HomeMy WebLinkAboutEx 1 BPC 5 24 2019BOZEMAN PARKING COMMISSIONMINUTESFriday, May 24,2019 @ 7:30 AMA.Call to Order - 7:30 AM - c¡ty Commission Chamber, City Hall, 121 NorthRouseMavor - Cvnthia Andrus: PresentCommittee Member - James Ness: PresentCommittee Member - Shasta Winston: PresentStaff - Ed Meece: PresentChanqes todaChair Bryan asked if there are any commission disclosuresCommissioner Lloyd disclosed he has an unrelated financialrelationship with one topic, and will recuse himself during that item.Chair Bryan disclosed that she and her husband are partners withCory Lawrence in their business, Off the Beaten Path, but has nofinancial/relationship with the Etha Hotel. She also mentioned thatshe is a personal friends with John Kauffman. She made it clear thatshe has had no conversations with these men about the topic beforethe commission this morning, but wanted to acknowledge herrelationships for full transparency.C. Januarv 10 and April 11.2019. minutes (Exhibit 1)Motion to approve the January 10 minutesCommittee Member - KellvWiseman : MotionCommittee Member - Shasta Winston: 2ndMavor - Cvnthia Andrus: AbstainCommittee Member - Ben Llovd: ApproveB.Committee Member - James Ness: ApBrpve
Committee Chair - Pamela Brvan: ApproveCommittee Member - Shasta Winston: ApproveCommittee Member - Kellv Wiseman : ApproveStaff - Ed Meece: N\AMotion to approve the April 11 minutesCommittee Member - Mark Esge: MotionCommittee Member - Shasta Winston: 2ndMavor - Cvnthia Andrus: AbstainCommittee Chair - PamelaCommittee Member - Kellv Wiseman : AooroveCommittee Member - Mark Esse: AooroveStaff - Ed Meece: N\AD. Public Comment - Members of the audience or their agentmay be invited to present testimony or ev¡dence. To be recognized,each person desiring to give testimony or ev¡dence shall stepfon¡vard and, after being recogn¡zed, give their name and addressfor the record. The presiding officer may establish a time frame foreach public comment but in no case shall such timeframe be lessthan three (3) minutes per speaker. The presid¡ng off¡cer maylengthen or shofien the time allotted for public testimony.Jerry Pape; Spoke about the history and original intent of theParking Garage and on the importance of ethics, character, fairnessand high standards for the best outcome.Leif Sundeen, 5 E Lamme St; Asked the Parking Commission todeny the request to convert 79 annual leases to UDC leases.Jay Bentley, Open Range Restaurant,24l E Maín; As a businessowner downtown he has noticed a growing lack of parking availabledowntown.Ashley Ogle, 5 E Lamme St; Stated that she has received a lot offeedback from downtown business owners about the importance ofstretching the current downtown parking. She submitted a public
petition for the commission to review. She requested thecommission vote against transferring the annual leases to UDCleasesSteve Rodrick, 111 E Mendenhall St, 151 Mcgee Dr; Pointed outthat it is important to maintain accessible parking for the publicdowntown.Billy McWilliams, Erotique; Expressed his appreciation for theParking Commission, and what they do, and noted the uniquenessand character of downtown bozeman and its retail business. He hasheard a lot of comments about how hard it is to find parking. Hestated that we need more parkíng downtown.Brian Caldwell, 321 N Montana Ave; Compels the ParkingCommission to be proactive in developing an additional parkinggarage. He suggested both private and public sectors worktogether to develop more parkíng.Jeff Krauss,5447 Vermeer Ln; Pointed out that downtown is beingused differently than in the past, however it should still be availableto all citizens.E.Action ltems1. Discuss/Consider/Approve the creation of a suggestedcomposition of board members on the Parking Commission thatpromotes an adequate diversity of parking/planning expertise andcommunity perspectives. (Mayor Andrus)Mayor Andrus explained the importance of parking issues within thecity, and asked the Parking Commission to explain their ideas aboutwhat the City should be looking for as they fill the current vacancieson the Parking Commission.Commissioner Egge pointed out the qualities of the current board,which is extensive, but stated a broader perspective might behelpful when looking at the future of parking. He also cautionedabout having a member on the board that lives in the downtowncorridor because it may be difficult to focus on other parking issuesthroughout the city.
Commissioner Lloyd would like to see commission members thatlook at the city as "we", and look ahead to the future as a leader.Commissioner Winston commented on the diversity of the currentcommission, and thought a voice from other stakeholders would benice.Commissioner Wiseman suggested that it might be useful to havethe perspective of someone who lives in one of the existingresidential parking districts. He also commented that someone witha science-based skill set might be useful for analyzing information.Commissioner Ness added that the parking commission is the voicefor parking throughout the city, and it would be nice to have theperspective of folks directly impacted by parking difficulties.Chair Bryan concluded that the Parking Commission was originallyformed to manage parking in the downtown. She stated that thescope has changed, and the parking commission is now managingparking city wide. For that reason, the commission would benefithaving representation from other neighborhoods.Jerry Pape; Commented on the intensity and location of parkinguse. As infrastructure grows parking must also grow, and the boardmay want to consider expanding as well.Chair Bryan and Commissioner Egge asked about a formal policyfor appointing commission members.Mayor Andrus explained the current process for selecting boardmembers, and their approval by the City Commission.Commissioner Ness commented that it may be nice to have a cleardescription of the procedure to apply for a parking commission seaton the city web page.2. Brief update on the April 30, 2019, public engagement sessionregarding Parking Permit Districts.Mr. Meece gave a brief update of the public engagement sessionsheld regarding the 'Parking Permit District' concept, and explainedthat there will be a written report/summary for the commission toreview at the June meeting. He pointed out that there was a diverse
m¡x of topics discussed, good conversation with citizens, andmeaningful feedback.Jerry Pape; Pointed out that these types of sessions usually have asmallturn out, considering the community as a whole. He suggestedusing polls to gain additional view points and perspectives.3. Consider/Approve/Deny a request to convert up to 79 monthlyparking permits for the Bridger Downtown Parking Garage toUnified Development Code (UDC) parking permits as part of atwenty-five (25) year lease with HomeBase Partners. (Exhibit 2)Commissioner Lloyd recused himself from this action item, statingan abundance of caution against being considered to have had aconflict of interest in this decision.Chair Bryan noted that the Parking Commission received twoletters, one dating May 21 and May 23 which address this actionitem. The first from John Kauffman and Brian Gallick, requestingthat the commission delay their decision to the June meeting to givethem reasonable time to review material from the open recordsrequest. The second letter was from Andy Holloran who suggesteda limited delay, but only if the attorneys disclosed their clients in theinterest of full transparency.Chair Bryan suggested we should break this action item into twodecisions. The first vote to consider and continue the request todelay this decision to the June commission meeting. Thendepending on the outcome of the first to approve/deny theconversion of the permits:Mr. Meece asked Mr. Cooper if there is a specified time period thatneeds to pass, after a public records request, for'adequate' review.Mr. Cooper stated that there is not a specified time period for reviewfollowing an Open Records Request.Mr. Cooper explained that it is the parking commission's decision todelay or act on this item.Commissioner Wiseman motioned to delay the meeting to the June13 meeting.Committee Member - KellyWiseman : Motion
Mavor - Cvnthia Andrus: AbstainCommittee Member - Mark Egge: DisapproveStaff - Ed Meece: N\AThe motion to delay was denied 4 to 1.Mr. Meece expla¡ned the act¡on item and its history. He continuedto read three emails he received, late the previous day, so they canbecome part of the public record.Commissioner Egge asked Mr. Meece if ¡t is the staffrecommendation to approve the request based on the finding of theFebruary report.Mr. Meece commented that it is still the staff recommendation toapprove the request.Andy Holloran spoke about the request for reclassifying 78 permitsthat are currently included in the lease limit calculation. He statedthat these long term leases would be used for a hotel. Hecommented on the garage peak occupancy data that has beencollected in the past and the similarities to the present dataavailable. He stated that it is the parking commission's obligation tobest manage the public asset and thinks the conversion of thepermits to long term leases would be beneficial.Commissioner Egge asked if it was Mr. Holloran's intention to usethe UDC leases to fulfill the parking requirements for building theproposed Hotel. He asked how many total spaces are required forthe development and how many if any will be provided excludingthe UDC leases.Mr. Holloran pointed out that 78 spaces is the requirement for thehotel and the plan is not to create new parking on site, but to usethe UDC leases to fulfill the parking requirement for thedevelopment.Chair Bryan asked about the remaining monthly permits intention.
Commissioner Winston asked about the actual usage of the currentpermits being used by Mr. Holloran.Mr. Holloran explained the use has ranged dramatically over theyears. He pointed out that he has offered 50 of those permits to atenant in the 5 West project called F¡CO, and commented on theirlimited use of the permits.Chair Bryan asked about the permits activation.Mr. Holloran commented that most permits have been activated atvarious times in the last four years.Jerry Pape; Pointed out the burden of making this decision andcommented that the current parking garage occupancy data onlycounts the vehicles that are present - not the vehicles that could bepresent.John Kauffman, 716 S 20th Ave; Distributed documents for theparking commission to review. He pointed out the current leasepolicy states that leases are non-transferable. He also questionshow the leases have changed names, and how they have beendistributed by Andy Holloran.Brian Gallick; Explained that the concern is privatizing a publicasset. He pointed out this is a long term decision and that thedocuments that were distributed by Mr. Kauffman should bereviewed, consídered, and the request be denied.Amy Bordeau, 1878 Buckrake Ave; Stated that she does not havetrouble parking in the garage, and would like to see the garage moreactive during the late evening hours.Michael Delaney, 101 E Main St; Stated that he is a developer inBozeman, and he commented on the power of the word "NO". Hepointed out that a denial is temporary and can make for a betterproduct in the long run.Rona Davison, 129 Cook Ct; Stated she parks in the garage everyday and it is increasingly harder to find a parking spo!.Dr. Frank Sites, pointed out that the true issue is the heart ofBozeman and its development.
Lauren Cummings,2329 Boylan Rd; Pointed out that she has beenparking in the garage since its beginning and her experience is thatthe data reported reflects accurately the occupancy of the garage,Allen McCollum, 1849 E Cameron Bridge Rd; Questioned thetransparency of the process of exchanging the permits to UDCleases. He distributed documents for the parking commission toreview, and asked for a denial of the UDC permits.Chris Naumann, 603 S 1Oth; Read the policy resolution adopted bythe parking commission in 2017 which defines the process forconsidering new UDC leases.David Loseff, Baxter Hotel; Commented on the trajectory ofdowntown parking in the future. He pointed out that it is theresponsibility of developers to mitigate the developments impact.Kalani Cowles, 104 E Story and 131 W Main; Addressed the difficultissue of her employees'ability to access and work downtown.Lauren John, 1011 S Grand Ave; Commented on the underuse ofthe garage and believes the UDC leases should be approved.Mike Thompson, 2363 Thoroughbred Ln; Stated he wishes tosuppoÍ local business but he is detouring away from goingdowntown in the evenings because of the lack of parking.Lee David, 708 S 15th; Commented on the perceived empty spacesin the garage, and how the solution should be looked at for not onlythe present but the future.Jeff Davison, 121 Cook Court; Business owner and resident ofdowntown cautions on the idea of 25 year leases and data beingcleverly manipulated.Molly Eckman, 120 S Black; Commented on the different areas ofcongested parking downtown, and how the Element hotel mostlyuses the lot behind the building for guest parking greatlyunderutilizing their parking garage permits.Amber Bolten, 92 Conner Drive; Commented on the fact that in thelast six months there has not been a time when she was unable topark in the garage due to lack of availability.
Mr. Meece clarified that there has been no attempt to skew datawithin the parking department, and that it is the intent of the staffand the city administration to provide quality, ethical, service to thecommunity. Mr. Meece also clarified the process of the action item.Commissioner Egge made a motion to approve the request toconveft 79 monthly permits to UDC leases: CommissionerWiseman seconded the motion.Commissioner Wiseman commented on the potential of developingparking districts around the 83 district and how approval of the longterm leases could tie up a city asset. He also commented that thesoftware in the garage is fairly new, and he thinks it would be goodto take extra time to gather and analyze additional data.Commissioner Ness agreed with commissioner Wiseman'sstatement. He also asked if previous requests for UDC leases hadbeen denied.Commissioner Egge commented on the data available at this time.According to the data there is not a parking shortage. He alsocommented on the cost efficiency of building a hotel. He suggestedthat this board should make it a top priority to do what isrecommended in the strategic plan. He also commented on theretention of data the parking department gathers.Mr. Meece explained the LPR-data retention policy, and thepurpose of the different time restrictions.Commissioner Ness pointed out that the strategic managementplan clearly points to transit parking as a priority.Mavor - Cvnthia Andrus: AbstainCommittee Member - James Ness: DisapproveCommittee Chair - Pamela BrVan: DisapproveCommittee Member - Shasta Winston: DisapproveCommittee Member - Kellv Wiseman : DisapproveCommittee Member - Mark Egge: ApproveStaff - Ed Meece: N\A
The motion to approve the conversion of up to 79 monthly permitsto UDC permits was denied: 4 no's to 1 yes.5 Minute breakChair Bryan stated that she thinks a clearer policy should beformulated on the management of permits and leases in the parkinggarage.Mr. Meece stated that this has been discussed internally and thatan initial draft may be available as soon as June.Commissioner Wiseman asked about the management of thegarage basement and how that is being counted.Mr. Meece stated the data in the reports to the parking commissionare for the main garage, and not the basement, at this time.Mr. Fontenot suggest that August be the expectation for a draft of apolicy/procedure to be discussed.G. Parkinq Proqram Manaqer Report (Exhibit 3)Mr. Meece informed the commission that the parking department isin their new workspace in the parking garage. He also stated thatT2 is finishing the installation of front cameras for reading licenseplates.H. New BusinessMr. Fontenot stated that he and Mr. Meece are meeting with HRDCtoday to negotiate the MOU transit station space agreement.Commissioner Wiseman asked about action regarding the highschool parking district. Mr. Meece stated that he will bring arecommendation to the parking commission in August orSeptember regarding possible action in the Bozeman High Schooldistrict.!= Adiournment.The meeting was adjourned at10:24:29 AM (02:53:42)
J.Upcominq lssues (Tentative):June 2019:*Review Lease Limit Policy & Calculator (revised w/Rick Williams)"Review and/or modify residential parking permit rates for 2019permit sales/renewals..Additional public parking capacity: Repoft on the multi-sitefeasibility analysis and Bridger Park Downtown Garage expansion.July 2019:"PPM report on the public engagement sessions regarding creationof new Parking Permit District(s)."Election of new officersThe next Bozeman Parking Commission meeting will be heldJune 13,2019, 7:30 am, at City Hall.Bozeman Parking Commission meetings are open to all membersof the public. lf you have a disability that requires assistance pleasecontact our ADA Coordinator, Chuck Winn 582-2307.