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: 00 p.m., March 20, 2012 at the Buckingham Memorial Bldg. PRESENT: Mr. Alan Bergren, Mr. Tucker Braddock, Mr. Peter Desaulniers,Mr. Charles Jaskiewicz, Mr. Jeffrey Lord and Mr. Sean Ryan. ALSO: Ms. Deb Hinchey, Ms. Sofee Noblick, Mr. Barry Ellison, Ms. Ann Lathrop And Mr. Bob Mills. ABSENT: Ms. Olive Buddington Co-Chairperson Desaulniers called the meeting to order at 5:00pm, noting a quorum was present. PUBLIC COMMENT: The discussion started with Ms. Noblick asking for clarification as to how the maintenance costs of the Parking Commission were charged/paid for. Mr. Ellison provided the attendees with a rough estimate of the annual contracted costs associated with the lots and garages that the City owns and maintains. Ms. Noblick stated that as the property owners, the City should be responsible for maintaining and upgrading the parking facilities that they own. Currently, the Parking Commission pays the City approximately $150K per year in maintenance and utility costs. Ms. Noblick stated that if the costs were borne by the property owner, the amount required from the Commission would be much less. The need to generate revenue would decrease. The discussion continued with Mr. Desaulniers proposing that the time limit “on street” be increased to 2 hours,maximum per day. He stated that there had been many complaints that 1 hour is not enough time for business to be done in the City. He also stated the different time limits in areas make things confusing. He asked that the Commission consider increasing the time limit to 2 hours throughout the City. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 03/20/2012  2 Ms. Hinchey, Ms. Noblick, Mr. Braddock and Ms. Lathrop all agreed with Mr. Desaulniers that the option should be explored. Mr. Mills stated that in working with different groups, trying to revitalize the City, he noticed that there seems to be a lack of information regarding parking. There is not enough signage, signage is not clear, too many different time limits, and persons not knowing where to park or how to get there are just some of the complaints he has heard. Mr. Mills suggested that before anything is decided, that we collect data and do a study regarding our real parking situation. How many spaces do we have, how many are free, how many are under contract. We need to determine what it costs to own a space, the cost to maintain a space and to charge accordingly. Mr. Mills stated that the Vibrant Communities group, when referring to a parking problem, means that we have plenty of parking for today…but if someone came in to the City and bought several buildings, we would not have the capacity to fulfill their parking needs. Any new business/developer is going to be concerned that there is adequate parking available for their clients and staff. This is not an issue today, but it maybe in the very near future and it is something that we have to prepare for. Mr. Desaulniers said that this City has done enough studies and we don’t need to delay implementing time limit changes. Mr. Desaulniers stated there had been discussions with the City Manager regarding a subsidy in the budget to pay for the maintenance/utility costs for the parking facilitites, and if the additional free parking and 2 hour change were to be made, the subsidy would be necessary. The City Council members in attendance, were in agreement that the subsidy should be made to alleviate the cost burden of the Commission. Ms. Rizzuto stated that the Commission had spent 2 years discussing the parking proposal that was put into effect in June 2011 and none of those decisions were made without lots of thought and lengthy discussion. Free parking was instituted in several of the City lots, for long term use. First and foremost, the Commission feels it is necessary to protect onstreet parking for business owners. Without free, onstreet and accessible parking, a retail business is bound for failure. Ms. Rizzuto also reminded the Commission members and attendees, that we are bound by existing long term leases in both garages and the Viaduct Lot. We are restricted in how they are used. The attendees were also informed that the Commission does not have the authority to change the time limits for onstreet parking. The permission for change must come from the Traffic Authority in the City, Chief Louis J. Fusaro of the Norwich Police Department. There was also an additional point addressed during discussion. It seems necessary that a specific time be denoted as “the evening hour” in Norwich. This hour would be the time that on street limits expire and free parking in garages is allowed. Mr. Desaulniers suggested that 4pm be the beginning of unmonitored parking in the City. Mr. Jaskiewicz suggested that we work in conjunction with the business owners and asked them to include the parking changes in their advertising. Announcing that the on street time has been increased to 2 hours and that after 4pm, parking is unlimited onstreet as well as in the MINUTES NPPC MEETING 03/20/2012  3 garages. Mr. Jaskiewicz stated that at this time, there is very little commerce in the downtown area, but hopefully in the near future, that will change. As the downtown grows, we will adjust the parking parameters. Bob Mills stated that he felt the parking meters in the Main Street garage were not user friendly. We should explore an easier, more convenient way to pay or change the garage parking to free status. Ms. Rizzuto stated that though the meters are outdated, it is not financially feasible to replace them at this time. Mr. Mills also requested that before any changes are made, downtown businesses are contacted to see how they react to the possible changes. Mr. Ryan pointed out that by increasing the onstreet limit, the employees of downtown will be tempted to go back to the old habit of parking on the street. Mr. Lord requested that before changing the entire downtown to 2 hours, we stop and think about the different areas downtown. The “express zones” on Main St and lower Broadway have worked great in creating a constant turnover in vehicles. Dunkin Donuts business would suffer if that area were made 2 hours. City hall area on Broadway was also mentioned, relative to leaving the 20 minute spaces. Many citizens utilize these spaces when coming to pay taxes or going in to City Hall for a short time. It was deicded that the 2 hour change would not apply to the “express zones” or to the City Hall area of Broadway. The Main Street garage was discussed briefly. Removing the meters was introduced. Ms. Rizzuto expressed concern over changing the status, we have a lease in place with the MEB to provide 135 parking spaces “on demand”. The use is now paid parking at meters or leased spaces(month to month). Mr. Desaulniers thanked everyone for their ideas, and suggested that we would have a workshop on many of them that were brought forth. He was hoping that a motion would be made at this meeting to change the time limit to 2 hours and to make 4pm the official “evening hour”. Mr. Lord made a motion to change on street parking to 2 hours and begin evening at 4pm. The discussion continued, being sure that the motion included the entire downtown area with the exception of the “express zones” and the immediate area of City Hall. Mr. Ryan suggested that rather than “rush” this decision, we take the advice of Mr. Mills, take some time and think about what the repercussions will be and get the changes right the first time. He suggested we meet in mid-april to make the decision. At this point, Mr. Lord rescinded the motion put forth. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 03/20/2012  4 Mr. Bergren stated that he didn’t want to wait a month to hammer out the details. Mr. Desaulniers asked why Mr. Ryan was hesitant. Mr. Ryan stated that he wants to be sure that the changes are going to accomplish what is best and that we don’t end up changing again in the next month. It is also important that the financial responsibilities be clarified. Mr. Desaulniers requested that a special meeting be called for next week. The date decided on was 03/29/2012 at 5pm. At that time, discussion will include input from downtown businesses. MINUTES: On a motion by Mr. Braddock, second by Mr. Bergren, the Commission voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the January 24, 2012 regular meeting. FINANCIAL REPORTS & BILLS TO BE PAID: A motion was made by Mr. Braddock, second by Mr. Bergren to accept the financial reports and accounts payable reports for January 2012. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 03/20/2012  5 CORRESPONDENCE: A letter from Mr. Gary Young was presented to the Commisison. Mr. Young offered his suggestions for improving the parking situation downtown. Ms. Rizzuto was directed to respond to his letter. NEW BUSINESS: Validation of Phone Poll On 02/14/2012, a phone poll was conducted of all Commission members. The questions asked were: 1. Would you be in favor of rescinding the vote,taken at 01/24/2012 meeting, to charge $1.00/hour for parking at the ITC? In essence, allowing free parking at the ITC. Ms. Buddington, Mr. Bergren,Mr. Braddock, Mr. Desaulniers, Mr. Lord and Mr. Ryan all voted in favor of allowing the parking to be free. Mr. Jaskiewicz was unavailable. 2. Would you be in favor of cancelling the order for the kiosks? Ms. Buddington, Mr. Bergren, Mr. Braddock, Mr. Desaulniers, Mr. Lord and Mr. ZRyan all voted in favor of cancelling the order for the kiosks, and restoring the unused money to the project budget. Mr. Jaskiewicz was unavailable. Mr. Braddock made a motion to validate the phone poll as recorded. Mr. Bergren seconded. The motion was voted on and passed. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 03/20/2012  6 OLD BUSINESS: NONE ANYTHING ELSE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMISSION: Mr. Ellison brought before the Commission a reminder that there is going to be major work needed in the Market Street garage within the next few years. The monies will come from the capital budget, but the work and cost will be major. ADJOURNMENT: Motion made to adjourn by Mr. Ryan, second by Mr. Braddockoted on and passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 6:50 pm Respectfully Submitted, Judith A. Rizzuto, Administrator Norwich Public Parking Commission MINUTES NPPC MEETING 03/20/2012