We've never done a study, but we think the number of people coming downtown will impact the downtown economy. We hope they will see a restaurant or retail shop they like and come back.

The fact is people are parking all over the city. So even if you are not on the parade route, you can get business.

The hall takes up a lot of space on the waterfront. We want the developer to either lease it or purchase it, but it's important to get (the property) back on the city's tax rolls.

We try to encourage businesses to stay open. We want them to take advantage of special events like this.

We went into this study with an aggressive timetable. This will give Portage County time to step back and look at the material at no additional cost to the project.

Whenever one or two people think they want a study group or discussion - boom - you've got a class. And that's what makes SAGE so great. They're drawing on personal experiences. Been there, done that.