Sep 18, 2012 By Ray Polaski 3 min read

First and foremost, congratulations to Terry Cellurale and his 2012 Fayette County Italian Festival Committee.

In spite of some Monday morning quarterbacking from the sidelines, no one has stepped forward who was willing to devote the time and effort that Terry has for the past four festivals. Terry, a successful businessman, in his own profession, has sacrificed countless hours to make the festivals successful.

I served on the festival committee in past years and know firsthand the organization that is needed for such an event. For the four years, as part of a downtown business, the Dusty Attic, that I have been a festival vendor, our volume doubled from 2011 to 2012.

My sister, also a vendor, making wreaths from dried flowers, also doubled her sales. Her business is located in Lancaster. She does countless shows throughout eastern Pennsylvania. This has become one of her best shows.

It is very sad to me that city fathers, for their own reasons, discouraged the festival from being downtown. The announced reason was liability. Liabilities are covered by insurance. By count there are more than 100 insurance agents in the local yellow pages. Certainly one of these could have offered insurance.

My real concern with the lack of cooperation is the economic development opportunities missed. What business wouldn’t welcome 60,000 people as present or future customers and the free advertising.

Being downtown, I would certainly welcome new faces. Even sadder are the opportunities missed. In the crowd could be someone looking for space to open or expand an existing business. Look around. Approximately one half of the storefronts are vacant. Some buildings are falling down, and some of the fronts and windows haven’t been washed for years.

Does the city have the political will to enforce laws currently on the books, to demolish a condemned building and place a municipal lien against the property? Only time will tell.

If city fathers want a festival, encourage the return of the Arts and Crafts Festival that was a past success. The key word is encourage, not control or dictate. Let the professionals organize the event, such as the chamber of commerce, the National Road Heritage Corridor, etc.

I believe that authors of letters to the editor need to state their qualifications to have validity. I spent 40 years in local government service in various locations before retiring. For 17 years I was director of code enforcement for the city of Allentown, with a staff of 20.

Most recently I retired as director of the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority. This is the agency responsible for the development of the Fayette County Business Park, the location for Walmart, numerous car dealerships, restaurants and service businesses.

Ray Polaski is a resident of Uniontown.