The old fire station at the corner of Oakland and Walnut was due to get approved for sale at tonight's city council meeting. The city wanted $82,000 for it and that amount was offered by Joshua Klarer who wanted to open a restaurant and microbrewery in the location. However, unless something changes, the city has opted to accept a bid of $50000 from John Deas and Allison Smith who plan to open studio space and a tasting room at the location.
The city cited the residential nature of the neighborhood, which has hosted a fire station there for decades, and the difficulty of access to parking, only available from off Walnut Street, which doesn't seem to bother any of the restaurants located on South Illinois, also a one way street.
I have no problem with the "secrecy" with which the discussions were held, though more input from the community might have been helpful. As the mayor points out, such decisions should be made without undue influence and council members should vote in private. My major concern is that, in a time when sales tax revenues in the city are down, the city has opted to take a facility that, if the restaurant opened, would generate sales tax revenues, while artist studios will not. Given that, due to budget needs, the city voted to extend a sales tax due to sunset this year, an extra $32,000 in city coffers might be helpful. Additionally, if the city might have to suit Klarer's needs, as stated in the article, why are those spaces not equally suitable for Deas and Smith's studio?
The city cited the residential nature of the neighborhood, which has hosted a fire station there for decades, and the difficulty of access to parking, only available from off Walnut Street, which doesn't seem to bother any of the restaurants located on South Illinois, also a one way street.
I have no problem with the "secrecy" with which the discussions were held, though more input from the community might have been helpful. As the mayor points out, such decisions should be made without undue influence and council members should vote in private. My major concern is that, in a time when sales tax revenues in the city are down, the city has opted to take a facility that, if the restaurant opened, would generate sales tax revenues, while artist studios will not. Given that, due to budget needs, the city voted to extend a sales tax due to sunset this year, an extra $32,000 in city coffers might be helpful. Additionally, if the city might have to suit Klarer's needs, as stated in the article, why are those spaces not equally suitable for Deas and Smith's studio?
No comments:
Post a Comment