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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-11-17 DTPC PacketTHE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA DOWNTOWN PARKING COMMISSION AGENDA Thursday, November 17, 2011 8:30 AM Conference Room 213, City Hall 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 3. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 20, 2011 MINUTES 4. NEW BUSINESS 4.01. Parking Rates for 2012 Events 4.02. Monthly Parking Permits 4.03. Parking Lot Revenue and Parking Tickets for 2011 4.04. Downtown Parking for Brown's Creek Trail 4.05. 15 Minute Parking Zone Request by Compass Center Healing 4.06. Parking Ramp Directional Signs 5. OTHER BUSINESS 5.01. Update on City Council Decisions a. Trinity Lutheran Church's Lutefisk Dinner 6. ADJOURNMENT Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: City staff present: City staff absent: Guest: Submitted by: Item 3 Stillwater Downtown Parking Commission Meeting Minutes October 20, 2011 Aimee Peletier, chair/business; David Korte, secretary/resident; Gerald Helmberger, resident; Sherri Hopfe Franke, business; Daren Anderson, resident Dave Junker, resident; Jeff Johnson, vice - chair /resident Dennis Pasket, parking enforcement officer; John Gannaway, police chief; Mike Pogge, City Planner Bill Turnblad, community development director; Doug Menikheim, councilman Bob Eiselt, Trinity Lutheran Church Parish Administrator David Korte Draft agenda discussion action call to order Aimee called the meeting to order at 8:32 a.m. approval of agenda A motion was made and seconded to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote. approval of July minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the September 22, 2011 meeting minutes. The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote. David will forward the approved minutes to the Stillwater city clerk. Trinity Lutheran Church Lutefisk dinner parking Commission members reviewed the background information supplied by Bill; Bob from Trinity Church spoke to the proposal and answered questions. Trinity Lutheran Church is holding its annual Lutefisk & Swedish Meatballs benefit on November 3, with preparations taking place on November 2. The church is requesting the purchase of parking space in the municipal ramp for the two -day event if their 4th Street parking lot is under construction. If the 4th Street parking lot is not under construction the church will not need the ramp and it would operate as normal. A motion was made and seconded to approve Trinity Lutheran Church's use of the parking ramp for the two -day event. The church would be charged based on documented usage at $1 per car. The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote. Bill will forward recommendation for final approval. Compass Center for Healing parking request Commission members reviewed a letter from Compass Center Healing requesting a 15- minute passenger - loading zone in front of their building entrance. After discussion, commission members agreed a map was needed of the area, which indicated present parking in order to discuss this further. This issue was tabled until the next meeting due to a lack of detailed background information. Bill will place this on the agenda for next meeting and provide the map needed for further discussion. update on City Counsel decisions There were no recent city council actions pertaining to parking commission recommendations. pedestrian walkway Mike updated the commission on the progress of pedestrian walkway construction and the contractors need for parking lot space. He said the city hopes this will assist business at the north end of the city and will add much needed public bathrooms. agenda discussion action Draft Due to construction needs, the southeast corner of #7 Water St. parking lot is now closed. In April the entire lot will be closed until June 30. Rivertown Commons Dennis said residents of Rivertown Commons informed him that they were notified by the building's management that smoking will no long be allowed in the building or on the property and suggested residents smoke instead at the city parking ramp. Commission members were very concerned if residents were so advised. John said he'd write a letter to Rivertown Commons management with the Commissions concerns. John will write a letter to the management of Rivertown Commons. parking machine John updated the Commission on the problems city staff are having getting credit card use data needed by the city's accounting department. Dennis updated the Commission on steps to correct this problem. next meeting The next meeting will be Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 8:30 a.m., Conference Room 213, City Hall. Bill will send out an agenda and supporting documents before the meeting. Before the next meeting David will send out a draft of the meeting minutes. adjourn A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 0908 a.m. and passed in a unanimous voice vote. Draft Item 4.01 Ater lW THE BIRTHPLACE O F MINNESOTA TO: Downtown Parking Commission FROM: Bill Turnblad, Community Development Director DATE: November 9, 2011 RE: Parking Rates for 2012 Events BACKGROUND This year is the first year that the City Council has charged event organizers for the use of downtown public parking areas according to an adopted rate schedule. The City has learned that some of the rates seemed fair and were consistently applied. Others did not and were not. Therefore, staff is bringing the rate schedule back to the Parking Commission to discuss whether changes should be suggested. DISCUSSION The adopted fee schedule is produced here. Peak Season Rates Lot 1 $15 /day /space1 All other city parking lots $9 /day /space2 On- street parking (except on Main Street) $9 /day /space2 Off Season Rates All city parking Tots: 3 hours or Tess Free All city parking lots : > 3 hours $3 /day /space On- street parking (except on Main Street) $3 /day /space The actual rates and fees charged by the City for the events that used public parking downtown vary from those that were adopted. Two main patterns seemed to have emerged. The first pattern is that if the lot is not a pay lot, then generally turnover rates were not calculated. So, rather than charge $9 per day in a non -pay lot for a space, only $3 for the day was generally charged. However, for the pay lots, the turnovers were generally required to be included in the ' Partial day use (or reservation) will incur only a partial day fee as follows: 0 -2 hours = $5; >2 but <4 hours = $10; more than 4 hours = $15. 2 Partial day use (or reservation) will incur only a partial day fee as follows: 0 -2 hours = $3; >2 but <4 hours = $6; more than 4 hours = $9. 2012 Event Parking Rates November 9, 2011 Page 2 of 2 rate. So in Lot 2, use of a space all day generally was charged $9. The result was that events tended to use the non -pay lots. The second pattern that emerged was that the use of the unpaved lots north of Myrtle Street were generally not required to pay a fee. For information purposes, and to help determine if other rate changes should be suggested, all of the events that used downtown public parking are detailed below. Event Council action Parking Comm recommendation Brines Bocce Ball $51; 17 non - pay -lot spaces @ $3 /space for the day $51; 17 non - pay -lot spaces @ $3 /space for the day Bike Race (3/1/2011) Free as long as event advertising and materials direct spectators to park in city ramp. $1,350;150 non - pay -lot spaces @ $9 /space for the day Farmer's Market (4/19/2011) $0 since the lot is maintained through a special contract. $2,835; 45 non - pay -lot spaces @$3 /space /event date for 21 event dates Crusin on the St Croix (5/3/2011) $650.00; $50 /event date $4,914; 126 non - pay -lot spaces @$3 /space /event date for 13 event dates Spring Art Fair (5/17/2011) $2,313.00 $3,627; 100 pay lot spaces @ $9 /space /day for three days; 73 non - pay -lot spaces @ $3/space/day for three days Rumble on the Deck (6/7/2011) $225; 25 non - pay -lot spaces @ $9 /space for the day $225; 25 non - pay -lot spaces @ $9 /space for the day Summer Tuesdays (6/21/2011) $300 ($50 /event date) Parking Comm did not review because of short tumaround time, so staff recommended $828; 16 non- pay -lot spaces @$3 /space /day for six event days) Fall Art Festival (9/6/2011) $828; 92 non - pay -lot spaces @ $3 /space /day for three days Parking Comm did not review because of short tumaround time, so staff recommended $828; 92 non - pay -lot spaces @$3 /space /day for three days) Harvest Fest (9/13/2011) $468; 78 non - pay -lot spaces (unpaved not counted) @$3 /space /day for two days) Parking Comm did not review because of short tumaround time, so staff recommended $468; 78 non - pay -lot spaces (unpaved not counted) @$3 /space /day for two days) Fire Muster (6/7/2011) )$0; organizer revised request to use only gravel lot. $150; 50 non - pay -lot spaces @$3/space RECOMMENDATION To reflect the patterns that seem to have emerged, staff would suggest that the rates be amended in 2012 to: 1) Charge only $3 per space per day in the non -pay Tots; and 2) Not charge for the event use of unpaved lots. bt Item 4.02 � iliwater THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA TO: Downtown Parking Commission FROM: Bill Turnblad, Community Development Director DATE: November 10, 2011 RE: Monthly Parking Permits INTRODUCTION Staff was asked to prepare a brief on the City's parking permit program. OVERVIEW There are two different permit programs for downtown Tots. One is for surface parking lots, the other is for the City's parking ramp. The permits for both programs are sold at the reception desk at City Hall. Surface lots A monthly parking permit program exists for within the City's downtown surface parking lots. The program applies to Lots 3 -7' and 12 -13. Within these lots (and on the streets) parking is free but limited to 3 or 4 hours, depending upon the location. (See attached parking lot map.) In order to park longer than that, a monthly parking permit has to be displayed on the dashboard of a vehicle. There are two main groups of customers that purchase the City's parking lot permits. The first type of customer purchases the permits as a matter of choice. This includes downtown residents, business owners, and employees. If they want to avoid moving their cars every 3 or 4 hours, and they do not want to walk the extra distance to a 24 hour lot on the north end of downtown, they can purchase permits and park all day in more centrally located lots. The second type of customer is the business owner who must buy monthly permits to offset the lack of private on -site parking. Whenever a business expands, or a building changes occupancy to a use that increases its need for parking, the owner must document the existence of sufficient on -site parking, or request a parking variance and make up the shortage through the purchase of monthly parking permits. This helps the City to continue to maintain the public parking lots to support downtown needs, and it passes a portion of that cost on to property owners who need the extra parking space. All surface lot permits are available for $10 a month. 1 Lots 1 and 2 are pay lots and not part of the permit program. Lots 8 —10 are 24 hour lots and do not require permits to park all day. Lot 11 is the parking ramp and his its own permit program. 2012 Event Parking Rates November 9, 2011 Page 2 of 2 Parking ramp The permit options for the parking ramp are tailored to meet the wide variety of our ramp customers' needs. The options run from $10 per month for the uncovered upper deck of the ramp to $25 per month for the 25 residential permits that can be sold. A parking space in the covered portion of the ramp costs $15 per month. If a customer wants a reserved space, it is available for $20 per month. Extended hour permits are available at additional costs so that people who work later than 6:30 pm can still get out of the ramp with their permit. Someone working in the hospitality industry can have very late hours, so there are options for them as well. In addition, if someone is planning to host a party, reception, or conference (for example) they can buy discounted single coupons for their guests to use the ramp. SALES VOLUME The number of monthly permits that are sold depends upon the type of customers, and it varies from season to season, and from year to year. 1. Discretionary Surface Lot Permits a. Report to follow from the Finance Department. 2. Required Surface Lot Permits a. Currently there are six downtown businesses that are operating under variances that require them to purchase monthly parking permits. Depending upon whether outside seating is seasonally and the average number of employees during a month, the number of permits for these six businesses range from 16 to 42. This generates $160 to $420 per month in parking lot maintenance revenue for the City. 3. Ramp monthly passes a. Report to follow from the Finance Department. Attachment: 2011 Parking Lot Map bt • 13 free parking lots with over 750 parking spots • 2 pay lots with 208 spots • on- street parking is three hours • 31 handicapped spots • Parking ramp with A spots New Stillwater Chamber of Commerce Address: 1957 Northwestern Avenue 651 - 439 -4001 I5 NYIn 5 St. Mary's Inl Historic Courthouse St. Michael's Church Cub Foods Headquarters FOURTH THIRD Armory 1 _ _ SECOND S. MAIN STREET (HWYs 36 & 95) x N —4 c ti Legion m I n I City Nag / Police / F re Dept RAMP Public nesow s m rr N. MAIN STREET 15 rE r 77 2 Z Maple Island Budding Pioneer Park InI Washington County Historic Museum 8 PD Potters Stillwater - YachtCl b/� St Croix River FREE PARKING 4 Hour Limit Lot 4 Bridge Lot Lot 5 Mulberry Point Lot Lot 7 Water St. Lot Lot 12 Olive St. & 2nd Lot Lot 13 UBC Lot 3 Hour Limit Lot 3 Chestnut St. Lot Lot 6 Maple Island Lot 24 Hr. Parking Lot 8 Railroad Lot Lot 9 North Main St. Lot 10 Mulberry St. /Second St. Lot LIMITED FREE PARKING After 6 pm and All Day Sat. and Sun. Lot 14 Riverview Lot (Cub) Lot 15 Mulberry St. Lot PAY PARKING $3.00 All Day Lot 2 River Lot (Nelson /Chestnut) $5.00 All Day Lot 1 South Main St. Lot Pay Parking Lots 1 & 2 Effective & Enforced: May 1 - Oct. 31 O PERMIT PARKING Parking permits cost $10 per month and entitle the owner to park in any of the white circled parking lots (4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13 & 14) for 24 hours. Note: Lot 7 has permit parking in 50 spaces only as marked on site. To obtain a parking permit, visit City Hall between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday or call (651) 430 -8800. • Posted time limits will be enforced year round • Stillwater is a handicap friendly city with 31 designated spots. All city owned lots have handicapped parking. • All on street parking is three hour limit unless otherwise designated. Posted time limits will be enforced year round. • If you received a parking ticket you can pay the ticket over the phone by calling 651 - 430 -8800 weekdays. • During special events parking may be altered. • Lot 7 has permit parking in 50 spots only as marked on site. Daily Rate (M -F) $3.00 Weekends $5.00 Special Events $10.00 Vouchers available 25 minimum Contact City Hall: 651- 430 -8800 250 spots available *No boat or trailer parking on any street or parking lot in the downtown business district. www.ci.stillwater.mn.us iliwater THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA TO: Downtown Parking Commission FROM: Bill Turnblad, Community Development Director DATE: November 10, 2011 RE: Agenda Items 4.03 & 4.06 Materials for Agenda Item 4.03 (Parking Lot Revenue and Parking Tickets for 2011) are being prepared by Dennis Pasket and will be available at the Parking Commission meeting. The materials for Agenda Item 4.06 (Parking Ramp Directional Signs) are being prepared by Mike Pogge and will also be available at the Parking Commission meeting. bt Item 4.04 jjjwater THE O F M I N N E S O T A BIRTHPLACE TO: Downtown Parking Commission FROM: Bill Turnblad, Community Development Director DATE: November 10, 2011 RE: Browns Creek Trail — Possible Trailhead Features BACKGROUN D The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to close on the purchase of trail land and easements from the Minnesota Zephyr this month. The purchase will be a major step toward their plan to construct the Browns Creek Trail, a State trail connecting downtown Stillwater with the Gateway Trail. The DNR will construct and maintain the trail and the City of Stillwater would provide trailhead improvements. These improvements would include such features as parking, bike racks and bathrooms. A City trail segment would connect the DNR trail with the downtown pedestrian walkway and restroom. Though timing is not known, the City trail would also continue south of Chestnut (orperhaps along Sam Bloomer Way under the Lift Bridge) past the Freighthouse, and hopefully continue as a loop trail across the new river crossing into Wisconsin and back into Minnesota across the converted Lift Bridge. DISCUSSION The attached map shows the location of some of the needed support features at the Downtown Stillwater trailhead. The feature that requires discussion from the Parking Commission is the proposed use of Lot 9 for trailhead parking. The lot is owned by the City and is currently a 24 hour lot. Discussion items to consider are: 1) Does the Parking Commission support the use of the lot for trailhead purposes? 2) Would use of the lot continue to be free of charge, or should the City charge for parking? Should the lot begin as a free lot and then convert to a charge lot if necessary? When would it be necessary? Incidentally, though the DNR would strongly prefer that the lot be free of charge, they do not absolutely require this. 3) Are any improvements needed to use it as a trailhead parking lot? REQUEST Discuss the use of City Lot 9 for trailhead purposes and offer recommendations to the City Council. Attachment: Map bt Browns Creek Trail City Lot 9 (24 Hr Lot) Proposed Trailhead Lot -_ Future City Trail illwater THE RIRTHII•GE OF YINNESOT• Browns Creek Trail Possible Trailhead Features Comm = ntv Devel.. ment De.:rtment Item 4.05 15 & 30 Minute On- street parking spaces Compass Healing ■ Center - requested 15 minute spot 15 minute space 30 minute space