PITTSBORO — The Pittsboro Board of Commissioners held a second budget retreat on Saturday to set board goals for the town’s fiscal year 2020-2021 budget with an emphasis on infrastructure, staffing and upcoming capital projects.
While there are still no expected revenue or expenditure figures for the upcoming budget cycle, the goals were created to help the town staff under interim Town Manager Bob Morgan as they create the first drafts of a proposed budget.
Facilitated by Pittsboro Mayor Jim Nass, the workshop was divided into broad categories — including infrastructure, staff support, economic development, quality of life, and finance — to help organize discussions. Several issues, such as sewer capacity and staffing, were mentioned numerous times since those issues affected several of the categories discuss.
Infrastructure
The board agreed that moving to completion the Sanford forcemain project, the laying of a pipe for wastewater to connect to Sanford’s Big Buffalo Wastewater Treatment plant, was of the utmost priority. The extended permitting process, which has dragged on for several years, has resulted in the town’s wastewater treatment plant nearing capacity, raising board concerns about the need for a moratorium. The sewerline was discussed not only during the infrastructure portion of the workshop, but during each of the subsequent discussions as the project interrelates with staffing, economic development, quality of life and financing priorities.
The estimated cost of the project is $20 million, with Chatham Park, a 7,000-acre proposed development, agreeing to pay more than 60 percent of that; the reamaining costs will financed through a low-interest loan from the N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Infrastructure. The delayed permitting from that division for the loan has been causing consternation among the board. The latest revision, revision three, was initially approved but concerns from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Commission has forced another revision, something the town’s attorney Paul Messick noted was an unusual request for such a permit.
Commissioner Michael Fiocco questioned, given the difficulty the town has had with DWI, if Pittsboro were to pursue an alternative source of funding for the project whether it would be able to move forward with DWI’s approval. Morgan agreed to review options to present to the board at a later date.
“Since 2017 it’s been our highest priority and we’re two years behind,” Fiocco said. “We’re still struggling to have regulators. You would think taking effluent out of Haw River, Jordan Lake, and taking it to Sanford would be something people would support. It’s not near term [goal], it’s past term.”
Water quality was also mentioned numerous times throughout the discussion. The town’s drinking water, which comes from the Haw River, has been shown to have significant levels of unregulated chemicals such as PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and 1,4 Dioxane, chemicals that have the potential to have negative health effects. The board discussed both short- and long-term issues and concerns with the water supply. The town is currently undergoing a “pilot test” for additional measures to remove the chemicals from the water. The estimated start-up costs for that project are between $10-$20 million, with the estimated upkeep costs still not known.
Even that system brings environmental and infrastructure concerns. The wastewater created would have highly concentrated levels of the contaminants in it and would be re-released back into the Haw River, according to Commissioners John Bonitz and Kyle Shipp. In addition, the “extremely clean” water, which may remove chlorine and other beneficial chemicals, may cause damage to older pipes, according to Bonitz.
This raised the question of whether the town could find a way to provide water systems for water customers to install under their kitchen sinks. While Messick noted that providing equipment for private homes was not an optimal choice based on the law, a credit system might be workable. Nass noted that those of means may be able to install and maintain the personal system which usually costs between $300 and $400, but many cannot, creating an “economic injustice,” a point to which Mayor Pro-Tem Pam Baldwin agreed. Though there was no consensus on the idea, additional information was requested for the budget process.
The subject returned when discussing economic development. The town’s dwindling sewer capacity is having an impact on both large and small development in town.
“We are competing with other towns and without water and sewer, we’re not competing with anyone,” Fiocco said. “We can’t solve those issues without water and sewer.”
The board also spent a significant portion of time discussing the importance of economic development downtown and the downtown vision plan. The board agreed it wanted to work more closely with Main Street Pittsboro and the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation to work on ways to recruit and support the “type of businesses” that would be beneficial to Pittsboro’s downtown. This may include creating an incentive package program to assist businesses considering the town’s downtown district.
Staffing
The town of Pittsboro has many open positions, including town manager, town clerk, parks planner, engineer, police chief and numerous positions in the planning department. The board noted that it believed it would be best for several of those positions to be filled once the permanent town manager is chosen. At the same time, the board requested Morgan, who has extensive planning experience, to work with the planning department to assess its needs and create recommendations for the department moving forward.
Several commissioners noted concerns and complaints they had received about the rate and pace of project development with the town. For example, Shipp noted that in discussions with a developer proposing a project in Cary, he asked why they didn’t consider Pittsboro.
“They were like, ‘No way, we’d never get it approved,’” Shipp said, noting that the town is not competitive for a 500-acre commercial/industrial project because “we do not have a process.”
Nass echoed that sentiment when discussing an affordable housing project in Pittsboro that recently received approval for the 9 percent tax credit. That developer, which specializes in affordable housing, told Nass that Pittsboro was “the toughest place to do business in and they would never come back, in terms of dealing with planning.”
Fiocco mentioned one developer who spoke with him about concerns of staff about a project. After a month of discussions with staff to determine the concerns, it “boiled down to two bushes.”
The board noted that not only does it need to advertise using terminology that accurately reflects the work volume due to the town’s growth, it needs to study the pay scale in use in order to be more competitive for high-quality talent. There was also a desire to create a culture where projects are moved through the planning process “as quickly as possible” while meeting the standards of the town’s ordinances.
The board also agreed that the town needed better communication with its stakeholders. Commissioners are considering a public information officer for the town who could work on a broad range of issues including email blasts, package production for meetings and other communications to the public.
In addition, the board discussed quality of life issues including parks, affordable housing and safety. The town has been without a parks planner since late last year and has several parks in the design phase. There were also concerns about the anticipated approval of a 10-acre park Chatham Park is building off Thompson Street. That park, as per the master plan, will be turned over to the town to maintain after it is completed. The town will also need to invest, though the appropriation will likely not be until the following year, to support a new ladder truck for the fire department.
Financing growth
Pittsboro’s needs will come with a hefty price tag. The Sanford forcemain project, water quality improvements, the new town hall and bringing the town’s staffing up to competitive standards all come with increased allocations and likely tough decisions on the board’s part. Chatham Park has made an offer to provide funding to support the hiring of planning staff that would be under the town’s employment and direction, though the details of the offer were not explicit during discussions. The staff is now working to estimate revenue projections and determine financial needs for the town to discuss as they finalize the next budget. The budget must be complete by June 30, according to state law.
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.