Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:57:04 -0500
From: samantha capitol
Subject: PittsboroMatters: Is it misleading or just wrong? You decide.
*Fiction: Pittsboro Matters is a large and diverse group advocating for Pittsboro. Fact: The group is apparently led by a few people who issue talking points. As for demographic diversity…..it has been obvious that the group is mainly white, educated, newcomers, with a smattering of natives and people who have been here awhile who speak chiefly for people who already own their own property. If the group thinks that “Pittsboro Matters” then it follows that the group should be advocating on all issues Pittsboro”, but instead it focuses on the “process” of Chatham Park, which is a lawyer’s way of delaying job creation and not actually accomplishing
anything. Did Thomas Jefferson wait for a group to help him with the “process” of writing the Declaration of Independence?
Finally, the group does not address the people who need work now, and would like to live in nice places like Fearrington or Southern Village and be close to a good job.
Fiction: – The project will be just like Cary.Fact: – The project is a master planned community, which is NOT how Cary grew. Fearrington is an example of a planned community.
Fiction: -Pittsboro Matters knows what its doing. Fact: -The group makes a series of allegations about the abilities of the developers and their team, yet is led by some people who have little to no qualifications to make such a critique. Worse yet, at least one of the leaders has a history of failure and/or quitting with a penchant for leaving it to others to clean up the mess.
Fiction: – We have no idea about the financial resources committed to this project. Fact: – We do have an idea of their resources. Anyone can go online and see that Chatham Park has spent tens of millions of dollars and OWNS the property FREE of debt. By definition they have committed financial resources to the project. As an example, if someone owns their own home free of debt then they would be considered to be in a better financial situation than a neighbor who has a mortgage. By way of example, I imagine that Briar Chapel was built in part with borrowed money and/or funding from Wall Street. Obviously they were affected when the credit crisis of 2007-2008 occurred. (Remember the INDY article on the “Zombie subdivisions” of Chatham County?)Briar Chapel and its developer adjusted and continued to build its residential part first, which pays off immediately but can add burden to the county in the form of schools and services. The commercial tax base was put on hold.This will not happen in Chatham Park. It owns the land free and clear. It is starting with the UNC medical facilities, which enhances tax base, creates jobs with the construction process and will create permanent jobs at the facility, too. http://www.indyweek.com/