Courthouse complex among economic development plans in Charles City

With citizens in Charles City County concerned over the lack of funding to schools thanks to a decline in revenue from Waste Management, opinions and comments float around the community about why there aren’t other streams for a consistent cash-flow into the county. That is the task at hand that county planning director Matt Rowe deals with every day.

Rowe’s goal is to entice companies and businesses into Charles City. Right now, he is dealing with issues and questions on not only future businesses, but current county revenue providers. That mixture and concerns from citizens prompted Rowe to speak out during an April 9 interview.

Rowe spoke about the impact of Waste Management not providing as much revenue as they have in previous years. In 2012-13, the company provided $2.3 million in revenue. To date, the same company has provided just less than $1 million in funds.

“It has put tremendous pressure on us,” said Rowe on the dwindling of funds. “Of the 30 percent of business revenue that comes in Charles City, 26 percent of that was from Waste Management.

“Waste Management has been a band-aid to the lack of diversity of economy in this county,” he continued. “Unfortunately, this situation has happened and it forces a mentality to change.”

The planning director addressed questions on the county’s infrastructure, commenting on the difficulty to get businesses when infrastructure is changing each day while the county works to replace the limited infrastructure they have.

“It costs money to even keep things status quo,” continued Rowe. “When we have items such as sewer and water, we establish that for businesses first and residents second. We don’t want to have the 300 citizens who are on the county’s sewer and water pay for something that can cost nearly $250,000 a year.

“There are new demands for businesses due to regulations,” he added. “Businesses didn’t have to have utilities, water and sewer, telecommunications, and insurance in the past. Now, it’s a necessity.”

Rowe is hoping a recently received $25,000 telecommunication grant will replace some of the telecommunication problems at the Roxbury Industrial Park, one of the more business savvy areas of the county.

“But the goal is to bring this county into a business friendly environment,” he added.

If things come to fruition, Rowe’s primary goal is to build businesses based around the courthouse area of the county. That area is part of the historic Route 5 corridor and one of the most traveled roads in the county.

The county planning director spoke about numerous conversations he’s had with several different companies. According to his comments, interest is garnered based on certain criteria.

“When potential businesses call me, they ask me ‘where is the town?’ in Charles City?” Rowe said. “In Charles City, nobody has a sense of where the town is due to everything being spread apart.”

Distances of homes are part of the problem of bringing businesses, according to the planning director. Most businesses look for a centralized area where people either travel through or visit on a consistent basis, according to Rowe. Other issues the planning director is dealing with include most of the county being zoned agricultural (90 percent).

“The county is trying to develop incentives for private developers,” Rowe said, adding his recent talks with a few major retailers inquiring about the location. “If we’re going to be serious about economic development, the mindset has to change. We’ve got to encourage and make it easier to grow.”

Comments arose at the county’s board of supervisors meeting on March 25 about the historical aspect of the county hindering development. Rowe adamantly disagreed with that belief.

“I don’t find it difficult bringing businesses to the county because of that,” he said. “I think it actually helps.

“We hear in the public that there’s a conflict but it’s not,” continued the planning director. “We have a lifestyle equal to none and the historical aspect is part of three sectors of economic development that we’re focusing on.”

Those three areas revolve around industrial parks (i.e. Roxbury), limited retail, and county tourism.

“We have all of these attractions in the county but we don’t make any money from it,” continued Rowe. “We always hear about Colonial Williamsburg, but nothing is colonial about it. Everything that is up there is all replica.

“We have the real culture here,” he continued. “Charles City up to this point has been a pass-through area and we’re looking to change that.”

Currently, Rowe says developments in the county are progressing, but the negativity of the situation with Waste Management overshadows the positives.

“We should have the county’s first winery opened by late August, as well as the Capital Bike Trail completed by the end of this year,” he added. “Last year alone, 200 jobs were created in the county but you never hear about it.

“We are doing great things in this county,” he continued. “But the county is changing and becoming an aging community. People are leaving because we lack a variety of housing and jobs, but I hope that what we do is attract those people back with opportunities and businesses.”

Concluding the interview, Rowe hopes businesses will be attracted to the area so that county residents will not have to travel elsewhere for services.

“I want to have businesses here so that people won’t have to travel to Providence Forge or Bottoms Bridge for services,” he concluded.