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City of Durham voters approved both bonds on November 5, 2024. The Parks and Recreation bond passed with 72% of the vote. The Streets and Sidewalks bond passed with 75% of the vote.

If you live in Durham city limits, you will have the chance to vote on a bond referendum this November. Your vote will decide if the City of Durham can borrow up to $200 million to improve our streets, sidewalks, and parks.

Here's what the money would be used for:

• Streets: Repaving and repairing roads and paving dirt streets.
• Sidewalks: Fixing sidewalks and building new ones.
• Parks: Upgrading Long Meadow and East End parks and building a new water park beside the Wheels Roller Rink at Merrick-Moore Park.

We heard from many of you that you want smoother streets, more sidewalks, and better parks. People in East Durham specifically asked for a new pool to replace the permanently closed pool at Long Meadow Park as well as updates to East End and Long Meadow Parks and a new aquatic park next to our Wheels Roller Rink at Merrick-Moore Park. If approved by voters in November, this bond will help pay for those projects.

The referendum will be on the ballot on November 5, 2024, and will appear on the ballot as two questions:

1. “Bond order authorizing the issuance of $85,000,000 general obligation parks and recreation bonds of the City of Durham, North Carolina.” 
2. “Bond order authorizing the issuance of $115,000,000 general obligation streets and sidewalks bonds of the City of Durham, North Carolina.”

You can vote “yes” or “no” on each question. Each one needs a majority of "yes" votes to pass. If they pass, the city can borrow up to $200 million to pay for these improvements.

For more details on 2024 election information, voter registration information, and polling places, visit the Durham County Board of Elections website.

City Manager Wanda Page has announced that she will be retiring from the City of Durham after 36 years of service. She emailed her notice to Mayor Leonardo Williams and City Council members on July 1 saying that she “believes now is the right moment to begin the transition of passing the torch to new leadership and allow fresh perspectives to shape the future of our beloved city.”

Expressing her gratitude for their unwavering support and guidance to the Mayor and City Council members, Page added her heartfelt appreciation to the entire municipal government staff, saying that “their dedication, hard work and unwavering commitment to the well-being of our community have been the backbone of our success.” 

Page said that her decision to give a six-month notice for her departure to City Council, which is responsible for appointing the city manager position, was to give them an opportunity to begin planning the search process when they return from their July break in August.

Page joined the City of Durham in 1987 as a senior staff accountant and served in several progressively responsible positions before being named deputy city manager in 2006. She was named interim city manager following the departure of former City Manager Tom Bonfield in October 2020. City Council later officially appointed Page as city manager in March 2021.  

Page is a 1982 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She later earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University in 1995. She has been an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) credentialed manager since 2010 and is also licensed by the North Carolina State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners and the Institute of Internal Auditors as a certified internal auditor.