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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-25-12 Parking Commission MinutesBozeman Parking Commission Meeting July 25, 2012 7:30 a.m. City Hall Commission Room Parking Commissioners in Attendance: Ben Lloyd Chris Naumann Pam Bryan Tammy Hauer Kelly Wiseman Ben Bennett Ryan Olson City Staff in Attendance: Scott Lee, Parking Manager Laurae Clark, Treasurer Brit Fontenot, Assistant to City Manager Tim McHarg, Planning Director Ashlie Portnell, Parking Clerk Guests in Attendance: Cyndy Andrus Cory Lawrence Kyle Dornberger Action Items: None. Call to order Ben L called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. Armory discussion Ben L asked for public comment and there was none. Pam Bryan recused herself from the armory discussion. Chris N presented the talking points from the subcommittee meeting held on July 18, 2012. The purpose of that meeting was to come up with different options for parking that would benefit the new Armory hotel project. The subcommittee came up with three options. OPTION ONE: 6 on-street Mendenhall spaces, and 64 Garage basement spaces. OPTION TWO: 6 on-street Mendenhall spaces, 18 North Wilson lot spaces (provide some reserved parking spaces) and 46 garage basement spaces. OPTION THREE: 6 on-street Mendenhall spaces, 44 N Wilson lot spaces (reserve/purchase entire lot) and 20 garage basement spaces. Each of these options was presented to both Cory Lawrence and Kyle Dornberger. Chris N asked for comments from the BPC about the options. The subcommittee was agreeable to giving up the 6 on-street Mendenhall spaces to the hotel at the cash in lieu price of $5,000 per space. Signs would need to be posted, to keep people other than patrons of the hotel away from those spaces. The N Wilson surface lot is an issue for this project because of the public demand. The Subcommittee referenced the 2009 Downtown Parking Study that indicated several blocks of “deficit” parking in the vicinity of the N Willson surface lot. Both permit holders and the general public park daily in this lot. If too many spaces were given to this project, that is going to take away from those people who currently park there on a daily basis. Ultimately the subcommittee wants to avoid giving all of those spaces to the project. The subcommittee determined that the parking garage is the best place for the hotel guests to park, there are plenty of spaces to accommodate for the general public and hotel guests. Cory Lawrence stated that the options presented were not exactly what he hoped the committee would come up with. He hopes that an alternative option/solution can be reached. Tammy stated that due to the flow of traffic, she thinks the best place is the parking garage. Both Cory and Kyle recognize that traffic flow will be hard to deal with. Ryan stated that maybe something could be done about the two hour parking in the N Wilson lot for hotel guests only, and also asked if a permit could be given to those guests if they parked in that lot? Scott stated that even people with permits still compete with people that don't. This lot is a first come first serve basis. Unless the entire lot is given to this project, it will remain that way. Chris N stated that the BPC will give some direction to the subcommittee as far as the spaces in the N Wilson lot go. Chris N also stated that once it is figured out where the BPC want these cars to be parked, then it will need to be decided how to structure the lease agreements for the public parking spaces. Tammy stated that there are specific city requirements by the planning and zoning department, so whatever is decided, any spaces given to the hotel will need to have a long term lease agreement. At this time the lease agreements for both the surface lots and parking garage are at a year to year basis, the BPC is restricted by their own set of rules, and that would need to be changed. Tim McHarg from the Planning Dept stated that there will need to be a "Plan B" if the current agreements state that a person or business only sign for a year lease. Tim also stated that regardless of whether the new agreement created is a 25 year lease or a single year, the City Commission will require notification if the lease is terminated. Ben B asked (in regards to when hotel guests check in) if the on-street spaces on Mendenhall and any spaces given in the N Wilson lot are going to need to be available 24 hours a day without having the current two hour maximum time limit? Ben B went on to say that there are certain times throughout the day that downtown is busy, so potential spaces for hotel guests might not be available when they come to check in. Ben B asked if the hotel could then utilize the parking garage then? Chris N stated that he spoke to Cory and Kyle about the amount of guests that would only be staying for one night. He suggested that those guests could park in the N Wilson lot; it is close to the hotel and easy to get to. If the guest was staying longer, than perhaps the garage would be the best place for their vehicle. Cyndy Andrus asked what will happen when there is a large event going on at the hotel and all the spaces in the hotel lot and the parking garage are taken? What is the alternative parking solution? Chris N stated that the other surface lots and street spaces could be utilized at that point; even non-basement parking inside the parking garage could be used. The hotel could get validation tickets and would pay for any parking that exceeds the two hours free in the garage. Cory thanked the BPC and the subcommittee for their time and efforts creating the different parking options. He feels at this point, that there is still some more work that needs to be done, and he hopes an alternative option can be reached that works for the BPC and better serves his customers and needs as well. This hotel is going to create many jobs, and will stimulate the economy as well as preserve a great building. He would like to see the subcommittee push some boundaries. Creativity was talked about at the July 11, 2012 meeting, and at this point he feels he doesn't have enough information to move forward. He talked about wanting to know and understand the economic terms. At this time his thoughts on the three options are, from an operational standpoint, they will not work. He discussed his thoughts about the second page to this handout regarding the potential reactions by various entities. In terms of a public sense, these cannot be the only options available. Cory feels he can create a solution, he states that the challenge is the economic impact. His vision for this hotel is for both out of town guests and locals to stay there. The alley way might be a good route to shuttle from the hotel to either the parking garage or surface lots, however, most of the alley's downtown are used by large service and delivery trucks. If those trucks are there, they will take up a large portion of the alley way access. Kelly asked Cory why he thinks that his patrons might not like parking in the basement of the garage? Cory answered, that if one of his patrons enters the garage from the Black Street entrance there is no way to get to the basement without having to backtrack, which is not convenient for them. Kelly asked, if the issue is having to go the extra block in one direction to get to the place they need to park? Cory stated yes, he does not want his guests waiting an extended period of time before they find a parking space. Kelly stated that if they are going to provide valet parking than, what is the issue if their vehicle isn't parked right away? Not all the guests will use the valet services, some would prefer to park their own vehicle. That is the issue with not being able to park right away in a spot the guest is comfortable leaving their vehicle. The bottom line is no one wants to spend a lot of time trying to find a place to park. Cory states that most places offer overnight parking with no restrictions. Bozeman does in fact have overnight parking, but there are restrictions that go with it. Maybe option one could work out with having permits or tags for validation to the surface lots and parking garage. At this time Cory stated he cannot finalize anything, until he can figure out the economic terms. He would like to see a long term solution to parking. Chris N talks about creating option 1.5 which would give Cory a certain number of permits to use in the N Wilson lot, and it would allow someone to park there for an extended time, with the exception that the lot would remain a first come first serve basis. Cory said that could work, but if he goes with that option with first come first serve it would be great to have more permits than just the 18 from option two. Cory asked if they could use the lot to the West of the Armory building, with the exception that it would be a first come first serve basis as well? Currently that lot is a non-permit lot. The BPC would need to discuss making that a permit lot for the hotel. Chris N stated that the BPC would need to figure out the federal restrictions on the garage; if indeed there are any, before structuring a lease agreement longer than one year. He asked for the thoughts from the BPC to providing a flexible option to the first come first serve at the lots? Should there be a maximum number of permits given? Laurae stated that at one time there were 40 permit holders in the Wilson lot, she stated that there weren't any issues. Ben B asked if we talked about 70 spaces being considered a full house at the hotel? Is there some shared metrics from the other hotels that said if you looked over the source of a quarter there is an 85% capacity at the hotels? Cory explained what the calculations are to determine how much spaces you will need per urban setting and rooms in hotel. With all that was discussed at this meeting, the subcommittee should be able to come up with some better options at their next meeting. Ben L stated that he likes option two but is also in favor of having the subcommittee come up with another option. He stated that no matter what is decided he wants something that is going to work for hotel guests and the locals that come downtown to shop or get a bite to eat. Parking should work for everyone, not just cater to one set of people. Chris N stated that whatever the BPC decides, it will be presented to the City Commission. He asked Cyndy what she thinks about the BPC coming up with version 1.5, and her opinion is on when we take it to the City Commission? Cyndy stated that creating option 1.5 is a good idea, she is concerned however about how many spaces should be reserved, she feels that no more than 18 should be given. Cyndy also stated that once the surface lots are restriped than the BPC can get a better count of how many spaces there actually are. The subcommittee will meet again next Wednesday, August 1, 2012. The BPC will need the notes taken before the August meeting. By the end of the August meeting there should be some sort of rough drafted created for the agreement. Tammy asked if we should task someone to talk about the restrictions? Scott said he has asked a lot of different people in the city about the restrictions and documents that spell out the restrictions. Adjournment Ben L adjourned the meeting at 9:06 a.m. Respectfully Submitted Ashlie Portnell, Parking Clerk