FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                             December 1, 2003

SECOND ANNEXATION INQUIRY MEETING SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY

CARY, NC – The Town of Cary will hold the second of two inquiry meetings for neighborhood representatives about the proposed annexation of properties south of the current Town limits.  The meeting will be held in the Town Council Chambers on Tuesday, December 2, 2003 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.   The inquiry meeting will provide details on the state-mandated annexation process and directions on how to get plugged into the associated communications effort.  Affected neighborhoods are asked to appoint a representative for their group who can attend the inquiry meeting and act as a liaison/contact person with the Town during this initial portion of the process.  Representatives who attended the November 25^th inquiry meeting need not attend tomorrow’s meeting as the program will be the same.  Inquiry meetings are not designed to serve as public hearings or forums for debate.  Formal public hearings are slated for February.  

Cary ’s informal inquiry meetings result from the November 24, 2003 vote by the Cary Town Council to adopt a Resolution of Intent to involuntary annex 1,874 parcels of land south of the current Town limits to create a permanent boundary between Cary and Holly Springs .  The annexation plan was executed 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 .  The boundary will help protect Cary’s $64 million investment in infrastructure made in the area over the last 15 years, including water and sewer systems, parks, and roads.  

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.  

Affected property owners are encouraged 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 the 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 at the Middle Creek Community Center and one of the two public hearings in February at Cary Town Hall .  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 the week of December 8, 2003 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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