City council candidates refocus on development

By Jimmy LaRoue

Published: April 22, 2008

Manufacturing is down. Retail is up. Downtown is somewhere in between.
That’s the common shorthand for economic development in Waynesboro, but improving the city’s outlook isn’t so simple, according to candidates running for the City Council.
At-large Councilman Frank Lucente, running for a full-term against DuBose Egleston Jr. and Jeremy Taylor, said Waynesboro has been lucky to offset manufacturing losses with increased retail.
Taxable sales in Waynesboro have moved ahead of Staunton, with the Waynesboro Town Center driving most of the growth, according to City Manager Doug Walker.
Lucente does not want to see any more city resources to go toward downtown, however. His idea would be to find 10 entrepreneurs to come to downtown to open a business.
“We have numerous things to get the people to come downtown, and if you ever find an entrepreneur that would come down there, there’s a lot of benefits for them,” Lucente said.
While the city’s machinery and tools tax money has declined sharply, several city businesses have announced expansions. 
Invista reactivated its Spandex production equipment in 2007, and McClung Companies late last year completed a 10,000 square foot expansion. In March, Virginia Panel Corporation received a site plan approval for expansion of its facility, and REO Distribution has been designated a foreign trade zone.
Though manufacturing employment in the city has declined since 2000, that trend has leveled off in the last three years.
Egleston said the best economic development the city could make is to invest in education. For downtown, he wants to see the city provide amenities and infrastructure.
“I think we need to put our best foot forward, not only on the west-end, or the south-end, but throughout town because people will come back downtown,” Egleston said.
Taylor said downtown revitalization should be viewed “as an economic generator that is going to add new taxpayers to our local economy, and if we do that, we’re going to help everybody.”
Creating a stable tax rate, Taylor believes, starts with increasing the tax base. Both he, and Ward B candidate Chris Graham, want to explore public-private partnerships downtown.
Graham said the city is still trying to figure out its future, but it could be a mix of the arts, technology and east-end outdoor-focused businesses. He said with the west-end about maxed-out in terms of potential, it’s time for the city to shift focus to other parts of the city.
Greg Bruno, also running in Ward B, agreed. He wants to see the Internet used more effectively in luring businesses to the city, calling it one of the city’s “front doors.”
The retail has helped the city “more stand on its own two feet” Bruno said.
His time on the Planning Commission helped forge more of a win-win relationship between businesses and residents, Bruno said.
He wants to see Waynesboro Downtown Development and the City Council work together to develop a downtown vision, and then publicize it.
Running against Graham and Bruno, Bruce Allen said he wasn’t sure what could be done to revitalize downtown, but he favored incentives.
“I don’t know what the solution is to generate business back downtown,” Allen said. “I’m all for it, but I don’t know what the answers are for that.”