By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
The opening date for the Ark Encounter, the Noah’s Ark themed attraction in Williamstown, is fast approaching and the city is preparing for the deluge of visitors it will bring with it.
Answers in Genesis, the Apologetics ministry behind the Ark project, projects at least 5,000 visitors a day at the attraction. That is about 1,000 more than the population of the city that will be its home.
Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner, shown here at the announcement of the opening date for the Ark Encounter, has been a strong supporter of the project (photo by Mark Hansel).
Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner said the city is just trying to get ready for the July 7, opening of the attraction.
“In 2011 we did a new comprehensive plan for the city and that set us up with the infrastructure for where we saw development,” Skinner said. “Since then we’ve added an economic development committee of local business leaders to kind of concentrate on how we can renovate and revitalize downtown.”
The City has hired a consultant to help with branding and Skinner said the expectation is that the exits from Interstate-75 will define themselves with hotels, motels and fast food restaurants.
“We envision the downtown with specialty shops, coffee shops and some entertainment places,” Skinner said. “It’s coming along pretty well. We’ve got some business transferred and everything is set up for the summer.”
The Ark Encounter has agreed to co-market Williamstown and AIG project leaders Mike Zovath and Patrick Marsh sit on the city’s economic development committee.
Storme Vanover, president of the Williamstown Downtown Merchants Committee, and owner of Country Heart Crafts and Supplies on North Main Street, said Answers in Genesis wants to be a real community partner.
“They are partnering with the city to help revitalize downtown,” Vanover said. “They are working to promote us as we promote them. The Ark is going to bring a lot of jobs and help a lot of mom-and-pop businesses in the area. It will bring jobs closer to home so people don’t have to travel so far for work.”
Vanover’s shop includes merchandise made exclusively by Kentucky crafters, most of whom are local. She said because the town only has about 4,000 residents, it has been difficult for some businesses to stay afloat.
Storme Vanover, owner of Country Heart Crafts and Supplies, said local merchants have been struggling to hang on. Shown here in her shop, Vanover hopes the Ark Encounter will be a boon for small business owners downtown (photo by Mark Hansel).
“We’ve all been kind of struggling, out-of-pocket to keep our businesses open, so that when it does come we can reap the benefits,” Vanover said. “It’s kind of hard because local people will come in if they need a birthday gift, but the rest of the time, there is not much they need me for. It’s not an every day flow of customers, so this will hopefully bring us more of that.”
Skinner said the Ark-themed attraction is a good fit for the city, many of whose residents have deeply rooted Christian beliefs.
“Everyone here is very positive and anxious to help in any way,” Skinner said. “The faith-based community is especially looking for ways they can serve. People see it not only as a tourist attraction, but a religious attraction and that has increased the local support.”
Answers in Genesis recently prevailed in Federal Court in a lawsuit to reinstate tax credits through the Kentucky Tourism Development Program. The decision, if upheld, would allow the Ark Encounter to receive up to $18 million in tax credits.
While state officials have not indicated if they will challenge the ruling, Answers in Genesis have said previously they anticipated the decision would be appealed regardless of the outcome. Gov. Matt Bevin, who was elected in November, however, has expressed support for the project and the incentives.
The ruling also upheld the Answers in Genesis hiring practice of requiring employees to believe in its doctrine.
Skinner admits that has been a sticking point for him.
“If the Ark itself would ease up on that a little but, I think the comfort level of the Tourism Cabinet folks would ease dramatically and it would not have been a problem,” Skinner said. “They are taking a stand on what they believe in and I understand that, but I think there could be some give and take there, too. It could work.”
City leaders hope Williamstown can capture at least 10 percent of the attraction’s visitors.
“The Ark opens at 9 a.m. and closes at dusk, so people are going to look for other things and we want those other things to be in our downtown,” Skinner said. “Small festivals and entertainment on a regular basis, small local musicians playing here and there. Our master plan calls for an amphitheater and I think the income we will generate from the Ark, we will be able to put more of our resources into downtown to make it more attractive to visitors.”
The Ark has announced extended hours to accommodate the influx of visitors anticipated in the first few months, but is only expected to maintain that schedule for 40 days.
Marlene McComas of Marlene’s Flowers in downtown Williamstown said merchants will have to adjust their hours to accommodate the tourist trade.
Marlene McComas is the owner of Marlene’s Flowers, another small business on North Main Street. She said merchants will have to be prepared to adjust their schedules if they hope to capture the tourism business.
“We have sort of fallen into a routine where we are open comfortable business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or something like that” McComas said. “We don’t have the street traffic that we used to have, so I want us to get used to opening later hours. In the summer that won’t be so hard, but in the winter that might be a little more difficult.”
McComas was among those who suggested the street fairs and encouraged the city to start them before the Ark Encounter opens.
“I wanted local people to get the feel of coming downtown Williamstown, at least on Friday night,” McComas said. “The Chamber of Commerce and the Industrial Development Authority said we are probably going to do it more than just one night a week once the Ark opens and that would be great.”
From the beginning, Answers in Genesis has indicated they wanted it to be within a short drive of its other regional attraction, the Creation Museum in Petersburg. It was also important for the Ark site to be located near an interstate.
Research into the number of anticipated visitors at the Ark eliminated Petersburg as the site because it did not have the infrastructure to support the project. A site near Kentucky Speedway was also ruled out.
When Answers in Genesis began looking at the Williamstown site, Skinner immediately supported the project.
“Tourism dollars are among the best you can get and a religious attraction brings in a good clientele for us, so I was very much on board,” Skinner said. “The day they announced it, I thought they were going to be a water park and speculation right before that was a Cabela’s or a Bass Pro Shop, so I was a little surprised but pleased.”
Williamstown, in Grant County, is about 40 miles from Petersburg.
Skinner was really taken aback by all of the initial criticisms that arose regarding state support for the project.
“I thought it would just be considered a home run for everybody, but a lot of the criticism hasn’t been local or regional, it’s mostly from outside of the area” Skinner said.”
Skinner is excited about the opportunity to co-advertise with the team from Answers in Genesis, and will draw on their experience in marketing a themed attraction.
“They plan to sell two-day and three-day passes, so they want to make sure the guests have the full experience,” Skinner said. “We might not attract all of the families of four, with two kids, but if we offer nicer restaurants, a little bit of a nightlife and some specialty shops, I think we can attract a percentage.”
Williamstown is still working to add some of the amenities needed to accommodate so many visitors, but that will come in time.
“Our target every year will be to get a higher percentage downtown,” Skinner said. “We would like to see our shuttle stop at the hotels and we are working on a lot of little concepts that aren’t quite ready, but we’re getting close to being able to announce some things.”
One thing that Skinner does not want is for Williamstown to lose its small-town charm.
“We looked at Georgetown pretty hard and how they kept the character of their downtown and we made it a point of emphasis that we wanted the downtown buildings to remain the same,” Skinner said. “We are ready to give up the interchanges to the restaurants and the chain hotels, but we wanted to preserve the quaintness of our downtown.”
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
So where is Ken Ham going to find enough people who believe the earth is only 6,000 years old to fill the available positions there? Is Williamstown really that ignorant of science?
From a 2014 Gallup pole:
More than four in 10 Americans continue to believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago, a view that has changed little over the past three decades. Between 40% and 47% of Americans over the past 32 years have said the creationist explanation for the origin of human life best fits their personal views. So that means out of a population of almost 400 million close to 200 million believe in creation.
Seems like Ken Ham will have little problem filing available positions.
I have absolutely no confidence that anybody in the local government of Williamstown or Grant County has any clue what to do with the amount of visitors that will come in. While a consultant can help the fact that we are relying on local merchants and a mayor who is in over his head is disturbing. Guarantee none of them have ever dealt with expansion plans or attracting businesses or anything to help the transition the town is looking for. If you have any faith in them then maybe you should look at Grant county and Williamstown now. How did it get this way? This is your leadership…