INC NEWS - Women for Wise Growth public forum (April 2, main library)

[John Schelp]

WOMEN FOR WISE GROWTH ANNOUNCES WATER-FOCUSED FORUM
 
Women for Wise Growth will sponsor a free public
forum, "Wise Choices, or Fools for Growth?" in the
Durham County Main Library auditorium on Wednesday,
April 2 from 7-9 p.m.

The forum will focus on the relationship between our
available resources, particularly water, and public
policies on development. It will be continued on April
24. The two-part series is designed to help citizens
better understand several crucial issues facing Durham
County in the weeks leading up to the May 6 election:
Are we growing wisely? Do we have the resources to
handle the growth patterns that we currently see in
this area? Have we reached the outer limits of
sustainable growth? Do we need shifts in policy to
reflect the reality of drought? Discussion will follow
the presentations as time allows. 

Speaking on April 2 will be: Bill Holman, senior
fellow at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental
Policy Solutions at Duke University. Holman is former
executive director of the Clean Water Management Trust
Fund, and former Secretary of the N.C. Department of
Environment and Natural Resources. He has been
affiliated with Duke since 2006.
 
Mark Chilton, Mayor of Carrboro, will also speak.
Chilton, an attorney, served on the Carrboro Board of
Aldermen before being elected Mayor in 2005. He became
the youngest person ever elected to public office in
North Carolina when he was sent to the Chapel Hill
Town Council in 1991. Chilton has been particularly
concerned with environmental, growth and housing
policies throughout his career.

Syd Miller, Water Resources Program Manager for the
Triangle J Council of Governments, will round out the
program. His team provides planning and management
services for water resources to local governments,
state and federal agencies, and nongovernmental
organizations. Miller is Fellow of the Natural
Resources Leadership Institute, and holds a Master's
degree in regional planning from UNC-CH. His recent
work includes the Triangle Area Water Supply
Monitoring Project.

The April 24 forum, also from 7-9 at the Durham County
Main Library, will include smart growth advocate and
Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners,
Barry Jacobs. 

The Durham County Main Library is located at 300 N.
Roxboro St., between Holloway and Liberty Streets, in
downtown Durham. It is fully accessible, with plenty
of parking. 

Women for Wise Growth is an ad hoc group of Durham
County women concerned with resource management and
good government. WWG has no institutional structure or
affiliations. For more information, call Julia
Borbely-Brown at 688-9479, or email
womenforwisegrowth at gmail.com