While the projected downturns aren't readily apparent
in the number of calls coming into the Quartzsite
Chamber of Commerce, Quartzsite Tourism Bureau or the
Visitor's Information Center lines, Quartzsite Tourism
officials anxiously await the throngs of people that
have been coming to Quartzsite for some forty years,
since it's inception as a 'tourist destination.'
Those numbers have steadily dissipated over the last few
years and, with them, tensions between Town officials
and residents have increased accordingly.
Do town officials recognize the number of
businesses that have begun projects in the area only to
abandon them when difficulties with the existing local
political structure became apparent?
Will steps be taken to correct the problem or will
Quartzsite -- like other popular destinations before it
-- simply relinquish its position as a viable 'tourist
spot' to another municipality more receptive to
welcoming the seasonal swarms of winter visitors looking
for fun alternatives to snowbound homes up north?
The ramifications to the residents of Quartzsite are
readily apparent.
Sharing the area's tax burden
with a diversified assortment of vendors should allow
Quartzsite the luxury of maintaining a relatively low
tax base while enjoying a myriad of amenities typically
afforded only larger municipalities: better roads,
comprehensive utility structures, community parks and
public use buildings, a wide range of public services,
the latest and best technology for search and rescue
teams, public safety workers, communication hubs.
Quartzsite, $400,000.00 under budget last year, has
yet to present itself publicly as having the competitive
edge to which it's entitled as a prominent winter
visitor destination.
Some of the problems are growing increasingly
obvious. Such is the case with Quartzsite's problematic
Internet access issue.
For several years now,
Quartzsite has failed to establish and promote effective
Internet access options to the winter visitors flooding
into the region -- while the tower that could have been
purchased or rented could easily have been utilized to
alleviate the problem, shutting down some of the
fly-by-night operations that took advantage of an
under-serviced and uninformed public, who weren't aware that Internet options in the Quartzsite region
were essentially non-existent.
The resulting flap
created a nightmare for traveling businesspeople and
tourists who had no idea the coverage could be so poor
in an area that generates a base of 5 million winter
visitors yearly, according to BLM statistics.
In
reaction to the problem, the
Quartzsite Chamber of
Commerce and the
Citizen's Coalition have begun holding free computer
classes to -- among other things -- show citizens and
business owners how to utilize their cell phones to
access the Internet with laptops and [desk version] PCs
alike.
In areas such as Tucson, Quartzsite's disenchanted
vendors have found a niche market where their needs
maintain a higher priority.
"I can't afford to
stay in Quartzsite," Shelly Thompson lamented, "When the
space rent and utilities are increasingly higher each
year, the tourist season is shorter and the political
climate is becoming almost openly antagonistic against
the vendors."
"We are all just basic 'small businesspeople' and our
businesses are essentially 'portable.' We have to seek
out the best deals, the best customer base and the most
supportive community regulations in order to maintain
our businesses and the clientele we've established
through hard work, diligence, customer service."
"It's a tough climate out there," Thompson continued.
"As competitive as the market becomes, the harder we
have to work to make ends meet."
C. Richard Oldham, Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce and
Tourism Bureau President, confirmed the necessity of
working with local vendors to maintain Quartzsite's
position in the tourism marketplace.
"We have
long known that other areas want whatever business base
Quartzsite rejects -- and they are constantly working to
publicize their willingness to work with these seasonal
vendors and the sizeable tax base they've come to
represent," Oldham stated.
Oldham, a three-term Mayor of Quartzsite, cited the
importance of working to establish Quartzsite firmly in
the minds of business owners as a viable location in
which to establish satellite establishments:
restaurants, service-oriented businesses, shops,
boutiques, tourism oriented hot spots.
"For many
years Quartzsite has labored under the burden of its own
weight," Oldham continued. "Now, it's firmly established
and the community needs to organize itself to
effectively rally around the vendors and the seasonal
influx, instead of becoming overwhelmed by them.
"We're in a terrific position now to do exactly that
-- and we will insulate ourselves from the economic
difficulties the rest of the country is experiencing if
we will just come together as a community."
Most of the problems Quartzsite is currently
encountering could be readily identified and corrected,
according to
Citizen's Coalition chairman Dean Taylor.
"I talk to people every day that are unhappy with
the town government currently in place," Taylor stated,
"but we all know that government officials come and go
-- and if we're unhappy with governmental officials,
it's just time to do something about them."
"The Citizen's Coalition is comprised of community
minded people that want to improve the community,"
Taylor said, "so we have an organization that is a
catalyst for good -- that stands at the ready to assist
the citizens of the community with whatever issues they
have deemed necessary to address."
"Most of them, because of the nature of Quartzsite,
are business owners -- people who have a vested interest
in seeing this region continue to thrive as a popular
tourist destination," he continued.
"And we have
a responsibility to them to see that it continues to be
the place that brought us all here to begin with -- a
place where people congregate to have fun, to peruse and
enjoy the desert, to escape the winter climate up north
to enjoy the business opportunities that have been
bringing people here for years."
Home
News
Phoenix
Ut labore et dolore magna ast