'Well, a representative of The Store has formally submitted a written request for the new lane, and our own traffic study has confirmed that the restriping is indeed inadequate for the flow of traffic generated by The Store.'
He cleared his throat again. 'Which is a fancy way of saying that we are legally obligated to construct an access lane running from milepost 260 to The Store entrance.'
'Where are we going to get the money for that?' Hunter Palmyra asked.
'Staff has proposed that we cut back on street maintenance, park and recreation programs, and other nonessential services. In addition, we should consider increasing building permit fees and dog licensing fees, charging for fire calls and police calls that don't result in action by safety officers false alarms, basically -- and we should look into contracting out specific services that are currently performed by town employees.'
'I, for one, would like to see a breakdown of each proposed fee increase, and how much we would save from eliminating each program, service, or job position.' Palmyra said. 'I don't think any of us have enough information at our disposal right now to be able to intelligently address this issue, much less make any decisions.'
'I make a motion that we postpone discussion of the revenue shortfall until our next meeting,' Bill Reid offered, 'and that staff provide us with the appropriate reports.'
'Seconded,' Palmyra said.
The mayor nodded. 'Let's put it to a vote. All in favor?'
The hands of all five council members went up.
'All opposed?'
No hands.
'The motion has been carried unanimously.'
Ben leaned over. 'That means it'll be 'old business' next meeting,' he whispered. 'The public won't be able to comment. Pretty clever, huh?'
Bill did not respond. This whole meeting, the way it was being conducted, the subjects that were being discussed, none of it sat well with him. These five men -- two of them real estate agents, one a developer who had only moved to Juniper three years ago, one a retired civil servant from back East, one a retired AT&T supervisor -- were cutting jobs, laying off local workers, changing the entire face of the town in order to accommodate The Store. It wasn't right, it shouldn't be allowed to happen, and he wanted to stand up and make an impassioned speech on behalf of the local citizens and their rights and their concerns, but he didn't know what to say or how to say it, and he remained silently in his seat.
The mayor looked down at one of the papers in front of him. 'Do I have a motion on the turn lane?' he asked.
Dick Wise nodded. 'I make a motion that we accept the drafted resolution as is and encumber the funds to complete the highway construction contractually required of us, the contractor who will perform the work to be determined by the bid process.'
'Seconded,' Bill Reid said.
The motion was passed unanimously.
The mayor shuffled through the papers before him. 'In a somewhat related matter, I have here a petition signed by downtown businesses and shopkeepers.
All of the merchants on Main and Allen streets.' He looked to his left, then right, at the other members of the council flanking him on the dais. 'I trust you all have your copies?' Assenting nods. 'Very well, then. The petition asks us to either lift our current sign ordinance or allow temporary exemptions to the ordinance. Specifically, we're being asked to allow banners to be placed in front of stores or business, on the building fronts or on light poles.'
Bill looked around the council chambers. 'How come none of the merchants are here?' he asked Ben. 'Where's Street?'
'How come it's not on the agenda?' the editor replied. He shook his head.
'They're trying to pull a fast one here. This'll be my top story. I'm going to nail their asses on this one.'
The mayor glanced over at Ben. 'Pursuant to Section Four, Paragraph Five of the Juniper Town Charter, I make a motion that the petition and its request for changes, exemptions, and/or variances to the sign ordinance be added to the agenda.'
'Seconded.'
Passed.
'We will open this matter for public discussion,' the mayor said.
A quiet, nondescript man who'd been sitting unobtrusively at the back of the audience stood, walked to the podium.
'Please state your name and address,' the mayor said.
'My name's Ralph Keyes. I'm here as a representative of The Store, located at 111 Highway 180.' The man's voice was smooth, confident, with no discernible accent. 'I would like to state for the record that we feel allowing exemptions to the existing sign ordinance would give preferential treatment to certain businesses and would constitute unfair competition. If such a course of action is taken by the council, we would be compelled to protest this matter and proceed to litigation. In our opinion, it is not the town's responsibility to promote or champion individual businesses.' He spread his arms, smiled insincerely. 'This is supposed to be a free country with a free market system.
By its very nature, this means that some businesses will succeed and other businesses will fail. It is not government's responsibility to intercede on behalf of individual merchants merely because they are floundering in the marketplace.' Keyes nodded respectfully. 'Thank you, Mr. Mayor.'
He returned to his seat in the back of the council chambers, and the mayor glanced over the sparse audience. 'Does anyone else wish to speak on this matter?'
Bill stood, walked to the podium.
He didn't think about it, he just did it, and he was not even sure what he intended to say as he faced the council.
'My name is Bill Davis,' he said into the microphone. 'I live at 121 Rock Springs Lane. I heard what Mr. Keyes said, and I understand his position and the position of The Store, but I have to tell you that I disagree with him one hundred percent. By your own admission, the council provided incentives to The Store in order to lure it to Juniper. Rules were bent or ignored, exemptions were granted. I think all our local businesses are asking is that they be given the same latitude, that they be allowed to compete on a level playing field. I mean, you're building _roads_ for The Store. The least you can do is let some of our local merchants hang signs in front of their shops so that people will know what they have, what they're offering, what's available. It's not an unreasonable request. And as for this idea of government intervention, you were elected by the people of Juniper to do what's best for the town of Juniper. I think that means you should extend a helping hand to our local businesses the same way you did to this national corporation. _That_ would be in the best interests of your constituents. _That_ was what you were elected to do.'
The mayor nodded. 'Thank you, Mr. Davis, I, too, wish to state my unequivocal support for our local merchants and businessmen. They are indeed the backbone of our town. Unfortunately, though, our Master Plan specifically prohibits the exhibition of signs and banners of the sort requested in this petition.'
'The Store didn't have to follow _any_ of the Master Plan!'
'No, that was a special case. We made an exception to the rule. But we are not going to change that rule simply because we did grant that one exception.
And, I may add, The Store is now the largest employer in Juniper. I don't think I'm overstating the case when I say that our local economy hinges on how well The Store does. We knew that going in, and that was why we offered the incentives. To bolster the economic strength of our town.'
'But you just said the town has less money, is going to have to cut programs and lay people off. Our local businesses are dying --'
'Your time is up, Mr. Davis. Thank you for your comments.'
'I'm not through.'
'Yes, you are.'
'I'd like to be granted an extension.'
'Denied. Please sit down, Mr. Davis, and allow others a chance to speak.'
