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Home My WebLink About2011-12-15 DTPC Packetillwater THE B I R T H P L A C E O F M I N N E S O T A DOWNTOWN PARKING COMMISSION AGENDA Thursday, December 15, 2011 8:30 AM Conference Room 213, City Hall 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 3. APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 17, 2011 MINUTES 4. NEW BUSINESS 4.01. Parking Rates for 2012 Events (Continued from December) 4.02. Downtown Parking for Brown's Creek Trail (Continued from December) 4.03. 15 Minute Parking Request: Compass Center Healing (From December) 4.04. Credit Card Sales in Parking Ramp 5. OTHER BUSINESS 5.01. Update on City Council Decisions 6. ADJOURNMENT Item 2 Commissioners present: Commissioners absent: City staff present: City staff absent: Guests: Submitted by: DRAFT Stillwater Downtown Parking Commission Meeting Minutes November 17, 2011 Jeff Johnson, vice - chair /resident David Korte, secretary/resident; Gerald Helmberger, resident; Sherri Hopfe Franke, business; Dave Junker, resident Aimee Peletier, chair/business; Daren Anderson, resident Bill Turnblad, community development director; Doug Menikheim, councilman; Dennis Pasket, parking enforcement officer; Mike Pogge, City Planner John Gannaway, police chief Chuck Dougherty, Water Street Inn; Scott Zahren, Alesci Gallery & Crusin on the St. Croix; Cory Buettner, Leo's Grill & Malt Shop; Cassie McLemore, Summer Tuesday, Inc.; Todd Streeter, Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce David Korte agenda discussion action call to order Jeff called the meeting to order at 8:35 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 October minutes A motion was made and seconded to approve the October 20, 2011 meeting minutes. The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote. David will forward the approved minutes to the Stillwater city clerk. parking rates for 2012 events Bill reviewed background information, discussion points and city staff recommendations. He explained this was the first year the city council has charged event organizers for the use of downtown parking according to a rate schedule. The City has learned that some of the rates seemed fair and consistently applied and others were not. Therefore, the rate schedule is being brought back to the Parking Commission to discuss possible changes. The Commission and guests had a lengthy discussion about the fee schedule and possible changes to it. With the discussion so detailed and lengthy Bill said he would summarize all the points and present them at the next meeting. A motion was made and seconded to hold over this agenda item to the next meeting and passed in a unanimous voice vote. Bill will summarize the discussion points and the Commission and will place this item on the agenda for the next meeting. parking ramp directional signage Mike presented the background information on adding parking ramp signage to the current five directional parking signs. Two of these signs point to both the ramp and other parking lots; three signs exclusively point to the parking ramp. The cost of new signs with the added ramp directional designation would be $120 each. A motion was made and seconded to have ramp directional signs made for the three signs pointing exclusively to the ramp. The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote. Mike will ask city staff to have the new signs made and installed. monthly parking permits The Commission had asked for a summary on the monthly Parking Permits, which Bill did include in the Commission's agenda packet. Bill then briefed the Commission agenda discussion action Draft 2 on the City's parking permit program and answered the commissioners questions. parking lot revenue and parking tickets for 2011 Dennis presented information on 2011 pay lot parking tickets: Lot # 2 (River Lot) had 438 and Lot #1 (South Main Lot) had 201 for a total of 642. Dennis also shared ideas for 2012, i.e., increasing the River Lot fee from $3 to $5, eliminating a cash option for payment and allowing only credit or debit cards for both pay lots, and shortening pay lot operations by a month, i.e., from the middle of May through the middle of October. After a brief discussion it was decided more background information would be helpful. Bill will prepare more background information for the Commission. 15- minute parking zone requested by Compass Center Healing At the last meeting members reviewed a letter from Compass Healing Center requesting a 15- minute passenger - loading zone in front of their building entrance. At that time the issue was tabled due to a lack of detailed background information. At this meeting, Bill presented a map showing all the 15- minute on- street parking spaces in the downtown parking area. Upon review, the commissioners thought there were enough 15- minute on- street parking spaces in the area and that the best possible solution might be to move an existing 15- minute parking spot to the front of Compass Healing. Members suggested several 15- minute on- street parking spots could be moved, including # 7 (on the map) at the west side of South Second Street at East Myrtle Street and #9 on the North side of East Chestnut Street at South Second Street. A motion was made and seconded to have Bill contact business owners close to #7 and #9 for feedback about moving those spaces to outside Compass Healing Center. The motion passed in a unanimous voice vote. Bill will contact business owners close to the two 15- minute on street parking spaces ( #7 and #9) for feedback about moving those spaces to outside the Compass Healing Center. downtown parking for Brown's Creek Trail Bill presented background on the Minnesota DNR's plans this month to purchase trail land and easements from the Minnesota Zephyr. The purchase will be a major step toward constructing 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 will provide trailhead improvements such as parking, bike racks and bathrooms. The commission discussed the proposed use of Lot 9 for trailhead parking, including: (1) Does the Commission support the use of the lot for trailhead parking? (2) Would use of the lot continue to be free or should the City charge for parking? (3) Are there any improvements needed to use as a trailhead and how should they be paid for? After discussion the Commission wanted more information and it was agreed to hold this agenda item over to another meeting for more in -depth discussion. Bill will prepare more background information and bring this back to the Commission. update on city council decisions Bill said the Trinity Lutheran Church used the parking ramp for staff parking for its Lutefish Dinner event. 125 cars used the ramp and the church paid the agreed upon amount of $1 a car for a total of $125. Draft 2 agenda discussion action next meeting The next meeting will be Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 8:30 a.m., Conference Room 213, City Hall. David will send out a draft of the meeting minutes before the next meeting. Bill will send out an agenda and supporting documents before the meeting. adjourn A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 11:02 a.m. and passed in a unanimous voice vote. Draft 3 Item 4.01 ._ iliwater THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA TO: Downtown Parking Commission FROM: Bill Turnblad, Community Development Director DATE: December 13, 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, last month the Parking Commission began discussing whether changes should be made. DISCUSSION The current fee schedule is produced here. Peak Season Rates Lot 1 $15 /day /spacer All other city parking lots $9 /day /space2 On- street parking (except on Main Street) $9 /day /space2 Off Season Rates All city parking lots: 3 hours or less 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 Tots, 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 December 13, 2011 Page 2 of 2 rate. So in Lot 2, use of a space all clay generally was charged $9. The result was that events tended to use the non -pay Tots. 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 The main points discussed by the Parking Commission last month were: 1. Should the parking fees be different for a weekday versus a weekend use? The Commission consensus was that the fees should indeed vary. Thursdays through Sundays should be subject to a higher demand weekend and Holiday rate. Other days should be subject to a lower rate. 2. All events should go to the Parking Commission for review before they go to the City Council. This year some of the major events made application so late that they went directly to the City Council. 3. There should be consistency in applying parking rates. This doesn't mean that the Council should be unbending or insensitive. But it does mean that when two situations 2012 Event Parking Rates December 13, 2011 Page 3 of 2 are the same or very similar, it is unfair to treat one in one manner and the other in a different manner. 4. A consensus seemed to be reached that the parking rates in the pay lots should remain the same in 2012 as in 2011. 5. A consensus seemed to be reached that peak season rates in the non -pay lots can remain at $3 per space per day. However, no turnover factor should be applied in 2012. 6. A consensus seemed to be reached that off - season rates in all lots (since none are pay lots in the off season) can be reduced below $3 per day per space. The rate itself was not settled upon. Both $1.50 and $1 were suggested. 7. Discussion occurred, but no consensus was reached, on waiving the parking fee for the use of unpaved lots. On the one hand, the level of service is lower without paving. On the other hand if no revenue is generated from the unpaved Tots, paving them may be delayed even longer. Based upon the Parking Commission discussion from November, the 2012 rates may look like this: Downtown Parking Rates - Peak Season (May through September) Weekday3 Weekend3 Lot 1 $15 /day /space4 $15 /day /space4 Lott $9 /day /space5 $9 /day /space5 Other paved city lots $1.50 /day /space6 $3 /day /space6 Unpaved city lots Free, but must be approved by Parking Commission Free, but must be approved by Parking Commission On- street parking (except on Main Street') $9 /day /space6 $9 /day /space6 Downtown Parking Rates - Off Season (October through April) Weekday8 Weekend All lots: 3 hours or less Free, but must be approved by Parking Commission Free, but must be approved by Parking Commission All Tots : > 3 hours $1.50 /day /space $1.50 /day /space On- street parking (except on Main Street') $3 /day /space $3 /day /space bt 3 Peak season weekday = Monday through Wednesday; Peak season weekend = Thursday through Sunday 4 Partial day use (or reservation) will incur only a partial day fee as follows: 0 -4 hours = $5; >4 but <8 hours = $10; more than 8 hours = $15. 'Partial day use (or reservation) will incur only a partial day fee as follows: 0 -4 hours = $3; >4 but <8 hours = $6; more than 8 hours = $9. 6 This rate applies whether the space is used (or reserved) for a partial or full day. ' On- street parking spaces cannot be reserved on Main Street. 8 Off season weekday = Monday through Thursday; off season weekend = Friday through Sunday Item 4.02 water. THE BIRTHPLACE OF MINNESOTA TO: Downtown Parking Commission FROM: Bill Turnblad, Community Development Director DATE: November 10, 2011 RE: Browns Creek Trail — Possible Trailhead Features BACKGROUND 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 (or perhaps 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 Bathrooms Browns Creek Trail City Lot 9 (24 Hr Lot) Proposed Trailhead Lot Bike Racks? Future City Trail The Lofts Browns Creek Trail Possible Trailhead Features 1111A11111W ater Item 4.03 15 & 30 Minute On- street parking spaces 15 minute space 30 minute space