FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                           November 24, 2003

CARY TAKES STEPS TO SETTLE BOUNDARY DISPUTE THROUGH ANNEXATION

CARY , NC – At a special meeting today, the Cary Town Council adopted a Resolution of Intent to involuntarily annex 1,874 parcels of land south of its current Town limits in order to create a permanent boundary between Cary and Holly Springs .  This action affects 2,396 acres with an estimated population of 4,722.  The move comes after Holly Springs failed to act on a joint utilities services agreement between the two municipalities earlier this month and, instead, began private talks with land owners in the proposed Cary service area about annexing into Holly Springs .  

This history on a boundary between Cary and Holly Springs dates back more than a decade when Wake County Government proposed a service boundary between the two in unincorporated Wake County.  Since then, Holly Springs has disputed much of the area proposed to develop within Cary , and so Cary led an effort to resolve the dispute by working to develop a joint utility services agreement.  During the two-plus years that the staffs of the two jurisdictions worked toward an agreement, Holly Springs continued to annex land well into Cary ’s proposed service area.  

“While we had hoped to resolve the boundary issue through joint action, our experience has led us to conclude that the only way we can be sure that a reasonable, permanent boundary is created is to do it ourselves through annexation,” said Town Manager Bill Coleman.  “This action will protect the good faith investment Cary citizens have made in infrastructure over the last 15 years to serve the area, including more than $60 million in water, sewer, and parks.”  

As was the case with Cary ’s 2002 involuntary annexations, those subject to this round of annexations will not be required to immediately connect to Town water and sewer.  For those who eventually decide to tie onto Cary utilities, there will be no assessment fee, and in general, the total cost for most properties connecting to Cary water and sewer will be about the same as redoing a well and septic tank.  

Property owners affected by today’s Council action are encouraged to learn more about and become involved in the process, which is carried out under state law.  

First, Cary officials are asking neighborhoods to appoint a representative for their group who can act as a liaison/contact person with the Town during the initial portion of the process.  These neighborhood liaisons are invited to attend inquiry meetings to get details on and ask general question about the annexation process and to get plugged into the associated communications effort.  Inquiry meetings will be held on Tuesday, November 25 and December 2 from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers, 316 North Academy Street in downtown Cary . 

“We’re hoping that the neighborhood liaisons can help funnel concerns to us and communicate accurate information back to their neighborhoods,” said Associate Planning Director Ricky Barker.  “With the number of parcels and people potentially impacted by this action, we want to do everything possible to get folks the information they need and, therefore, keep rumors and misinformation to a minimum.”  

Second, affected property owners should visit the annexation Web section at www.townofcary.org.  In addition to comprehensive, current information about the process, property owners can subscribe to a special email list to get updates and reminders from Town staff.  

The Web section also includes a detailed schedule for all annexation activities, and property owners are encouraged to make plans now to attend one of the two public information meetings in January and one of the two public hearings in February.   During the public information meetings, property owners will be able to meet one-on-one with representatives from Town departments to discuss how the annexation may specifically affect each parcel.  Then at the public hearings, property owners will have a formal opportunity to share their thoughts about the annexation with the Cary Town Council.  

The next formal action on involuntary annexation is expected to occur on December 8 when the Town will mail out letters officially notifying affected property owners of the annexation plan.  Then on December 11, the Town Council will vote on the official annexation report.  The report will describe in detail Cary ’s plans for serving the lands to be annexed.  

A final vote on the involuntary annexation plan is expected in early March 2004, which would result in an effective date of March 31, 2005 according to the current schedule.

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