MORGANTOWN PARKING AUTHORITY

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Regular Meeting

The regular meeting of the Morgantown Parking Authority was held at 3:00 P.M., Wednesday, August 8, 2007, in the Conference Room at the Public Safety Building.

PRESENT:  Vice-Chairman Bill Byrne, George Papandreas, Jeanne Hagan, Charlie McEwuen,

         and Tom Arnold.

ABSENT:   Chairman Ernest Fortuna.

OTHERS PRESENT:  None.

            Vice-Chairman Bill Byrne called the meeting to order at 3:05 P.M.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

            Upon a motion by Mr. McEwuen, seconded by Mr. Hagan and approved by unanimous vote, the minutes of the regular meeting of June 13, 2007 were approved as presented.  

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Update on Spruce Street United Methodist Church Expansion:

            The Spruce Street United Methodist Church received bid estimates for the proposed expansion of the church.   The bids that were received were not within the churches budget, therefore, the church has opted to forgo the outside expansion project and instead will upgrade the inside of the church. 

Mr. Arnold has notified the Morgantown Public Library that the church will not be expanding its building within the next two to three years.  He has also spoken with Mr. Ernie Carlson regarding three houses that are for sale and the possibility of building a new City Hall.  Mr. Byrne would like to keep a good line of communication with the church. 

Council Approval to Extend On-Street Parking Meters on North Spruce Street, North High Street, and Fife Street:

            At the July City Council meeting it was approved to extend on-street parking meters to include North Spruce Street, North High Street, and Fife Street.  This will help ensure that parking in the area will be in an orderly fashion.  The installation of the meters will be completed before the beginning of WVU classes.

NEW BUSINESS:

Semi-Annual Meeting with Merchants and Property Owners:

On July 31, 2007 the semi-annual meeting with the merchants and property owners was held in the City Hall Council chambers.  The attendees at the January 2007 meeting wanted to establish zones with a graduated ticket fine structure.  This plan would require vehicles to move off the block/zone entirely and not just move forward or backwards a space or two.  The Parking Authority is trying to look at the needs of the downtown and wants to take it slow to make sure that the changes made are the best thing for the downtown. 

If established, Mr. Arnold would like to call the zones “Customer Friendly Zones”.  Similar zones have been established in other states and in some cities they will tow vehicles owned by merchants and their employees that are parked in these zones.  Mr. Arnold however, does not want to tow vehicles for violating the zoned parking ordinance. 

Another matter discussed at the meeting was with the West Virginia Junior College.  Students that attend the college tend to park in the two-hour parking lot across from the school and receive timed-parking tickets for being in the lot longer then two hours.  After the meeting Mr. Arnold met with a representative of the Junior College to determine what the students parking needs are.

Ordinance to Raise Fines and Establish Zone Parking to Target Business Owners, Employees, and Resident Students:

            Mr. Arnold reported that the student permit program is working very well therefore; he does not see a need to increase the permit rate.  He will work with the City Manager and City Attorney on an ordinance to raise fines and establish zone parking.

Handicapped Parking on High Street:

            After the completion of the “Street Scape” for the 300-400 block of High Street not all of the handicapped meters were reinstalled.  It is required to have one handicapped space per every twenty-five spaces and right now High Street is three short of being in compliance.  Due to some safety issues the City does not want to reinstall the remaining three.  Mr. Arnold said he was not aware that the City did not want them installed on High Street.  There are other handicapped parking spaces around the 400 block of High Street that are located in Lot B.

            The second phase of the Street Scape should include a design plan for handicapped parking spaces.  The handicapped spaces in that area are used very little.  Mr. Papandreas said, “According to Public Works Director Terry Hough, Federal ADA regulations do not require handicapped spaces on a street.”  Mr. Arnold disagreed with Ms. Hough because Federal regulations require handicapped spaces on the street and require that they be at the end of the block for free access to that space.  The law regarding handicapped parking spaces states that the Parking Authority must provide “free access” of handicapped parking spaces.  The phrase “free access” doesn’t mean free monetary parking but does mean free from impeding a person from parking in that space. 

            Mr. Papandreas was concerned about the requirement that on-street handicapped parking spaces must be at the end of the block because there are bump-outs at the end of the block that create problems.  He suggested that Mr. Arnold speak with Mark Derry, ADA consultant, regarding the requirement of on-street handicapped spaces.

OTHER MATTERS:

New Handheld Software and Hardware:

            The Parking Authority has purchased new handheld software and hardware that will help with the efficiency of issuing parking tickets.  The new handhelds will have Nextel capability and will allow the enforcement officer to take a picture of the license place as well as any other pertinent information about the vehicle and ticket.  Mr. Arnold is pleased that the new software and hardware costs less then it did originally thirteen years ago

New Bucket Loader:

            The Morgantown Parking Authority has purchased a new bucket loader that will aid in snow removal.

Year-End Report:

            Mr. Arnold is pleased with the year-end report.  Revenue was up by $100,000 and the expenditures were down by $100,000.

Morgantown High School Construction:

            Due to new construction planned for September 2007 at Morgantown High School there will be a total of 100 parking spaces lost.  These spaces will not be available to high school students but instead will be used as a staging area for the construction equipment.  The Parking Authority has offered parking spaces for rent to the students while they are displaced from the schools parking lot.  Currently students are signing up for the spaces with nine students have already purchased a space.

ADJOURNMENT:

There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 4:05 P.M.

_____________________________              ______________________________

                           DATE                                                  Ernest Fortuna, Chairman

Prepared by:  _____________________________________

                                      Dianna L. Kovalcheck