Council Members: Business Owners Want Parking Issues Resolved Before Business Improvement District is Created

A borough council meeting two weeks ago elicited strong responses from borough business owners who were opposed to the creation of a Main Street Business Improvement District. Business owners whose businesses are within the district would be required to pay a tax to participate in the BID, and many said they were opposed to that idea.

The matter is not scheduled to be formally discussed again until the council's March 22 meeting. But Councilman James Lonergan said he met with Chatham Chamber of Commerce members over the past few weeks and has gotten a better sense of how they feel about the matter.

"There's some dissension within the ranks," he said.

Councilman John Holman said he has been received plenty of calls at home about the issue.

Many feel, he said, that borough government should attempt to make more parking available downtown before it tackles the BID.

The sense he has gotten from business owners, he said, is this: "Why don't we take care of the little things first before we go into a tax?"

Lonergan said for business owners and others who regularly attend Chamber of Commerce meetings, such comments are often frustrating to hear. The parking matter—he said many downtown business owners park in front of their stores, effectively depriving parking from potential customers—is one that was discussed at great length in previous years.

What that means, he said, is that this is not a new issue.

"To not come and never say anything doesn't help anybody," Lonergan said.

Holman said that the new involvement some business owners have shown in shaping Main Street policy could prove to, in the end, be a good thing.

"You need a catalyst [for change]," he said. "This is the perfect catalyst right now."

Councilman Joseph Marts said he was seeing history repeat itself in a way. Years ago, business owners had parked on the street in front of their shops and stores, and borough police stepped up parking enforcement—much to the chagrin of business owners.

Having the police do so again was not discussed at the meeting. Lonergan said the borough coud help alleviate the parking situation by posting signs on Main Street directing people to nearby parking lots north of Main Street that, he said, some do not know about.

But ultimately, the issues surrounding downtown parking and the BID are ones that business owners should attempt to figure out on their own. Council members reiterated they would not force through a BID if it had no support.

"There's some things we as a town will help them on," Lonergan said. "But they need to help themselves."