Leading SA: Boerne Mayor Frankie Ritchie talks balanced growth, emphasis on small businesses

BOERNE, Texas – Boerne is a city on the rise as they are expected to grow at a rapid rate over the next several years with a projected 24% growth rate in its population, according to the Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corporation.

Boerne Mayor Frankie Ritchie joined Leading SA to discuss how the city plans to grow responsibly and what comes next as he steps into his new role.

I’m putting in the effort. Lots of reading. Thankfully, the city staff here at the city and Boerne are amazing. And so I’m just learning the ins and outs from the leaders... I’m finally getting my footing. And I think we’re moving in the right direction as a city. And so I’m excited to be here,” Mayor Ritchie said.

In a recent blog post, the mayor stated that growth is inevitable but manageable, and city leadership is trying to achieve that perfect balance, which is no easy feat.

How do we grow responsibly, right? Making sure that we have the proper infrastructure, making sure that our water conservation efforts are top-notch, and making sure that we build responsibly and not overbuild. And so until we can handle our infrastructure and that stuff moving forward, you know, we’re probably going to take a pause and slow down for a little bit, if I’m being honest with you. That’s that’s one of our priorities, is making sure that we can handle any more growth at this time,” Mayor Ritchie said.

More and more families seem to be moving to Boerne, and the mayor seems to understand why.

Bringing in businesses and expanding without ruining is what makes the community so ideal. Mayor Ritchie expands not only on the family appeal but to business owners.

“It’s a wonderful community. It’s a great place, the hill country. It’s beautiful. The slower pace than some of the larger cities. San Antonio, for example, Boerne for me has always been a community and a way of life. And so there’s nothing really needed in the house when it comes to the growth and what’s going on in Boerne. But our focus here at the city is to help small businesses be successful and foster an environment where other small industries will want to come to Boerne and thrive. And so, you know, people come to the Boerne because they want do something different a little, get a little peace and quiet. And so moving forward, you know, that’s where we want to focus. We want to keep that small-town feel. We don’t we don’t need a lot of big box stores,” Mayor Ritchie said.

You can find more information on the growth of the area here: https://bkcedc.com/


About the Author

Max Massey is the GMSA weekend anchor and a general assignments reporter. Max has been live at some of the biggest national stories out of Texas in recent years, including the Sutherland Springs shooting, Hurricane Harvey and the manhunt for the Austin bomber. Outside of work, Max follows politics and sports, especially Penn State, his alma mater.

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