Someone / some group in Fairmont wants to relocate the liquor store and spend up to $2.5 million in doing so, here is the article: http://fairmontsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/501974.html?nav=5003
I read this and the hair on my neck stood up. I've not been much to "create a ruckus", but now is the time to start making a little noise. Even though I don't currently live in Fairmont (someday, I may return...) it's time to put in my two cents worth.
I wrote the following Letter to the Editor online, and for some reason, it was not published. Wrote a version of it and made my comments online after the article. Well, here is another venue to sound off. Someone / some group in Fairmont needs to have a set of balls and start speaking up and fixing downtown. "Northern Corridor" - my butt.....
It just makes no sense....
"It never fails to amaze me, with so much “flapping of the gums” over the years, of trying to revitalize the downtown and to keep it alive and prospering; you would allow something like this to take place - relocating the liquor store to the "northern retail corridor". Just stop this nonsense - now.
The liquor store attracts traffic DOWNTOWN - why on earth would you want people to go away from where you need traffic the most?
There is so much quality, empty retail space downtown that would provide more than ample square footage for a beautiful, up-to-date beverage and liquor emporium. Parking is available on and off street in many areas of the downtown, attached to or around good, viable retail space.
I would venture that 2 million dollars could be better spent rehabbing an existing property downtown, rather than building a new generic box on the "northern corridor". There are some really beautiful historic buildings that would work very nicely for this project.
Let me stick my neck out; if you want to increase your tax revenue, get help with revitalizing the downtown, turn this business over to a privately owned business and allow me first option. I have some great ideas for you."
Knock me over with a feather, Fairmont, but what happened to common sense?
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2 comments:
I will follow up...haven't read any of the Sentinel stuff or your stuff, but I'll get on board. I went back to this blog today because I heard about a new TV show that takes place in 1973...and wanted to see if anyone was weighing in on that.
Thanks Bonnie. I think anyone in Fairmont, most especially us, the people who grew up here, should be shouting at the top of our lungs to rescue downtown. Just think back how active this little city was. Every storefront was filled. There were no vacant buildings.
There are some great, viable retail business in this town of, what, 8500+ people, that should be relocated downtown. The city should be providing tax incentives for business owners that want to relocate to the downtown. Leave the "big box retailers" to the "northern corridor" (who coined this anyway, sheeze, hwy 15 by the freeway, just where I would like to go to do my shopping.)
Who, if anyone is on the 'downtown committee', if there is one?
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