Thursday morning, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is hosting a discussion involving the "Vacation of Johnson Street." Now, while many of the residents of East Johnson Street appear to be on permanent vacations, as they lounge on their porches and saunter over to Cork 'n Bottle for a crisp IPA or something, this meeting will hopefully address the challenges faced by small businesses on Johnson Street in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood.
Over a year ago, Nathan Comp wrote a story for Isthmus about the struggling retail environment in that part of the city ("Tough times on East Johnson"). Part of the problem faced by these independent businesses had to do with the city bending over backwards to promote new construction and development while ignoring the businesses trying to make it work in established neighborhoods.
Teena Browder of the Cork 'n Bottle liquor store summed it up nicely:
I really wish the city would focus on these neighborhood districts, which are still around. These are real neighborhoods. This is the original new urbanism. The world is becoming so generic, and these neighborhoods are disappearing.
MAYOR CIESLEWICZ WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Monday, July 7, 2008
10:00 a.m. Policy Staff Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room) 11:00 a.m. Nan Fey, Mario Mendoza, Ray Harmon (Mayor's Office) 2:00 p.m. Chief Debra Amesqua, Joel Plant (Mayor's Office) 3:00 p.m. Chris Eigenberger, Jason Saari, Mario Mendoza (Mayor's Conf. Room) 4:30 p.m. Board of Estimates (MMB 260)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
9:00 a.m. Union Leadership meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
10:00 a.m. TOT Study Committee (Mayor's Conf. Room)
11:00 a.m. Chief Noble Wray (Mayor's Office)
12:00 p.m. Lunch with Ken Williamson (Paisan's)
1:30 p.m. Dave Gawenda, Mario Mendoza, Ray Harmon (Mayor's Office)
2:00 p.m. Pam Williamson and Policy Staff re: appointments to City boards, committees and commissions (Mayor's Conf. Room)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
8:30 a.m. Ald. Marsha Rummel (Marigold Kitchen)
10:15 a.m. Staff meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)
2:00 p.m. Andrew Statz (Mayor's Office)
3:30 p.m. David Smith, Sheri Carter, Stuart Seffern, Jodi Wortsman, Margaret Nellis, Jim Garner, Joel Plant (Mayor's Conf. Room)
4:30 p.m. Mario Mendoza, Dean Brasser, Anne Zellhoefer (Mayor's Conf. Room)
7:00 p.m. Concerts on the Square
Thursday, July 10, 2008
8:30 a.m. Welcome at NRT Retreat (Warner Park Recreation Center) 9:30 a.m. Draft Shoreland and Riparian Management Plan Discussion (Mayor's Conf. Room) 10:00 a.m. Vacation of Johnson Street Discussion (Mayor's Conf. Room)
Friday, July 11, 2008
11:00 a.m. Common Council Leadership Meeting (Mayor's Conf. Room)