Blog Readers:  Take a little stroll down the Main Street of Burton and one thing will be very apparent to you - YOU CAN'T SEE ANY OF THE BUSINESSES!  Absolutely EVERY sign is NOT visible from the street!  When I have out-of-town customers come to my store, I have to guide them with a phone right to my front door BECAUSE THEY CANNOT SEE MY BIG STORE SIGN!  Now to those of you who work for someone else and could give a damn, think again about how the merchants of Burton - those hard-working guys and gals who make a LIVING with their stores - have to DEPEND on a street sign to attract business.  I will be attending the Burton Village Council meeting this Monday night and I will be informing the Mayor and his Council that they either trim the trees in front of my store OR GODDAMN I WILL DO THEIR JOB FOR THEM.  Period.  Here is a letter that another Burton Main Street merchant wrote to the Burton Village Council.   A must read and some very fine points!

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To my fellow Burton Merchants, and the Village of Burton Council,
Tree Commission, and residents, 

     Geauga Power Sports has just passed the two month mark, we are surviving, growing, and making every effort to be here to STAY! I still feel that I made the right choice for location, among the other shops of the historic district, making us a destination for riders. We have hosted a few rides beginning here in Burton, and have sent at least a few customers to our neighbors. I truly hope that G.P.S. is a benefit to our community as the shop grows. 

     After these first few months, I am finding that warnings from residents and merchants that Burton's politics can be “quirky” (and that is being polite) is turning out to be true. I am pleased some good came out of our less than streamlined sign application, and future start ups will benefit from an easier process. It is one step toward making this town more business friendly. I still strongly believe that local governments have a responsibility to make their town business friendly. Not just a responsibility to the business owner, but a responsibility to the residents of the community as well. Stable merchants are the backbone of the community, as well as the building blocks of that that communities tax base. Creating an environment that hinders starting, operating, or growing a business weakens the community. Taking actions that hinder businesses, or failing to correct past actions that hinder businesses is irresponsible of any elected or appointed public official. After all, they were elected (or appointed) to act in the best interest of the citizens who elected them. The principle of being guilty by lack of action holds true for residents and non-resident merchants as well. If we do not speak up, and hold our local officials to their responsibilities, we have no one but ourselves to blame. 

     So today I begin speaking on a specific issue here in Burton. I have asked politely and quietly about the issue of trees blocking visibility of the merchants signs before. I will get a bit 'louder' now. The issue may seem rather small, but think about it. The merchants on N. Cheshire Street have signs for their businesses for a reason. So customers can find them, and folks passing through will see them and stop in. Stand on the sidewalks, or drive down the street, and it is nearly impossible to see the signs of our merchants. Recently another merchant told me of a conversation with a lady who said she was wondering where she could find some local gift shops. She was standing on the sidewalk, but unable to see any of the signs across the street! I get several calls every week from folks who came to find us, asking where we are. We give them directions to lead them in, and when they get here it is the same story. They had already driven by, and cannot believe they can't see any of the signs on the street! This is not isolated to my store, I have heard the same complaint from almost every other merchant in town. The next thing said is usually that they don't bother to speak up because they feel there will never be any action, or don't want to be viewed as rocking the boat. So why is the situation the way it is? Obviously a better decision could have been made years ago about the type of trees to plant on N. Cheshire Street, perhaps Weeping Cherries that would not have grown so tall and still looked quite beautiful, but that ship has sailed. Obviously the trees have not been trimmed in several years, if ever. They are now blocking merchants signs, and beginning to grow into the overhead wires. When I travel around N.E. Ohio, passing through other small towns, I notice something different. Chagrin Falls, Chardon, Garrettsville, I could name more. Look across the street in their historic districts and you can see the merchants signs! A result of common sense and good planning by local officials. 

     Now am I anti tree? No. I love a beautiful main street, a nice park, and I love small town America. However, the desire to have attractive trees lining our streets must be balanced by the needs of our merchants to operate their businesses without unnecessary headaches, so they can be the stable foundation of our community and tax base that we need them to be. It is time for the Burton Tree Commission to stop talking about this problem and get moving on a solution. I will not accept “we are looking into the issue” as an answer. Set a deadline. Make it someones responsibility. Make it happen. It is also time we all start holding our officials to their responsibilities. If we, the residents and merchants do not speak up, it does not matter if no one is listening. This is but one issue that is holding us back, due to inaction. While other towns, from residents, to merchants, to public officials, work to prosper, we are still hoping the wind will blow the right way so our signs can be seen through the trees.
Matthew T. Mesarchik
Owner, Geauga Power Sports
14538 North Cheshire Street
Burton, Ohio, 44021
440.834.1125


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Geauga Power Sports
Matthew T Mesarchik
Ohio Motorized Trails Association
-Legislative Affairs Liaison
National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Council
-Associate State Partner, Ohio
A.M.A. #866507
United we ride.