[RP TownTalk] Washington Post

[Sue Collins]

All I said was I wasn't interested in the Whole Foods development; I DID give a big thumbs up to our Town Center Market, as it would appear they do NOT get a lot of support.  Or, if they do, it doesn't appear here.  I thought we were allowed to freely express our opinions here as long as we weren't insulting other posters? .   (I'm not a member of any clique, so I guess it's perfectly ok for someone who disagrees with ME  to call me a "Debbie Downer?"  a bit twee and precious, that, but it's still an insult  )

From: Andrew Salgadoe <asalgadoe at yahoo.com>
To: towntalk <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>; "jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com" <jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 1:46 PM
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Washington Post

Sue,
Stop being such a Debbie- downer. 
Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android 
From: Jonathan W. Ebbeler <jebbeler at efusionconsulting.com>; To: <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>; Subject: [RP TownTalk] Washington Post Sent: Wed, Jul 3, 2013 5:42:01 PM 
@Valrie – Welcome, welcome, welcome to town.  Please feel free to reach out to your respective Councilman on any issue or question you face as a new resident.  Although we are part time and have day jobs we are all typically very responsive to constituent issues and can usually point you in the right direction for questions you have.  Contact information may be found on the town’s website here: http://riverdaleparkmd.info/parkcouncil/index.cfm including a link to the ward boundary map here: http://riverdaleparkmd.info/maps.cfm .
 
@Sue – Without Whole Foods coming to town this article never would have happened.  Luz did not just happen upon the narrative that was written up – it was a direct consequence of a 45-minute background interview I gave her on June 5th  that laid out the historic, current, and pipeline economic development in town and how they all connect.  At the forefront of this was a story that had yet to be told – the significant 7-figure investment into Town Center Market.  It was much easier to pitch the Douglas Development build-out when there was current development activity going on across the tracks.  As the town has repeatedly said, while important to champion high-quality development projects coming in, we need to consistently support the business owners, like the Spiropoulos family and others, that have been here for years.  The only disappointment I had with the article was they chose not to mention the Calvert House Inn’s 50th year
 anniversary.  
 
The town’s new policy initiative towards signage/leasehold improvements were a direct consequence of realizing there was a need for better public-private partnerships with some of our long-term businesses (as well as helping entice new ventures).  It seems like the prevailing strategy towards economic development in this area has been to sit and wait for the land-owners to develop the parcels out – a strategy I disagree with.  A better strategy that has seen more recent successes is to define the vision, pitch that vision, and maintain a healthy media presence so the vision can be consistently evaluated, critiqued, and modified by public input.
 
Jonathan W. Ebbeler | Vice Mayor/Councilman Ward 1
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