Pittsboro Journal

Coming home down 421 yesterday, I noticed that there's getting to be a lot of yellow in the forest, and a little bit of red.  Seems early this year... and my ancient wisdom says that this bodes for a cold winter.  Better get some firewood set back.

This topic has been moved to Chatham County Food & Drink.

http://chatham-county-nc.com/bulletinboard/index.php?topic=18779.0

Due to the Labor Day holiday, the first BOC meeting this month will be Tuesday instead of Monday.  The first meeting of the month is always in the morning with a work session following.

If you go to the actual agenda on the county website it contains links to most of the items on the agenda.
http://www.chathamnc.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=14230


AGENDA
CHATHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR MEETING
AGRICULTURAL BUILDING AUDITORIUM TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010
PITTSBORO, NC 9:00 AM
______________________________________________________________________
INVOCATION and PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
CALL TO ORDER
APPROVAL OF AGENDA and CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda contains the following items:
1. Minutes: Approval of Board Minutes for Regular Meeting held on August 16, 2010 and Work Sessions held on August 16, 2010, August 02, 2010 and July 19, 2010
2. Northeast Park Conservation Easement: Approval of a request to convey the Northeast Park Conservation Easement to the State of North Carolina through the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and expand the area from 14.5 acres to 15.3 acres
3. Chatham County Hazard Mitigation Plan: Approval of request to adopt Resolution of Adoption Chatham County Hazard Mitigation Plan (Letter from FEMA, Resolution and Link to Mitigation Plan Online)
4. Courthouse Property Surplus and Disposal: Approval of a request to adopt Resolution Declaring Personal Property Surplus and Authorizing the County Manager to Dispose of Personal Property (Resolution)
5. Charging Off 2000 Tax Bills: Approval of a request to charge off 2000 tax bills in the amount of $60,945.14
6. Board of Commissioners’ Goals: Adoption of Board of Commissioners’ goals, which the Board has discussed and reviewed at numerous meetings. This action incorporates all the suggested changes, including minor changes made at the August 16, 2010 meeting.
END OF CONSENT AGENDA

PUBLIC INPUT SESSION
7. Public Input Session is held to give citizens an opportunity to speak on any item, which does not appear on the day’s Agenda. The session is no more than thirty minutes long and speakers are limited to no more than five minutes each.

COURTHOUSE UPDATE
8. Update on the Chatham County Historic Courthouse

Courthouse Task Force Report – Receive report and set public hearing

COMMISSIONERS’ PRIORITIES
9. Employees of the Month: Presentation of September Employees of the Month
10. Update on State Budget: Presentation on how the State budget will impact Chatham County’s Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) and Operating Budget
11. Northeast Park Construction Bids: Approval of a request to award bid to lowest responsible bidder, approval of a contract with the Triangle Community Foundation, and authorization of the County Manager to execute contracts with Modern South and the Triangle Community Foundation (Bid Tabulation, Agreement and Value Engineering)
12. Presentation of the first donation from Carolina Meadows towards construction of Northeast Park
MANAGER’ S REPORTS
13. Manager’s Reports: The County Manager shall report on miscellaneous County business at this time.

Local Food Campaign Resolution: Approval of a request to adopt Resolution in Support of at least the 10% Local Food Campaign

COMMISSIONERS’ REPORTS
14. Commissioners’ Reports: Any Commissioner wishing to report on any County business may do so at this time.
ADJOURNMENT


Work Session
Work Session follows immediately after the regular meeting
Agricultural Building Auditorium
45 South Street, Pittsboro

1. NC Department of Transportation Litter Update in Chatham County: NC DOT officials will present how NC DOT selects roadways to perform litter pick-up along Chatham County roadways.

2. Job Links Center Update by Dr. Karen Allen: Update on the development of the Job Links Center being created at CCCC Pittsboro campus.

I know they are posted in the paper, some of them anyway.  Sometime Gene posts them here but I'm searching the internet and I can't find them.  I'm looking in particular for a DUI arrest.  Anyone have the link/address for such info.?

There should be term limits on all this positions.  We've had good old boys sit on these boards for decades.
I thought someone talked about doing. Does anyone know if that ever happened.  I think it was the Col. who first brought that up when he was running.  Sure do miss that old bird dog.

Funny how none of the 5 who voted against are willing to add a why not to their vote?

So... our EDC and CC's feel as though they should be targeting certain industries, though in the time-tested manner of the EDC, their website about their targets says:
Page not found
The requested page could not be found.
(see http://www.chathamedc.org/business-climate/target-industries/clusters)

(why doesn't this surprise me?)

Regardless, they apparently know what kind of businesses should be in Chatham.  What do you Chatlister's think?

Chatham County seeks applicants for green building & sustainable energy board

Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010

http://www.chathamjournal.com/weekly/news/government/chatham-seeks-applicants-for-green-building-sustainable-energy-board-100901.shtml

Pittsboro, NC - Chatham County seeks applicants to fill a vacancy on its Green Building and Sustainable Energy (GBASE) Advisory Board. Applicants must be Chatham residents with a background or interest in green building or sustainable energy and have until Wednesday, September 15th, at 5 pm to apply for appointment to the board.

The purpose of GBASE is to advise county commissioners on green building and sustainable energy policies and procedures. It seeks to increase public awareness of green building and sustainable energy techniques and opportunities by providing accurate, up-to-date information about legislation, industry techniques and economic opportunities that affect Chatham County, its communities and individuals.

GBASE has eleven voting members with diverse backgrounds, experience, education, training, or interest in green building and sustainable energy. Advisory board members serve staggered, four-year terms, but several of the initial members were assigned two-year terms.

The county is looking for applicants from all parts of Chatham County. Members may have an interest in several related areas shown below:

• Green Building (LEED, Energy Star, NAHB, Healthy Built Homes, etc)
• Environmental policy
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy
• Community outreach and education
• Real estate
• Architecture
• Finance (the board has specific need for applicants with finance background)
• Greenhouse gases
• Re-use and recycling
• Affordable housing
• Planning
• Low-impact development and water conservation

Board meetings are open to the public and are held monthly on the second Tuesday of the month in Pittsboro.

 

Current members of the advisory board are:

    * Laura Lauffer, term ends June 2012
    * Taylor Hobbs, term ends June 2012
    * Paul Konove, term ends June 2012, Chair
    * Jamie Hager, term ends June 2012
    * Chris Jude, term ends June 2012
    * Deepa Sanyal, term ends June 2014
    * Kimberly Sevy, term ends June 2014, Vice Chair
    * Adrienne Bashista, term ends June 2014
    * Mike Dasher, term ends June 2014
    * Randy Welch, term ends June 2014
    * William Sparrow, term ends June 2014

APPLICATIONS: Please visit the GBASE webpage to view bylaws, minutes and the application form. Applications should be submitted by September 15th, 2010 at 5 pm.

For questions, email Sybil Tate.

A selection committee will review all applications and formal appointments will be approved by the Board of Commissioners. The list of who is on the selection committee has not been provided by Chatham County.

Chatham public meeting on Western Wake wastewater discharge scheduled

Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2010

http://www.chathamjournal.com/weekly/news/government/chatham-public-meeting-on-western-wake-wastewater-discharge-100901.shtml

Moncure, NC - Chatham County invites residents to a community meeting on Wednesday, September 8, at 7 pm at the Moncure Fire Station to learn more about a plan proposed by a partnership of four towns in western Wake County to construct a regional wastewater treatment facility. The plan involves a discharge line that would cut through a section of southeastern Chatham County.

The meeting will include an overview of the project, exhibits and time for attendees to ask questions. A representative of the Western Wake Regional Wastewater Management Partnership (WWP) will provide the project details.

The towns involved in the WWP are Cary, Apex, Morrisville and Holly Springs. All would be served by the proposed facility.

Although Chatham County would not receive wastewater services through the facility, the project would require construction of a discharge line to carry treated water from the wastewater system to the Cape Fear River. Several miles of this line would cut through areas of Chatham County near New Hill and Merry Oaks, continuing southward near Christian Chapel Road and Buckhorn Road to the Buckhorn Dam on the Cape Fear River.

The Western Wake Partners have requested approval by Chatham County for the discharge line through 8.1 miles of Chatham County. The main purpose of this meeting is to listen to what residents have to say about the project, especially the proposed discharge line.

The partnership was initiated in 2002 with a regional study that also involved Wake County and Fuquay-Varina. The study results led the four partner towns to move forward with plans to construct the treatment facilities to serve their communities until 2030.

For more information, including maps, minutes and key documents, see the WWP website. Residents also can contact Stephen J. Brown, PE, Director, Town of Cary Public Works & Utilities, 919-469-4090, for more information.

Kinnaird pushes Costco for county
A state senator says local leaders are dragging their heels on recruiting the warehouse club.

BY MARK SCHULTZ, Staff Writer
Read the entire story at http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/08/29/59160/kinnaird-pushes-costco-for-county.html

CHAPEL HILL - State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird doesn't think Costco should be such a hard sell.

But after trying to get Carrboro and more recently Chapel Hill to pursue a Costco store for southern Orange County, the senator and former Carrboro mayor is frustrated.

"Good heavens," she said Wednesday. "Where is the leadership?"

Kinnaird has been trying to get a Costco for Orange County for about four years. She has lobbied local elected leaders and real estate agents who work for the warehouse club.

She sees Costco as a way to keep sales tax dollars in Orange County, reduce homeowners' tax burden and provide jobs.

As The Chapel Hill News reported last Sunday, Orange County will depend on property taxes for 76 percent of its operating revenue this year. In Durham County, property taxes make up 58 percent of general fund revenue; in Alamance County, just 49 percent.

Local elected officials say it's not that they don't want a Costco, if the warehouse club would even come here.

It's more a matter of priorities - those of the company and the towns.

Local emphasis

In Carrboro, the most likely spot for a Costco is Carrboro Plaza. But the Washington-state based company said several years ago that the plaza on N.C. 54 is too far from a major interstate and does not have enough homes nearby make a store work.

Plus Carrboro in recent years has focused its economic development efforts on seeding and growing local businesses. Its revolving loan fund, which since 1986 has helped start Weaver Street Market, the Phydeaux pet supply store and other businesses, has become a model for governments looking to grow their economies.

Grassroots support

In Chapel Hill, Kinnaird spoke to Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, who she said was "not enthusiastic."

Big box stores are controversial. They can hurt local businesses and strain local roads. When a Walmart was rumored to be coming to the Chatham County line, some residents organized opposition and local governments passed resolutions expressing concern about traffic and the impact on the environment.

But Kinnaird, one of the most liberal members of the N.C. General Assembly according to the John Locke Foundation, said Costco is different.

"Costco paid $18 an hour some years ago, and I suspect pays more now," she wrote in a letter to the Carrboro mayor and Board of Aldermen. "Every employee, full and part time, is provided with health insurance. Costco has committed itself to be socially accountable to its workers, the environment and the area where it is located."

'Two minds'

Kleinschmidt put Kinnaird's idea out on Tweeter and Facebook for feedback. He didn't get many responses, and what he did get was mixed.

Just last week, for example, Orange County Commissioner Pam Hemminger, lamented how she made three trips to Target in Durham to outfit her son's college dorm room. Hemminger did buy a carpet at Lowe's in Chapel Hill but said local shopping doesn't offer the convenience most shoppers need.

Chapel Hill has two possible locations for a Costco, said Dwight Bassett, the town's economic development officer. One is on Eubanks Road near Interstate 40, where there are 30 developable acres on a 40-acre tract. The site was identified as suitable for mixed use development by a town task force, he said.

The other is at Ram's Plaza, where the town just began a small area plan to shape future redevelopment. The site has much development potential but a poor road network.

The other problem with that site, or getting any site approved under Chapel Hill's development process, say critics, is that it takes too long.

Most projects need at least two years to make it through the review process, plus another six months after Town Council approval to get a zoning compliance permit.

Add 12 to 18 months to construct a building, and you're looking at close to four years before a Costco could open its doors, Bassett said.

'Sales tax bleed'

Aaron Nelson, president and CEO of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, chooses his words carefully when asked whether his board of directors is or might be interested in helping to bring a Costco to Orange County.

Nelson and others have long complained about sales tax dollars "bleeding" out of the local economy as Orange County residents drive to New Hope Commons, The Streets at Southpoint and elsewhere to do their shopping.

County residents spend $1.5 billion a year on retail purchases and they spend $1 out of every $3 in another county, he said.

Hanging back

Last month Consumer Reports rated Costco No. 1 in reader satisfaction based on the responses of 30,666 readers who told the magazine about 56,922 shopping trips.

The club rated 85 percent, or very satisfied - ahead of Dillard's (82 percent), Target (79 percent), Walmart (73 percent) and all other major retailers.

Costco shoppers, who pay $50 a year to shop at the stores, gave the warehouse club high marks for quality merchandise, value, price and checkout lines, according to the magazine.

Kleinschmidt, the Chapel Hill mayor, said he does sense a change in attitudes that could make a Costco happen.

Kinnaird said the time to talk has run out.

"You don't just hang back," she said. "This is why I get so frustrated. ... Where is the empathy for people who don't have jobs? I represent people who live in trailer parks who can't pay their heating bill."

"They need to start with Costco right now."

Chatham County men charged with fighting with leather belts

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/8207768/

Raleigh, N.C. — Two Chatham County men were arrested for fighting in a Raleigh street Saturday, according to arrest warrants.

The warrants state that Jose Alfredo Martinez Calderon, 20, and Romas Juan Manuel Montoya, 28, "did assault and strike each other by lashing each other with leather belts." The fight took place outside 2805 Industrial Drive, an area with popular bars and nightclubs.

Calderon, of 81 Hillside Lot 163 in Chapel Hill, and Montoya, of 196 N. Hillsboro St. in Pittsboro, were each charged with simple affray.

They were placed in the Wake County jail under separate $1,000 secured bonds. First court appearances were set for Sept. 24.