My Concerns for all Holly Springs Residents

To those who kept prompting and repeatedly encouraging me to run for mayor I say thank you for your support. To those who do not know me let me take this opportunity to explain why I decided to seek office as your mayor.

For seventeen years I served as mayor of our town the population grew from 900 to 10,000. Since I left office the town’s population has grown to 22,000 and the Town Council has approved growth to 40,000 plus, while your town’s budget has reached $23 million and is growing. Too much growth too fast brings with it problems.

I have listened to and agree with so many of your concerns:

• Traffic and speeding traffic
• Our children being bused to schools in Fuquay-Varina and Apex
• Lack of athletic fields
• Approval of a 4 story apartment complex to be built next to residential homes
• Town budget $22.7 million and growing, Taxes always going up
• Your Town’s Credit Card (Town Debt) maxed out at $57 million owed
• 297 town employees
• Mayor and Town Staff’s $699-$300 Monthly Car Allowances
• Hunt Center’s $10 million price tag and the Town Council stating no Voter Referendum needed
• Town Council willing to pay $339,248 in interest only payments the first year to rebuild the Hunt Center
• Elected officials accepting a local bank’s stock for being on the bank’s Advisory Board
• Conflicts with 12 Oaks and Green Oaks Parkway concern all of us.

And although I agree and recognize these concerns, to me the primary concern is somewhere along the way we started paying too much attention to what the developers wanted and lost track of what is in the best interest of our residents. Too much growth too fast is never a good thing. What is the rush to have our town’s population grow from 22,000 plus to 40,000 plus and then to 60,000 plus. It concerns me so many candidates in this year’s election are for more growth; why do they want more growth? Did you move to Holly Springs to live in a town with a 40,000 – 60,000 population, I don’t think so.

I would hope you will join with me in realizing this is our town’s last opportunity to address growth and the problems growth brings. We need a one year Moratorium on new Residential Growth; we need to closely review our town’s $23 million budget and Reduce Your Taxes; we need to Improve Your Family’s Quality of Life.

Many of you have told me of your concerns regarding 12 Oaks, Green Oaks Parkway and some of our elected officials accepting bank stock for sitting on a local bank’s advisory board, it is for this reason I have joined with Tracey Goodwin and Vinnie DeBenedetto in signing a Personal Integrity Pledge as an Elected Official of Holly Springs:
I do not seek elected office for personal gain and promise I will not work for or on behalf of anyone wanting to or doing business with the town. Neither I nor any member of my family will have any financial dealings with the town. All my decisions and votes will be based on what is in the best interest of the residents of Holly Springs.

On November 3, I hope I can count on your support.
Gerald Holleman
Candidate for Mayor, Holly Springs