HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-11-16 Final BPC MinutesBOZEMAN PARKING COMMISSION
February 11, 2016, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
City Commission Room, City Hall
Commitee Member - Pamela Bryan: Absent
Commitee Member - Kelly Wiseman : Present
Commitee Member - Ryan Olson: Present
Commitee Member - Dennis Bechtold: Present
Commitee Member - Ben Lloyd: Present
Commitee Member - Chris Naumann: Present
Staff - Thomas Thorpe : Present
Staff - Chuck Winn: Present
Staff - Kristen Pitcher: Present
Staff - Laurae Clark: Present
Staff - Cyndy Andrus: Present
Minutes
07:39:19 AM
I. Call to order, 7:30 a.m.
Ryan called the meeting to order at 7:40 a.m.
II. Disclosures of Ex Parte Communication
There were no disclosures of ex parte communications.
III. Changes to the Agenda
There were no changes to the agenda.
07:40:27 AM
IV. Approval of December 2015 minutes
-See Attachment Exhibit 1
Chuck stated that he wanted to clarify some comments that had been said at the last
Bozeman Parking Commission (BPC) meeting. The comments related to the revenue that he
stated was lost due to the Etha hotel. My answer was correct to what we could have made if
we had leased those spaces. However, those spaces would not have all been leased and that
lost revenue is not due to the Etha hotel. This would not change anything even if they started
back in 2013 or any time since then. I would like to apologize to the Commission for my
comments. They were accurate but incomplete.
Cory Lawrence, (24 W. Mendenhall) commented he had submitted by email changes to
the minutes. He is asking the BPC to approve those changes to the minutes, as people do read
these minutes and he wants to make sure that his intent is clearly documented.
Chris asked for clarification on what all goes in the minutes. Ryan announced that the
written minutes are just a summary. The video and audio are the minutes.
Cyndy Andrus stated that she did have a few corrections. Her name should be added to the
roll call. There are also some spelling and grammar errors on the January minutes that need
to be corrected. Exhibit 1 “public comments” the last sentence in the paragraph has a repeat
of “As soon as soon as” needs to be removed to “as soon as”. Exhibit 1 “The state of parking
report-year in review” 7
th
paragraphs “no really good way to track what the hotels our using
at this time.” Should be are using at this time. Exhibit 1 “The state of parking report-year in
review” 9
th
paragraphs “Cory does not have to start playing” should be “paying”.
Chris informed the BPC that only they are authorized to make changes to the minutes
after they are done. Ryan suggested that the BPC wait on the approval of the January minutes till
the BPC listens and watches the recording of the January meeting.
Greg Sullivan (Attorney for the City Of Bozeman) went over the BPC by-laws. The minutes need
only to be a summary of the meeting. The written minutes are more for what was done not what was
said. The video and audio are the true minutes. If there are any changes to the minutes the BPC need
to vote and approve the changes before they can be done.
Dennis made a motion to approve the spelling and grammar errors that Cyndy requested.
This was seconded by Chris.
Ben Lloyd and Ben Bennett asked to be excluded from voting on this due to not being at
the January 14
th
BPC meeting.
Ryan tabled this motion till next meeting after everyone had time to complete a review.
07:56:25 AM
V. Public Comment – Members of the audience or their agent may be invited to present testimony or evidence. To be
recognized, each person desiring to give testimony or evidence shall step forward and, after being recognized, give their
name and address for the record. The presiding officer may establish a time frame for each public comment but in no case
shall such timeframe be less than three (3) minutes per speaker. The presiding officer may lengthen or shorten the time
allotted for public testimony.
Cory (24 W. Mendenhall) stated that he agrees with waiting on the review of the January
meeting before approval of the minutes. He also wanted to thank the BPC for bringing in
Rick Williams. He attended all three of the meetings given by Rick Williams and feels that
he will be a great help.
07:58:49 AM
VI. Introduction of new Parking Enforcement Officers.
Thomas Thorpe introduced Tom McCardle, who was promoted to PEO II. He will be
working closely with the police department in handling abandon vehicles and with the
training of our new officers. Also introduced was Brenda Reynolds, who was hired as a PEO
I. Brenda has a back ground as a forest ranger and has been in Montana for three years. With
these two positions filled we are finally at full staff.
08:01:26 AM
VII. Special Presentation.
-Parking District Regulations Chuck Winn
-See Attachment Exhibit 2
Chuck provided the municipal code in regards to creating a residential on-street parking
permit regulation program. Residents around the downtown have started to ask about this
program more frequently.
Chris questioned that if the City approves a new district will the parking division be able
to absorb the additional workload? He also asked if a creation of a new district could be
initiated by the City or by the residents. It has been almost a decade since a new district has
been created.
Chuck informed the BPC that this can be initiated by anyone, but final approval must be
made by the City Commission.
08:09:16 AM
VIII. Guiding Principles Discussion.
- See Attachment Exhibit 3
A discussion ensued regarding whether to bring Rick Williams back for a meeting
to assist with developing our guiding principles. We would have to pay for his travel
expenses which is not part of the original contract, and could be approximately $2,000-
$3,000. Tom informed the BPC that Rick Williams is able to teleconference at any time.
Chris feels that the BPC should spend more time on all of the parking issues. He
believes we need to meet more than once a month for awhile. We have about 3,000
employees downtown and about 2,500 parking spots. This is one area for discussion.
How much should rest with the private sector and how much the public? He suggests that
the BPC review the information that the commission has gotten from Rick Williams so
far. Write down your questions and then go over it together and consolidate all the
questions for a meeting with Rick Williams. This way we can make the most of Rick’s
time when we talk to him, whether it be in person or by teleconference.
It was decided that they would have their questions gathered by February 22
nd
.
08:30:09 AM
IX. Parking Manager’s Report
-See Attachment Exhibit 4
Again Tom reminded the BPC know that the Parking Division is at full staff.
There will be an officer working on Saturdays. Brenda should be fully trained in about 2
months and at that point we will have four trained officers.
The City Of Bozeman is members of both parking associations now. International
Parking Association (IPA) http://www.parking.org and the National Parking Association
(NPA) http://weareparking.org.
The city of Missoula has installed Luke2 meters to replace the old coin operated
ones. Missoula will be having an open house on the new meters and Tom has been
invited to come see this new program. This program can be used in the garage as well as
around Bozeman. MSU is looking at this same program for the new parking garage that
they are building also.
The Garage use has remained consistent with past few years. The income use has
also remained similar. Most transactions are made with credit cards. About 20-25% of
every dollar goes to fees for using credit cards, due to the number of very small
transactions that occur.
Tom recommends that the BPC should lift the exit arms after 10 p.m. to decrease
the opportunity of the arms being broken. When an arm is broken, it can take up to six
hours of work to get it fixed. This is time and money the parking division does not have.
The officers will go in and count cars in the morning so there will be a good count at the
beginning of everyday. There will be some loss of money but he doesn’t believe it will be
as much as having to pay to fix arms all the time.
Ryan feels that this should be done for a month and see what happens.
In reference to Exhibit 4, revenue and expenditures numbers are up to date. Tom
has been working on the budget for next fiscal year. He does not anticipate too many
changes to it.
Chuck wants to publicly thank Tom, Laurae, and Kristen for working on the
binders that the BPC now have. The binders will be updated every meeting. The binders
can be left with Kristen or taken with you.
08:54:45 AM
X. New business.
Ben Bennett wanted to let the BPC know that is has been brought to his attention
that there has been people living in the stairs at the parking garage.
Tom asked that this to be brought to his attention as soon as this is seen. Also we
need to call the non-emergency number (406) 582-2000 right way so the police can come
take care of it. The more often we have the police come down the less this should happen.
We will make sure this phone number is posted in the garage. This does happen more
frequently in the winter due to the colder weather.
09:05:43 AM
XI. Adjournment.
Ryan adjourned the meeting at 9:05 a.m.
The next Bozeman Parking Commission meeting will be held March 10, 2015 at 7:30am at City Hall.
Bozeman Parking Commission meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a disability that requires
assistance please contact our ADA Coordinator, Chuck Winn 582-2307.