Commissioners presented with alternative plans for redistricting Siler City Commissioners meeting undeterred by threatening weather

Board to seek public input at upcoming meetings

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners met Monday, August 7 with the primary focus of the meeting being to start preliminary discussions surrounding the potential redrawing of Chatham County’s residency districts now that alternative plans had been drafted.

The board began these discussions back in May when they directed county staff to bring back alternative redistricting plans to be considered.

The topic of reappropriation is aimed to address the exponential growth that Chatham County is currently experiencing by redrawing district boundaries to better suit population centers.

At the August 7 meeting, the board was presented with three reapportionment alternative plans.

Option 1 sees a substantial loss of area for District 3, limiting its territory to exclusively the northern part of the county. In its wake, Districts 2, 4, and 5 would have a further reach, but each district would have a similar population of around 15,000.

Option 2 would see the greatest change in terms of map boundaries with District 1 encompassing the entire eastern third of the county, District 2 and 3 substantially shrinking in size, District 4 encompassing a majority of the middle and south of the county, and District 5 moving into the northwest corner of the county.

Option 3 is similar to Option 1 with slight tweaks to the boundary areas between each district.

County staff worked inside the parameters set forth by the commissions that districts are fully contiguous, that they recognize communities of interest, that the districts be compact, that they preserve the core of existing districts, that they avoid pairing incumbents, and that they take into consideration future population growth projections. Utilizing 2020 census data which lists Chatham County as having a population of 76,285 residents, staff aimed to create equal districts with a target apportionment of 15,257 residents per district.

Following discussions, the board set a date to receive public input on the reapportionment alternative plans for Chatham County Board of Commissioner residency districts at their next meeting on August 21.

An official public hearing for the reapportionment will take place at their September 18 meeting.

The board’s goal is to have redistricting done and a referendum set by October 7, as it is 150 days before the 2024 primary election, which is the legal cutoff for the board if it plans to have new districts implemented before the election.

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will next meet August 21.

By Chuck Thompson Chatham News & Record

SILER CITY — It was a dark and stormy night at the Siler City Commissioners meeting Monday night, August 3, 2027, as the elected city officials approved the rezoning of two separate tracts of land for development.

As tornado warning alerts blasted through every mobile phone in the courtroom, the commissioners began the meeting with the blinds halfway closed, undeterred by the threatening weather outside.

Cindy Dameron, a realtor, spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, concerned about miscommunication and confusion with regards to empty buildings that did not have active utility connections.

“My concern tonight is that I’m getting really frustrated to bring in business just as much as you are – and I need to know what the process is moving forward – I’m getting all sorts of different information – construction, road closings, all are getting confusing, and I just learned tonight that if you didn’t have an ac -

See SILER CITY, page A6

3 Redistricting Options

“It’s hard to sell when the buyers, sellers, and agents can’t get a hard definitive answer to a process to get water back on.”

Cindy Dameron

Community members organize Christian school in Goldston

By Bob Wachs For Chatham News & Record

GOLDSTON — When the bell rings calling youngsters back to class for the 2023-24 academic year, there’ll be a new school in Chatham County ready to welcome its initial group of students.

Chatham Christian Academy will begin its life in the educational wing of the Goldston Baptist Church, enrolling children in pre-Kindergarten (four years of age), Kindergarten and first grade. And although that’s a small start, the idea of such a school has been on the hearts and minds of a number of people for some time, leading to the creation of a board and hiring of staff.

Angie Brady-Andrew, a retired county school system prin- cipal, is chairman of the board.

“While our county has been blessed through the years with great schools and amazing staff, we began to hear from a number of folks who wanted an opportunity for their children to have a Biblical worldview incorporated into instruction,” she says.

“We’re going to use a curriculum called ‘Purposeful Design’ where students will learn about Jesus while also being provided high

See GOLDSTON, page A7

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