Home Sales in Union County
page 10
Union County
New councilmember takes seat in Stallings
page 3
Serving Indian Trail, Marvin, Stallings, Waxhaw, Weddington and Wesley Chapel
Locally Owned & Operated www.unioncountyweekly.com
Volume 10, Number 11 • March 12 to 18, 2015
First steps taken
Town staff to begin drafting paperwork to precede preliminary planning for new facility
in bringing YMCA to Waxhaw
by Ryan Pitkin editor@unioncountyweekly.com
A rendering of a possible use of the land that may be bought by YMCA and Waxhaw for a new YMCA facility surrounding the Cureton Town Center. Photo courtesy of YMCA of Greater Charlotte
WAXHAW - At its March 10 meeting, the Waxhaw Board of Commissioners took the first steps towards creating a deal to bring a YMCA to the town after nearly seven years of research and discussion. The board did not make any final decision regarding the YMCA, but unanimously approved two motions that will move the town closer to a deal. The motions direct staff to draft a letter of intent to form a partnership with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and to draft a commitment to buy a piece of land, worth $1.3 million and currently owned by Wells Fargo, upon (see Waxhaw YMCA on page 4)
Board of Education appoints Jason Marton to represent District 6 by Crystal O’Gorman crystal@unioncountyweekly.com
The Union County Board of Education is once again complete as members voted 5 to 3 in favor of appointing Waxhaw resident Jason Marton to represent District 6 at the March 10 board meeting at Stallings Elementary. Marton was selected over Sean Maher and Kathleen Heintel, both losing 3-5 votes, to replace former representative Marce Savage, who resigned on Jan. 31. Melissa Merrell, Sharon Harrell and Gary Sides consecutively voted in favor of Maher and Heintel. John Collins, Leslie Boyd, Mike Guzman, Christina Helms and Kevin Stewart voted in opposition of Maher and Heintel, and stood together in favor of Marton. Merrell was visibly disappointed that Maher or
Heintel wasn’t selected by the board. “Maher and Heintel, with a decade of dedication volunteering in our schools, it would have been a natural progression to work their way into the District 6 seat,” she said. She continued that Marton did not list any prior experience working in schools or with youth on his application. “I don’t see how you can start from ground zero and take a seat on the board of education, if you’ve never invested in the schools,” she said. Merrell was on the Strategic Planning and Technology Committee, which reviewed the 11 candidates and narrowed the vote down to the final three. She said over 80 percent of the emails she received from community members were in support of Maher and Heintel, only 13 percent supported Marton. Boyd was enthusiastic about Marton’s selection.
“Living in District 6 and campaigning alongside Jason (during general election), I heard everything he said and he has so much support.” She commented on how strong Marton campaigned for District 6 during the last general election and that she believed in his long-term and strategic planning goals. During the meeting’s public comments, Wesley Chapel resident Frank Cappella said he was speaking for over 60 residents and business owners in District 6 when he urged board members to vote based on what the constituents wanted and said it would be an opportunity to rebuild trust after the redistricting feud between residents and the board. Cappella believes the board voted for Marton for the same reason the residents didn’t back him, because (see District 6 on page 5)
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Scores, 8; Home Sales, 10; Education, 12; A&E, 16; Calendar, 18; Sports, 20; Classifieds, 23
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