Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Monticello News office stands at the northwest corner of the courthouse circle in Monticello. Many of you may pass by our little green building and never think that there is, hidden within its quiet facade, a handful of employees hard at work, working diligently and sometimes scrambling to transcribe the local happenings of the town into an endless stream of articles, newsletters and photographs. We do this for the enrichment, information and enjoyment of our audience, seeking out the stories of our small town, and compiling them neatly to keep everyone informed. As if it is filled with worker bees, our offices are often buzzing with upcoming deadlines, incoming telephone calls and breaking news stories. All of this magic is hidden behind a stoic outer appearance, as our building is quiet and contains the chaos of our endeavors well.
Some may, as I once did, before I ever realized that there is a business here, believe that the building and its unassuming parking lot was abandoned, and not being used for much of anything. After all, there are several old buildings located in Monticello that used to be in use, but have sat vacant for months or even years. Once I began working here at the news office, I realized that the building and lot was very much in use, and was a big part of the community, even if it didn't look like much was happening from the quiet exterior.
In fact, even after our work day is over, when our little work-family leaves for the evening, the owner of our little operation may remain; the only sign of her presence a lone office light shining from the windows as she works, often well into the evening. On weekends, the parking lot remains empty, our office closed, but even then we are often still hard at work. Several employees come and go throughout the weekend, covering events, dropping off articles, or working on stories. You read our names under our headlines, see our faces in our group office photos, enjoy our paper layouts and gain information from our advertisements. But you may never spy us as we come and go. Even so, we do, as current events do not rest or rely on idle hands, and so, neither do we. When important things happen, we are there.
In our absence, we often allow local businesses to utilize our empty parking lot for events that occur nightly. People are permitted to park their vehicles in our parking spaces in order to attend evening events and festivities. We ask only that our spaces be respected on these evenings, our parking signs not run over, and any trash that comes be deposited neatly in the bin provided. As a private lot, any damages or messes that are made are not cleaned up by the city, but by us, when we return in the morning hours. We sincerely thank any and all individuals who treat our private lot mindfully while they use it in the evenings.
What many people may not realize is that during the daylight hours, our private lot is not open to the public, even when the office is closed. Individuals must adhere to our signs indicating Monticello News Parking Only, and unauthorized vendors are not to set up shop. The reason for this is that we rent out this private space on weekends to local merchants, vendors and artists. Churches hold fundraisers, non-profits hold rummage sales. Local crafters will set up their tents and entice members of the community to purchase their goods or services. Even local farmers can set up tables or booths, selling their farm-fresh produce from the convenience of the courthouse circle.
These groups and individuals pay for their use of our lot. While our fee is small, just $20 per day, we take their reservation seriously, as we have promised them the use of our space that day. We keep a careful calendar dedicated to parking lot rental, so as to prevent a conflict of vendors. This arrangement allows for an affordable place for vendors to set up shop, and also brings in a humble amount of revenue for our own small business, and in these trying times, every little bit helps. If unapproved individuals set up booths without reservation, it could cause a conflict with our paying customers, and that is something we cannot allow.
We would like to thank the community of Monticello for their continued respect of our private lot, and remind all that even if our newspaper office is quiet, and our parking lot is empty, there is likely to be much happening behind the scenes. An empty lot is a welcome area for a merchant to set up shop, but please be mindful, this space is private, not public, and may already have a designation for that day.
If you are considering setting up a small booth, shop, stand, or display, please feel encouraged to step inside and speak to one of our employees here, and we will be happy to take a reservation for you if the dates are free. For evening events, use of our lot for parking purposes is permitted, but please do not leave your vehicles overnight; we will need our parking spaces in the morning! Please be careful not to hit our parking signs, and dispose of all trash appropriately. Thank you so much for your consideration!