Note: This is an editorial. This is the opinion of the Herald staff.
The Jefferson City Council is elected by the people of each ward. Those elected are supposed to represent everyone.
Thursday nights council meeting showed that the members present can’t think beyond what’s in front of them and they’ll give preferential treatment to one group that’s “done so much for our town.” And that the council has forgotten that the Mayor cannot just set policy. He can propose it, but it’s up to them to implement.
Enough is enough. The simple fact event organizers now have to go to the Excelsior Hotel and ask their permission to close Austin Street for an event is beyond ludicrous.
The Jesse Allen Wise Garden Club has done a lot for Jefferson and they are due a certain amount of respect for that. But that doesn’t give them the right to dictate what happens in Jefferson.
Many businesses here thrive on events. Events mean street closures. Everyone is inconvenienced to some degree with street closures. But the overall good for everyone’s business generally offsets the inconveniences.
Some events are better than others at giving notice of upcoming street closures to businesses. Some give weeks, some days, some none at all. But that is the policy Council should be looking at – not requiring every event get one groups permission.
The policy should be that an event application which closes streets is required to give notice of intent to close a street to the business along that street before submitting their application to the city and submit that notice with the application.
That gives anyone concerned a chance to go to the event organizer and express their concern about it and see what can be worked out. If nothing, then those concerns expressed to council at the meeting where approval or denial is to be given.
But wait, we live in Jefferson and that would make too much sense.
The way it now sounds is if the Excelsior, or maybe any other business, doesn’t want the public street closed in front of their business then the event application is not approved. So what happens to the events?
Living or owning a business in downtown means there’s going to be personal inconveniences from time to time. But those inconveniences usually bring benefits that offset the inconvenience. Big events have been closing the same streets at the same time every year for decades. Why is this now an issue?
Get it together Council and start making decisions that work for everyone – not just your pet organizations. Bottom line is the Mayor is giving preferential treatment to one organization to the possible detriment of all the others. This cannot happen – and it’s illegal.
Or maybe council really doesn’t run Jefferson.