March Committee Meeting

The Revitalization Committee convened last Friday for the March meeting. Our discussion centered around developing some ideas for events downtown which can feasibly be implemented within a three to six month period. Everyone really liked the idea of providing space in Town Hall for local artists to showcase their work. We should be able to get something like this off the ground within a month or two. Committee members also liked the idea of hosting a collection day for recyclables. We'll touch base with Cooperative Extension and Asheboro Recycling who recently worked together to host a successful electronics recycling day at Randolph Mall. Not only would this bring people downtown, it would also help promote environmental awareness and give area residents a means to properly dispose of things such as old TVs. Another event idea that the Committee would like to develop is a bluegrass festival downtown. We would probably need a year to put something like this together, but with the local interest and lots of local talent, everyone feels that a festival would be well received and well attended.

Greenway Project on Hold

I just learned that our greenway planning grant has been put on hold for the time being. Due to the state's budget shortfall, Governor Bev Perdue has tapped $100 million from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund to hold in reserve until further notice. Although Ramseur's grant has been approved, CWMTF has not yet executed the contract we have sent them, and as a result funding for our project has been put on hold. If and when the funding is released, we will be able to move forward with the plan, but given the current economic situation there are no guarantees. This is quite a disappointment, but we will simply have to wait a bit longer before this project can be completed, either through the existing grant or through other funding resources which may become available.