Steering Committee Minutes

Date: July 31, 2024

The meeting was held at the Pittsylvania County History Center (Train Station) and convened at 1:00 pm.

Attendees:

Steering Committee: Joe Rogers – Chairman, Dick Camp – Vice Chairman, Donna Yeatts, Phil Mauger, Langhorne Jones, Nick Morris, Alisa Davis, Bill and Mary Lee Black, Delilah White, Frank Fox. Dean Rogers joined at 4pm for the small business session and wrap up. John Harris joined at 4 pm via a Zoom link.

Consultant Team:

• Dr. Maria Saxton — Project manager, Hill Studio
• David Hill — Principal, Hill Studio
• Aaron Muldrow — Principal, Arnett Muldrow and Assoc.

1. The purpose of the meeting was for the steering committee to hear a report on the results of data gathering efforts. This information was obtained from an online survey that was live from late May until July 24, two days of focus group sessions, and interviews with community stakeholders. The study has been organized along four topics. These are Community Amenities, Outdoor Recreation, Housing, and Small Business. Another objective of the meeting was to have the steering committee determine a direction for the project to be used for the report draft, based on the data presented. This data represented broad public input.
2. Dr. Saxton provided a PowerPoint presentation that summarized the survey results, focus group input, and stakeholder interviews. The information will be posted on the Reimagine Chatham website.
3. Discussions ensued to obtain the committee’s reaction to the data along with the issues they considered to have most potential benefit for the town. While all input was deemed valuable, practicality dictates that it be prioritized to aid in implementation planning.
4. Proposed initiatives and topics of interest were reduced to notes on charts. Each attendee was then given stickers and asked to select their top three issues in each of the four categories. Responses will be used to help in establishing recommendations and strategies for the draft report. Photos of the charts indicating the vote distribution were taken for record and will be posted on the website.
5. A bulletin update will be issued describing the above and these minutes will be posted to the ReimagineChatham.org website.

The meeting adjourned at 5 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joe Rogers
Chairman, RC Steering Committee

Date: May 14, 2024

Background: The meeting was held with the consultant team of Hill Studio and Arnett Muldrow as part of the official kickoff of the growth and renewal strategic plan study. The meeting preceded the first public session. Prior to the meeting, the consultants were given a two-hour tour of the town as part of their orientation. Earlier in the day, Delilah White facilitated coverage on WDBJ7 TV about the kickoff.

The steering committee convened its meeting at the Pittsylvania County Community Center at 4:00 pm.

Attendees:

• Steering Committee: Joe Rogers – Chairman, Dick Camp- Vice Chairman, Delilah White, John Harris, Janet Bishop, Donna Yeatts, Frank Fox, Langhorne Jones, Deborah Haymes and Mayor Alisa Davis.
• Consultant Team: David Hill, Maria Saxton, and Matthew Lindsay of Hill Studio. Arnette Muldrow of Arnett Muldrow and Associates.

1. David Hill of Hill Studio reported on his impression of the town from the tour. He described the town as having extraordinary potential and many unique assets for a community of this size. He stated that the challenge is to build upon these assets while maintaining the character of the town that people like. He complimented the committee on being well organized. Arnette Muldrow stated that he often passed the town when working in the state, but never appreciated what Chatham had to offer such as beautiful architecture and many special assets.
2. A discussion ensued with each steering committee member sharing their hopes and expectations for the study and what they would like to see the town become over the next 5-10 years.
3. Mayor Davis stated that she would hope the plan pulls together the various diverse initiatives in town and provides a format for a unified focus going forward.
4. Steering Committee members then took an interactive survey on a program called Metrimeter. Real-time answers to an initial survey developed by the consultants were displayed on a screen as input by members. The file was saved to compare it to the same survey being conducted during the public session.
5. The public session convened at 6:00 pm. A record of that meeting, along with public survey results, is posted on the website at ReimagineChatham.org
6. Chairman Rogers advised at informational cards about the study will be included in the upcoming mailout of the town water bills at the end of May. This information will reach most all the homes in the study area. The hope is to grow the RC email database to reach throughout the community most efficiently.

Joe Rogers
Chairman, RC Steering Committee

Date: April 18, 2024

Background: With the signing of a contract with the consultant imminent, a meeting was called on short notice for those who could attend in order to begin working on Task #1, Information Gathering and Background Review. The contract is scheduled to be effective on April 29, 2024. Task one is scheduled for a duration of three weeks.

The meeting was held at Chatham Presbyterian Church and convened at 5:30 pm.

Attendees: Joe Rogers – Chairman, Dick Camp – Vice Chairman, Janet Bishop, Deborah Haymes, Donna Yeatts, Phil Mauger, Langhorne Jones.

1. Chairman Rogers provided an update on the contract status and reason for the short-notice meeting. A copy of Task #1 data requests from the consultant was reviewed. The attendees worked through the document and discussed assignments of committee members for specific items in the request.
2. The following assignments were made. For those not present, Joe Rogers will email them and request they work toward gathering the information identified in the email. Not everything listed in Task #1 will be available and we just need to get what we can and anything else that might be of use to the consultant. Data may be in the form of hard copies, digital files, or internet links. Info will be sent to Joe Rogers who will archive it and provide it to Phil Mauger to place on a web page accessible to the consultant but not the public (at this time).
   1. Town of Chatham – Janet Bishop will coordinate the request.
   2. Pittsylvania County – Dick Camp
   3. Planning District – Frank Fox
   4. Chatham First – John Harris
   5. Chamber of Commerce – Delilah White
   6. Local Schools – Joe Rogers
   7. Historical Society – Langhorne Jones
3. Awareness and Outreach. – Due to the number of members present, this agenda item was not discussed and deferred to a later meeting, perhaps one involving the consultant. Phil suggested we consider have a table at one of the 4^th Saturday cruise-ins. The first of the season occurs on April 27. If anyone is interested in helping staff a table there of an hour or two, please let Joe know.

Joe Rogers
Chairman, Steering Committee – Reimagine Chatham

Date: March 21, 2024

The meeting was held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Chatham and convened at 5:30 pm.

Attendees: Joe Rogers – Chairman, Dick Camp – Vice Chairman, Frank Fox, Janet Bishop, Deborah Haymes, Delilah White, Donna Yeatts, Phil Mauger, Langhorne Jones, Marylin Waller, Anita Royston, and Dean Rogers. Margie Richardson attended as a non-voting member in place of Kell Stone. A quorum was present.

1. Chairman Rogers welcomed latest members Anita Royston and Langhorne Jones and introduced Marylin Waller and Margie Richardson.
2. Chairman Rogers announced that the purpose of the meeting was to vote on the selection of a consultant to conduct the growth and renewal study. He referred committee members to previous internal emails about the process and requirements for confidentiality. He again explained the process and confidentiality needs. The winning firm’s name will not be released until a contract is signed. The award amount and other firms’ names will remain confidential.
3. Members were reminded of the procurement actions to date. Proposals were received from three firms. These were provided to committee members for review, review comments were consolidated, and the comments were provided to the firms for final proposals. The comments were accompanied by information developed by the steering committee during the proposal preparation, such as the development of ReimagineChatham.org brand and web site, a logo, and other actions that might influence their final submittal.
4. Each member was offered the chance to comment on the responses of the three firms. After the initial comments, the field was reduced to two. Further discussion revealed that members could generally support either firm but there was a rather even divide between those who preferred either the larger firm or the smaller. In the interest of trying to obtain the best evaluation possible, the committee decided to invite each firm to provide a presentation on how they would approach the project and to participate in a question-and-answer session.
5. Dick Camp will contact the two firms and set up possible dates for the interview sessions. Dates will be provided to the committee for comments to select the one that best suits the majority of members. The hope is to conduct the interviews within the next two weeks. The delay in the award schedule is deemed justified.

Respectfully Submitted,
Joe Rogers – Chairman

Date: February 8, 2024

Attendees: Dick Camp, Frank Fox, Janet Bishop, Deborah Haymes, Delilah White, Donna Yeatts, Phil Mauger, Joe Rogers. A quorum was present.

1. Chairman Rogers welcomed new members Deborah Haymes and Dellah White and introduced them to other members.
2. After a motion by Phil Mauger, seconded by Frank Fox, the minutes of the December 20, 2023 meeting and agenda for this meeting were approved.
3. Dick Camp and Joe Rogers provided a briefing and update on actions taken to date and answered questions regarding status of the committee’s efforts. Dick explained that RFP’s had been sent to three firms and that he expected proposals from each. Proposals are due February 16, 2024. Members should anticipate a meeting being scheduled soon thereafter.
4. Results of the input to the internal committee survey of local strengths, weaknesses, and personal “wish lists” were discussed. These are summarized in an email of February 7. Raw data will be provided to the consultant when discussing the scope of work so they may get a feel for the type of input that may be expected from a public input session. It was noted that town assets include a designated Historic District. A map was shown of the areas involved. The economic benefits for development in the historic and additional merits of having portions of town designated an Enterprise Zone, were discussed. The consultant will be asked to evaluate the merits of both. Any initiative for the designation of enterprise zoning would need to be led by the Town of Chatham.
5. Phil Mauger briefed on the status of the web site, ReimagineChatham.org. Email lists are being developed to keep interested citizens updated on the status of the grant work. To solicit broader interest and expand the email lists, posters and cards with QR codes linking to the website were proposed. There was concurrence on Phil’s design but Delilah White recommend a few edits, which were agree to be made before printing. By a motion by Frank Fox and seconded by Donna Yates the committee authorized an expenditure of up to $250 from the administrative budget to procure the materials. One hundred posters and 2000 cards will be purchased. Further discussion needs to be held regarding how best to distribute the materials throughout the remainder of the community after the most obvious groups and locations are covered.
6. Committee members may propose informational items pertinent to the work to be posted on the website. (For example, a related newspaper article, etc.) Articles should be sent to Joe Rogers as single contact point for screening and approval before being posted. The website is designed to inform but is not interactive in the sense of an online chat. (If anyone else would like to perform this review function, contact Joe)
7. Joe will use the article prepared for the March edition of The Lantern and edit it for the committee’s second press release, which will be issued during February.
8. Delilah White informed the group of a training session on racial equity being sponsored by the Danville/Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce to be held February 20 from 10 am-3:00 pm at First Baptist Church in Danville. Registration is available at the Chamber’s web site.

Joe Rogers — Chairman

Date: December 20, 2023

Attendees: Dean Rogers, Frank Fox, Irvin Perry, Phil Mauger, John Harris, Donna Yeatts, Richard Camp – Vice Chairman, Joe Rogers – Chairman. Mayor Davis attended as an observer. (See Transparency below)

1. General – After welcoming remarks and introductions, Mr. Rogers provided a brief update on the grant process to date. Funds in the amount of $xx,xxx* have been received and deposited by Treasurer Mauger.
2. Organizing
   1. The committee adopted a quorum. Quorum for any vote involving use of grant funds will be 50% of the permanent committee members.
   2. List of current permanent committee members was distributed. Members were asked to provide any corrections to Joe Rogers.
   3. Chairman Rogers discussed the use of email to reduce the need for meetings. Meetings will be scheduled on an as-needed basis rather than on a fixed schedule due to how the work will be phased. It was agreed that when scheduling meetings, a couple of time/date options will be presented to determine the time suiting the most members. The general preference is for early evening meetings, near 4:30 PM if possible.
   4. Membership – After discussion, it was agreed to invite several additional people to help round out the balance and diversity of the permanent membership, including bringing on board someone from outside the town limits. The following individuals will be contacted as indicated: Dan Lambert by Alisa Davis, Delila White by Dick Camp, and Debra Haymes by Donna Yeatts.
3. Memo defining Steering Committee Functions – A draft of steering committee general responsibilities was discussed. An item was added to publicize the final report. A final draft will be routed for comment. Though not discussed in the session, a suggested revision is included to make the Treasurer a voting member of the committee. Any comments on the revised draft are requested to be emailed to Joe Rogers by December 28.
4. Contractor Advertisement/ Selection – The draft RFP was discussed. The following process was developed for issuing the RFP; Provide any final comments to Dick Camp by 29 December, Draft will be staffed with committee if any changes are incorporated. Mail RFP to all six firms listed on the Consultant Contact List. Mail RFP by January 10, 2024. Request responses by January 23, 2024.
5. A process for keeping the public well informed on the effort as it proceeds was discussed.
   1. An initial press release will be issued with a target date of the first of January 2024. The draft was discussed, and it was recommended committee member names be added. This will be done, and a revised document routed for comment once Mayor Davis informs the Town Council of Mr. Perry’s involvement on the committee.
   2. Web Site and Logo – Phil Mauger talked about the necessity for branding the effort and its importance in clearly providing public information and involvement. He described a web site to provide information and transparency. He suggested the brand name, “Reimagine Chatham” and presented a draft logo. After some discussion, the committee settled on “Imagine Chatham”. The committee supported the concept, but Dick Camp asked for an estimate of costs before proceeding. Phil will develop a cost proposal to establish and administer the site. Phil’s firm will operate any site but will not develop content. Among other content, the intent is to provide access to basic documents related to committee functions and the grant solicitation and procurement process, as well as progress reports as the work develops. Items suggested for inclusion will be sent to Joe Rogers as the single point of contact (POC) for staffing with the group before being added to the site.
   3. Transparency – To help ensure committee actions are transparent, the group decided that meetings will be open to any member of the organizations represented on the steering committee. (Later in the process, there will likely be public meetings.) In some instances, the meetings will be closed and limited to only permanent members. Such instances might include discussion of financial matters and evaluation of consultant qualifications during the selection process.
6. Coordination with County Study – concurrent with this effort, Pittsylvania will be conducting a county-wide planning study. A limitation on capability has prevented using the same firm to conduct our Chatham area plan. However, the committee agreed that there needs to be awareness of the county effort and that some type of liaison is needed. A process for this will be discussed in a subsequent meeting.

Joe Rogers – Chairman

NOTE: Following the meeting and after further review into the recommended logo and brand name, it was decided to proceed with the original proposed logo using “Reimagine Chatham” as the brand name.

* Minor changes have been made to the original minutes for this public draft where indicated by “*“ to comply with grantor requirements for anonymity of the foundation name and award amount.