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 6: 00 p.m., May 17,2011 at the Buckingham Memorial Bldg. PRESENT: Ms. Olive Buddington, Mr. Alan Bergren, Ms. Laurie Glenney- Popovich, Mr. Jeffrey Lord, Mr. William Nash and Mr. Sean Ryan. ABSENT: Mr. Peter Desaulniers ALSO ATTENDING: Mr. James Craven, Ms. Ann Lathrop, and Ms. Jean Smith. Chairwoman Buddington called the meeting to order at 6:00pm, noting a quorum was present. Ms. Buddington also noted that the March 2011 was cancelled due to a lack of quorum. PUBLIC COMMENT: Ms. Buddington began the meeting by allowing Ms. Smith to address the Commission. Ms. Smith had asked to come before the Commission at the March meeting to protest a summons issued to her vehicle in October of 2010. The March meeting was cancelled and as a courtesy to her, the summons was waived. Ms. Smith requested to be on the agenda for the May meeting to speak to the Commission. Ms. Smith had 3 remaining tickets from overtime metered parking that were due and payable. Ms. Smith addressed the Commission with her concerns. The Commission members were provided with information from the Administrator. After discussion later in the meeting, it was determined that the summons would be waived. Mr. Nash made a motion to waive the outstanding summons. Mr. Bergren seconded the motion. The Commission voted as follows: Ms. Buddington, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Nash, Mr. Bergren, Ms. Glenney- Popovich voted in favor of the motion. Mr. Lord left the meeting prior to the vote( prior commitment). MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/17/2011  2 The other protests on the agenda were from Ms. Thakkor and Mr. Patel. Letters from Ms. Cindy Brigggs, property manager of Artspace, Ms. Shruti Thakkor and Mr. Harilel Patel were furnished to the Commission members along with information relative to the summons issue. After discussion, Mr. Lord made a motion that the the summons is due and payable. Mr. Ryan seconded the motion. The Commission members voted unanimously to uphold the validity of the summons. MINUTES: On a motion by Mr. Lord, second by Mr. Nash, the Commission voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the January 11,2011 regular meeting. 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 December 2010 through April 2011. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE: The Commission accepted the correspondence as presented. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/17/2011  3 NEW BUSINESS: Discussion of NPPC Statement ( per Mayor’s request): Copies of the statement were provided to Commission members in March 2011, before being sent to the Mayor’s office. The intent was to discuss the issue at the March meeting. Due to cancellation, the item was put on the agenda for the May meeting. Mr. Ryan made a suggestion that we update the statement concerning the NPPC role in the Intermodal Transportation Center. After the meeting with NCDC on May 11,2011 our involvement has been clarified. Parking kiosks will be placed in the garage and we will be tasked with monitoring the ITC . We are hoping that solar power will be a realistic option. Online Payments (update): Ms. Rizzuto stated that the online payment option should be in operation by June 1,2011. There will be a link to the payment site on the City of Norwich website. This option is a convenience for our clients and has been requested often. Credit/Debit cards will be accepted for online payments only. Budget 2011- 2012: The budget for 2011/2012 was presented. The figures were nearly the same as FY 2010/2011. A motion was made by Mr. Nash to approve the budget as presented, the motion was seconded by Ms. Glenney-Popovich. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. ITC meeting at NCDC: A meeting waas held at NCDC on May 11,2011 regarding the progression of the Intermodal Transportation Center. Representatives from the, DPW, The Norwich Police Department, NCDC, the Chamber of Commerce, the SEAT board and The Norwich Parking Commission were in attendance. The meeting was led by Mr. Alan Bergren, City Manager. Mr. Pete Polubiatko stated that the project is on schedule to finish in April 2012. At the construction completion, the building will be turned over to the City of Norwich, and NCDC will be done with their involvement. The ITC is being built with a street level access for SEAT offices, ticket sales area, waiting area and restrooms. There is also a 700/800 sq ft retail area for lease. The busses will be staged off the street, nest to the SEAT location. The parking area consists of 3 levels, which MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/17/2011  4 will be outfitted with security cameras and parking kiosks. The hours of operation for the street level area are still undecided, but it seems that the parking areas will be available 24hrs a day. I have provided Mr. Polubiatko the information from Parkeon related to the kiosks. The recommendation is for 2 units per floor, one by each stairwell. Hourly rates and monitoring hours will be decided by the Commission at a later date. The meetings regarding the ITC are to be held monthly. I will keep the members of the Commission informed about new developments. ANYTHING ELSE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMISSION: Ms. Rizzuto informed the Commission that the boat launch, Waterfont Lot and Market Street will be closed to traffic and parking from May 24,2011 to May 31,2011 to accommodate the Rotary Carnival. Press releases have been printed in both local papers, informing people of the closure and directing them to other parking options in downtown. The River Fest/ Dragon Boat Races will be held on June 4,2011. The Waterfront lot and boat launch will be closed on June 3,2011 and June 4,2011. ADJOURNMENT: Motion made to adjourn by Ms. Glenney- Popovich, second by Mr. Ryan. Voted on and passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 7:30 pm Respectfully Submitted, Judith A. Rizzuto, Administrator Norwich Public Parking Commission MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/17/2011