Lifelong community activist and public servant wieghs in on Municipal Parking Lot debate
I read with interest the commentary from the Village of Wellsville Attorney, Mr. Richard Buck. I found his message on the matter of the Wellsville Municipal Parking Lot not only to be eloquent but spot on with his research of the subject matter.
As a former Trustee for the Village of Wellsville, I served four terms – two under Mayor Bob Gardner and two under Mayor Sue Goetschius. During those years, I served on a community parking committee which were engaged at least four different times. The summary in each of those committees, comprised of various merchants, residents, and local leaders, was that Wellsville does not have a shortage of parking, but rather a parking management issue which lies with the property owners. A tour of the Village, back in the 80’s and 90’s discovered a vast amount of parking, particularly in the business district, that were/are POSTED for restricted parking. Much of that still exists today and the recent posting of the Municipal Parking Lot by Mr. Otero only adds to the problematic issue.
From my perspective, a lot has changed since those days of the 80’s and 90’s and even more recently. The dynamic of our business district has changed immensely. The days of the local retail shops (Newberry’s, Montgomery Wards, Sears, WT Grant, etc.) as well as the abundance of local clothing stores are gone. While we have had some resurgence of local stores, for which I applaud, I still see, every day, various business owner taking ups spots close to their respective businesses instead of leaving those for their customers. But that’s a separate issue.
Mr. Otero – if you had a business that required a vast turnover of parking spots for your specific customers, I could almost be sympathetic to your cause – but I don’t see that. Instead of being a community partner, you are uprooting a parking lot that has been accessible to all for all of my adult life and specifically, hurts Rub-A-Dub and Chelsea’s.
Mr. Otero, thank you for having an interest in Wellsville and in particular the downtown business district. But, please, be a good community partner. I would imagine when you considered purchasing this property you did your research as to the past and how access and remuneration had been done. And, while I know it is an investment that you wish to get a return, please consider that what is offered and what is good for the community as a whole.
Thanks, for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Timothy J. Colligan
Former Village Trustee
