Public Parking Commission

1 CITY OF NORWICH NORWICH PUBLIC PARKING COMMISSION The following are the minutes of the regular meeting of the Public Parking Commission held at 5: 30 p.m., January 12, 2010 in the Buckingham Memorial Bldg. PRESENT: Ms. Olive Buddington, Co-Chair, Mr. Alan Bergren, Ms. Laurie Glenney- Popovich Mr. Jeffrey Lord and Mr. William Nash, ABSENT: Mr. Sean Ryan ALSO ATTENDING: Mr. Rick Kramer, Director, Rose City Rennaissance At 5: 35 p.m. Ms. Buddington called the meeting to order, noting a quorum was present. MINUTES: On a motion by Mr. Bergren, second by Mr. Lord, the Commission voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the November 17, 2010 meeting as written. FINANCIAL REPORTS & BILLS TO BE PAID: A motion was made by Mr. Nash, seconded by Mr. Lord to accept the financial reports and accounts payable reports for November 2009. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENT: NONE CORRESPONDENCE: NONE MINUTES NPPC MEETING 01/12/2010  2 NEW BUSINESS: Election of Officers Mr. Lord nominated Ms. Buddington to serve as Chairwoman of the Commission, the nomination was seconded by Mr. Nash. There were no other nominations put forward. Ms. Buddington accepted the nomination. A motion was made by Mr. Bergren, second by Mr. Nash to name Ms. Buddington Chairwoman of the Norwich Parkng Commission. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: Discussion of the parking proposal continued. The Commission needs to make decisions, not always easy ones, for the good of the community and should not have to defend every policy that is instituted. Mr. Nash stated that he did not intend for this meeting to seek input from the attendees. The meeting would be informational with the proposed changes laid out for the merchants and business owners. Informing them that a new policy will be taking effect in stages. As with all changes, there will be some feedback and the Commission would be glad to receive comments, either by mail, phone call or attending our regular meetings, but the meeting scheduled to roll out the parking proposal is not the time for discussion. Ms. Buddington also stated that the meeting would be the unveiling of the parking plan, not a “give and take” with the attendees. The possibility of free parking areas came forward in discussion. Mr. Nash stated that a major objective of this plan is to use peripheral parking to increase foot traffic downtown. Eventually, we should invest in a shuttle and use peripheral parking, with designated stops. Mr. Lord stated that the Commission must be focused on the message. The Commission came to an agreement that the meeting to be held with the merchants would be an informational. The intent of the informational would be to explain the purpose and overall concept of the parking initiative. Copies of the proposal would be distributed to interested participants and feedback would be requested in writing or calls to the office. The proposal will be clear,concise and easy to understand. The Commission needs to commit and follow through on its proposed changes. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 01/12/2010  3 Ms. Rizzuto was directed to contact Chief Fusaro with the recommendations for changing the time limits on the named streets. Without the okay from the Traffic Authority, most of the proposal will not work. Once we receive a response from Chief Fusaro, we will be able to formalize our proposal. ANYTHING ELSE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMISSION: Mr. Lord expressed concern about the deficit that we are experiencing. Ms. Rizzuto explained that we too have been effected by the economic downturn. Lease revenue has been increasing, but slowly. The Commission members were also aware that a deficit would be projected unless the Y property were reused. ADJOURNMENT: Motion made to adjourn by Mr. Lord, second by Mr. Bergren. Voted on and passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 6:43 pm Respectfully Submitted, Judith A. Rizzuto, Administrator Norwich Public Parking Commission MINUTES NPPC MEETING 01/12/2010