If You Like the Farmer's Market, Support It!

I must say, I am very happy to see that Elizabethton once again has a farmer's market! When I would be out and about, a farmer's market was one of the top requests I would get. So when a young lady approached me with a group about starting one I asked how I could help!

Farmer's markets are a great thing for a community. They provide an easy way for members of the community to obtain fresh, seasonal produce creating a healthier community. They promote community by introducing and meeting new market goers that live locally in our community. Additionally, you get to meet and come to know the vendors from whom you are purchasing your products. Lastly, farmer's markets also provide an easy way for local businesses and farmers to sell their products directly to consumers so there is no middle-man to pay and allowing them to potentially make more money while allowing you to still receive a low price.

Our farmer's market does all of these things for our community and helps strengthen our local economy, but we must not take this all for granted. Farmer's market depends on one thing -- the people that show up. If a vendor doesn't make enough money at a market, they will leave or simply determine it's not worth their time to go. If there is the appearance of no customers at the market, others driving by may easily think, “There must not be a lot at the market today. We can just go on home instead of stopping.” Groups and crowds of people attract other people.

For our new farmer's market to be successful and for our new farmer's market to be around next year and the year after that, it needs your support! Stop by and talk with a few shoppers or a vendor or two. Make a purchase while you're there. It doesn't have to be a lot -- a five-dollar purchase will go a long way towards showing your support of that vendor and the market as a whole. I have recently started purchasing my eggs at the market. They're usually about four dollars per dozen, which is a little more than what I would pay at the grocery store, but I'm also supporting a local business person, I'm supporting my local, Elizabethton economy, and I'm supporting my local market.

Take some time this next Tuesday between 5:00pm and 8:00pm and stop by our local farmer's market between First Christian Church and the Police Station. Spend a few dollars on some hand-made soap, fresh berries, healthy greens, or maybe a dozen of eggs and show that you support this market and want to see it around in the years to come. Let's talk about it!

Dispite Concerns, Development Regs Aren't That Bad

I have recently heard from many citizens something that has reached a level of concern for me — the status of the Cookout Restaurant proposed for Elizabethton. In the last few weeks, I have been asked multiple times what the city has done to make Cookout change their mind and no longer come to Elizabethton. The first time I heard this, I'm sure my facial expression gave away my complete ignorance of this comment. Let me say, to the best of our knowledge and in our latest discussions with the Cookout Company, they are STILL planning on coming to Elizabethton. As a matter of fact, they already have all of the approvals they need to proceed with demolition and construction.

To my knowledge, during the last six years that I have held my current position, not a single chain restaurant or business has decided not to locate in Elizabethton because of our requirements or regulations. As a matter of fact, in the last six years we have worked hard to ensure that our regulations and requirements are not overly burdensome and that our staff go above-and-beyond to find work arounds or alternative solutions to problems that businesses may have with our regulations.

 

Our Planning Commission has started receiving extensive amounts of training to help them better understand why certain regulations are in place and have been a big help in crafting some of our newer regulations like the revamped Tree Regulations and the new Sign Regulations. Both regulations worked to ease and reduce strict requirements for developers while still setting standards that the community would find acceptable.

 

When you compare development regulations in Elizabethton to our neighboring municipalities, it is much easier to complete a development in Elizabethton verses Johnson City, Bristol, or Kingsport. Our processes allow for a 21 day turn-around time from plan submission to approval. Developers have commended us on the development team we have put together once a month (called the Development Committee) where we bring in staff from every department they may need to work with. We actively ask for feedback from Developers at the end of the process seeking to determine what can be improved to make this process easier for the developer. Most recently the Dairy Queen developers have commented that out of all the communities they have developed in, Elizabethton has been by far the best specifically citing our quick turn-around time and same-day phone call and email responses by staff.

 

There is a lot that is happening behind the scenes that many people in the public do not see. It can easily appear complicated, heavily regulated, and burdensome. But once you work in this field or develop in multiple communities, you quickly realize that the process we have worked to improve over the last 6 years is actually quite efficient and effective. It’s by no means perfect, and we will continue to improve making it easier for businesses to locate here in Elizabethton. Oh, as far as Cookout is concerned, it is well-known that the real estate company for Cookout will sit on property for a year or two before developing (as they did with the Backyard Burger building in Johnson City). In that case, we may still have 6 months to a year before they develop, but I assure you it has nothing to do with Elizabethton’s requirements and regulations. Let’s talk about it!