Same old shit
September 12th, 2007
City ignores upstart merchants group
By Paul Blake
In a letter dated July 20, City Manager Charles Austin informed the Our Five Points merchants group that they have been officially denied $9,000 in funding for a “dog day” event and a “parents weekend,” which the group hoped would bring business to the many retailers in an area primarily associated with nightlife. The group anticipated the city’s decision after restaurant owner Richard Burts, a board member of the Five Points Association (who is also on the city hospitality tax funding board), prematurely announced the decision.
The Five Points Association (FPA), which has been investigated by City Paper and the State newspaper for nearly $100,000 in “commission” payouts to certain individuals during its annual tax payer-funded St. Patrick’s Day event, has been awarded another $225,000 in hospitality tax money for the coming fiscal year. City councilman, Kirkman Finlay, raised an eyebrow. “Obviously we have delegated the authority to the funding committee, but it strikes me that with the amount the one group gets there ought to be at least some room for another group,” Finlay told City Paper.
When questioned about the whole concept of hospitality tax and its intended purpose, Finlay said, “It should be a source of capital to start, not an ongoing source, especially with a group that made, what, a half million dollars last year?” FPA’s latest concern has been the development project in limbo on Blossom and Santee Streets. Randy Dennis, president of Our Five Points, has concerns of his own over FPA’s involvement in the project.
“The association hired Quakenbush [architectural firm] to redesign this building which is a waste of money because he’s not the developer, and the developer is getting this plan for free which is crazy,” he says. Dennis says Five Points doesn’t need any additional parking and that the FPA is still wasting money promoting a project that has already been deemed “not feasible” by a previous study done by the city.
He says that the president is continuing to hide behind the board, and worse that former association president Dennis Hiltner is still misrepresenting the area, allegedly announcing in the neighborhood meeting that the FPA approved the six-story project. Merchants such as Wish, Two G’s and Greek Store & More say meters are still killing business and want it to be known that the FPA doesn’t represent everyone in the area.
Recent events organized by FPA Executive Director Merritt Brewer suggest they plan to continue the same path of paying attention to board members, their friends and big developers. Recently the FPA flipped the bill for a 15-year anniversary party for Loose Lucy’s (Don McCallister, owner of Loose Lucy’s, is the newest FPA board member and is also a much beloved City Paper columnist).
Another move that some believe is questionable was an e-mail in August from Brewer to all FPA members promoting a band at Headliners in the Vista the same evening there was live music at establishments located in Five Points. Whether Brewer is a friend of the band or just a fan, it was wildly inappropriate, some say, to use the FPA funded e-newsletter to promote a Vista event.
Our Five Points tells City Paper they plan to again lobby city council on the issues they face in the area. The group is meeting tonight at Two G’s on Saluda at 6:15.
September 13th, 2007 at 11:50 AM
“Recently the FPA flipped the bill for a 15-year anniversary party for Loose Lucy’s”
This is demonstrably false, and I have the paper trail to prove it.
“(Don McCallister… is also a much beloved City Paper columnist).”
In light of the above, I have begun to question this statement as well.
September 13th, 2007 at 12:50 PM
You know we love you.
We were referring to the party at the fountain, not the party at Speakeasy.
Weren’t the posters and bands paid by FPA on the Thursday after Five that you piggy backed? (which was a great idea and probably got more people to the event)
I also think they should have done something for your 15 year mark, this was a good thing.
However, e-mails to the membership about board member establishments and features in the FPA print newsletter are getting tiresome.
The point of these editorials are additional attempts to try to get the board to look outside of themselves.
September 13th, 2007 at 04:45 PM
All merchants are asked to submit news for the newsletter-many don’t take the opportunity to do so. All area merchants are listed on the FPA website-even non members, although they have spent nothing for this. All area merchants are given notice re monthly meetings, something the “other group” has yet to do. Association money is spent on the clean & safe team, monthly events designed to boost retail shopping (First Fridays), etc, etc. What pray tell has this other group done? Board members are elected by members of the FPA to represent them-we tend to dozens of matters at each meeting and vote on these as to what we think is best for the WHOLE AREA-this is what we were elected to do. Randy Dennis was asked by several to join the association and run for the board to have his voice heard-he declined both. I will continue to volunteer countless hours each year to make 5 Points the best it vcan be and the best way to do that is to work with a recognized association that is credible and taken seriously.
September 14th, 2007 at 01:20 PM
This was from a private email to Paul, but since he posted his remarks to me on the forum, I thought I would post my (partial) reply here as well:
I approached Merritt and other Board Members about tying in to the first 5 After 5 concert as the Loose Lucy’s anniversary party; Merritt said, well, that’s fine, but we can’t foot the bill if it is going to be that; I replied, fine, why don’t we split the costs, and then surely no one would think it is out of order for us having done so. I do not know what you mean by “flipping the bill”. If they had paid for everything, then it would have been “footing” the bill. Flipping is what I do with my middle finger.
And this is what I will add upon this morning’s reflection (like a simmering, overcooked pot of grits) about everything that has happened:
I have worked tirelessly, both in print and otherwise, to heal the breach between the two warring tribes here in Five Points, to help CityPaper find success both in terms of journalistic standards as well as financially, to help soothe hurt feelings among expat FPA members…and this is the thanks I get?
The more I think about this, the more stunned and hurt I feel.
September 14th, 2007 at 07:33 PM
You posted here first and I have no problem with you choosing this forum because we are having a simple discussion relating to Five Points.
FPA paid for half your anniversary party. It is a valid point that board members continue to due well by the association.
After the article was published, you met with Merritt yesterday and then sent an e-mail announcing that you have been invoiced for half but haven’t paid yet. So, in short the association fronted the money and “footed” the bill for the other half.
So were you meeting with Merritt yesterday to plan Greek Store’s anniversary?
Let’s not play victim here. I think the membership elected you to the board knowing you would bring a fresh perspective and would look out for the greater good of the area. If we are going to play defensive and reiterate how the board is elected, we already have Debbie for that.
Jack Van Loan gets a free ride and yes Merritt is trying to earn her 40k tax-payer funded salary, but it would sure be nice to see some efforts outside of board member establishments.
Really the party thing is so minor. Why must the association always distract from the real issues facing the merchants?
It is my impression that the board continues to ignore straight facts on how the meters were put in underhandedly, the $100,000 in St Patty’s day commissions, Jack’s salary for “being a gopher” and Hiltner making the decisions while hiding behind Merritt and the board.
So either continue more of the same or ignore these points or the Association as a whole can reach out to Greek Store, Two G’s, Wish, Portfolio, Upstairs Audio, and ec.
I know you have been doing your part to reach out, but the people I talk to in the neighborhood continue to feel misrepresented. (Most recently with the way the FPA placed a stamp of approval on the santee street development.)
And don’t worry about the paper’s financial status. Five Points Association has a big ad planned for next issue and a large ad agency placed a nice size ad buy today.
As for journalistic standards, I don’t really think there is much hope for Ted Rall and Savage Love but I think we are doing a good job picking up their slack here locally.
September 14th, 2007 at 09:22 PM
two things
one…glad to hear the 15 yr party for your biz was a smashing good time.
I was on my honeymoon!!!
Next
I think that our five points should have received some money. It is a legit organization. The FPA has its good points, but overall does not represent the merchants, aka people who dont sell booze minus debbie.
Redevelopment will happen, but people are very niave if they think chain places such as the gap etc arent looking to move in.
glad I am no longer there.
but best wishes and love to the area.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:03 PM
I go away for six months and this is what happens?
September 14th, 2007 at 11:52 PM
Here are some basic facts: Hospitality grants are awarded on the basis of the recepient being able to “put butts in seats”. Although I personally think a dog day would be fun, it would not do what the grant requires. As for a parents weekend, 5 Pts is swamped when USC hosts this and our daily sales show it. I assume both of these facts weighed heavily when the “Our 5 Pts” grant was reviewed. (BTW, Burts always excuses himself from the room when the hospitality board is voting on a 5 Pts request.) The hospitality board also does not make the final decision. As mentioned before, Randy was asked to sit on the board, as were Peter at Wish and Martha Lynn at the Greek Store. Joe Azar is a FPA member and has been asked to be a block captain. I consider this “reaching out”.
September 15th, 2007 at 03:51 AM
Debbie, despite what you think I respect you and appreciate what your businesses bring to Five Points.
But I think you missed this paragraph the first time: “It is my impression that the board continues to ignore straight facts on how the meters were put in underhandedly, the $100,000 in St Patty’s day commissions, Jack’s salary for “being a gopher” and Hiltner making the decisions while hiding behind Merritt and the board”. You failed to address even one of those so that response felt more like a “reach around”.
York: Brevity is the soul of wit, and again even during a somewhat emotional and heated discussion….you make me laugh out loud. You can truly be the board member that brings everyone together.
Unfortunately, it is currently the same people doing the same things but I still have hope we can all get together and move forward. I’m just not willing to pretend that the majority of daytime merchants aren’t frustrated with the association.
This is just my opinion so please send yours to talkback@columbiacitypaper.com and we’ll print it without commentary on our end.
September 15th, 2007 at 08:41 AM
Ah York, such a nice guy. I should be more like him.
No, and I was not running up there to do damage control. “Oh Merritt, Paul has found out about us, we must create a paper trail!” In fact, I would never do such a thing. If I made a mistake, I wouldn’t try to hide it. I would stand up and admit it. I have done so on numerous occasions. I will do so again when the situation warrants such an admission.
I went up there because she is a friend and I knew she was upset. I guess that makes me some sort of phony.
Not to us. To have your reputation besmirched by your own friend and publisher is no small matter indeed. If you’d been there, sir, you would have heard me make a heartfelt speech about the deep meaning behind my 25 years in this neighborhood as both a customer as well as a merchant.
Who is we? I mean, look, there’s nothing more I can do. Merritt has made a good and fair effort to rebuild a bridge that she never burned in the first place, but I suspect she has now done so for that last time. Can you blame her?
My time has value (though you wouldn’t think so from all the effort put toward this discussion), and I just can’t do any more than I have done in the way of offering ideas. Angering the very people who are in a position to help is not the way forward. I remember well the day you and I discussed how we were both shit-stirrers, but in my case such behavior is not an end in itself, nor should yours be. Just my opinion.
September 15th, 2007 at 09:46 AM
Paul, if you had attended our 15th Anniversary celebration, (to which you were invited numerous times but said you had forgotten “a previous engagement,” ), you might have experienced true joy and fellowship, something that, considering your behavior, I can only assume is sadly missing in your life.
If you possessed genuine journalistic standards, you could have simply requested to view my or Merritt’s hand-written notes from our first meeting about the event and we would have been more than happy to share them with you. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, you chose the more convenient route of insinuation and accusation. “Really, the party thing is so minor”: It was your choice to make a mountain out of this molehill, so deal with it.
And let’s remember: Our party was for the community, not for us. We wanted to, like our signature song says, “Thank you for a real good time.” A small, independently-owned business surviving for 15 years is no small feat in these times and we’re only still here because of our customers. That’s what the entire evening was celebrating. We gave away numerous pieces of merchandise from our store and collected money which we have since donated to Project Pet, Animal Protection League, and Pets, Inc. Furthermore, our good friends at Group Therapy I’m sure have no complaints since the party was moved there due to the threat of nasty weather and it was quite a night for them, as well.
So, should we have cancelled the entire event because we needed the assistance of FPA? I think not and I’m sure all of our friends who shared this special evening with us would agree. And most of all, I want to once again thank Merritt, whose energy, expertise, and professionalism continue to amaze me. Looking forward to our 20th! Peace…
September 15th, 2007 at 11:46 AM
I think this paper is so off-course and quite simply wrong about so many things that it is slander. I have been on the board of The Five Points Association for years now receiving no money, showing up to countless meetings and voting with the rest of the board to make the best possible decisions possible for the good of ALL of the merchants of Five Points. I am so upset by all the CRAP that I have read here that my hands are shaking and I am furious. If anyone, and I do mean anyone, wants to accuse the Five Points Association of not doing anything not on the up and up, call me at 256-0557 and talk to me. Don’t go around on comment boards with code names, sculking around in the shadows, making false allegations because its not right.
Very sincerely, John Green Owner of The Cycle Center
September 15th, 2007 at 01:42 PM
Jen, I am sorry I missed the party, I had a date at Gervais & Vine. All you had to do was to ask me to get the waitress to give me the order ticket and I would have been happy to provide it to you before making such accusations about loneliness here.
Thank you, the board members for all showing up and confirming:
No one can address the St. Patty’s Day commissions
The board will keep doing what is best for the board. (It didn’t take long for McCallister to fall into that trap. He abused his position on the board to hold an event for his business… deal with it.)
Dennis Hiltner keeps making decisions with out votes from the board and membership.
Keep holding events for yourselves and patting yourselves on the back, and ignore the vast number of businesses upset. Don’t worry it is clear the City will keep giving you hundreds of thousands of tax dollars every year. ”
September 15th, 2007 at 04:02 PM
I propose a town-hall style meeting (no, not a George W Bush-style one, an actual open forum) where all the players could attend, make their assertions, have their concerns addressed, debated, whatever. I will recuse myself, as my role as both a contributer to the paper, as well as a member of the FPA, renders my testimony suspect (I think it gives me a unique objectivity, but that’s in the eye of the beholder).
We could even get a celebrity mediator of some kind, Joe Pinner, let’s say, or maybe Araeola Ripasta (sp.) from Fox. Publicize it to the hilt. Show people that the beating heart of Five Points is there on display in all its ragged glory, show them that we are grownup and sophisticated enough to lay down our emotional arms and go into this intellectual and political battle supported only by the facts. Not he said, she said, but he did, she did, and here is the supporting documentation.
And no, I’m not talking about these untoward allegations about the Lucy fest. I am quite satisfied about the appearance of propriety in regard to that issue. No, I’m talking about the big issues, the ones about which Paul wants definitive answers.
I’m quite serious about this.
September 15th, 2007 at 05:20 PM
I think the parking meter situation spoke for the issue. The FPA can not ever represent the entire community. People have been in control to long, and others dont want to be bothered after five.
When a major issue that impacts an area comes up the city itself should do more to solve/research the issue…..but it did not, and does not.
September 15th, 2007 at 09:01 PM
re Adversion’s post:There were public meetings re the meters and the consultants went door to door in the area for feedback. The following is part of the overview: When the City began work on a Parking Master Plan, the Five Points Association requested that a special section be devoted to Five Points. City Council agreed and expanded the scope of work for the parking planner, HNTB Corporation. HNTB is an internationally recognized parking planning and development company. The main body of work for the study was done by Peter Flotz and Chris Luz, two very experienced parking professionals. When completed, the study concluded that the major parking problem in Five Points was caused by the lack of an enforceable parking mechanism. Timed parking allowed a large number of employees to park on the street. The study estimated that during various periods as many as 30 to 40 per cent of the on-street parking was taken up by employees. There are currently 330 on-street parking spaces in Five Points and about 200 in what can be described as the “heart of Five Points: the 700 block of Saluda, 2000 Devine, 2000 Greene and the 600 and 700 blocks of Harden. Using the lower estimate of the study, nearly 60 spaces at any given time were taken up by employees. Surveys done at the time showed 95 to 100% occupancy in the heart of Five Points at that time during peak hours. The solution recommended by the final study, the 2002 Parking Master Plan, was to install meters in all of the timed spaces in Five Points. A number of public meetings were held to discuss the recommendations, including a wrap-up session held in the meeting area of the Finlay House attended by about 30 business owners and managers from Five Points. The consultants also had a great deal of one-on-one discussion with merchants, walking from door to door during several visits to Columbia. They received no negative feedback to their recommendation for parking meters.
September 15th, 2007 at 11:56 PM
Debbie—anytime you want to talk about the parking meters and how they got to Five Points —lets meet in front of 2Gs—and please bring as many interested people so we can get the truth out—also we can go over the survey John Spade did for the city that proved employee parking was not a problem —done this past year. As you know I do not like to hide behind emails etc.. I like to face anyone who wants to know what I think or has a problem with me.As for me being asked to run for the board we need to expand on that —I will be glad to explain so whenyou refer to me again you will be able to tell the whole story—-You and I had a conversation before and I asked you if you had a problem with me to come and face me with it–I am asking you again do not refer to me in anyway —because you never give the whole story. My number is 254-2016 for anyone who might have a question for me or find me @723 Saluda Ave
September 16th, 2007 at 12:36 AM
Debbie or anyone else I will not check this site again –so if you response you need to do so to my face—you have my address–
September 16th, 2007 at 01:18 AM
I am sorry but —-I need to get this out–This week I saw a customer to Five Points talking with Debbie beside her car–she had a parking ticket in her hand–very upset-what happened she put money in the wrong meter –Debbie took the ticket and they walked into Revente—Man –Debbie was going to do the right thing and take care of the ticket for the lady—the lady cameout ticket in hand–I went out as she was leavingand she was really mad–said she had brought earrings in Revente and could not understand which meter was hers–Debbie gave her a token–I got the ticket and paid it—I paid 3 tickets for customers this week–which is a slow week–so do not say those meters are not hurting us. This customer will not be back —Your customer Debbie not mine—Please understand again any response —in person
September 16th, 2007 at 08:28 AM
to Randy: I offered to pay her ticket and she said no! I then notified the city that the meters were confusing and they needed to do something that made it more clear which meter was “theirs”. I took her into the shop to give her the phone # of parking. Why she let you pay the ticket and not me is beyond me.
September 16th, 2007 at 11:44 AM
However they got there (and this was covered extensively, IMO, by my columns Family Feud pt 1& 2), the meters aren’t going away. At least those who opposed them got a compromise on the Saturday enforcement. Minor, perhaps, but a victory nonetheless.
And whatever machinations went on behind the scenes, Dennis did have a fairly cogent argument for the meters, one that luckily for him was apparently bourne out by the parking study. He went against the ostensible wishes of the majority of the merchants, though, and that is a problem. But he’s not the President anymore. Should we take him out and horsewhip him, too? Maybe we could sell tickets to offset all of our lost business we’ve supposedly suffered because of the green bandits.
One last thing before I take time out of my Sunday to go feed hungry folks at Food Not Bombs: I think everybody should stop acting like no one ever got a fucking parking ticket before the meters were put in. If I saw Sgt. Metts write one ticket, I must have seen him write a thousand in my years on the Avenue.
September 16th, 2007 at 10:39 PM
Okay, Paul. Allow me to clarify my last statements. The words “previous engagement” appeared, as you see here, inside quotation marks, not as some sort of accusation but because, well, it was a direct quote of what you said to me the last time I invited you to share in our celebration. And I certainly would never suggest that you are a lonely guy, although if you continue to squander the good will extended to you by individuals such as Merritt, Don, and myself and insult the very people who try to support and improve your paper by placing ads and writing quality columns, you will indeed find yourself in that predicament at some point in the near future.
September 17th, 2007 at 03:14 AM
Jen,
I haven’t insulted anyone. If anything you are the one continuing to try to get personal here.
The history of the association is to be self serving, defensive and attack any one with questions. As suggested in my column this is all very familiar behavior although we do have one new player.
What do you think about the St. Patty’s Day commissions and Hiltner announcing in a neighborhood meeting that the association approves the project on Santee without a vote from the board or its membership?
September 17th, 2007 at 08:16 AM
The insult part comes in by treating the column that was published under your byline as “news” and not “opinion”. You didn’t know what the circumstances were regarding the Lucy’s event, you just published conjecture. That ain’t news.
I think the St Pat’s commissions are all well-deserved. The event, a complicated one to pull off, is the singular day out of the entire year that most promotes the neighborhood. Everybody that wishes to makes money; money goes to deserving charities; folks are allowed to walk around on the street and get drunk until they vomit and/or soil themselves. Where is the malfeasance? I mean, seriously, please remind me what the specific allegation is regarding St Pat’s monies. I could be wrong, and will admit so if there is actual evidence–not emotional conjecture–of somebody doing something that is not kosher.
As for the FPA “approval” of the Santee building, do you really, really think that us not “approving” the plan would change anything at all? We’ve done everything possible to ensure that the project goes forward in a manner that is consistent with the Future Five standards, though height is the one aspect that we had to give in on. I said in the meeting, well, I hate to see a big red cube blotting out the sun, I worry about too many more corporate chains setting up shop in the neighborhood, etc etc, but I suppose if we finally get the parking garage we’ve always wanted, we can live with it. A compromise. (Oh, I think I wrote a CityPaper column about all that. I will check my files.) Besides, if I have a Walgreen’s right across the street, that means I can get condoms that much quicker, and, boy, you don’t know what a help that will be to a man’s man like me.
In any case, I think it’s likely that the City and developer were already in bed together on the parking garage aspect, so, once again, the FPA wields no magical power. Same with the meters. It just so happened that Dennis’s desire and the city’s hunger for meter revenue were compatible–if the entire membership body of the FPA had descended en masse upon City Hall and demanded no meters, it would not have made one bit of difference. Again, it wasn’t handled correctly or fairly by the FPA leadership at that time, though there were opportunities to make objections heard. (And furthermore, the meters are not the primary reason behind the decline in business that some people have felt. They just aren’t. There are many, many other factors in play. I may discuss this in the next FPC column.)
And to go all the way back to the beginning of this thread, making accusations in the press that aren’t demonstrably true will only make matters worse, not change them for the betterment of CityPaper, or the disgruntled merchants who don’t want to work with the established mechanisms, etc.
Leadership in the FPA is available to those who wish to seek it out. Merritt has been willing to go the extra mile to assuage wittle hurt feelings, to change the by-laws if necessary to promote the supposedly missing element of egalitarianism, to forgive all manner of sins and and slights and personal insults, to move forward in way that is healthy for us both as merchants, as well as human beings. Her reward? Being shit on by the very people she’s trying to serve.
My reward for all this perspicacity? TBD.
September 17th, 2007 at 12:13 PM
There have been no insults. She hasn’t been shit on. I consider her $40,000 salary with her level of experience an award from all taxpayers in Columbia.
As far as my mistake unlike FPA I can admit when I make one, and will run a correction:
Is there something else wrong i the column that I need to correct?
September 18th, 2007 at 03:56 PM
Jen McCallister paid her way for the Loose Lucy’s anniversary/ 5 After Five.
(FPA is still over spending on poster design, sound and ads.)
Still the $850 seems fair as it covers the posters and ads that Loose Lucy’s benefited from.
While it was not the main point of the story, it still deserves a correction and an apology. FPA did not flip the bill but did pay for a majority of the event.
I think the Our Five Points Group has some valid concerns as it does always seem FPA doesn’t look outside of board member establishments.