| Welcome to the Cooperstown Crier |
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
12-13-2007 A local law, narrowly adopted by the board of trustees last month, also authorized paid parking on Main and Pioneer Streets, but did not mandate how implementation would occur. We believe the police committee has made the right decision to proceed slowly and urge and board of trustees to adopt its recommendation Monday night. The decision to move forward slowly should help heal the divide in the community created by the adoption of the law. Police committee Chairman Paul Kuhn said there had been a lot of controversy over the whole process and a good deal of sentiment against investing as much as $100,000 in pay and display machines for on-street parking. ``Two pay and display machines in Doubleday Field may be wiser,’’ he said. ``That is the plan I favor.’’ By starting in Doubleday Field, the village can create the new revenue stream it is after with a minimum investment and at the same time provide an opportunity to continue a discussion about the appropriateness of street-side paid parking. The police committee and the board of trustees worked to address many issues as they listened on numerous occasions to public input. But lingering concerns about the impact on Main Street remain. With a year to test the water, the board and community will be better positioned to decide how and when, or if, paid parking should be extended to downtown streets. Village deserves bed tax money We would also commend the Otsego County Board of Representatives for its acknowledgement of the important role Cooperstown plays in county tourism. Representatives voted last week to support, in principle, the idea of giving the village $100,000 in bed tax money. Details of when and how that would be accomplished have not been worked out and it would still have to be approved by the incoming board as well, but it is a step in the right direction. Mayor Carol Waller said that in 2005, village officials pegged the cost of tourism at as much as $600,000 annually - a bill village taxpayers should not be paying alone. The county derives a great deal of revenue each year from sales and bed tax paid by tourists and much of it is generated by visitors to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Cooperstown’s other attractions. It seems only fair to us that the village should reap benefits more in line with the revenue it helps to generate. |
Copyright 2007, Cooperstown Crier, Cooperstown, NY All rights reserved