HomeMy WebLinkAboutA002 - Letter dated March 28, 2000 from attorney for owner of Lincoln Lodge Motel Donald G. Juhl, P.C. tMAR
Attorney at Law616 J Avenue, P.O. Box 25
2 8 2000 `' ` Nevada, Iowa 50201
Tel. 515/3824292
CITY CLEIiI( Fax 515/382-3790
CITY OF AM IOWA
March 28, 2000 r
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT: Proposed "No Parking Ordinance" on Sumner Street from
2 : 00 A.M. to 6 :00 A.M.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I represent Perry Upchurch, owner of the Lincoln Lodge Motel with
which you are all familiar. It is our understanding that you are
considering an Ordinance prohibiting parking on Sumner Street
from 2 : 00 A.M. to 6 :00 A.M. The purpose of this letter is to
offer an alternative that will serve the same purpose, but not
unduly prejudice the economic survival of the Lincoln Lodge.
It is our understanding that the driving force behind the
proposed Ordinance is the problem caused by Butch' s Amoco parking
towed or disabled vehicles on Sumner Street, in front of Orning
Glass, which lies directly to the South of Lincoln Lodge. We
have no quarrel with your attempts to alleviate this problem.
However, if parking is prohibited on the entire block of Sumner
Street between Lincolnway and South 2nd Street, it will have a
severe economic impact on Lincoln Lodge' s business.
During the months of March through November, the majority of
Lincoln Lodge' s guests are contractors, all of whom drive
pickups, some larger vehicles with an occasional trailer.
Because of the limited on site parking at the motel, especially
when there are larger trucks parked in the motel courtyard, the 6
or so parking spaces on the East side of Sumner between the South
edge of the motel, Northward to Lincolnway become extremely
important.
The contractors who normally park in these spaces are always gone
by 7 : 30 A.M. in the morning and seldom return before 5 :30 P.M. ,
often later. They are not an impediment to daytime parking at
Orning Glass or Diamond Vogel. Moreover, during the winter snow
removal months, they would not be guests at the motel in any
event.
We propose that the Ordinance prohibiting parking between 2 :00
A.M. and 6 : 00 A.M. on Sumner Street be limited to the area from
the North side of Orning Glass, Southward to South 2nd Avenue.
This will alleviate the problems experienced by Orning Glass yet
City of Ames
Page 2
March 28, 2000
keep the North end of the street available for Lincoln Lodge
guests.
My client has invested several thousand dollars in upgrading the
Lincoln Lodge and plans to spend substantially more. I am
confident that if you check with the police department, you will
see that police calls to the Lodge have decreased substantially
since Mr. Upchurch purchased the property. He has every
intention of restoring the Lodge to its former position as a
respectable downtown Motor Inn that the community can be proud
of.
Please contribute towards this objective by limiting the proposed
no parking area to the area adjacent to Orning Glass Southward to
2nd Street.
Thank //you for your consideration.
Very ,truly your
j ona d G. Juhl
DGJ/kj
C