Pittsboro’s got a new mayor in town along with one new commissioner and two returning commissioners: Jim Nass, Kyle Shipp, John Bonitz and Jay Farrell. Since Cindy Perry decided not to try for reelection as Mayor, Nass, the longtime chairman of the Pittsboro ABC Board, decided to take his chances and run. Nass has a strong record with the ABC Board. According to the Chatham News + Record, when Nass first became chairman, he created a personnel manual, renovated the ABC Store and gave employees the modern day benefits they need like health insurance. They also received paid leave as well, and the ABC Store started making a lot more money with $111,000 per year. Nass believes that we need to focus more on the big things happening in Pittsboro and then get to the smaller issues.
Newly-elected Commissioner Kyle Shipp got the highest amount of votes compared to the other commissioner candidates, coming in with 623 votes. According to the Chatham News + Record, Shipp says he wants to focus on the responsibility of the town board by going after issues like budget, water treatment and sewer capacity. The two goals that Shipp will work toward improved communication and engagement as well as enforcing regulations on the general development of Pittsboro so that it will keep its “unique character.”
In listing what he plans to do for Pittsboro with the committee in an interview, Shipp listed, “Work with the committees to develop a workable Affordable Housing strategy for all of Pittsboro, and then implement it in time to stay in-step with development. Build upon the work that is being done to improve and expand Pittsburgh’s critical infrastructure: water quality, sewer capacity, and stormwater management. Work with all parties fairly, resulting in projects and initiatives we can all be proud of.”
One of the two returning commissioners is John Bonitz. Bonitz named the three issues to the Chatham News + Record that he wants to fix in his time as commissioner, increase the amount of affordable housing, make a new or improved water drinking plant and finish the Unified Development Ordinance. The Unified Development Ordinance is a document that contains all of the regulations on town development (such as zoning and floodplain and stormplain management) which can be found on the UDO website for Pittsboro, called Pittsboroudo.
“I pledged to do everything I can to advance the top two priorities — clean drinking water and affordable housing,” Bonitz told The Omniscient. “I will also work to make Town government more effective and responsive. My plan is to work at every opportunity to collaborate with our new Mayor and the Board, to move these three priorities forward.”
The second returning commissioner, Jay Farrell, is also a recurring member of the board. The two goals Farrell wants to focus on completing are finishing the UDO (Unified Development Ordinance) and completing the Chatham Park Development Agreement. Farrel said that if he had not gotten the roll then he would’ve gone back to working with the Pittsboro Fire Department, as he’s been doing for almost 40 years.
