Business, Downtown, and I-75

All of them say what gets done, how, and when, with a label saying who has to agree and, where it applies, something countable you can hold me to.

1. 8.1

   Put our Development Authorities Back to Work

   In 2007 the city created two authorities of its own, separate from the county's. The Downtown Development Authority covers downtown and the roads leading in, and was set up to help owners fix their storefronts. The Ashburn Development Authority covers the rest of the city, and was set up to buy vacant lots and falling-down houses and get them to people who will build homes. Both can buy and sell property in ways the council can't. Find out whether they still legally exist, who sits on them, and what money or property they hold. Then fill the seats so they can do the work they were made for.

   What it unlocks

   Storefront work and property deals downtown, and a way to turn vacant lots and derelict houses into new homes across town.

   Hold me to this

   Status of both authorities reported publicly within 90 days. Appointments brought to council within 180 days.

   First yearNeeds a council vote

2. 8.2

   Listen to Business Owners, the Ones Who Left and the Ones Still Here

   Sit down every three months with local owners about permitting, utilities, code, and anything else that makes it harder than it should be to do business here, then fix what's within city authority. And reach out to owners who closed or left in recent years and ask them directly why. Publish what we learn from both.

   What it unlocks

   The first honest list of what the city can change to help businesses stay.

   Hold me to this

   Quarterly conversations with local owners starting in the first 90 days. Interviews with owners who left, and what we learned, published within 180 days.

   First 90 daysI can do this alone

3. 8.3

   Put Teeth in our Ordinances

   Review what's on the books against what other Georgia cities our size use, including what Georgia's tax sale and land bank laws allow a city our size to do with tax-delinquent property. Bring council the changes that let us actually act on derelict property, recruitment, and investment.

   What it unlocks

   The legal authority behind the derelict property and downtown work. Without it those are requests, not tools.

   Hold me to this

   Review completed and recommendations to council by year three.

   Years 2–4Needs a council vote

4. 8.4

   The Exit and Downtown Are One Problem

   What a stranger sees coming off I-75 and what they find when they get downtown is the same judgment, formed in about four minutes. Assess both: signage, lighting, road condition, vacant property, wayfinding. Sort what's city, GDOT, county, or private, with costs and a fix order. And pull our actual traffic counts from GDOT and publish them, because nobody local has that number in hand.

   What it unlocks

   A costed, sequenced list — and a traffic number we can put in front of any company considering us.

   Hold me to this

   Assessment and traffic counts published by the end of year two.

   Years 2–4Needs a partner

5. 8.5

   Bring Downtown Back

   Downtown is not just where businesses go. It's the room this town gathers in, and right now there isn't much reason to be there. Start with what the downtown authority was created to do in 2007: interest-free loans for owners to fix their storefronts. Go after downtown and streetscape grants for lighting, benches, shade, and signs. Put local art in empty windows instead of paper while they wait for tenants. And set one standing weekend event that gives people a reason to come.

   Hold me to this

   A funded facade or lighting program underway by year five.

   Years 5+Needs a council vote

6. 8.6

   Follow the Hotel-motel Tax

   Every night somebody stays in an Ashburn hotel, the city collects a tax on the room. That money is supposed to go to bringing visitors and business here. The state requires the city to report every year how much came in and who spent it. Pull those reports for the last ten years, line them up, and publish where the money went.

   What it unlocks

   A real number for what's been collected and how it was spent, and money that may be available to bring visitors downtown.

   Hold me to this

   Ten years of hotel-motel tax reports pulled and a plain summary published in the first year.

   First yearI can do this alone

7. 8.7

   Better Jobs for the People Already Here

   Bringing in new business matters, but so do the folks who already live here and need a better job. Work with the technical college that serves Turner County and the regional workforce office to bring job training, GED help, and hiring days to Ashburn, and line them up with the employers already here so the training leads somewhere.

   Hold me to this

   First training or hiring day held in Ashburn by the end of year two, then at least twice a year.

   Years 2–4Needs a partner

8. 8.8

   Find Where the Internet Drops Off

   Telehealth, homework, and most job applications all run through the internet now, and parts of town don't have service worth paying for. Map where service is slow or missing, with speed tests from residents, and compare it to the state's coverage maps. Then put Ashburn's needs in front of the state's broadband programs and back every application that would reach our homes.

   What it unlocks

   A coverage map that shows the state and providers exactly where to build.

   Hold me to this

   Coverage gaps mapped and published by the end of year two. City backing for every state application that covers Ashburn.

   Years 2–4Needs a partner