Date: Sun, 27 Sep 2015 18:26:51 -0700
From: Gregory Stafford
Subject: Saturday’s post by Virginia Penley is not true
—————-
< Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2015 22:37:59 -0400
< From: virginia penley
< Subject: Again, Heather, please
< From Heather’s Facebook page:
< Cooperation with Chatham Park developers is already yielding great benefits for the town.
< Working with Chatham Park developers, other business owners and I started meeting with Department of Transportation (DOT) representatives over a year ago about the revitalization of our downtown. These efforts resulted in DOT and outgoing Secretary Tata committing over $5 million to downtown Pittsboro.
< Heather Johnson had her first meeting with any and all of these people in June, 2015, at the meeting at the Roadhouse, with Gregg Lewis and the other leaders of the community and General Tata of NCDOT.
I have no dog in this fight and I cannot vote in Pittsboro but the post above by Virginia Penley is not true. In the interest of full disclosure I am Heather’s landlord which is why I have an interest in this subject. I was involved in a meeting in 2014. Steve Carr sent the notice to me. Heather was on the email and at the meeting.
The email, forwarded from Steve Carr is below:
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Meeting with Department of Transportation Secretary Tony Tata
Date: Fri, 9 May 2014 13:00:10 +0000
From: Atkins, Ken
To: , , , , , , ,
CC: Dianne Reid, , Bill Terry, Bell, Andrew M, , , , Joyner, Gary
Dear Jacques, Steve, Gene/Vicky, Charlene, Kitty, Elyse, Heather, and Mary,
You are invited to meet with Secretary Tata and his top management team from the NC Department of Transportation on Friday morning, May 16th from 9 am until 10 am at the Pittsboro Roadhouse downtown.
I have been asked to coordinate this meeting and I am working closely with Greg Lewis, our host, Dianne Reid with the Chatham EDC, the management team at Preston Development, Mayor Bill Terry and his staff, and representatives from the NCDOC. I recently joined Kilpatrick Townsend as the Director of Economic Development, a position that I held for 16 years at the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce/Wake County Economic Development. Preston Development has retained me to provide assistance and expertise to the Chatham EDC, the Town of Pittsboro, and Chatham Park in the recruitment of jobs and investment.
In meetings that we have attended with Secretary Tata and his staff over the past few months regarding Chatham Park, we found out that his department has funding and expertise to provide for the revitalization of downtowns. The meeting on the 16th is being held to
· Introduce Secretary Tata and his key staff members to business and municipal leaders, especially downtown merchants
· Hear an overview from the Secretary about the specific programs that could provide funding for downtown renovation projects
· Hear from local business, elected officials, and town staff members on what are some of the priorities for downtown revitalization, and finally
· Determine the next steps to apply for funds.
I understand from a conversation I had yesterday with Greg Lewis that he has already reached out to many of you for your input and ideas. I encourage you to talk with him if you haven’t already. Greg is going to summarize the information and ideas that he is receiving and present those to the Secretary. While the meeting is constrained to only an hour due to the Secretary’s tight schedule, we are also planning to have some time for Q&A from the group as a whole. Please respond back to me via this email and confirm whether you are able to attend or not. You can also reach me at my direct business phone listed below, or on my mobile phone 919.412.9069. I look forward to meeting you next Friday the 16th and working with all of you on the revitalization of historic downtown Pittsboro in the weeks and months ahead.
Ken Atkins
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Ken Atkins
Director of Economic Development
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Suite 1400 | 4208 Six Forks Road | Raleigh, NC 27609
office 919 420 1715 | fax 919 510 6167
| www.kilpatricktownsend.com