If the year 2022 was about triumph and headline-making development projects in Chatham County, officials at the county and municipal levels here point to 2023 as a year of transformation — and of the need to set the stage properly for the growth and development that will help define the county in the near-term.
Growth brings opportunities, they said, but also brings into sharper focus issues Chatham has been working to address. Among them: affordable housing, workforce development, addressing environmental challenges and preservation of the assets that make living here desirable.
The News + Record queried the managers and top elected official from Chatham County and the municipalities of Siler City, Goldston and Pittsboro.
Responses to questions are provided below from Chatham County Manager Dan LaMontagne, Chatham Commission Chairperson Karen Howard, Siler City Town Manager Hank Raper, Siler City Mayor Thomas “Chip” Price, and Goldston Mayor Jonathan Hensley. Pittsboro’s town manager position is vacant and Pittsboro Mayor Cindy Perry was unable to respond to questions.
What one item is at the top of your priority list for 2023? How will you address it?
DAN LAMONTAGNE, Chatham County Manager: My top priorities for 2023 would have to be the continued progress on the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and completion of the Small Area Plan for the Moncure area. These projects will provide direction on how to handle the expected growth and create more job opportunities and availability of affordable housing.
KAREN HOWARD, chairperson, Chatham County Board of Commissioners: One of my top priorities for 2023 is to make meaningful investment and measurable change in our stock of affordable housing throughout the county. We have done a lot of good work to bring family sustaining wages to our community, but affordable housing has been an elusive challenge. As we go through the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) process and as we develop strategies and policies to mitigate the impacts of poverty and ensure access to opportunity for all Chatham County residents, the need for a variety of housing options will become increasingly pressing. A well-paying job in a beautiful county with excellent schools and a healthy environment mean little if you can’t afford housing that meets the needs of you and your family. My goal is to bring innovative ideas to the table, to learn from the successes of others and to gather input from neighboring communities and partners in the affordable housing space to bring about a real change in the availability of affordable housing options for Chatham County.
HANK RAPER, Siler City Town Manager: As the Town of Siler City continues to grow, we are consistently evaluating the structure and functionality of each of the town departments for opportunities to operate more efficiently and effectively. In 2022, this had led to reorganizational efforts in Public Works and Public Utilities, Planning and Community Development, as well as our Finance Department. With these changes going into 2023, it is our priority to provide the highest quality customer service to our residents and customers as we strive to best utilize town resources and fill the vacancies we have in the Police Department and throughout the rest of the town government.
CHIP PRICE, Siler City Mayor: For us to keep working with the Division of Environmental Quality on solutions [for the town’s wastewater issues]. We’re going back and forth with them, and town staff is meeting on a regular basis with DEQ. It seems like we’ve got this moving target, so we have to keep communicating with them and then follow through on what we need to get this done.
JONATHAN HENSLEY, Goldston Mayor: The top priority for the Town of Goldston is revamping and upgrading the town park.
What are you most excited about for the coming year?
DAN LAMONTAGNE: Seeing the economic development projects that were announced in 2022 continue to progress and provide employment opportunities for our residents.
KAREN HOWARD: For 2023 I’m excited about the conversations we are having across the county from our K-12 public schools, community college, businesses and industries, the Economic Development Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, and county government about retaining local talent by building the workforce we need for Chatham County’s future right here in our community. We will do this through internships, job fairs, career counselors, degree and certification programs, public-private collaborations, workshops, local marketing of job opportunities and curriculum development at all educational levels. It feels like a win-win!
HANK RAPER: Throughout 2023, we will be embarking on Master Planning that is truly exciting for the Town of Siler City. This will include a Comprehensive Land Use Plan and a Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan will guide the Town of Siler City’s land development and management for the next 8-10 years. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan will be a 10-year analysis of what staffing, facilities and services will be needed in Siler City. We look forward to the insight and wisdom of our residents as we go through the participatory process of formulating these critical plans.
CHIP PRICE: Wolfspeed. It has the potential to raise the yearly household income of a wide area of folks in the western part of the county. And that’s going to solve a whole lot of problems.
JONATHAN HENSLEY: There has been a new found interest in the growth of the town with new annexation coming to the community.
What’s going to be your government entity’s biggest challenge in 2023?
DAN LAMONTAGNE: I would have to say preparing for the coming growth in the county will be a challenge. The ability to accommodate the growing population from housing to school planning to transportation planning.
KAREN HOWARD: Our biggest challenge for 2023 is going to be our biggest challenge for many years to come: How do we manage the accelerated growth of the county in a way that protects and preserves the many assets of the county and communities we love while allowing for greater opportunities for future Chatham? As I work with colleagues around the state, I hear the difficulties of many counties that are losing population, losing property value, aging without building a cohort of young future residents and simply put, losing the underpinnings required for a healthy local economy. In Chatham we are blessed to be dealing with a different challenge but a real one nonetheless, and the decisions of this and future boards of commissioners will determine how well we balance growth without stymieing the energy and vitality that come with it.
HANK RAPER: The biggest challenge going into 2023 is continuing to address the challenges surrounding the sewer moratorium imposed by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. We currently are in negotiations regarding a Special Order by Consent (SOC) that will allow the state to grant sewer allocations in exchange for meeting agreed upon milestones. I believe we are close to an agreement based on the latest draft submitted to the Town of Siler City for review.
CHIP PRICE: At this point, quite frankly, it’s dealing with all the things we’ve got going on and coming up with a budget that will allow us to do the things we know we need to do, and still keep the budget where the citizens can afford it. I think we can weather the storm, but it’s probably going to be a pretty tall challenge to keep the tax rate reasonable.
JONATHAN HENSLEY: With the new interest in the Goldston area comes new growing pains. The biggest challenge that we will face is processing and administration challenges with the new growth.
It’s an unprecedented time of growth and development in Chatham County. In what ways do you think the county will be most different at the start of 2024, compared to today?
DAN LAMONTAGNE: I think that by the start of 2024, we will see the progression of growth in the county on the rise. The two large economic development projects have already drawn a great deal of attention to Chatham, and I believe that we will see more projects choosing our county as a great place to do business.
KAREN HOWARD: That’s an interesting question! It’s hard to predict beyond the inevitable like more people and more development, but I’d love to see more innovation and new shops and restaurants popping up across the county as an indication that residents are seeing the opportunities for entrepreneurship and are taking advantage of them.
HANK RAPER: The Town of Siler City is starting to experience growth at an unprecedented level in both commercial and residential development. We have seen significant interest in the CAM Site, and we will continue to build on the momentum started with the announcement of Wolfspeed coming to Siler City. We will also begin implementing the solutions proposed in Strategic Economic Development Action Plan in partnership with the firm, Sanford Holshouser.
CHIP PRICE: Well,at that point in time, I think we’ll be able to see some of the things we’ve already put in place starting to come to fruition. And I think by that time there should be some construction going on [related to the Wolfspeed project].
JONATHAN HENSLEY: Hopefully by the year 2024 Goldston will have completed the first phase of the beautification and will be looking forward to the next phase of improvements for the citizens of Goldston.
What’s the #1 thing on your wish list for 2023?
DAN LAMONTAGNE: I wish that all our residents are proud to tell people that they are from Chatham County!
KAREN HOWARD: Number one on my wish list: clean, safe air and drinking water for everyone! If I had a magic wand, I’d fix that one first!
HANK RAPER: The Town of Siler City made the decision to create a Budget Manager position at the last Board of Commissioners meeting. This is a major step forward for our Town and allows us to commit to budgeting all twelve months of the year. In doing so, we will be changing our budgeting process to allow for consistent evaluation of departmental performance while tracking performance measures with benchmarks. This will also allow for long-term capital planning and forecasting so that the Town of Siler City is best prepared for major projects to improve the community.
CHIP PRICE: A lot of my agenda has been around establishing employment for folks — give the young folks here a reason to stay, rather than going to Raleigh or Greensboro. And I would like to see our police department fully-staffed, for sure. One of the main functions of municipal government is to protect the safety of the individuals who live here. Just like everybody else, we’re having a hard time finding people to fill these jobs. I’d like to see us get back to full staff.
JONATHAN HENSLEY: My biggest wish list for Goldston is a two-part answer. First and foremost I would love to see more family-owned businesses and shops in the downtown area. I think a bakery and coffee shop would be a great addition to our cozy little town. Second would be fiber internet. I have worked with Randolph Communications but unfortunately we didn’t quite meet the requirements last year for fiber. Hopefully with more growth and more interest in Goldston, Randolph will bring fiber to our area for the residents.
