In a joint meeting with the Blue Ridge City Council, the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) discussed special taxes in the Central Business District (CBD) and paid parking as possible options for raising funds to support the goals and projects the Authority and the Council agree upon.
DDA chairman Cesar Martinez reiterated the vision and mission of the Authority prior to each of the five committee chairs giving an update to council members.
“The DDA is a partner with the city council, we work with you. ... We’re here to work with projects and funding options that focus on downtown and the central business district,” Martinez said.
Examples of projects the DDA would coordinate are parking solutions, public bathrooms, streetscapes and master plans. Those large projects will require funding. Funds are also needed for day-to-day operations and for recruiting new and supporting existing businesses.
Councilwoman Rhonda Haight said, “I do like the idea of a special tax in the CBD. That would be perfect.”
Martinez replied, “One of the reasons we need something like that is, the DDA – if it’s going to go out and obtain a loan – the bank won’t give a DDA a loan just because it’s a DDA, they want to see that it has funding coming in, and it’ll loan you money based on the money coming in.”
Gene Holcombe, economic development committee chair, agreed and said that is where the operational funding comes into play.
Fitts agreed saying the special sales tax in the CBD wouldn’t affect the locals, and the visitors wouldn’t notice it. The group expressed an interest in learning what the legal process would be to institute such a tax to see if it was a viable option.
In regards to parking, committee chair Brandon Lofton said one way to increase parking for visitors is to make designated areas for the train traffic and for owner/employee parking.
One idea being tossed around is the use of trolleys or runners to shuttle people to and from certain locations.
Haight said, “We’ve approved a parking deck around city hall. ... So, we’ve done all the engineering plans, we’re just looking for money for that as well. ... We’re ready, we just need funding.”
Fitts brought up the paid parking for the city lots and said Executive Parking Systems would be collecting fees from festival-goers on weekends from now until Thanksgiving. Fees will be collected in three downtown city lots: city hall, the Hampton Hotel lot and the lot behind the Co-Op.
Nichole Potzauf, design committee chair, mentioned reaching out to the Carl Vinson Institute of Government who facilitated the Copper Basin Renaissance Strategic Vision and Plan for the McCaysville/Copperhill area to see about creating a plan for Blue Ridge.
The group also spoke about contracting with DDA expert Ann Arnold, who helped develop the entity, to assist with grant writing and other functions.