Red River Gorge group signs $700,000 contract for development plan. What happens next?
The idea to possibly develop a destination resort near the Red River Gorge has now produced a $1 million grant, a local advisory board, a contract for a master plan and a non-profit that wants everyone to hold on a minute.
“This is a long journey that we’ll all be in together,” said Elmer Whitaker of Whitaker Bank. He serves on the Red River Economic Development group, (RRED) a Chamber of Commerce spin-off of bank presidents and judge executives that quietly started thinking about development several years ago. That group voted Friday to hire Stantec, a national planning group, to develop a master plan of what a development in one of Kentucky’s most important and ecologically fragile areas. RRED also has an option to buy an 891-acre parcel of land just off the Slade exit owned by local businessman Ian Teal.
Stantec will be paid $769,000 out of $1 million, $500,000 from the state and $500,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The firm will look at everything from environmental issues to branding to public engagement.
The RRED also appointed a local advisory board full of people with stellar local credentials, such as Dario Ventura, co-owner of Miguel’s Pizza in Slade, which is the eating and camping center for hikers and climbers in the area, and Nancy Hamann, the owner of Scenic Cabin Rentals.
Ventura said the advisory board will try to get opinions about the region’s needs because there is such a wide variety.
“This place is finally blooming,” Ventura said. “We don’t want it to go in the wrong direction.”
Slade is growing some small businesses and Ventura fears that a giant resort might kill that momentum.
“The worst case scenario is one that comes in and vacuums up what’s best about this area,” he said.
And that’s the perspective of Red River Gorge United, a newly formed non-profit of people who came together because they were alarmed at the top-down approach of the Chamber folks and initial talk of a resort, luxury houses, wedding venues, restaurants, or a distillery.
“Instead of deciding that a destination resort sounded like a good idea ... at least some of us in the community feel the best thing to do is have a more open approach to it and say what does the community need and want in this area,” said Kristen Wiley, a member of the new group. “I think there should have been more outreach before there was even a concept.”
The issue of who is local and who is not has become contentious, a kind of purity test for who gets to speak for the Gorge or who gets to speak for Eastern Kentucky. This kind of tribalism raises its head often in places that attract a lot of out of towners, but it’s pretty counter-productive. Sure, a pro-coal Powell County native might have a different perspective on development and environment than a full-time rock climbing guide. But Powell County needs more jobs AND needs to protect the environmental wonders of the Gorge.
What’s more alarming, and what could also use the efforts of such concerned citizens is that not one of the four counties involved— Powell, Wolfe, Menifee and Lee — have any kind of planning or zoning rules. So, as several people have pointed out, the private land that’s a potential site, could be turned into a hog farm tomorrow.
Although much of the Gorge itself is part of federal land, it seems a bit crazy that there are no protections or even the possibility of protection for the places around it.
It’s also good that people are asking questions about who’s going to be making money off this project. Dave Adkisson, the former president of the Chamber of Commerce, recently retired and is volunteering as a facilitator to this project. He has pledged transparency, a pledge many of us have heard before. So it’s good a group like RRGU will be keeping an eye on the process.
People also need to keep an eye on unintended consequences. How could development support more than just service industry jobs a resort would bring? Would it be better to spread development out between the four counties instead of bringing it all to Powell? Will new development make property taxes too expensive for local residents?
“We have to make sure it’s the growth to protect our culture and our environment,” said Powell County Judge Executive James Anderson.
The master plan is due July 31, and the RRED’s option to buy is Sept. 30. At that point, it’s not clear what would happen. Private investors could take over the project and ignore any of the community input gathered for months before.
Friday’s meeting went on for about three hours, and included very civil questions from business owners, hikers, climbers, and local residents. Dario Ventura said the project had brought out more community involvement than he’d ever seen here. That’s encouraging. Ecotourism could be a piece of what fills the economic hole left by coal’s demise in Eastern Kentucky, but as I’ve said before, anything proposed near the Gorge needs to be thoughtful and very, very slow.
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
