By Shawn Skager

The Courier-Herald

With the bulk of Buckley's Main Street torn up, fenced off and expected to be closed through the Labor Day weekend, the area's businesses are dealing with the ramifications of construction in differing ways.

Jeff Sarsted, owner of Ground Zero Tattoo, is one of the few businesses on Main Street without a back door entrance.

With the city directing traffic to parking lots at the rear of the shops on Main, Sarsted said his business is struggling. About two-thirds of his business relies on walk-ups and, although the sidewalks on Main Street are open, Sarsted said most people aren't aware that they are passable.

&#8220I'm fenced in here like cattle and nothing is happening,” Sarsted said. &#8220It's the busiest time of the year for me, so it's a major crunch.”

In order to remedy the situation, Sarsted spoke at the July 11 city council meeting asking for a temporary waiver in order to hang a banner announcing his business on the fence blocking off Main Street at River Avenue.

The council approved the request with a unanimous 6-0 vote, pending council approval on individual banner requests, but advised Sarsted that he would need the approval of Rodarte Construction, which put up the fencing.

Sarsted said that overall he was happy with the response he received from the city.

&#8220They've been fairly decent,” he said. &#8220On a scale of one to 10 I'd give them a six.”

Still, he said, he wishes more could have been done to minimize the effects of the construction.

&#8220They could have done a couple of things to make it easier,” he said. &#8220They could have started when they should have.”

Construction was scheduled to begin on July 3 but was delayed until July 10.

Sarsted also said he wishes the city would run two crews.

&#8220I get here at 11 a.m. and they're done working at 3 p.m.,” he said. &#8220Two crews would take advantage of the daylight.”

Buckley Mayor Pat Johnson said she empathized with Main Street businesses and Sarsted.

&#8220We knew it would be slow for the businesses,” she said.

Johnson said she was satisfied the city is doing what it can to blunt the effects of the construction.

&#8220We've kind of waived the sign ordinance on the highway so they can have their A-frame signs out there longer. We also paid for the back-lit reader boards on the highway. It's just one of those things where we have to bite the bullet and get through this.”

Johnson added that most businesses knew the construction was coming two years ago and had time to prepare.

Tami Haskins, owner of the Buttered Biscuit and Sweet Shop on Main Street, said after a bumpy couple of days initially, her business is running as usual.

&#8220The first couple of days business was down about 10 percent,” she said. &#8220But then people started calling asking if we were open and business is back to normal.”

She said she feels for her neighbor at Ground Zero, however.

&#8220I have a back entrance and Jeff doesn't,” she said.

With construction expected to continue for the remainder of the summer, Johnson said she was looking forward to the end result of the upgrades to the city's main thoroughfare.

&#8220What I'm hoping is some of the building owners will fix up the front of their buildings,” she said. &#8220Coupled with Main Street looking much better, their buildings will be much more marketable.”

Shawn Skager can be reached at sskager@courierherald.com.