New Information: Did they 'beat the system'?

[admin]

I'm not sure in Blog Sites can actually have 'Breaking News', but this might qualify:

A former friend and neighbor of the Cruchelow's writes on Yelp.com the below and you might pay particular attention to:

"On numerous occasions they spoke openly about opening their own "pawn shop" and bragged about how they, so called, found a way to beat the system by putting/ opening their "pawn shop" in a location that city ordnance strictly prohibits such "down market businesses".

I had said from the start that the use of Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan LLC was suspect. It seemed to flowery and did not really reflect the usage of the business. I would have thought that the appropirate usage would have been along the lines of Cruchelow Pawn Shop as that is what they do.

On Friday 3/18 when I went to the City Clerk's office and looked at all the City paperwork in the matter I noted that the words 'Pawn Shop' only apeared one time in all those 20+ pages and if you had not been specifically looking for it you would have skated right by it, as apparently happened in the vetting process.

This clever usage of Jewelry and Loan is most likely what is meant by the reported claim that they had "found a way to beat the system".

I suspect that making fools out of 5 City Commissioners, the Mayor, City Manager and Zoning Administrator is not going to serve them well in retaining their business license and I suspect that their pawn business will be departing soon for greener pastures.

You can see additional information and the full Yelp post and also the Cobb Police report and Yelp screen shots at: jcruchelow.blogspot.com/ also see: kennesawpawnproblems.blogspot.com/



The above is the only place in 20+ pages of application that the words 'pawn shop' appear.

[admin]

Results of the Kennesaw City Council Meeting, started 6:30 pm ended 7:50 pm

When the meeting was opened to general comments from the floor, I addressed the Council about the Pawn Shop matter and pointed out that they had been 'had' by the Pawn Shop application and that the fancy title served to cover up the real purpose of the shop which was only mentioned once in their 20 page application when 'pawn shop' appeared one time only.

I summarized the info that the property Owner, Mr. Venturi, was kept in the dark about the actual purpose of the shop and that the shop owners bragged to neighbors that they had gotten around the prohibition on pawn shops with their disingenuous application. I mentioned that if I were on the Council and had this happen to me that I would be very POed at the Cruchelows.

Following me to speak were 2 other Kennesaw residents who confirmed and elaborated on what I had already presented to the Council.

Residents of this area expect that the City Council and Zoning Department will now take this matter in hand and require the Pawn Shop to close down.

[admin]

Monday, March 26, 2012

Results of the 3/26 Kennesaw Informational Meeting

The City of Kennesaw Informational Meeting ran from 6:30 pm until 7:25 and was attended by approximately 45-50 area residents and of course the media including CBS-TV Atlanta. The Mayor and City Manger Mr. Kennedy were present.

Mayor Mathews spoke at length about the problem and again admitted that it was the City which dropped the ball on approving the business license last September.

The meeting was specifically for area residents and no representative of Mr. Venturi, the property owner, appeared nor it seems were they invited. I did copy the Venturi lawyer Mr. Garvis Sams with information that the meeting was to be held so the owner and his lawyer would have been able to attend if they had wished to do so.

When the Mayor asked if there was anyone in attendance who favored the shop being there no one spoke up in favor of it, however, later in the question/answer segment one women did speak in favor of the shop saying that she knew the shop owners and that $18,000 in improvements had been made and that it was not possible to simply up and move.

Other than these several comments the audience reaction was entirely negative.

A Violation hearing for the shop is now set for Mon 4/2/12, at 6:30 p.m., where the City Council has 3 options as outlined by the Mayor. 1) Do nothing, 2) Suspend the License or 3) Revoke the license. The outcome of this meeting 4/2 will be to select one of these options.

Residents of Summer Stream and Summer Brooke spoke and a Summer Brooke representative said that they had a petition signed by 75 of 112 residents in that subdivision which asked that the Pawn Shop be removed from the strip mall.

Mayor Mathews stated that the name violation alone was a serious matter in that the Pawn Shop seemed entirely in the wrong by having used the term Jewelry and Loan where the Georgia Code completely bars that 'Loan' usage for any Pawn Shops opened after 1992.

A comment from the floor asked about other Title Loan businesses who might be in similar violation and the Mayor said that this issue was also being looked into.

Representatives of Summer Stream and Summer Brook will be in attendance at the April 2nd meeting.

[admin]

What Happens at the April 2nd City Commission Meeting?

The business license will be revoked as the business will be found to be in violation of Georgia Code - Property - Title 44, Section 44-12-138 which says at (a)(1): . . . A pawnbroker shall not use the term 'loan' in any advertisements or in connection with any advertising of the business of the pawnbroker"

The business name itself (Cruchelow Jewelry and Loan) violates the Georgia Code as the stated 'purpose of the business' is listed as "Pawn Shop" in the application for a business license.

On April 3rd the business will not reopen.

It is not necessary to address the issue of a 'mistake' on the part of the City of Kennesaw in issuing the license nor it is necessary to consider any subsequent application for a variance.

The title of the business itself coupled with the stated purpose of the business in their 'Application for Occupational Tax Certificate', is enough to require the City Commission to revoke the business license.

[kennesawwatch]

Tonight is the night. The Kennesaw Watch has the poll about the Pawn Shop up on our Home page of the website. Please send everyone over to that site to vote ASAP. We want to get the word out to the City of Kennesaw about how people are feeling BEFORE tonight! www.thekennesawwatch.com

Also, if you want to write something, please do so on one of our pawn shop articles there. Your comments will stay at the top on the right side for everyone to see them. We CANNOT assume that this will be worked out to our satisfaction if people do not show support. Together we all make a difference.

Thank you,

Kennesaw Watch

[admin]

Some things about the City Administration (Council & Mayor) I don't really understand.

This issue has 2 Pawn Shop Owners, one landlord, 2 lawyers and not one of them either:
1) Live in Kennesaw
2) Pay taxes in Kennesaw
3) Vote in Kennesaw

95% of the people who oppose both the Pawn Shop and the application to rezone to include it:
1) Live in Kennesaw
2) Pay taxes in Kennesaw
3) Vote in Kennesaw

So just why in Hell is the City Administration screwing around with this?

Red tag the shop and tell them they are out of business. The next step is up to them. They can go away quietly or file for an TRO to stay open and argue it before a judge.

I do realize that there is no imminent election coming for any of the City positions, but if a few hundred area residents can get this worked up about something from 2004 then do our elected officials think that in 2 years we will all have forgotten that they sided with the Pawn Shop and mall owner instead of the actual Kennesaw residents?

Perhaps we need to run someone for Council from the Summer Stream, Summer Brooke, Mack Dobbs area, we don't seem to be getting much support from those in power at the moment.

The folks at City Hall better decide if they want to be part of the solution or part of the problem.