NORTHAMPTON — Parking, property values and panhandling were popular topics among restaurant and shop owners who offered their views on challenges facing businesses at a Monday forum.
The Committee on Community Resources and the Northampton City Council held the first of four such forums in the council chambers, with approximately 50 people in attendance.
According to Councilor Gina-Louise Sciarra, the forums are intended to be a “fact-finding mission” so the committees can gather information to generate a report to present to the City Council, as requested by Mayor David J. Narkewicz in March. Sciarra encouraged business owners to supply data to bolster their comments.
Three additional forums will be held through June and July. Monday’s forum was attended by committee members Dennis P. Bidwell, Maureen T. Carney and Alisa F. Klein.
Business owners called for more space, parking meters capable of taking credit cards and even lengthening the time on the meters.
Nancy Cowen, owner of Happy Valley, said the cost and time limits on meters discourage consumers from staying downtown to browse shops like hers.
“An hour is not enough time to go to lunch, let alone walk down to the shops,” Cowen said. “I see people run out of lunch to go feed the meter.”
Cowen said easier parking would draw more customers to downtown businesses and keep them there longer, fueling commerce.
For Rebecca Robbins, co-owner of Woodstar Cafe, the parking system in Northampton is dated. She called for the “inevitable” implementation of meters with card readers, saying the city should “get with the times” to encourage more parking downtown.
Sciarra said the city issued a parking report in 2015 and is exploring the economics of installing card readers on parking meters throughout the downtown area. She empathized with business owners, adding that every time a card is swiped the city must hand a portion of the money over to credit card companies.
Other suggestions included making some downtown areas into one-way streets and installing slanted parking spots to maximize on space.
Robbins continued by highlighting issues she believes many local business owners face, including rising wages, providing health insurance for employees, and city pressures like the new, higher water rates. According to Robbins, her business spends $14,000 on paid sick leave each year.
“It’s the little things,” said Robbins. “Don’t turn to businesses again. Let’s look somewhere else.”
Business owners were quick to add they love the city and want to see it thrive.
Melissa Lewis-Gentry has been the manager of Modern Myths Comics and Games for a year and a half. She said the costs of payroll, property and rent were “much more severe” than she expected when she accepted the position.
But she said her passion for her work keeps her going, even when she works 60-hour weeks to keep the business running smoothly.
“I can’t run a feminist comic book store in any other city in this country,” Lewis-Gentry said. “I love this town.”
Lewis-Gentry suggested the city take a cue from Dallas, Texas, and encourage small businesses to apply for state grants to soften the per-square-foot rent costs of opening a store. In Dallas, a program called the Business Assistance Toolkit was implemented in 2008.
Adam Dunetz owns the Green Bean restaurant downtown and co-owns The Roost, a cafe. He said overvaluation of the “most prime real estate” downtown has left storefronts vacant for years and creates an “eyesore” in town.
“We all love Northampton and we would all like to see it thrive,” said Dunetz.
Dunetz said he hopes the city can “municipally compel” developers to fill the empty storefronts downtown.
When Sciarra explained punishing property owners who keep storefronts empty is beyond the committee’s control, many suggested the city work to create incentives for property owners who fill their storefronts.
Echoing complaints from business owners in the past, many agreed panhandling pushes customers away from downtown businesses.
Cowen said because her business serves young children and adults, families with young children may avoid panhandlers by not visiting downtown at all.
“I do not see it as a healthy, thriving, vibrant street life,” Cowen said.
To recapture that “vibrant” spirit of Northampton, Cowen suggested community members “pull together” to create more festivals and draw a different crowd to the city.
“Where do young people play their music?” Cowen asked. “They should be playing it all over town.”
Sierra Grill owner O’Brian Tomalin suggested the city establish “parameters” for panhandlers. According to Tomalin, people occasionally block the door to his restaurant or open the door for his customers, asking them for money.
“Let’s call a spade a spade,” Tomalin said. “I don’t understand why they don’t just get a permit … It’s commerce.”
In 2009 the city caused controversy when it attempted to regulate where and when people could ask passers-by for money. The proposed panhandling ordinance, part of a plan to create a business improvement district, known as a BID, was scrapped by former mayor Clare Higgins.
The BID was created and lasted until late 2014 when a state Supreme Court judge deemed it a nullity because the city failed to check the signatures required to establish it for accuracy.
At the end of the meeting, Sciarra encouraged business owners return for the remaining three forums to share their experiences and suggestions.