Yesterday, I received two email messages from a downtown merchant, first with concerns about snow removal, and a second message with broader concerns about downtown businesses. The messages were sent, also, to officials at the city. I will post key excerpts from these messages, without identifying the author specifically.
(Although copies were sent to city officials, I follow the custom of other bloggers of not identifying an email’s author unless the author directly requests that I include his or her name. I receive a steady volume of email, from Whitewater residents, business owners, city workers, and politicians. I have always appreciated their messages and respected privacy. Sometimes I respond via email only privately, and sometimes — as with this message — I will post excerpts to convey the principal message and my reply on FREE WHITEWATER.)
The excerpts are in black, and my remarks in blue, thereafter.
From the email message about a car illegally parked, and taking up space that a business owner needed for customer parking:
This is exactly the type of issue that downtown
businesses have with the city and that we have
complained about for the past 6 years.
I was led to believe – apparently foolishly – that our
monetary donations to this “Whitewater Community
Foundation” were going to correct these downtown
business issues, but this must be yet another attempt
by the City of Whitewater to chase business away.Where is this money going that we have pledged for
three years in a row?The sidewalk in front of the former Furnace on Center
Street has not been shoveled in over three weeks –
this I know because I walk over the mess to get to the
bank and post office. We had these issues last year
and they were to be corrected – or so I thought.Is Downtown Whitewater Inc. attempting to recruit
businesses to a downtown that is unsafe to walk in?
Has anyone from that office attempted to correct this
situation? Are they also going to attempt to pass the
buck on these ongoing problems?
From the later email about being a business owner in our downtown:
Isn’t there some sort of Downtown Whitewater Inc. that
is supposed to be supporting downtown business? We
have never ever seen this new “director” that we make
yearly contributions in order to pay her salary.We have been at our current location for 6 years and
have been in a constant battle with various city
officials – simply to get them to do the jobs they are
being payed for.I would like to see some time devoted in your column
to let the public realize that city does not, in fact,
support business the way they claim. Instead, they
seemingly make every attempt to chase businesses away.Anyway, its time we stop keeping to ourselves about
the problems with the city the way we had hoped. I
think the people of Whitewater deserve to know that
the city is not giving the support to bring in outside
businesses. The City of Whitewater apparently would
rather its residents drive to Fort or Janesville to
spend their money.I believe we are the fastest growing business in the
downtown area and the city is trying to chase us away
– either with a purpose or because of their
incompetence – and those officials that are offended
by that remark are probably the ones NOT doing their
jobs the way they would like the residents to believe.
Here is my reply:
Thanks very much for taking the time to visit my site, and to email me, albeit under disagreeable circumstances. It’s hard to run a business anywhere, much less in a small town with a fragile economy. After you wrote, I headed over to the downtown, to look at some of the concerns that you mentioned about snow and parking.
I saw your point — customers will shun areas that are blocked by cars, or covered with snow, in favor of large parking lots in Janesville, etc. Cars are increasingly well-made and well-appointed, and people often think nothing of driving elsewhere, while listening to music, or playing a DVD for their children in the back-seat. Our loss is Janesville’s gain.
The fault is not with residents, but with the ordinary inconveniences with which we burden each other, only to the advantage of merchants elsewhere. We will not have enterprises unless we truly encourage free enterprise, unburdened of ineffective, ill-directed enforcement and regulations. Our neighboring cities have stronger economies and significantly less poverty than we do.
I find Downtown Whitewater, Inc. (DW) odd. The effort makes sense — merchants band together to make downtown better for business. There are merchant’s associations all over Wisconsin — there’s nothing odd about that. Two things stand out: (1) a choice of director who seems strident and inflexible, and (2) a few within (DW) who interpose any of their own contrived notions against ideas to overcome vacancies.
It does no good for a director to say that she is on the phone all day soliciting businesses to relocate here while simultaneously objecting to ideas that would reduce vacancies. Strident — often misapplied — notions of what a downtown must be should give way to our practical need for what our downtown may be. Nor is it sensible to craft any number of restrictive views and insist that they must trump our own ordinances. People may advocate as they wish — and say what they want — but I will not pretend that these private views either represent our law or good sense.
I also find the director’s advocacy on behalf of DW petulant. Others may be charmed, I suppose, but I am not swayed so easily.
I know that your business has a large number of steady, repeat customers who value your service, and I wish you the best in your efforts to care for them from within our community.
Best regards, Adams