April 24, 2009
Agenda
1. Call to Order and Minutes (Attachment 1);
2. Discuss Potential 90-minute Areas on 1st Ave. S. & 7th Street (Attachment 2);
3. Discuss Downtown Shuttle;
4. Review Parking Lot Sign Audit (PowerPoint Presentation);
5. Review 2008 Financial Information (Attachment 3);
6. Operator’s Report (Attachment 4);
7. Discuss Lots of Parking, Land Use in a Car Culture, Chapter 8; and
8. Other Issues.
Minutes
Members Present: Chairman Mike Williams, Margie Bailly, Rick Engen, Karen Stoker and Tracy Walvatne
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Bob Stein, John Rogne, Joe Anderson, Kathy Spielman, Mike Kunza, Helmut Schmidt and Kim Citrowske.
Call to Order and Minutes
Chairperson Commissioner Williams called the meeting to order. Mr. Engen moved to approve the minutes of the March 6, 2009 meeting and Ms. Walvatne seconded the motion. All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Discuss Potential 90-minute Areas
Mr. Stein stated that the Community Service Officers that enforce parking zones requested eliminating all the 2-Hour zones specifically on 1st Avenue South and on the 100 block of south 7th Street. The request will allow enforcement to be consistent within the Downtown area. Ms. Spielman stated that the 600 block of 1st Avenue South does get increased traffic in the summer from the Island Park Pool.
Mr. Engen moved to change all 2-hour zones into 90-minute parking zones specifically on both sides of the 50 block of 7th Street South, 400 and 700 blocks of 1st Avenue South and the north side of the 500 and 600 blocks of 1st Avenue South. The south side of the 500 and 600 block of 1st Avenue South will become 4-hour POP zones. Ms. Stoker seconded the motion. All members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Discuss Downtown Shuttle
Mr. Stein stated that he has been exploring different funding sources to operate a Downtown circulator. With the upgrades that transit is making, there are buses that will be available to become a circulator, there is simply not many funding opportunities including stimulus money for operating costs which are estimated to be $125,000 to $135,000 per year.
Mr. Kunza discussed Job Access Reverse Commute – JARC funds that are distributed by the state that might be eligible for operating a Downtown circulator that would cover 50% of the costs. He also stated that there is a possible extension that could occur with the circulator to connect Moorhead’s Downtown with Fargo.
Ms. Bailly stated that a Downtown circulator could be beneficial to many Downtown establishments including providing additional parking for conventions or events at the Fargo Theatre or the Radisson. Staff will continue exploring funding sources for operating costs of the Downtown circulator to ideally begin operation after Street Fair and before NDSU begins in late August.
Review Parking Lot Sign Audit
Mr. Stein presented a PowerPoint presentation showing the parking lot signage for each City-owned facility. The GTC signage was designated as a primary location for updates. Mr. Williams suggested adding neon or balloon-type signs on pre-lit signs on facilities available for daily short-term parking. Staff will explore options for the existing signage to become more noticeable.
Review 2008 Financial Information
Mr. Stein reviewed the 2008 Revenue and Expenses Summary. Two major expenses in 2008 were upgrades at the Radisson Ramp and installation of surveillance equipment in the Island Park Ramp.
Operator’s Report
Mr. Rogne presented the Operator’s Report for March 2009. Daily parking revenues are down due to blizzards and the flood. The revenue losses will be documented for possible reimbursement from FEMA to recoup that lost income. The GTC Garage has lost monthly renters who use the facility for winter storage. The NP Avenue lot usage is up due to an arrangement with sub-contractors working on the Bullinger Project. Ms. Stoker suggested a possible summer rate in the GTC garage to entice more patrons to use that facility, along with upgrades to the signage.
Lots of Parking: Land Use in a Car Culture, Chapter Eight
Chapter 8 is titled, “Parking for Shopping: Development in the Suburbs” which describes parking’s role in the retail environment. The Chapter describes parking’s role during retail’s passage from downtown stores to neighborhood centers and finally regional shopping centers.
A hand out was distributed showing an aerial photo of Downtown Fargo with an outline of the West Acres shopping center and its parking lot placed over the photo. Chapter 8 will be further discussed at the next Parking Commission meeting in June.
Other Issues
The study to review lighting systems in the Island Park Ramp and GTC Garage is underway. Ulteig Engineers is currently exploring energy efficient lighting solutions, which may be eligible for Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants to help with the upgrades.
Short-term parking signs were placed in the Civic Center lot to indicate where library patrons will be parking. The library’s grand opening is April 25. There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned.