January 24, 2007

Published in Wake Forest, NC

            The issues and problems will form the basis for discussion as the steering committee begins its work on a plan that will shape how Wake Forest develops, what it looks like and how it operates over the next 10 to 20 years.

            If one of the Gazette readers has an issue that is not listed below, he or she will have a chance to suggest it very soon. Area residents will be able to chime in on their vision of the future at an open meeting later this spring that will use the same brain-storming procedure.

            Those issues include, not in any order:

• A loss of identity.

• A loss of small-town feeling

• The need for a comprehensive plan: two few north-south roads

• The need to be proactive with development: less piecemeal development

• The need to develop a clearly defined process for water allocation

• Public transportation

• More rigid appearance standards for buildings

• The need to find a way to pay for public safety services

• Connectivity between developments and the rest of the town

• Schools and a hospital

• Find a way to balance commercial development with the town’s historical character

• Increased pressure on town services

• A clear vision of where the town wants to go

• Develop and plan for cultural activities

• Affordable housing

• Secondary road outlets to ease pressure on main roads

            These issues – and they are roughly stated here and in the meeting – were culled from much longer lists.

            Consultant Glenn Harbeck asked the 23 board and committee members to sit around three tables and take five minutes to “jot down what you see as some of the challenges, issues, needs and trends facing Wake Forest in the next ten years.” Or, he said, “What would you like the plan to accomplish?”

            Each person around the table then briefly stated his or her concerns while Harbeck and planners Ann Ayers and Bill Summers wrote them on flip charts. The flip chart sheets were then taped to the town hall meeting room wall, each person was given 10 orange dots and asked to place a dot next to the 10 issues he or she thought most important. The result was the list above.

            “Your charge,” Harbeck told the steering committee members, “is to be a sounding board for Wake Forest and make sure what comes out is acceptable to the residents.

            “Each of you brings a unique perspective to the group. Each of you is responsible for networking” to bring people to the three public meetings and serving as a conduit for information and opinion between town residents and the committee.

            The committee members are Jeff Adolphsen, a state preservationist who volunteers with the Downtown Revitalization Corporation; Anthony Allen, a vice president at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Andy Ammons, the developer of Heritage Wake Forest; Kathy Brewer, who with her husband owns ShipOnSite; Mary Hayes, who is retired and lives in the Mill Village; Stephanie Jenny, a stay-at-home mother of two preschoolers who also serves on the human relations council and the greenways committee; Michael Johnson, who with architect Matt Hale and Charles Grantham plans to redevelop part of East Jones Avenue with a building housing both retail and condominiums; Debbie Ludas, a nurse who with her husband, Marty, just purchased the brick building that held The Corner and the gray Victorian house next to it; Guerda Martin; Tim O’Brien, an elementary school teacher; and Keith Shackleford, an attorney with Warren Perry & Anthony.

            Their meetings are open to the public. Harbeck stressed that everyone in town is encouraged to express their opinions by attending the committee meetings, which will be informal, or through e-mails, letters or phone calls.

            The committee will meet the fourth Tuesdays at 6:45 p.m. in town hall for not more than two hours each time. The first meeting is Feb. 27.

            Harbeck said the entire process, from this meeting through submission of the plan to the town commissioners, will take about 18 months.