News Digest for Town of Carrboro, NC (May 2, 2023) 

Have you made weekend plans? Friday kicks off the first of eight Freight Train Blues concerts starting at 6:30 p.m. at Carrboro Town Commons. Saturday morning is the Strawberry Jamboree at the Carrboro Farmers Market. And Sunday is Carrboro Day! Come by Town Commons from 1 to 5 p.m. to meet your neighbors, learn about aspects of the Town’s history, connect with Town staff and elected leaders, and learn more about local services. Take a day to celebrate Carrboro! 

FREIGHT TRAIN BLUES CONCERT SERIES RETURNS MAY 5

The Town of Carrboro, N.C., proudly presents the Music Maker Foundation’s Freight Train Blues Concert Series. Come enjoy concerts every Friday evening from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., between May 5 and June 23, 2023, at the Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main Street. The series is a collaboration among  Music Maker Foundation; the Town of Carrboro; WUNC 91.5 FM; and The Forests at Duke.

Bring your picnic, lawn chairs, and blankets for an evening of live music on the lawn. Public parking is available and free in downtown Carrboro.

More information: www.freighttrainblues.com 

The concert series is an annual event that honors GRAMMY-winning folk and blues artist and North Carolina Music Hall of Famer Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, born in Carrboro, N.C. in 1893. Cotten’s soulful voice and unique guitar style have rendered her a legend in the world of blues, leading her to receive National Heritage Fellowship in 1984 and a GRAMMY award in 1985. She lived to be 104 years old and died in 1987. Her songs, like the iconic “Freight Train,” have been reimagined by artists like The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Music Maker Foundation honors Cotten’s legacy in the world of roots music by emphasizing the cultural diversity, complexity, and vitality of her music and the music of many other artists local to her community and all over the country.

Read more at https://www.carrboronc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2359

Get ready for Bike Month to kick into high gear

Mayor Damon Seils has proclaimed May to be Bike Month in Carrboro.

National Bike Month is a reminder that biking can be easily added to many people’s transportation routines. Transportation is now the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in North Carolina, and biking is an easy way for people to reduce their carbon footprint and advance the Town’s climate action goals by avoiding the use of single-occupancy vehicles and reducing reliance on nonrenewable resources for transportation.

High-quality bicycle facilities, together with pedestrian infrastructure and public transit, can help communities achieve equity goals by expanding the availability of transportation alternatives that are less costly and more accessible for more people.

National Bike Month is also an opportunity to experience the joys and health benefits of biking, to get outside during the spring season, and to see and experience the community at a different scale and pace.

In 2010, Carrboro became the first community in North Carolina to be designated a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Numerous Town plans include policies that support biking, such as the Carrboro Connects Comprehensive Plan, the Updated Bike Plan, and the Safe Routes to School Strategic Action Plan.

More work is needed at local and regional levels to ensure that more residents are able to participate in planning for infrastructure improvements and have equitable access to bicycle infrastructure so that biking, and biking in combination with transit, are reliable options for commuting and for meeting everyday needs.

“I encourage residents to add biking to their transportation routines; to become advocates for biking, bicycle infrastructure, and bicycle-friendly laws and policies; and to take delight in every ride,” said Mayor Seils.

Bike Month Events Rolling Your Way In May

• Wednesday, May 3: Bike & Roll to School Day -- 7 a.m. at Wilson Park
• Tuesday, May 9: Ride with the Mayor -- 7:30 a.m. at Carrboro Town Hall
• Tuesday, May 9: Carrboro Bike Breakfast -- 7-10 a.m. on the Libba Cotten Bikeway
• Monday, May 15 – Sunday, May 21: Bike to Work Week  
• Wednesday, May 17: Bike to the Carrboro Farmers’ Market -- 3-6 p.m. at Carrboro Town Commons
• Friday, May 19: Bike to Work Day 
• Wednesday, May 31: Ride into Pride with Carrboro Mayor -- 7 p.m. at Carrboro Town Hall

…and other events organized with local partners including the Carrboro Bicycle Coalition, the Bicycle Alliance of Chapel Hill, and the Town of Chapel Hill.

Read more about Bike Month in the full proclamation here: https://www.carrboronc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12695/2023-Bike-Month-Proclamation

Bike n’ Roll to School on Wednesday! 

For Bike Month, we’re walking, biking and rolling to Carrboro Elementary School with Mayor Damon Seils.  

Meet at Wilson Park, 110 Williams St., at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, May 3. The Carrboro Police Department will assist travelers with crossing N. Greensboro Street and onto the Frances Shetley Bikeway toward the school.  

It’s Bike Month in Carrboro! Learn about more events at https://www.carrboronc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2406

The 2023 Recreation, Parks & Cultural Resources

Summer Brochure is now available 

This session also includes registration for our youth Fall Baseball and Flag Football programs. Registration for Carrboro residents begins on May 3, 2023, and for all others on May 4, 2023. 

View the full PDF Brochure to learn more

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 https://www.carrboronc.gov/list.aspx 

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 Carrboro Town Council will hold the next Council Meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2, 2023. The agenda is available at https://carrboro.legistar.com/  and https://bit.ly/40Rlxxh 

This 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 https://carrboro.legistar.com/   OR YouTube.com/CarrboroNC OR Cable TV 18 (in Carrboro). 

To download a copy of the full meeting calendar visit https://www.carrboronc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12313

Past Meetings 

The Carrboro Town Council met Tuesday, April 25, 2023, for a Council Meeting and took the following actions on the agenda posted at https://bit.ly/3H6Hotp  

• Recognized the Arbor Day Proclamation - https://www.carrboronc.gov/2630/Proclamations-and-Resolutions
• Recognized the Bike Month Proclamation - https://www.carrboronc.gov/2630/Proclamations-and-Resolutions
• Set legislative public hearings on May 23, 2023, to consider a request for conditional rezoning at 501 South Greensboro Street and associated text amendments. The application includes a request for a text amendment to add certain multi-family residential uses to the M-3-CZ district, and other associated changes relating to the proposed residential uses. 
•  Set a public hearing on May 23, 2023, to consider amendments to the Land Use Ordinance to revise notification associated with attendance requirements for boards and commissions. 
• Awarded a contract to Griffin & Strong PC to perform a disparity study for the Town of Carrboro contracting and procurement and to authorize the Town Manager to sign any necessary documents. 

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 https://www.carrboronc.gov/248/Town-Council 

It's Small Business Week!

 Did you know that Small Business Week is happening right now in Carrboro? Take a break from the big-box stores and support a local small business instead. #ShopSmallCarrboro #SmallBusinessWeek

Read the proclamation from Mayor Damon Seils at https://www.carrboronc.gov/2630/Proclamations-and-Resolutions 

Carrboro to partner with Building Integrated Communities (BIC) 

To improve communication and leadership of immigrant and refugee residents, the Town of Carrboro this spring is beginning a partnership with the Building Integrated Communities (BIC) initiative at the Institute for the Study of the Americas.

Over the next year, a team comprised of UNC BIC staff, representatives from the Town of Carrboro, and the Refugee Community Partnership will bring stakeholders together to write and implement a language access plan.

The Building Integrated Communities Program is an initiative of the Institute for the Study of the Americas at UNC-Chapel Hill. It works in collaboration with local governments, community residents, and community organization leadership. Since 2010, the statewide BIC initiative has partnered with the local governments of Washington, Chapel Hill, Siler City, Greenville, High Point, Winston-Salem, and Sanford and has gained national recognition for its work from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. To date, more than 2,000 residents from 26 countries of origin have participated in these planning processes.

For more information, visit the BIC website at https://migration.unc.edu/building-integrated-communities/ or contact Hannah Gill, associate director of the Institute for the Study of the Americas, at hgill@email.unc.edu.

Attention Food Truck Operators!

We are accepting application for the 2023 Freight Train Blues Concert Series at Carrboro Town Commons. 

Contact Michelle Blume at mblume@carrboronc.gov or 919-918-7367