We will have a Summerfest on July 4! It will look a bit different than past years but the Town of Pittsboro, PBA, and Mainstreet Pittsboro, are dedicated to put it on and get people out! Make your business plans now to take advantage of the event! Salisbury and the town lot are being looked at as the probable location. But if you’re store isn’t open, you can’t take advantage of the foot traffic. Mike Dasher, Chatham County Commissioner, spoke to the members on May 12. Most County department will be open in person in the next couple of weeks. The Commissioner meetings will be with the public by July. County Budget process is going on now! By law the County must have a budget in place by June 30th. There was a public input session this last Monday and there will be another in-person on May 17th at 6 pm at the new Ag Building on West Street. Or you can give your comments to the County Managers office or to Mike. The new budget is staff heavy, adding staff in the planning department (permitting, inspection, water shed protection). For sustainability, funds are going to solarizing existing buildings EV charging stations, and transitioning the county vehicle fleet to hybrids. Chatham County schools has the new Seaforth High School opening this fall so there will be additional operational funds allocated there and there will be funding for a supplement to teachers salaries. As the County is growing in population a unified development ordnance is starting to be developed. It was originally going to be a 4-year effort but will be shorter now. Plan Chatham will be integrated into the UDO. The county property out on Renaissance Drive will see more county building in the next few years with the Chatham […]

From the Board Membership dues are due for 2021 Pay on line here. Please contact membership if you need an invoice and don’t have one. Chris Kennedy, Pittsboro Town Manager, has a construction meeting set up for interested parties first Monday of the month. To get on the invitation list contact Chris. Interested in being a board member? contact us @ downtown.pittsboro@gmail.com From the Speaker: Michael Smith, President Chatham EDC Michael Smith joined Chatham EDC a couple of months ago and graciously agreed speak with PBA today. He comes to Chatham County from Lee County with more than 20 years of service in local organizations and in the NC Department of Commerce. He’s been traveling the county to see the details of Chatham’s assets: Jordan Lake is the ‘Central Park’ of North Carolina and a huge asset! It’s the most visited State Park. Two megasites – both being NC Certified is a jump ahead of other sites. Together they are over 4,500 acres. Remember Chatham Park is about the same size as Research Triangle Park and has the potential to bring the same type of growth. US 421 will become Interstate I685, providing more access to the county, especially to Siler City from Greensboro, ~30 minutes away. As a member of  NC Carolina CORE, Chatham’s assets are displayed. As a county in the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, Chatham is placed in front of international site consultants. Chatham’s current tax base is 84% residential and needs to switch to a larger commercial/industrial base. Being included in these partnerships bring the County closer to that goal. The Triangle Innovation Point (Moncure Megasite) is 2,500 acres and life sciences businesses are the target. Changes to the site are coming so prospective clients can better visualize their businesses there. The changes will also have […]

From the Board Membership dues are due for 2021 Pay on line here. Please contact membership if you need an invoice and don’t have one. The Board is excited to announce there is only one position left on the Board. If you’d like to be a part of a group affecting downtown Pittsboro email downtown.pittsboro@gmail.com. The PBA current Board is: Pam Fulk-President Maria Parker-Lewis-Vice Chair Jamie Hitmar-Treasurer Stephanie Olness-Secretary Jacques Dufour, Cindy Schmidt, and Scott Dunham From the Speaker: Debbie Andleton, Chatham Park Update Debbie updated us on the Progress of Chatham Park, North Village: Thales Academy will open Fall 2021 to K-5 Vineyards (north of Thompson Street and east of Fire Tower Road) The first neighborhood in Chatham Park All 30 of the cottages have sold out! The Knight Family Community Park is approaching completion. Many of the amenities in the park are completed. The sales office is open on-site. There will be custom homes in the Vineyards-two are under contract and closing soon. Garmon Homes starting to build are across from the park Mosaic (east of 15/501, north of 64) Continuing to build out the 44 acre site; Building B – will be UNC urgent care; Building I – being constructed and will be retail and office space, open this Fall.Looking for the retail to be local organizations not necessarily national chains. Northwood Landing (west of 15/501, south of Northwood HS and north of Hwy 64) Lowes Food-ground work has started. There will be apartments toward the north side of the property. Other parcels on the property will go to national companies. More interest? sign up for the Chatham Park newsletter at the bottom of the page: https://chathampark.com Chatham 250 – Add your Business chachke to the Birthday Party swag bag! Chatham County is 250 years old in […]

From the Board We hope your holidays were as good as they could be considering COVID. With the New Year, the Board wants to remind members what PBA is about: PBA’s mission is: “to promote the healthy economic climate of Pittsboro and provide support for member organizations.” PBA does its mission via member meetings with speakers, access to local town and county representatives and holding events normally located in downtown Pittsboro. PBA does not exist without members. PBA strives to create an environment of community among businesses and organizations in Pittsboro and present ourselves as a block of like-minded organizations whose goal is to keep Pittsboro a vibrant small town in the midst of new development so the quaint and the new compliment each other and people are drawn to both. PBA needs your membership dues for the 2021 calendar year. Pay on line here. Please contact membership if you need an invoice and don’t have one. PBA elects Board members every October at the annual membership meeting. The Board then elects Officers (President, VP, Treasurer, & Secretary) at the November meeting. Officers begin their term in January. PBA has several Committees: Events, Marketing, & Membership. All need members to complete their tasks. Please email PBA at downtown.pittsboro@gmail.com. Speaker: Chris Kennedy, Pittsboro Town Manager Chris reviewed with the circle construction project: The project started Jan 11th and is due to be completed at the end of October, 2021, in time for the holiday shopping season. The beginning of the project will remove the islands around the circle. The next phase, to begin a week later, will detour all circle traffic to the west side of the circle and will do all the underground and surface work to the south, east, and part of the north side of the circle. The […]

The December HOLIDAY MEETING will be Wednesday, December 9th at 9 am – on Zoom. Please forward a gift for inclusion in the gift drawing. Notify Pam or Maria, what the gift is you’ll be providing. Only those in attendance will be in the drawing! Holiday Events -PBA will participate in Small Business Saturday, November 28th by hosting the gift wrap from 10-4 and a passport for the day. Pick yours up at the Welcome Center. Your business should participate! Contact Pam for details. -Tree Lighting: Virtual on Zoom and Facebook Live November 22nd from 5-6 pm. Santa will be in a life-sized snow globe for pictures from a car-0rider line form 2-4 on the 22nd. Will you be a sponsor? Contact Maria Parker-Lewis for the opportunity to support the tree lighting and promote your business. If you want to do a video to play during the Tree Lighting, Maria recommends checking out promo.com. -Membership dues will be due in January of 2021. Please go to the website Shoppittsboro.com to join again. You’ll also be receiving a reminder email with an invoice attached. Anne Lowry from Chatham County Health Department Anne Lowry from the Chatham County Health Department talked extensively about: What is a Corona Virus: other corona viruses and the COVID-19 variant. How they usually mature and what their affects are. The Current Data/Trends-NC and Chatham County numbers can be found at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard. Currently, the 7 day average is increasing. Prevention: Slow the spreadby social distancing (WAIT), frequent hand-washing (WASH), and (WEAR) a mask over your nose and mouth. Testingis every Monday from 12:30pm – 4:30 pm at Chatham Central High School and every Thursday from 12:30pm – 4:30 pm at Northwood Hight School. PREREGISTER by texting ‘COVID’ to 704-850-6996. More sites at: https://www.chathamnc.org/services/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-testing-contact-tracing Isolation/Quarantine: Isolation for 10 days when you are sick, to keep from passing on the […]

From the April Zoom Board meeting…. The First Sunday Coordinator attended as First Sunday and PBA finances have been impacted by COVID-19. The Board recognized the town of Pittsboro’s recommendation to cancel May First Sunday. The Board will let you know about June’s First Sunday. The PBA has a table at First Sunday to promote the PBA and PBA members. It will be staffed by a Board member and a PBA member. You can contact PBA to volunteer, a list will be kept so everyone gets a chance. If you staff it, you will be promoting both PBA and your business (for free). WE NEED YOUR COUPONS!! And brochures for the table. The staff at the table will hand out your coupons and promote all PBA businesses –if we have your materials! Drop off materials at New Horizons Downtown anytime. There will be dog treats and a water bowl and kid treats at the PBA table as well. After discussion, the Board also voted to cancel Summerfest. It’s very unfortunate, but funding is limited because PBA hasn’t been making money from First Sunday   The MAY MEMBERSHIP MEETING will be Wednesday, May 13th 9 am on ZOOM (stayed tuned for the Zoom login) About the May Meeting: The May PBA Membership Meeting will be over Zoom. The speaker for May will be Alyssa Byrd from Chatham County Economic Development Corporation and You. In this time of COVID-19 and all the programs available for businesses and employees, Alyssa will talk about programs available locally. But she also wants to hear from YOU. What is working for you, what’s not, what are your questions, comments, and what does Reopening look like for you and your business? Please join us for this conversation. Alyssa wants your feedback! Membership Survey is Coming! PBA has more paid members in 2020 than in 2019, […]

SBA Disaster Loan Assistance  From Alyssa Byrd at the Chatham Economic Development Corporation: What: Invitation to join the “All Business Briefing” on COVID-19 Special Guest Speaker: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Senior Area Manager Patrick Rodriguez Why: Things are happening fast. The purpose of this call is to share timely and relevant information for your business and ensure you have the best information on resources available to help you, including the new SBA Loans. When: Friday, March 20, 2020, 3:00-4:00pm ET Who: This video conference is free and open to all local businesses throughout Orange and Chatham Counties. How: Zoom video conference. Note: This video conference is first-come, first-served (there are 500 slots available). The conversation will be recorded and made available afterwards. For those new to Zoom, we invite you to review these tips. Flow: 3:00pm-3:05pm (5 minutes): Log-in and Zoom Tutorial from Aaron Nelson, CEO, The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro 3:05pm-3:15pm (10 minutes): Welcome and COVID-19 Status Update (Nelson) 3:15pm-3:40pm (25 minutes): SBA Loan Presentation and Facilitated Q&A 3:40pm-3:55pm (15 minutes): Comments from Community Partners 3:55pm-4:00pm (5 minutes): Closing Remarks and Next Steps About the SBA Loans: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which provides low-interest loans (up to $2 million) to help small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by COVID-19 to overcome the temporary loss of revenue. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for non-profits, with up to 30 year terms. Other Links:  Most Chatham Co events are suspended. All Pittsboro town offices closed to the public. All Siler City town offices on limited access to the public. Websites for definitive information: Chatham County State of Emergency: https://www.chathamnc.org/Home/Components/News/News/13675/19 Chatham County Information: http://www.chathamnc.org/coronavirus Chatham County Health: https://www.chathamnc.org/services/health/coronavirus/ Chatham County Government: https://www.chathamnc.org/services/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-service-impacts Pittsboro: https://www.facebook.com/pittsboronc.gov/ Siler City: http://www.silercity.org/ Chatham County Schools: https://www.chatham.k12.nc.us/Page/22533 Chatham County Charter School: https://www.chathamcharter.org/ Woods Charter School: https://www.woodscharter.org/ NC […]