City Council

CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP CITY COUNCIL ROOM THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2004 5:30 P.M. PRESENT: Commissioner Thomas Curley, DPS Michael Lenz, Mayor Commissioner Matthew McCabe, Finance Commissioner Thomas McTygue, DPW Commissioner Stephen E. Towne, Accounts ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Senior Citizen Exemption Commissioner Stephen Towne requested that a public hearing be set for 6:50 p.m. on May 18 for the proposed increase in the senior citizens tax exemption. Council members agreed. MAYOR=S OFFICE Parking Mayor Michael Lenz said this is a workshop to discuss the ideas and recommendations that have been presented to the Council on parking. He said there had been a report from the Long Term Parking Solutions Committee and Commissioner Matthew McCabe also recently formed the Alternative Transportation Advisory Board. He noted that there has been some movement on the Hub parking lot. He said tonight was not an opportunity for public input. Mayor Michael Lenz said the Long Term Parking Committee presented three recommendations to the Council as follows: 1) follow up on the Hub Parking Lot; 2) Woodlawn Avenue Parking lot; and 3) graduated parking fines. He noted that the recommendation for the fines stated that up to $100,000 would go to the general fund and anything over that amount would go to the parking solution fund. He asked for comments from the Council. Graduated Fines: Deputy Commissioner Erin Dreyer said that there were many issues to research on the graduated fine recommendation before that could be put into place. She said there were legal issues in using parking fines as a source of revenue. She said by placing those funds in the parking solution fund, gives the impression that fines are being used as a revenue source. She said there needs to be some discussion with the City Attorney’s Office on a legal way to dedicate these funds. She also noted that at this time they do not have the capability to track repeat offenders. She said to track repeat offenders would require new technology. Commissioner Thomas Curley said these are issues that need to be researched before commitments can be made. Mayor Michael Lenz said the graduated level of fines is also used as an enforcement tool and not used to just generate revenue. Tony Izzo, Assistant City Attorney, said there are limits on what the City may do with funds from fines and there will need to be some research done on that matter. Deputy Commissioner Erin Dreyer explained that DPS uses the NYS tickets. She said when writing a parking ticket, the dollar amount is circled and at that time the parking enforcement officer or police officer has no way of knowing if it is first or second ticket. She said that would require some computerization for remote locations. Page 1 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Parking Workshop Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Commissioner Thomas Curley said the dedicated funds could likely be used to purchase that type of equipment. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked for a report on how many tickets were written either by the day, week or month. Commissioner Thomas Curley said that information could be gathered, but Council members needed to keep in mind that it fluctuates with the season and with the number of employees writing tickets. He said they just recently added another parking enforcement officer and they now work on a staggered schedule. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked if DPS had a sense of who were the flagrant repeat offenders. Commissioner Thomas Curley said not at this time. He said tickets are written by the plate number and not the name. T-6 Parking Requirement: Mayor Michael Lenz said that there had also been discussions on reintroducing the parking requirement in the downtown T-6 District. He said the committee recommended that if developers chose not to provide parking spaces, there could be a waiver of a parking space with a payment of $10,000. He said this provides the ability to generate revenues for the City. Commissioner Stephen Towne suggested that the Council needed to look at the bigger picture in connection with this waiver. He questioned whether the City would be somewhat encouraging developers to use the waiver fee of $10,000 since the cost to develop a parking space was much higher. He questioned whether the City was looking to encourage this option and then develop one or more larger structures rather than having the developer identify one or two spots here and there. Mayor Michael Lenz said recently developers have included parking spaces within their projects because their tenants find it an attractive feature. He said this proposal will get the developers to think about the parking issue and to work with the City on this matter. Commissioner Thomas Curley said there are only a few parcels remaining in the downtown area that have not already been infilled. He questioned whether there was really a need for this waiver. Mayor Michael Lenz said there needs to be some more research on this matter including some by the City Attorney’s Office. He said this evening he was just looking for some conceptual discussions by the Council on these matters. Commissioner Stephen Towne said the last figure he remembered hearing on the cost to develop a parking space was approximately $15,000. He said he did not want to penalize developers but should the City use $15,000 rather than $10,000 for the waiver fee. Mayor Michael Lenz said parking space development costs range from $15,000 to $19,000. He said using $15,000 rather than $10,000 was something to consider. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked what specifically did the City want. Did it want the developers to pay the fee so the money could be pooled with other money or did it want the developers to identify spots? 15 minute parking spaces: Mayor Michael Lenz said there was a recommendation that some of the parking spaces on Lake Avenue be changed to 15 minute spaces. He said there was also the recommendation to make the handicapped parking spaces two hour spaces. He said there needs to be some legal research on what exactly the City can do. He said though that by making them 15 minutes spots, it turns them over more quickly. Commissioner Thomas McTygue suggested that there be some 15 minute spots near the Adelphi. Deputy Commissioner Erin Dreyer said there is a small problem in that area in that the owners of the Adelphi painted the curb for a 15 minute spot, however, the City identified, with signage, another location near the Adelphi. She said they are working with that owner to find a remedy to the situation. Deputy Commissioner Erin Dreyer said that as part of the recommendations from the short term parking committee, they believed that 15 minutes was not enough time for people to get quick errands done. She also Page 2 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Parking Workshop Tuesday, May 11, 2004 noted that 15 minute spots are nearly unenforceable. She said unless there is a parking guard stationed near the 15 minute locations, it was almost impossible to identify a car that had been there for more than 15 minutes. She explained that the parking enforcement officers make rounds and by the time they get back to the 15 minute spot, it could be up to an hour. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that perhaps the local businesses can police the 15 minutes spots as well as the parking enforcement officers. He said he believed it would be beneficial to businesses to have the 15 minute spots. Commissioner Thomas Curley said parking spaces are a matter that is constantly changing and he would be willing to look at this recommendation. Parking Garage/Deck: Mayor Michael Lenz said the committee also suggested that the proposed parking garage/decks be prioritized. He said they listed them in the following order: Hub lot, Woodlawn Avenue, Henry Street/Putnam Street; High Rock Avenue and the lot near the Algonquin. Hub Lot: Mayor Michael Lenz said the City is in the process of finalizing the sale of that parcel. He said the proceeds of $600,00 will be earmarked for the parking solutions fund. He noted that there is currently $250,000 in that fund. He said he had been talking to Senator Bruno’s office on the possibility of the state identifying some funds to contribute toward this project. He said the next step is to develop an RFP to go out to potential developers so that a dollar amount can be determined. He said there needs to be some discussion though on how many floors the garage/deck should have. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said that had been talked about and he believed that it should be one deck. He said there were concerns expressed by the neighbors on having a taller structure. Mayor Michael Lenz said an RFP should be developed. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said he did not want this process to drag out to two or more years. He said this project needs to be fast tracked. He said it was his plan to have one deck. Mayor Michael Lenz said it needs to be determined who will build it, what it will look like and how muchit will cost. He asked Commissioner Thomas McTygue if it was his intent to distribute an RFP. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said yes. Bill McTygue, Director of Utilities, said it was their intent to wait to see whom the bank was going to use for the development project and then for the City to use the same firm. He said there needs to be some discussions with architectural and engineering firms before an RFP can be developed. He said his department is prepared to work with the City Engineer’s Office on how to go about seeking an engineering firm. He said they want to move this along quickly. He pointed out that it would be a rather large expenditure to go to more than one deck. Mayor Michael Lenz said that the Council needs to get some feedback from the development community on how much this project might cost. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said it was going to be expensive no matter what option the City chooses. He said the City needs to determine where the greatest net gain will be. He said he would like to see the cost differences on one versus two decks. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said he did not want to spin his wheels. He said if the Council wants a second or third deck he would do it. He believed though that some information could be gathered from the previous material submitted by The LA Group. Commissioner Thomas Curley questioned whether the City would be able to use the same architect that the bank uses. Commissioner Stephen Towne said that would need to be discussed within the context of the Purchasing Guidelines. Commissioner Thomas McTygue asked for direction. There was agreement that the Hub lot was the priority. Mayor Michael Lenz said the committee ranked the Woodlawn Avenue lot as the second priority. He said that would be a significant project and there needed to be a lot of research done on that project. He said the Council should focus on that after the Hub project. He said there are many questions such as a private/public partnership, cost, size, start date, etc. Page 3 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Parking Workshop Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Commissioner Thomas McTygue disagreed saying that the City should focus on the lots behind City Hall after the Hub lot. He said there is opportunity in that area of the City because of the potential expansion of the City Center, possibility of the construction of a new hotel and discussions on the new Public Safety facility. He said there was the option of constructing a bridge from the Algonquin lot to the High Rock Avenue lot. He said the Woodlawn Avenue lot is a very difficult lot because of the size and location. He said it is already very difficult for pedestrians in that area. He suggested that an RFP be developed for the High Rock Avenue lot and incorporate into that RFP the DPS facility, the possibility of three or four tiers, incubator stores, etc. He said that lot would have more spaces than the Woodlawn Avenue lot. Commissioner Thomas McTygue suggested that some thought be given to making the entire Woodlawn Avenue lot a two hour lot. Mayor Michael Lenz said that could be considered. Commissioner Thomas Curley said there needed to be some research on who is really using the Woodlawn Avenue lot. He said there is already a lot of information available and it was a matter of updating the material. He suggested that the Council look at all of the City owned lots to see what the options are. Commissioner Matthew McCabe said there needs to be some attention given to the current parking conditions. He said the above noted projects are all grand projects, but there are immediate needs that need to be satisfied. Commissioner Thomas McTygue said the Council needs to get moving on this matter. He said it is time consuming to develop an RFP. He said his department would take on the responsibility of developing an RFP for the High Rock Avenue lot. He suggested that other departments look at developing RFPs for the other lots. Mayor Michael Lenz said the committee found that the Woodlawn Avenue lot is underutilized. He asked if there was consensus from the Council on moving forward on that lot after the Hub lot. Bill McTygue said he was willing to work with the Engineering Department on the HUB lot. He said he would come back to the Council with a recommendation on the architectural and engineering services for that lot. Mayor Michael Lenz asked whether more than one deck would be considered. Commissioner Thomas Curley said he wanted to see the cost difference. Bill McTygue said that costs for one or more additional decks would be included. He said he also wanted the option of working with the same team that is developing the bank lot. Commissioner Thomas McTygue again said that he would work on the High Rock Avenue lot. Commissioners Thomas Curley and Matthew McCabe agreed that all the lots should be looked at the same time. They said it would be useful to have all that information available. Commissioner Matthew McCabe suggested that there might be some federal money available. Bill McTygue said a few years ago, Commissioner Thomas McTygue advanced the idea of surface improvements to the Woodlawn Avenue lot. He said it is a difficult lot to work with because of the dimensions. He said a parking structure would bring on a whole new set of issues. Mayor Michael Lenz said that might be so, but it was still worth exploring. Commissioner Stephen Towne asked for clarification on what exactly the RFPs would be looking for. He asked who had the level of expertise within the building to develop such an RFP. Mayor Michael Lenz said he believed that Geoff Bornemann, City Planner, could assist. It was also noted that DPW and the Engineering Department could assist. Commissioner Stephen Towne said if the expertise was available within City Hall, the Council should move forward. ADJOURNMENT Page 4 of 5 City of Saratoga Springs City Council Parking Workshop Tuesday, May 11, 2004 There being no further business, Mayor Michael Lenz adjourned the workshop at 6:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Moran Clerk Approved: Page 5 of 5