At first blush, the thought of providing grants to businesses to attract and retain downtown business owners appears to be a good idea. However, when you think about it, this idea is dumb. If Ocala wants to attract and retain businesses, make the city a much more attractive place to run a business. Lower taxes, lower utility costs and lift restrictive regulations.
Also, improve parking so that it’s easier for consumers to access the businesses. These are the things needed to entice businesses owners to come to Ocala, and are the things needed to convince current owners to stay.
Has anyone asked the business owners who are leaving why they are leaving? If not, that would be a good place to start…