Dear McKenzie City Council Members:

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a letter from the co-owners of Tri-County Publishing, Inc. dba The McKenzie Banner, Jason and Brittany Martin, that will be delivered to members of McKenzie City Council prior to the meeting and read during the meeting. This is also meant to serve as an additional attempt to contact the city council prior to the meeting on Thursday, June 13.

We understand that it is difficult to weigh all the information during the meeting time and then make an informed decision. We humbly ask that you review the information provided and please vote no on Ordinance 569.

Dear McKenzie City Council Members:

I am writing to you regarding the upcoming second reading of Ordinance 569 to convert Broadway Street to a one-way street.

It has recently come to our attention that some of you may be under the impression that you have to vote yes because you will be “voting against the law” if you vote no.

First of all, let me assure you, you are not required to vote yes. You are not breaking any laws. You didn’t create this issue.

Mayor Ryan Griffin decided to change the street without any requests, investigation, surveys, public input, prior notice, an ordinance, or anything else.

When it was recommended at the May meeting to table it until June to give the public a period for public input, the council, ignoring the advice of the city attorney, pushed forward; then, the mayor placed the tie-breaking vote.

The change affects more than just the businesses on Broadway Street. It affects Banner Row.

If it did not affect Banner Row, why does the lone sign indicating the change of travel face Banner Row? There are/were no other supporting signs.

Jason and I address this plea to the city council while metaphorically wearing two hats: 1. As advocates for all the citizens that do not want Broadway to be a one-way street and 2. As downtown business owners affected by the change.

The McKenzie Banner has been in the same location on Banner Row for over 100 years. Banner Row is a one-way street that dead ends into Broadway; so everyone on Banner Row is affected by the change on Broadway.

My family has been involved with the newspaper at that location since 1948, 76 years; and owned the business for three generations, since 1968, 56 years.

Williams Furniture, Maytag (now Hudgins Appliances), and Carroll Insurance have operated their businesses downtown for decades.

Yet, none of these businesses were consulted prior to the change.

The lone business owner on Banner Row (The McKenzie Banner) is asking you to please vote No on Ordinance 569 and keep Broadway Street two-way.

So far, 76 people, mostly residents of McKenzie, have signed the petition to keep Broadway Street two-way. Countless others have called The Banner or stopped us on the street to say they are against Broadway being one-way and in no uncertain terms have expressed their disgust.

One person said, “thank you for having the courage to do this. Everyone I’ve talked to is upset about the change, but they don’t have the courage to address the council.”

As you may be aware, for every person that has the courage to speak up there are many others, that were affected, but remained silent.

The newspaper’s role is to be the watchdog, to amplify the voices of the people, and be an advocate for the citizens when their elected officials fail to act in their best interests.

We were happy to continue operating our newspaper and print shop in the location we’ve held for the last 100 years; and the thing to note about The Banner (and myself) is that if you follow the rules, you won’t hear from us.

But when your actions suggest a disregard for sunshine laws, the public’s safety, a violation of the oath you took to serve the public, and a blatant disregard of the public’s wishes, then we take notice.

Then, we have to start thinking about what we’re going to do next now that this has happened.

So this is us fulfilling our duty to the citizens.

We talked to the owner of Dem Cookiez, and she said every one of her customers has complained about the changes.

In the almost two months since the change, we have only heard three reasons for the change: 1. It was changed for safety. 2. The road is too narrow. 3. The furniture trucks are sticking out.

Regarding the claim that this was done for safety, as Joel Washburn said, it is a solution to a non-existent problem. There was no safety issue with Broadway as a two-way street, the safety issue was created by changing Broadway to one-way.

Regarding the claim that the street is too narrow, Broadway is still wide enough for three lanes of traffic. I say three lanes because occasionally, since the sidewalks have been in place, there have been trucks parked in the middle of the street and vehicles were still able to travel on both sides of the truck.

Regarding the furniture truck sticking out into Broadway, the truck mentioned is pointed straight out, if the truck was aligned with the parking stripes it would not be an issue; also, a movable vehicle does not constitute a long-term roadway issue. The vehicle can/will be moved, but changing the road to a one-way street will make the roadway an issue forever.

During the last meeting, the mayor said that the intersection of Cedar and Broadway Streets is difficult to navigate because of sight lines; then added that it was a safety issue because someone had already run over the new concrete islands; but the incident mentioned happened at the opposite end of Broadway, near Lee Street, the new proposed route for all Broadway traffic.

I submit that there are many streets in town that have difficult sight lines. At the intersection of Lee and Main Streets it is difficult to see around the former WHDM building.

At the intersection of Cedar and Main Streets (at the traffic light), it is impossible to see around the Park Theatre when turning right onto Main (traveling toward the railroad crossing).

Since the parking lines on Broadway were sanded down and re-striped in the opposite direction, the parking now protrudes into Banner Row. When trucks park in the spaces closest to Banner Row, motorists on Banner Row cannot see around the vehicles.

However, I agree with the city’s attorney, Beau Pemberton, it is up to the motorist to exercise due care when operating a vehicle.

It is not the sole duty of the council to try to legislate every move motorists make in McKenzie, there are many other matters that require your attention. Although, if the council wishes to focus on street issues, several citizens have mentioned that the streets need to be repaved not just re-patched.

Joel Washburn made an interesting point when he contacted Councilman Bobby Young last week, Broadway Street and The McKenzie Banner building are both located in the historic district of McKenzie.

If he, as the owner of the building, wants to make any changes to his property, he has to request permission to do so and have the plans approved by the historic preservation committee and the planning commission.

Yet, this street, that has historically only ever been two-way, was changed without consulting either of those bodies.

Many times throughout the year, access to my business is blocked for festivals and events downtown. We lose revenue on those days, but to my knowledge we have never publicly mentioned it.

The Banner has accepted those temporary inconveniences in good faith, knowing they were only temporary and not meant to permanently impede our ability to do business.

However, changing Broadway Street to one-way has so far shown to be a permanent hindrance on the flow of commerce and I believe it will impede the success of downtown businesses.

According to the Federal Highway Administration and MTAS, one-way streets cause more travel times and confusion.

When tourists visit downtown they won’t remember exact details, but they will remember the feeling.

So if the feeling was frustration and confusion, that will leave a lasting mark on any hopes of tourism or population growth.

Unfortunately, the proposed route directs all Broadway traffic to drive past some of the worst kept buildings in town.

Lee Street is frequently blocked because it is used as a loading zone for McKenzie Station, Williams Furniture, TCP Print Shop/The McKenzie Banner, as well as Bethel Renaissance.

The Waldren Street STP Lighting project, which was finalized during Mayor Jill Holland’s tenure, invested in updating sidewalks, ADA compliance and the beautification of Waldren and Broadway Streets.

So, you’ve put all this money into beautifying Broadway only to undo the intended impression when you reroute all Broadway traffic onto Lee Street.

Hand in hand with tourism is industry. Industrial leaders visit a city before deciding whether to invest millions in the community and oftentimes many cities are competing for the industry. Quality of life is a factor in their decision-making.

I believe that business owners will ultimately choose to invest in a city that follows the law and conducts the city’s business in the sunshine. (See Sunshine laws).

I am concerned that this decision has exposed the city to liability and future litigation. I can appreciate admitting one’s mistakes, it is a necessary step on the path to personal growth; but saying I’m sorry will not undo the years of damage and financial ruin inflicted on the owners of the small businesses downtown if you continue on the current path.

At the last meeting, legal counsel advised to table it and seek public opinion, but the council surmised that one day of prior notice was sufficient for the public to get their newspaper in the mail, read it right then, see the agenda, make an informed decision about the matter, gather their courage and request to speak at the meeting before close of business that same day.

I say one day because the agenda was submitted for publication on Monday, the newspaper published on Tuesday, it was received in the local mail on Wednesday and interested parties had to contact the city on Wednesday (that same day) in order to speak at the meeting the next day, Thursday, May 9.

So, less than one day of notice. In addition to that, on Wednesday, May 8 Carroll County was under a tornado watch for most of the day as severe weather moved through. So residents’ thoughts were understandably elsewhere that day.

What about the residents that live outside the 382 zip code area, but own a business or property in McKenzie?

Their newspaper goes to Memphis first, so they received no notice.

I say all this to suggest that an agenda published in the meeting week’s newspaper is not adequate public notice. It is arguably a violation of the sunshine law.

Voting yes on this ordinance will surely be a stain on the McKenzie council’s reputation.

The city is dangerously close to the edge of an open meetings act violation, based on multiple issues, not just the ones mentioned here.

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” This simply means that transparency provides for good governance.

The Banner strongly urges the city of McKenzie’s board of mayor and council to familiarize yourselves with the sunshine laws.

Please, in the future, be more welcoming of input from the citizens you serve.

History has shown, if you ignore the voice of the people, the people will make their voices heard either at the ballot box or through the court of law.

Without small businesses like The Banner and others, the downtown would just be an endless expanse of vacant buildings.

If you change this street to one-way, it will dissuade potential businesses from locating downtown, it will repel industries from choosing McKenzie, and it will contribute to the shuttering of existing downtown businesses.

I ask you to thoughtfully consider the information I have provided today and please vote No on Ordinance 569.

Keep Broadway Street two-way. Thank you.

Brittany (Washburn) Martin, Publisher and Co-Owner

Jason R. Martin, General Manager and Co-Owner

Tri-County Publishing, Inc. dba The McKenzie Banner