Sig Hutchinson, candidate for Wake County Commissioner, has resigned from his position as chairman of the Wake County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee. Serving on the board since its inception in 1999, Hutchinson’s resignation comes with his decision to run for the Wake County Commission in November.

“Sig has been on the front lines advocating for open space, parks and making Wake County more livable for more than two decades,” says Charles Meeker, former mayor of Raleigh.

Since its inception, the Wake County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee has had many successes including:

• More than 120 acquisitions totaling 5,460 acres of preserved open space
• Three passed bonds totaling $91 million
• Partnership with Raleigh, Knightdale and Morrisville to build an additional 12 miles of greenways
• Completion of the  American Tobacco Trail in Western Wake
• Partnership with the City of Raleigh to complete 30 miles of the Neuse River Greenway – the longest greenway in the state
• Creating more than 1,128 acres of additional park land including the Turnipseed property in Eastern Wake, as Wake County’s first designated “nature preserve”
• Preservation of more than 1,000 acres in the Mark’s Creek Watershed including the 406 acres of Walnut Hill in partnership with the Triangle Land Conservancy
• Three new parks in development with scheduled openings of fall 2014.

“I am so thankful and grateful for my time working with the committee,” says Hutchinson. “We collectively thank our citizens for understanding and appreciating the value of open space, and for investing in natural assets as Wake County continues to grow. As I step down, I look forward to hopefully entering a new role as a Wake County Commissioner where I can continue my work.”