The Wake County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing for the fiscal year 2028 Community Transportation Program Grant at their Sept. 8, 2026, regular meeting. The meeting agenda and full meeting video are available online.
Public hearing for fiscal year 2028 Community Transportation Program Grant
The GoWake Access team presented the board with background on GoWake Access’ ridership trends and the grant requirements.
Background:
- The grant application is for over $1M in state funding.
- GoWake Access is the largest Medicaid transportation and demand response program in Wake County.
- GoWake Access provides mandated services like transportation for residents receiving Medicaid for Medicaid-approved medical appointments. There is no cost to those riders.
- GoWake Access also provides non-mandated services like elderly and disabled transportation assistance, transportation for residents who live in or are traveling to a rural zone and employment transportation. These services are low cost to riders and subject to availability.
- The Community Transportation Grant is from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and funds transportation in the county’s rural areas and helps pay for van replacements and administrative costs.
- The grant requires that counties hold a public hearing to allow resident input.
Action Taken:
- The board approved the grant application to be submitted. The application requested over $1 million in state funding and offered $258,000 in required County matching funds.
Public hearing to consider rezoning 10.42 acres in unincorporated Wake County
- The Planning and Development Services Department presented the board with a rezoning request from a resident that asks to convert a parcel in unincorporated Wake County from residential zoning to industrial.
- The Board of Commissioners heard three comments from Wake residents, including two residents in the neighborhood who opposed the petition and an attorney for the applicant who requested a continuance.
Background:
- The request is to rezone a 10.42-acre parcel of land located near Raleigh.
- The property is currently zoned as Residential (R-30) – where single family homes can be built on lots that are a minimum of 30,000 square feet. The owner would like the rezone to Conditional Zoning Industrial-1 (CZ-I-1) – where manufacturing and assembly types of work can occur.
- The property is surrounded by properties zoned as Residential.
- The property owner has operated a tree service business on the property for 10 years. They have an active zoning violation in place.
- The Planning Board voted 6-2 against the rezoning request in August and recommended that the Board of Commissioners deny it, because it is not in compliance with the County’s Comprehensive Plan and is not in the public interest.
Action Taken:
- The board postponed the decision and referred the petition back to the planning board.
On the consent agenda
Items placed on the consent agenda are considered routine or recurring and are approved by the board together with one motion.
- The board accepted and appropriated $10,000 of additional funding from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to support youth traffic diversion programming.
- The board accepted and appropriated $71,000 of grant funds for the Wake County Public Health Child Health program.
- The board approved a resolution re-establishing the Fire Tax Service District without the Town of Wendell.
Resident Advisory Boards and Commissions
The Board of Commissioners appoints qualified residents to serve on 53 local advisory boards and commissions. Residents can learn more about advisory boards and commissions and apply for openings online.
- The board appointed residents to the following boards: Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee, Capital Area Workforce Development, Holly Springs Planning Board and the Water Partnership.
- The next round of appointments will be made at the board’s Oct. 5, 2026, regular meeting. Applications for those positions are due Sept. 17, 2026. Possible appointments include: one reappointment for the Cary Board of Adjustment, one reappointment for the Cary Planning and Zoning Board, one reappointment for the Energy Advisory Commission, two reappointments and one term completion for the Fire Commission, one reappointment and one resignation for the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and one reappointment for the Water Partnership.
Recognitions and proclamations
- The Board of Commissioners adopted a proclamation to recognize September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It was accepted by the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The proclamation honored the lives of those who died by suicide and encouraged residents to talk openly about mental health.
- The board adopted a proclamation to recognize Sept. 10, 2026, as First Responders’ Day and was accepted by members of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, who will host their annual First Responders’ breakfast this week. The proclamation recognized the vital public servants who provide life-saving services to Wake County residents 24/7.
- The commissioners adopted a proclamation to recognize September 2026 as Wake County Employee Appreciation Month. The proclamation recognized the dedication and exceptional service of Wake County employees.
Upcoming BOC meetings
The Wake County Board of Commissioners’ next regular meeting will be Monday, Sept. 21, at 2 p.m. in the Board Chambers at the Wake County Justice Center. The meeting agenda will be posted online by Friday, Sept. 18.
Category
