On behalf of Vision 2020 I would like to thank Mr. Lewis for contributing to the important and ongoing conversation about Austin’s local economy (Dec. 17 — “Hometown retail must be promoted”). There are, however, several misperceptions contained in his letter to which I would like to respond.

First, the charge that Vision 2020 has done “NOTHING” to help promote business is simply not true. Two of Vision 2020’s volunteer committees — Business Friendly Environment and Downtown Destination — are focused on improving the local economy in various ways. In 2015, for example, the Downtown committee supported three new and great local businesses (Willow Cove, Everything Hobby, and Life Safety 4U) through a rent reimbursement program during their first year of operations. The Business Friendly committee is sponsoring free business consulting services for entrepreneurs looking to set up shop in Austin. These are only two of the many projects that our committees are working on.

Second, numerous dominoes are now falling into place that will address the supposedly “nonexistent retail environment in this town.” Runnings has already taken over the former K-Mart location and is thriving. Hy-Vee is expanding and Younkers will be remodeled, making that part of town even more attractive to other businesses. The re-opening of the Spam museum downtown will bring thousands of visitors to Austin and have a huge impact on existing and future businesses.

The loss of Target and Staples should not be discounted, but it’s no surprise why they left: not enough people shopped there. If Runnings, Willow Cove, Everything Hobby, and others don’t get the support they need to stay in business, they will have to close up too. All of our city’s hard-working officials and volunteers can only do so much if people continue to spend their money elsewhere.

To suggest that nobody cares or that it is somehow a “crime” to discuss this topic couldn’t be further from the truth. I completely agree with Mr. Lewis that we should be promoting local business, but it must be a full community effort. We all ultimately want the same thing, which is a vibrant and successful place to call home.

Will we ever become a Rochester or Minneapolis? Probably not. Can we create the best possible version of Austin? Absolutely. And if you look close enough, you’ll find the seeds of that transformation are already here.

Greg Siems

Director, Vision 2020