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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-03-17 DTPC MIN DOWNTOWN PARKING COMMISSION MEETING March 17, 2022 The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. Present: Commissioners Bates (remotely), Glynn, Lepage, Rheinberger, Council Liaison Junker Absent: Chair McAllister, Commissioner Anderson Staff present: Community Development Director Gladhill, Parks Superintendent Grode ACTING CHAIR Motion by Commissioner Rheinberger, seconded by Commissioner Lepage, to nominate Commissioner Glynn for the position of Acting Chair. All in favor. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Possible approval of February 17, 2022 meeting minutes Motion by Commissioner Rheinberger, seconded by Commissioner Lepage, to approve the minutes of the February 17, 2022 meeting. All in favor. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. NEW BUSINESS Discuss Potential Changes to Event Policies Community Development Director Gladhill reviewed potential amendments to event policies being discussed by the City Council. A workshop with event planners was held on February 22. The goal is to simplify the process and right-size event fees. He provided a revised Fee Schedule based on the cost to process the application itself and a minimal space reservation fee. City staff costs (mostly Public Safety) would be provided as a basic level of service which allows Public Safety and Public Works staff to focus on the true needs of the event and avoid negotiations on number of officers or staff. Councilmember Junker asked what is being done to measure the economic impact of events. Mr. Gladhill answered staff can do high level assumptions based on best practices and available data to determine the value of the events. One concept under discussion would be to make the event application process a two phase process. Councilmember Junker suggested that application deadlines be set so events are not coming before the Council at the last minute. Mr. Gladhill explained that staff spends a lot of time negotiating how many parking stalls are needed for events. Instead of counting stalls, staff suggests a flat rate of $200/parking lot. Event fees would be Downtown Parking Commission Meeting March 17, 2022 Page 2 of 5 bundled reducing the number of line items from about 24 to 3-4 line items. Staff is also refining the process of communicating closure of the lot the night before events. Commissioner Rheinberger suggested tiered event fees, for instance $15,000 or $25,000 for Lumberjack Days which would include access to all downtown parking areas and Public Safety, and perhaps $5,000 for smaller events that need only two parking areas. Event coordinators could choose their fee level based on estimated attendance, number of days and complexity of the event. Mr. Gladhill responded that event organizers would tend to underestimate attendance in order to scale back the fee. Under the current system, staff negotiates with event planners on the number of officers needed. The proposed system takes that aspect out of the event fees. Councilmember Junker said he likes the idea of having City staff work with applicants on what is required for policing without it being tied to a certain fee. He noted the City has been trying to push events into parks rather than parking lots but if an event needs a parking lot, under the proposed structure they would “buy” a lot versus individual spaces. This seems easier to administer. Acting Chair Glynn asked what about Opera in the Park which needs only 3 spaces for artists? As an event planner and Downtown Parking Commissioner, he feels events should still be allowed to reserve individual parking spaces. Every lot is precious and the City has the ability to physically block space by space and charge events accordingly. For example, half of lot 4 was the ice rink for the Water Street Inn. Why can’t people then park in the other half of the lot? He feels the per-lot policy would be going backwards. He does not support blanket fees. The City should capture user fees better. For Lumberjack Days, for instance, every space should be $10 which would capture additional revenue and pay for additional police for the event. Blocking a lot off for event activities would be different than reserving parking stalls for actual parking. Some events need only a few parking spaces. Another factor is that Chestnut Street Plaza will be available for some of the overflow. Commissioner Rheinberger said there could be a dual system - the long time event planners versus a blanket fee for one time events, for example. Commissioner Lepage emphasized the importance of getting feedback from event holders who will be most impacted by the change. For most events, the difference between the per-lot and per-space charge will probably be negligible. The simplicity of it in theory sounds great but the for events that don’t need an entire lot, the details should be refined. Commissioner Bates said he likes the concept overall, and would like to consider a hybrid approach with some flexibility. Mr. Gladhill said it doesn’t appear there is consensus for changing the fee structure for parking right now - it may require a deeper dive with event planners. What needs to be clarified is, when spaces are being reserved for parking versus closing a lot for an event; also, how to handle the fee when an event gets rained out. Councilmember Junker pointed out that last year Lot 8b (Wednesday night car show) was left open until 3 p.m. which worked well - an example of how to get creative about lot closures for events. Commissioner Lepage asked, is it possible to apply a standard structure for what are considered the biggest consistent events, and charge new events the ala carte costs? Parks Superintendent Grode said staff has informed event planners that event fees will be charged according to the fee schedule effective at the time of that event. The City has received 8-10 event applications recently and more will probably come in the next 2-4 weeks. Vice Chair Glynn remarked that event planners are most concerned about $1,000 a day for liquor versus $25 (current fee) - what is the rationale for this change? Downtown Parking Commission Meeting March 17, 2022 Page 3 of 3 Mr. Gladhill answered ultimately it is a City Council decision. Staff will work on refinement of the parking fees and bring it back to the Commission. The fee schedule and payment system will be reviewed in the context of broader strategy in looking at the whole downtown parking system. He supports recommending to the City Council a $10 parking charge for large events. Councilmember Junker commented that $200 a day for Lot 2 or Lot 8, with 50-80 parking spaces, is very cheap. The City should try to keep events in the park but if the events need to branch out into the parking lots, it should cost a minimum $500 a day for the larger lots. Vice Chairman Glynn noted he isn’t hearing any Commissioners say they would not support a blanket fee structure but there needs to be flexibility to not require reservation of an entire lot. Commissioner Lepage added that if the parking charge is $10/space, the Commission should consider charging $500 rather than $200 for events that reserve the large lots. Mr. Gladhill summarized there is general support for bundling fees as long as there is some flexibility, and some support for $10/day for parking during larger events. The Commission also would consider eliminating seasonal parking. He asked if the Commission still wants to see each event application once fees are standardized. The Commission consensus was no, if fees are standardized correctly. Councilmember Junker noted the City Council is getting weary of applicants requesting fee waivers. The Commission always recommends charging the standard fee and many applicants appeal to the Council for a fee waiver. Mr. Gladhill added that City Council direction, in considering the temporary outdoor seating in public areas during the COVID pandemic, is to return to normal. The Council probably will not close Chestnut, Myrtle or Water Street this year, but supports continued closure of Union Alley which is not a travel or parking area. Staff are meeting one on one with those permit holders. Vice Chairman Glynn asked if those businesses could be required to pay for those spots to be a patio for the entire year or is it just saying they will return to parking? Mr. Gladhill replied that is a good question. Commissioner Lepage said talking to impacted businesses would be a good start, asking them, “Do you want to buy your spots for June, July and August or if we as a City say this is going back to the way it was before, how do you feel about that?” Mr. Gladhill stated that Chestnut Street businesses really want the road closed for outdoor seating but with all the downtown construction this is probably not a good year to close that street. DISCUSSION There were no discussion items. FYI/STAFF UPDATES There were no staff updates. COMMISSION REQUESTS There were no Commission requests. ADJOURNMENT Acting Chair Glynn adjourned the meeting at 9:36 a.m. Brad Glynn, Acting Chair ATTEST: Downtown Parking Commission Meeting March 17, 2022 Page 4 of 5 ________________ Tim Gladhill, Community Development Director