Page 119 - Cityview_July_Aug_2015

member businesses to lessen their environmental waste and recognize their responsibility as stewards of the park.
Ogle refers to her city as “the pedes- trian town” because of the ease of stroll- ing through it, but, for those who want to ride, Gatlinburg’s trolley system is also meant to discourage pollution-causing automobile traffic. For $2, visitors can buy all-day passes on the completely bio- diesel-fueled trolleys, saving themselves the headache of driving while helping preserve the mountain forests. The city is currently researching converting part or all of the trolley fleet to compressed natural gas. (For more information on Gatlinburg’s efforts toward environ- mental efficiency and sustainability, visit www.gatlinburggoesgreen.com.)
New Game in Town
Whenever the economy experiences a downturn, tourism is a particularly hard-hit sector because of travel’s optional nature within the family budget. Unsurprisingly, 2008 to 2009 were not banner years for tourism in general, but—perhaps because the national park is free—Sevier County’s attractions have always been considered more “reces- sion-proof” than its competition. Never- theless, Pigeon Forge, for example, saw
a two-year decline in business receipts from $872 million in 2007 to only around $772 million in 2009—a painful drop of more than 11 percent.
During this belt-tightening, Gatlinburg leadership observed that one sub-sec- tor of tourism was even more reces- sion-proof than the park: sports tourism, which continued to grow through the economic turmoil. Given that the city is virtually a one-industry town, leaders recognized that within the industry, at least, they needed to diversify. “Gatlin- burg is a product,” says Ogle, “and we had to improve that product.”
Consequently, the Sevier County Economic Development Council funded a study to determine the value of an
all-inclusive sports community in the eastern part of the county. The study projected that a facility located in Gatlinburg could host around 26 events annually and have an estimated $10 mil- lion first-year economic impact. Encour- aged, the county partnered with the city on a 30 percent/70 percent basis to go ahead with the project, which became Rocky Top Sports World and opened this past August.
Once again, Ogle says the key was efficient use of space: “We acquired two tracts of property that were already avail- able for purchase and then turfed both high school football fields and the com- munity center.” Converting the public athletic fields to multi-use was not only creative but essential to consummating the project. Moreover, trolley service was extended to the site, easing travel back and forth to downtown and lodging. The results far exceeded expectations, as Rocky Top hosted 46 events in its first year and generated almost twice the pro- jected economic impact ($19 million).
With a gorgeous view of Mount LeConte, Rocky Top Sports World epit- omizes modern Gatlinburg’s blending of scenic beauty and contemporary tourist tastes. Six of its seven outdoor fields
are synthetic for year-round use as well as fully lit, and its 86,000-square-foot hardwood indoor facility (“The Rock”) is configurable for as many six basketball or 17 volleyball courts.
Housing the Future
Despite triumphs of ingenuity and re-use such as the aquarium and sports center, Gatlinburg’s spatial constraints are not going away. For example, although the city has sleeping beds for guests 15 times its actual population, affordable housing for the workers who service all that tourism remains scarce. Hispanics have begun to fill many of those entry-level, low-paying jobs in a county that is overwhelmingly white: 96.1 percent in 2012.
“We have to balance taking care of locals and housing for the workers,” says Ogle. “If you’re not retired and living in Gatlinburg, you probably work in the tourism industry. You need good, decent housing, and that’s something we’ve struggled with.”
Nor have local owners and manag- ers always wanted to maintain their property after converting older hotels to weekly rentals available to Gatlin- burg’s temporary workers. Even when agreeing either to bring their units up to code or demolish them, some prop- erty holders take years of horror stories and court battles to do so.
“We are investigating creating a redevelopment authority,” says Ogle,
“that would put together parcels of property. We have to find some place in this county to build more afford- able housing.”
Despite the scarcity of space, Ogle
is optimistic that with ingenuity and elbow grease, Gatlinburg can solve
its housing dilemma and continue to grow: “We don’t have sprawling, flat land, but I watched Food City take four years to level off enough space where they could put their store.”
As for the city manager, thanks to her family support, including from her husband Bud, Ogle does not intend to hang up her hat anytime soon, saying she will likely have to be carried away from her desk: “Ogles don’t move, so they’re stuck with me. I have a great base of family and friends who keep me going. My siblings have supported me through the years, and my mother was my rock. The way she raised me, well, I owe so much [of my success] to her.”
For Gatlinburg transplant Ogle, the opportunities inherent in the region’s geography far exceed the problems that it creates: “God has blessed us with this incredible place, and I thank Him for putting me here and allowing me to be a part of such a wonderful place and community.
JULY AUGUST 2015 CITYVIEWMAG.COM 117
»profile«