Consultant hired to advise Oberlin retailers

Downtown Oberlin will get advice on what most appeals to students

An enthusiastic group of students met to discuss long-term development of the Oberlin downtown area on Tuesday evening.

Over 10 students met with a representative of a Columbus consulting firm to give input on such issues as transportation, commerce and entertainment.

Hal Miksch, a representative of Building Connections, a developmental consulting firm from Columbus, was invited to speak to the students by Joe DiChristina, assistant to Diana Roose. Roose is Assistant to President of the College Nancy Dye.

Miksch explained that his firm is planning to spend over three months working on a long-term plan for downtown Oberlin.

Miksch said he planned to visit over 30 individuals during his three-day stay in Oberlin. While the majority of his time in Oberlin was spent meeting with individuals from the downtown area, he agreed with DiChristina that it was a good idea to hear the suggestions of the student body.

DiChristina became involved with the project at Roose's request. Roose was chosen to assign a committee to work closely with Miksch on the planning process.

The committee is made up of six members who represent diverse viewpoints of downtown development, including merchants, property owners, the College, the media, and the city government. Roose asked DiChristina to represent the College on the committee.

Miksch began Tuesday's meeting by explaining the general focus of his work, which is the economically viable development of the downtown area. He said the two most vital aspects of a community are its schools and its downtown.

The conversation quickly became lively as students discussed transportation issues, including bike lanes, skateboard and roller-blade lanes and parking problems. Students were strongly against the idea of adding more parking spaces, even though they admitted the downtown was too congested. Some raised the idea of having underground parking in the lot directly East of the Conservatory and eliminating parking on Main Street.

The strongest reaction of the evening was in support of the use of the College's new student One Cards downtown. Most students agreed that if they could use their i.d. cards downtown they would often do so. They claimed it would increase support of the local business and stop those students who buy from the college vendors who come to campus every few months.

Students were also supportive of forcing the College to buy more local products. Marriott Corporation, which runs the campus dining halls, was given as an example. Senior Sarah Kotok said, "If Marriott were willing to buy locally, we could be feeding money back into the local economy."

Students also gave examples of how downtown merchants could make businesses more open to students. The idea of a music store, selling used and new music, used instruments, instrument parts and sheet music was strongly supported.

"The Co-op Bookstore kind of has a monopoly on music; they're forced to charge higher prices because they cater to so many people. I think there needs to be another music store downtown. It's important to concentrate on diversifying downtown businesses." junior Elias Holman said.

Other perceived needs included ethnic restaurants, such as Thai or Mexican food, and a drugstore to compete with the Revco and Drugmart on the outskirts of Oberlin. More local support for the farmer's market was also encouraged.

Miksch concluded the discussion by asking students to rate a number of aspects of the downtown. Students rated the election of goods, selection of restaurants, quality of restaurants and selection of services with an evaluation of "Fair," while quality of entertainment, prices, store hours, parking, appearance and store cleanliness were all given "Good" marks. Only convenience and personal safety were given "Excellent" ratings.