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Customer Flow Going Down Drain

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Peter Girouard spends most days staring at empty barber's chairs.

He took over this small barbershop on Adams Street about two years ago, parlaying his savings into a business he believed was a perfect fit for the city's commercial district.

Like other proprietors, Girouard bought into the vision of a revitalized downtown that was espoused by civic groups, city officials and planners who have been trying for several years to fill empty storefronts and encourage pedestrian traffic on the main thoroughfare.

But business hasn't been good recently.

In fact, Girouard said, the downtown is becoming even more of a ghost town.

'Most days, I'm lucky if a couple people walk through that door,' he said.

Compounding the drought is a stormwater drainage project on Adams Street that has obstructed the entrance to his barbershop for the past six months, driving potential customers away.

'Everything is going against us,' Girouard said. 'We're suffering down here.'

The owners of Christina's Restaurant and other Main Street area businesses have come forward in recent weeks to complain about the effect of having Adams Street blocked off and ripped up.

The $2.17 million project includes a new stormwater collection system along Missouri and Nebraska avenues and a new stormwater main and treatment unit on Adams.

Funding includes $1.15 million from a public works reserve account plus a Community Development Block Grant and a Southwest Florida Water Management District grant.

City officials say the improvements will alleviate chronic flooding downtown.

Robert Rivera, construction services manager for the public works department, said the contractor, Steve's Excavating and Paving, has experienced numerous delays.

'We're dealing with a very old drainage system in the downtown, and the contractor has encountered many problems underground that had not been anticipated,' Rivera said.

Originally, the project was expected to be finished by the end of this month, Rivera said, but the delays have pushed back the completion date to the beginning of January.

'I understand the concerns of business owners,' Rivera said. 'It's an inconvenience.'

Mayor Dan Tipton and other city council members are fuming over the delays.

'It's excuse after excuse after excuse,' he said. 'I'm getting tired of it.'

City officials said they will meet with merchants to discuss their difficulties and will closely monitor the drainage work to ensure it stays on schedule.
Girouard said the delays are only one symptom of a declining downtown.

'People just pass through here to get somewhere else,' he said. 'They never stop.'

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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