ATWOOD KENJURA’S VIEW ON PARKLETS, REASON FOR VOTING NO

  

(Editor's Note: This is an editorial from Brenham City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Atwood Kenjura in response to the Spectator program played on Friday, January 20. This response was aired on Monday, January 23.

I want to thank KWHI and the Spectator for the opportunity to respond to the latest editorial regarding the city council decision and especially my vote on the parklet application that was presented to us last Thursday.  Tom is right in that the council has studied and voted on a manual that allowed parklets to be constructed in downtown Brenham.  The one application that we had to consider met all the guidelines and I for one, who voted on the original manual to be approved, and is in favor of the parklet concept, now and in the future - underestimated the overwhelming opposition to the application that was presented.  I personally received numerous phone calls and texts since the item was posted to our agenda last week.  I was also aware of a petition that was started in opposition to the parklet but felt I needed to have more information so last week, prior to the city council meeting, I proceeded to walk Alamo Street and visit with the various owners of the business establishments along this section of downtown and a few buildings outside this area.  I found that the response was an emphatic no to the application from these businesses downtown.  The testimony that was presented at our meeting for its approval was given primarily by city staff and the Main Street Board members who have spent considerable time on this project.  And for that, I thank them for I too, as earlier stated, am in favor of the parklet concept – but as an elected official, I am obligated by the response of the business owners and taxpayers that expressed their desire for me to vote no on the proposal because of the parking situation that exists currently in downtown.

I stated before my vote on Thursday that we do not per say, have a parking space problem, we have a problem with people parking where they should not  I am referring to both public and private employees and in some cases even the owners of these businesses parking in front of their establishment. The city has three main parking areas open to the public – Commerce St. Lot, Vulcan Street Lot and the lot across from the Kenjura Law Office (formerly the pharmacy) where the synagogue formerly stood and is now a paved city parking lot where not one car is parked.  It is time for both the city, county and business owners to come together and resolve the issue.