It didn’t take long to drive to Critters ‘N’ Things on Commonwealth Avenue from Topsail Road Thursday afternoon.
A month ago, it was a different story.
As part of a year-long project to replace the waterline and sanitary and storm sewer system in Mount Pearl — the largest infrastructure project in the city’s history — there was considerable tear-up, lane closures and traffic delays, as large equipment and road workers occupied much of the area.
The work began last year, resumed in April of this year and wrapped up last month. During much of that time, getting up Commonwealth Avenue was time-consuming and frustrating for motorists.
But no one was more infuriated with the disruptions than the businesses owners whose companies along one of the city’s busiest street were in the middle of the upheaval.
“It was like Jurassic Park out there,” Critters ’N’ Things owner Mark Winsor told The Telegram. “We knew there would be work and knew it had to be done, but we didn’t expect it to be like it was.
“Nobody in their right mind would come up here (during that time) unless they absolutely had to.”
As a result of the roadwork, many businesses in the area were hit hard financially — some reporting up to 50 per cent loss in business.
Now, they want the city to make it up to them, in the form a tax break.
A group of business owners has called on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) for help.
CFIB’s director of provincial affairs, Vaughn Hammond, drafted a letter to Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker, proposing that businesses along Commonwealth Avenue and adjoining streets be compensated for loss of revenues that occurred during the months of construction.
The proposed compensation program would reimburse the 2018 Business Occupancy Tax. It would be restricted to those businesses that pay the tax in the general commercial or professional operations categories.
“It would be a goodwill gesture that shows city council understands what business owners on Commonwealth Avenue and adjoining streets have experienced due to the construction; some business owners are reconsidering their involvement in the community (e.g. sponsorship of community events) because of the effect the construction has had on their businesses,” the letter states.
It goes on to say that the compensation funding could be used by the business owners to promote their businesses and attract people back to the area.
However, the city had its own idea about how to entice people back to the area.
In recent weeks, the city distributed a notice for residents that includes $5 Commonwealth Avenue city bucks — a coupon redeemable toward any purchase at participating businesses on the street from Nov. 19 to Dec. 9.
“Businesses are open and smooth roads await busy shoppers,” the notice states.
Winsor considers it an insult to business owners, who need more than a coupon to recover — especially after the city opted to increase the business mill rate, he said.
“It’s a slap in the face. It really is,” Winsor said. “It just shows the lack of respect the city has for business owners.
“This (construction) caused such a blow to my company. I lost a lot of money (and customers) and still have bills to pay.”
Winsor said he lost so much in sales during the construction that he had to lay off staff, discount prices on supplies up to 20 per cent and increase advertising costs.
He said while there were initial meetings with city officials to discuss the project, he and other business owners didn’t get a proper explanation about how massive and disruptive it would actually be. He said there should have been more consultation.
Winsor said he was told access to his business would not be an issue. However, traffic heading up Commonwealth Avenue from Park Avenue was not permitted to make left-hand turns.
A second-generation business owner, Winsor got emotional when talking about the impact.
“This is my business, my family. It’s everything I have,” said Winsor, with a quiver in his voice and tears in his eyes.
“So, when someone takes that from you, yeah, it kills the heart.”
Winsor said he was at his wit’s end and was so desperate for help, he called on the CFIB.
Having already reached out a number of times to the city and city staff since April with recommendations to improve the situation with the businesses, as well as meeting with Aker, Hammond said the only solution is for city council to approve funding for businesses adversely affected by the construction.
“Mark’s right — they have every right to feel mistreated and aggrieved,” said Hammond, who added that more consultation for a project of this magnitude was needed, and if the situation is not rectified it could have a negative effect on the city’s reputation as a business-friendly community.
He said work done on Water Street is a good example of how major road projects should be completed — in sections, so as not to have so much impact on businesses.
“I don’t know what (Mount Pearl council) will decide,” Hammond said, “but I will tell you this: I’ll be at council chambers when they deliver the budget to see if it’s going to be announced.”
“And I’ll be there, too, and others,” Winsor added.
However, when contacted by The Telegram, Aker said the businesses in the area won’t get that tax break.
“We do construction all over the city,” Aker said. “If every time we do a replacement of a sidewalk or curb, gutter and pipes, we have to reimburse people for the losses, that’s taking people’s tax dollars and taking our focus away on things we need to be focused on, like spending tax dollars on services.”
Aker acknowledged some retail businesses did experience financial loss during construction, but pointed out the business district was completed in a short duration — five months, beginning in May and finishing in early November.
He said it was crucial to have the roadwork completed. He said it was best to complete the upgrades “in one shot” instead of over a longer period of time.
“We’re not necessarily happy with the way things turned out. We do feel for the businesses,” said Aker, who added that they met with business owners twice and gave them updates throughout the duration of the project.
“But having said that, we thought that we made the least impact. If we had done this project in two to three years and spread out all the pain, it would’ve been a lot worse.”
As for suggestions that the city’s reputation may be damaged among the business community, Aker replied, “As a city, I think our reputation with both our business community, as well as our residential community, is staked on the quality of our services.
“Yes, from time to time, we’re going to have disruptions, but it would’ve been really irresponsible on our part not to have upgraded these streets and services. That’s the reputation that Mount Pearl needs to maintain, in my view.”
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