Merchants rate Dillsboro Town Board

By Rose Hooper

According to a recent survey, some Dillsboro merchants feel town board members need to reassess their vision and direction for the future.

Vice Mayor Reg Moody, who received a copy of the merchants' survey, said at Monday night's town board meeting that he "was upset about the negative comments" made about the Dillsboro town board.

"I think some of these merchants have no idea what we do and what we as a town are responsible for doing," said Moody, who proposed, and board members agreed, that the town needs to schedule a workshop with the merchants association and a facilitator.

"We need to work together on these issues," Moody said.

Town officials are not encouraging growth and development, while maintaining a "down-home" attitude, some merchants said through the survey. Also in the survey, several merchants said they felt Dillsboro is facing change. While Dillsboro used to be a unique craft town, other towns in the region have picked up on that theme, and Dillsboro no longer remains unique, merchants said. How to keep Dillsboro unique concerns merchants who think "new ideas are being put down by the current town board." The town needs a new vision, several merchants agree.

Such a vision is directly in line with board thinking, town leaders countered, since they have recently asked Dillsboro Tomorrow to work on a vision statement.

Questions on the survey included:

- What were your original expectations when you came to Dillsboro?
- How have those changed?
- What did you do that worked?
- What did you do that did not work?
- Is the town a healthy place for business to flourish?

"Some of the responses (told) us what is wrong and how we can fix it," Chitwood said. "Monday night the town board said it was willing to sit down and discuss these issues with the merchants. I think that's a positive step."

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