03-18-2004 Planning Commission Meeting

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FROM : CITY_OFFEQUOT_Lf S FAX NO. : 2185687229 Mar. 03 2004 02:32PM P3 destination" as Breezy Point, Nisswa and Crosslake will be reaping the benefits of our demise. Our path will likely be as a service community or a simply just a dying town. Brainerd has yet to begin recovering from the impact of their bypass, as well as Little Falls and virtually every other community that has chosen or allowed this to happen. Big Box retail and fast food which you consider to be a substantial amount of the problems caused by Baxterization usually happens with bypass areas. Little Falls is a case example in the fact yes, development continued after the bypass, but in the new business corridor. The only thing new downtown, were rehabilitation projects, completed with grant money to bring the early century architectural character back to the storefronts. It was not until the bypass came, that Pamida, Wal-Mart and a handful of fast food chains had their neon lights shining over town. Now, the city of Little Falls is giving away its industrial space and property to anyone who will employ it citizens. Is this what you consider a success story? There is activity downtown, but also consider the fact that Little Falls is the county seat and it has a major hospital_ Outside of those, you have service business, bars, a pawn shop and a few remaining nick-nack shops that haven't been able to afford to move to the retail area. Just like downtown Brainerd. For the most part you will find office space, bars, strippers and government agencies. The other consideration is that both examples above have intersecting major highways or county roads crossing through town. Pequot Lakes will become the dead end of CR 11. I believe that the summer months will still be busy and I have never argued that it will not. It is not the summer that concerns me. We will become like Crosslake, Breezy Point or Nisswa. When the season is over, turn off the lights because there will be weekend business only if the weather is good until maybe mid- October. If snow and lake ice conditions are great, we might see good weekend business for about 6 weeks but this happens about 4 out of every 10 years. As soon as the thaw begins, close the door until opening fishing weekend and get ready for about 90 days of commerce. If we have a wet spring, cold fall and a poor winter, you will realistically look at 60-75 good business days. Your claim that without a bypass, business in Pequot Lakes will stagnate In the future. This is your opinion and in my opinion, your opinion is absurd. You wring your hands about the blight on blocks off the highway and how this will continue to stagnate business in town without a bypass, but what is your solution for the vacant buildings left after you relocate a majority of the occupants currently on H371? Office Space? Light manufacturing? Are you going to try and sell them to the school district? These buildings will remain vacanct for years. They will be vandalized, graffrtied, windows will be broken out and they will begin to die. An unoccupied building is a dying building. You think that I am far-fetched, but this is every bit as realistic as you saying that the city will come in and hold this community together through financing, grants, good will projects and community advertising campaigns. According to the City, they are stretched to their limits now with their overhead continuing to increase every year. Mr. Marohn, to summarize, I am sure that you have built many little pretend towns and cities in your educational path but I don't have a shred of confidence in your ability to look into your crystal ball and decide the economic future of Pequot Lakes. I don't think four lanes coming through town is a good thing either, but I'm not willing to