Morrisville residents come
together on local development
Mary Willis, Morrisville Planning Director, enjoyed a ride on Lisa, the elephant at the Roberts Brothers
Circus in early October.
Elephants, aerialists entertain Morrisville
Over 400 children and adults
enjoyed the Roberts Brothers
Circus, held at the town hall grounds
on October 3.
Despite early clouds and rain, the
sun was out in time for young and
old to enjoy the activities under the
Big Top, and elephant and pony
rides along the midway.
Morrisville Planning Director
Mary Willis rode the biggest star of
the circus, Lisa the Elephant, in the
opening ceremonies.
Morrisville’s new recreation facili
ty supervisor Tim Grant was chair
person for the circus project, one of
his first official duties since coming
on board Sept. 14.
“We were very pleased with the
number of people who came out to
see the circus in spite of what
looked to be a rainy day,’’ Grant
said. “The quality of entertainment,
reasonable prices, and the care given
to the animals makes this a first-rate
circus. We look forward to their
return next year.”
This year’s performers included
aerialists, jugglers, clowns, daredev
il acrobats and trained animals. The
crowd got a glimpse of the glitter,
glamour and nostalgia of yesteryear.
From the looks on their faces, it was
a great day for children age 2 to 102
inside the Big Top.
Yeager social chairperson at
Appalachian State University
William Yeager of Morrisville is serving as Social Chairperson for the
Appalachian State University Student Ambassador program.
Appalachian ambassadors work to improve the quality of the university
through professionalism, dedicated service and a partnership with the alum
ni association and admissions office. The 38-member organization was
founded 21 years ago, and it was recently one of five schools named 1998
Outstanding. Organization for the Student Alumni Association/Student
Foundation I^etwork (SAA/SF).
By Mary Beth Phillips
Staff Writer
The first meeting of the Better
Morrisville Association, a home-
owners civic association organized
because of concerns about a lack of
input during the initial phase of the
town's booming development and
about traffic and high-density hous
ing, will be held November 4 at the
Morrisville Community Center at
7:45 p.m.
Richard Elliott, president of the
organization, said goals and objec
tives will be arrived at at the meet
ing and questions will be answered
about the newly-formed group.
Elliott, a strong supporter of sin
gle-family developments, has
aligned with Linda Lyons,
spokesperson for the Shiloh
Coalition for Community Control
and Improvement, and other resi
dents primarily of the Preston and
Huntington neighborhoods to form
the group.
In a news release, association
members also cited a need to
improve and expand town services.
“BMA members want Morrisville
to realize its full potential to become
an attractive suburban town that is
fully competitive with the surround
ing housing market. We believe
Morrisville’s exceptional location
adjoining Research Triangle Park
and its proximity to Cary, Durham,
and Raleigh make it ideal for quali
ty, low-density, single family and
ART • POHERY
•JEWELRY
•ZAPOTEC RUGS &
PILLOWS
•NATIVE AMERICAN
& SOUTHWEST
ARTIFACTS
‘With Cary serious
about wanting to slow
down, this is a golden
opportunity for
Morrisville. ’
—Richard Elliott,
Better Morrisville Association
retirement subdivision develop
ments,” the news release said.
Members hope to become
involved in the process of revising
the town’s land use plan, encourag
ing major expansion of the residen
tial zone and halting future high-
density, high-traffic residential
development.
Elliott, who often speaks during
the public comment portion of the
Morrisville Board of
Commissioners’ meetings, has said
that fine quality residential develop
ments pay for themselves better than
most commercial or industrial uses.
He said on one-third-acre lots at
$250,000 per house the undevel
oped parts of Morrisville could gen
erate $1.8 billion in tax revenue. He
said the commercial side of the
town, which now makes up 80 per
cent of the tax base, brings in about
$425 million. This is assuming that
every acre of undeveloped land was
developed as high-quality, single
family residential.
“With Cary serious about wanting
to slow down, this is a golden
opportunity for Morrisville. We
could be the bedroom community of
RTP. I don’t know what they [the
board of commissioners] have
against refined housing,” he said,
adding that, in fairness, few devel
opers have brought plans for the
kind of housing he envisions.
Elliott is a retired public relations
director for the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey. He
moved to Morrisville in ‘95.
Officers for the new group include
Elliott as president, Ms. Lyons as
vice president, Annabelle Fountain
and Alan Klimeck as vice presidents
and Diana Jansen as secretary.
*'7r^-3S'3S
IMAGINE
a world without chocolate.
No Way!
Morning
Croissants
& Pastries
Our homemade Chocolates
and Candy selections will
make you forget we ever
mentioned itl
Now Open
at High House Crossing Shopping Center
(Corner of High House Road & N.C. Hwy. 5.5 - Cary/Apex)
A Happening Place To Be!
ready-
prepared
Gene
Truelove
Wake County Commissioner
Neighborhood Schools
Building Neighborhood Schools
Reduce Busing
Greater Parental Involvement
Student Discipline and Accountability
Better Roads
Getting Our Fair Share of State and Federal Highway Funds
Re^onal Solutions for Regional Problems
Explore Mass Transit Alternatives Like Light Rail
“Neighborhood schools, better roads, stronger law enforcement and keeping your taxes low will be my priorities as a member of
the Wake County Board of Commissioners.
1 am committed to balanced growth that protects and enhances
the country to live, work, and raise a family. 1 ask for your support
An Experienced Leader
Town Commissioner of Fuquay-Varina
Board of Directors WakeMed Hospital
Former Youth Prison Volunteer
Vietnam Veteran
President, SDM, Inc. Software Company
our quality of life in Wake County and makes us the best place in
on November 3rd.”
^e*te ^>tc(e6w&
Gene Truelove • Experienced Leadership
Neighborhood Schools, Better Roads, Low Taxes
Pai^b^b^heGrai^^elov^o^ount^Commissione^^mmitt^