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Developments popping up in Lawtey despite economy
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
September 05, 2009 |
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More and more, it won't be flashing blue lights that causing people to stop in Lawtey. A new Subway restaurant and two new retail stores in the works-Dollar General and Ace Hardware-are proving the small city's potential for commercial development.
Like Starke, Lawtey shares the potential to benefit commercially from U.S. 301 and the thousands people it funnels through the city limits every day.
Waldo to the south of Bradford County has been experiencing growth, with new fast food stops, service stations and a new hotel (not to mention the "café" that most people would rather not mention.)
Lawtey is poised to reap the same benefits, and even have first claim on southbound travelers.
In addition to encourage travelers to spend money in Lawtey, city residents will be able to keep more of their business local as well. People will be able to shop for items they might otherwise had to travel to Starke or elsewhere for, saving travel time and money.
Ray Shuford opened Subway in March on 301 frontage his family has owned for years, not too far from the city's only other sit down restaurant, the Pit Stop Café.
Dollar General purchased the former Greg Griffis property next to the Lawtey post office and the building going up quickly. City Clerk Lisa Harley said an October opening is planned for the discount retailer.
Development of the Ace Hardware store behind the Dollar General has not been finalized, but city officials have seen plans and say it's probable. Harley said an April opening would be just in time for planting season.
Growth does come with growing pains. Councilman Carlton Jones openly worried what the addition of a Dollar General Store would mean for the long-established Lawtey Supermarket. Mayor Jimmie Scott disagreed, and said the store would bring more business and revenue to the city.
The dollar store, hardware store and sandwich shop will add sales tax revenue this year and property tax revenue in years to come, and could be the first of even more new businesses.
The city could use the dollars those businesses would bring. It's a fact that the city's major revenue source is traffic fines, but even those are down. The clerk and council are working on next year's budget, but as of last week there were deficits in both the general and utility funds. The general fund is off nearly $80,000, quite a bit considering expenditures for the small city are projected at just over half a million dollars.
The utility fund is short around $36,000, and that is even including around $50,000 in new revenue projected from the eventual completion of the first phase of the sewer project. That new revenue easily taken up by the $46,630 loan payment the city must make for construction of the sewer system (the third such payment the city has made on the loan, although the project has yet to generate any money at all).
Scott highlighted the revenue shortfall during a budget workshop last week, but said the proposed budget does not take into account the unknown amount of taxes that will be generated by the new businesses.
The council does not plan on raising taxes to make up the difference, so any additional property or sales tax generated by new development should be a welcome source of fiscal relief. Scott said the city has street, drainage and other infrastructure issues that need to be addressed for citizens.
The current development is great for the city of Lawtey, Scott said, and it's an ideal place for future development. The fact that it's happening now, even in tough economic times, is proof of that, he said.
"Once the economy recovers, we will still be a bright spot for future development," said Scott, who also said there had been number of inquiries about locating or relocating to Lawtey.
Not only will there be a direct impact to the city's tax base, there will be the indirect economic benefits that come with adding jobs, and the mayor said people are excited.
"We're excited about it, and I think the local community is excited about it as well," Scott said.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2009
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