Board of Works

BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY MINUTES October 23, 2018 Regular Session: The Board of Public Works and Safety met in regular session on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in the Common Council Chambers. Members present were: Cindy Murray, Ron Shriner, Norm Childress and Amy Moulton. Absent: Gary Henriott Jacque Chosnek, 1st Deputy City Attorney, was also present. Mrs. Murray called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was given to the flag of our Country. MINUTES Mr. Childress moved for approval of the minutes from the October 16, 2018 regular meeting. Mrs. Moulton seconded. Passed. BIDS UNDER ADVISEMENT 2018 Sewer Rehabilitation Project Mrs. Murray stated that this item will remain under advisement. NEW BUSINESS Fire Department Recommendation for Award-Lafayette Fire Department Storage Building Steve Butram, Deputy Fire Chief, presented to the Board and recommended approval of a Recommendation for Award for the Lafayette Fire Department Storage Building with Cheeseman Inc. in the amount of $274,154.00. Mr. Butram made note that the cover letter reflected the incorrect amount of $275,174.00. The correction will be made. Mr. Shriner move for approval. Mrs. Moulton seconded. Passed. Contract- Lafayette Fire Department Storage Building Deputy Chief Butram presented to Board and recommended approval of a Contract for the Lafayette Fire Department with Cheeseman Inc. in the amount of $274,154.00. Mr. Shriner moved for approval. Mr. Childress seconded. Passed. Notice to Proceed- Lafayette Fire Department Storage Building Deputy Chief Butram presented to the Board and recommended approval of a Notice to Proceed for the Lafayette Fire Department Storage Building. Work will begin today with a tentative completion date of February 7, 2019. Mr. Childress moved for approval. Mr. Shriner seconded. Passed. Board of Public Works and Safety October 23, 2018 Page 2 CLAIMS Tim Clary, Deputy Controller, presented for Board approval, Claims in the amount of $865,532.28. Mrs. Murray asked if there were any further questions and there were none. Mrs. Moulton moved for approval. Mr. Shriner seconded. Passed. MISCELLANEOUS Special Event Request-Downtown Dickens Mrs. Murray presented to the Board and recommended approval of a Special Event Request for the Downtown Dickens to be held on December 8, 2018 from 8:00am-6:00pm in Downtown Lafayette. Mr. Childress moved for approval. Mrs. Moulton seconded. Passed. Banner Request-2018 Christmas Parade Mrs. Murray presented to the Board and recommended approval of a Banner Request for the 2018 Christmas Parade to be hung on Main Street from November 14-December 1, 2018. Mrs. Moulton moved for approval. Mr. Shriner seconded. Passed. ANNOUNCEMENTS Jeromy Grenard, Public Works Director, announced that there will be a ribbon cutting held on Thursday, October 25, 2018 at 2:00pm at the Defouw Dealership for the Sagamore Parkway Phase I, II, & III. Mr. Grenard invited the Board and the public to attend the event. Departmental Update Parking Operations John Withers, Parking Operations Manager, gave the following update: The Parking Operations Department is comprised of 4 full time employees and one part-time employee. We are responsible for, and manage, the Columbia Parking Garage and Long Center Parking Lot. There are 405 spaces in the garage and we have about 371 monthly contract/badge holders in the garage. The city’s 6th Street parking lot across from the Long Center consists of 38 reserved spaces and they are used by a variety of downtown residents and businesses located in that immediate area. We are also tasked with parking enforcement matters downtown under title 7 of the city code. We issued 5,586 tickets in 2017. We have written 2,828 tickets in the first half of 2018. We stress that tickets written and revenue are not our main objective. Our goal is to help promote safe, orderly, and available parking downtown. Our most recent parking study used a phrase that said something to the effect of….people don’t go downtown to park, but without parking, people don’t go downtown. The reality of this is that “Parking” means different things to different people. We strive to find that balance with parking needs. We feel like Downtown life is vibrant, exciting, and growing all the time. The resident population downtown, continues to climb as never before, and with that comes additional and creative needs for parking. We see much more commercial traffic downtown as deliveries of consumer goods increases as well. Restaurants must constantly be resupplied, and an e-commerce society wants more things at a faster pace and delivered right to their door. All of this commercial traffic adds to the parking landscape downtown. Board of Public Works and Safety October 23, 2018 Page 3 We recently made changes to the Depot lot. Previously that lot was the signed “Permit Only”, although no permits were issued for that lot. We took 15 of those spaces and made them 2-hour parking spaces, thus increasing parking availability in that area. This was especially helpful for those looking for parking during the lunch time. We have added parking on Ferry St along the Press Apartments and other locations. This year we made changes to handicap spaces downtown by relocating some spaces that restricted movements, and we improved space markings and signage for handicap spaces as well as other time restricted parking spaces. One of our goals this past year was to help educate drivers about parking regulations. There was confusion about parking restrictions that were not posted nor known to many drivers. We have used information cards, written warnings, and we will be improving sign language to better inform the public about how to stay in compliance. Our goal is to get voluntary compliance through informed decision making. We have worked with commercial drivers, contractors and service providers to find better parking solutions. Together, we (Parking Operation, Economic Development, the Mayor and others) are actively looking at possible private/public partnerships to help with parking needs. If we want to continue to bring businesses downtown, and to allow existing businesses to expand, they will need parking. We hope to soon have written agreements with private property parking lot owners to allow us to manager parking opportunities in those lots and to share in the revenue generated there. Additionally, our downtown footprint has grown this year in that we now have enforcement responsibilities on S 4th south to Romig Street as we see developments moving that direction. The City has one full time and one part time Downtown Security Officer that is funded and managed through this department. We feel that their role in our downtown community has been a success. It is very well received by the business community downtown. These officers provide a visual security presence and are in an official uniform which clearly identifies them and their role. They help deter unwanted behavior downtown. They help identify quality of life matters that can quickly be addressed like abating graffiti in a timely fashion, or referring safety issues to the appropriate departments. The officers can offer resources to citizens when appropriate, and assist in wayfinding and other customer relations type efforts. Although relatively small, our department is somewhat self-sufficient in that our revenue generated from the Parking Garage, Parking Lots, and Enforcement efforts, exceeds our budgeted expenses. Moving forward we will still look for ways to improve, not only parking downtown, but to the overall downtown experience. We look with anticipation and excitement on the challenges and opportunities that we have before us. Time: 9:10 a.m. BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY Cindy Murray s/s President Pro-Tem ATTEST: Mindy Miller s/s Mindy Miller, 1st Deputy Clerk Minutes written by Mindy Miller, 1st Deputy Clerk *A digital audio recording of this meeting is available in the Lafayette City Clerk’s Office or online at http://www.lafayette.in.gov/agendacenter. **A list of all permits issued for the preceding week is available at http://www.lafayette.in.gov/DocumentCenter/Index/375