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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES OSHKOSH PARKING UTILITY COMMISSION MINUTES AUGUST 5, 2009 PRESENT: Harold Buchholz, Mary Murken and Jim Stapel ABSENT: Jay Ratchman STAFF: Christopher Strong, Transportation Director Jennifer Weigand, Recording Secretary CALL TO ORDER Chairman Stapel called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Murken moved to accept the July 8, 2009 minutes. Mr. Buchholz seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). FINANCIAL REPORTS Mr. Buchholz felt the Board needed to take a step back and look at the deficit the Utility is operating under. He requested that Ms. Steeno join us at next month’s meeting to help us prepare for the 2010 budget. Ms. Murken moved to accept the financial reports. Mr. Buchholz seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. ENDORSEMENT OF CONCEPT OF 4-HOUR PERMITS. Scott Footit, BID officer, felt we should look for simplicity versus confusion. If the Board endorses this concept mixed with the current permits we have, we would be taking a step backwards. He suggested sticking to one type of permit like a daily permit. There was question as to how drivers would know where the permits could be used. Mr. Stapel suggested signs stating “permit parking”. Mr. Footit felt the problem with that signage would be there are several different time periods and enforcement would than fall on administration’s shoulders. Capt. Schoeni, OPD, felt enforcement could become unmanageable. Mr. Stapel asked if all permits would eventually be in the same place. At some time, Mr. Strong replied he would like them all on the dashboards. For now, he noted that there is a multi-year supply of parking stickers which will continue to be placed on the rear bumpers. PARKING UTILITY MINUTES Page 2 AUGUST 5, 2009 Mr. Stapel felt the 4-hour permit would help the salon customers. He felt it was a good idea and it would cost less than a $1.00. It’s not a perfect solution but he felt we need something for this type of business that provides a service to their customers for a few hours a day. Capt. Schoeni, OPD, informed the Board that some businesses provide shuttle service to their customers so they can avoid parking problems. Mr. Strong noted there are also areas near downtown, such as parts of Division Street north of Church Avenue, where parking is available without time restriction. Mr. Strong said the daily permit has been previously endorsed by the Board as a necessary tool to support the removal of parking meters. He asked whether Commission members felt that the 4-hour permit was necessary to make the meter removal program work. Mr. Stapel said there isn’t a good answer to this problem. Mr. Buchholz was opposed to this idea. Mr. Buchholz moved to table this request. Ms. Murken seconded the motion. Motion carried (2-1 Stapel) 2. APPROVAL OF DAILY/4-HOUR PERMIT DESIGN AND DISTRIBUTION. Mr. Strong explained the permit design. He noted that the larger quantity purchased, the cost is reduced. Mr. Stapel suggested checking with local printers for pricing. Mr. Strong explained his ideas on publicizing this program so people are aware of it. Mr. Buchholz asked if signs would be posted in the parking lots. Mr. Strong said as the meters are pulled, the signs would be posted stating “permit parking”. Capt. Schoeni suggested striping the lots with different colored stripes to help with reinforcement of the signage. Mr. Stapel suggested holding off on different colored stripes for a couple of months until we see how this works. Ms. Murken suggested possibly setting aside specific parking spots for salon customers. Mr. Stapel said this would be taking spots away from the general inventory. This could open up a can of worms because this would become business-specific and each business would want their own spots. Under this type of scenario, Mr. Strong wondered if the businesses would be willing to pay a premium fee for these spaces. He noted that there could be challenges with enforcing that these spaces are used only by employees or customers of specific businesses. Mr. Buchholz said we should take a slower approach to this permit concept to make sure we are doing it properly and execution is thought out. From a revenue standpoint, we are not going to make a lot of money with these permits but it may cause some issues with enforcement. The Board’s decision should be based on two aspects: enforcement and the general public’s reaction. Mr. Footit said that the permit program needs to take in consideration the three groups of users: business employees, residents and customers. Mr. Stapel suggested, under the instruction section, underlining and using all capital letters for the word “INK”. Ms. Murken moved to accept the permit design with Mr. Stapel’s suggestion and Mr. Strong’s distribution plan. Mr. Buchholz seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). 3. RECOMMENDATION FOR PENALITIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF DAILY PERMITS. PARKING UTILITY MINUTES Page 3 AUGUST 5, 2009 Mr. Buchholz suggested increasing the Fire Lanes violation fine to $50, which is a major violation comparable to the Disabled Parking violation. Ms. Murken questioned why the No Parking 2 a.m. – 5 a.m. fine is less than the Overtime Parking Violation fine, when the severity of these two violations seems the same to her. She suggested increasing the No Parking 2 a.m. -5 a.m. fine to $15. Capt. Schoeni noted it has been approximately over eight years since this violation fine had been looked at. Mr. Stapel suggesting increasing the cost of the Meter Violations fine to $10. Mr. Buchholz moved to accept the request with the following amendments and additions: No parking 2 a.m. – 5 a.m. $15; Overtime Parking $15, Meter Violations $10; Fire Lanes $50; Other Violations $20; Failure to properly display permit $15 and Fraudulent use of permit $30. Ms. Murken seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMIT PARKING RATE SCHEDULE. Mr. Strong questioned if it was appropriate for a bulk purchase discount. Mr. Stapel and Mr. Buchholz were not opposed to this idea. Mr. Buchholz moved to accept the request. Ms. Murken seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). NEW BUSINESS 5. REMOVAL OF PARKING METERS FROM A) HIGH AVENUE LOT, B) PEARL LOT, C) 400 BLOCK WEST, D) BROWN STREET BETWEEN ALGOMA BOULEVARD AND HIGH AVENUE AND E) UW-O STREETS (ALGOMA BLVD., ELMWOOD AVE. & IRVING AVE.) Ms. Murken moved to accept the request. Mr. Buchholz seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). 6. REQUEST FOR UNRESTRICTED PARKING IN OTTER AVENUE LOT. No action taken. Request was laid over. 7. SATURDAY ENFORCEMENT OF MUNICIPAL PARKING LOT ORDINANCE. No action taken. Request was laid over. AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING None. STAFF STATEMENTS 8. UPDATE ON 400 BLOCK EAST RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT Mr. Strong gave a brief summary on the current status of this project. ADJOURNMENT PARKING UTILITY MINUTES Page 4 AUGUST 5, 2009 There being no other business to come before the Parking Utility Commission, and upon being duly moved and seconded (Murken, Buchholz), the meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.