To-Go Boxes and Watercolors

👋 Good Morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, September 3, 2026 and this is the 87th weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Let me show you a picture I took yesterday.

That’s a picture of a parking lot being sued by the Town of Apex…

…That I took from a parking lot which the Town is avidly defending.

The parking story nobody has told.

If you think you’ve heard all of this already… you haven’t.

WRAL and the N&O both ran pieces the past couple of weeks on Miss Annie Mae Scott, the 71-year-old woman on Humie Olive Road the Town of Apex is suing over student parking. And yes, so have I. But it’s almost the same frame every time: her lot, her zoning, the church across the street, the waitlist at the high school.

Apex Friendship High School opened in 2015. Miss Annie started offering parking in the same year.

And, until now, that’s also where every story starts.

But here’s what I’ve discovered:

Every one of us started the story in the wrong year.

The AFHS parking story starts in 2012.

That’s the year when the Apex Town Council approved Apex Friendship High School’s site plan with 251 missing parking spaces.

Apex's UDO said it required 1,100 parking spaces.

It got 849.

The school system's own consultant had already told the Town in writing that roughly 750 to 800 kids at that school would be old enough to drive. The plan gave students 556 spots.

That's 251 cars with nowhere to go. Apex signed off anyway, 4-0.

One council member saw it coming. He said so out loud, twice, and warned exactly where those cars would end up: the neighborhoods.

The Town was promised more parking would get built. Two weeks ago Apex's own Planning Director admitted, in an email to a reporter, that it never was.

And 28 days after that vote, the Town quietly rewrote the rule that let it happen.

I pulled the archived copies.

Here's what changed →

Miscellaneous Info:

🛌 Three-Day Weekend
Happy Labor Day. Town facilities will be closed on Monday and trash/recycling will run one day behind the normal schedule next week.

🌳 Plant the Peak
Help offset all the tree loss from development by applying to the 2026 Plant the Peak program. Offered on a first come, first served basis, the program covers all costs for the purchase and installation of one of 14 different tree types.

🚦 New Stop Light
The Town of Apex, in partnership with Beazer Homes, is moving forward with traffic signal improvements along Old US 1 at Friendship Road and Holland Road to support traffic flow near The Summit development. Signal installation is anticipated to begin in Fall 2026, with an estimated completion date in December/January.

🏒 Hurricanes Hockey Night
Stop by The Depot on September 18 from 5-8pm for street hockey, Canes inflatables and a special visit from Stormy.

🌊 Splashlantis Temporarily Closed
Splashlantis at Pleasant Park is currently closed for maintenance. A reopening date has not yet been determined.

⚠️ Subject to Disconnection
As of Tuesday, any utility accounts with balances over 90 days past-due are now subject to disconnection at any time.

🚪 Senior Center to Reopen
The Apex Senior Center is expected to reopen Monday. Please take your shoes off when you go inside so you don’t scuff the new floors.

🎨 Watercolor Artists of NC
The Halle Cultural Arts Center will be featuring a collection of great watercolor pieces from different North Carolina artists starting tomorrow, September 4 through November 16. There will be a free Opening Reception on September 11 from 6-8pm with live music and refreshments.

Things to Do This Weekend in Apex:

Today, September 3

🥪 B4 Lunch Event: The Planning Department
12pm - 1pm | The Halle

🚶‍♂️ NCRC Social Run/Walk
6pm - 9pm | Bottle Theory

🏃‍♀️ Run Club
6:30pm - 8:30pm | Southern Peak Brewery

🌿 Triangle Environmental Symposium
From Wasteland to Wonder with Basil Camu
6:30pm | The Halle

Friday, September 4

🎸 Live Music: Jonatas Alves
8pm - 11pm | Peak of the Vine

Saturday, September 5

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

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

🎨 SuperFun Saturday (ages 4-12)
10:30am - 12:30pm | The Halle

🎤 Live Music: Emma G
6:30pm - 9pm | Southern Peak Brewery

Tuesday, 9/8

🎶 Music Bingo!
7pm - 10pm | Bottle Theory

Wednesday, 9/9

🧠 Pub Trivia w/DJ Ray
8pm - 11pm | Doherty’s Irish Pub

Local Business Updates

🤤 Legacy Rolls
Spring Lake-based fast-casual restaurant, Legacy Rolls, is expanding their breakfast, slider and sweets business to Apex. They’ll be opening later this year in the old Yamato building - anticipating a soft opening in late October.

Civic News:

🔎 Apex Answers
The Town Manager announced last week that they would be putting up a new web page, Apex Answers. They describe it as, “Apex Answers is your source for clear, timely explanations about topics the community is asking about most.” I decided to Fact-Check those answers.

🏞️ Pleasant Park Access Study Open House
The Town of Apex is exploring ways to improve vehicle access to Pleasant Park. The Town of Apex is studying the feasibility of up to 5 options for potential vehicular access points to Pleasant Park. Many homeowners in the area are not pleased with the idea of adding additional access points; which may likely result in eminent domain proceedings. I’ll have more on this next week. A public open house will be held at Apex Town Hall this evening from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. 

🥍 The Field at Hughes Street
Here's the story of a 13-acre housing project that the Town of Apex is working on at the corner of Hughes and Perry Road. Over $6M invested so far with the vast majority of public input pushing back against the project. Many of you may know this field very well as its been home to many recreational sports programs including the Apex Pop Warner football team - who, if you recall made it to Nationals last year. Learn about it and follow along for updates here.

🥡 To-Go Boxes Available
As I continue my investigation into P-Card usage, I want to share with you what goes on before a Town Council meeting. They’re all pretty much the same, just different restaurants. Here’s a random one:

5:15pm - Dinner Served. Vendor: Red, Hot, and Blue. Pulled Pork, Smoked Turkey, Mac-N-Cheese, Green Beans, Banana Budding, Sweet Tea, Unsweet Tea, Water, and Drinks.

Followed by this note: “To-Go Boxes will be available.”

No big deal though, right? Feed the Council and those who help make the council meetings happen. No problem. But what if I told you that these dinner menus and to-go box invites get sent to almost 100 staff members?

Upcoming Meetings:

Tuesday, September 8
Environmental Advisory Board: Data Centers
5pm | Town Hall

Tuesday, Sept 8
Multimodal Transportation Advisory
4:30 - 6pm | Town Hall

Thursday, Sept 10
Town Council Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead:

September 10
Paws & Rec Kick-Off Event | Apex Community Park

September 10
Triangle Environmental Symposium | The Halle
Forests from Around the World with Meg Lowman, Chumpi Washikiat, and Godi Gadar Moteke Molanga

September 11
Patriot Day Ceremony | Fire Station 1

September 11
Watercolor Society of NC Gallery Reception | The Halle

September 12
Think Apex Day | Multiple Locations

September 12
Apex Underground Market | Sweetwater Town Center

September 12
55+ Health & Wellness Fair | Apex Senior Center

September 12
AHS Band Mattress Sale Fundraiser | Apex High School

September 13
Classical Concert Series: Thron-Larkin Duo | The Halle

September 16
Morning Movie: Spy Kids | The Halle

September 16
Spider Stories / Historias De Arañas | Hunter Street Park Shelter

September 17
Triangle Environmental Symposium | The Halle
Gardening for the Planet Documentary Screening with Joanne Hershfield

September 18
Hurricanes Hockey Night | The Depot

September 19
Festa Italiana | Hunter Street & Town Hall Campus

September 24
Explore S’more | Apex Nature Park

September 24
Family Fire Safety Workshop | Apex Fire Station 3

September 26
Latino Arts Festival | Town Hall Campus

September 26
Fall in Stars Hallow (handmade market) | The Studio

↑ this market will have a pop-up Luke’s coffee, Rory’s bookshelf, Gilmore Girls trivia, and so much more!

“wow Adam, do you seriously like Gilmore Girls?”

No, I hate it and have seen it more times than I would like to admit. But do you know what else they’ll have? Cookies.

And I like cookies. And I’m also a huge fan of Kishon and her custom cookies.

She’s crazy talented. See for yourself: https://www.sweetinspirationcookies.com/

In Case You Missed it:

🚒 AFD Achieves Prestigious International Accreditation
Congratulations to the Apex Fire Department, who announced that they officially achieved Accredited Agency status through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). This historic milestone marks the first time in the department's history that it has earned international accreditation. With this designation, Apex Fire joins an elite group of fewer than 130 fire departments globally that hold both CFAI accreditation and an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Class 1 rating.

🏀 September Open Gym
Parks & Rec has released their Semptember Open Gym schedule which you can see here.

💡 Think Apex Day Volunteers
Think Apex Day is a day dedicated to giving back to the Apex community by volunteering in ways that positively impact the town and the people who live here. See how to get involved here.]

A Final Note:

If you made it this far and enjoy The Peak Weekly, can you…

…please go follow Mrs. Weekly on Instagram? She is way better on social than I am and she’ll post more cool things and fun stuff about Apex if we can get her some more eyeballs. 🙏 ❤️ 

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to read this week’s edition of The Peak Weekly. If you love it, please forward it to a friend. If you don’t love it, please unsubscribe.

And, 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... 😘