The City of Asheville Still Controls our Economic Plan with over $650,000 of Our Taxes Spent and Nothing to Show for it

[Forum Member]

County Commissioner Kevin Ensley, stated one of the benefits of continuing to give the City of Asheville Chamber of Commerce, $50,000 per year for sending potential economic deveopment to Haywood County, without one single piece of closed Economic Development from the City of Asheville Chamber since 2016, is the job fairs where the mill worker's could find new jobs. The City of Asheville Chamber of Commerce would have been happy to take workforce from Haywood County to Buncombe County for lower paying jobs and Haywood County is giving them an additional $50,000 per year for what? Kevin Ensley is running for County Commissioner again this year. Citizens should demand sending $50,000 per year of our taxpayer money to the City of Asheville be stopped!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NTJOe_vxoI


In 2018, the Haywood County Commissioners signed a new contract with the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce to provide economic development services. CeCe Hipps, President of the Haywood Chamber of Commerce signed an agreement in 2018, with the Asheville City Chamber of Commerce to refer major Economic Development projects to Haywood County and the Haywood County Chamber would concentrate on small businesses. In 2020 the County Commissioners paid the Chamber of Commerce $233,000 who then paid the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce $100,000 and an additional $50,000 to the Asheville/Buncombe Chamber. The Haywood County Commissioners voted to send Economic Development through the the Chamber of Commerce in 2014, the Economic Development Council was formed, and a web site appeared on the Chamber of Commerce web site. No public meetings were held, no minutes were posted, committee member names were not made public and the deal made with the City of Asheville's Chamber of Commerce has not provided even one completed Economic Development project. See article entitled "Asheville Chamber of Commerce is paid by Haywood County to Promote our Economic Development" under the Haywood County section of Haywood Happenings. Haywood County taxpayers deserve full transparency with Economic Development and input on how the county is developed. The only members of the Haywood County Chamber Economic Development Council who have disclosed thier membership, is Scott McLeod of Smoky Mountain News, CeCe Hipps, Economic Development Council Executive Director and Jason Walls EDC Chair. We can assume David Francis, the Community and Economic Development director may have been on the board. A letter dated January 4, 2022, signed by EDC Chair Jason Walls, Haywood Chamber President CeCe Hipps and Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead, informed members of the EDC of its desolution, and the formation of a new county-run entity. Since the Haywood County Commissioners dissolved their contract with the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce they gave them $50,000 for the 2022 fiscal year, but the Economic Development Council web site still appears on the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce web site. It seems the new county-run plan, discussed by David Francis in the 1-18-22 County Commissioners meeting was never implemented and the only Economic Development Plan we had for 2022 was with the City of Asheville, which was a bust. So far over $650,000 of tax payer money has gone to the City of Asheville for nothing.
content.haywoodhappenings.org/viewtopic ... 28998448cf

Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council Quarterly Report to County Commissioners.
April 6, 2015
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/vie ... BROWSELINK


Haywood Economic Development Council- Gateway to Opportunity
https://issuu.com/smokymountain/docs/ha ... 060d173636

https://mountainx.com/news/asheville-ch ... velopment/

Selling Haywood County:Economic Development Partnership Revs Up
https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/ ... ip-revs-up

https://www.themountaineer.com/news/cou ... c7e82.html

https://smokymountainnews.com/archives/ ... -questions

Haywood Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council Mission Statement
https://www.haywoodchamber.com/the-cham ... velopment/

https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/QuickLinks.aspx?CID=51

https://www.yahoo.com/now/county-explor ... 00275.html

[Forum Member]

County Commissioners have been sending $100,000 per year of Haywood Taxpayer's money to the City of Asheville for our Economic Development with nothing to show for it. They have had some site visits but no closed deals. The Jonathan Creek Development was advertised on the City of Asheville Chamber of Commerce web site for five years but that property ended up being auctioned off for housing. It didn't come from Asheville. The Drake call center, Phil Drake from Franklin opened in Waynesville, didn't come from Asheville and the new Harbor Freight coming to the old K-Mart location didn't come from Asheville. The County Commissioners have nothing to show for the over $650,000 of taxpayer money they sent the City of Asheville.

Mountaineer article stating the Jonathan Creek Property was purchase at auction
https://www.themountaineer.com/news/jon ... 57db5.html

[Forum Member]

Now what are our County Commissioners going to for the 1200 employee's who have lost their jobs at the Canton Paper Mill? Haywood County has no industry and no new large scale Economic Development projects closed since 2018, since they decided to let the City of Asheville decide what Economic Development Haywood County would receive. In January of 2022, David Francis came up with a new Economic Development Plan which would focus only on building workforce housing and stop all Economic Development altogether. Commissioner Kevin Ensley agreed it was a great idea.

[Forum Member]

Someone should follow the money paid to Asheville to determine if Asheville spent that money on any "publishing" or "advertising" or "websites" with the owners of the Smoky Mountain News or The Mountaineer. If so, what was the measurable return on investment with any such advertising?

[Forum Member]

County Commissioner Kevin Ensley, stated one of the benefits of continuing to give the City of Asheville Chamber of Commerce, $50,000 per year for sending potential economic deveopment to Haywood County, without one single piece of closed Economic Development from the City of Asheville Chamber since 2016, is the job fairs where the mill worker's could find new jobs. The City of Asheville Chamber of Commerce would have been happy to take workforce from Haywood County to Buncombe County for lower paying jobs and Haywood County is giving them an additional $50,000 per year for what? Kevin Ensley is running for County Commissioner again this year. Citizens should demand sending $50,000 per year of our taxpayer money to the City of Asheville be stopped!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NTJOe_vxoI