News

What makes Hendersonville great? How can it be better?

Councilman Jerry Smith designs a magazine cover story with input from his fellow council members.

By Bill Moss, Published: February 12, 2016

What makes Hendersonville great?

Downtown. Rhythm & Brews. Vastly improved city and county cooperation. Leadership on the Duke Energy transmission line. Cooperation on the Wingate-Pardee-BRCC Health Sciences. Better care and feeding of business. Being the best place to retire. Being the safest city in North Carolina. Sen. Apodaca’s power to make Raleigh recognize Henderson County. Customer service at City Hall. A water and sewer system that responds to growth.
Warren Miller, a facilitator from FountainWorks in Raleigh, pulled those thoughts and more out of the Hendersonville City Council members and city personnel during a visioning retreat on Friday at the Chamber of Commerce.
City Council members looked back over the past 15 years to identify major events and changes. Here are the highlights:

• During the recession, the city actually invested in the three phases of downtown redevelopment, adding new sidewalks, streetscaping and new infrastructure underground. The city stretched the work larger than original plans because construction bids came in under projections. “We paid for it all out of pocket,” Councilman Steve Caraker said.
• Rhythm & Brews, which started three years ago, was a catalyst for more development downtown. “When we started it, we had one brewery in town,” said Lew Holloway. “We’re now looking at two cideries and four downtown breweries. I don’t claim credit but certainly what we’ve managed to do with events and infrastructure is one reason why Hendersonville is so appealing. We’re proud of that.”
• City leadership: Using a more diplomatic approach than other cities' kneejerk Not in My Backyard reaction, the city, working with Henderson County leaders, urged Duke to take the least disruptive route possible if it did build the controversial transmission lines. It also urged Duke to consider other options, which the utility ultimately did. When Duke Energy dropped the idea, its executives credited the city and county with a collaborative approach.
• Good place to retire. Safest city. Recent polls have ranked Hendersonville as the No. 1 place to retire in North Carolina and the safest city in the state. The city police department has used innovative policing strategies for many years, “like body cameras,” Chief Hubert Blake said. “There are still cities debating that. We’ve been doing that for eight years.”
• Water and sewer. The city worked with the county to extend a water line to the Bold Rock cidery and the Tri-Hishtil plant-grafting operation on Schoolhouse Road.
• City-county cooperation. “I love the way leadership of city has taken lead on several things,” Councilman Jeff Miller said. “We helped facilitate the Wingate-Pardee project and it here in town. I also like the way we are working with that area to try to lessen the traffic impact” through a study of Ninth Avenue traffic. When John Connet came on board as city manager in 2013, he worked to mend a strained relationship with the county administration, meeting routinely with County Manager Steve Wyatt, communicating regularly and working toward some common goals. “I think one of the best things that’s ever happened is that this barrier between the city and county is no longer there,” Miller said. “It’s a bridge and it’s active.” A few years ago, when city and county leaders gathered, “There was a lot of whispering over shoulders,” Councilman Steve Caraker added. “That doesn’t exist anymore.”
• The ongoing greenway development to connect Jackson Park and Berkeley Park and the donation of the Berkeley land to the city were among the big assets council members cited. The Berkeley Park property “added green space north of the city,” Caraker said. “Everything else was toward the center.”
• Hendersonville rising. After the election of state Sen. Tom Apodaca in 2002, Hendersonville and Henderson County gained power and influence it had not enjoyed in many years. “This is selfish because he’s a friend,” Miller said. “I think a big deal for this whole area was when Tom was elected. He is just bullheaded enough to make them recognize there was something west of I-77. We actually became a player because of that and I really do give him a lot of credit for that.” “He’s aggressive and he’s stubborn and he knows where he’s from,” Caraker added. Council members praised state Rep. Chuck McGrady, who over the past five years has pushed for local interests in the House. “You get that dynamic duo but it started with Tom,” Miller said.

The identification of the city’s assets and successes was not intended solely to sing praises. The council members moved next to an exercise in which they created Hendersonville’s magazine “cover story” in the year 2030.

The make-believe cover story featured headlines drawn in green, orange, purple and brown marker on a large sheet pasted to the wall. Hendersonville’s water system ranks “No. 1 in the Southeast.” The last phase of the Ecusta Trail has opened. Berkeley Park is finished. The median age is dropping. The city has affordable housing. It’s maintained its AAA bond rating. Its population hits 20,000. The story contains quotes from Hendersonville residents. “My Google car has no problem finding parking in downtown Hendersonville,” one says.