Date: Tue, 17 May 2011 00:47:22 -0400
From: Randolph Voller
Subject: Letter to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners
May 16, 2011
Dear Chatham County BOC:
As an elected official I can understand the challenges you must face to lead our county and make decisions that are prudent and in the best interests of all citizens.
As you move through your budget this year, please take stock in where we are and where we are going as a County.
We will face important issues over the next four years and your polices will dictate who we are and what we will become.
Will we be a place that people want to live or have to live?
Will our towns be vibrant places for small businesses, live music and the arts?
Will we support and protect all members of our farming community?
Will we still be attracting young farmers?
Will we still be making fuel locally?
Will we be cooperating with our neighboring towns, cities and counties?
Will we become a bedroom community to Cary?
Will we have cleaner water and better quality water in the future?
Will the Haw River and the Rocky River be cleaner or dirtier?
Will we green light new industries, such as hydraulic fracturing without fully understanding both the upsides and the downsides?
Will we still be fighting to get all of our citizens on the information superhighway?
Will our schools be better?
Will we continue to support the community college system?
Will we have invested in our County by building world class buildings and infrastructure?
Will we support walkable communities?
Will we support all forms of transit and transportation?
Will we make progress on solid waste and recycling issues?
Will we support parks, recreation, green spaces and greenways?
Will our development patterns be reasonable and sustainable?
Will our elections be open, transparent, and hassle free?
Will we have invested in our people?
Will we treat all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and immigration status—fairly and with respect?
Will our “county brand” attract new investment, new ideas and young people?
Or will we be come the place of lost opportunity— forever doomed to bear the epitaph
“What if…”
During your budget deliberations, please remember Mark Twain who once opined, “a cynic knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.”
The future is in your hands. And that is the most important constituency.
R. Voller
21 Randolph Court
Pittsboro, NC 27312