Editorial: Hard to imagine destroying Square's gazebo

Many were surprised to learn this past week that the gazebo on the northeast corner of Licking County Courthouse Square could become a casualty of the ongoing process to improve downtown Newark and renovate the Licking County Courthouse.

First mentioned as a question at Downtown Newark Association meeting, Mayor Jeff Hall confirmed there have been discussions about temporarily closing the Gazebo during courthouse construction and perhaps longer. We also learned the city, which owns the grassy park area around the courthouse, is reviewing all uses for the space, including picnic tables and whether every tree should remain.

That upset many, who see the gazebo as the only clear place to gather on the Square. It's hosted weddings, rallies, small concerts and other gatherings for as long as most of us can remember. The picnic tables often are filled with people, especially for lunch on nice summer days.

What's far from clear right now is why the gazebo or picnic tables present any problems beyond the upcoming period of construction.

We also don't understand why the gazebo would be out of place when the new downtown streetscape wraps up in 2017. Even if the Canal Market District, slated to open this May, offers a better setting for some events, we've never seen it as a total replacement for events now held on the Square, especially when a little shade comes in handy.

Our fear is this idea is somehow connected to more quiet conversations about the wrong type of people hanging out on the Square, especially on summer nights and weekends. You might recall concerns downtown merchants expressed about the long-running Newark Strawberry Festival a year ago.

There have been occasional concerns about groups of kids riding bikes, destruction of a new historical marker last summer and, as Councilwoman Carol Floyd noted, the occasional homeless person sleeping in the gazebo. Newark police recently were awarded a grant to for new downtown bike patrols to curb summer problems, which we believe will greatly assist in reducing any issues.

Let's remember our Courthouse Square must remain a place for all Newark residents to gather, even after the wonderful improvements are completed. And we believe the Square is as safe as anyone can reasonably expect.

While we'll stop short of calling for the gazebo to be saved today, we will say any removal plan must account for creating some type of similar space for groups to gather. Perhaps there's a better plan.

But we're far from convinced there's a problem worthy of destroying a downtown landmark.