Editor,

This is an open letter to Mayor Robert Severns and the Oak Harbor City Council:

I am distressed to learn of the impending closure of The Daily Grind coffee shop in the building adjacent to the new sewer treatment plant construction.

Having decided to tear down the building that housed the business, you have refused to assist this small business in finding a suitable location to relocate, or to provide financial assistance for the loss in business during the months of construction, as well as the total loss of the business due to your plans to tear down the building.

This is an important small business to the Oak Harbor community. It serves as a community gathering place for numerous seniors and others. The current owner of the Daily Grind has worked for 10 years to build this business.

Small “mom and pop” businesses are important to the fabric of the community. It is usually the small businesses that support the good works done in a community, that sponsor the community parades and other activities.

For anyone in the small business community who thinks that the city’s negligence in regards to this small business isn’t important to them, just wait. If the city can destroy one small business it certainly can destroy others at its whim.

I find it hard to imagine why the elected officials of this city cannot find the means and resources to assist this business with necessary waivers and other support.

I am a resident of Coupeville and I drive into Oak Harbor to support this small business because I enjoy the superior customer service and unique atmosphere of this wonderful coffee shop.

As a nonresident of Oak Harbor, I regret that I am unable to work to remove Mayor Robert Severns and the Oak Harbor City Council for their cavalier attitude and lack of concern for small business in Oak Harbor.

However, I can vote with my pocketbook. It’s not a problem for me to shop outside the confines of Oak Harbor.

As officeholders, you are a disgrace to the community. This is a small business that has suffered mightily at your hands through no fault of their own. I hope the residents of Oak Harbor remember this show of insensitivity to small business, as well as residents who support small business, at the ballot box.

Michele Emerick Buttelman

Coupeville