Swearing-in Ceremony to take place Tuesday

Following results of a May 17, 2022, special election, Eliazar Posada will be sworn into office at the beginning of the Carrboro Town Council meeting this week.  

The Carrboro Town Council was left with an open seat when Damon Seils was elected to the mayorship in late 2021. 

View more details about the Tuesday, June 7, meeting in the update below. 

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Town Council Update

Meeting agendas and updates are issued from the Town Clerk’s Office. To receive these by email or text, sign up for Carrboro Town News at carrboronc.gov/signup

Civic involvement is a valued tradition in our community. Reach the Town Council with your ideas, views, and questions at Council@carrboronc.gov 

Coming Up
The Town Council will meet next at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 7, to consider an agenda that will be posted at carrboro.legistar.com

This in-person meeting will be held at Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St. Members of the public are welcome to attend in person or can view the livestream at carrboro.legistar.com OR YouTube.com/CarrboroNC OR Cable TV 18 (in Carrboro). 

To submit a comment on this agenda, please contact publiccomment@carrboronc.gov to reach the Town Clerk.  

Swearing-in Ceremony 
At the start of the June 7 meeting, the Town Council will hold a swearing-in ceremony for Eliazar Posada, who was elected in a special election to fill a vacant seat on the Town Council. 

Notice of Public Hearing 
The Town Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 7 in the Council Chambers of Town Hall, 301 W. Main St., to receive comments on the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget for FY2022-23. The budget document may be viewed in the Town Clerk’s Office from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays or on the Town website at http://www.ci.carrboro.nc.us/250/Financial-Documents  People are invited to make written or oral comments.  Comments may be emailed to wbarker@carrboronc.gov or presented at the public hearing on June 7, 2022.  

Past Meeting 
The Carrboro Town Council met Tuesday, May 24, and took the following actions on the agenda posted at https://bit.ly/38hyaMP 

• Received reports from the Fire Department, Stormwater Utility, Economic Development Department, and Police Department. 
• Awarded retired Police K9 “Turbo” to Police Officer Karissa Kimrey following the dog’s retirement after more than eight years of service to the Carrboro Police Department. 
• Received an update on the Town’s Affordable Housing Activities. 
• Held a public hearing to consider a special use permit application for the ArtsCenter to renovate an existing building at 400 Roberson St. 
• Approved the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) 2023-2027. The CIP totals $68.3 million and includes $34.3 million for projects that are currently underway and $34 million for proposed additional projects. View the plan at http://www.carrboronc.gov/2709/Capital-Improvement-Plans-2022-2027 
• Approved an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Adopted Budget for the General Fund Operating Budget and the Affordable Housing Special Revenue based on year-to-date actual revenue collections and trends. 
• Received a presentation on the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023. A public hearing on the Town Budget has been set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 7. View the proposed budget at http://www.carrboronc.gov/2708/Recommended-Annual-Operating-Budget-2022
• Received an update on the development of a comprehensive plan to allocate the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The framework to be developed for use of ARPA will be centered around six principles: 1) Council goals and policy; 2) racial equity and inclusion; 3) environmental justice, 4) Town climate action plan; 5) leverage local and regional partnerships; 6) use existing data or limited data and /or outreach. 

About the Town Council

The Town Council is the legislative and policy-making body for Carrboro, consisting of the following: Mayor Damon Seils, Mayor Pro Tempore Susan Romaine, Council Member Barbara Foushee, Council Member Randee Haven-O’Donnell, Council Member Danny Nowell and Council Member Sammy Slade. More information is available at  http://carrboronc.gov/248/Town-Council 

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Update on E. Main Street Resurfacing Project

The NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) resurfacing project for E. Main Street in Carrboro and W. Franklin Street in Chapel Hill is underway with Carolina Sunrock as the project contractor.  

Carolina Sunrock’s subcontractor Browe Construction continues to adjust utilities throughout the project limits.  The work will continue this week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, June 6 to Friday, June 10.   This work is advancing with minimal traffic disruption.

The subcontractor Fulcher plans to begin cutting signal loops within the Carrboro limits of the project (E. Main Street from Jones Ferry Road to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill town limits at Merritt Mill Road and Rosemary Street) on Monday, June 6.  To limit disturbance on local businesses and traffic work will occur at night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday. No work will occur after 6 a.m. on Friday or on Saturday.  All work will be performed with single lane closures which will allow continued flow within multilane portions of the work zone and flagging operations through the two lane portion.  Drivers should use caution and stay alert.  Sidewalks should remain open. 

At this time, the milling and resurfacing is anticipated to begin the week of June 27.  The milling and resurfacing work will also take place during the night.

NCDOT Project Contact:  John Howell at 336-570-6830 

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Slow Down 

Be aware, Carrboro Police Department will be increasing patrols in the areas of Hillsborough Road and N. Greensboro Street due to multiple speed complaints. Please observe the speed limits and watch out for pedestrians and cyclists in the area. 

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Freight Train Blues Concert this Friday 

The concert this Friday, June 3, will feature Gail Caeser, Tad Walters and Lil' Jimmy Reed from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main St. 

The Town of Carrboro continues to present the Music Maker Foundation’s Freight Train Blues series of free concerts every Friday evening through June 10. We are thankful for our partners Music Maker Foundation, North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC, and The Judy Weinstock Team (Keller Williams) for making this event possible.

Gail Ceaser -- The roots of Gail Ceasar’s music run deep into the Virginia soil. After Music Maker met and began working with the great blues guitarist Boo Hanks in Virginia, we began doing more fieldwork in that state and soon met a blues player from Pittsylvania County named Pete Witcher. We returned several times to record Pete, and every time we visited, Pete made a point of taking us to see his niece Gail Ceasar. He was so proud of her guitar playing. She plays with incredible precision.

Tad Walters -- Born in Canton, Ohio, and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tad Walters began playing the guitar at age 12. As he was developing his guitar skills, Tad picked up the harmonica a couple years later at age 14. He was influenced by the likes of Blind Boy Fuller, Robert Lockwood, Charlie Patton, Robert Nighthawk, and John Jackson, among others, and began his professional music career with the Bob Margolin Band in 1996. In that four year period he traveled the world with the band and played with musicians like Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Billy Boy Arnold, Cary Bell, and others. In 2001, Tad joined the Big Bill Morganfield band and stayed until 2004. Tad is now teaching guitar and harmonica lessons and concentrating on Piedmont blues and old-time jazz with Dave Andrews.

Lil’ Jimmy Reed -- Lil’ Jimmy Reed calls himself “the last of the original Louisiana bluesmen,” playing a music that is a wild outcry against segregation, poverty, and hard, back-breaking work. Sadly, most of the great musicians who created this vibrant, influential music have passed on, leaving only their recordings to testify to their genius. But Reed’s career stretches back to the time when rhythm and blues was just bursting onto the popular music scene, and he is still with us, playing better than ever. Reed was born in a shotgun shack in Hardwood, Louisiana, a small cotton and sawmill town on the Mississippi River.

More information: www.freighttrainblues.com  

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Chapel Hill-Carrboro Juneteenth Celebration

A coalition of local organizations invites the community to be a part of the second annual Chapel Hill-Carrboro Juneteenth Celebration. The event will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, June 19, at Hargraves Community Center, 216 N. Roberson St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516. Attendees can expect live performances by local Black artists, a Black-owned small business fair, kids activities, food trucks, and more. 

Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro proclaimed the observance and commemoration of Juneteenth on June 19, 2020 and encourage residents and employers to recognize the holiday. 

Planning for the event is led by representatives from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP and NAACP Youth Council, the Marion Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Office of Equity and Engagement, the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association (RENA), and the towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. 

Planning is still underway for Chapel Hill and Carrboro’s in-person Juneteenth Celebration. Regular updates will be shared via social media and the official website at chapelhillcarrborojuneteenth.org. This event is made possible through collaboration with several local organizations. For media inquiries, contact Melissa Bartoletta at mbartoletta@townofchapelhill.org. 

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New affordable housing dedicated in Carrboro 

A dedication ceremony on Saturday, June 4, by Habitat for Humanity of Orange County celebrated four new affordable homes (two duplexes) on Cobb Street in Carrboro. 

The Town of Carrboro provided $100,000 in support of their construction. This project, funded through the Affordable Housing Special Revenue Fund, addresses two of the Town’s priorities:  affordable housing and climate action.   In addition to being affordable, the new Habitat homes are green-certified and designed for aging-in-place.

Mayor Damon Seils; Mayor Pro Tem Susan Romaine; and Council members Barbara Foushee and Randee Haven-O'Donnell joined Habitat President and CEO Jennifer Player and many community organizers and volunteers to welcome our newest residents! 

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Small Town Pride Events in June 2022

• Poets Open Mic Night | Tuesday, June 7 from 7-9 p.m. (via Zoom)
  Celebrate LGBTQ Pride through your poetry with other local poets. This event encourages the writing, reading, and listening of poetry. Hosted by Carrboro Recreation, Parks and Cultural Resources Department. Join the zoom event here. 
• Drag Story Time with Spray J (Dr. Sarah Wilson) | Saturday, June 11 from 3-4 p.m. (Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St.)
  Drag Story Times celebrate glamour, imagination, play, and gender fluidity while providing positive queer role models. Bring your kids to enjoy a fabulous hour of story time by some of the most prominent Drag royalty in the Triangle! This event is sponsored by the Orange County Public Library (Cybrary Branch). 

• ORGULLO LATINX PRIDE | Saturday, June 11 from 5-9 p.m. (Carrboro Town Commons)
  Celebrate Latinx Pride! with local food trucks, a drag show, a DJ, and games for the kids. Organizers from El Centro Hispano aim to create an event that fosters unity, inclusivity, and empowerment by showcasing our community’s talents while providing social, healthcare, and advocacy resources, and family fun.
• Pride Piper Walk | Friday, June 24 at 4:30 p.m. (Carrboro Century Center)
  Join local officials and the Bulltown Strutters, to help roll “Rainbow Ram” down Weaver Street from the Century Center to Town Commons for the Pride Food Truck Rodeo & Dance Party. 
• Pride Food Truck Rodeo & Dance Party | Friday, June 24 from 5-8 p.m. (Carrboro Town Commons)
  Join for food, dance, and frolicking on the lawn. If you’re interested in participating as a vendor or by setting up a table, fill out the application form at https://www.carrboronc.gov/FormCenter/Communication-and-Engagement-Department-31/PRIDE-Events-at-Carrboro-Town-Commons-201

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Small Town Pride hopes to promote the equality of the LGBTQIA+ communities, as well as increase visibility, challenge anti-LGBTQ legislation, and bring awareness to other LGBTQ issues. Progress for true equality requires the support of everyone, including straight allies who know that support for LGBTQ+ people strengthens the entire community. To learn more about Small Town Pride and engage with the celebration, visit carrboronc.gov/pride 

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Bioretentions: Working with Nature 

Hello, Moe here! It’s the beginning of the month of June so I’m back to tell you about bioretention cells. A bioretention cell is an engineer designed structure that is built by digging out an area that is then filled with a specialized soil media and plants, or grass/sod.  An engineer designs them to temporarily hold and filter stormwater using specific calculations to meet required volumes and flows. 

Bioretention cells are one of the most flexible SCMs.  They can be installed in a variety of soil types from clay to sand and in a wide variety of sites.  They are also one of the most effective SCMs for removing pollutants, because they use many different pollutant removal approaches, including:

• Infiltration: The process of water soaking into the ground from the surface, commonly referred to as percolation.
• Evapotranspiration: The process of water transferring from the land to the air by evaporation from the ground, other surfaces, and by transpiration from plants.
• Microbial Action: Microorganisms(fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes)  activity that processes nutrients and pollutants.
• Plant Uptake: Soil nutrients are moved into a plant when the root absorbs water from the soil.
• Sedimentation: The process of depositing soil, clay, sand or other sediments that were moved by the flow of water.
•  Filtration: Capturing, temporarily storing, and treating stormwater runoff through engineered filter media.

Studies indicate that bioretention cells can remove up to:

• 75% of phosphorus and nitrogen
• 95% of metals
• 90% of organics, bacteria, and total suspended solids

Bioretention cells can also help our watersheds:

• Bioretention cells can help recharge groundwater. They can help to reduce stress in our watersheds that experience severe low flows due to impervious coverage.
•  Bioretention cells enhance the landscape by improving the appearance of developed sites, providing wind breaks, absorbing noise.
• Bioretention cells be help wildlife by providing wildlife habitat and connectivity, cooling runoff before it enters streams, and reducing the urban heat island effect.

If you want to learn more about bioretentions or other SCMs contact the Stormwater Division at Stormwater@CarrboroNC.gov or check out the Homeowner’s Watershed and Stormwater Handbook at https://townofcarrboro.org/2324/Stormwater-Homeowners-Manual. Want a member of the Stormwater staff to come out you your neighborhood and talk about your SCMs? Fill out the Stormwater Community Outreach Request form at https://townofcarrboro.org/FormCenter/Public-Works-Department-23/Stormwater-Outreach-Request-169 

Join me in July to learn about Constructed Wetlands. Until then, stay safe and remember we all live downstream!

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Apply Today to Carrboro Fire-Rescue

Apply today to join the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department. 

carrborofire.org/APPLY

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