Dear Editor,
The mayor of City of Owen Sound has time for ribbon cuttings for some local businesses but doesn't even bother returning the phone calls of others. I guess if you're on 2nd Ave E you are far more important than those in the ghetto (10th St E/3rd Ave E). I call it a ghetto not because of the people but because of how the City treats it. A month to get a burnt out street light fixed in an alleyway. Lamp posts rusting out at the bottom are ignored while other areas are spruced up. Bylaw enforcement that is a joke at best. How are the residents supposed to take pride in their area when the city doesn't?
I'm investing in my little piece of downtown. I try keep my property presentable. I support local businesses. I pay my taxes including a levy that pays for free parking that benefits only the 2nd Ave E merchants.
Stores are closing at an alarming rate downtown and the city's answer is to discount property taxes for vacant stores. Here's a suggestion; discount the taxes when a vacant store is rented! If you want your "Boomtown" you need to encourage it, not the holding of vacant space. The Mayor and Council are inline for a raise while the poverty, drugs and crime are visible right from their temporary office windows.
Maybe these are only "perceived problems" like parking and traffic. Maybe Mayor Boddy and Bill Walker, MPP can come up with a perceived solution while they are cutting ribbons and kissing babies.
#owensound#downtown#LearnHowToReturnCalls#ItsNotWhatYouKnowItsWhoYouKnow
Peter Reid
Business Owner,
