By CHAD CAIN
Daily Hampshire Gazette
Staff Writer
NORTHAMPTON — A meeting of downtown stakeholders called by Mayor David J. Narkewicz is scheduled for today, but it is not open to the public and apparently will not include some opponents of the Northampton Business Improvement District, which a judge last week ordered shut down.
Among those who say they were not invited to attend is Eric Suher, who arguably owns the most downtown property and is one of the most prominent opponents who brought the successful civil lawsuit against the city and the BID. In a press release issued yesterday afternoon, Suher, Alan Scheinman and Jeff Dwyer all said they were not invited to the meeting organized by the mayor in the wake of the ruling issued Nov. 12 by Hampshire Superior Court Judge John A. Agostini.
In their statement, Suher, Scheinman and Dwyer said they believe their exclusion from the mayor’s meeting indicates that the gathering of stakeholders is not a reconciliation meeting. Rather, the meeting will be used to eulogize the BID and to “vilify and demonize” those who opposed it, the press release states. They also believe the meeting will be a political face-saving effort on the part of the city and Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce.
“The attempt by the minority to impose a BID on a majority who didn’t want it has divided the community severely,” Scheinman said in an interview Wednesday. “There is no intention of reconciliation on their part.”
“To not invite the largest property owner downtown is pathetic,” he added. “It speaks of their attitude.”
The BID’s final steps remained in legal limbo. Agostini yesterday led a telephone conference call with lawyers for both sides in an attempt to seek a resolution to a BID request asking the judge to hold off on his decision until the BID appeals, or, if it elects not to appeal, until mid-February so it can wind up affairs.
The judge asked for more information and did not render a decision on the request yesterday.
Suher, Scheinman and Dwyer said that sometime after the holidays they will arrange a meeting open to all downtown property owners to discuss life after the BID.
Narkewicz was out of town yesterday, although his office confirmed that the meeting will not be open to the public. The mayor will moderate the meeting at 2 p.m. in the hearing room at City Hall and lead the discussion, which is meant to gather thoughts about the best way to meet downtown’s challenges in light of the BID’s dissolution. Narkewicz is expected to make a statement after the closed-door meeting.
Terry Masterson, the city’s economic development director, said the meeting is not meant to exclude property owners, all of whom have an important voice in the effort to grow downtown moving forward.
“This meeting is the start of a conversation that will include everyone about the fate of downtown,” Masterson said. “It is not a be-all, end-all meeting on downtown.”
He referred questions about who was invited to this meeting to the mayor.
Narkewicz called the meeting following Agostini’s ruling that the city failed to comply with state law when it created the BID five years ago and ordered it to immediately cease operations. Suher and Scheinman brought the lawsuit against the city.
Chad Cain can be reached at [email protected].
