CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Mayors from across West Virginia and the country say they have a lot in common. One of those areas includes economic growth.
The topic was discussed during the Southern Municipal Conference at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling last week. Mayors appeared on MetroNews “Talkline” to share their ideas and observations of how their cities have attracted more residents, improved infrastructure and welcomed new businesses.
Martinsburg Mayor Kevin Knowles said his city and the Eastern Panhandle as a whole has been booming with economic opportunities. Texas-based Commercial Metals Company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its metals recycling plant in Martinsburg in July with goal of producing hundreds of new jobs.
Knowles said a lot of people are moving to his city from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore because of job creation and the lower cost of living.
“The cost of a house is a lot cheaper. Taxes are better,” he said. “As you start the influx, we’re working on our infrastructure, our streets, our storm waters to be able to handle that influx of new people.”
The challenge many mayors are faced with is how to make sure how to handle population growth.
Athens, Alabama Mayor Ronnie Marks said his city is one of the fastest growing cities in his state, booming with industry and investments.
“We have right now in the books about 7,000 housing units approved in our planning department to be built, so that gives you an idea of how we’re growing,” Marks said.
With more residents comes the need for more police officers, improved first response efforts and updated school buildings, but Marks said that often comes with a big price.
“How do you handle the growth? How do you build new fire stations and new schools? Our city is about 28,000-30,000 in population. To build one fire truck now is $1.3 million,” he said.
Marks said it can be tricky, but he’s been working to get state lawmakers and city councilmembers on board with where and how to spend money.
In neighboring Kentucky, Auburn Mayor Mike Hughes said he’s dealt with a lot of deteriorating buildings which was creating an eyesore. Improvements weren’t made until he stepped in to save his hometown.
“I grew up in that city. I moved away for several years. I moved back to that city and watch it to continue to deteriorate. I said well, if I don’t get involved, I’m going to be a part of the problem,” Hughes said.
Since Hughes took office, he said they’ve added a number of housing developments and recruited some industries.
“We’ve gone from about 1,360 when I became mayor to around 1,700 now. We did most of that in the last six years,” he said.
St. Albans Mayor Scott James knows about dilapidated buildings all too well. That’s because his city has been recently working to tear them down.
“We’re looking at annexing out Sun Valley. I’d like to annex more to where we have some property where we can build some subdivisions and new housing. One of the issues that we have in St. Albans is we’re limited land-wise, but our housing is older,” he said.
Under James’ administration, the city has been able to tear down 42 homes and businesses.
Last week’s three-day conference included a network of state municipal leagues sharing information and developing solutions to challenges that affect southern cities.