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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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