Dear Editor:
Concerning the article the Hendersonian recently published: “Local officials begin the push to bring retail here.”
Our local retail landscape leaves a lot to be desired for residents and for those visiting Henderson. So, seeing some additional funds that are directly focused on attracting new grocery stores, hotels and many other specialty retailer stores is extremely exciting and can lead to a huge economic impact for local employees and the city.
It was refreshing to see the headline, but after reading the article and doing some basic Google searches on the firm they hired, I quickly had some concerns. Another city has been forced to pay huge fees to end the contract due to NextSite charging hundreds of thousands in “Success Fees” on top of a pricey multi-year contract. And in another case, NextSite took credit and wanted “Success Fees” paid because a company was opening there, and yet the major retailer knew nothing about NextSite.
The Henderson Economic Development Team has primarily focused efforts on attracting manufacturing and industrial entities and has had much success. I’m confident they can do the research needed to land the conversations with those decision makers. And I do think we need to focus on landing more visits from the right developers to see all the great opportunities Henderson has to offer. They will appreciate our local leadership and all of the growth opportunities we have going on here.
We have an extremely talented team at HED who is more than capable of attending and representing Henderson at any trade show in the country. The past successes landing Pratt and working through many different obstacles speaks volumes to their capabilities and commitment. And you don’t have to look far to see how impressive they are at marketing Henderson! I’m convinced they can compete with any marketing company in the country! They have the skills to create a wonderful marketing plan and work specific strategies to begin attracting new developers to visit Henderson.
I believe Henderson should be known for so much more than just having cheap gas and an incredibly high number of smoke shops and liquor stores. We have to do better. We most certainly must attract some quality retail stores that not only want to call Henderson home but also want to grow and thrive in our great community! But we must have the confidence we can accomplish anything!
Sincerely,
Adam L Blythe
Henderson
Editor’s note: The Hendersonian obtained the contract between NextSite and Henderson Economic Development and found no mention of success fees in it.
Mr. Blythe assists the Hendersonian on a volunteer basis to sell advertisements. The letter to the editor is his opinion and may not necessarily reflect that of the Hendersonian.