Missi Potter (left), owner of Adorned Home, and Sue VanderHeide, owner of Lorna Lou, express concern about the impact of closing Main Avenue for the Church Street reconstruction on their downtown shops Monday night.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
With Main Avenue expected to close early next week as part of the Church Street reconstruction project, two downtown business owners are worried about the project’s impact on their businesses.
Missi Potter, owner of Adorned Home at 122 E. Main, and Sue VanderHeide, who owns Lorna Lou at 137 E. Main, brought their concerns to the City Council Monday night. Potter expressed worry about the project timeline.
“What we’ve been hearing is that it’s going to happen (into) October-Novemberish, and we are concerned because that’s our bread-and-butter months for Christmas,” Potter said.
“We’d like to be told what’s happening, instead of (relying on) hearsay.”
VanderHeide says the Church Street construction has taken a toll on her business.
“From what I hear from customers and people that I know that live here, (they) won’t come down here with the construction,” she said. “I’m down 90 percent from last year. That’s horrendous. You can’t sustain a business downtown with no foot traffic.”
Interim City Manager Kevin Plockmeyer said that Main will be open today and Friday for sidewalk sales, while crews work on laying sanitary sewer lines on Church from Cherry Avenue to just south of Main Avenue. Main will be closed Monday and Tuesday of next week so that sanitary sewer can be run through the intersection, Plockmeyer said.
“Once they are done with that, they will put gravel back so (vehicles) can get through the intersection,” Plockmeyer said.
A full closure of Main and Church is expected in mid-September and could last two to two-and-a-half weeks, Plockmeyer said.
“Oct. 1 is the goal (for completion), so that the Main Avenue intersection itself will be open to traffic before Pumpkinfest,” he said.
Zeeland Record
With Main Avenue expected to close early next week as part of the Church Street reconstruction project, two downtown business owners are worried about the project’s impact on their businesses.
Missi Potter, owner of Adorned Home at 122 E. Main, and Sue VanderHeide, who owns Lorna Lou at 137 E. Main, brought their concerns to the City Council Monday night. Potter expressed worry about the project timeline.
“What we’ve been hearing is that it’s going to happen (into) October-Novemberish, and we are concerned because that’s our bread-and-butter months for Christmas,” Potter said.
“We’d like to be told what’s happening, instead of (relying on) hearsay.”
VanderHeide says the Church Street construction has taken a toll on her business.
“From what I hear from customers and people that I know that live here, (they) won’t come down here with the construction,” she said. “I’m down 90 percent from last year. That’s horrendous. You can’t sustain a business downtown with no foot traffic.”
Interim City Manager Kevin Plockmeyer said that Main will be open today and Friday for sidewalk sales, while crews work on laying sanitary sewer lines on Church from Cherry Avenue to just south of Main Avenue. Main will be closed Monday and Tuesday of next week so that sanitary sewer can be run through the intersection, Plockmeyer said.
“Once they are done with that, they will put gravel back so (vehicles) can get through the intersection,” Plockmeyer said.
A full closure of Main and Church is expected in mid-September and could last two to two-and-a-half weeks, Plockmeyer said.
“Oct. 1 is the goal (for completion), so that the Main Avenue intersection itself will be open to traffic before Pumpkinfest,” he said.
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