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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-12-16 DTPC MIN DOWNTOWN PARKING COMMISSION MEETING December 16, 2021 Chair McAllister called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. Present: Chair McAllister, Commissioners Glynn, Lepage, Rheinberger, Council Liaison Junker (remotely) Absent: Commissioners Anderson and Bates Staff present: Community Development Director Gladhill, Zoning Administrator Tait APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of November 18, 2021 meeting minutes Motion by Commissioner Rheinberger, seconded by Commissioner Lepage, to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2021 meeting. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. NEW BUSINESS Fire and Ice: North Lowell Park Event Application Community Development Director Gladhill stated that the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce applied for a special event permit to hold the 2022 Fire and Ice event at North Lowell Park, January 28-30, 2022. This event was held last year. It will utilize North Lowell Park and Mulberry Circle and will feature three to five hot air balloons, a beer tent and fire pits. Including setup and cleanup, the fee for the 21 parking spaces in Mulberry Circle for a total of five days would be $315. The Chamber is asking for a fee waiver. Commissioner Glynn asked if any handicapped spaces will be impacted by the event. Mr. Gladhill replied that the Parks Superintendent has not flagged that as an issue so there should be sufficient ADA parking but if not, the parking can be adjusted. Commissioner Glynn noted that in the past, the Downtown Parking Commission has approved events with the parking fees as is, and then the Council chooses to waive or reduce the fee or leave it in place. Mr. Gladhill concurred, adding that a new policy is being discussed but current fees are still in effect. Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Rheinberger, to recommend approval of the request by the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce to reserve Mulberry Circle for the 2022 Fire and Ice event, with the standard parking reservation fee of $315. All in favor. World Snow Sculpting Championship Event Application Downtown Parking Commission Meeting December 16, 2021 Page 2 of 4 Mr. Gladhill informed the Commission that the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce has applied for a special event permit to hold the 2022 World Snow Sculpting Championship (WSSC) at North Lowell Park and parking lots 4, 5, 9, and Mulberry Circle (for shuttle service) on January 18-23, 2022. This event is new to Stillwater. Teams from around the world will create snow sculptures and compete for prize money and the title of World Champion. The event will include social events, activities, award ceremonies and entertainment open to the public. Setup will occur January 10-18, 2022 and cleanup January 23-25, 2022. They are asking to reserve the following parking lots: lots 4 & 5 January 13-24 (12 days); lot 9 (entire lot) for snowmaking from January 4-17 (14 days); 8 spots in lot 9 during the event (7 days); and Mulberry Circle for the week of the event for shuttle services (7 days). Additional handicapped parking would be available in lot 9 during the event. Fees to reserve the parking spaces as requested would total about $1,500. The Chamber is requesting a waiver of the fees. A representative of the event, Sara Jespersen, stated the event is well planned and there are seven international athletes and five U.S. athletes coming. The High School and Middle School are reserved for shuttling to reduce parking congestion. Four of the spaces would be for handicapped accessibility. Speaking as a representative of the event, Commissioner Glynn added that most of the event will take place in the park, with only the small lot being used for food trucks. The other lot in front of Water Street Inn will have the ice rink and this event will take the other half. The City is upgrading some of the electrical boxes to accommodate the snow making machinery. Motion by Commissioner Rheinberger, seconded by Commissioner Lepage, to recommend approval of the request by the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce to reserve lots 4, 5, 9 and Mulberry Circle as requested, for the 2022 World Snow Sculpting Championship, with fees as stated in the staff report. Motion passed 3-0-1 with Commissioner Glynn abstaining. Biercycle Parking space reservation request Mr. Gladhill reported that Pat Wolf, Wolf Brewing/BierCycle, is requesting renewal of the approval to operate BierCycle in downtown Stillwater during the summer of 2022. She would like to reserve one parking stall on Water Street on weekends during the summer. The fee to reserve this space would be $3/day for a total of $606/year. Staff recommends approval consistent with past years’ approvals. Pat Wolf, applicant, stated the application is for the entire year but usually the official start date is May 1, weather-dependent. Chair McAllister asked who marks the reserved parking space. Ms. Wolf replied the City posted a sign indicating it is reserved but she often places a cone or two also. Chair McAllister said she would like to find a way to make the parking spot available on the days that the BierCycle does not use it. Ms. Wolf replied her intent is to run every day but the operation was scaled back last year due to COVID and staffing. If the space is reserved intermittently, people would not know when to park and when not to park there. She pays for the space for the whole year. Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Rheinberger, to approve the reservation of one parking stall on Water Street as requested by Wolf Brewing/BierCycle, for 2022 with the fee of $606. All in favor. Parking request from Kathleen Schubert with Medicinal Blends Zoning Administrator Tait explained that Kathleen Schubert, Medicinal Blends, is requesting a change from three hours to 30 minutes for the parking space in front of her store. Her clients often have physical handicaps or injuries. However, the street parking in front of her store is frequently occupied with vehicles that remain there all day. Because the number of spaces for 30 minutes or less is so low Downtown Parking Commission Meeting December 16, 2021 Page 3 of 5 and the parking study recognizes the need for this percentage to increase, staff could support changing this spot from three hours to a lesser time limit. However, the Commission is in the middle of a broader policy discussion in conjunction with the City Council and may prefer to discuss this request later in the broader context. Chair McAllister remarked that she is not in favor of making such decisions based on business use requests, but prefers to have a more thoughtful, systematic approach to how time limits are set. Commissioners Rheinberger and Lepage agreed. Commissioner Glynn noted the Commission will be addressing the need for more 15 or 30 minute parking spots for more turnover. Meanwhile the 3-hr time limit in this space should be enforced. Mr. Gladhill added that the Commission will also be discussing new ways to do enforcement and payment, possibly looking toward license plate readers in the future. Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Glynn, to deny the request by Kathleen Schubert, Medicinal Blends, to change the parking space in front of her store from three hours to 30 minutes, noting it is working on solutions that would be comprehensive and helpful to her business. All in favor. On street parking setback request from Timothy Press Zoning Administrator Tait explained that Tim Press, a Stillwater resident, voiced a concern that on- street parking is limiting the line of sight at various intersections, creating a hazardous situation for both vehicles and pedestrians. He requests consideration to remove the first parking stalls at select downtown intersections, in order to improve the line of sight. Staff recognizes that these intersections have an issue, however it does not seem that the removal of one spot would make a meaningful difference to the line of sight. Staff believes it is best to discuss in the broader context already underway in the Commission’s work plan. Commissioner Glynn asked if the Police Department would inform the Commission if there are more accidents on these corners. Chair McAllister said she does not disagree with the impression that these are challenging corners, but they are not the only challenging corners downtown. She added that Mulberry and Commercial may be the only two cross streets that must be navigated without the help of signals. The number of pedestrians and vehicles is growing year-round so there will probably be more need for this kind of evaluation, perhaps by the Traffic Safety Review Committee. Mr. Gladhill said staff could run some scenarios and do another traffic study looking more closely at sight lines. Public Safety staff did not single out these intersections but they can be monitored. Motion by Commissioner Lepage, seconded by Commissioner Rheinberger, to deny the request to remove selected parking spaces, and consider a traffic study and recommendation from the Traffic Safety Review Committee. All in favor. Two parking stall closure behind Amoco (Water Street) request from Public Works and Public Safety Mr. Tait informed the Commission that the City Engineer, in consultation with the Police Department and Fire Department, has identified two parking spaces that cause traffic flow issues and pose a safety hazard. They suggest removal of the two parking stalls on the southbound side of Water Street (behind Amoco Station), to improve public safety and traffic flow. The Planning Department recognizes this location is a chokepoint and agrees that removing these two spots would help. Staff recommends that the two parking stalls along Water Street be removed. Motion by Chair McAllister, seconded by Commissioner Rheinberger, to remove the two spaces behind the Amoco Station as recommended by staff, in the interest of safety. All in favor. Brian’s Bar 4th Annual Bocce Ball Tournament Event Application Downtown Parking Commission Meeting December 16, 2021 Page 4 of 4 Mr. Gladhill stated that Todd Nelson, Brian’s Bar, submitted an event application to hold a bocce ball tournament behind their building to the east and in parking lot 3 on February 26, 2022, from 10 am- 10 pm. The expected turnout is 250-400 people. Lot 3 will need to be reserved for all of Saturday and Sunday to accommodate the event and the next morning cleanup. Additionally, four spots will need to be reserved in lot 3 on Friday for sand delivery. The Commission should make their recommendation to City Council for Brian’s Bar to utilize lot 3 for a parking fee of $105. Chair McAllister said she would like to ensure there is advance communication about closing the lot. Mr. Gladhill recommended that staff handle closing the parking lot similarly to when a road is closed: by State statute, put up signs with a 10-day notice stating this lot will be closed for an event on certain days. Signs could be made in the City shop. He will work with the Public Works Department to do so. Motion by Commissioner Rheinberger, seconded by Commissioner Glynn, to recommend approval of the use of lot 3 by Brian’s Bar for the 2022 Bocce Ball Tournament, for a parking fee of $105, with the condition that advance notice of the parking lot closure be handled per the State’s 10-day notice for road closures. All in favor. Chair McAllister commented that the City needs a standardized approach about communicating lot closures to permit holders. FYI/STAFF UPDATES 2021-2022 Event List Mr. Gladhill provided the 2021-22 event list. Public Comments regarding parking ramp received since last meeting There were no public comments. DISCUSSION Mr. Gladhill reminded the Commission of the State statute regarding remote attendance. If a Commissioner needs or wants to attend remotely as a voting member, they must give at least 3 days notice and must post the location where they will participate in the meeting, which must be accessible to the public. Unless another official emergency is declared, the City is not allowed to go back to doing it the way it was done with COVID previously. There is currently no discussion of resuming face mask mandates or vaccination mandates for staff. Chair McAllister asked that Commissioners be as planful as possible about their absences and notify staff. Also there is one seat open and interviews will take place soon. Commissioner Glynn brought up a handwritten sign that was on the parking ramp during Harvest Fest, saying Event Parking $10. Flat fee parking rates for events should be run by this Commission and the sign should be professionally made. Mr. Gladhill will follow up. Mr. Tait announced he is moving back east and his last day will be January 13. The Commission thanked him for his good work. ADJOURNMENT Chair McAllister adjourned the meeting at 9:33 a.m. Heidi McAllister, Chair ATTEST: ________________ Tim Gladhill, Community Development Director