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Earlier this month, Mayor Joe Booan held his first town hall-style meeting to receive input from residents about improving the quality of life in Cooperstown.
The topic the mayor selected was “How Do We Improve Our Main Street?”
Booan proposed the meeting after the board of trustees failed to support a change in the display law suggested by Booan during the June board meeting.
Two merchants had attended the meeting and told the board that the requirement for a survey of their property to obtain an outdoor display permit was onerous.
The law requires merchants to demonstrate there is private property in front of their stores in order to display merchandise outside. The law says merchandise may not be displayed on public property. The fact is, many storefronts do not have any private property. In the case of some, the steps up to the doorway sit on the village-owned sidewalk. Booan made a motion to change the law, do away with the survey requirement and allow displays on public property.
According to the meeting minutes, Booan told the trustees it was ``an opportunity to be creative in supporting the business district.’’
To us, it sounded more like a political payback to the Main Street business community, which heavily supported Booan’s successful run for mayor in the March election.
During the town hall meeting, those same sentiments were heard again from merchants who complained that business is down considerably this season.
With the economy in its present state of recession, we’re not surprised business is off on Main Street. There are fewer visitors traveling to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. And those who arrive have less money to spend.
There is a direct correlation between Hall of Fame attendance and business activity on Main Street so it should not come as a surprise that things are slow. In the days of 400,000 visitors at the Hall of Fame, there were no complaints about business being off. Consequently, we have a hard time believing that simply putting stacks of t-shirts and trinkets on tables in front of stores is going to make the difference between a good and bad season.
Not only that, but at this point, by the time the board could change the law, the summer season would be over. A great deal of thought and work went into the current display law and it should not be changed on the whim of a mayor looking to repay political favors.
If a change is to be made, let it be one that is well thought out and meets the needs of the entire community.
We like NYSHA President Steve Elliott’s suggestion that a long-range vision for Main Street should be developed. The mayor and board should also keep in mind that Cooperstown’s business community stretches far beyond Main Street. There are many businesses located throughout the village, which are also trying to cope with today’s economy. The mayor should look for an opportunity to be creative in supporting the entire business community not just the business district.
And lastly, we believe public property is just that - public. It is not for the use of merchants who want to peddle their wares or landlords who want parking for their short-term rental tenants.
Our Opinion
Be careful with law
- Our Opinion
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Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival
It does not look like there will be much snow, if any at all for this year’s Cooperstown Winter Carnival. Although many events are weather-dependent, that will not spoil all the festivities. As far as getting out your hats and mittens, you might want to dig them out. At least it does not look like the weather will be as abnormally warm as it has been so far this winter.
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Our Opinion: Roses
Roses to Cooperstown sixth-grader Tom Knight, who once again might have the chance to compete in the state level geography bee. He won his school district’s competition for the second year in a row this year and will be taking a written test to see if he qualifies. One could wish him luck, but Tom said he feels more confident taking the test this time around the now knows what to expect. He also said he feels more comfortable answering questions on paper that out loud in front of an audience.
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Our Opinion: Buying locally is right
We are happy to report this week that buying locally made products appears to be on the upswing in the Cooperstown area. We have long been a proponent of shopping locally. It stimulates the local economy, returns more sales tax to the county and is more environmentally sound. Buying locally made or grown products takes it one step further.
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Our Opinion: Confused much?
As if figuring out one’s tax bill isn’t mind boggling enough. Now, with a two percent limit on property tax increases, there will be more brains flustered. It is not a simple calculation at all. In fact, the tax cap will affect each school district’s levy in various ways. So don’t think you will be able to take your bill from last year and just increase it by two percent. The process uses a much more complex formula eight steps, as a matter of fact.
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Our Opinion: We’ll miss Nicols
Cooperstown Police Chief Diana Nicols will be leaving her job shortly and will be missed by the community. She is being retired by the New York State and Local Retirement System that notified her last week that she is “permanently incapacitated for the performance of duties.” The incapacitation is the result of a knee injury she received in 2008 during a training class.
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Our Opinion: Roses and Raspberries
Roses to Cooperstown Central School graduate Molly Pearlman for putting off her college plans for a year to serve a 10-month term of service in the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program. She said her inspiration to participate in the program came from her father and brother.
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Our Opinion: Looking forward
While many will spend the next few days reminiscing about 2011, we at the Crier are looking forward to next year. We are ready to ring in a new year and look forward to the events to come. Of course there are those events that happen annually such as the Cooperstown Winter Carnival,The Goodyear Polar Bear Jump, the Farmers’ Museum’s Junior Livestock Show, The National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Father’s Day Classic and Induction weekend, the Pumpkin Festival and Regatta and many more.
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Our Opinion: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
At this holiday season, we take great pleasure in reprinting one of the classic newspaper editorials of all time − perhaps the best Christmas editorial ever written. It has survived the test of time and seems particularly fitting and poignant this year.
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DEC should not dismiss findings
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the findings in a draft of a new federal report that links hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Wyoming with groundwater pollution. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that pumps millions of gallons of chemically treated water into gas wells to fracture the rock and release the gas.
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Our Opinion: Who would have guessed?
Much has been revealed during the baseball winter meeting in Dallas this past week. The Miami Marlins seem to be in hot pursuit of all the big name players to fill their new stadium, Manny Ramirez announced he would like to return to Major League Basbeall, Pedro Martínez announced he plans to officially retire, elections have been held and it appears former Red Sox manager Terry Francona is swapping places with the franchise’s new manager Bobby Valentine.
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Our Opinion: Enjoy the carnival
