2007 State Of The County Address

WAKE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
CHAIRMAN TONY GURLEY
November 19, 2007

Vice Chairman Coble, Commissioners, Wake County staff, and my fellow Wake County citizens:

As chairman of this Board for the past year, it is my privilege and honor today to be able to report to you – our citizens – on the state of Wake County. Over the last year, our Board and our citizens have faced many challenges and celebrated many achievements. We have worked TOGETHER to accomplish our goals. And TOGETHER we are laying foundations for a future that promises to remain one of the brightest in North Carolina, and in all of the United States.

I am proud of Wake County. We are strong in delivering the traditional responsibilities of County government. Those include providing mental health and human services, and public health and safety. As you heard today, our duty also is to collect revenues to build schools for a quality education system, and jails and courthouses for our justice system. But, today, the County does so much more in other areas – such as libraries, parks, clean water, clean air, solid waste, and sound infrastructure that promote economic development and a good quality of life.

But government is just one facet of what makes Wake County strong. Our businesses, the nonprofits we honored earlier today, and the citizens of Wake County are the real drivers behind our success. This afternoon, I will recognize just a few of the citizens and organizations who help make Wake County great. I cannot name everyone. But I believe it is good to recognize people who enrich our lives by their passion for public service.

The Board of Commissioners began this year by developing priority goals to take good care of the places and the people in Wake County. One of our goals was to establish a continuum of care for our citizens living with mental illness.

Ann Akland has been a leader in this effort. With Wake County’s National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Ann empowers families and providers – and anyone who will listen – to help assure compassionate and quality care for our mentally ill citizens. I also want to recognize Kent Goddard, who was a founding member of our Human Services Board and served for 11 years, as another champion for the mentally ill. With allies like Ann, Kent and our Human Services Board, the County secured an agreement with Holly Hill Hospital to provide a short-term, inpatient care unit in Wake County. And as you will hear later in our meeting today, the County has reached an agreement with the State of North Carolina to operate a temporary inpatient facility during the transition period after the closure of Dorothea Dix Hospital and the opening of the new State Hospital in Butner. Ann and Kent, thanks for all your hard work.

Debra King, of CASA, is also helping build foundations for our future. This year she – with her great staff – earned the statewide William C. Bass Award for leadership in affordable housing. Over the last 15 years, Debra and CASA – working with the County and other partners – have provided housing and supportive services to people with special needs. CASA also helps these residents with work opportunities that encourage self-sufficiency, independent living, and a sense of belonging in our community. Debra, congratulations and thanks.

The County this year helped provide funding and resources to other nonprofit organizations that make this a community we can all be proud of. We partnered with Interact to purchase a new home in the old YWCA on Oberlin Road, where leaders like Adam Hartzell, his staff and volunteers help us protect families who are victims of domestic violence.

The County provided funding to Urban Ministries for expansion into a new facility. Urban Ministry’s director Ann Burke and her board help us provide a hand up to our citizens in need of food, health care and counseling. This is a great complement to our own South Wilmington Street Center for homeless individuals, the Helen Wright Center for Women, the Raleigh Rescue Mission, the Open Door Clinic, the Healing Place for Men and the Healing Place for Women and other faith-based ministries.

This year, the County also enthusiastically supported the Alliance Medical Ministries. Alliance leader, Dr. Susan Weaver, and her team of volunteer physicians will leverage these County dollars to expand health care to working, uninsured Wake County citizens. This meets a critical need in our community for those who have no other medical provider.

Wake County also provided funding to build the first freestanding Hospice in Wake County, which will help families face the end of life with dignity and compassion. The William C. Dunlap Center of Caring is being made possible because of Dr. Billy Dunlap’s vision and persistence, along with donations from many generous citizens. We thank Dr. Dunlap and Hospice director John Thoma.

We all want to know that our loved ones will be safe, secure and treated well when assisted living becomes necessary. Volunteers on our Nursing Home Community Advisory Committee won a statewide award recognizing their efforts. On behalf of residents in assisted living, our Wake volunteers provide a voice and eyes and ears through their visits and monitoring reports. Mary Ellen Raymond leads this hardworking group.

The faith community in Wake County has a long tradition of laying firm foundations for our future. 80 churches in the Child Welfare Faith Community Partnership – which is nationally recognized – help us provide support for foster and adoptive families for abused and neglected children.

Bill Curry of Martin Street Baptist has challenged his congregation to become involved. The church sponsors two foster children in high school. Ashley Brown, a former foster care student the church mentored still receives the congregation’s help as she attends North Carolina Central University.

Ricardo Perez has been a driving force in the Wake County Gang Prevention Partnership, an important Commissioners' goal. He co-chairs the Community Mobilization committee. And he was instrumental in the gang prevention forums we held in eastern Wake County. These resulted in developing community-driven prevention efforts that are so vital.

All these organizations, in some way, help the County meet the important needs that are identified in our Community Assessment. I want to thank Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, of Progress Energy, for co-chairing this project with me. We use this four-year study of our social and physical needs to help focus on goals and provide services where they’re needed most.

An important measure of a successful community is the quality of its public education. Wake County is privileged to have the best school system in the State, and the largest. While sufficiently financing school construction and day-to-day operations has been challenging, we all recognize that education is directly linked to attracting business, high-paying jobs, and maintaining a great quality of life.

Commissioners and the School Board asked community leaders Billie Redmond and John Mabe to be co-chairs of the Citizens’ Facilities Advisory Committee and to study school construction costs and efficiencies. It was a monumental task. The Committee made its recommendations this year, and now the Board of Commissioners and the School Board will work together to agree on the best ways to implement them.

But it’s what happens inside the buildings that makes Wake County’s education system the best. No one contributes more to this goal than teachers like Wake County Teacher of the Year Paige Elliott. Yet, Paige is the standard for the hard work and creative effort of thousands of our teachers, and we salute all of them. Our teachers helped earn state awards for 11 Wake County “Honor Schools of Excellence.” And just today we celebrate three Blue Ribbon Schools.

We cannot talk about education without talking about Wake Technical Community College. Wake Tech helps us attract employers and create good jobs in a very competitive, global economy. Dr. Steve Scott, his board and staff have many accomplishments. Just this August, they opened the new Northern Wake Campus. Thanks to voters, who passed a $92 million bond this year, Wake Tech will continue to expand. Now, more than ever, I am convinced that there is no better use of taxpayers’ dollars than Wake Tech.

I’m sure Ervin Crouch would agree. Ervin is a 52-year old married father of five. After a 23-year career, he was laid off. Today, he pursues a degree in Wake Tech's Biopharmaceutical Technology program, and is aiming for mid-management career opportunities.

Cynthia Hudgins of Garner is a single mom, laid off after 13 years. She is pursuing three Associate degrees concurrently at Wake Tech. Cynthia would like to work in medical office management. We recognize them today, as well.

Citizens also supported our goal of a $45 million bond for libraries. They supported the bond because they love our County libraries, and Bill Smith is one of their greatest champions. He was the Wake County Government Volunteer of the Year for 2007, and with his fellow Library Commissioners, helps our County staffers run the best and most efficient library system in the state. The number of these great volunteers is the equivalent of staffing three libraries, so thanks to Bill and his friends. This year we opened or expanded new libraries including Holly Springs, Southeast Raleigh, and North Regional in Raleigh.

Open space is another of our Commissioner and community goals – and as the saying goes, it’s priceless. But it does require money and stewardship. Our voters passed a $50 million bond to buy precious open space. By purchasing this land, we will secure and protect future water supplies, water quality, wildlife habitat, recreational areas and the natural legacy of a beautiful county.

Toward this goal, we also completed land acquisition for the Little River Reservoir this year. We also surpassed the 1,000-acre mark for acquiring open space land in Marks Creek. We appreciate Sig Hutchinson’s work to rally concerned citizens around our open space goal. The Neuse Riverkeeper, Dean Naujoks, also supports open space and clean water efforts, as do our friends at the Clean Water Trust Fund, the Trust for Public Land, and the Triangle Land Conservancy.

As we protect open space and water supplies, Wake County must also manage stormwater. I want to recognize the effort of the Stormwater Management Task Force, whose members – representing all of our municipalities, engineers and the development community – have worked collaboratively for more than two years to find solutions.

Urban leadership is another goal of this Board. As Wake County continues to grow, our Commissioners and Manager are serving on national, state and local boards that cope with challenging, growth-related issues.

We are urban leaders and prizewinners in a truly critical area – and that is, saving lives. Our Emergency Medical Services won a National Association of Counties award for a lifesaving and life-enhancing treatment called ICE, or induced hypothermia treatment. We are one of only a few in the country. This innovative EMS practice helps ensure better outcomes at hospital cardiac units. WakeMed, Rex and Duke Raleigh hospitals are important partners in this effort. And Walter Davis is a living testament to its effectiveness. He’s with us today, and we thank him for sharing his story with citizens.

Wake County is fortunate to have Sheriff Donnie Harrison. His Citizens Well-check Program won a national award this year for the program’s daily phone call to Wake County seniors and disabled citizens living alone … and the dispatch of a deputy if there is a problem.

The Sheriff’s Canine Program helps the entire community, including our seniors. Deputy A.C. Gurganus and our canine bloodhound Lucy found an Alzheimer’s patient near death, just in the nick of time. Likewise, the Sheriff’s Project Lifesaver is a rapid response program for people with brain disorders who wander away from their caregivers.

Wake County and the Sheriff have joined the ranks of other communities in assisting the federal government in identifying and detaining potential illegal residents. Commissioners recently funded 12 positions in the Sheriff’s Office to carry out this project.

Delivering services to all county residents is made more efficient through our Regional Centers. The Northern Regional Center will open in January 2008 next to the library in Wake Forest, bringing a wide range of County programs. I especially want to recognize Jim Mebane’s leadership as chair of the Regional Networks Committee and co-chair of our Human Services Board.

Just as we provide necessary services, the future of our County depends on a vibrant and healthy economy to fuel jobs and opportunities for everyone. Ken Atkins, named Economic Developer of the Year, never rests in his efforts to bring cutting-edge industry to our community. Ken has been a great partner in attracting corporate citizens like Credit Suisse, Fidelity, RBC, Novartis, and Network Appliances to Wake County.

The future is also about preparing those who will be leaders in it. That’s why the Making Magic Alliance is helping us achieve goals of bringing up healthy kids with bright hopes for the future. People like Lawerence Flemming, formerly of our Human Services Board, and Ray Price of Harley Davidson fame, are working with our County staff, 4-H Youth Development, and NC State Cooperative Extension to create some magic.

In January 2007, they inaugurated the annual Making Magic Motorsports Expo, raising and donating tens of thousands of dollars and increasing community awareness to give at-risk youth an opportunity to dream, and realize their dreams, through camps and mentoring and much more. The Making Magic Motorsports Expo is coming up again in January. I hope I’ll see you there to support this community effort.

In just a few days, we will join our families and enter holiday seasons that cause us to give thanks, to embrace peace, and to share gifts of all kinds. We will celebrate family and community. As we have today, we will celebrate prosperity, volunteerism and humanity to one another.

On behalf of all of my fellow County Commissioners, I say thank you to a great Wake County team, including: the county manager – David Cooke; county attorney – Scott Warren; our clerk – Susan Banks; and deputy manager – Joe Durham; but – most of all – our excellent employees who serve this county’s citizens so well every day.

In the past month, we paid our respects and said good-bye to two great Wake County community leaders from the private and public sectors. Bob McGehee, with Progress Energy, will be remembered for his great sense of corporate citizenship and support for community efforts such as the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

As we say good-bye and pay homage to the late Sheriff John Baker, we do so by naming our County’s Public Safety Center in his honor … not only for his contributions to law enforcement but his great love for the community and citizens of Wake County.

I would like to thank my fellow Commissioners for all their hard work collectively, and their support for me as Chairman. And I join with my fellow Commissioners in thanking the citizens of Wake County for this opportunity to serve as your representatives.

The state of the County is sound, the future is bright, and we are all blessed with caring neighbors and an unlimited potential for prosperity and success.

Thank You.