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Pittsboro candidates share common concerns

Posted on September 23, 2009September 24, 2009 by Staff

By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer

In a word: water. Among the candidates running for mayor of Pittsboro and the Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners, the most frequently mentioned issue facing the town is water – clean drinking water and the capacity to treat waste water. In order to keep pace with growth and prosper, Pittsboro must continue to address these concerns.

Maintaining the overall small-town quality of life Pittsboro today enjoys – keepin’ it real in PBO – while advancing and encouraging economic development is another commonly held objective.

The candidates
Mayor
Randy Voller, 40, is running for a third term as mayor of Pittsboro, affirming he’d like to continue to build on the initiatives of his last four years in office. He’s particularly proud of three of these.

Last year, the town brought in $2.6 million in federal stimulus money for upgrades to its waste-water treatment plant and $260,000 in public-safety grants for additional police officers, training and equipment.

Voller, owner of Voller Realty & Construction, also is proud to have advocated for the express bus that began running last month between Pittsboro and Carrboro.

“The Pittsboro express bus service is going to be a springboard for the future,” Voller said in an interview with The Citizen. He believes the bus service will open up job opportunities in Orange County to Chatham residents, and he is looking toward future service to other Triangle municipalities.

The third initiative he points to is the introduction of mixed beverages, which, Voller said, “will have a significant impact on revenues for our citizens.”

Voller believes it is imperative the town cooperate with the county and neighboring municipalities in meeting growing drinking-water demands.

Voller is reaching out to voters by canvassing and at local events.

William Crawford declined to respond to several messages left by The Citizen, but according to his website he’s a restaurant manager in Sanford who “will work to keep your government as transparent for you as I can.”

He believes in expanding the tax base through managed growth and wants to continue work being done to manage water and sewer capabilities. He says he “will not support any tax increases of any kind” and that any new revenues, “such as liquor by the drink, should be used for current obligations and needs rather than to fund an experimental bus line.”

Commissioners
Andrew Allden, 45, is a former college track coach and now a meet director and alumni-relations coordinator for UNC’s track-and-field program.

Allden said his experience on the town and county recreation boards gave him exposure to what’s going on in Pittsboro, and, he said, “I’d like to be involved in what it can become.”

The biggest challenges he sees ahead are meeting growing water and sewer demands and economic development – most particularly, downtown redevelopment to bring in more jobs.

Allden said he and his family were attracted by Pittsboro’s small-town feel, and he’d like to see that retained. He wants to expand park space and improve walkability. “There’s great potential for a greenway system,” he added.

Allden get his message out by going door-to-door throughout the community and attending candidate forums.

Pamela Baldwin, 51, a financial adviser with UNC’s School of Dentistry, is running for a second term on the board of commissioners. She sees cleaning up Pittsboro’s drinking water as the biggest issue facing town government.

According to the town’s annual water-quality report, Pittsboro has failed to meet coliform bacteria monitoring requirements for its water and therefore can’t be certain of its quality.

“We have to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” she said
Baldwin points to the need to improve waste-water treatment capabilities to meet growth.

“It all ties into water,” she said.

Baldwin wants to see the town continue to grow in a well-managed fashion and said everyone in the community should be involved in that discussion.
In order to gather public input, she’ll canvass and participate in the League of Women Voters candidate forum on Oct. 7, the only candidate forum yet scheduled.

Michael Fiocco, 46, is a civil-engineering and land-planning consultant who wants to see the community “undertake smart sustainable growth; growth that provides local opportunities for work, living, shopping and play.”

Fiocco would like to help guide a community that recognizes the “synergy of the built environment with open spaces,” that protects natural resources and that “embraces infill development and the preservation, rejuvenation and enhancement of existing opportunities.”

Fiocco said improvement and expansion of waste-water treatment capabilities is critical to the town’s growth and called the recent stimulus grant “a significant step in the right direction.”

He plans to canvass door-to-door, send out a mailer and participate in the League of Women Voter’s forum in October.

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