh. Their unique approach to capturing the city by night is really spectacular!

In North Raleigh we have excellent access to a variety of parks including tennis courts, public pools, senior centers, arts programs and nature preserves.

• District A Parks Publication 
• Williams Park - next to Lynn Road Elementary, 10 acres, tennis courts 
  
• Millbrook Exchange Park - 23 lit tennis courts, off-leash dog park, senior center
  
• Baileywick Park at Lake Lynn Community Center - sports, seniors, family programs 
  
• Shelly Lake - 2 miles of trails around a 53 acres lake, open fields, boat rental, fishing
  
• Sertoma Arts Center 
• Optimist Pool - year round lap swim, diving, wading pool 
  
• Durant Nature Park
  
• Annie Louise Wilkerson, MD Nature Preserve  
  
• Strickland Road Park  
• All Children's Playground at Laurel Hills Park 
• Greenway Trails  
• Rental Facilities 
• Opportunities for kids around the city

Serena's Song July 12-14

Serena’s Song, the world’s first wheelchair-accessible hot air balloon, will return to Raleigh on July 12-14 to offer free rides to individuals with disabilities at Spring Forest Road Park, located at 4203 Spring Forest Road, just east of Capital Boulevard. Weather permitting, rides will be given all three days from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

 

Rides will be provided on a first-come first-serve basis, with a priority given to children who use wheelchairs or have mobility impairments.  Each day, the first 15 participants will receive a free Capital Area Transit (CAT) bag. This year, a clown will be on hand to entertain families waiting to ride.

 

CAT is sponsoring the visit by Serena’s Song. CAT’s parent company, Veolia Transportation, has been a Serena’s Song’s national sponsor since 2001. “Veolia Transportation has helped us continue to bring joy everywhere we go,” said Gary Waldman, father of 25-year-old Serena and the balloon’s owner. “I started flying Serena’s Song after taking my daughter on a balloon ride when she was 2 years old.”

 

Up to that point Serena, who had severe brain damage and cerebral palsy from birth, had not uttered a word. She lived virtually without any sign of emotion until she rode in a hot air balloon with her father. “Serena squealed with delight and laughter. That was the first emotion she ever displayed,” Mr. Waldman said. “I knew then that I would devote my life to giving children like Serena a chance to experience that same joy.” 

 

Scott McClellan, Veolia Transportation General Manager of CAT, was the driving force behind bringing Serena’s Song to Raleigh.  “We wanted to bring Serena’s Song to our community after hearing many stories describing the priceless smiles the balloon’s experience has put on children’s faces at other Veolia Transportation-operated transit systems” said Mr. McClellan.

Until Veolia Transportation stepped in as the sponsor for Serena’s Song, financial problems and an aging van and trailer threatened to force Mr. Waldman to discontinue his journey. Veolia Transportation officials provided a new van and trailer and now provide assistance in booking Serena’s Song for events through its many properties located around the country. 

 

With this new breath of life that Veolia Transportation has provided, Mr. Waldman says he plans to keep Serena’s Song flying high. “With every event we go to, we look for our next miracle. If we can find it, nothing else matters,” he said.

Text of this post from City of Raleigh press release. 

City Council Agenda 7/7/2009

Full text of City Council Agenda

• Review of Lease for 1.3 megawatt Solar Array on 7-10acres at Neuse River Wasterwater Treatment Plant, background info. Read more about other solar projects in Raleigh.
• The City of Raleigh is requesting $1million from US Department of Health & Human Services from the Strengthening Communities Grant. The City’s goal for this project is "to address broad economic recovery issues in the City of Raleigh through assisting nonprofit organizations to strengthen their capacity to provide social services and create collaborations to better serve those in need."
• The City has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR), Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance, to implement a curbside recycling incentive campaign. This twelve-week long NCDENR Curbside Recycling Incentive Campaign is designed to increase participation in weekly recycling by randomly selecting households who correctly prepare recyclable items for collection on their designated day. Winners will receive a gift card redeemable at a local merchant.
• Since November 2006 the City has provided $100,000 to be used as matching funds for a "Circle of Support Rental Subsidy Programs" as part of the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness. The organization CASA has administered the reimbursement of rental subsidy payments. In FY 2007-2008 the City budgeted an additional $100,000 for the support of the matching rental subsidy program. Current funding from the originally encumbered $100,000 will be spent within the next three months and the additional City match will be needed to support the program during the 2009- 2010 fiscal year. Funding is budgeted and the City Manager recommends that the Council approve the addendum proposing an extension of the contract through December 31, 2010, with the committal of the second $100,000 in funding budgeted by the City for this activity.
  
• Marriott Drive at Glenwood Avenue - It is recommended that the channelization on Marriott Drive be revised. City staff conducted a traffic engineering study to determine the need for a dual left onto Glenwood Avenue from Marriott Drive. The existing channelization at this location is an exclusive left and shared through-right lane except during the hours of 7-9 a.m. At that time the shared through-right becomes a shared left-through-right lane. The study showed that the existing traffic volumes no longer warrant the additional left turn lane.