Dear Mayor Smiley and the City Council of Dawson Springs:

I am writing this petition to you on behalf of Lindsey Morgan, who I have learned over the many years that I have been fortunate enough to know her is one of the most loyal, caring, and giving citizens of Dawson Springs. In fact, there is a quote that reminds me of Lindsey. That quote comes from Mr. Rogers. He famously said, "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” When I think of the "helpers" in Dawson Springs, I can't think of anyone more deserving of being given that label than Lindsey. In this petition, I will describe both how Lindsey is a helper and why she deserves the help of the city she invests so much of herself and her resources into. Lindsey is facing a scary situation of her own this time and I hope you all can show her that you are willing to be helpers in her time of need.

Lindsey devotes practically as much time and effort to the city of Dawson Springs and to helping her community as one possibly can. She serves on the local independent school board and contributes a great deal to both the Rotary Club and the Dawson Springs BBQ. She routinely gets contributions for these organizations by her coordinated and successful fundraising efforts and routinely sells a great deal of merchandise and raffle tickets to help further raise much needed funds for the community. In fact, she contributes to organizations that truly help improve the lives of the people of Dawson Springs.

I was personally a Rotary Club scholarship recipient and that funding helped me pay for textbooks my freshman year of college. That scholarship helped me get a college education, graduate from law school, pass the Kentucky bar exam, and get into the Ph.D. program I am currently enrolled in. The Rotary Club impacts several students like that every single year and Lindsey is always behind the scenes helping make that possible. That type of impact on the young people of Dawson is what motivates Lindsey to do all of the hard volunteer work she does. She could just as easily go home after her hard day at work where she often has told me she didn't even have time to stop and eat and relax like so many do, but she feels the desire to give back to her community. And that should be seriously commended.

Lindsey does all of this while keeping great relationships with the people of Dawson Springs and successfully leading one of the last remaining locally-owned businesses in Dawson Springs. In fact, Lindsey's salon, the cute, well taken care of Beauty Shop on the Square, is also the place where five other locals are able to make their living by providing citizens of the community valued services. I know many of those five employees personally and they are doing their best to provide for their families as well. They are contributors to the Dawson Springs community.

For the past few months, it has become abundantly clear that the building adjacent to Lindsey's salon (Beauty Shop on the Square) is a substantial safety hazard and needs to be promptly addressed. Pictures taken over that time period demonstrate continuous deterioration and serious dilapidation of the building in question. It is certainly not the type of building anyone would be proud to say is on display in the very heart of their downtown. In fact, it has become so bad that Lindsey has had issues making sure that the necessary utilities can continue to be provided to her salon to keep it fully operational.

Not only does the potential hazard of this building complicate the ability for Lindsey's (and potentially other) business(es) to continue receiving necessary utilities, it also is a public health concern. Should there be an unfortunate event, there is the possibility that a citizen could be seriously harmed. The building is of a substantial height, near city owned streets, and could harm people in the vicinity or the workers and customers in Lindsey's shop should the worst unfortunately happen. It cannot be disputed that there is a very serious potential for damage to local businesses, property, and health of community members. Not only that, but should the city choose not to act after having been asked to do so, it could potentially subject the city to the possibility of litigation being brought against it. Should something happen, it is possible that the injured party could accuse the city of negligence in not acting on its duties to protect the community from a known hazard. Preparing for and going through litigation, whether or not successful, would be a costly and demanding undertaking should the city unfortunately have to face that situation. 

The city has on multiple occasions previously conducted demolitions of buildings that were similarly hazardous or "eye sores" for the community. I think it is important to realize how important this particular project is in comparison to some of those other demolitions as well. This is not a dilapidated stand-alone home. This is a building in the heart of downtown, adjacent to a salon that sees multiple employees and hundreds of customers and in close proximity to a road maintained by the city. Hundreds of people driving through downtown see this dilapidated building and hundreds of people are in buildings adjacent to the property or near the property on a regular basis. Why is this not a priority when the city has been able to find funding to demolish dilapidated stand-alone homes?

I understand that there are concerns with the cost of the demolition, but what is the cost of not acting? What is the risk that Lindsey's salon is facing? What is the risk of unemployment for her and the five other workers in her salon should the worst happen? What is the risk of losing another tenant and business downtown? What is the risk of potential harm to members of the community and people in the salon? When you consider all of these things holistically, is the reality of the situation that the risk is too big not to act? There's no disputing that it is a difficult financial time for many small cities, families, and individuals, but when you look at the bigger picture, the risks associated with the cost of doing nothing far outweigh the cost of taking action to safely demolish the building before a worst-case type scenario happens.

I grew up in Dawson Springs. I lived there continuously from my birth in 1990 until my high school graduation in 2008. After going to college, law school, and ultimately pursuing a career, I no longer live in Dawson Springs, but I am close to many of the people and keep up with current events. When someone asks me where I'm from, I don't tell them where I currently live, I always tell them about a little town in western Kentucky called Dawson Springs. That's where I'm from. Unfortunately, the Dawson Springs of 2020 is not the Dawson Springs I remember. That is very clear when I am home to visit. The downtown business area is a mere shadow of what it once was. Lindsey's business is a bright light in that shadow and provides a service to many in Dawson that they would otherwise have to drive to another town to get. 

Local businesses matter and it is important that we support the ones in our communities if there is any hope in drawing in more local businesses. Lindsey's salon is an asset to Dawson Springs and keeping it open, located in Dawson city limits, and safe is an investment the city needs to take seriously. But even beyond that, all of us who grew up in small towns like Dawson Springs know that life is not and should not only be about financial interests. As I said before, Lindsey is an asset to this community in so very many ways. She provides a place of employment for five people, provides a valuable, appreciated service to the community, increases the tax base of Dawson Springs with the financial success of her business, and she perhaps most importantly works hard to make the community a better place.

People like Lindsey, who are so selfless and community oriented, are hard to find. People like Lindsey are the ones who can help Dawson Springs have a brighter future. The six of you (City Council members) and Mayor Smiley have it in your power to approve the demolition and help address a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Three members of the Council have already voted in favor. Approval just requires one more vote. There has been strong public support on Facebook backing Lindsey's request of the city and I think that should be taken into consideration. In fact, at the time of writing this petition, there have been 119 shares of a post calling for action on this issue. That's 119 people who have shared it in less than 24 hours.

In conclusion, I am asking for one of you to step up and be that additional vote to help the Dawson Springs community and help one of the very best citizens in the Dawson Springs community. That outstanding citizen is Lindsey Morgan. Dawson Springs calls itself "A Very Special Place," and if it wants to live up to that motto, it needs to support local businesses and people like Lindsey who continuously go above and beyond to try to make it even more special no matter what challenges they are facing.

Sincerely yours,

 

Bryan C. Moore

Dawson Springs High School Class of 2008