News Digest for Town of Carrboro, NC

Find stories here about Road to Zero Waste survey being issued by Orange County, call for human services funding applications from nonprofits, local events to honor our veterans, and more! If you haven't voted yet, today is the day!  

Tuesday, Nov. 8, is Election Day 

Polls are open 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8. Voters must vote at their assigned precinct. Use the NC Board of Elections voter lookup tool to find your registration status, find your voting sites and see sample ballots. Official voting info site: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/reglkup/ 

Bikes! Maintenance and Best Practices: Get the basics!

Learn how your bike works and how to keep it in good order. Participants will learn basic bike maintenance and solutions to common problems. We will go over tires, tubes, chains, and how to incorporate learned concepts into safe bike riding.  We will also discuss and demo how to clean the overall bike. A follow up with a question and answer session with local bike technicians. Teens and adults are both encouraged to register.  Instructor: Tamara Sanders
 
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2022
Time: 3:00-5:00pm
Location: Wilson Park, 101 Williams St, Carrboro, NC 27510
Cost: $10
Ages: 15+
 
Pre-Registration is required. If you have not registered for programs with the Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Resources Department previously, please allow a couple of days for account approval.
 

Registration Website: https://register1.vermontsystems.com/.../ncca.../splash.html 

OWASA to conduct smoke testing 

OWASA will be testing the sewer lines the week of Nov. 14-18 by putting non-toxic smoke into the sewer lines.  You may notice smoke coming out of plumbing system vent pipes above the roof of a house or other building. This is expected and does not indicate a problem in the plumbing system. See map the area of town that will be involved in the testing.

The purpose of the testing is to find locations where:

• There are leaks or other opening in OWASA sewers and in private pipes that drain to our sanitary sewer system. Openings in our sewers will be corrected to help keep stormwater and groundwater out of the OWASA sewer system, which is designed to collect wastewater. If excessive stormwater or groundwater gets into a sewer, a wastewater overflow may occur. 
• Storm drains are connected improperly to OWASA's sanitary sewer system.
• There are unauthorized connections to an OWASA sewer.

Weather or other conditions may delay the start or completion of the work.

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 Nov. 15, 2022, 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.
 
Past Meeting 
 The Carrboro Town Council met Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, and took the following actions on the agenda posted at  https://bit.ly/3WfYJ9s   

• Receive the FY 2022-23 first quarter budget status report.
• Held a public hearing to consider a proposed amendment to bring the Land Use Ordinance into conformity with state legislation relating to the use of criminal penalties for violations of development regulations.
• Received an update on the Energy and Climate Protection Plan and Community Climate Action Plan Implementation. The report contains details regarding several new and ongoing initiatives, including submission of upcoming launch of the Green Neighborhoods Grant Program, the Solarize the Triangle initiative, a transportation demand management project, completion of a county-wide electric vehicle charging station suitability analysis, invasive species removal and tree planting initiatives, pollinator outreach events, and a summary of new funding opportunities available for local governments and residents under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
• Received a report on the 2022 Orange County Transit Plan Update. The updated plan is scheduled for consideration and adoption by Orange County, GoTriangle, and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO). Access the plan at https://octransit2020.com/ 

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

Applications now accepted: Human Services Funding

More information: https://www.carrboronc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2302

2022 Veterans Day Celebrations

The 2022 Orange County Veterans Day Celebration will take place Friday, Nov. 11, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Orange County Veterans Memorial located on the Southern Human Services Campus, 2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, N.C.

For the first time, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will join Orange County leaders in a joint ceremony. All of the University’s ROTC programs (Army, Navy, and Air Force) will be represented at the ceremony.

Carrboro Town Council Member Barbara Foushee will be participating in the ceremony.

Live music will be provided by Russell Howard of The Auxiliary. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available.

Click here for more information and the full event agenda.

The Town of Carrboro Veterans Day Observance will take place at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St. Mayor Damon Seils will recognize employees who are veterans in a brief ceremony held outside. In the event of rain, the program will move indoors to the Council Chambers. 

Operation Green Light for Veterans

The Carrboro Town Council passed a resolution to recognize Nov. 7-11 as a time to honor the service and sacrifice of individuals in uniform transitioning from active service.

In observance of Operation Green Light, the Town of Carrboro, will be displaying green lights on Carrboro Town Hall. The Town Council encourages residents to participate by displaying a green light in a window of their place of business or residence from Nov. 7-11.

For more information and to read the full resolution, click here.

Orange County Launches Zero Waste Survey, Schedules Public Meetings

Orange County Solid Waste has released a survey and scheduled a series of public meetings seeking feedback on services and help in shaping its Road to Zero Waste master plan.

The survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, asks people who live or work in Orange County to share their opinions on and experiences with current Orange County Solid Waste services. The survey will remain open through Dec. 7 and is available in English, Spanish, Chinese and Burmese at www.orangecountync.gov/ZeroWaste. Results will help inform the department’s Road to Zero Waste master plan and will be presented to the county's Solid Waste Advisory Group.

For the plan’s purposes, zero waste is defined as: “The reduction of solid waste to nothing, or as close to nothing as possible, by minimizing excess consumption by means of responsible production, consumption, and reuse and maximizing the recovery of material through recycling and composting.” The plan aims to reach this goal in Orange County by 2045.

In addition to the survey, four public meetings will be held to give people who live or work in Orange County an opportunity to share feedback.

Click here for more information.

North Carolina on the big screen at Carrboro Film Fest

Carrboro Film Fest returns to The ArtsCenter for its 17th year, Nov. 18-20, 2022,  bringing to the big screen a distinct combination of award-winning and North Carolina-based films. The festival continues its mission to showcase a variety of new Southern films and provide a venue to both celebrate and interrogate Southern culture. This year’s lineup includes seven blocks of short films and two features, representing diverse filmmakers from across the South. 

The festival is held at The ArtsCenter at 300-G E Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510. The full schedule of films can be found at carrborofilm.org     

“What distinguishes Carrboro Film Fest from other festivals is that the films mean so much more because of their Southern connection,” says festival director Bradley Bethel. “Plus, our more intimate venue allows audience members to interact with the filmmakers more. It’s a community experience as much as it's a film experience.”

Click here for more information.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Community Parade 

The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro are excited to announce the return of the Community Holiday Parade on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 10:30 a.m. The parade will highlight a variety of arts, cultural and winter holiday traditions. The parade route travels through the downtowns of Chapel Hill (Franklin Street) and Carrboro (E. Main Street).  

 For more information, visit chapelhillarts.org/parade.