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!

Keeping the Twins takes the Whole Community

As we begin negotiations with the Elizabethton Twins, there is still no guarantee that they will stay here in Elizabethton. While I am optimistic, we must realize that the facility improvements the Twins organization is looking for are not cheap, quick fixes. They are improvements that city tax payers will be paying for a long time in the future. The flip-side to this is that the Twins provide yet another attraction to our city and help grow our tourism assets throughout the County. They enhance the quality of life for our citizens and may provide an allure for people who are considering moving to Elizabethton.

But it takes more than just the actions of the city government to make Elizabethton an attractive place for the Twins to remain. It takes you! Every year it gets harder and harder for the Elizabethton Twins organization to find housing and other needs for the players. This year they are struggling not only with housing, but transportation options as well. We need the community to support these players and this organization to help keep them here in Elizabethton! Put yourself in the Twins organization’s shoes. If they can’t find housing for their players, the question becomes how interested and vested is this community in seeing the success of our team here?

I completely understand that there are some out there who would really enjoy having a player stay with them, but simple don’t have the means. But, if you have a spare bedroom with a bed, you have the means. If you have an extra vehicle that you only use occasionally, you have the means. If you can speak even broken Spanish, even better.

On a personal note, this is the second year my partner and I have taken Twins players into our home. We are both busy, working adults and have found that our schedules have yet to conflict with our players. They do their own laundry, cook their own meals (or maybe I should say go out to eat on their own), work with other teammates to arrange transportation to the field and workouts, etc. We’re usually at work when they wake up and they’re usually at the ball field when we get home. We offer to take them to the grocery store or Walmart when we go, and either take them or tell them about the places to check out while they’re in the area. Neither of us are baseball fans, but we recognize what it means to our community.

I also recognize that as a Christian it is my duty to welcome the stranger and those in need into our home and make them feel welcome. In many ways, these players are strangers in our land! Work with your church or Sunday school class to figure out how your group can help.

If you support the Twins being in Elizabethton purchase a season or 10 game pass, take a Twins player into your home, or offer an occasionally used or spare vehicle for their use. It’s only two and-a-half months out of the year. If you can do any of these things, give the Elizabethton Twins a call at 547-6441. Let's show the Twins that our community is dedicated to their success here in Elizabethton. Let’s talk about it!

Roadway Safety is Important as Warmer Weather Starts

Although we've had a very mild winter, warmer weather and longer days are just around the corner! With warmer weather comes more people out walking, jogging, or biking and just plain enjoying the weather, but it also means there is more opportunity for accidents. It is important for both pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists to be aware while on the road and respect the other person's right to use the roadway just as you do.

As a motorist, it is important to keep in mind that a car weighs 2 tons or so, while the average bike is a mere 20 pounds, according to Edmunds.com. The 2 ton care will always win in any type of physical altercation with bicyclist. It's also important to keep in mind, that in some instances it is illegal for an adult bicyclist to use a sidewalk forcing them to share the road with you and when bicycles are on the road, they must obey all the same traffic laws as a motorist (including using the appropriate turn lanes, stopping at stop lights, using turning signals, etc). As a motorist, wait until it is safe to pass a bicycle and refraining from tailgating as this could easily cause an accident. In Tennessee, it is the law to leave 3 feet of space between you and a bicycle at all times and more than 3 feet when speed limits are over 40 mph. The bottom line is be tolerant, be understanding, and be careful. Many of these same laws and guidelines can be applied to pedestrians in the road as well.

For bicyclists, it is also very important that you also take steps to ensure that you respect motorists as well. Recognize that utilizing major thoroughfares with little or no shoulder may cause delays for motorists. If possible, utilize alternative routes such as dedicated bike trail systems or side roads to get to your destination. Ensure that you are wearing bright, reflective colors so that you can ensure motorists will see you. Additionally, make sure your bicycle is equipped with front and rear lights especially if you will be riding at or after dusk. Ensure that you use appropriate hand singles for turning and stopping and obey vehicle laws when riding on a road. This helps motorists better predict what you will do so they will react accordingly.

Similar to bicyclists, walkers or joggers should wear bright, reflective colors so that motorists can see you better. Walkers and joggers should also carry a flash light with them if they are exercising at or after dusk. This will help ensure that motorists can more easily see you. Also, where possible use a sidewalk. About two-thirds of the city has sidewalks available along the sides of our roads -- use them. For areas that don't have sidewalks, walk or jog in the opposite direction of vehicles and do not wear headphones or talk on a cell phone. This may help you see or hear vehicles before they can see you!

We certainly want to encourage our citizens to get out and be active in our community, whether it is taking a walk after your evening dinner, or biking to work or grab a sweet treat, but it is important for all users of the road to understand and realize that everyone must be aware and alert. Motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians should be alert, watching for, and respecting each other right to use the roadway. This becomes especially important as we work to make our community more friendly to bicyclists. Let's talk about it!

Restaurant Survey Results Show Possiblities

A few weeks ago, we announced a new restaurant survey. While we are still sifting through all the data, I wanted to look at some of our preliminary findings. The purpose of the survey was to better understand what our citizens desired as far as restaurant selection in Elizabethton. While the results of the survey were not too surprising, there was a few interesting variations that stuck out. This week, I want to talk about some of those and why certain restaurants just won’t come to Elizabethton.

One of the first questions we ask was for survey takers to rank how likely they would be to visit different types of restaurants. Two categories stood out. The most popular choice was casual dining with a close second in fast casual dining. Casual dining would include restaurants that are sit down, often have a higher quality food, and typically pay after service is provided. This would be like Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesdays, or Lonestar Steakhouse. Fast casual is also typically sit down but can have a drive-thru, usually higher quality food than fast food, but similar to fast food, you pay before service is provided. Think of restaurants like Barberitos, Captain D’s, and Panera Bread. Significantly lower, but in third place was fast food restaurants.

Another question we asked was in the past 6 months how often had the survey taker attended various restaurants. We then listed a series of restaurants with varying time periods. We came up with this list based on restaurants that we believe would be most likely to come to Elizabethton. Additionally, before a restaurant chooses a location, they need to ensure that people will come. One way of doing this is seeing how frequently people in a specific area ate at the restaurant in the past 6 months. We’re primarily focused on people who ate at these restaurants at least 1 to 2 times per month on average.

The top restaurant was Dunkin’ Donuts, followed by Golden Corral, and in third place Jimmy John’s. What this means is that we can use this data along with our restaurant trade area data to attempt to recruit these restaurants to Elizabethton. What this DOES NOT mean is that they will come! Typically, by the time we reach out to a restaurant or retailer it takes 1.5 to 3 years before they actually start construction, but that’s only if we can find an appropriate site with what they want and if the demographic requirements (income, population, age specifications, etc.) are what they need.

Lastly and surprisingly was the fill-in-the-blank statement, “In Elizabethton we need more restaurants with [blank].” The top one was family-friendly atmospheres, second was healthier choices, and third was fine dining experiences. What was surprising about this to me was that I always believed most of our restaurants already had family-friendly atmospheres, but apparently this is something we need to recruit more of.

It is important to understand that not every restaurant we like will come to Elizabethton no matter how many people want it. Our goal is to better identify what types of restaurants and food you desire and find the best match of restaurant that WILL come to Elizabethton to fulfill that desire. Let’s talk about it!

Night Time Activity is Crucial to Active, Vibrant Downtown

I often talk about downtown Elizabethton in my column, but the reasoning is that there is so much potential to see it grow and prosper even more than it does now. Nightlife is one area where this is very true. Right now, many businesses close up shop around 5:00 or 6:00pm. While we certainly encourage our retail businesses to stay open until 6:00, restaurants and entertainment venues could benefit our downtown by staying open even later.

Having attractive businesses and establishments open at night helps create a social culture within our community. Humans are social creatures and we are drawn to social locations. Adding a nightlife atmosphere to our downtown will be attractive to others in and outside of our community. Now, when I say nightlife, what I am not suggesting is turning downtown into a huge block party every evening, but rather having entertainment and food places open and available after 6:00pm for people to get together, meet-up, or make new friends. Think more of the family-friendly nightlife of Kingsport or Bristol rather than the college night-life of Johnson City. You can enjoy a nice meal, watch a local band, and maybe get a cup of coffee or tea at the end of the evening all within close walking distance. Oh, and don’t forget to drop a dollar in the street performer’s violin case!

These types of nightlife activities also cultivate and encourage downtown placemaking. I’ve talked about placemaking before, but this is a multi-pronged approach to creating a public environment or space that promotes citizen’s happiness and well-being. There may be street vendors, street performers, or restaurants serving food to customers on the sidewalk, but all of these contribute to an energetic, vibrant, attractive space to simply visit and be a part of. Having options for citizens to stay local during a weekend evening out, or if you’re just looking for a change one weekday evening, helps our community, local businesses, local economy, and helps create a sense of place unique to our small city.  Having a downtown nightlife cultivates the placemaking concept in our downtown atmosphere.

Similar to placemaking, nightlife helps identify our downtown at a third place. A third place is somewhere you choose to be and desire to go. Unlike the first two places – home and work – a third place is somewhere unique to you, somewhere of your choosing that you desire to be a part of. As downtown nightlife grows, it starts to become that “place” people go. It becomes your “hang-out” location for you, your spouse, or your friends. Downtown Bristol has, in my opinion, excellently captured and identified itself as a third place.

The more activities we have downtown after 6:00pm, the more we will see our downtown revitalize. As energy builds, others (including developers) will want to be a part of the vibrancy and excitement. This all starts, however, with changes in city policies, businesses willing to make the change, and property owners willing to make the investment. One alone cannot have the impact needed, but working together we can make downtown what we desire. Let’s talk about it!

Getting Online is no Long Optional for Small Business

Each year we hear and see more and more people going online to purchase everyday products and holiday or specialty gifts. Online shopping has become so prevalent and important to businesses, that Cyber Monday is quickly closing in on Black Friday for holiday shopping. In fact, the number of online consumer sales grow by almost 3.5% to 4% every year. As customers’ demands and desires change, so must our small businesses. Having an online presence is no longer an option for a small business that plans to be around in 10-20 years – it is a requirement.

I have talked in the past about making sure your small businesses is listed on Google Maps and has a Facebook page. While these two things are important to help your small business effectively and successfully market itself, these have quickly become the standard. An online presence is becoming a must rather than a plus.

Fortunately, the demand for easy, user-friendly website design has created many new services that make creating a website for your small business as easy as designing a flyer in Microsoft Word. Some award winning options include Webs.com, Weebly.com, and Wix.com – don’t ask me why they all begin with “W”! All of these sites allow a small business to create a great looking website in a matter of a few hours with no previous programming or website design experience necessary. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can create a website for your small business. You can even sell your product on your website with all three of these services! The best part is you can create your website and sell the products online for less than $170 per year making these options hard to pass up.

Having an online presence also expands your customer base. No longer can you only sell to customers who live within driving distance of your business. You can now sell anywhere in the world!

The Tennessee Small Business Development Centers have a location at ETSU. They offer training and can help you in marketing your website as well as other online and web elements such as Google’s Ad Words, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They can also help you decide what content to put on your website in order to make the biggest impact. They have helped many small businesses in Elizabethton such as Greg’s Pizza and all of this training and advice is absolutely free!

If your small business isn’t listed on Google Maps, you don’t have a Facebook page or a website, it’s time to get started! You could get your small business online in all three formats with no more of a time commitment than a Saturday afternoon. Contact me for help or assistance or feel free to contact the SBDC at ETSU directly. We want to see small businesses grow and succeed in our City and our County. Let’s talk about it!