Election Season & Math Problems

👋 Good morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, October 9, 2025 and this is the 40th weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

It’s election season and things are getting chippy out there.

So I have my semi-monthly Ted Talk for you today. It’s a little longer than normal, but this is a very important local election and I want to share some insights.

The topic is Confirmation Bias.

If you’re interested in my thoughts, keep reading. If not, please feel free to jump on down to the next section to get right into the good stuff going on this week.

We’re 26 days out from election day and just 17 days out from early voting. We have 3 seats up for election on the Apex Town Council and there are quite a few hot topics in this area right now.

This is not just another election.

We are facing rapid growth, affordable housing issues, tree canopy issues, an impending data center, continued utility billing issues and so on.

These 3 seats represent 60% of our Town Council (enough for most motions to pass).

And, as you know, election season is always filled with a lot of noise. Whatever side you’re on, whatever your thoughts are on these council positions, we have to see through the noise.

With that said, here’s something to consider: We are all very subject to confirmation bias. It’s our nature to seek out, interpret and favor information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs.

Yesterday, an article came out questioning the Mayor’s use of his town-issued procurement card (basically the equivalent of a corporate credit card). If you don’t like the Mayor for whatever reason, that’s a great opportunity to go on the attack.

If you do like the Mayor, it’s a great opportunity to go on the defense.

But here’s the thing. You don’t have to do either. There is another option to just absorb the information and to think about what all the moving pieces behind it really mean.

I’ve already seen some comments attacking the Mayor and then stating that they’d love to see that expense report. Well, the expense report is in the article. But you jumped too fast on the confirmation bias to even notice it and then form your own opinion about it.

The complaint (if you absorb the information and do the math) is that the Mayor has used his town-issued payment card to spend an average of $115 per month over the last 21 months for town-related purposes. Some people are quite upset about this, including every single member of the Town Council (except of course, the one running for re-election who had no comment).

Because of this, the topic of the day is going to be the Mayor’s $343.20 payment for porta-potties at a town event, but not the $127,695.98 spent at the direction and approval of Town Council and the Town Manager to BerryDunn for this 3rd Party Review which has accomplished… what?

I’m sure this won’t be the last distraction between now and election day - from whatever side.

Let’s not get distracted. Again, these 3 seats represent the majority of the Town Council and we have major issues and decisions to make to keep Apex the Peak of Good Living.

This election needs to be decided by facts and the best interest of our Town, and not by news articles, social posts, emotions, bigger advertising budgets, confirmation bias, and so on.

So let’s cut to the chase. Let’s go straight to the source.

Speaking of bigger advertising budgets…

Did you know that one single candidate has raised (total receipts) $67,731.66

The other 8 candidates combined have raised $44,077.38

This week, I am going to reach out to each candidate with a questionnaire that includes the questions/concerns that all of you want to know.

When you get a chance, do you mind taking a few moments to fill out a brief questionnaire listing anything that you want to ask the candidates?

I will then compile these and send them off to each candidate. Your responses to the questionnaire are completely anonymous to both me as well as the candidates. I will share the questions and answers in next week’s newsletter as I finish building out this page with that information.

Fill out the survey and find out who has raised $23,654.28 more than all other candidates combined here.

Miscellaneous:

🏘️ New 55+ Active Adult Community
Brookside is a new Active Adult/55+ neighborhood of 79 townhomes walkable to retail and popular outdoor amenities in Apex, NC. The development by Stanley Martin Homes is set on more than 21 acres and offers 79 townhomes with open-concept layouts and green spaces for residents to gather.

🏁 School Spirit Event
On Tuesday, October 14 from 8am - 7pm, a portion of all sales at Mustang Charlie’s Diner will go towards supporting Scotts Ridge Elementary School. Free cookie or scoop of ice cream for kids who wear Scotts Ridge Spirit Wear to the diner!

👻🏠️ Tour of Frights
The Tour of Frights is an annual program that features Apex homes and business with some of the very best Halloween or fall-themed decorations. It begins this Saturday, October 11 and goes through Halloween, nightly from 6pm - 9pm. Tour Map will be available here sometime tomorrow.

🪑 Vacant District 8 Seat
The Wake County school board will give extra time for people to apply to fill a vacant seat to replace Lindsay Mahaffey, because candidates are having difficulty determining if they’re eligible. The application deadline is now November 14.

🔑 Sweetwater is Thriving
As of yesterday, Sweetwater Town Center has reached 90% occupancy.

🚂 Track or Treat & Boo ‘n’ Brew
Track or Treat Halloween Express train rides take place October 11, 18, and 25. Enjoy a family-friendly train ride with scenes of flying witches, smoking cauldrons, pumpkin people, Count Dracula and more. On October 24, the signature Boo ‘n’ Brew ride with delicious bites an dlocal brews takes off. Get tickets for both here.

Things to Do This Week in Apex:

Today, October 9

Potluck Luncheon (55+)
12pm - 1:15pm | Senior Center

🍫 Explore S’more 
5:30pm - 7:30pm | Nature Park Amphitheater

🦇 Teen Halloween Wreaths
6:30pm - 7:30pm | Eva Perry Library

Friday, October 10

🛍️ Friday Nights at Sweetwater
5pm - 9pm | Sweetwater Lawn

🎤 Live Music w/ The Humble Braggers
8pm - 11pm | Peak of the Vine

Saturday, October 11

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

👕 Mabopane Marketplace
10am - 1pm | 3913 US Hwy 64W
(and Friday, 7am-12pm)

🕯️ Fall Candle Making & Wine
12pm - 2pm | Cloer Family Vineyard

🎃 Apex Oktoberfest 
12pm-7pm | Town Campus

🏈 NC State Football Gameday Giveaway
12pm - 10pm | Southern Peak Brewery

🪴 Plant/Seed Swap
2pm - 2:45pm | The Peak Church

🎸 PRD Band
Starting: 4pm | Vicious Fishes

Sunday, October 12

🎃 Pumpkin Cook-Off 
2pm - 4pm | Peakway Taps

Monday, October 13

Indigenous Peoples’ Day
6pm - 7:30pm | Nature Park Amphitheater

Local Business Updates

👻 Little Ghost House of Apex
Have you seen the Little Ghost House? It’s been a hit, and a really cool idea put together by Artfully Apex. Because of the unexpected demand, ghosts will no longer be available throughout the week, but will be back on Fridays thru Sundays for the rest of October. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check it out here!

🍔 Al’s Burger Shack - Opening Soon
Scheduled to open Wednesday, October 15. Located at 2832 Teachey Place on the Harris Teeter side of Sweetwater.

🥤 Free for Students and Teachers
Get a free Refresher with the purchase of any classic or super bowl at SoBol. For all Sweetwater and Apex School Students and Teachers. Details here.

🕓️ New Hours and Specials
The Provincial now opens at 4:30pm daily (instead of 5) and is staying open a little later on Fridays/Saturdays until 9:30pm. They are also introducing $10 classic cocktails on Tuesday/Thursdays and $8 glasses of wine on Wednesdays.

🏷️ Warehouse Sale First Dibs
Werking Decor is hosting their first ever warehouse sale October 24-26, offering 30-75% off their inventory. The 24th is VIP Night where you can come fight over the first dibs with me. Grab your VIP ticket here.

⏳ Coming Soon to Sweetwater
We are still eagerly awaiting these businesses to open sometime soon in Sweetwater: Taki Sushi, Foxtail Coffee, Aqua Vitae, Southern Peak Brewery Taproom & Pizzeria, Burney’s Sweets, Degree Wellness, Kaara Modern Indian, Potbelly, Royal Nails and the UPS Store.

🧀 Wine Down with Snacks
Every Wednesday is Wine Down Wednesday at Peakway Taps, offering $5 glasses of wine all day. This Wednesday, Charcuterie by Nickie will be there offering up some great snacks too!

Civil News:

♻️ Environmental Advisory Board Presentations

🐦️ Pit Stop for the Birds
On Tuesday, the Raleigh-based non-profit, Pit Stop for the Birds, presented a vision for the Apex Iona Rechargery Pit Stop Pilot.

• The Problem: Migratory bird populations are in steep decline, losing about a third of all birds in less than one human lifetime. The leading cause of death is starving during travel.

• The Opportunity: EV drivers spend 15-45 minutes charging. A pit stop for birds here gives those drivers an experience while waiting, as well a “highway rest stop” for birds.

• The Ask: The non-profit sought insight, partnership, and support, specifically asking the town to consider allocating some state DEQ storm water funds for the rain garden feature.

🌳 Trees for the Triangle
During the same meeting, Trees for the Triangle presented their non-profit’s programs, seeking collaboration ideas from the Town.

• The Problem: A canopy assessment in Wake County showed significant canopy loss.

• The Opportunity: To improve the social and ecological resilience of Apex by planting native trees. They exclusively plant native trees and primarily use volunteers.

• Initiatives and Partnerships: They run the Cary Tree Archive and are working on another tree archive site in Apex. They partner with the Wake Audubon Society for bird and bat boxes at the Cary Tree Archive. They are touring the Halle Cultural Center for the possibility of hosting their four-part Environmental Symposium in Apex next year, and much more.

The meeting was adjourned following the presentations. The board was reminded of the next regular meeting the following Thursday. You can re-watch Tuesday’s meeting here.

💭 Peak Plan 2055: What’s Your Dream for Apex?

Peak Plan 2055 is a comprehensive plan being developed to guide decisions from Apex Town leaders, Town staff, and others about growth in areas including land use, transportation, conservation, housing, economic development, and more.

At the first public engagement opportunities on October 22nd and 23rd, attendees will be asked 'do you see what we see?', by visiting various stations and learning about the Project Team's observations of Apex, its surroundings, and potential opportunities. Learn more here.

✖️➗ Billing Recalculation Results

The Town stated that the recalculation requests would be complete in September so I did a public records request to learn more about how it went. Here is my best attempt to accurately interpret and explain the information I received.

There were 179 requests total. Apparently they weren’t complete so the numbers below are for 173 accounts. If the remaining 6 change anything drastically, I will update you.

Results

What Percent of Accounts Were Over-Charged in the Sample?
The Town’s Original Sample: 1% 
In the Review Request Sample: 12%

How Much Did the Town Under-Charge Across All Accounts?
What the Town Told us: ~$300,000
†What This Sample Indicates: ~$950,000
†Based on total sample undercharged, extrapolated to 30k utility accounts

††How Much Did the Town Over-Charge its Residents?
What the Town Told Us: $5,715
What This Sample Tells Us: $42,624
††Uses overbilled average from sample, extrapolated to 30k accounts

As you can see, there’s a significant difference between the Town’s sample of 100 accounts and the sample of 173 residents who requested a recalculation. That is because neither of these samples are large enough to draw any sort of statistically significant conclusion that would give any level of confidence to make claims about money due or money owed at this magnitude.

To be fair to BerryDunn, they did offer to continue reviewing individual accounts after the initial 100, but the Town Council was satisfied with the individual account reviews of only ~0.33% of all accounts, and voted to stop there.

Cost Breakdown

†Initial Project
BerryDunn’s Fixed Contract: $62,400 (+ $6,500 estimated travel)
Actual Paid: $99,095.98 (includes $10,430.98 in travel expenses)

†Items D01, D02, D03, D04 on the Scope of Work
No invoices shared to date show billing for item D05 (executive summary presentation) so there may be more invoices coming which would increase the Actual Paid

Review Requests
BerryDunn’s Quoted Hourly Rate: $260
Total Hours to-Date: 110
Paid to Review 173 Accounts: $28,600

Total Paid to BerryDunn to-Date: $127,695.98

Total Number of Accounts Reconciled: 273

🗓️ Important Upcoming Dates

Friday, October 10
Town Council Strategic Planning Session
12pm - 5pm | Town Hall
📄 view the agenda here

Monday, October 13
Planning Board Meeting
4:30pm | Town Hall

Tuesday, October 14
Regular Town Council Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead

Note: Town-sponsored October Seasonal/Holiday upcoming events listed in the Intro section at the top. Scroll back up if you missed those. Here are a few other events to look forward to:

October 16, 2026 | 12pm - 1pm
Learning Lunch: German Sausage Making | Senior Center

October 17 | 6pm-8pm
🍿 PJs & Popcorn Movie Night | Senior Center

October 18, 2025 | 8am - 11am
Shred Day | 105 Upchurch Street

October 18, 2025 | 9am - 2pm
Fittest 2 Serve | Fire Station 1

October 22, 2025 | 7:30pm
On the Steps Concert Series: Rissi Palmer | The Halle

October 23 - 31 | Park Hours
🌾 Scarecrow Row | Apex Community Park

October 24 | 5pm-9pm
🧙🏻‍♀️ Witches Night Out | Salem Street

October 25 | 5pm-7pm
🧌 Goblin’s Groove | Halle Cultural Arts

October 29 | 5pm-7pm
👻🐕 Spooky Tails | Apex Nature Park

In Case You Missed it:

👩‍🏫 Send This to A Teacher
Each year, the Apex Public School Foundation offers teachers the opportunity to apply for grants that support innovative and creative educational programs, technology and equipment in Apex-area WCPSS schools. The deadline for this year’s Grant Applications is October 15. Send this link to a teacher.

🍺 South Line Brewing Co.
South Line Brewing Co has created a new taproom and event space which is now open at 2141 E Williams Street in Apex. Get a virtual tour from Mayor Gilbert and South Line’s owner, Big Mike here.

🦶 Barefoot in the Park
This year’s Fall Play at The Halle is Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park”. Remaining show times are Oct 10 & Oct 11 at 7:30pm, as well as Oct 12 at 3pm. Get your tickets here.

🍷 Dinner in the Vineyard
Cloer Family Vineyards is hosting its Harvest Dinner to celebrate this year’s harvest on October 16. Tickets are $90 and include a four-course meal and a glass of wine. Get tickets here

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... 😘