LEWISBURG — During the Lewisburg Council meeting on Thursday, Dec. 19, Todd Littleton spoke to council regarding downtown parking. Littleton is the owner of Double Title Sash & Door Co. and is worried putting meters or putting time limits on spots downtown would drive business away from the village, instead of the intended outcome of inviting customers to downtown Lewisburg.
He began by stating he agrees there are some issues with parking in town, but most longterm business realize the parking situation is “give and take” downtown.
“You try to keep out of certain spots,” he said. “We’re neighbors — we want to continue everything to flow. By changing anything with parking, you’re not going to make anything better. You’ll make it faster, but the whole idea of Lewisburg LIFE — of all the businesses and everything that is downtown — is to bring people to shop.
“If you start limiting the amount of time that somebody can be in a spot, you’re not making them feel welcomed in my opinion. I know there has to be something we can do, but limiting the time we can spend in a spot is going to limit the amount of people who want to come to our town and feel comfortable and welcome.”
He added, he’s had people shop in his store for at least an hour, so limiting parking to an hour would mean they have to leave as soon as they’re done at his store, instead of looking at other stores after.
He would be interested in joining a task force and helping them figure out how to solve the parking issues downtown, in a way that would be beneficial to everyone involved.
Mayor Marsha Jones replied, “We believe there may be some potential for off-street parking. We’ll investigate that and I would recommend Jeff [Sewert] and I put together a parking task force and really address the issue and see what we can do.”
In other business, councilman Ted Thies spoke regarding Tri-County North Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) FFA Chapter’s Alumni & Friends Association they looking to create. The chapter needs 10 members and it currently has eight. According to Thies, membership is $27 for a year, $60 for three years, and $160 for lifetime membership. They are looking for members who can lend their expertise — whatever it may be — to the students to further their education. Specifically, they are interested in members with farms, as 70 percent of students in Lewisburg do not live on a farm.
“They are looking for people in the agribusiness and farming industry to provide opportunities for field trips and learning situations like soil judging, cow judging, and vaccinations,” he said. “We’re trying to get these kids more involved. It’s not just agrobusiness — any help with public speaking or speaking in large groups [would be appreciated].”
He asked council to consider joining the TCN MVCTC FFA Chapter Alumni & Friends Association. He promised to bring more information to the next meeting.
