Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2011 14:43:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Betty Black
Subject: Educator joins Beer Parlor to Block Children’s School In Pittsboro
Well now, I have heard just about everything- A former teacher has joined forces with a local Pittsboro beer parlor to block the establishment of a children’s school in downtown Pittsboro.
Steve Cote, part owner of The City Tap, opposes the new school, saying it will take off the market available commercial space near the heart of downtown- ( It has been vacant for years- with no takers- due to the high rent)- Mr. Cote, goes on to say that the school would affect their business- How may I ask? Could it be that there is a fear that kids would get drunk on the aroma drifting across the way?
Mimi Pollard, a former teacher, speaking at the Pittsboro Town meeting said “traffic would be horrible with 90 families coming and going” “It is a bad fit if you look at the intergrity of the downtown and where forward looking business people are trying to go.”- (Please do tell us where they are trying to go- please?) Are 90 people going to cause a traffic problem? Come now- The PTA Thrift Shop was there for years and never a traffic snarl- that business has at leat a 150 cars a day in and out of that lot.
The City Tap, you may remember, had complaints about their loud music by neighbors on that street and neighborhood. Of course, the beer parlor won out over the concerned residents. The town ruled that it is o.k. to annoy local residents up until ten o’clock at night.
And as far as intergrity of the downtown, Ms. Pollard- Are you saying a school of learning is a bad thing? Are you saying that there will be folks that will say “I’m not going to Pittsboro to drink beer because there is a kid’s school there?”
The school is a Christian school- The Haw River Christian Academy- They plan a good looking building and will offer 33 spaces for public parking-
Is it at all in the realm of possiblities that just maybe one of those parking spots would be used by someone that needs a cold beer?
Betty Black
P.S. I have heard that N.C. State law stipulates that an establishment that sells alcohol cannot be located within 50 feet of a school’s property line.. Wonder how they will twist and bend that law to make everybody happy?