Dear North City:

SHORELINE — Despite earnest efforts by North City business owner John Sims, of Frank Lumber Co., “The Door Store,” to halt the North City Project with he collection of about 200 opposing letters, it is moving forward.

Since April, when the City Council authorized using eminent domain to acquire property across the front of four to six properties, Sims has attempted to prove to the City Council that the majority of business owners do not support restriping 15th Avenue NE to a two-lane roadway with a middle turn-lane, one of several changes included in the $6 million project.

His efforts haven’t convinced the Council to redesign the project.

“It really is too late for the project to be redesigned, bids have already gone out,” Mayor Ron Hansen said. “Everything has just reached a point where it would be extremely expensive to halt the project.”

Hansen said he realizes not all business owners are happy, since construction will disrupt business, but that is to be expected with the project. He is open to hearing concerns, but has not heard anything so far that would propel him to favor delaying construction.

According to John Vicente, city capital projects manager, bids opened July 1 for construction and four bids were received. Construction is scheduled to begin in late August and can commence without property easements, as courts provide an expedited schedule to hear condemnation cases.

To raise awareness about concerns over the project, Sims has collected more than 200 signatures on letters presented to the Council, stating concerns of residents and business owners. The overwhelming majority of letters, he said, indicates people are concerned about the lane reconfiguration.

“Sixty percent of the businesses have signed the letters, saying they don’t want it,” Sims said about the project. “I am trying to bring the truth to the City Council, trying to tell the Council the property owners don’t want it.”

Sims said he is trying to refute Council claims that the project is what the North City Business District wants. He hopes to prove that although the North City Business Association supports the project, it doesn’t speak for the majority of owners.

“The business owners, at least 70 percent of them, didn’t want to sign the agreement (for easements),” Sims said. “But they had to because they couldn’t afford not to.”

Gretchen Atkinson, president of the North City Business Association, urges the Council to move forward with the project. She said when the city became incorporated, the North City Business Association worked to improve the area aesthetically.

The group created a logo, newsletter and flyers for the North City Business District. Then in 2000, she said there were design events for the North City Project, which were attended by hundreds of residents.

“For businesses to say they knew nothing is irresponsible,” Atkinson said. “If that is true, then why are some buying land?”

Some people who signed letters are not owners or residents, she said, and several of the owners who did sign letters are brand-new to the area.

Alan Sharrah, director of operations at Frank Lumber Co., said in addition to the more than 200 letters, the company has advertised in The Enterprise and purchased a reader board they placed in front of the store, telling people they can come in and sign letters.

“We are just trying to get the residents aware of what is going on, before spending any big money,” Sharrah said. “When people become aware of what is going to happen, they can’t sign letters fast enough.”

Sharrah said he attended meetings in the past about the project, and contributed to the dissenting voice by looking at the plans and contributing written input, despite Council members now saying they did not hear any opposition.

“If you go back and pull out documents, you will see from the early stages that we were strongly opposed to it,” Sharrah said. “The system was obviously flawed if dissenting opinions were not taken forward.”

There are parts of the project opponents embrace, such as under-grounding the utility lines and widening the sidewalks, Sharrah said.

“I don’t know what the magic number is,” Sharrah said about continuing to gather opposition letters to present to the Council. “but I can’t let myself believe the Council is prepared to ignore this.”