Economy & Downtown

I wanted to take advantage of this forum to submit an idea someone shared with me this past week. My friend noted the fact that people have recently been speaking out in favor of locating new libraries in both downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro. We came up with the suggestion that Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Orange County should come together to build one library on or near the border shared by the two towns in the area of Rosemary Street.

This way, Chapel Hill would get the library close to downtown that has been desired and Carrboro would get the same. In theory this library could be funded from four entities if the fed chipped in. Compared to the current plan of two towns and two libraries, which proposes that Carrboro's library would be funded by Orange County and Chapel Hill's library would be funded by Chapel Hill, this would be a more efficient use of all of our tax dollars.

There have been a few misconceptions about Carrboro's Revolving Loan Fund floating around recently. I would like to clear them up.

In June of 1985 the NC Dept of Natural Resources and Community Development gave Carrboro the right to use program income from the repayment of principal and interest from 3 economic development loans made to businesses in Carrboro to start the Carrboro Revolving Loan Fund. The loan proceeds from the three loans totaled $275,000. To date no local tax dollars have been added to this fund, all funds have accrued from the principal and interest from the repayment of the original three loans. There is also some additional interest accrued on the repayment amounts added to the fund from the investment of the repayment dollars. The three original businesses are still operating and employing people.

Over a period of 21 years the Town of Carrboro has loaned money to 33 businesses. Weaver St Market, the first to receive a loan has expanded once in it's original location and has since expanded to Southern Village and soon to Hillsborough. It is a major employer.

I pretty much lived in the shops, offices, bars, and nooks and crannies of Franklin Street when I was a kid in the 70's. The Inimate Bookshop (RIP) even had a corner in the children's section named after me. I can't wait to see this exhibit at the Chapel Hill Museum.

Remember the Flower Ladies? Manner-correcting Otelia Conner and her umbrella thwacks? The Intimate book store and Danziger's sweet shop?

Unless you're a longtime resident, you may not. But that's OK -- a new permanent exhibit at the Chapel Hill Museum will detail those and more of the characters and places that make Franklin Street, well, Franklin Street.
- chapelhillnews.com | Memory lane on display, 10/10/07

Here's the 411: http://www.downtownchapelhill.com/newsreader.php?id=52