Sackville’s Business Improvement Area has been undergoing a process of rejuvenation and reorganization for a few years now. Recently, the organization elected a new board of directors and a new president, Sahitya Pendurthi, who is hoping to continue the revitalization of the BIA.

Pendurthi is relatively new to Sackville, but her name may still be familiar. She ran for a seat on Tantramar council in 2022, adding her name to the ballot just days before the election, out of concern that there would be no contest in the former town of Sackville. It turns out she needn’t have worried, with healthy slate of nine candidates putting their names forward for the fours seats in Ward 3 by the deadline. But Pendurthi ran seriously anyway, and nearly won a seat in the newly amalgamated council.

These days, she’s still putting her energy towards “helping this community become its best self,” as president of the BIA. Pendurthi is not a local business owner herself, but is sitting as a proxy representative for Vortex Games.

CHMA sat down with Pendurthi to find out about her role and what the Sackville BIA will be doing under her leadership.

Pendurthi’s enthusiasm for the town she now calls home is palpable, and hopefully contagious, as she sets out to drum up interest and energy from the other members of the downtown Sackville BIA.

The BIA, also known as Mainstreet Redevelopment, exists under the provincial BIA act, which mandates commercial property owners in certain areas to pay fees to support beautification, marketing, economic development, and any other collective goals for downtown areas. Sackville’s BIA map is slightly outdated, and includes most of the downtown, excluding Cranewood, which at the time the map was created was still owned by Mount Allison.

The new board is made up of Pendurthi, Allison Butcher as the council representative, Lindsay Crossman-Wheaton from Ducky’s, Anthony Maddalena from Bagtown Brewing, and Greg Soper from Soper Physiotherapy.

Pendurthi says one of the challenges the new board is facing is being disconnected from its members. One of the first tasks will be creating a finalized members list and hosting an event to get people together. “Maybe something like a meet and greet in an open space, so that we all are comfortable to come and check out what the BIA is and what we should be doing for you,” says Pendurthi. “We would love to have more members engagement, so we are held accountable.”

The boundaries of the Sackville BIA have not been updated for years. Image: Sackville BIA on Facebook

The other task at hand will be figuring out how to go about spending roughly $20,000 in grant monies obtained by former BIA chair and staff person Wendy Epworth. Pendurthi says the grant is for beautification projects, which could include things like murals or a common space with picnic tables and maybe even a fire pit. Rejuvenating downtown flower boxes is also a possibility. “This big grant is in our pocket, to be spent on making our downtown a little prettier than it already is,” says Pendurthi. “So I think that’s a big task for the board to implement.”

She also thinks the BIA could make it easier for downtown businesses to participate more actively in town events like Fall Fair or Winterfest. “Collaboration among members is one of the important things I think should happen,” says Pendurthi. “And some friendly competition, maybe a burger-off or something. Something simple like that could actually attract more people into the town, and also maybe make more town people want to go out and do something fun for a weekend.”

Pendurthi says a meet and greet for BIA members could happen sometime in mid-October, and she’s hoping that local business owners will heed the call.

“You’re already paying into this organization,” says Pendurthi, “either through your rent because your property owner is mandated to pay into it, or directly because you’re a property owner. Please help us utilize these funds for something you need. We don’t want to make decisions for you and what your business needs. We want your involvement and your input and feedback, so we can actually effectively use these funds to make things better for you.”