Parking lot dispute between eateries escalates

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Scott Beerbower, the manager of The Donut Station, said he is just trying to do what's best for his business. Teresa Weidman, owner of the Boone and Dauben Drive-In, said she thinks Beerbower is trying to run her out of business. Those factors, among many others, have fueled the heated dispute between the local businesses over the past several months.

The conflict, which has involved the Fort Scott Police Department and other city officials, started when Beerbower expanded his business and began serving more than just doughnuts. At that point, The Donut Station, 501 S. National Ave., became competition for the Boone and Dauben Drive-In, 515 S. National Ave. Because the two eating places are competing for customers, Beerbower said, the Boone and Dauben Drive-In should compensate him when its customers park on his property.

"Once we started serving everything they offered, we decided that their customers who are competing against us for food now...shouldn't be able to use our parking lot," Beerbower said. "That was my decision and my decision only, as the manager running this place."

That did not set well with Weidman, who said Boone and Dauben customers have been using the disputed parking space since the store opened in 1963.

"That (space) has been open over here since 1963 -- that's when this place was built," she said. "As long as I've been up here, we've never had any trouble with our neighbors. People park over there against the (Donut Station) building. They park everywhere. They park over there at (Wilson's) cleaners, too, and nobody ever says anything."

Weidman said that changed one day when Beerbower asked her to start paying him to use that parking area.

"He came over here one day and said, 'I'm going to give you a chance to rent this space for $500 (per month)', and I told him that he was (expletive deleted) crazy," she said.

According to both parties, a heated exchange ensued and several harsh words were used.

"We went to them and said, 'We own three-quarters of that parking lot and if your customers are going to keep parking on it, you need to pay us for it,'" Beerbower said. "All we got is cussed out and told off and everything else. Then they started blatantly parking on it, getting closer and closer to the building, just being mean about it."

To try to settle the issue, Beerbower started putting up makeshift fences, which also did not set well with Weidman. According to Beerbower, several people were caught trying to remove the fences. Weidman did not dispute that statement.

"He decided he was going to put up a fence up there, and he put some tires over there," she said. "Well, we got the police called on us several times, because some things happened over there."

Beerbower said that Weidman then called city officials about the matter. City officials told Beerbower that he could not legally put up any kind of fence until a property survey was conducted to determine the exact location of the property line.

"So we paid for a survey," Beerbower said. "Now we can build our fence."

He added that after the survey was complete, he actually gained five and one-half feet from where he and Weidman agreed the property line was.

Beerbower intensified the issue Wednesday, when he brought in a 35-foot ship replica to sit in between the properties, which was gone by Wednesday evening. He said its initial use was advertising, but a permit is required to have a sign advertising a business. Beerbower said he is applying for the permit on Friday, is working to get the ship looking the way he wants it, and it could return by next week.

Beerbower said that a fence would be built, even when the ship returns to its spot between the buildings. When a fence is put up, Beerbower said, it won't be anything fancy, just a basic four-foot chain link fence. He added, however, that he expects Weidman and Boone and Dauben customers to respect the fence.

"We're going to go see our lawyers," Beerbower said. "If any of her customers back into our fence, if we're able to, we will sue (Weidman) every time our fence is hit."

A major problem a fence would cause, Weidman said, is how her customers -- who park on the north side of her parking lot -- will get out. Because Boone and Dauben's parking lot is so close to Beerbower's property line, customers would no longer be able to get their vehicles turned around to leave and would have to back out onto National Avenue, she said, adding that more serious problems could occur.

"What about if there was a fire," she said. "Okay, let's say this building is on fire and that building's on fire, and there's a (expletive deleted) fence down the middle here. How are they supposed to get in here and put it out?"

Weidman said she doesn't understand why Beerbower is wanting compensation for the parking space, because she does not think Boone and Dauben customers are hurting The Donut Station's business.

"If I was interrupting his business over there, if he had 15 people and there was nowhere to park, then I'd make people move if my customers were over there," she said.

She then added that she believes Beerbower is trying to put Boone and Dauben's out of business.

"He is, he's told me that," she said. "He wants to put me out of business."

Beerbower responded, saying he is simply trying to "do what's best for my business."

"How that affects them is how that affects them," he said.

He added that if he was trying to put Boone and Dauben's out of business, he would have put up the fence without giving Weidman the chance to rent the parking area first.

Telephone calls were made by The Fort Scott Tribune to city officials regarding the property dispute, but no comments from the city were available as of press time.