NAME: Don Frantz

AGE: 36

OCCUPATION: Small business owner, Frantz Automotive Center, downtown Cary

EDUCATION: police science, Southside Virginia Community College

POLITICAL PARTY AND EXPERIENCE: Republican. Member of Western Wake Republican Club.

CIVIC ACTIVITIES AND OTHER AFFILIATIONS: President, Heart of Cary Association; Cary Chamber of Commerce Small Business Community Service Award Winner 2003; former member, Town of Cary Citizen’s Budget Review Commission; member: Town of Cary Planning and Zoning Board, Cary Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business Owners, Cary IMP Club, Friends of the Page Walker, Town of Cary Artist Selection Panel

WHY SHOULD YOU BE ELECTED? Cary needs leadership based on sound principles and common sense. We need leadership that is in touch with our community and understands our problems. We need leadership that can work through their differences, find a common ground, and move our community forward.

I believe I can provide that leadership.

As your District B representative, I promise to bring accountability and common-sense solutions to Town Hall. I promise to represent your voice and your concerns, not those of special interests. Cary does a lot right, but we can do better.

CONTACT INFORMATION: 612-6870; www.frantzforcary.com; frantzforcary@msn.com; 706 East Cornwall Road, Cary, NC 27511

1. How do you propose the town manage infill development so that the approval process generates results acceptable for both residents and developers?

First and foremost, I believe the town needs to revisit its public input process. Residents are currently only allowed public comment at the beginning of the approval process, while the developer is allowed numerous opportunities to comment on their project. Developers are even allowed to “wheel and deal” with the council immediately prior to the council vote, while residents must sit quietly in the audience. Plans can change significantly during the approval process, and I believe citizens have a right to comment on the final product prior to the council’s decision.

Secondly, we have land-use plans for a reason, its time we started following them.

And last but certainly not least, we must refocus on what made Cary the great place to live that it is – quality single family homes on appropriately sized lots. While density has its place in Cary, that place is not on every developable piece of property we have left.

2. What are the three most critical projects in the town’s capital improvement plan and why?

1) Road construction and maintenance; Cary must do better at ensuring that road construction and maintenance better maintains pace with growth. It is pretty hard to convince folks that “growth is good” when it takes three times as long and twice the gas to get to work as it used to. Quality of life for most folks means more time with family and less time in traffic.

2) Continue to expand upon the town’s fiber-optic traffic signalization system; this computerized system has proven to be very effective at alleviating traffic congestion at a significantly lower cost than road widening or right-of-way acquisition.

3) Water treatment and reclamation facilities; as the recent drought has reminded us, our water supply is a precious and finite resource. The current growth-at-all-costs-and-hope-it-rains mentality isn’t going to cut it for much longer. While Cary has done well in planning for future water needs, we can do better.

We must also invest in infrastructure improvements to address stormwater runoff and flooding that are plaguing older areas of Cary as a result of new development. Our existing residents quality of life is more important than those who just got here yesterday.

3) Which of these should the council address first: complete the joint land-use plan with the Chatham County Board of Commissioners or revive the request for extraterritorial jurisdiction for the land south and east of the town? What is the basis for your choice?

Complete the joint land-use plan with the Chatham County Commissioners. The majority of growth in Cary is taking place in west Cary and even into Chatham County already. Cary cannot operate as if we are an island, and we must include the folks who are most directly impacted by this development. Folks in Chatham County must have a voice in this process. We must also ensure that as this area develops, it retains its rural character and that we protect our precious water supply in Jordan Lake.