Op-ed from Jessica Symonds of Mason City –
I am a lifelong Mason City resident living near the Southbridge Mall. Close parking is limited to small time increments and certain hours, with a full block and a half separating my home from the nearest legal parking spot. With a recently broken foot, however, I have limited mobility. This injury has worsened my struggle to get to and from the car and limited my independence. Further, it has compromised my ability to ensure that my four year-old is able to get to school safely and securely. She has to walk an icy block and a half, and due to poor transportation access in this region I cannot accompany her. I can only imagine the difficulty encountered by fellow residents who are elderly or disabled. A City Hall member indicates that downtown living is a key area for promotion, but how can we promote an area that does not meet the needs of those who call it home?
Throughout this process, I have attempted to utilize all available resources in locating a legal parking place. My landlord and associated parties were unable to provide an answer, as were representatives of City Hall and the Mason City Police Department. In the mean time, I have parked in the nearest available spots – without indication that these spots could not be utilized by the public during general hours – and received nearly a dozen tickets as a result.
Still seeking a solution, I re-visited information provided by City Hall and learned that a city council representative may be able to assist me. One member, Alex Kuhn, stood out as a representative of my interests on whom I depended to take care in and recognize my concerns. I thought I had finally found hope of a remedy, as Mr. Kuhn took down the details of my dilemma and planned to contact other council members in search of a solution. I placed my trust in him and had high hopes, but in three months since, they have been dashed: I have found no one else willing to help, and Alex Kuhn did not follow through. I have been severely disappointed in the failure of our council to meet the needs of myself and my family, and even more disappointed that someone who has agreed to help has turned their back. Is this really who we want representing Mason City, Iowa?
-Jessica Symonds
Parking is an issue downtown for renters. Landlords are responsible for providing ample parking. Its unfortunate for the lady though. The other problem downtown is the absolute horrible Wells Fargo parking lot. How the city ever allowed that to happen is beyond me. Have you ever tried to get in and out of the north engtrance?
The City Council didn’t listen to the Planning and Zoning Commission. That’s how it happened.
you stated that “Landlords are responsible for providing ample parking”. My question is for everyone. is this part of an actual code? If so then its the landloards problem.
I started all-day kindergarten when I was 4. Yes, times were different and kids should not walk alone nowadays, but I walked 3 blocks to school in ALL weather. Sometimes my eyes were the only thing exposed, but I kept warm. I don’t think the weather should be an issue at all in this case as far as the child is concerned.
I do think the landlord should be held responsible by the City for not providing a parking space, if that was in the rental contract. Go to whomever oversees housing rights in Mason City to file a complaint. If there are no parking spots available for the landlord to use, then he will have to fight the City. True, it doesn’t help you right away, but you can get on the agenda, go to the council meetings, and keep complaining. Squeaky wheels get oiled, but you have to squeak to all the right people in the right setting and not on here.
Have whoever helped you write your op-eds organize your presentation to the Council and even perhaps speak on your behalf, if that is allowed. S/he is very articulate and on point.
You’re obviously missing the entirety of these opinions. Go to a city council meeting to seek help from a city councilman who has already highly let me down and disappointed me? Makes sense, right?
katie is right. as I have stated before. there is a big difference between off the record and ON the record. council persons can say whatever they want OFF the record. IE.. “I didnt realize they actually wanted me to contact them”. compaired to being on public record as in a council meeting. BIG DIFFERENCE!!!
Correct. And it’s so much easier to just sit there and say, “Woe is me”, than to actually do anything more to help yourself. You have to fight for yourself instead of just sitting there and taking it. I told you the squeaky wheel gets oiled. You have to make a bigger fuss. Don’t expect anyone else to do it for you.
To get answers you would have to have a council comprised of independent thinkers and not a bunch of hand picked cronies by a egotistical excuse of a drunken fireplug. Good luck.
Ultimately the city council is to blame for letting the parking all go to the park inn. This was addressed back then and people didnt think too much of it. Now people who live uptown have to pay the consequence. I’m betting there is nothing your city councilman can do in this situation now. This was all done and said when the set the parking for the hotel
The only parking that went to the Park Inn were the newly created stalls in the alley and the 4 stalls in front of the hotl. There was a net increase of stalls available to the general public downtown because of the street scape project. The biggest issue I see is that the City doesn’t allow parking on downtown streets overnight. They do this to force people in the bars to leave and to give crews time to do snow removal. Parking is a challenge for anyone living in a downtown area. There is A LOT of parking in downtown Mason City, but you will probably have to walk a block to get to it. My question is, if you have a broken foot, why didn’t you get a temporary handicapped parking permit which would allow you to park in one of the signed stalls right next to the plaza or in the lot by the food court entrance to the mall? I don’t believe they can enforce a time limit on a handicap stall.
Actually all of the parking across the street is reserved too which use to be standard parallel street parking. The over night parking laws are probably not going to change either. Maybe Mason City should bring back parking meters?
I did not hear anything of the father helping. Is it always my tax dollars to fix other peoples problem through mother government?
I also called city council members and got no response at all. Sorry to disappoint some of you who are illegitimately thinking we are asking for some sort of handout or just whining. This OP-ED is about holding council members accountable for the responsibilities they assume.
Also just to clear something up, when we moved in we were told we had access to parking right next to the building but luckily for us the Park Inn Hotel was nice enough to take up ALL the spots. Any other questions? I would love to address them.
You said that you were told you had access to parking spots that ultimately got taken by the ParkInn? Either you didn’t get that on your lease, or you are simply not holding the right party accountable. This is completely between you and the landlord. Geez, people in this town want to blame everyone but themselves. If you didn’t get a parking spot designated in your lease then you have two choices: find a new place to live, or live with the best available option. Either way, I have a hard time seeing this “news” as anything other than a lightly veiled attack at our city council. Typical non-news worthy junk that this site produces on a daily basis.
I am very dissapointed in hearing this about Mr. Kuhn. I thought he would be outstanding in that job. Along that same line, I was uptown today, and found that many of the sidewalks were still snowcovered and dangerous to walk on. Doesn’t anyone have any shovels up there?
There should be a special parking place for the people living in the apartments in the downtown area. For a city that needs people downtown, it sure isn’t very accommodating to those living in the area.
The problem lies in todays society. We have all become weak and feeble and need to depend on someone else to help us out! It may be cliche, but I DID walk 1 1/2 miles to junior high school many yrs ago, in the winter! Never did I complain. We were a 1 car family back then. 90+ degrees in the summer, played outside most of the day. Happy to do so! No air in my home.Didnt ask the city council for a ride to school!
Were you the parent of a 4 year-old with a broken foot?
No, but I bet he did do it all uphill in 8 feet of snow wearing nothing but cardboard boots.
You state you were in junior high school. Difference one. You don’t have a broken foot. Difference two. You only had to walk to school. Difference three. Apparently you need to read the editorial again moron.
I didn’t know writing an editorial about my frustration with Alex Kuhn and having no parking spot would give you the impression I am asking the city council to take her to school. I’m sorry you feel the way you do but if you’re so unhappy with today’s society than write an Op-Ed. The child has to be drove to school no matter what, as we don’t live in waking distance. The opinionated article was about her walking that far to then have to sit in the extremely cold car for it to warm up. The article was about how I’ve seeked help from multiple business and have gotten no answer from any city officials, whom I’ve put my trust in. If you don’t understand the article than why degrade others for their opinion. I was writing this to let the citizens know how unprofessional Alex Kuhn really is.
sign up to be heard at the next city council meeting. then there will be a record of this. and you can ask each member what they think is the problem or if there is any code providing parking supplied from the landloard.
You have a hard time dealing with any of the difficulties that life throws all of us, right? I think what some of us are trying to say is that you have the responsibility to either make sure your lease designated a spot for you, or to make the best of this situation if it didn’t. Kuhn isn’t at fault if you signed a lease that you are now unhappy with. Should he have followed up? Sure. But you also need to recognize the fact that you have free will to live where you want.
@ bigjohn-we all walked to work and school back in the day. Everyone had only one car and that was used for work. It was a different time and different circumstances. It is not fair to try to apply it to todays circumstances. You people are missing the whole point of this article, which is Alex Kuhn did not do what he promised as a council member.
There are lots of rentals in Mason City. I’m sure with some time and effort this mother could find a better and more convenient place to live.
When you sign into a contract believing there is legal parking and then get tickets for parking where it appears to be legal, you are in a bind. Furthermore it is hard to move yourself and your child from one home to another when you are on crutches, isn’t it??
She requested assistance from the city and help from the city council member. the problem is that he said he would help and didn’t.
This is between her landlord and herself.
I too am wondering about the 4 yr old walking alone? Jessica writes “She has to walk an icy block and a half, and due to poor transportation access in this region I cannot accompany her.” but then unhappy citizen posts that the child walks with her parents. Which is it? I’m not trying to be rude, but a child this young walking alone is a serious concern.
She never walks alone! But in the case of an injury you can’t accompany her, and the alternative is to drive her but you have to walk the same distance to do that.
She always has an adult with her. What is being said is that THIS CHILD IS WALKING TOO FAR FOR FROST BITE TEMPERATURES. Quit being ignorant and uneducated.
Hey, “sick”, your remarks are uncalled for. The op-ed explicitly stated that the mother could NOT accompany her. It also left out any information about SOMEONE ELSE accompanying her. In other words, it sure sounds to me like the child was walking alone. Get it?
The parking didn’t just disappear you should have thought about that before you rented that apartment. Nobody to blame but yourself.
actually there was more parking before all the construction, since then parking has changed. people who lived there before that had parking then and don’t have it now.
The problem is with the landlord. If somebody wants to be a slum lord they should be required to provide off street parking for their renters. If this cannot be accomplished the property should not be allowed to become a rental unit.
LVS, I agree with you. They missed the point.
But is no one else concerned that it sounds like a FOUR-YEAR-OLD is walking alone to school? That’s way too young to be alone, and way too dangerous in these times we’re living in. If Alex Kuhn knew this and still didn’t look into a solution for this woman, shame on him.
The 4 year old is NOT walking to school alone. The 4 year old is walking with her parents the almost 2 blocks in 0 degree weather at 8am to get to the car to go to school.
Yes, government should be able to take care of EVERYBODYS needs and wants! Especially if the richest 2% pay for it all! Yes, the rich get to live closer to the corner, its not fare.
It is not that she is complaining for something to complain about or trying to play the role of a victim. The fact is that we are being persuaded that living in down town Mason City is the way to go, but all the while not having everything together to ensure everything goes smoothly. I used to live on the plaza, after receiving multiple parking tickets, I called the police department to see where I should park and their response was that I needed to to contact my landlord because there should be a place in which she rents for her tenants to park. Needless to say she had purchased no area to park. There was also a time in which the Park Inn Hotel had an unmarked parking spot, in which my car was towed from. I continued to get parking tickets wherever I parked. Now you see in front of the Park Inn they have made their markings visible. Why should innocent people have to worry about coming down to their car having a parking ticket or possibly being towed? This is also the reason for me having my license suspended, literally for parking tickets. So keep in mind when you state your opinion she is not playing the victim of anything. She has contacted how many people and no result, which is similar to my concern and I’m sure other people who live in downtown Mason City. This is a serious concern, especially when involving a child. It’s not just her.
not sure about mason city code, but dont the buisness buildings require a certain amount of parking for their customers? And doesnt this also apply to the landloards to require enough parking for each rental?
You are where you are because of this attitude. People get ahead in life mostly because of hard work and discipline. There are a few bad apples that find a way to take advantage of the system. Mostly it’s just people who work their tails off.
I also had an issue that i addressed with alex kuhn back in april .alex understood my problem and was going to look into it and get back with me one way or the other with an answer shortly. I have not heard back from him since. Some of the other council members i called and left a message with never did return the call.
It’s very unfortunate that this is becoming a trend. I would understand if he said there was nothing he could do but he is saying he WILL try to help and never following through.
@Anonymous and Sad-I think you have completely missed the point of the article. You were in such a hurry to degrade this lady that you didn’t understand the issue. The issue was that a Mason City Council member told her he would address her problem and he didn’t do it. He has an obligation to at least give a answer. It may not the answer she wants but he still owes it to her. Maybe you have never been injured or handicapped but I can tell you that a block and a half is a long ways when you have a broken foot.
A full block and a half….Wow.
Maybe you should buy a house with a driveway and garage…
Really now? Are you going to give her the money to buy a house? I think not so get off your damn high horse. People these days are nothing but selfish and self center. Thats one of the reasons this city and this country is going to hell.
And I’m tired of mason city people being self centered and not being able to spell 3rd grade words like victim. Nice try Alex Kuhn.
Jessica..sometimes you just have to care for yourself. I am so tired of eveybody in Mason City being a victom. Deal with it.
Isn’t she trying to take care of herself by contacting every available outlet in search of reasonable, legal parking?
I can’t express how easy this is.
Step one: Examine lease for language regarding lease.
Step Two A: if lease designates parking spot then contact landlord to come up with solution or get out of lease.
Step Two B: if lease doesn’t designate spot then learn from mistake.
Step Three: Refrain from writing editorials that show just how little responsibility you like to take for the realities of your life.