MORGANTOWN PARKING AUTHORITY

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Regular Meeting

 

The regular meeting of the Morgantown Parking Authority was held at 3:00 P.M., Wednesday, December 12, 2007, in the Conference Room at the Public Safety Building.

 

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

        Tom Arnold.

 

ABSENT:   Chairman Ernest Fortuna.

 

OTHERS PRESENT:  None.

 

            Vice-Chairman Bill Byrne called the meeting to order at 3:00 P.M.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

 

            Upon a motion by Mr. Papandreas, seconded by Ms. Hagan and approved by unanimous vote, the minutes of the regular meeting of November 14, 2007 were approved as presented.  

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

 

Open Permit Lot-A for Evening and Weekend Use:

 

            Mr. Arnold said this issue came up because of the two-hour parking limit on the streets.  City Council requested the Parking Authority to open Lot-A during the nights and weekends to allow the public to park there while they go to dinner or attend events at the Met Theater.   Mr. Arnold spoke with City Manager Dan Boroff regarding this request and it was explained to Mr. Arnold that Lot-A is convenient because people can leave the Met Theater and walk up Fayette Street to Lot-A. 

 

Mr. Arnold said he is not sure how this would work because the lot doesn’t have parking meters.  He said a pay-and-display machine would be needed along with new signage.  Mr. Byrne said he is concerned with bringing in another system for the public to learn.  Mr. McEwuen said it would confuse the public if meters were to be placed in the lot because people would see the meters and think it was ok to park during the day.  He was also concerned that people who parks on Sunday would remain in the lot on Monday morning.  Mr. Arnold said that the Farmers Market would continue to use Lot-A on Saturday mornings.  The lot can be changed to public parking from 5 PM to 3 AM and all other parking is by permit only.

 

            Mr. Byrne would like to accommodate the patrons who go to the Met Theater the best way that would benefit the Parking Authority.  Mr. Papandreas is also in favor of accommodating the Met Theater.  Mr. Arnold said the Parking Authority could control when people are able to pay and park by installing a pay-and-display machine.  There are ten parking spaces for City vehicles in Lot-A that could be used 5 PM to 3 AM for public use.  This is shared parking that will benefit both the public and the Parking Authority.

 

 

 

Ordinance to Enforce Street Meters 24 Hours:

 

            The ordinance to enforce street meters 24 hours a day was a result of the 2-hour enforcement ordinance that was passed last month.  City Council has already had the first reading for this new ordinance, so Mr. Arnold wanted to clarify the new ordinance to the members.  City Council has approved enforcement of the twenty-four hour from 11 PM to 6 PM that will allow enforcement on the street from midnight to 9 AM.  There will be no enforcement of the 2-hour ordinance between 6 PM and 11 PM.  The new ordinance will help the street department clean the streets and will help the Parking Authority get people off the streets before businesses open up in the morning.  The 24-hour ordinance ties in with the graduated ticket program on the street.  The only question Mr. Arnold has regarding the enforcement of meters on the street is on holidays.  The ordinance lists all Federal holidays and Mr. Arnold believes that the ordinance should only include the City holidays.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

Holiday Parking:

 

            During the Thanksgiving holiday the Parking Authority opted to open up the gates to the parking garages allowing free parking.  The gates were opened the evening before Thanksgiving and reopened the following Monday morning.  Mr. Arnold said this worked out very well and would like to offer the same for the upcoming Christmas holiday.  He said the Parking Authority has an opportunity to assist both the Christmas shoppers and the downtown merchants by offering free parking in the garages from December 16th to December 26th.  Signs can be placed at the entrance gates informing the public that there is free parking courtesy of the downtown merchants.  The revenue lost for this time period is roughly $2,400. 

 

            Mr. McEwuen said he would like to see free parking everywhere not just in the garages.  Mr. Papandreas said he is concerned with individuals who may park on the street all day without moving their vehicle.  Ms. Hagan agreed with both Mr. McEwuen and Mr. Papandreas that free parking should be everywhere, however, she would like the advertisement to say free two-hour parking so vehicles will not be parked all day without moving.  Mr. Arnold said Main Street Morgantown will email businesses of the free parking during the holiday and insist that they inform their employees that they will not be permitted to park on the street for free during this time.  The advertisement will read:  “Free Customer Parking” “Two-Hour Limit Still Applies”.

 

Two Proposed TIF Garages:

 

            Mr. Arnold presented a newspaper article regarding a parking garage in Charleston, WV.  The eight year old parking garage is owned by Capitol Parking was not properly maintained, therefore, it will requires millions of dollars to repair.  Mr. Arnold said parking garages in general are exposed to a lot of elements and it is vital that a proper maintenance plan be in place. 

 

He has spoken with City Manager Dan Boroff regarding the Parking Authority’s role in protecting the City from harm in these types of situations.  Currently, there is no law that requires preventative maintenance for the garages on a regular basis.  He would like to see a list of minimum recommendations or standards on design, construction, and maintenance for garages that are built in the city.  There should be an inspection process for the garages every few years, similar to the Code Enforcement office enforcing existing codes.  Mr. Byrne said the City currently can only inspect for ICC Code violations and would like to investigate further as to how to properly implement this.

OTHER MATTERS: 

 

Parking Ticket Collection Report 1998 thru 2007:

 

            The Mr. Arnold reported that the total number of tickets written since 1998 has decrease by 9% since 1998.  The collection rate for this time period is 92% with only 8% of the tickets outstanding. 

 

Shared Parking With Banks:

 

Mr. Arnold has been working with area banks about shared parking in their bank parking lots.  Huntington Bank is interested in allowing the Parking Authority to manage their parking lot in the evenings.  BB&T, on the other hand, has concerns with loosing control of their parking lot to the Parking Authority.  The only way the Parking Authority could manage the banks parking lots would be to purchase pay-on-foot stations at a cost of $15,000 to $30,000 each.

 

ADJOURNMENT:

 

There being no further business Mr. Papandreas moved, Ms. Hagan seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 P.M.

 

 

 

 

 

_____________________________              ______________________________

                           DATE                                          Bill Byrne, Vice-Chairman

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared by:  _____________________________________

                                      Dianna L. Kovalcheck