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45 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend March 18, 2004 Panel: People don’t want a Wal-Mart Advisory committee decides to recommend Central Point reject a planned Supercenter By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT � In less than an hour, the Central Point Citizens Advisory Committee declared that the people who will be most affected are overwhelmingly opposed to construction of a 207,000- square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter here. The decision comes after months of meetings and a slew of public testimony on the controversial proposal first submitted last June. Despite often heated meetings over the issue, barely 20 audience members were on hand to hear what the six-member committee’s final recommendation will be to the city Planning Commission. Committee chairman Herb Farber asked individual members to voice their own feelings as well as those they felt were conveyed by citizens. While the committee agreed unanimously that citizens overwhelmingly did not want to see the store built, some were torn by their own beliefs. Advertisement "My big concern is that, since I’ve been here, that lot has been empty. If this doesn’t go in, what will? Empty is not good either," said committee member Walter Moczygemba. "But I am on this board and it’s my job to listen to the citizens. I’ll concur that the majority of the citizens are against Wal-Mart but I’m not sure that’s in the best interest of Central Point." Committee member Amanda Vaughn felt that no good arguments had been made in favor of the project. "I didn’t see any good evidence in favor of it being built," she said. "Those who testified that they wanted the store to be built were non-residents or they had no reasons they were in favor of it." Vaughn said people’s concerns that led to the recommendation included traffic impact, floodlights illuminating the 24-hour building, late night deliveries and the fact that Wal-Mart allows overnight RV camping known as "camp Wal-Mart." Farber could see both sides of the issue. When K-Mart developed in what is now the Winco building and when the Rogue Valley mall "came to town," Farber recalled, citizens thought the projects "were gonna ruin Medford," but in fact proved successful. "There was just a pretty strong consensus from the citizens that they don’t want this. On one hand we’ve got a development that doesn’t really fit a town of 14,000. But as far as regional draw and economic benefits, there are some pluses. If it does turn out to be successful, let’s make it work." Perhaps, Farber pointed out, more willingness by developers of the project to help mitigate citizens concerns could have created somewhat less of an anti-Wal-Mart instinct in citizens. "I think that Wal-Mart most definitely has a PR problem," said Farber, offering an example of a store not well received in California. "When you get the citizens of Los Angeles pissed off so they don’t want you there, there’s just something wrong." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times