Athens City Council met Monday to further discuss proposed plans to create an area uptown for pedestrians to eat and socialize and considered location changes for Boogie on the Bricks.
Some business owners are unhappy with Athens City Council’s plans to create a space for pedestrians to spend time Uptown.
The area, which was proposed by council members at the April 11 meeting, would be on West Union Street and include tables for pedestrians to eat and socialize.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said the project would eliminate six or seven parking parking spaces from the existing 12 on the north side of West Union Street.
At Monday night’s council meeting, Eric Gunn, owner of The Union, said he was unhappy with the the proposed area.
“I am intimately familiar with the street, and a hundred percent opposed to this new green space, Gunn said. “I think there are better places to put this.”
Gunn said he has made a serious financial investment in a new stage and sound system in order to bring more national acts to The Union.
“The Union has been a pillar of the music scene for the last 50 years, and if we lose parking in front, it will throw a serious wrench in us getting a national act,” Gunn said. “It would hurt us.”
Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st ward, supported the project and said a change in location was possible.
“I understand the concerns of some of our citizens, but this doesn’t mean we can’t do this elsewhere,” he said. “This is just a starting point.”
Council members also considered reducing the area reserved for Boogie on the Bricks. Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd ward, suggested reducing the area from one block instead of two, so the city would not have to block off so much area uptown.
The June 25 event — which features live music and vendors — has spanned from West Union Street to State Street in the past.
Judy Wymer, event coordinator for Boogie on the Bricks, who was present at the meeting, said she prefers the event to stay on two blocks, because of previous years’ turnout.
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“We’ve had six thousand people in the past, and I cannot see that many people fitting in one block,” Wymer said.
Council members proposed moving the event’s location to include Washington Street to Carpenter Street, but Wymer said she is hesitant to place a stage on Carpenter, because it will take away from the rest the festival has to offer.
“We need more than one block to cater to merchandise vendors,” Wymer said.
Patterson said he ideally would like to keep the event to two blocks or less.
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