CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – Businessman Jim Crooks had a lot on his mind on Wednesday night during Citizens Comments of the Clarion Borough Council meeting, including a Main Street dotted with ugly trees, cigarette butts, and a need for leadership.

“I want to thank council for all that you do for Main Street, and I’m talking about our central business district,” started Crooks.

“We are one of the gateways to Cook Forest, and I had a customer from out of town, and he asked me what’s with all of the dead trees on Main Street?”

“We see it every day. I walk that Main Street every day like many of you. We get used to seeing things, and we block out certain things – we block out ugly things.”

Crooks said that he went out Wednesday and took pictures, circulating them among council members.

“The last time we replaced the trees I went out and raised money. It wasn’t that long ago, and a couple of them didn’t even make it. It’s really ugly – it’s just ugly. Paul Weaver’s clock hasn’t worked for a really long time. We all loved Paul Weaver, and we named the park after him.”

Borough Council President Carol Lapinto interjected stating that the problem with the clock is the water underground. “Clancy (Weaver) had it fixed, and it just wouldn’t work. I suggested that we look into some type of solar thing so that could work.”

“The other thing is that Faller’s have spent a fortune of their own money to repair their building,” continued Crooks. “Other businesses – I have spent a lot of money on our downtown, on my properties, to make them look good.  There are buildings on Main Street that I am very concerned about; one is the old Haskell Building (corner of Main and Fifth Avenue).”

“I wish I could say that we had a strong central business district organization, but there’s like only two or three of us interested in pursuing that.  It’s tough, really tough.  The thing about it is that it’s not a lot of money.  We have a whole maintenance department that’s great and could replace these trees. It’s not about money – it’s about get it done.  Let’s do it, and let’s have a commitment.”

“Brookville was just written up in the Post-Gazette about their downtown, and it was great.”

Lapinto said that she couldn’t see what’s so great about Brookville, and they didn’t even have the Laurel Festival this year.

Crooks added that he had also read about the challenges at Clarion University.

“Right now we need leadership and positive reinforcement,” said Crooks.

“The other thing is that we have several of the bars on Main Street that do not pick up their freakin’ cigarette butts. It’s so irritating when I walk by and see two thousand.  I’m all for having a beer and having fun, but if we’re going to have bars on Main Street, they should do something, and we need to control this smoking issue. They should have something out there that you could put the cigarettes out.”

“There should be an ordinance, and I can’t understand why a person doesn’t want to clean up in front of their business – we do every single moment. I know that you can’t legislate that, but you certainly can legislate littering.”

“It’s gross – you don’t even want to walk there – you just want to hold your nose when you’re walking by.  We all live here, and we have a lot of out of town.  My business really depends on these people coming in from Cook Forest and the Gateway.  More than ever retail is being hit from all sides, and we all know that, and we can’t stop change, I wish I could slow it down a little bit, but we all need to circle our wagons around town and do what we can to make it the best.”

Council outlined plans to divert over $50,000.00 in grant money from repairs to the Paul A. Waver Park to Main Street improvements.  The Main Street trees have had problems growing in a concrete box and confining roots.

The Housing and Zoning Officer will be writing bar owners urging them to police cigarette butts.

The Blueprint Communities has several beautification projects planned, but funding also delays action, and its projects are usually more long-term.

Borough residents Kris Cosby and Janet Horn notified council about several drainage and water on roads problems in Clarion Borough and asked for a plan to correct the areas.