During the final quarter of the fiscal year, Cary produces an annual Water Quality Report. The document shows what it takes to produce Cary’s high-quality drinking water 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Cary’s report shares the results of over 450,000 tests performed in 2021 and confirms its compliance with all state and national drinking water regulations. The full report can be found at townofcary.org/waterreport.

Rehabilitation of the 48-inch sewer line along the Crabtree Creek Greenway is nearing completion, and the remaining work in this area can be accomplished without closing the greenway. The next phase of this project will consist of rehabilitating the sewer lines along the Black Creek Greenway between West Dynasty Drive and North Cary Park. Signs have been installed to notify citizens of the upcoming work along the Black Creek Greenway and the associated detour route. During this phase, the remaining portions of the Black Creek Greenway and the Crabtree Creek Greenway outside the work zone will be open to the public.

The Aeration Improvements Project at the North Cary Water Reclamation Facility is complete following two years of construction. This $15 million project to help modernize Cary’s oldest wastewater treatment facility was finished on schedule and under budget. The capital upgrades to the aeration system replace obsolete equipment and will supply future energy savings while supporting advanced treatment technology. The project also includes a new blower building and a 2-megawatt standby generator. This capital investment in the North Cary Water Reclamation Facility will allow the treatment process to continue exceeding industry standards.

In April, Council approved the construction bid award for the Winding Pine Wastewater Pump Station Project. With a price tag of just under $18 million, this investment in reliable utility service maintains and expands sewer capacity in Research Triangle Park, northwest Cary, Morrisville, and portions of Chatham County. The Winding Pine Pump Station will have a capacity of 10.7 million gallons per day and replaces the Kit Creek Pump Station. Originally constructed in 1991 with a capacity of 2 million gallons per day, the Kit Creek Pump Station was expanded in 2003 to its current capacity of 8.2 million gallons per day. The new Winding Pine Pump Station strategically positions Cary in two significant ways. First, it moves the location from the banks of Kit Creek and out of the floodplain, thereby eliminating numerous operational issues. Second, it allows for the build-out of the Wake County portion of RTP and other future development within the sewer basin. Construction start is scheduled for July.

In May, Officer Dustin Preston became the first Cary police officer to earn the police motorcycle instructor certification through the Institute of Police Technology and Management in Daytona Beach, Fla. The extensive two-week course curriculum included advanced riding skill-building, setting up and improving department training programs, and presenting a block of instruction. His training and expertise will enable Cary to host its own police motorcycle training courses, enhance its internal motor officer training program, and assist other agencies with their motorcycle training courses.

Officer David Langdon  

This quarter, the Exchange Clubs of Wake County honored Cary Officer David Langdon for outstanding service and performance in law enforcement. Langdon works tirelessly to promote traffic safety throughout the community. He is a leader in arrests for driving while impaired and is a dedicated standardized field sobriety testing and DWI detection instructor as well as a drug recognition expert. He has assisted many officers in DWI investigations where controlled substances were the apparent cause of impairment. 

On April 20, members of the police department’s K9 unit and command staff welcomed residents Richard and Judy Hendrickson for a meet and greet with Cary’s newest police canines and their handlers. The Hendricksons have been longtime supporters of and financial donors to the K9 unit, and their contributions have allowed Cary to expand to four canine and handler teams. During the visit, officers presented the Hendricksons with a plaque honoring their generosity and enduring support. 

On April 6, Cary Police’s Project PHOENIX unit celebrated 10 years (plus 1) since program creation. Delayed one year due to the pandemic, the celebration at the Cary Senior Center welcomed more than 100 people to enjoy a presentation on how Project PHOENIX came about and the officers who were instrumental in its creation. Council member Jack Smith expressed his appreciation for the program’s impact and read a proclamation to recognize its success. Council, staff, and several community partners were recognized for their contributions to Project PHOENIX events and initiatives over the years. 

In a continual effort to build a legacy of excellence, Cary strives to hire, train, and develop the best staff. Cary is committed to helping employees reach their personal and professional goals as well as develop the leaders of tomorrow. This past quarter, members of the Cary Police Department achieved numerous milestones in their careers:

• Lieutenant Sheri Abraham graduated from the Administrative Officers Management Program hosted by North Carolina State University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
• Corporals Jann Leach, Tim Hageter, Armando Bake, and Matt Cavalear graduated from the West Point Leadership Program through Methodist University’s Center for Excellence in Justice Administration. WPLP is a 16-week course designed to develop an informed, systematic, and dynamic approach to leading in police organizations. 
• Captain Robert Carey graduated from the Southern Police Institute’s Administrative Officers Course through the University of Louisville. This 12-week course is designed to develop informed, effective, and ethically and technically competent law enforcement leaders. 
• Justin Kosobucki, Devon Perillo, and Taylor Shealy graduated from Wake Technical Community College’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy. The 787 hours required by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission includes topic areas such as constitutional law, ethics, elements of criminal law, mental illness and people with disabilities, patrol duties, investigations, communications, hazardous materials, and physical fitness. 
• Captain Kat Christian graduated from the Senior Management Institute for Police through Boston University’s School of Law. This demanding program of the Police Executive Research Forum provides senior police executives with intensive training in the latest management concepts and practices used in business and government.

After kicking off its 100-year celebration in May with a breakfast for all current employees and retirees, Fire ramped up festivities beginning June 3 with a movie on the lawn at the former Cary Library site with refreshments and family-friendly activities. June 4 saw a fire truck parade downtown followed by a street dance with a live band featuring a Fire retiree on bass guitar. On June 6, the department’s actual anniversary date, all nine fire stations opened their doors for an open house that included station and apparatus tours, a new fire prevention video premiere, dinner cooked by the firefighters, and giveaways. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht shared a brief history of the department and presented a proclamation recognizing the milestone at a June Council meeting. Battalion Chief Tracy Williams, who organized the events, and Fire Chief Mike Cooper accepted the proclamation on behalf of the department. The final event was a showcase on June 25 at Bond Park with apparatus displays, demonstrations, obstacle courses for kids and adults, a band, a DJ, food and beer trucks, and other activities.

Momentum continues in the acquisition of the 1.8-megawatt solar facility at the South Cary Water Reclamation Facility. This will advance Cary’s commitment to renewable energy strategies and carbon emission reduction. In one year, the facility produces approximately 2.1 million kWh of energy — avoiding 1,526 metric tons of CO2 — equivalent to the energy required for approximately 184 homes. Following Council’s review at its May quarterly meeting, staff have executed the purchase agreement and are diligently working through the closing transactions, which are expected this fall. 

This quarter marks a year from when Cary was awarded the N.C. Community Waste Reduction and Recycling grant to develop Cary’s first food waste recycling drop-off site. Cary has received 90% reimbursement in grant funding with the remainder expected this summer. In five months of operation, there were more than 4,500 drop-offs resulting in 27,940 pounds (just shy of 14 tons) of food scraps diverted from the landfill. More than 2,000 pounds of compost generated through this effort is available for use at Good Hope Farm. All metrics are updated monthly and shared on Cary’s open data portal. To celebrate the milestone, Cary welcomed N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Elizabeth Biser and her staff for a tour of the drop-off facility. Secretary Biser recognized the service as a model for other communities and was excited to learn how Cary may build upon this initiative. 

Cary provided several opportunities to enhance its long-standing compost education and outreach program this quarter. In addition to continuing online classes, a special effort was made to educate citizens about food waste drop-off. Participants were empowered to join Cary in waste reduction and received a free kitchen caddy to start collecting their scraps to compost. For citizens who want to see composting in action, Cary partnered with Dorcas Ministries to provide a steady stream of produce-based food scraps at the Compost Education Center. Citizens who were inspired to compost at home purchased 233 backyard units this spring to reduce their waste and create their own soil amendment. By continuously innovating in outreach techniques, Cary leads the state in bin sales and is consulted by other communities for lessons learned. 

Cary regularly connects with regional municipal neighbors to explore and share solid waste operations and waste management initiatives. This quarter, staff toured the City of Durham’s yard waste site and compost facility to learn how operations are handled through contracted services with Atlas Organics. Staff also toured New Hanover County’s compost facility to learn about its in-vessel,  staff-run operations and its impact on waste diversion.  

Cary’s spring garden education programs are growing strong with family-friendly volunteer days and open house events. Ongoing free education events are being hosted at Good Hope Farm, the Carpenter Park Community Garden, the Compost Education Center, and fire station gardens to help connect the community to garden and compost education. Participants can sample garden-fresh veggies and learn tips and tricks for growing a greener garden at home, all while touring beautiful urban agriculture facilities. 

In April, more than 60 volunteers gathered at fire stations across town to restore and plant gardens in support of first responders. After planting, staff began working with the fire station garden model to create and pilot Sustainable Garden Best Practices guides that can be implemented in future urban agriculture projects and programs townwide. Cary’s agricultural accomplishments abound, as Good Hope Farm was one of 20 regional farms selected by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s 25th Piedmont Farm Tour. Guests toured historic buildings, purchased produce from farmers, and celebrated Cary’s agricultural past while learning how regenerative agriculture is a vital part of a sustainable future. 

In June, Good Hope Farm resumed the annual produce box subscription program. Collectively, 19 farmers provide eight weeks of produce to 25 families through this dynamic program. Participants enjoy fresh vegetables, fruits, herbs, and seasonal flowers. Additionally, an average of 50 pounds of produce each week is donated to Dorcas Ministries food pantry to help provide food security to families in need. The work of Good Hope Farm has been a segue for urban agriculture expansion at other Cary facilities, including the addition of fig and persimmon trees at Jack Smith Park.

The community showed its commitment to environmental conservation through volunteerism this spring. About 450 volunteers contributed 975 hours of service to 56 individual projects through the Spruce and Adopt a Spot programs. Projects included Cary’s Spring Litter Sweep, monthly workdays at Good Hope Farm, Scout projects, invasive plant removals, and more. Environmental service learning is a key element of Cary’s community engagement goals and creates a culture of environmental conservation.

To help ensure the pollination of the newly planted food trees and plants at the South Cary Water Reclamation Facility, staff installed two honeybee hives near the orchard. Combined with the 20 hives at Good Hope Farm, Cary’s beehives house approximately 1.3 million bees. Some of these wonderful winged creatures will travel to surrounding neighborhoods, joining the butterflies and birds that will pollinate flowers, such as the 400 milkweed plugs and the more than 100 sunflower plugs that were planted at Jack Smith Park this quarter. 

Good Hope Farm’s native plant sanctuary also increased thanks to a Council-driven project to add 30 new milkweed plants. Participating volunteers of all ages learned the value of ecosystem restoration and enjoyed a monarch butterfly release activity. The projects are a key element to our commitment to the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge program and Cary’s designation as a certified Community Wildlife Habitat.

Started in fall 2021, the creation of the Urban Forestry Master Plan is about 50% complete. This quarter, Cary and its consultant engaged internal and external stakeholders to help envision goals, review current operations and policies impacting trees, and recommend strategies to help achieve the vision for the next 10 years of Cary’s tree canopy. 

During May’s technical tree workshop, consultants shared preliminary findings with and garnered input from Cary staff, regional experts, and citizen representatives. Findings included Cary’s existing robust tree canopy of about 50% and opportunities to continue to diversify tree plantings across Town properties. During the Community Voice Tree Summit in June, more than 75 citizens learned about current Cary tree programs, the canopy cover at their homes, and the breadth of benefits of trees, and they shared their feedback and preferences at 11 stations on topics that ranged from native plant preferences to what the future canopy could look like. An initial review of their feedback shows that there is a desire for outreach into the community, including more publicly available tree programs and specific information for groups such as HOAs. Many participants conveyed their gratitude for the opportunity to learn more about Cary’s commitment to preserve and protect the tree canopy and provide their opinions in an interactive way. This feedback will help inform the recommendation for the final plan, which is expected in 2023. 

In FY 2022, Cary completed more than $2 million in capital projects related to stormwater, including nine projects this quarter. Of those nine projects, five of them were culvert crossings that had been identified as being in critical condition during an N.C. Department of Transportation review. Using leading-edge trenchless technology, Cary rehabilitated large culverts that effectively convey stormwater under Belhaven Road, Carrousel Lane, Queensferry Road, and West Dynasty Drive. 

As part of Cary’s adaptive stormwater approach, these projects used innovative technology called plating that reinforced and repaired pipes in place. In contrast to the standard “dig and replace” method that typically disrupts traffic for a prolonged period of time and takes up to a year to complete, trenchless plating is complete in a little over a week. Disruption to traffic, the environment, and surrounding property owners is dramatically minimized. Two other projects this quarter used a different innovative trenchless method, UV lining, to complete subdivision street storm drainage repairs. Quickly and with minimal disruption, sinkholes between the sidewalk and the street were repaired. These projects highlight the essential role that consistent attention, innovative technology, and financial resources devoted to maintenance play in preserving Cary’s critical infrastructure.