Little Fuquay-Varina growing like weed

Candidates face a balancing act

FUQUAY-VARINA -- Small Town. Big Plans.

That's the slogan for South Lakes, a 1,000-home subdivision being built with plans for offices, shops, school, day care and church.

And it fits Fuquay-Varina, the town that South Lakes residents will call home one day.

What might be the biggest challenge ahead for the men who win seats on the town's Board of Commissioners is balancing its fast growth with its small-town vibe.

"They say Fuquay is the next Cary. I hope not," said Donna Friery, who owns two consignment shops on Broad Street. "In one sense, I hope so. And in one sense, I hope not."

Fuquay-Varina is growing about 5.6 percent a year, almost twice Wake County's growth rate.

At the same time, officials have cultivated Fuquay-Varina's small-town image with revitalized downtown strips along Main and Broad streets.

The nature of the community is revealed in other ways.

Melvin's, a hamburger place on Main, stays open late after Friday-night high school football games so the home team, cheerleaders and their friends can watch the highlights on television. A small Hudson Belk department store remains open. So does a local supermarket.

Booming growth can bring problems -- crowded roads and demands on infrastructure. Yet, while downtown business owners needled Mayor John Byrne one day about speeding cars downtown or congested roads on the fringe, the growth hasn't translated into any massive call for political change.

Byrne is heading into his fourth two-year term -- he's running unopposed.

Three candidates -- incumbent Jeff Wells and opponents Charlie Adcock and Jimmy Johnson -- are on the ballot for three seats on the Board of Commissioners, although Jim Abernethy is mounting a serious write-in campaign.

Incumbent Bob Barker is not seeking re-election. Another incumbent, James Campbell, filed for re-election but died in August. His name will not appear on the ballot.

In May, voters overwhelmingly approved $19 million in bonds to pay for the extension of Judd Parkway, which will serve as a mini-Beltline around town; water and sewer extensions to fuel growth primarily in the southeast and northwest; parks; and more work downtown.

"That's a vote of confidence to your town board, town staff that you're trying to do things about things that your community thinks is important," Byrne said of the bond vote.

The candidates for commissioner are running for different reasons but don't offer significantly different views. Like Byrne, they say growth is inevitable. The best way to handle it is to plan for it. Nobody proposes slowing it down.

Wells, who has served six years years as a commissioner, said he'd like to see the bond projects, especially Judd Parkway, completed. He wants the town to get the "biggest bang we can out of these dollars."

Wells also is looking forward to working with the newly established economic development commission, a public-private partnership that aims to steer more business to town. "It's amazing the growth that we're having and the growth that we're expecting," he said. "It can be good for us ... providing opportunity for our people to have work close by."

Adcock, chairman of the town's planning and zoning board, said Fuquay-Varina needs to be diligent about planning to handle the pressures of new development, and must do a better job luring businesses, he said. People have more of a stake in their town when they live and work there, he said.

"We're becoming more of a bedroom community," said Adcock, noting that new businesses help the town's tax base and identity.

Johnson spent his career in municipal government, retiring as Raleigh's assistant director for solid-waste services in 2005. He lost a seat on the town board two years ago by a couple of dozen votes.

The numbers might not make Fuquay-Varina a small town for much longer, but little things, like making sure a person answers the phone at town hall, can help keep that small-town feel, he said.

"The growth is just a challenge we're going to have to handle like everybody else," Johnson said. "I don't know we're different than anyone else."

Abernethy, the write-in candidate who sits on the town's planning and zoning board, said he'd thought about running for office but had not pursued it until now. He has no plan for big changes to the way business is done here.

"I feel like a real good job is being done," Abernethy said. "Just like any town, there are situations that probably need attention. But in Fuquay, I feel like they are minor."

Byrne, the mayor, considers Main Street his office. When he walks through town, car horns honk. Passers-by greet him. He picks up litter on the road and sidewalk.

On a tour through town, Byrne popped in to My Back Porch, a women's consignment shop owned by Friery. She pointed to a front-page story in the local paper about a flap over a mural in town. Byrne told her not to worry about it, pointing out that it hadn't been taken down.

Byrne walked away to answer his cell phone.

"He has a challenge," Friery said, "in trying to maintain the quaintness yet make it current day."