South county businesses join to market themselves

Alliance also can help lobby government

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The business owners there know they must balance their desire to expand and draw more visitors with their desire to maintain its quiet, small town character.

But because many businesses are within 1,000 feet of critical water areas, they also face growth and zoning challenges.

So the St. Mary's County Department of Economic and Community Development has helped form the South County Business Association to enhance networking opportunities for and help guide these entrepreneurs.

"With 100 voices speaking as one, that makes a difference in politics and government. We all have to live here. Let's do the best we can with it," said Donnie Tennyson, an association member and owner of Ridge Hardware.

The group began meeting in March, attracting 25 attendees. The second meeting grew to 50.

"Out of that came different action items. We just heard some concerns that they may be struggling a little bit more. It's a unique section of the county," said Cynthia Dellagatta, economic development coordinator for the county.

The department acts as a liaison to put business owners in touch with local and state officials and other resources.

"We love Ridge, we love the feel, we love the whole country life, but this is a no-growth district. That's fine. I don't want a Walmart or Taco Bell on the corner. But I would like the businesses to be able to do a little more with their businesses," said Christy Henderson, co-owner of Buzz's Marina in Ridge.

Henderson and her husband, Michael, purchased the marina in 2004 when it was zoned as nonconforming. That means Buzz's is only permitted to grow by 25 percent in its lifetime. The Hendersons are working with the county to add a campground to fill a need for lodging in the area.

She said she hopes county involvement with the business alliance will help her and others find ways to grow while still maintaining healthy waterfront by adjusting the county's comprehensive plan, which comes up for review by the county commissioners starting in June.

"For an example, I would like a few more [boat] slips. In order to get a few more slips, it's a huge ordeal," she said. "Taxes go up every year but income does not because growth is limited."

The alliance also encourages Henderson and owners of nearby businesses such as the Woodlawn Historic Bed and Breakfast, Pat's Auto Speed Shop, Scheible's Restaurant, and Tennyson's Fire Extinguishers, to network and direct business to each other. It also allows them to do coop marketing, which means they advertise together and share the costs.

"I didn't know [before] that there were people you could reach out to that could help you with your businesses," Henderson said. "It was really valuable to be able to talk to somebody and see ‘oh, this is why you can't do this and why you can do this.'"

Tourism promotion is one of the alliance's top priorities.

"I think the most important thing is to keep the sense of community in this area of the county. It's hard to explain to people who are not from the area … it's important to let the citizens of the community know that we're here … and to shop local," Tennyson said. "A lot of businesses rely on tourism in the summer. There have been some new rules and regulations for the Point Lookout State Park that may affect our business in a negative manner, like not allowing alcohol in the parks any longer."

The county's economic development office brought in Del. John Bohanan (D-St. Mary's) to discuss the issue at the last meeting and is currently working on designing a tourism map to direct visitors to south county businesses, as well as organizing an indoor farmers market.

"I think [the map] is going to be a big help for us. You've got a rural area with lots of water-oriented activities along with all of the services, restaurants, shopping, history. We've really got it all down here without the traffic," Tennyson said.

kkulp@somdnews.com