Parking Advisory Committee

Committee Members Staff to the Committee Chairperson Pamela Steele Christine Marques, Director of ECD Vice-Chair Carrie Carella Brian Gartner, ECD Staff Roger Beliveau, Parking Department Members Councilman Darnell Ford Councilwoman Leslie Spatola Jennifer Alexander Trevor Davis Dominick DeMartino PARKING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MIDDLETOWN CONNECTICUT REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 – 5:00 PM MINUTES A Regular Meeting of the Parking Advisory Committee of the City of Middletown was held on Tuesday, September 10 th 2024 at 5:00 PM. This meeting was a hybrid meeting with in-person participation in Room #208 of the Municipal Building and remote access via WebEx. Members in attendance – Chairwoman Steele, Vice-Chair Carella, Councilwoman Spatola, Dominick DeMartino Staff in attendance – Christine Marques, Brian Gartner, Roger Beliveau, Michael Fullam 1. Call to Order – Chairwoman Steele called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm. 2. Approval of Minutes – MOTION made by C. Carella, seconded by D. DeMartino to APPROVE the minutes of the August 13 th 2024 meeting, with three in favor and one abstaining (L. Spatola). 3. Public Session - None 4. New Business – Committee members are provided with the City Ordinance that governs the Parking Advisory Committee, and the Standard of Conduct/Code of Ethics for city officials. Discussion about the P.A. Ordinance ensued. A statement was previously made that by Ordinance the department was not intended to be a revenue generator for the City. Committee member’s note that the provided Ordinance does not state that the Department is not intended to be a revenue generator. Chairwoman Steele gives the Committee a brief overview of the Parking Department history. Chairwoman Steele also shares her concern about bad information/mis-information being spread in the community in violation of the Code of Ethics. Chair also addresses complaints made to the Chamber by a current member. The Chair reminds the members in attendance that this a City committee, and that type of behavior is improper. She has also met with the Mayor on this topic. 5. Old Business A. Parking study – (Revision dated May 9th 2024) – Staff provided the committee with the final revision of the parking study at the August meeting. Committee members unanimously agreed to CLOSE out this item. Parking department costs – Director Marques provided income versus expenses for the previous fiscal year (7/1/23 through 6/30/24). Committee members request to be provided with income versus expenses on a semiannual basis. Discussion ensued about departmental needs including infrastructure needs, and staffing needs. Additional discussion on how technology can increase collections. Discussion also ensued about while it appears based on the provided income versus expenses that the Parking Department is generating substantial revenue that is returned to the grand list. It does not factor the “in kind” services the department receives from other grand list funded municipal departments (i.e. Public Works, lighting, snow removal, sanding, salting, sweeping, stripping, etc.) Discussion also ensued about the Parking owned by the City being a taxpayer asset which should be capitalized on behalf of the residents to ensure the best return on the community’s investment. D. DeMartino requests an approx. total land area of parking and what the corresponding taxes would be if it was on the grand list. If you require special accommodations for any meeting, please call the ADA Coordinator at (860) 638-4540, (voice) or (860) 638-4812 (TDD/TTY), or the Town Clerk’s Office at (860) 638-4910 at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled meeting. Page 1 of 2  B. Parking fee/permits proposal – Correspondence was received and shared with members of the committee. Discussion ensued about the current parking rates, proposed rates increases, permit costs, credit card surcharges, capabilities of current equipment (kiosks, meters, etc.), and a potential tiered payment system for different payment methods (cash vs credit). Discussion also ensued about the committee's previous recommendation to raise the hourly parking rate from $1.00 to $1.75 an hour. The previous recommendation was returned to the committee to solicit alternate proposals. The committee has previously discussed an incremental increase of .25 a year over a period of three years. C. Repair of parking signs and other immediate needs – Staff previously provided the committee members with VHB’s plan for proposed locations for “P” (parking) signs for the purposes of wayfinding. D. Update on New Garage – No substantive update. 6. Adjournment - Motion to adjourn is made by Councilwoman Spatola, seconded by Vice-Chair Carella, passed unanimously. Page 2 of 2