Chamber delivers tourism report to commissioners
Board of Commissioners, Fannin County Chamber May 13, 2020
BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Since short-term rentals reopened on May 1, Chamber of Commerce President Jan Hackett affirmed that people are returning to the mountains, but numbers are down from previous years.
Hackett delivered an update on the economic status of tourism in Fannin since the shutdown. It included shops, restaurants, lodging, and attractions.
“According to the vacation rental people, people are definitely coming, and the first weekend was probably busier than the second,” stated Hackett. “The first weekend it seemed to be a whole lot of second homeowners coming to open up their cabins and check on them.
61 percent of the rentals are reportedly full next weekend and the visitors are supposedly bringing supplies with them.
However, it seems like people make the decision on a whim instead of planning the trips out well in advance.
“They are planning their trips late. It’s like they are planning to come to the mountains in a week,” relayed Hackett.
Memorial Day is currently 55 percent booked, but June and July rental remain predominately empty.
A statistics company, AirDNA shows 30 percent of rentals booked for May 30, 27 percent the weekend of June 6, and 24 percent for July 4.
Hotel/ motel tax was down $60,000 dollars in April collections, which is based on March business. The county and chamber split the tax in half. The county’s amount goes toward the operating budget, and the chamber uses the tax to market for the county.
Hackett expects April collections to be down as much as $100,000 since Gov. Kemp halted all rentals with his shelter in place order.
“Basically, that looks like $80,000 down for the two months that we’ve been closed at least part of the time,” explained Hackett.
She added that April and May are some of Fannin’s slowest months, but May could be interesting because it will probably see more business than normal as people can travel and telework.
Of the 52 restaurants listed on the chamber’s website, only 13 are open for inside dining – nine in Blue Ridge and three in McCaysville. Hackett said around 20 percent of the restaurants are open and some only on weekends. Most restaurants are only open for dinner as well.
“I don’t expect that we’re going to have a whole lot of more restaurants open up until the governor relaxes some of the restrictions because it’s very restrictive and it would be hard for some of them to do it,” the chamber president pondered.
Kemp did make a few changes to his restrictions on May 12. Now restaurants can have up to 10 patrons per 300 sq. ft. of public space and seat groups up to ten people.
However, she assessed that 90 percent of the shops are open at least part of the week, mainly weekends. McCaysville shops are around 50 percent.
Hackett also spoke with Cesar Martinez, Downtown Development Authority Chairman. He said that downtown Blue Ridge is busy on weekends but not as busy as last year at this time. During the week, all businesses are slow.
He also reported to Hackett that the businesses require social distancing and offer hand sanitizer. Not all require masks and some customers are resisting wearing masks.
“Mercier’s is open, and they are requiring people to wear masks and they’ve met with some resistance from customers who just will leave rather than wear a mask,” said Hackett.
The chamber has provided six masks for each of the members who have requested them and delivered masks to shops that are open in Blue Ridge and McCaysville.
The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is closed until June 1 at this time. The chamber’s visitor’s center is still closed until at least Memorial Day and the smaller centers will be closed even longer.
For those looking for more information and updates about businesses, visit blueridgemountains.com.
Feature image courtesy of Fannin County Chamber of Commerce.
Commissioners extend state of emergency to April 30, address tourism
Board of Commissioners, News April 8, 2020
FANNIN COUNTY, Ga – In a called meeting on April 8, the Fannin County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved extending the state of emergency until April 30, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.
Fannin County was one of the first North Georgia counties to declare a state of emergency on March 25. Originally, the order ended on April 13, but with Gov. Kemp’s extension of the statewide emergency declaration, the commissioners decided to follow suit.
The Regional Health Board and Fannin Regional also urged the commissioners to extend the state of emergency as the best method to ensure the health of citizens.
Chairman Stan Helton addressed some emergency service-related data since Fannin enacted its declaration. In-service 911 calls have dropped by 40 percent since March 25, but administrative calls have increased exponentially because citizens want more information about the state of emergency and shelter in place orders.
Rental occupancy has fallen for March and April with most of the decline occurring in the last two weeks. Overnight bookings for cabin rentals are reportedly down 70 percent from the 2019 numbers. However, the June and July booking numbers are normal for that time of year.
“A big concern has been that as the tourism activity has declined that this activity would be replaced by folks that are coming up here from high-risk areas to shelter in Fannin County,” said Helton.
Helton is one of the 12 commissioners who signed a letter to the governor to close state parks. Fannin Board of Commissioners also closed tourism rentals in its original state of emergency declaration, but the governor overturned many local ordinances in his April 2 shelter in place order that didn’t fall into accordance with his declaration. However, on April 8, Kemp issued a suspension of short-term rentals in effect until April 30.
Sheriff Kirby spoke with Gov. Kemp’s Chief of Staff about the influx of people to the mountains.
“I can tell you it’s been a real fight keeping the beat crowds back up here because everyone is wanting to come to the mountains and hide and get away,” explained Sheriff Dane Kirby. “If we were to lift [the state of emergency], I don’t think it would have a positive effect.
Kirby also relayed that he spoke with Kemp’s Chief of Staff about restricting people from visiting the area just for recreation purposes.
“What we need is we need some avenue to stop people from coming here just on day trips,” said Kirby. “I think the steps that they took were a portion of what we asked for,” said Kirby. He also hopes a more detailed plan might be presented to the public later in the week.
“I want everyone who is dependent on the tourism and rental business to understand that I believe we all understand this is impacting every one of them. But, at this point, I don’t see how we could do anything to lift the emergency ordinance and continue on the trajectory we are on now,” stated Post One Earl Johnson.
He also referenced the decrease in 911 calls and protecting first responders, law enforcement, and health care workers under the existing order.
Post Two Glenn Patterson affirmed everyone’s sentiments, “I concur with what you just said as far as citizens well-being that would be relevant for us to extend at this time knowing the data we see. We don’t want to start it too early and then shut it back down again.
“We need all our citizens to work together for a little longer and hopefully, everyone realizes the real enemy is not tourist, people from any other part of the state. The real enemy is this coronavirus. As long as everyone has that in mind, I think we can all work together,” asserted Helton.
The State of Emergency will last through April 30 to expire at 11:59 p.m., unless otherwise extended or rescinded.
Other Business
The commissioners also voted to vacate the scheduled April 14 meeting and will meet again on Tuesday, April 28.
The purchase of three new law enforcement vehicles was also approved for approximately $99,000 as well as the acquisition of accompanying equipment for $20,232. The expenses were in the budget for the fiscal year.
“They are in our budget. I’ll have to move about $6,000 from one line to another because the price of cars has gone up. But it’s all there, it will just have to be moved,” explained Kirby.
The vehicle and equipment purchases were unanimously approved.
Opinion: How Should Blue Ridge Proceed?
Opinion March 21, 2020
Written By : Logan Fitts
Athens, GA
Atlanta, GA
These are two cities in Georgia that see an influx in people from all over. These are cities that we see a lot of visitors come from. These are the cities that I travel to often. These are also the cities that have went under quarantine since COVID-19 has hit the state.
Since this initial post, Murphy NC has went on full lock-down and curfew in light of discovering that visitors were sick with the virus. Mind you, Murphy is only 20 miles from Blue Ridge.
I want to make a few remarks.
First, I have talked to quite a few city leaders and asked questions:
What can we do? What’s the plan? Can you close the downtown district? Can we limit or begin to dwindle the amount of foot traffic coming into our city and county, as this is a hot destination for Spring Break? I’ve asked many times: “So, what can be done?”
These are the answers thus far:
I’ve had one city leader tell me that they have no control, I’ve had a leader tell me that it is illegal to tell downtown business owners to close their doors, I’ve had one tell me that the Governor has given discretion to each county/city to make decisions up to this point about protocol, and this leader told me that they don’t feel like downtown needs to close at this time, but restaurants should do curbside pickups.
I’ve even had another concerned citizen of Blue Ridge tell me that their answer they’ve received from our very own Speaker Ralston is that at this point, it is up to our leaders in the area to make decisions at the discretion of the charter. Understandable — not verified.***
I ended up feeling even more lost. Who’s telling the truth? Does anyone know what protocol is? This is an unprecedented situation.
Second,
I’ve watched town like a hawk. Groceries stores have been covered up, go figure. Rentals are packed, so we have out of town visitors buying groceries, we have second home owners buying groceries (some being my past clients), we have full time locals buying groceries — all understandable and we all know that going to these places you must practice caution and there are ways to keep your space to protect your health. And I have to note, grocery stores are having to evolve with the situation and look out for clientele. They’re having to close early to sanitize. They’re changing hours. They’re recognizing the situation at hand.
I’ve also watched Downtown Blue Ridge. I’ve driven the streets. I’ve watched hundreds of pedestrians go up and down throughout the week. I find myself getting irritated when I go through, but remind myself that they’re on vacation. They feel anonymous. There’s less of a sense of responsibility when it’s not your home, and I get it to a certain point. But I also know that we have people coming here because it is quiet and removed and it feels safer. I know of friends of mine that are from this area that have traveled to Florida to take advantage of the break to attempt to vacation and use the Coronavirus to their advantage and find great deals on lodging, shopping, dining, etc (they know my stance on their travels). Many of the places they’re at in Florida are closing commercial activity, which leads me to my next point.
At this point, with little to no safeguards on the biggest red flag in the area, Blue Ridge is not a safe area to be in should this virus run rampant. A few things to note: downtown has two public restrooms equipped with hand dryers (recommended not to be used by many articles I’ve read). Downtown’s business owners, as I’ve learned in my time, don’t particularly want shoppers using their facilities. I also know there’s a huge shortage in sanitary equipment in the area and at a certain point, individual stores can’t provide each shopper or diner sanitizer, soap, wipes, etc. (Maybe they have stocks in what I’ve mentioned and can keep up in the cleaning and sanitizing of patrons, but I doubt it). Most stores in the downtown area are not more than 1500 square feet (total rough estimate). Allow enough people in the store at the right moment, one person sneezes and doesn’t know they have the virus, the whole store can be contaminated without even knowing it. Our county and the surrounding counties’ hospitals and medical campuses are not ready for a virus like this. Bottom line.
Third,
I want to say this to all of my fellow business owners, self-employers, service staff, to my friends, family, and clients: I am by no means trying to come off harsh. I am SO sorry that this is unfolding. I would love to support, and will continue to support small businesses throughout the town.
But I say that to say this. I know people will come and go throughout the coming weeks. I know that we can’t stop them, nor do I think we should. BUT, I certainly think that there has to be dialogue. There has to be a plan. There has to be answers to MANY concerned citizens’ questions other than the simple answer “we have a plan.” That’s one of the joys of small town America, right? We all know what’s going on. 😉 AND I ask, I don’t know what anyone else’s stance is, for this to be something done on and off Facebook. Let the elders know. Let the people who don’t use social media know. Keep everyone informed.
Finally,
I want to conclude my persistence on this matter. While many bigger cities and counties are erring on the side of caution but not stringency for retail, for dessert houses, cafes, for gyms, or even offices until there’s a confirmed case in the area, Blue Ridge is different. These bigger cities have a stronger infrastructure. They have bigger hospitals, more staff, more equipment, they’re better prepared. This is not to belittle our hospital workers, nurses, pharmacists, sanitary personnel, etc., but to state what’s been the consensus from my friends and family in those fields and across the globe. These cities might have the safeguards to wait until they dreadfully find out that they have a confirmed case. Unfortunately, I think Blue Ridge has to be more proactive.
In terms of solutions, here are my thoughts.
I know it’s almost impossible to ask any business to close to foot traffic. I know it’s difficult on the owners, the staff, the patrons. I know that leaders don’t want to harm businesses. They don’t want to be the ones to make that call, if they can. Understandable. Who would want to make that call? So maybe not go there at this point. Maybe monitor the area. How many patrons are in each store? Maybe provide sanitizing stations throughout the area (this could’ve been done a long time ago when we first saw the virus hit Georgia). Maybe post signs warning people what already should be instilled in their brains: STAY HOME. Or “Caution: this is a high risk area should a pedestrian have COVID-19.” per CDC, President Trump, the whole 9.
So I resolute to this: city & county leaders, where are we with this? What is your answer to the big problem that seems to be (UNDERSTANDABLY) avoided? Can we count on you to make decisions for the well-being of the majority? We need leaders.
I don’t have all of the answers; I may not have any answers.
But I have a lot of concerns. And I have a lot of love for my hometown and my people.
Stay strong.
**Editor’s Note** This opinion was originally written and shared via Facebook. You can read the original post by clicking here : Logan Fitts Original Post
Mayor Donna Whitener also responded via the City of Blue Ridge Facebook page. You can read the official response by clicking here: City of Blue Ridge Response
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