EDA Member Suggest County Conduct Retail Feasibility Study

Published by the Scott County Virginia Star on Monday, August 30, 2010.

Lisa Watson McCarty
Publisher

A member of the county's economic development authority board suggested the agency needed to conduct a feasibility study on the county's future in terms of retail and tourism development.

But no other members of the board agreed with his assessment.

Bob Etherton of Nickelsville, who most recently chaired the county's tourism committee and was appointed a few months back to the Scott County EDA Board, noted that the EDA wasn't viewed positively by county residents and recommended they consider conducting a public relations campaign.

Etherton said his suggestions were not criticism of the agency and not directed at EDA Executive Director John Kilgore Jr. but rather he thought there was a general distrust at the local level of asking for assistance from the agency.

"I've been involved in the EDA for the past six or seven months and surprisingly I had a number of conservations with people about working with the EDA," he explained. "Just about all were distrustful of sharing their knowledge for their product or project with the EDA and viewed as competitors.

"My point is how are we viewed by county residents? I think we should let other members share if they have had similar encounters."

Board chairman Joe Fuller said that all of the comments he had received had positive and especially complimentary of Kilgore. He noted that HMG officials had nothing but praise for Kilgore.

Fuller also wondered if the Scott County Chamber of Commerce was viewed with the same sentiment.

Etherton said his dealings with the chamber had been mainly positive and that he haven’t heard much negative or positive on the chamber.

He cited an example of a businessman from Bristol, who attended a town hall meeting in Duffield a few months ago sponsored by Ninth District Congressman Rick Boucher. The businessman was interested in opening a medical assistance business and needed some help to get started.

Etherton said Boucher correctly recommended he contact the Scott County EDA and the businessman stated he didn't trust those "SOBs" and would not share any information with them. Another example given by Etherton involved a local elected official, who had the same concerns about working with the EDA on any project.

"I don't think our culture fosters a trusting environment," Etherton said. "These are the people that should be seeking our assistance."

Fuller noted that perhaps these folks had not even contacted the EDA and were stating their opinions without any interaction between the parties.

"I'm not sure at all that someone who has talked to John and EDA could make that judgment," he added.

Phillip Smith, a board member from Duffield, suggested Etherton invite the persons to attend

a future meeting of the EDA board and see if they could assist them.

"My concern is there is perception without knowledge about the EDA," Etherton acknowledged. "I think we need to extend invitations to these people...we need to go out and beyond to let people know what the EDA can do for you."

Fuller said the criticism was disturbing no matter the circumstances but he thought those criticizing the EDA board had probably never contacted the office at all.

Etherton then suggested the EDA should pay for a feasibility study to determine the need for retail development in the county. His idea included determining whether the county was ripe for potential retail and tourism development in specific niche markets.

"I heard a local restaurant owner from Kingsport, Tenn. say that they have all the Scott County people trained to come to Kingsport for their eating and shopping needs," he remarked. "We need to do all we can to promote retail development in Gate City, Duffield, Nickelsville and all our towns."

Etherton said that Nickelsville is using a $15,000 grant to conduct a similar study on options within that town.

"We have a 5 percent sales tax advantage that we aren't capitalizing on," he noted. "Tennessee has the people. We won’t get a Wal-Mart but we might get a Walgreen’s. we need to hang our head on specialty stores – Mast General Store, same type of restaurants."

Etherton said the EDA needed to offer some incentives to encourage and foster local retail development. He suggested the board purchase a vacant building in Gate City and possibly give reduced or free rent as an enticement.

"You have to spend money to make money," Etherton commented. "I think we need professional help to do that. We have given out some huge incentives to encourage industrial development in Duffield and with good results. We need to consider something similar for Gate City.

"The worse thing we can do is do nothing. We need to spend a little bit of money to get a plan and if we don't it's not worth my time to continue working on it."

Etherton cited several other examples of need in the county including more restaurants and tourism initiatives like outfitters, canoe rentals and campgrounds. He noted it was hard to land big industrial prospects without amenities in place that appeal to newcomers - shopping, recreation and entertainment.

Smith recommended the EDA board invite other county boards to a "round robin" discussion to see what ideas could flow from a meeting of county leaders.

"I like Phil's idea and agree we need to all get in the same room," Etherton said. "We can do this but we have to have some money to do it. If we turn in $15,000 at the end of the year back to the county and not accomplish anything, then that is, in my opinion, a terrible thing.

"We're entrusted with this leadership position for the county and we must use our best judgment to make things happen and we should be criticized if we don't make it happen."

Etherton originally suggested the board consider paying up to $50,000 for the study but most of the board members balked at the figure. Some even compared the retail study with the results they learned from a hotel study conducted a few years back.

Dewayne Vermillion of Hiltons said a study would just prove that the county demographics don't fit into a category that most major developers seek.

"We will get the same results from the hotel study," Vermillion said. "It's hard to incorporate Tennessee folks coming in here in a feasibility plan. Does that mean we shouldn’t do? I'll leave that up to the board. I suggest we stay away from a feasibility study and do it ourselves."

He added that the county needed to make overtures to chain stores and retail developers on their own.

Fuller acknowledged that Etherton did have a point but he was reluctant to spend any money on a study.

"People in our county have a habit of going to Kingsport, Johnson City or Asheville to shop," Fuller explained. "The reason they do is we don’t have outlet malls and we don’t have the shops and probably never will have. Gate City is a nice town so perhaps we can do some niche shops. I agree that the Mustard Seed and Family Bakery are bringing in people from Kingsport, Tenn."

He stressed that if Gate City and Nickelsville revitalized their towns then retail development would probably follow.

"We need a round robin discussion with a focus on small retailers," Smith reiterated. "I see a lot of Tennessee cars and know many who come to Hob Nob to eat or Mountain View to buy Carhartt. We have to focus on smaller enterprises...We have to talk, create a plan and present ourselves in a positive manner...We need to have an open discussion to talk about how we can make our county better."

The EDA spent approximately $10,000 several years ago on the hotel/motel feasibility study, which pointed out that a hotel could be profitable if the county allowed liquor by the drink at the establishment. The study was conducted by graduate students at Virginia Tech.