Kenny Hardin, Salisbury City Councilman with Chris Sifford, Community Advocate
♦ Chris Sifford’s question about why Salisbury is so far behind other cities in the region originally appeared on Chris’s Facebook page on March 30th, 2016.
Chris Sifford: I’ve been a lot places in my lifetime and I’ve seen a number of cities similar in stature to Salisbury. What I don’t understand is that some of the cities I’ve visited with somewhat the same makeup as Salisbury, are thriving like you wouldn’t believe. Kenny Hardin, I know you’ve traveled the world in a corporate capacity, so maybe you could shed some light on why Salisbury is so far behind when it comes to business, jobs, industry, and growth.
Kenny Hardin: Siff, I’ve lived, worked, and visited a lot of other states and cities in this Nation from Coast to Coast, and it’s obvious what the issue is with Salisbury. The problem I see here is not a lack of vision for economic growth, but a shortsighted and narrow view of what growth should look like. Additionally, there is not an inclusive outlook or perspective with the type of needed growth that serves the entire collective population. The growth sought here is centered on one demographic. We seem to be focused on bringing retail and restaurant jobs that may yield 15-25 jobs instead of recruiting industry that can bring upwards of 200 plus. We don’t need any more coffee shops, beer hangouts, lofts or specialty food joints.
We have direct access to the Yadkin River, quick and easy access to Interstate 85 and are on the major rail line to big cities North and South, but we’re not landing any significant industry. Why? Because we would much rather maintain a small town historic identity tightly controlled by a few influential people that want to dictate and control the economics and politics instead of allowing the City to thrive. The only problem is the underbelly of this City is fraught with crime, poor educational outcomes and extreme apathy from those who could help the City grow.
The misguided central focus is Downtown Salisbury and the I-85 corridor to the detriment of the rest of our City. It was explained to me that if we built up I-85 with more recognizable businesses like Dick’s Sporting Goods and restaurants, it would compel people to get off the Interstate and venture into the Downtown. This was a ridiculous and errant forecast of people’s interests and habits when traveling. I have driven from LA to NC twice and from the Kansas City/Omaha areas to NC 6-7 times and not once have I stopped to eat, pee or shop and felt drawn to drive further into any City along the way.
About a month ago, I spent a significant amount of time on a weekend in Downtown Salisbury. I was disappointed with the number of empty storefronts and the dismal turnout of people in the afternoon. Just going from South to North on Main Street, I counted nearly 25 empty stores. From the stores that were opened, there was no diversity or anything that would attract me to come to the area to shop or spend time. I asked this same question in a recent City Council meeting. As a middle aged Black man who likes high fashion items and doesn’t drink or party, what is there for me in downtown Salisbury? What is there for young people, people of color, and with the lack of jobs; who can afford anything Downtown?
I live up past the West End Plaza. If I need to go to the movies, Walmart or dine out, it’s almost a 20 mile round trip. So, I typically opt to just go to Concord where there are offerings that fit all my needs. Why have we abandoned the Western part of the City where there is a dense population of homeowners who support the tax base? Why are we not looking at industry and growth in that area and taking advantage of Highway 70 and access to Interstates 40 and 77? Why are we not looking to fill up the empty buildings on Jake Alexander that have ports for tractor trailers? Why are we putting so much emphasis and celebrating 10 gigabytes of Fibrant that is hemorrhaging money? Why won’t we try to recruit other tech companies like Google and Microsoft like Hickory and other cities in our region? Who are the initial investors in Fibrant that are getting rich individually while everyone else and the City suffers disproportionately financially? I would like to see the names of those who got in on the ground floor of Fibrant and see if a profit is being made while our taxes were raised and our City credit rating was lowered.
I questioned why we keep building so many apartment complex units that allow those people to live here, but work, shop and spend money in Charlotte and Greensboro. I would like ask why the majority of the people who work at the VA, Food Lion Offices, and our educational institutions don’t live here in our City. If you get on Jake Alexander at 5 p.m., it’s a nightmare. But more importantly how can you care about the growth of the City if you don’t live here or spend money here?
But, when I ask these questions, I’m told I’m being too negative and hurting the image of our City by speaking publicly. Therein lies the problem. My lone voice can’t inhibit people from going online and seeing the issues first hand. But, it’s easier to point the finger at me and deny the existence of problems than acknowledge the issues we have. They want Black faces on committees but they don’t want Black voices. They say diversity is a priority, but do nothing for inclusion to ensure everyone’s voice is respected and included in the plan. Too much patronizing and lip service from our leaders. We want to be an All American City, but don’t want to acknowledge we have big city issues. Denial doesn’t result in growth.
