HARMONY — Several borough business owners raised concerns at Tuesday’s council meeting about the impact events have had on their businesses.

Many said the events, specifically foot races, lead to a decrease in sales due to the closure of roads and sidewalks.

“The concern with these races (is) they are a big impact to the community, they’re messed up for the residents during those days,” said Josh Meeder, owner of Center of Harmony and Great Things. “And the businesses, at least in lower Harmony, suffer 20, probably 30 percent down in sales those days.”

Hearing that the borough does not receive any of the funds raised at the events, Meeder requested that the it consider charging organizers for the space.

“It’d be one thing if it brought in funds to the borough, but it’s a big impact on the community,” he said. “There’s a lot of needs in the community, and I feel like they should be benefiting from it.”

Council President Greg Such suggested races do benefit the borough by bringing attention.

“We look at these events as they also raise awareness to tourists,” he said.

Lana Klein and Seth Murphy, owners of the Wunderbar, said they are not opposed to the events but are looking to adjust the way things are done to alleviate the struggle of the businesses.

“I get the exposure. I think it’s a great idea, but my business sales ... are down every time there’s a function,” Klein said. “I do like the idea, but I think we have some problems.”

Klein added that event attendees use restrooms and parking spaces without patronizing the businesses.

“Here’s what they do: run in the front door, go use my restroom and run right back out and use my parking lot,” Klein said. “That’s our busiest day, Saturday. And they start the race right when we’re opening.”

Additionally, she said she’s heard from people who passed by her business because they thought it was closed.

Councilman Jason Sarver emphasized the importance of both the businesses and the events in town.

“I think if we can make the correct adjustments we can both come out (ahead),” he said.

Meeder also raised the issue of a lack of parking in the borough, a problem that is exacerbated by the races and morning weekend events.

“I’ve approached several of the property owners and they are in favor of dedicating Aster Lane back to the borough,” he said. “We’d like the borough to consider taking over Aster Lane from a maintenance perspective.”

If the borough did take over maintenance, Meeder said a gravel parking lot could be added that could hold 66 spaces. It would cost $50,000, said Meeder.

Such said there are 76 public parking spaces in the borough.

“That’s not even a drop in the bucket, honestly,” Klein said. “If you want functions like these races, if you don’t have the infrastructure to handle these people ... it’s overflowing into the businesses.”

She said the businesses draw many people to the borough and have been able to expand with the space they have.

“We bring a lot of people in town. We’ve grown tremendously,” she said. “Now we’ve done all the improvements, and the thing that’s hindering us is people passing us by because there’s nowhere to park.”

Meeder said the inadequate parking has resulted in fewer businesses in the borough.

“I’ve lost several businesses from my center that have moved out specifically because of parking and the complaints,” he said. “The reality is from our perspective, the purview of the borough is infrastructure maintenance. We’re trying to be good neighbors. This doesn’t just affect the business owners, it affects all the residents in the area. And it is causing conflicts.”