Evergreen Avenue construction takes toll on local businesses

PALMER -- While the rumble of the machinery working on replacing the water pipes under W. Evergreen Avenue in Palmer continues to make itself heard, the sounds of the cash registers in those local businesses along Evergreen are all but silent.

"This has definitely affected business a great deal," said Rebekah Houle, the manager of the Palmer Subway." Normally we would be busy this time of day."

Complaints that the construction should not have been done during the Alaska State Fair and that the city should have given business owners more notice are being voiced in almost every shop along the first stretch of Evergreen. Some stores have been hit so hard, they say, that hours had to be cut; one store owner had to take a second part-time job just to make ends meet.

"I am frustrated and aggravated with our city officials," said Nedra Slack, who owns Slack's Sugar Shack Bakery. "They knew this was coming, but they didn't have enough respect, enough consideration, to let any of us know this was going on."

Most store owners were notified of the construction on the evening of Aug. 8, with construction starting the following Tuesday.

"We've lost quite a bit of money with no notice," said Chevron Station manager Cee Williams, who said the average number of daily transactions has gone from 468 to 72. Chevron and Burger King appear to be the hardest hit businesses. Some days there has been no access to that side of the street, other days the detour route has changed three times, making it difficult for customers to know how to get to the business.

"It's been really slow," said Burger King assistant manager Larisa Dovba. "People don't know how to get here. Most customers walk."

"One day we made less than $200," said Dovba. "Normally we bring in $2,000 to $3,000 a day."

Slack's Sugar Shack has also been hit hard. Slack's husband has been forced to take a part-time job, on top of working full time at the bakery, and Slack has had to cut employee hours to make ends meet, she said.

"If it wasn't for my faithful customers that come every single day just to make sure we don't go under, I don't know what I would do," Slack said. Last week, the bakery had $67 profit after paying for the groceries; during fair time she normally brings in $600 to $800 a day, she said.

The Palmer Moose Espresso was looking at laying off some of its employees, but instead manager Kelley Hislop cut back on everyone's hours. Hislop said if she had been given time to plan for the construction, the hit during the middle of fair season would not have been quite so hard.

"So many people depend on that fair traffic, that's their bread and butter," Hislop said. "We've been doing about a third of what we normally do."

Some stores along Evergreen have not been hit as hard. Jeanne Lentz, office manager of ABC Travel Time, said business has been pretty normal.

"It's actually not that bad," Lentz said. "We're kind of slow this year anyways."

The staff at Dr. Lynn Mickleson's office said no one has had to cancel appointments, but Cynde Oleck, an optometrist at the Palmer Vision Center, said business has slowed slightly.

"The back-to-school crowd hasn't been in," Oleck said. "We've had a couple of canceled appointments; it's just not been worth the bother."

Superintendent of Public Works Rick Koch said the construction project on Evergreen, which was slated for this upcoming spring, was pushed forward because of budget constraints in the next year and the expected 1,000 more cars on Evergreen daily because of the Fred Meyer coming in. While he stands behind doing the upgrade to the water lines, he does admit there may have been a lack of communication to the business owners.

"In the future, this is an area we will handle somewhat differently," Koch said. "In retrospect. We didn't handle it as well as we could, we will do a better job in the future."

Koch also said the work being done will help the business owners in the end. The first section of Evergreen is scheduled to be paved on Sept. 4 or 5, the next section of road will be competed by Sept. 20, he said.

"By the end of the month, the people will bear the fruit of the somewhat painful process they've gone through," Koch said.

But as Slack counts her pennies and worries about the success of her business, she questions the city's decision.

"They really whacked us," she said. "The city says that this is the price for progress, but at who's expense? At my expense, that's who."