Page and Whisker Founder Sam Sandidge stocks a shelf with books in front of an empty cage on Friday. The store is not able to house cats because of a broken air conditioner. -- NEWS PHOTO MO CRANKER
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
The Page and Whisker bookstore downtown is in a sticky situation – literally.
The store has been without a working air conditioning unit through the entire heat wave this summer and has been forced to evacuate all its cat residents due to safety reasons.
Store founder Sam Sandidge says the air conditioner has never been operational at the bookstore, which is located a few doors down from the Monarch Theatre.
The problem, says Sandidge, is that his landlord is responsible for fixing mechanical systems, according to a lease agreement. The News confirmed this claim by getting a copy of the signed lease.
Sandidge cannot fix the unit or replace it without breaking the lease agreement.
When contacted on Aug. 6, landlord Floyd Ronan told the News that Sandidge was not making electricity payments.
“He has the lease – he has to pay his electricity,” Ronan said. “One of these days, we’re just going to have to settle this in court.
“The air conditioner is in the hands of a refrigerator guy. He’s supposed to maybe have it fixed this week.”
After speaking with the News briefly, Ronan hung up and did not respond to multiple requests for further comment.
Sandidge says he has tried to pay his electricity bill multiple times through Ronan.
“When we started the lease agreement I put the utilities in my name. The problem here is that the city can’t split the electric from the gas,” said Sandidge. “The gas heats the whole building, not just our space – so I’m not going to pay for that.
“I took my name off the utilities and told Floyd to bill me for the electricity I owe. He hasn’t done that.”
According to the lease agreement, if Sandidge is not able to pay the electricity or fails to do so, Ronan can pay it and then bill the store directly.
After evacuating the cats, Sandidge says business has slowed down and staff hours have been cut. He is also worried about staff safety during the heat wave.
“A lot of people come for the cats and stay for the books,” he said. “People know us for having cats – it’s our thing.
“Having no air conditioning at the store is hurting us in more than one way.”
As a primary foster for Alberta Pound and Rescue Centres, Sandidge had to send all of the cats back to the shelter – during kitten season.
“Kitten season happens every year,” he said. “The store was going to take a bit stress off of the APARC shelter by housing kitten litters. Now we can’t do that.
“The cats live here all day and all night – they sleep here. We have to make sure they’re safe.
“With the air conditioner not working, we don’t feel comfortable having them live here.”
Before the cats and kittens were removed, the store was averaging about one adoption per week. The store adopted out four cats on the July 25 weekend.
Sandidge says he is now just waiting for Ronan to fix the A/C unit. He is speaking out because he wants people to understand what small businesses go through while trying to survive.
“Small businesses are suffering right now and we need the support from public now more than ever,” he said. “It’s a lineup that so many small businesses like us deal with. The business suffers, the landlord doesn’t treat them well and since the business is suffering, they can’t afford counsel.
“Commercial tenants don’t have the same protections that residential ones do. We’re just stuck right now.
“For anyone going through something like this, our businesses just have to sit and suffer. For us, our programs that help animals suffer as well.”
The bookstore is hosting a fundraiser Aug. 30 in support of APARC and the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society. In honour of Mary Shelley, $1 from every book sold that day will go to the shelter. There will be a bottle drive for APARC outside.
The store is also hosting daily sales based on the weather. People are able to get a discount based off the daily forecast high. If it is 32 outside, books are 32 per cent off.
