John Cernovich thought he had purchased the parking lot behind Coco’s, which he owns.
But apparently he didn’t, Cernovich told the City Council Monday.
He said when he and his wife purchased the building at Third and Main streets and converted it to Coco’s, they wanted to have a drive-thru to the business. The city parking lot behind the building was the logical place for the drive-thru.
“The city manager and the city suggested that we buy this parking lot,” he said.
He and City Manager Gary Bradley met at the parking lot, he said, and “talked about what exactly I’d be buying.”
Cernovich added, “The city went through the process to sell. I submitted a bid.” The bid was accepted.
“Then fast forward three years later. I kind of thought I owned that property. I blacktopped it, I filled potholes.
“I actually built on it,” Cernovich said, referring to his establishing a drive-thru lane.
“Then I found out I didn’t own it,” he said, and added that the council had “decided they didn’t want to sell that piece of property.”
Cernovich said he was given three reasons why the council didn’t want to sell.
First, he said, the city cited a need for parking spaces in the area. But Cernovich said that with the Dooley Brothers parking lot and on-street parking, he counted about 70 parking spaces between Tremont Street and the middle of the 100 block of East Third Street — not including the parking lot in question, or parking availability on Loomis Street.
Second, the city incurred costs in listing the property for sale. Cernovich said he has spent much more than that on improving the parking lot, and that he’d be willing to reimburse the city for the cost of the listing.
The third reason was that the small building adjoining the parking lot to the north has a door that opens onto the lot, and “that owner would step directly onto the property” when they walked out that door.
Cernovich said he’s solving that problem by entering a contract to purchase the building.
He said he needs the parking lot property because 80% of Coco’s business comes from the drive-thru. He added that he hasn’t prohibited the public from parking on the lot.
And he said the improvements he’s made to the parking lot have made the property worth more.
Mayor Gary Moore said he has opposed selling the parking lot, but promised to “stay open-minded to everything.”
“I will go with what makes the most sense for the city,” Moore said.
The council agreed to discuss the matter in an executive session prior to its next meeting.
