Mayor Mickey Brown has formed a liaison committee with local business people. Complaints that Robbins needed to help businesses hurt by the ailing economy and plant closings in the area led him to seek greater communication with the business community.
“We are going to meet and have a newsletter and it will be an advisory board to me,” Brown told The Pilot. “There are things I need to be doing that they can help me with.”
Brown appointed Taylor Haynes, Alice Cox (Rainbow Distributing), David Cheek (Southern Floor Covering), John L. Frye (Frye’s Department Store), Wylene Kennedy (Kennedy Funeral Home), Maria Rodriguez (La Taqueria restaurant), and Don Phillips (Mansion Homes) to the committee. He may add more people to the committee later.
Brown announced the formation of the group at the February meeting of the Town Board. He told the board that it would serve as an economic development committee of local merchants.
“It will be a group I can meet with in order to keep them up to date on what is going on in Robbins,” he told the board. ”
Brown will meet with the seven business owners in town on a regular basis to share suggestions and information and guidance. There is a possibility of circulating a newsletter to keep businesses apprised of developments.
In recent weeks, a number of business owners have expressed concern about the town’s economic well-being. Many of the people who own businesses in the downtown business district do not live inside the town limits.
Some felt ignored, and said Robbins could do more to spur economic revival. Suggestions ranged from adopting a town manager-council form of government instead of the present mayor/council form, to permitting the sale of beer and wine in town.
Robbins is completely dry. Local grocery stores are not permitted to sell either beer or wine. Residents have to drive past Westmoore or as far as Carthage if they want a beer after work or wine with dinner.
For some residents, the choice is either taking two trips to the grocery store or shopping in another town.
Joe White of City Auto Parts has been a vocal critic of what he considers Robbins’ inaction on issues that affect everyone, not just businesses. He appeared at the Town Board meeting to voice his concerns.
White asked the board for some assistance and asked what was being done to recruit jobs, help small businesses get loans and with attracting grants to help the town.
White was disappointed.
“We had a meeting,” he said. “They didn’t tell me anything they hadn’t been saying. The biggest thing was that they didn’t have the money to do anything.”
White is not impressed by the committee idea.
“I don’t favor it one bit,” he said. “That’s fine, if they want to get up a committee. As far as I am concerned, they are not doing anything to make the problems better. It seems to me they are going around the problems and not solving the problems. As far as the business community, I feel like a town manager would be good for business people. I don’t think they are going that way.”
Town Clerk Debbie Cockman said Robbins is considering joining the Triangle J Council of Governments, which could help the town. She said Robbins is trying to get a city management intern from one of the state universities.
White has been discouraged with asking help from the town.
“I’ve been down there and been down there, for years,” he said. “I express my opinion, but apparently it doesn’t do any good. They say they just don’t have the tax base to do anything.”
Brown said that he and other board members are interested in White’s suggestions and concerns.
“After the meeting, several of us sat down and went over his concerns,” he said. “There were things he didn’t realize we were doing. I assured him in the meeting that I appreciated him being a business owner. I hope this committee will go a long way in resolving any of this. Some may not trust what I say, but these people have served Robbins all their lives.”
