Kit's Plans for Jefferson County
plan for our future while preserving our past
manage the business of government
build vibrant local economies with good jobs here
plan for our future while preserving our past
Did you know that there are already 10,000 houses approved in Jefferson County that have not yet been built and another 1,500 soon to be approved? There are houses everywhere; we just don’t see them yet. If we’d had a visionary Plan for Our Future, we might have avoided the problems we are facing today.
Jefferson County will be playing catch up for years trying to provide services to those houses already in the pipeline. We need to get control of any new developments planned. If we don’t do it now, our property taxes will continue to increase in order to pay for the infrastructure needed, and we’ll lose the county’s unique character.
Part of that unique character is our farms. We need to be creative about protecting the farmland while compensating those who want to sell their land and retire. Transfer of Development Rights may be part of the answer. TDRs create a market system for landowners to sell their development rights while preserving their land for farming. I have been working with the county for the past two years to bring a TDR ordinance to a public referendum. We may get it on the ballot for November 2008.
Preserving our Past…
Our unique past is one of the most important ways that Jefferson County can set itself apart from our neighbors – it’s one of our competitive advantages. This county has vast historic and environmental resources that are significant on a national level and yet grossly underutilized.
George Washington bought his first plantation right here in 1750. He was so taken with the beauty and fertility of the land that he convinced his three brothers to buy property and build homes. At one time there were twelve Washington Family homes in Jefferson County alone. Some have fallen to ruin; others are still standing and need protection and restoration.
For the past two years, I have taken the lead on protecting the Washington Family Legacy in our county. We’ve gotten tremendous local support for the initiative and have already brought the proposal to Senator Byrd and Congresswoman Capito. If the initiative is successful, we’ve succeeded in not only protecting our resources but getting a boost in cultural tourism as well!
We also have the confluence of two of the greatest rivers in the country and multiple headwaters to the Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately the Shenandoah River is now ranked as America’s fifth most endangered river in 2006.
Do we want to squander our resources through neglect and abuse, or leverage them to ensure that our quality of life, our fragile water resources, the farms that feed us, and our community character remain intact?
We have a choice about how our county will look and what it will become in the future. I believe that we have the creative and innovative resources in this county to create the future we want — one where we strategically plan for the future while preserving our past. What we need is leadership — leadership I can provide.
manage the business of government
The current system of managing the Jefferson County government needs to be brought into the 21st century.
I have spent my entire career in the private sector. To survive there, you must have detailed and accessible knowledge of your finances in order to make informed decisions about how to manage your organization’s future. The same should be the case for how the system of government in managed. Currently that is not the case in Jefferson County.
Instead, the county is operating as if we were still in 1958 rather than in 2008. The budget process is one example. There are no budget policy guidelines, there are no income projections, and there is little understanding of how and from where income is coming in nor how it is spent. Any company operating in this way would be driven out of business. A county government operating in this way is doing a disservice to the taxpayers. I would use my knowledge of finance and budgeting learned in business school and from my experience working in the private sector and on Wall Street to get a handle on the budgeting process and the finances to make sure that Jefferson County residents get the most for their hard earned money.
build vibrant local economies with good jobs here
Jefferson County needs an economic development plan that capitalizes on the unique niches of Jefferson County and builds good career oriented jobs here – then that plan needs to be aggressively implemented.
An economic development plan based on building houses to service the DC metro area is not financially or environmentally sustainable over the long term – it’s a recipe for becoming more of a bedroom community and continuation of poor public services.
Jefferson County already has tremendous advantages in its favor when it comes to bringing in new businesses: its proximity to DC and access to commuter rail; Shepherd University and APUS; NCTC, the Freshwater Institute, and the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture among others; its fertile soils and active farming community; varied recreational opportunities with the National Park, the rivers, and the county’s rich heritage; and a thriving arts community.
Below is an outline of an economic development plan I’ve drafted. Over the next several months I will be gathering more input and update the plan. If elected, I would take the lead in harnessing Jefferson County’s assets to keep our local economy vibrant, create good jobs here, and retain the quality of life in our community. It will take energy, creativity, and innovation – with your help, we can do it.
Competitive Advantage and Barriers to Entry: One of the first things Jefferson County needs is to determine what are our competitive advantages and what are the barriers to entry. In my work as a sustainable development planner in Chapel Hill, NC, I found that quality of life is one of the strongest deciding indicators when a company or person is choosing to relocate or start a business. They look at schools, universities, open space, recreational and outdoor opportunities, and the housing stock. If an area rates high in quality of life, a businessperson knows that s/he will be able to attract a high quality work force to jobs that are created. Jefferson County clearly has a competitive advantage in many of the recreational and open space areas; the key is ensuring that they remain protected in ways that benefit the economy and the people. The schools are definitely a barrier to entry. If that issue cannot be improved, the long-term economic viability of the county will be damaged.
Economic Development Magnets: A strategic economic development plan would also need to consider what is already in Jefferson County and use those as economic development magnets. Universities, such as Shepherd and the American Public University System, would need to be part of the puzzle. When you look at the kind of economic development that arises from the synergy of higher education, you get companies with high paying, high skilled jobs, such as those in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, which are anchored by UNC, Duke and NC State. Those companies then multiply to create a cross-section of employment across all skill levels.
Critical Mass: Another area that would need to be considered is that Jefferson County has a critical mass of environmental organizations already operating here, such as NCTC, the Freshwater Institute, and the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture. Leveraging those and encouraging others to locate their Headquarters here would create long-term sustainable economic development in the county. There are also many opportunities to support local farming, with several million consumers living an hour away and a booming interest in locally produced food.
Skill Levels: Economic development planning also looks at the existing skill level of the residents. Right now, so many of Jefferson County’s talented people leave the community every day to work elsewhere. The hours spent on the road are considered ‘lost productivity’ - that skill level and talent is a competitive advantage, though, if we can find a way to keep it in the county. Keeping that talent in the county would also invigorate the volunteer base in the County, which can also an economic development engine.