New mayors Kyle Shipp and Donald Matthews talk community engagement, revitalization and more
By Anna-Rhesa Versola | Photography by John Michael Simpson
Chatham County’s primary municipalities held swearing-in ceremonies for new mayors Kyle Shipp in Pittsboro and Donald Matthews in Siler City this past December. We sat down with them in February inside the N.C. Arts Incubator to get better acquainted.
Kyle moved to Pittsboro with his wife, Dianna M. Tarallo, about 10 years ago; they now have a son, Rory, 3 ½. Kyle works in construction management as a senior engineer for Microsoft. He also holds positions in two volunteer roles – president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Carolina and as ex officio member of the Chatham Economic Development Corporation. When he manages to find time for hobbies, Kyle enjoys woodworking, shooting and riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Donald and his wife, Janice Williams Matthews, returned to Siler City about four years ago after spending 17 years away for Janice’s career. He immediately began attending local public meetings to learn about the inner workings of his hometown. Donald, who does not drive due to low vision caused by severe glaucoma, walks through town using his sight cane and relies on technological advances to connect via email, phone and social media. He remains active as a minister with Second Chance Community Outreach, a community organizer with Democracy NC and the NAACP.
What motivated you to run for mayor?
Donald Coming back to Siler City [and] seeing that nothing has changed. The town was caught up in a time warp, the neighborhoods look the same. The amenities that we have, we need to do something about.
Kyle I saw a lot of development going on and I didn’t know how it worked, so I went to a planning board meeting to see what they were doing. I got appointed as an alternate, then ran and got on the board. I really enjoyed that. We worked really well together as a board. Then, [former mayor] Cindy Perry, my neighbor two doors down, said she wasn’t going to run again after a third term. We sort of looked around at each other on the board to see who might want to step up, and I talked to all the other members of the board and said, ‘What do you think?’ And, I went for it.
Is there one particular issue that you would like to champion for your town?
Donald They’re all interconnected; it’s like water and sewer. I can’t have one without the other. Everything we do is interconnected. You have to champion all of it together to make an investment [to solve] the problem.
Kyle I would say planning and preparation for growth. We know that growth is here, and we know that there’s a lot more growth coming in; it impacts all of those roads, sewer, water, everything down to the small businesses.
What are the top three issues that you think are important for Siler City and Pittsboro, respectively?
Donald Transparency, that’s No. 1. There are going to be some changes, like we were talking about the water rate. There’s gonna be some changes as far as property taxes. We also have a large, senior population that skips that middle generation and goes right to young adults. So you’re taking care of those two things at the same time and keeping them informed in different ways.
Kyle I’d say a unified town identity. I do think we are pretty close, but my goal has always been that people say, ‘I live in Pittsboro.’ Then, they might say, ‘Oh, I live in Potterstone Village,’ or ‘I live in Powell Place’ or ‘I live downtown’ or ‘I live in The Vineyards.’ But, we have that one identity for Pittsboro. The expansion of the downtown is also top of mind. We have a really compact downtown, especially compared to Siler City. There’s not a lot of opportunity for someone to come and purchase a building to put a coffee shop and things like that. We’re fortunate all of our storefronts are full, but if you want a new business coming into town, it’s hard to find land, it’s hard to construct something. The third would be transportation – sidewalks, greenways, public transit. We’re working on a bike pedestrian plan that we’re trying to implement and put in more greenways.
What is your plan to accomplish your goals?
Donald We are currently working on a master plan. We have been contacted by different teams about adding different sports, collegiate baseball players have contacted me and [Siler City] Parks and Rec. This does not require water and sewer; what it requires is upgrading of the current facilities – baseball fields, soccer fields. We already have the greenway expanding to where people will have these walking trails. So, it’s just a matter of upgrading what we have, and expanding.
Kyle We have to make sure there are social connections between all the parts of town and then the physical connections between all the parts, and getting into transportation, like with this bike and pedestrian plan. We are working on a trolley system [between] downtown and
places like Mosaic, The Plant and the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center to fill the gaps on weekends. We’re investing a lot into our current parks to keep them up, and patching together the greenways to ensure people can safely get from one side of town to the other. A great way of trying to take advantage of all this development is making sure that they’re connected back to downtown and to other things in town.
What is your biggest challenge as mayor?
Donald Misinformation. It only takes one person to start something that’s false. The plan right now is to put out a newsletter with everyone’s water bill.
Kyle It really is communication. We’ve got our meetings online. Now, we do a press release after each meeting with a short synopsis of the meeting. We’re trying to just put it out and communicate in every way.
What do you wish you had in your town that you don’t have now?
Donald A newspaper. We need coverage of the news locally.
Kyle A makerspace. It gives people access to things [like] a 3D printer. You could take a class on some of this new technology, it can be an incubator space where individuals and small businesses are making physical products.
What excites you most about being mayor?
Donald The possibilities for Siler City residents. This is a point in time that they never have seen and more than likely will never see again.
Kyle Growth. It can be an opportunity, if it’s done right. It’s happening, so we’ve got to get it right. We’ve got to get far out ahead in our thinking.
When you’re not wearing your mayoral hat, what else do you enjoy doing?
Donald For one, ministry. Community advocacy. Problem solving. It’s like three o’clock in the morning and I’m looking for stuff because I enjoy research and searching for a solution. They have yet to invent a problem to which there’s not a solution, you just have to be willing to find it.
Kyle So, my day job is construction management, and I work with the Boys and Girls Club. I have a family, a 3-½-year-old son. So that’s a lot of it.
Who inspires you?
Donald My dad. He was a great man in my eyes.
Kyle People who take their time to mentor other people. I’ve been the beneficiary of that in my civilian career [and] in the Army, too.
What’s your favorite spot in town?
Donald The Chatham Rabbit and the N.C. Arts Incubator are resources that I think everybody should take advantage of. This is just the spot; I can sit here all day long and never see the same person twice.
Kyle Downtown [Pittsboro], because I live there. I can walk to a lot of different places.
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