Police welcomed Sen. Gale Adcock and Assistant Town Manager Shelley Curran in September to experience a day in the life of a Cary police officer. During their visit, Adcock and Curran engaged with Police’s Training Unit, where they learned about critical equipment, including handcuffs and the police officer’s duty weapon, using training simulations. They took part in a tour of the Downtown Cary Park and Academy Street corridor with the Downtown Unit on the department’s Can-Am side-by-side. They learned about police canine operations from Sgt. Seth Everett and K9 Officer Logan before rounding out the day by taking part in a ride-along with the Traffic Safety Team during focused traffic enforcement operations. 

Members of Police’s Community Engagement Unit, Downtown Unit and School Resource Team hosted a “Walk with a Cop” event in July in partnership at the new GiGi’s Playhouse achievement center in the heart of Cary. GiGi’s achievement center provides programs and support for people with Down syndrome and their families. After taking part in a stroll through Cary’s vibrant downtown, the group shared fellowship over arts and crafts activities. 

In July, a delegation from Cary Police, including Capt. Katherine Christian, Capt. Robert Carey, and Sgt. Travis Gresham, traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to attend the 47th annual conference of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. NOBLE is a membership association composed primarily of black law enforcement chief executive officers and command-level officials whose mission is to ensure equity in the administration of justice in the provision of public service to all communities and to serve as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to justice by action. Cary’s delegation enjoyed hearing from speakers from across the globe on evolving issues facing the criminal justice system as well as connecting with other law enforcement executives at networking socials.

Also in July, Police Lieutenants Chris Redig and Sheri Abraham graduated from the 88th session of the Senior Management Institute for Police through Boston University’s School of Law. SMIP is a demanding three-week program offered through the Police Executive Research Forum that provides senior police executives with intensive training in the latest management concepts and practices used in business and government through discussions of the most challenging issues facing law enforcement executives today.

For the second year in a row, Fire is conducting a “hybrid” recruit academy. Excellent candidates are hired without certification requirements, and if enough have their needed fire, EMT, and rescue certifications, they undergo an accelerated orientation and training process while the rest go through the full academy. This method takes a lot of coordination, but it helps to satisfy immediate staffing needs while ensuring a diverse and well-trained future workforce. Academy 27, which began in May, held a celebratory lunch in August for the six certified firefighters, who received their shift assignments. A graduation ceremony for the whole recruit class is planned for December.

This summer saw Fire personnel reaching out to Spanish-speaking citizens with important safety messages and to girls to introduce them to firefighting. Fire was invited to partner with Spanish-language TV network Univision in producing a grilling safety video that targets a Spanish-speaking audience. Four firefighters who are fluent in Spanish participated in the July event at Fire Station 9, which Univision broadcast on Facebook Live. In addition, eight female firefighters volunteered to teach at state Camp Ignite programs. These free weeklong summer camps are immersive firefighting experiences for girls that build confidence, character, and leadership skills while also exposing them to the fire service. Female fire personnel assisted at camps in Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Greensboro and plan to introduce a similar program in Cary next summer.

 

This summer, Cary marked a historic milestone with the 30th anniversary of the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility. The facility opened in August 1993, providing 12 million gallons of water a day to Cary’s service area. Since that time, the facility has seen multiple expansions to accommodate the intense growth in the area, with the most recent bringing the capacity up to 56 million gallons a day. Over the years, facility staff have strived to optimize and improve the treatment processes in order to exceed regulatory requirements and provide high-quality drinking water to citizens. These efforts have been recognized with multiple state and national awards. Plant staff held a celebration in September in honor of this special anniversary.

Cary’s 2023 annual wastewater report, which provides an overview of Cary’s wastewater treatment facilities and sewer system, is now available at carync.gov/wastewaterreport. The report provides quick facts about the utility, descriptions of treatment facilities, system metrics, and tips to keep the system working smoothly and the environment free from sewer spills. New to the report this year is a graphic about how Cary inspects and manages its more than 1,000 miles of sewer pipelines. 

After two years of trucks and equipment, temporary above-ground piping, special construction matting, construction crews, and greenway detours, the sewer rehabilitation project along the Crabtree Creek and Black Creek greenways is complete. Over 3.5 miles of 24-inch to 54-inch sewers have been renewed and will continue to receive flow from North Cary, Morrisville, and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for decades to come. The sewer rehabilitation project represents the first phase of improvements along the Black Creek corridor. It will be followed by reconstruction of the Black Creek Greenway between Dynasty Drive and the Old Reedy Creek Trailhead, scheduled to begin in 2024.  

In support of Cary’s ongoing commitment to reducing carbon emissions and fostering alternative energy opportunities, construction was completed this quarter on the new Maintenance Facility at the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Facility. The new facility incorporates a rooftop solar array of 87 panels capable of producing about 57,000 kWh annually. This production is equivalent to about four to seven homes and is expected to meet the electricity demand for the maintenance facility. Although it is a much smaller-scale array than the 1.8 MW facility at the South Cary Water Reclamation Facility, it represents Cary’s efforts to promote energy-reduction components into both new and existing public infrastructure.