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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPKG UTILITY MINUTES JUN_13_2012 OSHKOSH PARKING UTILITY COMMISSION MINUTES JUNE 13, 2012 PRESENT: Chandra Anderson, Mary Murken and Jay Ratchman ABSENT: Deb Allison-Aasby and Timothy Schuster STAFF: Christopher Strong, Transportation Director CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Mary Murken called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Ratchman moved to accept the March 14, 2012 minutes. Ms. Anderson seconded the motion. Motion carried (3-0). NEW BUSINESS 1. REVIEW OF 2012 PARKING UTILIZATION STUDY. Mr. Strong gave a synopsis of the study. Ms. Murken felt a one week data collection period a year doesn’t give validity to the findings. Mr. Strong agreed that different factors (e.g. holiday shopping, Grand Opera House events) could affect the numbers. Mr. Strong said the data was collected during one week, Monday through Friday, at 11 am and 2 pm each day. Ms. Murken suggested possibly a college intern could collect this data. Mr. Strong noted there are parking lots with lower usage. He mentioned that there might be opportunities to try to increase usage. Ms. Anderson said when you travel around on a weekday afternoon, the parking lots are mostly empty, with the exception of the two 400 block Main Street parking lots. Her feeling is if we don’t have ample parking for events in Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Event City, people will stop trying to come down because they are so frustrated. Mr. Ratchman was concerned about Kitz & Pfeil occupying parking spaces when shipments of lawnmowers and snowblowers are unloaded and left in the parking lot for extended periods of time. Mr. Strong said he would check with the Police Department about this. Mr. Strong noted that there had been interest in trying to convert some spaces in the Recreation lot to permit. Regarding the Recreation Lot, utilization is highest on Saturdays, evenings and mornings. The weekday morning utilization will make it hard to have dual utilization of these spaces. He noted that most of the monthly parking spaces are leased but there isn’t much use of them during the day. PARKING UTILITY MINUTES Page 2 JUNE 13, 2012 Ms. Anderson questioned if Al Wenig from the Oshkosh Recreation Department was a little resistant to the idea of leasing these spaces. Mr. Strong said Mr. Wenig felt a few spaces could be put to general usage but he needs to keep the bulk of them. 2. DISCUSSION OF CONVENTION CENTER PARKING NEEDS Mr. Strong reviewed the request from Council Member Herman, and discussed some of the factors that are involved. Ms. Anderson felt the obvious place for a parking ramp would be the parking lot across from the Convention Center. As for a second location, she suggested the parking lot behind Kitz & Pfeil, which seems to be the go-to parking lot. If events continue to grow in downtown area, she thought that there needs to be adequate places to park. Mr. Ratchman asked about the mall parking lot. Ms. Anderson said that is fully occupied with mall tenants. He asked about the green space next to the Convention Center. Mr. Strong said this is part of the Riverside Lot, but there there is an issue with the fill beneath the surface that may make it costly to convert this to parking. Ms. Anderson said there needs to be a long term plan for two parking ramps. Mr. Ratchman said parking lots are built around permanent businesses, not just events. His concern is we would need to draw some big businesses to the downtown area to justify the costs. Ms. Anderson felt if anyone would approve this, it would be the Convention Center, the Leach Amphitheater and the hotel because they struggle renting out their places because of no parking. If we want continue to move forward as a city and grow, we need to start looking at problem solving some of these things before they get blown out of proportion. Ms. Murken questioned if this discussion shouldn’t involve the hotel owners and the Convention Center to see if their parking needs are being met. Ms. Anderson wasn’t that concerned about herself but is very concerned about the downtown continuing to grow with events. Mr. Ratchman said we can’t win these battles; we can only do the best we can with what we have. Ms. Murken asked if any other indications had been received for the need for a ramp. Mr. Strong replied “none at this time”. Ms. Anderson said the Convention Center has not been rented to capacity because of the hotel situation. If the hotel becomes successful, maybe we should look into some sort of partnership with the university in assisting with it. Mr. Ratchman asked if Ms. Anderson was suggesting a parking ramp with some sort of user charge. Ms. Anderson replied “yes”. Mr. Ratchman noted that many people try to park elsewhere to avoid paying a fee. Ms. Murken said we need more information to have further discussion on this item. FINANCIAL REPORTS PARKING UTILITY MINUTES Page 3 JUNE 13, 2012 Mr. Ratchman questioned the low numbers for parking ticket revenue for March and April, compared with January and February. Mt. Strong said he would inquire with the Police Department and the Finance Department to help find out the reason for the drop in revenue. ADJOURNMENT There being no other business to come before the Parking Utility Commission, and upon being duly moved and seconded (Murken, Anderson), the meeting adjourned at 4:51 p.m.