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LOCK HAVEN -- Following its approval of the closure of a portion of Grove Street for Fridays and Saturday in summer 2024 on Sept. 11, Lock Haven City Council heard from a business owner who felt the approval was "unprecedented."
Nick Hawrylchak attended council's meeting Monday, held at Jack Bailey Playground in Hammermill Park, to express concern about the approval on behalf of himself and other business owners he'd spoken with.
Hawrylchak noted the Old Corner's owner, Shawn Dale, is "motivated and thinking outside the box" but still felt the street closure approval for every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2024 put other restaurants at an economic disadvantage.
"I am here today to speak about my disappointment in many members of council for failing to understand the scope of economic advantage that the city has chosen to give a single private business," he said. "You have approved the use of city property and resources for a private business to quadruple its area of operation for every Friday and Saturday - the two biggest days of restaurant business - for one third of the year."
Hawrylchak noted, in the past, he attempted to do something similar as the Old Corner but was unsuccessful.
He said in 2021 he took steps to collaborate with a local non-profit to do a similar event in 2021.
"In 2021 I had a meeting with a previous manager of Downtown Lock Haven and a member of city staff in an attempt to have outside music at the train station (The Station Gallery)," he said. "During this meeting I was informed that, due to the city's Main Street closures, they would only support the events if they did not conflict with the city events, suggesting I should hold them on non-weekend days."
The following year, Hawrylchak said he tweaked his plan, partnered with other businesses and, with Downtown Lock Haven, Inc., created Second Side Street Saturdays. Keeping with the restriction to avoid conflict with other events, the side street event was held three days in the summer.
Hawlrychak said, following the conclusion of approved street closures on Grove Street this summer, he'd hoped council would reconsider approving every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer.
He said he felt the approval was "unprecedented" and was made with "very little thought, discussion or opportunity for public feedback."
Hawlrychak stressed he was not at the meeting to demand council cancel the street closures.
"Not a single other restaurant owner I talked with expressed that," he said. "We expected you to understand the disproportionate economic advantage you are giving a single private business and hope you would use some deference to limit that advantage to allow for the other tax paying businesses to have opportunities."
Hawlrychak noted that, although some business owners had hoped to attend Monday's meeting, many expressed wariness about speaking up about the issue "due to an overwhelming feeling that any public disagreement with this council or the city would make the likelihood of future projects within the city difficult."
Hawlrychak said he feels council should be encouraging civil discourse and conversation to ensure equal opportunities for all city tax payers.
Councilmember Doug Byerly said he'd spoken with an individual regarding another business that echoed similar feelings at Hawlrychak.
Byerly asked for clarification on how the process for a use request is handled.
"It's my understanding that information is to be gathered and then presented to council for discussion at a meeting like this, with a recommendation - staff thinks we should approve this or staff thinks we should," he said. "That's been done hundreds of times. We approve most of them but we've also not approved a couple for various reasons."
Byerly noted council often agrees with the recommendations from city staff, but not always.
Director of Community Life Kasey Campbell - who handles use requests and other related forms - said she provides the proper forms to those who request them.
"I usually give them the form," she said.
Campbell acknowledged Hawlrychak's statements regarding discussion, saying she had brought up avoiding conflicts with the Summer Concert Series.
"But I always tell people you make your request, I don't," she said.
Mayor Joel Long noted that verbal requests aren't the same either.
"If it was a verbal request and they never went through the process, then we can't approve it," he said.
According to multiple members of council and staff in attendance Monday night, the use request form is available on the city's website, www.lockhavenpa.gov.
"You don't have to navigate through pages of the city's website," City Manager Greg Wilson said. "You can use the spyglass and look up 'use requests' and it will pull right up."