Parking Commission

PARKING COMMISSION MINUTES DATE: October 22, 2019 MEETING LOCATION: 4th FLOOR MAYOR’S CONFERENCE ROOM CITY HALL, 1 PUBLIC SQUARE CLARKSVILLE, TN. 37040 I. CALL TO ORDER/QUORUM CHECK The meeting was called to order by Allen Senseney at 3:02 p.m. Members present were Carol Clark, Morgan Knight, Travis Holleman, and Allen Senseney (Mrs. Clark was reconfirmed on October 3, 2019 by City Council.) II. ADOPTION OF MINUTES: August 20th, 2019 Mr. Senseney made a motion to adopt the minutes; Mr. Holleman seconded; all members voted in favor. III. GUEST(S) Mayor Joe Pitts IV. DEPARTMENT REPORT Financial Report: The financial statement was provided by Laurie Matta through July 2019 to September 1, 2019. Compared to last year, our revenues are down about $10,000, most of which are meter fine tickets. Our expenses are down because we don’t have a parking manager position filled, but we are still fully staffed. We have 2 full time and 2 part time employees. In total, if we include depreciation expense we are $20,000 to the good. Parking fund balance, we are projecting at the end of the fiscal 2019 year a little over half a million dollars. Mrs. Clark asked why we felt we were down in writing tickets, to which Mrs. Matta answered we are not out there writing as much. We have one full time and one part time writing. Jon is focusing more on the equipment. Mrs. Hampton also mentioned when we were down an employee we were in survival mode, so we were not focused as much on the collection notices. We have since started resending notices to which we have seen an increase in funds from that. We have also seen a large increase in meter money, so it seems more people are paying and not getting as many tickets. Mr. Allen asked if it was an issue with people just not paying tickets. Mrs. Hampton said the rate of payment is about the same. Mrs. Matta for the month of September we collected about $7,000 which is better than what we have collected in the past in September. With our expenditures, they are a little bit higher as well. Including deprecation, we will still have a positive income of $6,820 in this month. Smart Meter Report: Judi Bradbury provided report--We currently have 58-65% functioning. Mr. Holleman asked how many meters we currently have--Mrs. Hampton answered 196 total. Mrs. Matta reminded at one point we were down to 27% working. Mrs. Bradbury stated that we have been able to replace 16 underground sensors. Some sensors are in ground that work off the magnetic field of the engine and some of them are Doppler that works off a radar system when it detects the vehicle. Depending on where the sensor is, some  work better than others, most are at the end of their life. Two of the sensors have failed within 30 days of them being replaced. Mr. Allen asked if we would have to order those and if they could be replaced. Mrs. Hampton stated that they would for about $270 for in ground and $295 for Doppler. Mrs. Bradbury reminded everyone that the company did send us a box which we thought were new, but they were actually refurbished, which could by why they are going down after being replace. Working with this company hasn’t been very pleasant. We have 65 poles that need to be replaced because they are not detecting vehicles. Mrs. Bradbury continues to say there is about a $20 price difference between in ground sensors and Doppler. Just to replace they ones that are in need is around $30,000. Mr. Allen says if that is the recommendation, we need to move forward. Mrs. Matta reminds the board this system was not designed for our climate but is necessary for the one hour free program. V. NEW BUSINESS Mayor Pitts talks about the endeavor to find a company to come and take over the city’s parking. Mayor Pitts stated that the City has had a few meetings with the company who won the bid, to go over the proposal. In the meantime, there is a private business owner in town who is proposing a multiuse development in town and there is a parking structure attached to the development. They have approached the city and county to help with the parking structure. We are not yet ready to pull the trigger on anything yet, the council will have to approve any decision. Mayor Pitts says we are committed to providing more parking to this area of town. They will bring the plan to the Parking Commission before it is approved so they know what is going on. VI. OLD BUSINESS Transit Garage Update—Transit is opening on Monday the 28th, and they should receive their letters. Handicap Parking in the Cumberland lot- Mrs. Hampton stated we are still working with Debbie Smith on this, she is our ADA coordinator. Mr. Allen ask if the problem is not being able to get a van into a spot. Mrs. Hampton said no--we currently have two handicap spots, but we need to see if we are required to have a third spot based on the number of parking spots we have. VII. MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION Mrs. Clark stated that the parking updates on social media is looking great and she is thankful for the updates. The response so far has been positive. VIII. VOIDING REQUESTS No action taken on: 170302930, 170303112, 170274280, 170303323, 170303223, 170303336, 170204175, 170204408, 170204397, 170302963, 170204340, 170303143, 170107466, 170303001, 170302896, 170204299, 170303001, 170302896, 170204299 Voided: 170204081, 170204423, 170302934, 170302954, 170204383, IX. ADJOURNMENT—The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm.