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Downtown business owners press DDA on snow piles, parking-lot trash and maintenance
Summary
Public commenters and business owners told the DDA that large snow piles and day-to-day litter in rear parking areas and sidewalks are harming downtown appearance and safety; staff and board discussed coordination limits and possible next steps.
During public comment and later board discussion at the Feb. 26 meeting, downtown business owners and museum staff urged the Deep Coldwater DDA and city staff to address persistent snow piles, slushy gutters and trash in rear parking lots and alleyways.
Shauna Greif of the Children’s Museum said recent snow piles remained after warm weather and asked the city or DDA to remove them and to plow the back parking lot more frequently. "This last dump of snow we had, we had some piles of snow that was pushed to each end of the block… I'd like to look at, maybe having those piles of snow removed," Greif said during public comments.
Several business owners raised similar concerns later in the meeting, describing trash, vomit, discarded food containers and unkempt dumpsters in rear lot areas and saying the problem has grown as residential uses increased downtown. One business owner noted an improvement in sidewalk clearing after the city began assisting with sidewalks a few years ago, but said parking-lot cleanup remains inconsistent.
DDA staff and board members said coordination is difficult when DDA or Main Street does not control resident contact information for privately owned apartment parking; staff suggested convening a downtown maintenance subcommittee and asked the director to report on existing city clearing priorities (streets, then parking lots, then sidewalks). Board members volunteered to participate in follow-up conversations about enforcement, potential camera installations, and cooperative arrangements with property owners.
No formal policy or funding changes were approved at the meeting; staff committed to follow up and to provide further information about current city snow-removal priorities and any existing coordination with property owners.
