Tom Anderson, a member of the community and downtown property owner for approximately 20 years, was on WIZS’ Town Talk program Thursday to discuss revitalization efforts and issues concerning the downtown Henderson area.
Shortly after moving to Vance County Anderson, along with his wife Letha, purchased the old Farmers & Merchants Bank Building at 135 S. Garnett St., and later the Interiors & Gifts Too building. According to Anderson, he and his wife invested quite a bit of money into the downtown area, without a decent return for their efforts.
“It’s difficult to sell a building in Henderson, especially in downtown Henderson, and get what you put into it,” Anderson said.
An on-going discussion regarding downtown Henderson includes the need for a full-time downtown development director. Downtown Director Kaine Riggan is currently contracted on a part-time basis.
Vance County recently denied a request made by the Downtown Development Commission to increase County funding by $18,500 to convert the part-time downtown development director’s position to a full-time position as required for Main Street Program status. The County did fund $1,500 for the position, an amount equal to previous years’ allotment.
“The City of Henderson is willing to put up a certain amount of money to fund a [full-time] downtown development position. The County, in the past, has put up $1,500 per year. If we want to have a full-time person, the City and County are both going to have to come up with additional funds,” said Anderson.
Anderson believes Riggan’s efforts to revitalize the downtown area are already paying off. “Kaine does a good job of trying to recruit people to the community and get storefronts open and operating,” said Anderson. “He works 20 hours on the books and another 20 hours off the books. You can’t expect him to work for nothing.”
Anderson said he feels downtown Henderson is a safe area, although he admits that difficulties parking can be a deterrent to visitors. The bigger issue, Anderson believes, is the lack of funds.
“What is the priority? We are a Tier 1 County and are economically distressed,” Anderson said. “There’s not enough money to put into all of the buckets.”
According to Anderson, whatever the solution or solutions, “You have to have a vibrant downtown area in order to have a vibrant community.”