The city of Warren needs between $20,000 and $25,000 to purchase enough streetside outdoor dining furniture for downtown businesses.

Several years ago Warren purchased downtown furniture as part of a streetscape project for Second Avenue. The City Council’s decision last week to permit businesses to place tables on sidewalks has spread the tables into a bigger area, leaving some areas with no tables at all.

We agree with Wendy McCain, Redevelopment Authority board member, that the city should find a way to help businesses still dealing with the state’s capacity limits who likely don’t have the money to chip in on such costs right now.

In our view, however, the RDA is the wrong entity for such spending. McCain’s heart is in the right place, but using money for the potentially wrong purposes can lead to costly audits that even further limit the outside money that makes its way to Warren County. Redevelopment Authority money, according to Vince DeJoy, city principal planner, and other board members is supposed to be used for remedy slums and blights, not to buy furniture for a downtown area.

There should be more tables and chairs for downtown diners, and one would think there should be a COVID-19 program that can pay for this investment.