Local business owner expresses disappointment in Lock Haven City Council; claims city use request approval is unfair

By Emily Wright

LOCK HAVEN – The owner of The Broken Axe, Nick Hawrylchak, expressed his thoughts on Lock Haven City Council’s decision to grant what he deems an unfair “economic advantage” to one privately owned local bar and restaurant during council’s most recent public meeting earlier this week.

Hawrylchak began his statement by mentioning that he has made an effort to help other neighboring restaurant and bar owners in recent years, also stating that he supports them. He expressed that his disappointment is directed at city council members for not recognizing the scope of economic advantage given to only one bar and restaurant in downtown Lock Haven, The Old Corner Grill and Bottle Shop on Grove Street.

“I am here today to speak about my disappointment in many members of this council who fail to understand the scope of economic advantage that the city has chosen to give a single private business. You have approved the use of city property and resources for a private business to quadruple its area of operation for every Friday and Saturday (the two biggest days of restaurant business) for one-third of the year.”

The issue at hand pertains to the approval of use requests made by downtown restaurant owners to close streets, allowing them to expand their operating area and encourage more foot traffic.

Hawrylchak contends that the city has displayed a lack of understanding by providing The Old Corner Grill and Bottle Shop with an unfair advantage and neglecting other downtown businesses in doing so.

To illustrate his point, Hawrylchak recounted his previous attempts to collaborate with a local non-profit organization two years ago to host similar events around his place of business, The Broken Axe at Bald Eagle and Liberty Streets.

“In 2021 I had a meeting with a previous manager of downtown Lock Haven and a member of the city staff in an attempt to have outside music at the Train Station Gallery. During this meeting I was informed that due to the city’s Main Street closures, they would only support events if they did not conflict with the city events, suggesting I should hold them on non-weekend days.”

Hawrylchak stated that he worked with fellow businesses and a different downtown Lock Haven manager the following year to create “Sidestreet Saturday” events. This initiative did get approval but with limitations. Hawrylchak stated that the plan for Sidestreet Saturday events was developed with the understanding that their request would only be granted if the chosen dates did not conflict with other music events in the city.

“With this, we were restricted to three days a summer. We continued this this past summer but with inclement weather [we] only were able to have one event.”

Expressing his disappointment at the limitations the city put on his requests to host events around The Broken Axe’s property.

“I ignorantly assumed that this city council would realize that they had allowed an obviously unfair advantage for a single business and would at the least give some time and thought to approving another year of full street closures for a single private business. Unfortunately, less than two weeks after the conclusion of the street closures you have already again approved this unprecedented use of taxpayer resources for the same business with very little thought, discussion, or opportunity for public feedback,” Hawrylchak stated to council members.

Additionally, Hawrylchak raised concerns about the city council’s compliance with Pennsylvania’s open meetings and Sunshine doctrine. He highlighted that the very meeting he spoke at was originally advertised to take place at two different street addresses and also that the city council’s requirement to post a notice of the meeting at its location was not met. Additionally, he highlighted that the agenda for the meeting posted online and at City Hall displayed the wrong date, indicating a failure to meet the requirements of proper notice.

Hawrylchak stated that he expects city council members to be capable of recognizing and acknowledging what he referred to as a “disproportionate economic advantage”, given that only The Old Corner Grill and Bottle Shop has been approved for a street closure while others have made similar requests and have been denied.

“I did not come here angrily demanding you cancel all the street closures. Not a single other restaurant owner I talked with expressed that. We expected you to understand the disproportionate economic advantage you are giving a single private business and hope you would use some deference to limit that advantage to allow for the other taxpaying businesses to have opportunities,” he stated.

In response, City Council member Douglas Byerly stated that he had been contacted by another local business owner who echoed some of the same concerns that Hawrylchak addressed, leading him to ask for clarification regarding whether the proper procedures are being followed for every request to use city streets or property.

According to Byerly, requests should be submitted to the Director of Community Life, Kasey Campbell, and be accompanied by relevant information. The staff would then review the request and make a recommendation to the council, who would ultimately make the final decision. While most requests are typically approved, there have been instances where the council has disagreed with staff recommendations. Byerly expressed concern about whether this process is followed for every request that is made.

Byerly mentioned that another business owner contacted him about the same issues Hawrylchak had addressed. That business owner felt that decisions were being made about their use request before it was ever presented to the city council. Byerly addressed this, stating, “If that’s the case, I have a concern about that because I don’t think that would be the staff’s job, and maybe it’s just my opinion, but I think that the staff’s job is to gather the info and present it to us. Then it’s our job as counsel to say, ‘There are too many things going on; we’re not going to approve that request, and here’s why,’ … I guess my concern is, have there been cases where a business makes a request and they’ve essentially been told ‘No we’re not going to approve that’?

According to Lock Haven Director of Community Life, Kasey Campbell, when businesses make requests to use city property for events such as summer concerts, she gives them a use form to fill out. “I always tell people ‘You can make your request, but I don’t make those decisions.’ I give people the forms and if they don’t bring the forms back to me… I’m not going to follow up with everyone I’ve ever given a form to, but we have our procedures,” she said.

Byerly provided an example that came from a business located downtown. The business owner had requested to close off a portion of their street for three separate weekend dates to host events. The business owner expressed that they felt their Use Request was denied because it “didn’t fit in with the city’s plans”. Byerly stated that he did not speak directly with the business owner, but that the former downtown Lock Haven manager came to him with grave concerns about the process of making a Use Request.

Byerly emphasized the importance of treating each Use Request fairly, stating, “I just want to make sure that all requests are being treated the same[…] We certainly don’t want to have business owners be fearful to bring something to the city, specifically in my seat and to counsel, that they feel they don’t have a fair opportunity to make a request. That would be troubling to me.”

Mayor Joel Long asserted that if a verbal request has been made without following proper procedures, it cannot be approved.

Council member Barbara Masorti added that Use Request forms are available online and that they are easy for anyone to access. City Manager Greg Wilson also added that the forms are easy to locate on the website by using the spyglass search feature, where individuals can search for specific forms such as a Use Request form.

According to Hawrylchak, he has spoken to eight other downtown restaurant owners who share the same sentiments as him, however, those restaurant owners chose not to attend the city council meeting or be named specifically.

“I would like to finish by stating that even with the many conversations I had with other local restaurant owners, many expressed their hesitancy to attend tonight’s meeting due to an overwhelming feeling that any public disagreement with this council or the city would make the likelihood of future projects within the city difficult. I find this very disappointing and believe that you as councilmen should really think about how you can change that feeling.”

In closing, Hawrylchak urged the council members to consider how they could foster a better environment for these types of conversations, stating, “I believe that conversation and civil discourse should be encouraged to ensure equal opportunities for all city taxpayers.”

Greg Lightner of Domino’s in downtown Lock Haven made statements in agreement with Hawrylchak. “I feel like it’s unprecedented that a business gets to shut down almost half of their entire block every Friday and Saturday, and there’s only one business that’s gaining from this. They say it brings people into town, but it brings these people into one specific business and that business is the only one profiting from this, nobody else,” he said.

To make a request to the Council for the use of city property or other special requests, the forms that must be submitted to the Director of Community Life for processing can be accessed at https://lockhavenpa.gov/dept/parks/.