Christiansburg Town Council bumped up its lodging tax from 5% to 7% in 2005. Until this summer, just 1% of those additional revenues went towards a regional tourism initiative. None of the other 6% was earmarked for tourism, and no clear spending for marketing or economic development can be found in reviewing the current fiscal year budget.
After this May, the town will retain another 15% of 1% (or approximately $20,000 a year) because in November council voted to make this change contingent upon the funds being spent solely on tourism development. In subsequent discussions, it sounded as if these additional funds would be used by various town departments to further pad their own budget -- including Parks & Recreation, the soon to open Aquatic Center, or the Harkrader Sports Complex. Although a council member asked about past tourism and was told there was no methodical plan or advertising standards for the town, a list of past marketing was promised yet never delivered.
Localities throughout the NRV are struggling, competing for the same piece of a smaller pie that includes tourism as a single ingredient. Pulaski leaders, with historic cycles of being the regional hub or lost industries, are taking a regional focus on new development strategies, too, to once again rebalance their local economy.
At Christiansburg's "grand reopening" last June, the Mayor proclaimed a "totally revitalized" downtown occurred with the street paving (view the video and hear it yourself). Do you agree? Most regular visitors to Christiansburg see more and more empty storefronts, with the business closings now radiating out along Depot (Reed Lumber), Franklin (Quality Floors) and Roanoke Street and engulfing both the former Goody's location (Market Square) and current one (Spradlin Farms).
Here's some simple suggestions for beginning to promote Christiansburg as a business or tourism destination, encompassing more than simply adding more money to already generously funded town departments or subsidizing residential services. Attracting new investment to Christiansburg while increasing meals, lodging and sales tax revenues is a clear goal, and these economic strategies are extracted directly from the town's own Comprehensive Plan.
This plan was first adopted in 1998 -- eleven years ago -- and revised slightly in 2002. It was readopted, without change, in 2007:
ECONOMIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Goal: Provide for a range of commercial enterprises and industry to provide the residents of Christiansburg and surrounding communities the necessary services, employment opportunities and public revenues.
Objectives:
1. Maintain the economic vitality and viability of the downtown area. Strategies:
a. Encourage retention and new development of administrative offices, retail/commercial, and professional services in the downtown business area.
b. Improve the appearance of the downtown by encouraging and promoting landscaping through private means and Town efforts.
c. Encourage residential development within and around the downtown.
2. Promote an appropriate mix of commercial activity in the Town. Strategies:
a. Encourage a full range of consumer services in existing commercially zoned areas; discourage strip commercial development along major arterial roads.
b. Encourage establishment of additional professional office complexes in commercially zoned areas.
c. Provide for a diversified, vibrant environment through the provision of mixed-use development, which combines residential, commercial/industrial, and recreational functions in the developing northern and eastern sections of Town.
3. Support creation of varied levels of employment opportunities for citizens of the Town. Strategies:
a. Encourage the creation of an industrial arts school that will teach needed trades and skills (such as wood-working, carpentry, automobile repair, etc.).
b. Support the development of apprentice programs in cooperation with targeted industries and businesses.
c. Support the development of a one-stop shop job incubator.
d. Support creation of a viable job fair program.
e. Encourage adequate and appropriate workforce training for high school dropouts.
f. Promote varied training and workforce development opportunities through local higher education resources.
4. Generate appropriate levels and selected types of industrial activity in the Town. Strategies:
a. Encourage additional industries to locate in industrially zoned districts.
b. Continue to cooperate and coordinate efforts with the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission and New River Valley Economic Development Alliance to identify appropriate industries and encourage their location to Christiansburg.
5. Create an appropriate environment within the Town for recruitment and retention of targeted industry. Strategies:
a. Support the Chamber of Commerce in regular visitation with businesses and industries to evaluate needs and goals related to Town programs and services.
b. Encourage appropriate and viable support opportunities of small businesses.
c. Promote the development of a small business incubator.
d. Explore the creation of an enterprise zone/technology zone for downtown businesses.
e. Identify potential available commercial and industrial sites.
6. Promote the Town as a destination spot for tourist activities. Strategies:
a. Identify and promote historic attractions in and around the Town.
b. Promote appropriate and viable festivals within the Town.
c. Support the creation of opportunities for entertainment attractions to draw outside interest to the Town.
d. Identify and catalogue local attractions and destination sites.
7. Identify and encourage services that assist economic development within the Town. Strategies:
a. Cooperate in transit services to reduce traffic congestion in and around the Town.
b. Support the New River Valley Airport and its Foreign Trade Zone and United States Customs Point of Entry efforts on behalf of the region.
8. Support a strategy for creation of a local civic center within the area. Strategy: Encourage funding from local, regional, and state partners to build a viable civic center to serve the Town.
______________________________________________
Think about these eleven year old goals, strategies and objectives. Think about how many you can quickly identify and count off. Review planning commission (where available) and town council minutes -- dating back to 2001 -- and search for economic development, tourism development, initiatives, incentives, inventories, assets, destinations to see how often any of these items have been on an agenda. Then ask your council to do the same, giving you additional details you might not be aware of that show how the town has supported, identified, cooperated or promoted these economic strategies. Detail how broad and deep direct existing partnerships are. Suggest some of the retained "tourism" dollars be used to begin implementing neglected strategies already identified in the town's plan, perhaps.
Ask council to get serious, and get to work on making these long ago dreamed long-term goals a reality, and keeping Christiansburg in the economic game instead of riding on coattails or accepting crumbs that fall into laps.