BY BETH VELLIQUETTE

bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 918-1042

CARRBORO -- With just a small audience in attendance, the five candidates for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen tried to distinguish themselves to voters during a candidates' forum Thursday night at the Carrboro Town Hall.

The five candidates running for three seats on the Board of Alderman are Sharon Cook, Jacquelyn Gist, Randee Haven-O'Donnell, Tim Peck and Sammy Slade.

Gist and Haven-O'Donnell are running to keep their seats, but when former Alderman John Herrera resigned earlier this year, that created an open seat, meaning there will be at least one new alderman on the board.

On selecting a site for a waste transfer station near the Rogers Road community, all agreed that was a bad idea since that neighborhood has borne the brunt of dealing with the county's waste for decades.

Gist said she doesn't believe there's room for a waste transfer station within the corporate limits. She believes it should not be placed anywhere near the Rogers Road area, and it should not be placed near any other low-income areas, either.

Slade agreed it shouldn't be sited near Rogers Road but also said he doesn't believe transferring Orange County's waste somewhere else is responsible or fair. That appeared to indicate he would prefer that Orange County find a different way of dealing with its waste rather than shipping it out of the county.

Haven-O'Donnell said she's perplexed that other parts of the county are happy to share in the money that is brought in by the southern part of the county, but aren't willing to share in dealing with the county's waste problem.

Cook believes the search process has not been fair and balanced and wondered how the county, which originally said 25 acres was required for a waste transfer station, can now say the county's 10 acres near Millhouse Road is enough.

Moderator Barbara Jessie-Black asked the candidates their ideas on growing Carrboro's economy.

Peck said he believes in increasing the density of downtown. He noted there are already some good projects, and that once they're built they will draw more businesses to the downtown area.

Cook suggested some commercial growth should go on Eubanks Road. If there were some stores and shops there, it would be more likely that people getting off I-40 and traveling on Eubanks would stop there to shop rather than out of the county.

Residents on Homestead Road neighborhoods told Haven-O'Donnell that they would like a community grocery store, maybe a coffee shop and an office or two in the northern areas of town.

She also suggested that along N.C. 54, west of Carrboro, might be a good location for light industrial projects.

Gist said she'd like to see a small commercial development on the 2 acres where the county-owned community center is located, since that property is for sale.

"People who live in that area should not have to get in their car to go buy every little thing that they want," she said.

Slade favors nurturing and supporting local businesses in a small commercial area in the northern part of Carrboro and supporting locally owned businesses in the downtown area.

The forum was sponsored by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, Empowerment, Inc., The Daily Tar Heel and WCHL.