City leaders gain insights from road trip

Fayetteville’s Mayor Ed Johnson and City Manager Ray Gibson joined 44 other community leaders Oct. 22-25 on a Fayette County Chamber of Commerce strategic leadership road trip, which took them to Greenville and York County in South Carolina and back in state to Gwinnett County to learn new ideas and best practices in economic and community development.

First Stop: Greenville, SC

In Greenville, the group learned how the Carolina Foothills Garden Club saw promise in a depressed downtown and partnered with the City of Greenville on a master plan that became the catalyst for Greenville’s revitalization. Greenville’s success story is so strong that they average 20 visits a year with groups like ours coming from around the country.

Thinking of a performing arts center as a possibility in Fayette County, the group visited Greenville’s Peace Center. The key takeaway was making sure the facility’s mission is clear, in their case arts education and supporting local arts organization, and that programs offered are aligned with the mission. Also, when it comes to designing the ideal facility the presenters stressed the term “flexibility”.

To boost economic growth, the Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s “NEXT” program was created to support startup companies with high growth potential. Creating a startup community is key. Panel moderator Luis Matta is a member of Fayette’s startup task force, which will adapt components from NEXT into Fayette’s program. Also highlighted was Greenville’s Minority Business Accelerator (MBA) program, which supports minority-owned businesses by providing information, inspiration and influence.

Greenville Forward, launched in 2006 as Greenville 2025, partners with local organizations to provide data and benchmarking initiatives. This community initiative is similar to Fayette Visioning and is a strong example of how vision planning can better focus resources and communication.

Second Stop: York County, SC

York County, part of the Charlotte metropolitan statistical area, was our second stop. Like Fayette, York County is a bedroom county with a reputation for excellent schools, high per-capita income and a peaceful quality of life. Like Fayette, they want to attract more business. Rock Hill’s sports tourism has an estimated annual economic impact of $155 million. The city has made substantial investments in soccer and cycling facilities over the last 20 years. Rock Hill will host the 2017 BMX World Championships and projects a direct economic impact of $15 million from the event.

York County’s growing arts community creates a sense of place, particularly in downtown Rock Hill. The Fayette delegation saw many similarities in their program’s size and scope that could be emulated in Fayette County.

Baxter Village and Kingsley in Fort Mill provided visuals of how proposed mixed-use developments in Fayette County can create a sense of place. It has also helped attract major employers like LPL Financial with a projected employment of 2,400 people.

Third Stop: Sugar Hill, GA

The last stop was Sugar Hill, and their message was “controlling destiny”. Through creative partnerships and capital investments, Sugar Hill is ensuring that development in its city core is high-quality and fits its place-making plans. Their plans for a new town center are evolving and in many ways are a good guide for where the City of Fayetteville would like to be in the future as illustrated on the Downtown Master Plan.

As always on these trips, the programs and concepts create a spark amongst those who attend, but it is the conversations on the bus, around meals and back in Fayette County that creates the fire for excellence. The city looks forward to the next steps as the group sorts through the best practices observed and begins to identify those that fit best in Fayette County.

City of Fayetteville - January 2017 NewsletterDanny Harrison, Public Relations Specialist, 770-719-4147dharrison@fayetteville-ga.gov, www.fayetteville-ga.gov