Thanksgiving Holiday Service Changes
The Town of Carrboro will observe the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 25-26.
Town Hall and other administrative offices will be closed.
Residential Trash will be collected two days prior to your regular collection day.
- If your regular collection day is Wednesday - Your trash will be collected on Monday, Nov. 22
- If your regular collection day is Thursday - Your trash will be collected on Tuesday, Nov. 23
- If your regular collection day is Friday - Your trash will be collected on Wednesday, Nov. 24
Recycling pick-up scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 25, will be collected on Saturday, Nov. 27. Please have carts out by 7 a.m. Recycling will be collected as normal on Friday. The landfill and related services will also be open on Friday, Nov. 26. More at https://www.orangecountync.gov/795/Solid-Waste-Management
Yard waste and loose leaves will not be collected Thanksgiving week.
Carrboro Film Fest is This Weekend!
CARRBORO, N.C. -- Carrboro Film Fest is bringing the movies back to Carrboro! Now in its 16th year, Carrboro Film Fest will run Nov. 19-21 at The ArtsCenter, and includes six feature films and four blocks of short films.
Southern Truths (featured here) is a moving collection of nine documentary shorts exploring diverse ways to experience the South and to live as a Southerner. See these films this Saturday at 4:15 p.m. Get your tickets today at CarrboroFilm.org.
Carrboro has always been a little different. In Carrboro, Southern hospitality means everyone is welcome, and the folks here are curious about the world, engaged in their community, and lovers of the arts. That’s why our town is a great place for a film festival. Join us!
Attendees will be required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, and masks will be required.
Check out the full schedule https://www.carrborofilm.org/events
Town of Carrboro Establishes Community Safety Task Force
CARRBORO, N.C. -- In the interest of advancing racial equity in law enforcement and public safety, the Town of Carrboro has established a Community Safety Task Force.
“We are looking for new approaches to public safety beyond policing,” Mayor Lydia Lavelle said. “The Council recognizes that investments in public safety and in programs and services that keep communities healthy and safe must advance racial equity, be grounded in community demands, and be informed by authentic engagement with grassroots and community organizations.”
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Carrboro Town Council appointed the following members to the task force: George Barrett, Barbara Fedders, Benjamin Gear, Madison Hayes, Frances Henderson and Mariela Hernandez. The task force is expected to begin its work in early 2022 following appointments of Council liaisons and establishing a meeting schedule.
Task force members have professional expertise and/or lived experience in the criminal justice, legal system, human services delivery, social work, public health and harm reduction, community building in marginalized populations, or related content areas.
The task force will provide recommendations to the Town Council on additional services to enhance community safety and well-being that rely on prevention and intervention strategies as alternatives to policing and the criminal justice legal system—including but not limited to community nonviolence and de-escalation training programs; domestic violence intervention and prevention; youth-oriented programs; on-call crisis response that would allow certain calls for police assistance to be handled by other trained professionals, such as social workers or crisis counselors; and other related approaches.
Background
Seeking Input on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding
The Town of Carrboro is collecting information on how funds provided from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) can best address difficulties caused by COVID-19.
The Town is reaching out to hear your views for the best uses of ARPA funds. An initial survey is being provided this fall, and more outreach will be underway with our community in coming months.
The survey is available online or on paper.
To complete the online survey, please visit the following:
Printed surveys can be picked up at the following locations:
- Carrboro Town Hall (301 W. Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510
- Carrboro Farmers Market (Saturdays of Nov. 20, Nov. 27 and Dec. 4)
ARPA funds can be used to:
- Support public health (fund personal protective equipment, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff)
- Address negative economic impacts (provide aid for workers, nonprofits, households, small businesses, affected industries and public sector)
- Services to disproportionately impacted communities (fund education assistance, child care, affordable housing, services for unhoused persons, lead remediation)
- Provide premium pay for essential workers of the Town of Carrboro
- Invest in infrastructure (water, stormwater, energy conservation, sewer, and broadband)
ARPA funds cannot be used to:
- Build a town's savings reserves or repay loans
- Litigation costs
- Fund a town's pension debts
- Offset loss in tax revenue as a result of a law, regulation, or administrative interpretation
- Lower tax rates
- General growth or economic development purposes
More information about the Town of Carrboro’s engagement and review process for ARPA Funding is available at www.townofcarrboro.org/ARP
If you have questions or need more information, please contact us at communications@townofcarrboro.org
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Care to Share Day
CARRBORO, N.C. -- Mayor Lydia Lavelle has proclaimed Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, as Care to Share Day in Carrboro.
Over the last year, the Care to Share Program has raised enough funds to help about 105 households to pay $200 down on their past due balance.
More from OWASA:
OWASA’s third-annual Care to Share Day will be the second time the event is being held during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has had a wide-ranging impact on our community, and we have seen an increase in the number of customers who are struggling to make ends meet.
Care to Share Day is focused on raising awareness of and funds for the bill-assistance program that is administered in partnership with OWASA and the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service.
This Care to Share Day – November 18, 2021 – we are asking those who are able to consider donating to help neighbors who might be having a hard time paying their water bill. OWASA temporarily suspended service disconnections due to non-payment in March 2020 in response to the emerging pandemic. While that moratorium remains in place, we are seeing a growing number of customers who are behind on their bill and would otherwise be subject to service disconnection. A donation as part of your monthly OWASA bill will go toward helping pay down debts for those neighbors who are behind.
DONATE TO CARE TO SHARE TODAY
Our goal this year is to sign up additional 100 on-bill donors to the Care to Share bill-assistance program. To reach this goal and help those in our community, we need your help. You can donate monthly as part of your OWASA bill, or you can make a donation directly to the IFC. Please select OWASA Care to Share for your gift designation.
More information is available about how to donate to the Care to Share program through an on-bill monthly donation or through a one-time gift, and we thank you for helping our neighbors in need. You can also call the OWASA Customer Service Team at (919) 537-4343 to learn more about donating to Care to Share.
Town Council Update
Meeting agendas and updates are issued from the Town Clerk’s Office. To receive these by email or text, sign up for Carrboro Town News at townofcarrboro.org/signup
Civic involvement is a valued tradition in our community. Reach the Town Council with your ideas, views, and questions at council@townofcarrboro.org
Coming Up
The Town Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, for an Organizational Meeting.
Past Meeting
The Carrboro Town Council met virtually Tuesday, Nov. 16, and took the following actions on the agenda posted at bit.ly/3Hix9AP
- Design Services Relating to the East Main Street Restriping Project -- The Council authorized the Town Manager to extend the contract for Stantec, the transportation engineering firm preparing the pavement marking and signal plans for the East Main Street restriping project.
- Public Hearing on Carrboro Connects Comprehensive Plan -- The Council received public comment on a draft comprehensive plan, Carrboro Connects 2022-2042. Access this plan at https://www.carrboroconnects.org/prelim-draft-plan Carrboro Connects 2022-2042 includes the following chapters: Introduction, Engagement, Affordable Housing, Economic Sustainability, Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Resources, Environment and Climate Action, Land Use, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, Water, and Energy, Transportation and Mobility. The draft also includes a new Implementation chapter with recommendations and more detailed timelines for projects identified as priorities for actions in the first five years. These priorities were selected for the potential to have the greatest impact on advancing racial equity, climate action implementation, and overall community benefit.
- South Greensboro Street Sidewalk Project -- The Council authorized staff to request transportation funds to cover additional estimated expenses relating to the replacement of an OWASA water line, work that is necessary to allow the South Greensboro Street sidewalk project to move forward.
- Greene Tract Resolution – The Council approved the Greene Tract Resolution for the 60-acre Portion of the Greene Tract in County Ownership and the 104-acre Portion of the Greene Tract in Joint Ownership between Orange County, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the Town of Carrboro.
- Community Safety Task Force -- The Council appointed the following members to the Community Safety Task Force: George Barrett, Barbara Fedders, Benjamin Gear, Madison Hayes, Frances Henderson and Mariela Hernandez. The task force is expected to begin its work in early 2022 following appointments of Council liaisons and establishing a meeting schedule.
About the Town Council
The Town Council is the legislative and policy-making body for Carrboro, consisting of seven elected members: Mayor Lydia Lavelle, Mayor Pro Tempore Barbara Foushee, Council Member Jacquelyn Gist, Council Member Randee Haven-O’Donnell, Council Member Susan Romaine, Council Member Damon Seils, and Council Member Sammy Slade. More information is available at http://townofcarrboro.org/248/Town-Council
Public Input Invited on Region’s Future Transportation Plan
Input Requested by December 7
If you’re interested in deemphasizing highway widenings and more support for public transportation as well as bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, now is the time to give your input on our region’s future transportation system.
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking public input on the transportation improvements that should be included in the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The 2050 MTP identifies future highway, bus, rail, bicycle, pedestrian, and other transportation projects for this region over the next 30 years.
The DCHC MPO will use the public input received on the draft 2050 MTP, call the Preferred Option, to identify where roadway, public transportation, bicycle, pedestrian, and other transportation investments will be needed in the coming decades. The Preferred Option deemphasizes highway widenings and provides more support for public transportation, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations, and roadway modernization investments to meet the region’s climate and equity goals.
Residents and other stakeholders are asked to review the Preferred Option on the DCHC MPO website at https://www.dchcmpo.org/what-we-do/programs-plans/transportation-plans/2050-metropolitan-transportation-plan and provide comments by email to andrew.henry@durhamnc.gov or by calling (919) 560-4366, ext. 36419 no later than Tuesday, Dec. 7.
About the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization
The DCHC MPO is responsible for planning and programming state and federal transportation projects in all of Durham County and the urbanized areas of Orange County and Chatham County. To learn more, follow the DCHC MPO Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up-to-date on news about their transportation planning efforts.
Transgender Day of Remembrance
CARRBORO, N.C. -- Saturday, Nov. 20, is Transgender Day of Remembrance in the Town of Carrboro, as proclaimed by Mayor Lydia Lavelle.
Mayor Lavelle asks all residents to reflect on the challenges facing the transgender members of our community, and work to ensure that social, cultural, and legislative progress continues to be made so that all people will one day be able to safely live as their full and true selves.
According to a 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, The Trevor Project found that 48% of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and other gender nonconforming young Americans said that in the last 12 months, they engaged in self-harm. That number rose to 60% for trans and nonbinary youth. 40% of those surveyed reported having seriously considered attempting suicide during that period; Of the young people who identified as trans or nonbinary, more than half said they strongly considered ending their lives.
Thanksgiving Holiday Service Schedule
The Town of Carrboro will observe the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 25-26.
Town Hall and other administrative offices will be closed. Carrboro This Week will not be published during Thanksgiving week.
Gallop & Gorge 8K Scheduled for Thanksgiving Day
CARRBORO, N.C. -- The Gallop & Gorge 8K race is scheduled for 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 25.
Expect traffic delays around this time on W. Weaver Street and Main Street. Feel free to cheer on the runners!
There are two ways you can participate in the run:
- The in-person race starts at 8 a.m. The course starts and finishes on Weaver Street in downtown Carrboro.
- A virtual option is also available. You can run when and where you want, and submit your virtual results by Dec. 5.
The Gallop & Gorge 8K race is the final race in the 17th annual Le Tour de Carrboro race series, sponsored by the Cardinal Track Club.
For more information, visit https://www.cardinaltrackclub.com/
Small Business Saturday in Carrboro
CARRBORO, N.C. -- Mayor Lydia Lavelle has proclaimed Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) as Small Business Saturday in Carrboro.
“I urge the residents of our community to support small businesses and merchants on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year,” Mayor Lavelle said.
The Town of Carrboro supports our local businesses that create jobs, boost our local economy, and preserve our communities. There are more than 387 small businesses in Carrboro, making up 96% of all business in town. Small businesses in our town employ over 2,500 people and provide over $93 million in payroll.
- Read the proclamation: https://www.townofcarrboro.org/DocumentCenter/View/10174/2021-Small-Business-Saturday
- Shop Local: Spread cheer and support local Carrboro businesses through Carrboro Cheer 2021, which will include an in-person Small Business Saturday kickoff (Nov. 27) with a table at the Carrboro Farmers' Market featuring the distribution of complimentary local swag bags and launch of the buy local Carrboro Cheer Gift Guide.
Annual Carrboro Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
Join us at Carrboro Town Hall as we welcome our community to gather and celebrate the festive season! We welcome all community members to join with our group of local schoolchildren and the Find Your Own Voice community singing group as we officially kick off the season with music and the lighting of the community tree.
This event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, in front of Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St. It is free for all ages!
