Starpoint Development: Wastewater/Stormwater issues

Today's Herald-Sun and Chapel Hill News have articles on the fight against the Starpoint development. Both articles are focussed exclusively on Walmart. Unfortunately, if this becomes a fight only about Walmart, we could find ourselves having to accept another big box retail on the site. To me the traffic and environmental problems of building a large new retail space on the site is the REAL problem–regardless of whether its Walmart or Target or Costco that moves in.

The size of the proposed development clearly extends beyond the 20 (out of ~69) acres zoned for business. And even if they scaled plans back some, the facility's wastewater treatment spray field would still have to be located in sensitive watershed.

Since Chatham County doesn't have a centralized wastewater treatment facility, every new development going in outside of Pittsboro is building their own (smaller developments are using septic fields). The technology for spray systems is relatively safe if the field is properly sited (soil/drainage). However, over time, the systems must be well managed by experienced managers who constantly monitor performance and ensure regular maintenance. Since the Division of Water Quality doesn't have adequate staff to constantly monitor all the new facilities supporting Chatham's rapid development, I can't imagine why they continue to approve their construction.

This particular site drains into the Upper New Hope Arm of the Jordan Lake where there is a proposed federal mandate to reduce nutrient loads by 35%. While this center will not be adding point source discharge (if their system is properly sited and maintained), they will undoubtedly be contributing to nonpoint source (stormwater) runoff. For a facility this large, the probability of error in the siting, sizing, and construction of retention ponds is significant and if such an error occured, it would be Chapel Hill that has to deal with it (Morgan Creek).

Carolina Lily!

My Carolina Lily (Lilium michauxxi) is blooming! I didn't notice it when it walked through the garden early this morning. The downward bloom and it's small size doesn't make it stand out from the background. Thank goodness for the Japanese beetles. If I hadn't gone back out to pick them off the roses, I might have missed this bloom altogether.

According to Plant Delights, "From West Virginia south to Florida and west to Texas, Lilium michauxii can be found growing in dry open woodlands and occasionally in bogs. The 4' tall stalks are adorned with fleshy green whorls of leaves. In early summer, the stalks are topped with large orange flowers. Each downward-facing recurved flower is orange toward the tips changing to cream near the center. The petals are also heavily spotted orange-brown. When the bulbs first flower, each stalk will only produce one or two flowers, but as the bulbs enlarge, it is possible to have as many as six flowers per stalk. Lilium michauxii makes a nice colony thanks to underground rhizomes."

I was worried that the dry weather this summer would prevent a first year bloom, but true to it's native breeding, it survived. The pictures I've seen don't really do justice to this incredible bloom. No wonder it's such a popular traditional quilt pattern.

Blogging Teach-In

The Blogging Teach-In today was incredibly informative. How generous of these guys (Anton, Jackson, and Corey) to give so freely of their time and expertise. Anton started the workshop with a brief introduction to blogging terminology and features followed by a demo of the different blogging softwares. He did a great job of simplifying the technical terms for the small, but eager audience of non-techies. He should definitely consider teaching at some point. After Anton's intro, the group broke into small groups. Jackson helped me set up an RSS feed (actually, I found out I already done set it up, but didn't know how to make it visible or how to reference it) which was my initial purpose in coming to the workshop. Then he helped me set up the Smith Level Road documentary link through my navigation column. Thank you Jackson!

On my way out, I stopped and chatted with Ouida, an instructional technologist from DPI. She showed me some new instructional technologies that they are working with. The one I liked the best is geocaching, webquests using GPS.

I tried to show her the Smith Level Road documentary link and found it wasn'linking to Flickr so I went back over to Jackson who was helping Will Raymond with something. We fixed up my problem and in the meantime, Corey came over to show Will how he is using Google to create a graphic map of the home locations of candidates running in the fall election. Unfortunately, I can't find that link, but did enjoy playing around the with GIS map my neighborhood. This map shows just how close the proposed Walmart is to Heritage Hills. The Lee-Moore Oil Co land runs between Smith Level Road and Woodbridge on the east side of 15-501.

TV Dinners

Gerry Thomas, inventor of the frozen (TV) dinner, died in Phoenix AZ on July 18, 2005. In 1954, Swanson and Sons found themselves with 260 tons of unsold turkey after Thanksgiving. As the company searched for ways to make use of the turkeys, Mr. Thomas, a company sales rep from 1948-1970, was visiting the Pan American Airlines food kitchens where they were experimenting with a single-compartment aluminum foil tray as a way of serving hot meals inflight.

By 1954, television had moved from the black and white, limited programming for the wealthy to live, color broadcasts found in the average home. Although Gerry Thomas didn't own a television himself, he knew that more and more families were eating their dinners in front of televisions. Mr. Thomas, like Tess McGill in Working Girl, made an outside-the-box connection between the turkeys and television and changed our society forever.

"He convinced the Swanson brothers to make up, as an experiment, 5,000 frozen turkey dinners, complemented by corn bread dressing, bright green peas and sweet potatoes. This was a big gamble for Swanson at the time. Swanson employed a few dozen women armed with ice cream scoops to fill the trays. The women worked through the night. Thomas also designed a clever package that resembled a TV screen complete with volume and channel knobs printed on its front. The dinner cost 98 cents. It was bold thinking for a person who did not even own a TV set at the time.

"He reasoned that the dinners would sell as convenience items to housewives who were entranced by post-War, time-saving appliances. They could sell the frozen dinners to families accustomed to gathering around the new television sets to watch popular programs like I Love Lucy. The dinners could be cooked in 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Being fast and convenient, they fit nicely on a TV tray in the living room so diners didn’t have to drag themselves away from their favorite television shows.

"Just as the Swanson’s had greatly overestimated the number of turkeys for Thanksgiving of 1954, they now had greatly underestimated the demand for the new type of frozen dinner.

"In 1955, Swanson sold ten million of the frozen dinners. Of note, most people didn’t even own freezers so the dinners were bought and prepared the same day. Later in 1955, Swanson added fried chicken, Salisbury Steak and meatloaf to its line. Throughout the 1950s Swanson dinners were touted by public figures ranging from President Eisenhower to Howdy Doody." John Fraim www.symbolism.org

Jeff Einstein adds this commentary:

"Some social scientists might interpret the introduction of the TV Dinner as an unintentional precursor to the later emancipation of American women, at least from the kitchen. Perhaps. But I see something more: I interpret it as the beginning of our addiction to television, what happened the moment we began to ritualize our obsession with it.

The dinner table – an essential ritual of family life – all but disappeared for millions of American families over the next few generations. The original evening news – what was going on within our families and our neighborhoods – was suddenly replaced with a commercial network TV version that didn't care a lick about us, our families, or our neighborhoods. The fragmentation of the American family accelerated as the number of TVs per household increased; soon everyone was eating in front of their own televisions in their own rooms.

As our addiction to TV escalated, so did our appetites. What started as an innocent snack in front of the TV evolved into an all-you-can-eat buffet, and dinnertime soon extended straight through primetime to bedtime, nonstop for decades. We grew fat not only because we couldn't stop eating in front of the TV, but because we couldn't turn off the TV in the first place.

The demise of the dinner table, the subsequent fragmentation of family and community, and the ascent of obesity as a primary American health risk are just a few of the many unintended consequences that ensued once we ritualized our obsession with television. But addiction is all about unintended consequences, if for no other reason than the simple fact that no one ever aspires to become an addict."

NC Builders Lobby

According to the Statesville Record and Landmark the NC Home Builders Association lobbyists are once again working against the best interests of citizens.

House Bill 648 and Senate Bill 508 - dubbed the Exempt Builders’ Inventory - would exempt developers from paying property tax increases on the value of any improvements made in developing their land for up to five years.

The result could be a loss of more than $1.38 million in tax revenue for the county, local municipalities and fire departments.

The average citizen “will be paying higher taxes,” said Iredell County Tax Administrator Bill Doolittle.

Can our elected officials really believe statements like this from Paul Wilms, director of government affairs for the N.C. Home Builders Association, "the bill will ultimately benefit counties by making homes more affordable to first-time homebuyers. It will cost local governments in the short term, but that is insignificant compared to the contributions,” he said."

No wonder our local governments are in such financial straits.

Tazz and Lucky Girl

I'm taking care of a friend's pets for a few days, an adolescent cat named Tazz and an elderly parakeet named Lucky Girl (she appeared at the house one day a few years ago). Tazz is totally pissed off at having lost her nearly constant attention. So when I am there, she demands my full attention. Yesterday I needed to change the paper in the bird cage and knocked down a hanging toy in the process. When I reached into the cage to rehang the toy, Lucky Girl flew out. Tazz started jumping up in the air, Lucky was flying wildly around the house, and I was having visions of telling the boys that Tazz ate Lucky through my error. Finally trapped Tazz and shut her up in the bathroom and eventually caught Lucky (to much very loud yowling in the background). I won't have to admit my ineptitude to the boys now and Tazz came in to observe while I cleaned her little box. She likes to observe from the sink!

CAFTA

I was undecided about CAFTA until today's State of Things (my first call in!). Mike Munger, chair of the political science department at Duke University (an economist), claims that textile workers who currently make $40,000 will have to take lower salaries ($28,000 in his example) in the retail sector in order to save consumers money on a pair of jeans. My call-in question was whether anyone had done any studies to determine the cost to the COMMUNITY for the loss of the mill. In other words, what happens to the cost of services when those workers have less disposable income (reduced sales tax) and when migration away from the community reduces overall property tax revenues. Dr. Munger's response was that those types of studies need to be conducted but only AFTER CAFTA is ratified. I didn't get to hear the entire discussion so I'm not going to make any assumptions about the validity of Munger's argument. But I was finally able to decide that I don't support CAFTA and have written to David Price to say so. As much as I believe that American's should be helping Central and South America, Africa, and all the other third world countries, I cannot accept that we have to do so at the expense of our own people. I'm looking for references on enlightened foreign policy!

Economic Self-Interest & Wal-Mart

For years I have been talking to anyone who would listen about economic literacy. After reading an essay at Inequality.org though, I've decided I need a new term. Economic self-interest is what I've chosen. Between all the Wal-Mart and economic development reports I've been reading lately, I think its a term that applies to our local situation. I first heard 'economic self-interest' after the 2004 presidential election when the country's poor voted en masse for GW Bush. Then the term was used to question why people who fall into the lowest income brackets would vote for someone whose sole economic policy is tax cuts for the rich. Did their 'values' take precedence over their long-term economic solvency? Or is economics such an obscure discipline for the average individual that they make decisions without clear understanding?

Shopping at Wal-Mart or any other large (big box) chain store is an extension of the principle. On the surface you meet your needs for low prices, but when Wal-Mart's sheer size and low prices drive other stores out of business and your property tax rockets upward, are low prices worth it? When local retail shopping options decline, property taxes go up. If the Walmart is out of county, your property taxes go up due to loss sales tax receipts. Since Wal-Marts doesn't provide comprehensive health insurance (and none for older workers), its county tax payers who shoulder the burden through the county's medicaid bill. Then there's the environmental costs (stormwater) of all that impervious surface.

"It’s Wal-Mart in the role of Adam Smith’s invisible hand. And the Milwaukee employees of Master Lock who shopped at Wal-Mart to save money helped that hand shove their own jobs right to Nogales. Not consciously, not directly, but inevitably. “Do we as consumers appreciate what we’re doing?” Larrimore asks. “I don’t think so. But even if we do, I think we say, Here’s a Master Lock for $9, here’s another lock for $6–let the other guy pay $9.” (The Walmart You Don't Know)

Invasion of the leaf eaters

Japanese beetles have invaded my garden. This is the first year I've had them so I didn't start controlling them early enough. They are all over the hydrangeas and the cone flowers. Had to cut the rose mallow down it had been so badly chewed up. The wild rose was also in bad shape; I didn't cut it down completely but it got a pretty severe trimming. Unfortunately, I planted a rose of sharon tree a couple of years ago. I didn't realize it was an invasive at the time. It appears to be the biggest attractor. I'm seriously considering going back out and chopping it down but I'm afraid I'll disturb the roots of the adjacent peonies (transplants from my father's garden who got them from his father).

Open Meetings: questions and answers from the Attorney General's Office

Question 1. I've gone through as much as I can find on open meetings in North Carolina and do not find anything addressing the use of communication technologies other than conference calls and broadcast (video). Is there any current explanation on the use of email and/or listservs, blogs, etc. are used in conjunction with the open meetings law?

RESPONSE: Currently, there are no statutes that explicity uses the term listserv, blogs, etc as it relates to the open meetings law, however it does mention electronic means so that would cover that form of media.

Before getting into more detailed answer, let me review how a "public body" is defined under the open meetings law found in G.S. 143-318.9 et seq. In general a public body is any authority, board, commission, council or other body of state or local government that meets two conditions:

1. It must have at least 2 members, and
2. It must be authorized to exercise at least one of the following five functions: legislative, policy-making, quasi-judicial, administrative or advisory.

The law is triggered when there is an "official meeting" of a public body. An official meeting occurs whenever a majority of the members of a group meet - in person or by some electronic means, such as: conference call video conference, etc. in order to do any of the following: conduct a hearing, deliberate, take action or otherwise transact public business.

Deliberate, as I mentioned to you in our call, is to examine, weigh, and reflect upon the reasons for or against a possible decision, if a board receives a briefing regarding an item that amounts to deliberating as well because it connotes not only a collective discussion but also a collective acquiring of information on the basis of which it will later act.

As I mentioned to you during our phone call, the use of the blog or listserv for "meeting" to transact the bodies business in my opinion falls under the open meetings law and as such requires that prior to having these meetings you should comply with the notice requirements under the open meetings law.

Question 2. My expectation would have been that the listserv should be made available to anyone who wants to subscribe as means of compliance rather than shutting it down. To me that is more conducive with the concept of open government. The listserv is set to to archive all messages and post them to a publicly available website. Does that change anything?

RESPONSE: As I mentioned to you this morning, the open meetings law allows for people to attend the meeting, but it does not give them the right to address the public body or participate in its deliberations. The ability to subscribe as means to attend the public body's meetings via the listserv.

Question 3. The Manager did differentiate between using the listserv for distribution of materials and 'substantive' discussion. Is there an official definition of what constitutes 'substantive'?

RESPONSE: It is ok to use the listserv to send materials. For example sharing a news article or materials that will be used during the official meeting. If the materials that are being sent are in the form of a briefing, that is if it going to be used a part of the "deliberative" or "substantive" discussion, then the body should convene an official meeting to receive that briefing.

Question 4. If small groups of committee members have email discussions, are those email messages subject to the public records law?

RESPONSE: Yes. In the pre e-mail days these would have been treated as memorandum and placing it in a members mailbox.

END RESPONSES FROM AG office.

While the town has an email policy and a records retention policy on email for staff, the town council operational procedures do not address email or public records. According to David Lawrence, staff policies do not apply to elected or appointed officials. A little earlier today, I was accused of focusing too much time on bureaucracy and rulemaking. And yet, these are the types of rules and practices that undergird open government.