Parking Commission.

411 West First Street City of Duluth Duluth, Minnesota 55802 Minutes Parking Commission. Friday, October 4, 2024 7:30 AM Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, City Hall ROLL CALL Members Present • Antonio Davis • Mike Mayou • Andrew Paszak • Branden Robinson, Vice President • Brandon Van Tassel • Robert Woods, President • Mark Bauer, Ex Officio Guests Present • Jeff Aanenson, Director of Project Management – Interstate Parking Company • Mike Rasmusson, Duluth resident APPROVAL OF MINUTES City of Duluth Parking Services Manager Mark Bauer presented the September 2024 Duluth Parking Commission meeting minutes for approval. Commission Vice President Branden Robinson motioned that the minutes be approved as presented. Commissioner Mike Mayou seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments during the initial public comment period. ON-STREET ACCESSIBLE PARKING ZONE REQUEST Mr. Bauer presented one on-street accessible parking zone request for approval. He stated that he had visited the site and consulted with the Commission on Disabilities and the applicant. He recommended that the request, for 322 North 23rd Avenue West, be approved. Commission President Robert Woods motioned that the request be approved. Commissioner Robinson seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. 2025 PARKING FUND BUDGET PROPOSAL Mr. Bauer presented the Parking Services Division’s 2025 parking fund budget proposal. He presented a slideshow that illustrated the proposal. Commissioner Robinson inquired whether the proposal included information related to the new City of Duluth Page 1 Parking Commission. Minutes October 4, 2024 Downtown Regional Exchange District (DRED) parking facilities. Mr. Bauer stated that numbers for the new facilities were, indeed, included. Mr. Bauer stated that the Medical District Ramp’s budget proposal was subject to change prior to City Council approval, due to an unpredicted change to the dollar amount of capital contributions to the facility’s revenues. He stated that there had recently been a State of Minnesota ruling that affected many of the area medical clinics, causing them to become tax-exempt, which in turn negatively affected the tax increment financing (TIF) district contributions that were included as facility revenues. Mr. Bauer stated that this would result in a significant revenue shortfall in the Medical District Ramp’s budget. He stated that he and the City’s Finance team were working toward possible solutions and that an update would be presented in the following Commission meeting. Commissioner Woods motioned that the proposed budget be approved, with the understanding that there may be changes made to the Medical District Ramp portion of the proposal in response to the unanticipated revenue shortfall. Commissioner Robinson seconded the motion, which was approved 6-0. OFF-STREET PARKING UPDATE Mr. Bauer provided an update on off-street parking operations. He stated that the installation of accessible door pushbuttons at Medical District Ramp was complete. He stated that previous Interstate Parking Company Duluth Area Manager Ari Eilola was no longer with the company and that his duties were being temporarily covered by Duluth Area Assistant Manager Isaiah Helmin and Director of Project Management Jeff Aanenson, who had previously held the position of Duluth Area Manager. Mr. Aanenson updated the group on Interstate’s parking operations, stating that work was ongoing to complete the installation of new access and revenue control systems at Technology Village and Medical District Ramps. He stated that the project was anticipated to be complete by the beginning of November. Duluth resident Mike Rasmusson provided input on ramp security and cleanliness at Technology Village Ramp, noting while that staff responsiveness had significantly improved, problem activity was still evident at the facility. He stated that he was hopeful that the access control system completion would address the issues. Mr. Bauer provided an update on parking facilities calls for service and security incidents, noting that the pattern of significant improvement at Hart District Ramp, related to installation of its access control system, continued, while a slight upturn in problem activity at Medical District and Technology Village Ramps had been noted, likely due to the increasingly colder weather. ON-STREET PARKING UPDATE Mr. Bauer stated that preparations were underway in the Parking Services Division in anticipated upcoming City Council approval of a revised Snow Emergency operations plan. Commissioner Woods stated that he was hopeful that an effective public communications plan would be involved in the process, noting that public communications related to snow events had historically been poor. Mr. Bauer and Commissioner Mayou, who was also aware of the proposed plan, stated that the City’s communications team was developing a robust plan to keep the public informed of the changes and of City operations during a snow event. PUBLIC COMMENTS FOLLOW-UP There were no further public comments. City of Duluth Page 2