LAKE MILTON AREA Business owners bemoan wet weather, road work

ODOT had planned to wait on part of its project before hearing concerns.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CRAIG BEACH -- Debbie Gartner produces an ashtray from behind the bar at the Deep End Tavern on Grandview Road, lights a cigarette, and reminisces about a time when Craig Beach was booming.
"Every place used to be packed out the door," said Gartner, a bartender at the tavern. "It used to be standing room only."
Today, a lighted sign outside declares that the tavern is for sale and that the price has been reduced. The Deep End Tavern has been operating for 26 years.
Gartner noted that several other businesses around Lake Milton are either for sale or vacant.
"There's not enough business out here," she said.
For the most part, the decline of businesses around Lake Milton stems from the tough economic times that have afflicted much of the Mahoning Valley in the past few decades. Craig Beach is now a shadow of the summer resort community it was 50 years ago, when it was home to an amusement park.
But several Lake Milton-area business owners also add that road construction and record rainfall have taken a toll during the past two years and are keeping customers away.
Complaints
Last summer was one of the wettest summers on record in the area, as 23.5 inches of rain fell on the Mahoning Valley between May and August. That meant local residents had fewer sunny days to head to the Lake Milton area and the beach.
This summer, the Ohio Department of Transportation closed the westbound Lake Milton exit from Interstate 76, as well as the Grandview Road bridge over the interstate near Mahoning Avenue. Grandview Road is the major thoroughfare for Craig Beach, and it's the only road that connects the village to the rest of the Valley.
When asked how business has been at the Udderly Sweet Treats ice cream stand at Grandview Road and Mahoning Avenue, stand owner Laura Morrison replied, "It pretty much sucks.
"Last year it was rough; this year it's even worse," she said.
Morrison said that like many Lake Milton-area businesses, Udderly Sweet Treats relies in part on customers stopping by on their way to the beach. Last year, fewer customers came to the stand because of the rain, and this summer customers have found it difficult to get to the stand because of the bridge and off-ramp closings, Morrison said.
Robin Jeffries, manager of the new Dollar General store on Grandview Road, also said that some of her customers have told her they don't like taking detours around Lake Milton to get to her store. Jeffries said her business has decreased significantly since the store opened in February.
I-76 reconstruction
The bridge and off-ramp closings are part of a $16.4 million project to reconstruct I-76 in Milton and Jackson townships. Bridges over I-76 on Duck Creek and Newton Falls roads also are closed as part of the project.
ODOT spokeswoman Paula Putnam noted that several business owners and residents from the area have called the state to express concerns about the project. She said in response to their calls, ODOT scrapped plans to stagger construction on the bridge and off-ramp so that only one of the two would be closed this summer.
The other would have been closed for construction in the fall.
Residents and business owners told the state that the bridges and on-ramp would be closed for too long if the construction was staggered, so ODOT agreed to work on the bridge and off-ramp at the same time this summer, Putnam said.
She added that because of the weather, ODOT can work on construction projects only between late spring and early fall, and can't delay the work until winter.
"Construction is a summer job," she said.
Putnam said the bridges and the off-ramp are expected to reopen by September.
Loss of customers
But while the bridges and on-ramp remain closed, businesses like North Coast Bait and Tackle on Mahoning Avenue will continue to struggle. Store owner Mike Westfall noted that when his business decreased because of the rain last summer, he added a produce stand to attract customers.
Then ODOT closed the Grandview Avenue bridge, and North Coast Bait and Tackle lost customers from Craig Beach who had been buying produce, Westfall said.
"We're still doing business, but not in the numbers it could be," Westfall said. "It hasn't shut me down, but it hasn't been any help, either."
Ron Birchak, owner of the Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course on Grandview Road, said some of his golfers were confused about how to get to the course after the bridges and off-ramp closed, so he created a flier that shows a detour. Birchak noted his business decreased 10 percent last summer because of the rain.
He said although he doesn't think business has been affected by the closings this summer, "I'm still kind of keeping my eye on it."
"I think it's kind of unfortunate that [ODOT] made a decision to impact the lake, when the lake is a summer business," Birchak said.
Some not affected
A few other business owners added that although they question ODOT's decision to close the bridges and off-ramp during the summer, they have not lost customers because of the construction. Ted Kyprianou, owner of Kyp's restaurant on Mahoning Avenue, said his business hasn't decreased because of the closings, but he added that he isn't sure why ODOT didn't wait until fall to begin the work.
"I guess they know better than we do," Kyprianou said.
Only Gartner, ironically, said the closings have led to increased business. She said Craig Beach residents who would have gone to a Mahoning Avenue bar in the past are instead coming to the Deep End Tavern because the Grandview Road bridge is closed.
Gartner noted, however, that the additional business is not enough to keep the tavern from being sold.
Bob Probert, owner of the Lakeside Tavern on Mahoning Avenue, said he relies on regular customers at his business and as a result, he has not been affected by the closings.
hill@vindy.com