Caryville wants to attract more visitors to area

By SUSAN SHARP
sharp@lafollettepress.com

The town hall at Caryville was filled with people and ideas on Saturday morning.

Citizens there spent the morning discussing ways to attract tourists and industry to the region.

The mountains and the lakes were deemed as the two pieces already in place to lure people into the area.

However, this left the group of around 25 to discuss what is missing.

Caryville Alderman Scott Collins said the town was prepared to enact new ordinances and enforce codes to clean up the area.

“We need to put a pretty face on it,” he said.

Longtime county resident Ed Balloff summed up his thoughts for those in attendance.

“What’s good for Caryville is good for the county,” he said.

He spoke of the signs near the interstate that tell travelers of the town and “scenic Cove Lake.”

Balloff expressed concerns that portions of the lake are disappearing due to silt deposits.

“It’s nothing but an island,” Balloff said.

He suggested the town send a group to Nashville to speak with legislators about funding to dredge the lake in order to make it deeper.

Money had been set aside in the past for that, according to Balloff.

Citing what other towns in east Tennessee have accomplished, Bill Claiborne said they should be looked at as examples.

Marketing the area on a widescale basis was also mentioned.

Caryville Mayor Bobby Stookbury said that assistance could be on the way for that.

Late last week, he had attended a meeting of the Joint Economic Development Board.

During that meeting, TVA introduced a new program it hopes to implement, Stooksbury said.

The Consumer Connection will be used to inform prospective retail chains about particular counties, he said.

He also told the group that Campbell County had been designated by TVA as a project county for the program.

“This goes along with what we are doing here this morning,” the mayor said.

Within the Consumer Connection, TVA will conduct market research and find out what retail outlets are searching for in a town, he said.

Research has already revealed that Campbell County loses $15,000 per year per capita to other areas in buying revenue, according to Stooksbury.

“I am probably going to get thrashed on the way out the door,” former alderman Jerry Holder began.

He then said that the county and the town should seriously consider allowing liquor by the drink.

Claiborne pointed out that allowing liquor had been the shot in the arm that Cumberland County needed.

Janet Wormsley agreed, stating Cumberland County has changed dramatically in the past 15 years.

Under the recently passed private act by the state legislature, Caryville lacked the population to allow liquor by the drink in the town, Stooksbury said.

Ronnie Daughtery suggested the town change the charter to help with the issue.

This prompted Caryville citizen Jerry Chadwell to offer an opinion.

After a discussion with the Oneida police chief, Chadwell said he had learned that the passage of liquor by the drink had a high price tag.

“It is not all one sided,” he said.

Citing that same conversation, Chadwell said insurance costs, the price for police protection and other services would rise.

“That might be a bit of an exaggeration,” said Fred Cole, owner of Indian Marina.

“Change is always a threat to somebody,” Claiborne added.

On attracting visitors, Joanne Myers of the Campbell Culture Coalition spoke.

In June, the coalition plans to sponsor a festival at Cove Lake.

The Louie Bluie Music and Arts Festival will take place from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Three stages will have entertainment and craft vendors will be present, Myers said.

Collins predicted the festival could draw traffic from I-75 along with local and regional visitors.