Preparing Elizabethton for Fewer Cars

I frequently tell my Planning Commissioners that urban planning has two components – trying to prevent future problems and creating a look and feel of a community you want to live in. These are the two basic components that make up urban planning. In this column, we see these components begin to blur. There is the emergence of a trend that will likely impact Elizabethton in the next 5 to 10 years. This trend is a decrease in the use of cars. Let’s look at this trend and what impact it could have on Elizabethton.

When we look at the Millennial generation (those 16-35 years old), over 60 percent desire to live in a place where they have alternative transportation options to a car. This means, while they may own a car, they would rather bike or walk to work or run errands on a regular basis rather than drive their car and often times they may only have one car for the family rather than 2 or more. Additionally, this generation is the future of our community. We are projecting a decrease in Elizabethton’s population because there are not enough young families that live in our community. We must become an attractive place for this generation to raise a family in their own way which means creating more walkable neighborhoods and investing in the revitalization of commercial districts. The alternative is a diminishing tax base, decreasing workforce population, and lower incomes.

Often times the Millennial Generation is credited with the beginning of a “no-car” movement, however, there is another group who we are seeing move towards less driving – the Baby Boomer generation. Studies and planning publications have talked about the importance that independence is to the Baby Boomer generation. As they age, they may lose the ability to drive so they are more likely to move to a community where they can easily walk to many of the locations they prefer or need to visit such as the food stores, doctor’s offices, restaurants, retail stores, etc. This generation is quickly finding the same areas attractive that their children in the Millennial generation find attractive.

Lastly, after Erwin, Elizabethton has the lowest median household income in the Tri-Cities area (including those in Southwest Virginia). Many times families in these households may not have the financial ability to pay for one or two cars. We must create a community where these citizens can move around the city just as easily as those with cars. This helps create upward mobility, community pride, increasing incomes, and a stronger local economy.

Now, let me be clear, Elizabethton will still be friendly to automobiles, but we must look for ways to increase opportunities for other forms of transportation other than solely the automobile. What are some ways that you can think of to do this? Let’s talk about it!

Carter County is Better Off from 5 years Ago

Political season is in full swing and, just like any other major election year, we hear politicians from the local level all the way up to the national level talk about the economy. Inevitably, the party currently holding office will talk about how great the economy is, how many jobs were added, and have stories about all of the businesses they have helped. And, in response, the challenging party will talk about how awful the economy is, how we need to create more jobs, do more to help our grow businesses, and also have stories about establishments that went out of business. So, which is it? Are things good or bad? Well, let’s look at something that can’t lie – the numbers.

Let’s specifically take a look at Carter County over a 5 year time-frame (2010 to 2015). We’ll look at three different measures – jobs, number of businesses, and average annual salaries. The number of private sector jobs in Carter County has grown 6.7 percent over the last 5 years from 7,704 jobs to 8,222 jobs. The creation of over 500 jobs in 5 years in Carter County is a good growth rate, however this does trail the state growth rate of almost 13 percent. Add in local, state, and federal government employment to the County’s job growth numbers and we’ve added almost 650 new jobs in the last 5 years.

The number of businesses in our county have also grown by 4.8 percent with the creation of over 30 new businesses. Compared to the state average 7.7 percent growth in new businesses, Carter County still lags the rest of the state in growth of new businesses.

Lastly, and most importantly, is salary. Over the last 5 years the average annual salary has increased over $4,000 to $32,117! The salary growth rate of 14.5 percent beats the inflation rate for the same period of 8.7 percent and even beats the state average salary growth rate of 12.4 percent. The impact of salary increases means people have more money to shop in our local economy, have more money to save for traumatic life events, and more money to improve their homes and property. Salary increases have a rising tide effect.

There, of course, are other factors that can be considered to determine the viability of our economy, but for right now I think it’s safe to say Carter County is better off than it was 5 years ago. We’re in a stronger position and we must continue keeping the momentum moving forward. Let’s talk about it!

The Role of Public Art in Elizabethton

Sprucing up and revitalizing a city can be a very difficult task. There are many different aspects to a community that can have a real negative or positive impact on it. One aspect that can have a positive impact is public art.

Public art is a common placemaking tool. Because no two pieces of art are the same, public art helps identify, ground, and make a community unique. Anyone in the Tri-Cities knows they are in Bristol when they pass the giant guitar sitting at the corner of State Street and Volunteer Parkway. That one piece of public art alone gives Bristol something grounded, identifiable, and unique. The Veterans Monument in Elizabethton, while not a piece of public art, performs a similar function.

Many studies have also shown that quality of life is impacted by public art. People desire to live in an area that is unique and different. Businesses and industries like to see that a community is unique, diverse, and has culture. Public art is an ideal way to communicate this to these audiences.

Tourism can also be impacted by public art. How many times when we are in different cities and see a mural, statue, or maybe just an odd configuration of shapes made out of metal do we point, make a comment to our spouse, or move in closer to take a look? Additionally, it creates a memorable experience in that city or town and triggers the comment, “Remember when we saw that cool mural in Elizabethton?” perhaps even leading to visiting again.

Currently, the city does not have a public arts program, but we have put in place administrative policies to ensure that certain types of public art are not confused with certain regulations. As we all remember, murals in Johnson City are all but prohibited. Here, we have created specific policies on murals so they are not confused with sign regulations.

Public art can play an important role in recreating and revitalizing our downtown. The Downtown Business Association is currently working on improvements to make downtown a unique area of the city. Some of the bikes around downtown are a unique start. What are your thoughts? Should more public art be included as a component of our downtown and our community or do we have enough? Let’s talk about it!

Local Governments must serve all Citizens

Local governments are an odd form of government. Unlike what we see at the State and Federal levels of government, local government decisions typically have very little to do with political sides and more to do with operating a business. As the saying goes, there is not Republican or Democrat way of picking up the garbage!

The one thing that does apply to local governments as well as the State and Federal governments is the Constitution. Many, I’m sure do not fully recognize this, but local governments (cities and counties) must also analyze the Constitution when developing policies and laws.

An element that specifically applies is the Fourteenth Amendment. Section 1 of the amendment states, “[…] nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Local governments must comply with this amendment to the Constitution and ensure that services, policies, and laws are provided and enforced equally to all citizens regardless of who the citizens is.

An extension of this is Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title 6 requires that local governments and state governments do not discriminate against a person’s race, national origin, or color when they provide services or make policies or laws. An example of this would be if someone who was born in China, cannot speak fluent English, and comes in to turn their water on, the city must make accommodations to ensure that the citizens can get water service at their home. This may even mean retaining a translator to help translate from one language to English. If the local government fails to comply, it risks getting federal and even some state funds cut off. Recently, City Council approve a Title 6 compliance manual to ensure that services will be provided without discrimination.

Another area that local governments must ensure that services can be provided is those with disabilities. This is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and requires that local and state governments provide services without discriminating against persons with disabilities. In City Hall, we have recently changed all door handles and have made exterior doors easier to open to better accommodate those with physical disabilities. We are continuing to work on improving other city facilities as well to ensure that all facilities and services can be accessible to those with a disability.

In addition to my job as Planning and Economic Development Director, I also serve as the Title VI and ADA Coordinator for the City. If you believe that you have been discriminated against based on race, color, national origin, or a disability, please feel free to contact my office so we can work to ensure that the city is compliant with Title 6 and ADA requirements. Let’s talk about it!