OPINION

At the council meeting on February 27th, various business issues concerning Williams were raised.

One was the issue of sales tax. Sean Casey noted that Williams is among the highest in the country. The Williams city council voted to remove sales tax on the sale of groceries which was a tremendous step. The point was raised that more attractions had the potential to keep sales taxes down.

There used to be a bowling alley in the building behind Goldie’s Laundry, which was used by Rosa’s Cantina. A few years ago long-time Williams resident Marv Mason attempted a movie theater, but was denied by the council. The city also attempted an outdoor ice skating rink which failed due to weather conditions.

Another attraction that is probably not marketed as well is the new Veteran’s Memorial at the Memorial park on the west end of town near Family Dollar. In that same area, the city allowed a swap meet for years to support the scholarship efforts of the Kiwanis Club. Last year they made the decision not to allow people to stay over night near their set up which caused most of the people to avoid the swap meet. Rumor has it that the city will rescind that order.

The city also had a big attraction with Rendezvous Days which brought in thousands of people over the Memorial Day weekend. It included a parade which is no longer held. Over time it was brought down. Some of that was due to weather conditions which moved the Rendezvous to the Bob Dean Rodeo grounds. In the mid-90s, they used to close off up to four blocks of downtown for vendors which attracted a lot of foot traffic. The original owner of the Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe complained that food vendors would hurt his business before one of the Rendezvous Days events. About midway through the event he had to close because he ran out of food.

The repeated noise complaints brought to light that there is no noise ordinance in Williams. The Canyon Club and Sultana routinely turn their jute boxes up to full volume. Adjacent businesses have complained that the noise has actually diverted customers away. The Canyon Club left its outside speakers on all night on one occasion disturbing customers at the Red Garter Bed and Breakfast. Recently they seem to have lowered the volume on the outdoor speakers. The Canyon Club also has Karaoke, the volume of which affects the Grand Canyon Hotel and other residents in the area. Pancho’s and the Italian Bistro have competing outdoor speakers.

The Williams city council, of course, is in the precarious position of having to balance between business concerns, the codes intended to maintain the Historic District, and the voter.