This petition is to demonstrate the community’s support for facilitating the purchase of land near Sandy Ridge Elementary School (a Durham Public School) to which to move the historic Catsburg Country Store that has graced this area for a hundred years and the necessary 6-12-month time frame to make this happen. (The building must be removed in the near future to make way for development of the land per the owner's wishes.)

Once the county agrees to provide a historic and public-use conservation easement on the property and 50% matching funds for land donation (~$75K, perhaps with matching funds from Durham Open Space and Trails and elsewhere), board approval from the nonprofit *Unique Places to Save* will be sought to raise funds to move, renovate and rehabilitate the building into a community gathering place that will include environmental, historical, and animal and gardening education (hopefully to include a cat fostering and adoption program) as well as entertainment, refreshments, and a place to host community events.

Your signature on this petition will demonstrate to Durham County Commissioners, staff, and taxpayers the community support for the county’s facilitation of this project in the aforementioned ways.

I have left a comment on the petition (below) explaining how this project will benefit Durham Public Schools and other Durham organizations, particularly the students, teachers and staff at Sandy Ridge Elementary School.

For more specifics about this community project and the numerous community and government organizations that have already demonstrated their support, please see the project proposal submitted to the developer's realtor and Preservation Durham on Friday, Aug 30, 2019 (you will have to cut and paste the url into your address bar): http://www.melissarooneywriting.com/blog/2019/09/proposal-to-save-the-catsburg-store-in-durham-nc/