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., May 15, 2012 in room 335 of City Hall. PRESENT: Ms. Olive Buddington, Mr. Alan Bergren, Mr. Tucker Braddock, Mr. Peter Desaulniers,Mr. Charles Jaskiewicz, Mr. Jeffrey Lord and Mr. Sean Ryan. ALSO: Ms. Sofee Noblick, Mr. Matthew Delvecchio Mr. Barry Ellison, Mr. Robert Sewart, And Mr. Robert Farwell. ABSENT: None Co-Chairperson Buddington called the meeting to order at 5:00pm, noting a quorum was present. PUBLIC COMMENT: Mr. Matthew Delvecchio came before the Commission to protest tickets issued in July 2011. The balance due was $120.00. He resides on Freeman Avenue, and stated that for 30 years the parking regulations had not been enforced. In July 2011, Chief Fusaro asked if we would monitor Freeman Ave. frequently. The area had been the source of many complaints. Summons were issued as necessary. The signage indicates that the area, in which Mr. Delvecchio parked his vehicle, is a “no parking’ area. The sign had a bidirectional arrow, which means no parking in either direction. The vehicle was not moved for 5 days, Mr. Delvecchio was out of town. As a result, he was issued 3 summons for parking in a No Parking Zone. A fourth summons was issued for “invalid permit”. After discussion, Mr. Ryan made a motion to reduce the amount due to $30.00, must be paid in full by May 29,2012. Mr. Lord seconded the motion. Voting “in favor”: Ms. Buddington, Mr. Bergren, Mr. Braddock, Mr. Jaskiewicz, Mr. Lord and Mr. Ryan Voting “opposed” : Mr. Desaulniers Motion passed. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/15/2012  2 MINUTES: On a motion by Mr. Braddock, second by Mr. Bergren, the Commission voted unanimously to accept the minutes of the March 20, 2012 regular meeting and the Special Meeting held on March 29, 2012. FINANCIAL REPORTS & BILLS TO BE PAID: A motion was made by Mr. Ryan, second by Mr. Lord to accept the financial reports and accounts payable reports for March 2012. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE: A letter from Mr. Scott Capano was presented to the Commisison by Mr. Braddock. The letter was a request for an “express zone” to be placed in the vicinity of the Harp & Dragon. NEW BUSINESS: The budget for NPPC 2012/2013 was submitted for discussion and approval. After discussion, a motion was made by Mr. Braddock to approve the budget as submitted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bergren. Motion voted on and passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS: MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/15/2012  3 A powerpoint presentation was prepared and delivered by Mr. Jaskiewicz and Mr. Braddock. It included information gleaned from physical visits to Hartford, West Hartford, Glastonbury, New Haven & New London. Internet sites of several towns were also included in the presentation. The primary reason for the presentation was to see how Norwich compares to other towns regarding parking. Parking rates, time limits, lease fees and use of technology were a few of the aspects explored. Mr. John Philips, a parking expert was also interviewed for the presentation. The basic tenet of starting at the “core” and working outward is the focus. The Commission has steadily been working on ways to disprove the perception that we have a parking problem in the downtown area. A major point of the presentation was that there is no such thing as free parking. Even if there is no fee to the consumer, the cost of the parking spaces to maintain, mark and purchase additional space is borne by the property owner. The intent of updating the website to allow for interactive map use and permit purchase was also introduced for future discussion. We should be thinking of adapting so that all parking information is available via internet and smartphone use. There was much discussion as a result of the presentation. The first item discussed related to the correspondence for an “express zone” from Mr. Capano. The Commission institued 2 express zones in July 2011. One on Main, in the vicinity of Dunkin Donuts, the other on lower Broadway, near Dime Bank. Mr. Capano is requesting that another be institued in the vicinity of the Harp & Dragon, at 130 Main Street. Ms. Rizzuto suggested that the area adjacent to People’s Bank would be the area to put it. There is an existing No Parking Zone, which would abut the Express Zone, allowing for ease of ingress & egress from the spaces. Mr. Capano owns the property that would be effected by the express zone . We would not be infringing on any other “on street” parking spaces. Mr. Desaulniers made a motion that a request be forwarded to the Traffic Authority (Chief Fusaro), for an express zone to be instituted on Main Street, in the vicinity of People’s Bank, to service the needs of Harp & Dragon, the Courthouse and People’s Bank. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bergren. Ms. Rizzuto also requested that consideration be given to Sunrise Chinese Restaurant. Since 2 hour parking has been reinstituted “on street”, customers are having a difficult time finding a space to park close to his restaurant. Mr. Ryan made an amendment to the original motion to include a request for an additional express zone to be located on Franklin Square. This express zone would abut the No Parking zone from Main to Franklin Square and would allow an MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/15/2012  4 express space in front of Sunrise Restaurant. Mr Desaulniers seconded the motion for the amendment. A vote was taken on the amendment, and passed unanimously. The original motion, as amended was voted on. A request forwarded to the Traffic Authority for 2 express zones to be instituted downtown. One located on Main St, near People’s Bank , the other on Franklin Square, in front of Sunrise Restaurant. The motion, as amended, passed unanimously. The next item discussed was the need to open up the onstreet parking spaces for visitors or patrons of downtown businesses. In speaking with Mr. Phillips, Mr. Jaskiewicz & Mr. Braddock noted that we had increased the time limit to 2 hours on street, and that our fine for overtime parking was $5.00. Mr. Phillips indicated that in comparison with other towns in the state, we are way below the norm for overtime fines. He also indicated that most towns have a “graduated Fine” schedule to prevent repeat violators and discourage employees from using on street parking. The first idea discussed was to implement a graduated fine schedule that would subject the violator to the highest fine charged, after receiving 3 overtime summons in a 30 day period. The scenario would be : On Monday May 1 an overtime violation is issued. The fine would be $20.00 Thursday May 3 another overtime violation is issued. The fine would be $20.00 Friday May 4 a third summons issued for overtime The fine would be $50.00 Any subsequent summons issued to this vehicle during the month, would be at the rate of $50.00. The Commission members agreed that the “graduated fine” was a good idea, but it would be very “unfriendly” to implement it for a 30 day period and then continue to charge the offender at the highest rate for each subsequent violation. As the discussion continued, it was decided that the overtime fine needs to be increased and that there should be a graduated fine for repeat offenders. Ms. Rizzuto stated that in an opinion from Mr. Richard Ziff, (former Corporation Counsel), overtime violations can be issued for each violation of the posted time limit, but the fine must increase for each successive summons. Ms. Rizzuto suggested that rather than implement the graduated fine system for a 30 day period, implement it on a daily basis. So each day starts a new cycle, the first summons issued would always remain the lower fine and successive summons would be subject to the higher fine. It was also suggested that the fines be only 2 amounts. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/15/2012  5 Mr. Desaulniers made a motion to request an ordinance be drafted to present to the City Council, addressing the rate/schedule of overtime violations. The fines for overtime would be $20.00 for the first offense, $25.00 for the second/subsequent offenses, in a business day. Mr. Braddock seconded the motion. The motion was voted on and passed unanimously. Ms. Rizzuto was directed to send the request to Mr. Driscoll to draft the resolution, to be presented to the City Council at the June 18,2012. Parking in the Main Street Garage was next. As discussion continued , Mr. Braddock inquired as to the elevator repairs. Mr. Ellison stated that Public Works is in the process of getting cost estimates for the job. The Commission was warned that the cost would be high, based on the extent of damage. The floors, walls, ceiling and lighting in the cab will need to be replaced. The mechanicals under the cab will have to be inspected for damage done. A new threshold will have ot be installed and new call buttons will be needed. These same repairs were done approximately 7 years ago, it was decided that there needs to be camera placement in the elevator or some sort of security, to prevent continued vandalism. Considering that onstreet parking is limited to 2 hours, the Commission members discussed allowing public parking in the garage for a maximum of 4 hours/day, unless using a day pass or monthly permit. The meters would be removed, public parking will be allowed throughout the garage. Day passes and monthly permits will be immune from overtime violations. Signage would be changed, emphasizing the public parking and the availability of permits and day passes. A motion was made by Mr. Desaulniers to allow “4 hour/maximum per day” parking in the Main Street garage, offer day passes and monthly permits. The motion was seconded by Mr. Braddock. The Commission voted on the motion and passed it unanimously. Mr. Desaulniers made a motion that the subcommittee that compiled the presentation, repeat the presentation for the City Council at the meeting scheduled for June 18,2012. The motion was seconded by Mr. Braddock. Voted on and passed unanimously. The changes voted on will not be implemented immediately. Approval from the City Council and the Traffic Authority will determine what changes will be made. Based on the decisions made by the other authorities, information will be made available to the public. Any signage changes will be completed, with a tentative launch date of July 1, 2012. MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/15/2012  6 ANYTHING ELSE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COMMISSION: Mr. Desaulniers brought a letter from the EPPC, requesting information related to parking for the weekend of June 14-June 16. Ms. Rizzuto will respond to Ms. Hayes, indicating that the only restriction will be Friday, June 15,2012. The Market Street garage will not be available until 5 pm on Friday evening. All time restrictions will be lifted on that day. There will be no overtime violations issued. ADJOURNMENT: Motion made to adjourn by Mr. Ryan, second by Mr. Desaulniers. Voted on and passed unanimously. Meeting was adjourned at 7:15 pm Respectfully Submitted, Judith A. Rizzuto, Administrator Norwich Public Parking Commission MINUTES NPPC MEETING 05/15/2012