Reasons we oppose Resort Development
When the plans for a “well-planned Modern Gatlinburg” were announced in 2019, many were not pleased. From that point on officials, officials changed their messaging. Project manager and former KY Chamber CEO told Nat’Geo “None of us wants a Gatlinburg.” Here are the reasons we oppose a destination resort, whatever it may be called:
Reasons we oppose a Destination REsort in the RRG
This project began as a “well-planned Gatlinburg” to “address the rapid economic decline of Kentucky’s Eastern Coalfields.”
The entire point of the project was to be huge in order to solve a cataclysmic economic crisis.The project gained funding as a “well-planned modern Gatlinburg” to address the economic crisis of Eastern Kentucky. The current Stantec plans contradict this initial vision. Mass-concentrated commercial tourism endeavors like Gatlinburg don’t solve poverty.
Officials have given unreliable messaging, leading many to question true intentions. The messaging around a “well-planned modern Gatlinburg” example. Another example was in the Jan 17th 2020 community meeting when Project Manager Adkison revealed that he hadn’t read project documents, “The dialogue has already gotten more constructive than the initial ‘hey this is going to bring a million, two million people to the Gorge, we’re all against that.’ I’ve asked several people where they got that number from and nobody can tell me.” the HVS study he commissioned four years earlier stated that “A fully developed themed community would attract one to two million annual visitors''
This plan is likely the first of many phases.
There is no binding contract to limit investors to the Stantec plans. These are only recommendations. When RRG community members mentioned that 90% of the chosen land be donated to a Land trust to limit future developments, Judge Anderson strongly protested. What are his reasons for doing so? His goal is to make the most income for his county. To donate 90% to a conservancy is to limit future income.
4. Why should a private endeavor receive $1 million in planning and an estimated $70 million incentives?
Other businesses have to fend for themselves. This creates unfair competition. Not only that, but if the project is unsuccessful in attracting high-dollar clients, officials must lower rates of their services to market value to pay off debts and escape bankruptcy. Such competition will push small businesses out of the area, as they will be unable to compete; those once-sustainable jobs will disappear.
5. The advertised 500 jobs to be created aren’t for locals.
“Preliminary Analysis and Opportunities report,” published in late July 2020, states, “The resort would likely need to construct workforce housing for employees on a nearby property.” Furthermore, in 2021 Powell county, the planned location of the resort, hit an all time low unemployment rate of 4%. There is already a labor pool shortage as it is in the area.
6. Studies show that eighty percent of visitors come for the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere the area offers.
The RRG already receives a million visitors a year. Stantec plans recommend bringing in an additional 1-2 million people from a themed village alone. For an already overburdened area, it would be more strategic to build this resort away from the heart of the RRG further down the mountain parkway, and thus disperse the tourism to areas that truly need and can handle it.