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How to better promote commerce and economic vitality in Buena Vista was the central theme of a forum last Tuesday, Oct. 24, for candidates for City Council and mayor. The forum, sponsored by the chamber of commerce, was held at the Ramsey Education Center.
“Imagine people smiling and laughing as they go down Main Street,” said Tyson Cooper, unopposed candidate for mayor, when asked what a vibrant community is. “Everybody has an opportunity to get an education. Volunteers turn out en masse. People knowing t hey’re loved. … I plan to facilitate opportunities to serve, promote a sense of community and trust, a sense of belonging. That’s how I want to help in Buena Vista.”
“I see Buena Vista as a vibrant community,” said Michele Casale. “I’ve been told that Buena Vista back in the ‘70s was booming with commerce. I want to see us like that again. I want to see business owners smiling and happy. We have a beautiful city and lovely neighbors.”
Ronald Cash said the city’s vibrancy is “much better” these days than it’s been in years. “Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s there was elbow to elbow traffic. Don’t know that we’ll ever get back to that. Still, there’s a lot to hope for in Buena Vista. We’re making a good start. It was refreshing to see so many people here on Mountain Day. … We need to work for unity, to strive for a spirit of citizenship. We can be proud of our community.”
Jennifer Humphrey observed that “We have a lot of activities downtown. We need to have more activities at the park.” She said she wants to “encourage people to stop here. People are afraid of change. We need to support Main Street, festivals, businesses. We need to spruce up store fronts.”
“I agree we are a vibrant community,” said Michelle Poluikis. “There are ways we can improve. I see kids playing and stop and say ‘hello.’ I’ve seen what’s happening here the past five years. I just love it. I do believe people can work together.”
Asked what City Council can do to help Main Street Buena Vista promote downtown commerce, Poluikis responded, “We can help get the word out. We can rally around the businesses. Mountain Day was great. I can’t believe how many people were there.”
“We can help the people on the board,” said Humphrey in response to the same question. “We can encourage citizens to volunteer, to serve on committees. That’s been a problem sometimes, always having the same people volunteer. We need to get people motivated to volunteer, to support Main Street events.”
“We can continue doing the same things we’ve been doing,” said Cash. “The murals are really dressing up the store fronts. We need to create a good impression [with visitors]. We have a beautiful downtown. The festivals are great. We need to have more – we could have a Maury River festival. We have an interesting convergence of trails. We could have trail days, guided hikes. We have so many opportunities to promote outdoors activities.”
Casale envisioned Buena Vista being a “sweet little artsy town. We have the background for it ... We could continue on the same route we’re on. Businesses are opening. I’m very proud of this little city. I don’t want a whole lot of people to come [live] here but I do want a lot of people to [visit] and spend their money here.”
Cooper praised Brooke Dalton, executive director of Main Street Buena Vista, and the many volunteers who help her for “doing a phenomenal job … We need to support them and encourage others to join in.”
Asked about efforts to promote outdoor recreation and Buena Vista as an Appalachian Trail community, Cooper said, “I love the Appalachian Trail. I take the boys backpacking on it. I love the robustness and richness of the outdoors opportunities that we have. As for additional recreational opportunities, we should leave this to our local business owners and entrepreneurs.”
Casale suggested having “bus tours. We can do so many different things. I like the idea of leaving it up to business owners. I do my shopping here whenever I can.” Recruiting children’s-oriented businesses like Chuck E. Cheese or a Kids Zone would be ideas worth pursuing, she said.
“We need to keep our camping rates affordable,” said Cash. “Affordability is always important. We need to continue to get new businesses. We could use a hostel or a hotel. We missed an opportunity to get a hostel. We could use canoe shuttles or trail shuttles.”
Humphrey said Buena Vista has “built a reputation as a trail-friendly city. “We need a nice hotel or a hostel. … We need a [nice] hotel for parents [of SVU students] to stay in. We also need a good restaurant. People go to Lexington for this.”
“I love that we’re so close to the Appalachian Trail,” observed Poluikis. “When I lived in a small town in Vermont we were also close to the Appalachian Trail. Hikers would stay at our house. It’s a great opportunity for us. We have incredible, beautiful scenery surrounding us. It would be nice if hikers could stay here and resupply themselves [with new businesses providing these supplies]. We haven’t begun to tap this.”
All of the candidates expressed support for Buena Vista’s continuing participation in the Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization and for supporting upkeep of the city’s athletic facilities that RARO teams use.
Seven candidates are vying for three pending vacancies on City Council. Three candidates were absent from the forum – Stanley Coffey, Cheryl Hickman and Steve Webb.
