$5 Dogs and a $61M Commitment

👋 Good Morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, April 30, 2026 and this is the 69th consecutive weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Two important things to start:

First, today is National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day and the Wake County Animal Center is celebrating with $5 adoption fees for every pet at the shelter now through May 10.

Visit the Adoption Gallery Here

Second, I've spent the last week pulling apart the proposed budget to figure out how we got to this:

• Residential electric rate up 6.25%

• Residential water and sewer rates up 4%

• Property tax rate up $0.0354 per $100 valuation

• Wholesale water rates up 12.5%

• Bulk water hookup fees up 66.7%

• Capital project transfers up 143-193%

For a typical Apex household, the rate and tax increases in the proposed budget add up to approximately $34/month, or about $413 per year (not even including the 39% increase to Yard Waste).

And it all it traces back to a $61 million commitment to a single project that will use up to 1.7M gallons of drinking water per day and was approved and committed to behind closed doors in apparent violation of NC open meeting laws. And now you’re paying for it. Here’s the full story →

Miscellaneous Info:

⏸️ Salem Streetscape Project
Construction has been stalled. Due to “multiple technical reasons” the Town had to get an updated electrical plan in place. It is expected that this will impact the timeline. Just how much should be known following a meeting taking place tomorrow.

📝 Peak Plan 2055 Feedback
If you’d like to give the Town your input on the Peak Plan 2055 - today is the final day to share your input here.

🚒 ISO Class 1
The Apex Fire Department has officially earned an ISO Class 1 rating for both Apex town limits and throughout the unincorporated areas they protect known as the HIPEX Fire District. This rating is the highest possible fire protection score and a distinction achieved by only the top 1% of departments nationwide!

🏎️ F1 Watch Party
Apex Racing Lab is hosting an F1 Watch Party for the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, May 3 from 4-6pm. Details here.

Things to Do This Weekend in Apex:

Friday, May 1

🍖 Annual BBQ Fundraiser
11am - 7pm | Apex UMC

🖼️ Apex Pride Art Exhibit (free opening reception)
6pm - 8pm | The Halle

💃 Apex Community Dance
7pm - 9pm | The Halle

🎸 Live Music: The 9one9 Band
8pm | The Backyard Bar

Saturday, May 2

🥞 Apex Rotary Pancake Breakfast
7am - 11am | Salem Street Fire Station

🧑‍🌾 Apex Farmers Market
8am - 12pm | The Depot

🎪 Peakfest
9am - 4pm | Town Hall Campus + Hunter Street

🏃‍♀️ Run Club Apex
Meet at 9am | Foxtail Coffee

🛍️ Apex Underground Market
11am - 3pm | Sweetwater

🍾 Bubbles & Beats
11:30am - 1:30pm | Rudy’s Pub

🎸 Live Music: Police & Thieves
8pm - 11pm | The Backyard Bar

Sunday, May 3

🪴 May Plant and Seed Swap
2pm | Peak Church

🌸 Spring Vendor Market
3pm - 5pm | Bottle Theory

Local Business Updates

🍔 Cook Out is Now Open
Cook Out is now in its ‘soft opening’ with limited hours. Once fully open, hours will be Sunday-Thursday open until 3am and Fri/Sat until 4am.

🥳 1 Year Anniversary Celebration
Peak Sports Apex (Pickleball & Badminton) is celebrating its 1-year anniversary on Saturday with a full afternoon of play, competition, food and fun.

🏎️ F1 Watch Party
Apex Racing Lab is hosting an F1 Watch Party for the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, May 3 from 4-6pm.

🍺 Fill’r Up Thursday
$2 off 32oz growler fills and 25% off Peakway Taps Growlers all day Thursday at Peakway Taps.

💍 Silver Clay Jewelry Making Workshop
Spend Friday evening with Wine & Design shaping, firing, and polishing your very own sterling silver ring from pure metal clay. No experience needed.

👸🏻 Mother’s Day Mommy & Me
Celebrate Mom with a creative outing! Paint something meaningful and enjoy quality time together at Mad Splatter on May 4th.

🛸 Darth Punch 7 Skywalker Sipper
These two new drinks have arrived just in time for Star Wars Day at Soda Box. One day only. May the 4th be with you.

🚜 The Peak Weekly Farm Series (Part 5)

🍓 FigMINT Farms

This article was written by The Peak Weekly’s amazing content contributor, Susan McGrath

This week, we’re spotlighting FigMINT Farms, a one-of-a-kind farm venue set on 22 beautiful wooded acres at 1501 Two Pond Lane in Apex.

Surrounded by tall pine trees, FigMINT offers a peaceful setting that’s perfect for all kinds of gatherings. A large, covered pavilion and a flat, open grassy area provide the event space. The property also features a large firepit, a pond with a deck and walking path, and a vegetable garden that helps supply fresh mint to Sassool Mediterranean Restaurants. In 2025 alone, more than 1,800 pounds of mint was harvested from that garden! 

FigMINT focuses on creating memorable experiences. In partnership with Sassool, they offer a Dinner in the Pines package, an all-inclusive outdoor dining experience in a gorgeous setting that includes drinks, appetizers, dinner, and optional custom add-ons for groups from 20 to 80 people. The catering, tabletop décor, and staffing is included. They also offer an intimate date night package set in a clear igloo tucked into the pines, complete with beverages, dinner, and dessert from Sassool.

The venue also hosts a wide range of events, including parties, weddings, receptions, corporate events, wellness and yoga retreats, reunions, and engagement or beauty photo shoots. Check out their website here.

In addition to private bookings, FigMINT offers special events throughout the year, such as the upcoming Nature Connection Workshop for Nurses retreat on Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There are two primary ways to rent the venue. You can rent by the hour and act as the host, handling all the details, which gives you maximum flexibility, or you can reserve a curated Dinner in the Pines experience and leave all the details to them.

FigMINT operates year-round providing a perfect venue to experience every season.

They also host a biweekly Farmers Market pickup location for a local food co-op serving Apex: Rooted Community Foods.

Dinner in the Pines is a perfect setting for a family reunion, girlfriends’ night, or work retreat, and would also make a great gift for the upcoming Teacher Appreciation Week! So book one now!

FigMINT Farms Contact Info:

Simone Lawson, property manager and event coordinator  - [email protected]

Hours of operation: hours available to rent are 9am-10pm

Months of operation:  year round

Website: https://sassool.com/figmintfarms

Instagram: @figmintfarms_NC

FigMINT Farms Outdoor Venue

1501 Two Pond Lane, Apex NC 27523

Mailing Address: 1347 Kildaire Farm Rd. (Sassool)

Sassool

1347 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary, NC 27511

9650 Strickland Road, Raleigh, NC 27615

Phone: 919-300-5586 (Cary)

Fax: 919-234-6046

Phone: 919-847-2700 (Raleigh)

www.sassool.com

📸 Photo credits:
Sara Tiberio
Aldrik Mio
Jessica Bratton

Civic News:

🗑️ Yard Waste Program Updates
The Town is preparing to significantly update our yard waste program. Those changes include:

• Ordinance changes for limb size, contractor disposal, excess waste fees, and more

• Moving to biweekly collection schedule

• Elimination of grass clipping collection

• Adding a yard waste cart for disposal

It’s expected that staff will bring this to Council for vote on May 12 and the proposed effective date for most of these changes is July 1. See the official coversheet here.

🔌 Utility Collections & Disconnections
Only July 1, the Town of Apex will return to standard utility billing procedures, which means late fees and disconnections for unpaid balances will be reinstated. If you are behind and need help catching up, you can apply for a payment plan here.

Thursday, April 30
Special Ad-Hoc Town Council Finance Committee Meeting
10am - 12pm | Town Hall

Thursday, April 30
Regular Town Council Work Session
3:30pm - 5pm | Town Hall

Friday, May 8
Town Council Budget Work Session
12pm - 5pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead:

May 3rd - May 9th
Small Business Week | Apex

Thursday, May 7
AAPI Heritage Month: Sushi & Sumo | Apex Community Park

May 8, 9 & 10
“Suite Surrender” Spring Play | The Halle

Thursday, May 14
Learning Lunch: National Police Week | Senior Center

Thursday, May 14
Apex Amplified Concert | Town Hall Campus

May 15, 16 & 17
“Suite Surrender” Spring Play | The Halle

May 26
Memorial Day Ceremony | Downtown Service Memorial

In Case You Missed it

🫱🏻‍🫲🏽 Meaningful Service Opportunities
JustServe provides a free space for volunteer organizations and small groups to post volunteer needs and for individuals to find ways to serve.

In honor of National Volunteer Month, proclaimed by Mayor Gilbert for the Town of Apex, this is a wonderful time to highlight service opportunities in our community. Additionally, as we approach America’s 250th anniversary this July - with a national goal to make 2026 a record year of service - there is growing momentum to encourage volunteerism nationwide

JustServe helps connect residents who want to serve with organizations that have volunteer needs to help make a meaningful difference in strengthening our community. Visit the website here.

🫐 A Health Conscious Eatery
Taking the place of Tandoori Trail, which is now closed, this summer Grain & Berry, a health-focused cafe, will open at 2017 Creekside Landing in Beaver Creek. Grain & Berry’s menu includes flatbreads, toasts, salads, acai bowls and smoothies with a focus on high protein, lean meat and other nutritious supplements like turmeric and ginger shots.

♻️ Recycle Bin Upgrades
Recycling bins are being upgraded from 65-gallon to 95-gallon. You’ll receive notice when your neighborhood is on the schedule. It will happen on the same day as your trash collection.

A Final Note:

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to read this week’s edition of The Peak Weekly.

As always, if you have any ideas of how to make this newsletter better, want to nominate a local business or organization to be featured, or anything else, please respond to this email or email me directly at [email protected]

See you next Thursday... 😘