An open letter to the Town of Windsor: Hello all, your friendly neighborhood Windsor Times reporter Heather Bailey here.
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Windsor Day/Cinco de Mayo parade and festival. I arrived early, parked and took over 1,000 photos of your wonderful community and your adorable kiddos all doing their thing. It was a great morning.
I walked back to the Bell Village lot to put my camera back in my car and have lunch at Taco Lab, something I’d wanted to do for a while. Imagine my surprise and horror to discover my car being jacked up by a tow truck. I ran over to intervene, and then realized the parking lot was full of tow trucks and frantic people trying to find or reclaim their vehicles.
So here’s my mea culpa. Did I park in the Bell Village lot? Yes. Was I supposed to? Now, I can clearly say no. It’s not a mistake I’ll make again. I screwed up, I didn’t see the signs. The permanent signs were not viewable from where I parked (and I should add, are not in compliance with the law) and I didn’t take in the portable sign from the direction which I entered the lot.
Here my second mea culpa. I am not a Windsor resident. I live in the unincorporated farmland to the east. Though I live about 15 miles outside of town, I do a lot of living in Windsor and did before I had my current position. I shop in the stores, eat in the restaurants and attend the many wonderful community events. Since taking my job, I’ve been able to get to know Windsor even better, including the many complicated debates over the future of the town and what it wants to be.
The tow truck driver was as rude as he could possibly be. When I attempted to retrieve my purse from the vehicle, I was told I could not get anything out of the vehicle, and he drove off with my computer, briefcase and purse/ID.
When I attempted to find out what was going on (along with dozens of other frantic families) I was told that there was an individual who had been paid to stand there and as soon as anyone crossed the street towards the Green (even if they had made a purchase in Bell Village) this person called in a truck to tow them.
I was also told anyone parked there more than an hour was towed, even if the lookout wasn’t sure if they were at the parade or not. I’m curious what any of the restaurants in there think of that? That’s not exactly a social meal.
In the end, over 40 vehicles were towed, at a cost of $437 per vehicle. At a conservative estimate of 40 vehicles, that is $17,480 (which, legally, Bell Village is allowed to receive a percentage of).
When I asked how to find my car, the “lookout” pointed out the permanent sign I had not seen on my way in. I called the number on the permanent sign, and it connected me to the local sheriff’s department. The nice, rather hassled, (I was not the first call) woman who answered the phone told me that the sign was incorrect. That they had nothing to do with it, and they were in no way responsible for the tow. She gave me the number for Ace Towing. (Remember when I mentioned the signs did not comply with the law?)
When I got to the Ace Towing facility to retrieve my car, I got chatting with a woman accompanied by three small children, who had had to ride to the tow yard without the benefit of their child safety seats, because they were not allowed to retrieve them. Between the threat to their safety and the hefty price tag, I think it’s safe to say she and her kids won’t be back to Windsor events.
So the question then becomes, how could this be handled differently, so that everybody gets what they want? How does Bell Village and its tenants keep plenty of space for its shoppers and the town keep creating good will and a friendly atmosphere?
How about instead of posting a lookout to tow vehicles, he tells people when they pull in the to the lot about the risk they face? If tenants feel they lose business during events (which I honestly doubt as I, and many I’ve spoken to, usually have dinner or grab takeout from one of the restaurants or Oliver’s when the event is over), maybe they can offer some kind of event sale? Ten percent off for any attendees to help drive traffic?
I know Bell Village is private property and as such not the purview of the town, but maybe the town could work with them to help resolve these issues? I’ve heard “you should just walk,” which if I lived in town I’d be happy to do, but I don’t and I’m sure plenty of other event attendees don’t either.
And, because I’m not a resident, figuring out where you can and can’t park is tricky. What is the difference between the Staubli lot and the Bell Village lot, for example, to a non-resident?
Does Bell Village have the right as a property owner to dictate the terms of use? Yes. But, they appear to be going out of the way to do so in the most community-unfriendly way possible. There were a lot of ways to handle this problem without towing dozens of vehicles and ruining the day for scores of people. But then, none of those ways put money in the pocket of the Ace Towing Company and Bell Village.
Heather Bailey lives in the Chalk Hill Valley and writes for the Windsor Times.
