Raleigh Public Record (https://theraleighcommons.org/raleighpublicrecord/topics/featured/page/58/)
Members of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board passed a new set of recommendations to prevent incidents like the explosion at the ConAgra Slim Jim plan last September. Read the full-text recommendations in the latest edition of Sunshine Weekly.
The Raleigh City Council delayed a vote in support of bike lanes on Hillsborough Street until March. Councilors again pushed the proposed public safety center back two weeks. But it did approve $184,000 to develop a master plan for Moore Square.
The Lightner Center will be back in front of council again this week. Also up: Moore Square redesign, handicapped parking downtown, Hillsborough Street bicycle lanes and a new set of zoning regulations.
Tension is rife these days between Raleigh and Durham about Falls Lake water quality. Raleigh contends “its” water source – whose headwaters are located in Durham County – is dirty, getting dirtier and Durham allowed it to get that way.
Dirty water is neither cheap nor easy to clean. Raleigh may have to pay $450M to boost its water treatment plant’s cleaning capacity if Falls get dirtier. Durham likely would pay considerably more to clean Falls Lake. Finger pointing is all very fine, but everybody lives downstream.
The Raleigh City Council again delayed voting on the $205-million public safety center. Councilors did give approval on the downtown amphitheater site plan and a host of new water conservation measures.
The Raleigh City Council will hold public hearings on two new text changes to the zoning code Tuesday evening. The first will bring the city into compliance with a new state law that requires quasi-judicial hearings for rezoning appeals. The second could shorten the time for rezoning cases and limit the conditions the planning commission could put on new developments.
Some crimes against undocumented immigrants go unreported, according to Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan. Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez agreed that some people in the country illegally do not report crimes for fear of being deported.
Raleigh City Council Tuesday got an in-depth analysis of the proposed Clarence E. Lightner public safety center, but did not make a final decision on whether to risk moving forward during an economic recession.
According to the Vice President of Clancy & Theys construction company Scott Cutler, $141 million will cover only the building, and does not include furnishings and the technology required. The entire cost is projected at $205 million.
Cutler said between 1,800 and 3,900 jobs would be created by the construction, factoring in contractors and builders, as well as indirect employment from services such as coffee and food.
Chrystal Bartlett talks to David Benson, the designer of the Raleigh acorn the city drops on New Year’s Eve and the owner of Third Place coffee shop.
