The Brattleboro Selectboard heard initial presentations about Water & Sewer and Parking budgets for FY26. This included a detailed discussion of Sunday parking, whether free parking might be better in some cases to encourage shoppers and 1% LOST income, and whether parking costs should be charged based on how popular a lot might be. The board decided to ask for no changes.
Also, pickleball courts are on the way.
Preliminaries
Chair Elizabeth McLoughlin – I want to inform the public that I wrote to the Governor and don’t think our legislators will hold us in a bad view. We can continue to build a relationship with them that is helpful and I told the Governor what I thought of H91. Also, Pete Lynch has been awarded the 2025 VT Tree Steward Award. An unsung hero. He’s so behind the scene she is in the back room.
Town Manager John Potter – Pete has been helping with special projects that Patrick Moreland used to do. Everyone gives me great feedback. The Hinsdale Selectboard has joint draft letter that could be sent on the bridges project. We expect to hear if they want to sign on to your letter by June 17. The finance department can take credit card payments in person – recycle bins, PAYT bags, water and sewer bills – there is a fee for using it. Done through OpenGov. Property tax payment can be made with a credit card now with a higher fee. Water and Sewer bills will be sent out in July. Tax bills will be mailed out by July 15th. VT Emergency has identified funding a TriPark bridge replacement with a grant. If FEMA approves it, it will cover 1.7 million in costs if it moves forward. Town will host Juneteenth art show June 16th through the end of the month.
Liz – paying for recycling bins… how soon will new equipment? How long will these items be utilized?
Potter – next winter or spring.
Oscar Heller – to address.. there has been some reporting and info that relies on the idea would like to take the bridges down. Brattleboro hasn’t taken any action on that yet and haven’t made any decisions yet.
Amanda Ellis-Thurber – thanks for sending the letter.
Isaac Evans-Frantz – I’d love to see it.
Potter – I’ll bring it July 3rd.
Isaac – so then we’d approve to sign it? (yes) Happy Pride Month.
Liz – isn’t that celebrated with cheesecake? I got one delivered today?
Peter Case – for pride month?
Liz – oh, I didn’t hear…
Public
Susan B – I have two things to comment. On March 20th the board endorsed a Canal S vision and I was under the impression there would be no movement on that plan, but pieces are being implemented, such as traffic lane changes. People are confused because they don’t know about the lane change. It’s a problem for pedestrians, but for traffic is is really difficult. The other thing is a break in at a local business on Saturday morning. The business was damaged and inventory was taken – thousands of dollars. They can’t afford the loss. They can’t afford to replace the inventory. Stuff is still ongoing. We can’t let our guard down. Things like this are still happening. It wasn’t just him either. A car was broken into and gasoline poured inside. This stuff is still ongoing.
Potter – I wasn’t aware of any lane change.
Dan Tyler , DPW – the painting project that Trans will do this summer – we paint the whit e lines, they paint the center line. It will get paved and that is one of the first areas. We were starting to paint, but they won’t yet, it just a paving project and no changes have been implemented.
Oscar – there is no current intention to remove the left turn lane. (No)
Jane W – I want to remind folks that the legislators give an update at the library. I did watch the meeting and there were arguments people used that left me uncomfortable. If you vote for legislators, just trust them… that’s a dangerous attitude. I can push back when I disagree. The other one was about sending a letter would make us seem bad… that’s not a good reason. Again, we have the right and duty for speaking up and thanks to Liz for sending a letter. We have a right to disagree.
Alexander – thanks for clearing up confusion on the bridges. I’m with the Whetstone restaurant folks. We’re in contact with the Hinsdale selectboard – they want a fence on one side and one on the other – we are trying to convince them to move the bridge and keep it open. We don’t want to see people to see a big ugly fence. We want to bring dialogue to the public and let the public express their concerns. There is a void in media and dialogue about the bridges. Hinsdale thinks Brattleboro ants both bridges gone, and that’s not the case. We see people on them every day. We also would like to lease the bridge from NH. I suggest a public forum.
Liz – there needs to be a distinction between your advocacy and your bidding on a lease. When you bid on a lease there is a legal process you’ll need to adhere to, and you will compete with other bidders. We aren’t there yet, but when the time comes there are rules for it.
Brett – there is a fair number of people who have taken initiative – about 60 signed up members – who have cleaned up the island, and we have cleanups schedule for each month this summer. I think the fences should be on the far side. There birds, blossoms, it is not a dystopian… it is a special place and has a tremendous updated. Friends of Island Park can help with grunt work and fundraising. Identiy the problems that are poorly defined. Clarify our town concerns, Hinsdale’s concerns, and make the island a resource for everybody.
Kate O – I hop you will make good on looking at the FY27 budget sooner rather than later. I voted for the FY26, and voted against cuts… I still believe we are in a financial crisis. We need a town wide solution. You have to start now to stop the ship from hitting the iceberg. We are deficit spending and are basing things on hope and aspirations. I still lose sleep over this. We can’t afford the taxes and the fiscal situation is not sustainable. We have smart people who can help. Keep it on the front burner.
Oscar – we will get month reports and quarterly presentations? (yes)
Consent Agenda
A. Sams Glass World Tobacco License and Tobacco Substitute Endorsement Permit – Approve
B. Dog Warrant – Approve
C. Out in the Open Parade Permit – Approve
D. Red Clover Rovers Parade Permit – Approve
E. 250 Birge Street Floodplain Restoration Project – $36,452.21 Grant Agreement Amendment
Consented!
Parade Permit Request Indivisible Brattleboro
Liz – we have a parade permit request
Potter – this was a request to hold a rally and march on June 14th. The application is in your packet and they expect up to 1000 people, sound amplification, food trucks. They can answer questions. We recommend approval, but they cost us $900 an hour, and that is pressure on the budget.
Christine, Jill, Mark
Liz – this starts at the Centre Church to the Common?
Christine – yes, march up to the commons on the sidewalk, and speeches and music will be at the Common.
Liz – want to voluntarily contribute to offset?
Christine – we’ll ask for donations and make a contribution.
Liz – the Town Manager can tell yo the cost so you can know what to ask for.
Oscar – maybe we should have a simple policy to apply to cases like this. I’m excited by the event… let’s say someone wanted to host 4 big events every month – so we have any history of dealing with something like that, or is here a more even way to handle this.
Liz – we won’t come up with eh policy tonight or by Saturday, so that’s why we ask then in good faith to offset the costs we are incurring, and we’ll ask town staff to come up with a policy…
Potter – the town absorbed the cost. There is a $25 permit fee. We can bring other ideas to you.
Liz – I think the should be changed. The fee should be increased and a penalty for people who do not seek or follow the parade permit rules. Not a big fan of scofflaws.
Oscar – maybe we discuss a policy at a future meeting. I’nm comfortable asking for a voluntary contribution, no obligation… we just consent amended two other items.
Liz – the reason this has come up is the scale is much larger than the others, and there will be more, so we need a policy.
Peter – I’ve organized events – sometimes police aren’t required, but sometimes we’d have to contract for paying for sheriff, or EMS. That’s already sort of there. These things are growing in size and that will be a larger line item.
Potter – there is mechanism to do that in ordinance but it would have to be made a condition of the permit. The road races – the roads are already closed and police and fire are already staffed for that day, so it isn’t an additional cost.
Amanda – so there’s a fee for renting the common…
Potter – yes, done on a separate process.
Amanda – when the Stroll did it, they paid a fee to use the space? It’s similar…
Carol Lolatte – it was a larger event so there was a big umbrella fee for everything. It was handled differently.
approve the parade permit on Saturday June 14th – 3-6pm?
approved!
Pickleball Court Project
Carol Lolatte – Joe is with me. He’s helped raise funds for a pickleball court. Some background. Rec department was looking at the tennis courts – built in mid-70’s, we’ve been coddling them over the years. We filled cracks two years ago, and the vendor said it was the last time. Many of you know of the pickleball craze – we were faced at replacing it with two tennis courts, or a combo, or 6 pickleball courts? BUHS has six courts. Why not work with them so we can use their 6 courts? One big concerns was that we have a senior tennis program, so even though it was during the school day was we wanted a good tennis program, and the BUHS agreed with some conditions. And they get pickleball access at LMP. I met with BUHS admin, their facilities person, and we came up with a solid document, reviewed by everyone. Signed in January of 2025. So, then we knew we could improve the pickleball situation. $150k for 6 courts. We had $30k as a seed. Did a capital fund drive. Got to $141k out of the $150k. We put it out to bid, opened bids, and got three bids. Two local bids. One NH. $65k came from grans and trusts, plus $30k of donations from players, then business donations. Usually I sit here and recommend the low aid. Not tonight. The low bid is not local. The next bid is local and $3200 over the other. Local money used for a local project. Rec and Parks and the fundraising committee want to do DMI Paving for $129k.
Liz – there’s a reason you got an ovation a RTM.
Peter – I remember when we approved looking into it. It seemed like a waste of money, but thanks for raising the money and I like that we can do this locally.
Oscar – amazing work. From the tennis end… we are fearful of pickleball players. Tennis players that used to play at LMP and want to… I hope we will think of ways to make I clear. I’d hate that someone tries to show up and a tournament is going on…
Carol – that was part of the discussion with BUHS. We’ll have signage on pickleball courts, and the BUHS will have signs to send you to LMP for pickleball. Signage and benches and beautification will be out of the extra money.
Oscar – I’d love an online scheduling app. I think it’s $20 a month to do that.
Carol – we use RecTrak and could use it for this.
Liz – are their restrooms?
Carol – sometimes. During the summer during summer camp bathrooms are open. Bathrooms at the bottom of the hill are open. On a regular basis, no, not unless we unlock the skating facility. A BUHS they always seem to have a portable potty.
Liz – My daughter had to climb a fence to get to one.
Carol – I suspect seniors could use it? Not sure if it is inside or outside the fence.
$129k to DMI for pickleball courts. 5-0
FY26 Draft Utility Budget
Carol – One more thing… these pickleball courts should be done by September or October
Potter – w’ll invite Dan Tyler and Pete Lynch – this is a draft of the FY26 budget. Just introducing the topic to collect questions you may have before approving in July.
Dan – the Water & Sewer Utility budget is an enterprise fund, funded without taxes. Users of the system pay for it. 1.5 million gallons a day. The rates are set on a 5 year cycle, and we revisit them. FY26 is a new cycle, and we are on the heels of the rate study. There is operating, and capital. The operating budget – there are a lot of increases and some decreases. Wage and employee costs are big ones – $229k of wage increases. $65k in benefits. Another $25k for new finance consultant payment. A transfer to the general fund to pay for services like HR, dispatch, etc. That’s done by formula. We reworked number and a required transfer has gone up because we need to correct of an error. There is also the sustainability coordinator wages and benefits. then there are chemicals, and parts – increases in all of those costs as well. Some savings. First year of the new water treatment facility – we eliminated some pieces of the budget – $9k of sludge removal not required now. Also, the plant is now all electric. Working with GMP to help balance the grid, and we get a discounted rate by participating in the pilot program. Linden street Retreat wells – that is a water treatment facility – that was built after a drought in 1979 to supplement the water production. There have been water quality issues there and the wells are outdated. Trying to figure out the best thing to do with it. Haven’t run it since early winter. That’s it for the operating budget.
Liz – the heart shaped lagoon – why heart shaped? And are they closed?
Dan – they are gone – They were heart shaped due to the outflow of them. They were removed as part of the upgrade at the plant.
Amanda – thanks.
Dan – th capital plan – there is a separate capital improvement plan. The first column is a carry forward – projects that have been in prior years that we are still waiting to construct. The Hinsdale bridge, the utility project at water tanks, … things that take time or review by the state. It gives us a backlog of projects. No sewer upgrades this year. You’ll see we have bonded projects coming in the future, spread out over thirty years. It is a reduced year for Capital. The initial plan for Putney Rd with Trans – they wanted to upgrade our utilities as part of the project. We’ve learned that they ay reduce the scope of the project which could reduce the utility work there. It will need to be replaced. We recommend leaving the existing money budgeted in there for there water main replacement. The numbers came from Trans – expenses have gone up since then. here are some projects we’ve complete – the Stickney Brook diversion dam – we did that in house and save $99k. Going to reallocate it to an Ames Hill project. Also saved money on Wilson station – saved $167k there. A Church Street sewer will get done with some of that, then the rest to the waste water upgrades. So reallocating without increasing the overall budget. As for rates, the consultant said 9% increase on water and 2% for sewer. Our expenses are higher than theirs. They did it all expecting a 3% increase. We are at 5%. It doesn’t get us to where they recommend. Their recommendation stands for the rates.
Amanda – if here was an area that you would trim, what would it be? I see some things budgeted that weren’t sued – or used less, like training. Or overtime budgets. Does anything pop out?
Dan – there are some things – the utility goes up and down. There is a line in the current year for sewer pump stations – a pump failed so we went over. Everything is expensive. We try to take advantage of local offers for training, same with permitting – some years more due for renewal than others. We could hammer down on those a bit.
Amanda – with the sustainability coordinator – potential earnings there with efficiency VT?
Dan – that goes back to a previous program we completed. Nothing currently planned with them. We run into capacity issues – we don’t have the capacity but maybe the sustainability coordinator could follow up on it.
Isaac – I appreciate the work on this and your update – the sustainability coordinator was discussed at RTM so hanks for trying to accommodate what they voted for.
Oscar – we could have a flat rate increase rather than 9-9-2%…
Liz – that’s a question for the consultant.
Dan – we can probably bring back an alternative.
Liz – quiet crowd tonight.
Amanda – an aging workforce – what’s coming down the line to excite future workers in this field.
Dan – there is an apprenticeship program of training to get people water licenses they need. Or get a plant to take on an apprentice. We’re in the process of hiring someone and have seen the strongest pool in years.
Oscar – Pete?
Pete – we had a really good pool of applicants for our wastewater position, and a lot of people want to work at DPW.
Vote on this at next meeting, then a rate change ordinance.
FY26 Draft Parking Budget
Potter – Darren P. and others working on this. No decision tonight.
Jeremy Evans and Darren P
Evans – I’ll speak to part of it, and Darren will speak to part of it. I’ll talk about FY25 and how it is looking for us. We’ve had some fantastic collaboration with DPW, Parking and Police. Parking is back in the police department. A bit of a challenge, but it has been good. Last year you worked out a two year plan to get parking back into the profit margin – it covers all costs of maintenance and paving and plowing, etc. It is important to be profitable to pay for those things. FY25 shows a deficit of $90k projected. We had a little setback in implementing our changes last year. Pushed back our revenue projections for the year. Then we had difficulties with the transition. And December was free parking. This year we think $165k deficit is the correct number, then next year we will show a positive in the numbers. Permit sales have had issues. We see that changing. We are keeping parking lots cleaner and safer, so we anticipate positive revenue happening.
Darren – FY25 – we – there are three revenues we collect – pay for parking, permits, transportation center rental, (we hope to rent them this year). I put together eh projections for the ending of FY25 and it is rough. We are looking at a higher deficit than the $89k we projected. Our unallocated cash will be used to cover that deficit. Do you want to ask questions of FY25? Keep rolling? In FY26 we project an 11% increase in revenue – and the reason is the new rates will be full year, and the parking fine revenue will be up. Tried to keep expenses down this year. OpenGov had better projections for us on staff. We also cut some costs – staff and operating. Tried to keep increases low – the finance contribution is a big part, and the rest is inflation costs. We’re hoping we can hit these projections. Hope the police can do a lot to help. With the new system we get a lot of data, so we can see where we have activity and not. We’ll look a supply and demand – should we increase costs where we have higher demand? That’s pretty much all I have. The last part is following up on recommendations – some ordinance changes and amendments.
Amanda – the electric line – is that for lighting lots, or for?
Darren – lighting lots mostly.
Amanda – how many staff?
Darren – 5 staff – 3 are enforcement and two are facility maintenance employees doing cleaning at Transportation Center. Overseen by DPW.
Amanda – employee retirement? No… something went down or up quite a bit… great, thank you.
Peter – there is a line for hood rentals. What are we hooding?
Darren – if a contractor wanted to rent spaces we used to use hoods but it is for rental of space…
Amanda – worker’s comp went way down…
Darren – don’t know.
Potter – we’ll bring an explanation back for you.
Liz – thanks. This is the year we’ve come out of covid with a budget that our expenses match our revenues. It’s been difficult, even without the transportation center renting any space.
Darren – the capital expenses – last year with changes staff created a capital plan for our assets – we will be rolling over some projects. About $116k, then $170k added for FY26 – the stair project, the municipal lot paving, and general maintenance.
Fric – -Patrick tried to bring more attention to the condition of the parking garage, which have worsened over the years. I was wondering if the budget included sandblasting and painting the steel?
Liz – let me object… the town has spent a great deal of time…
Fric – you can object, but that facility has not gotten attention since it was built. The steel was painted, not galvanized.
Liz – that attention has been…
Fric – is it in the budget?
Darren – there is money allocated to paid the steel for ten years. “Painting of the steel” is the line item.
Fric – I brought recommendation about making the downstairs space as conditioned spaces. I’d be happy to go into specifics. What happened with that project?
Liz – the ceiling is underway?
Potter – we’d have to sit down with you to go over the details with you.
Susan – Are trashcans going back into Harmony Lot?
Darren – thesinale trash receptacles? We worked with Casella to move some around the lots. There are 6 in Harmony but in different locations. BDA ad some concern. WE’ll move two of them and add some more.
Susan – I have had interactions with all DPW personnel and am impressed with how kind and helpful they are.
Marta – there were questions about electric charging stations in the transportation center… the plan?
Potter – I believe we had some chargers we could no longer service so we removed them. If we can get funding for additional chargers we can replace them.
Penelope – I sent a letter to the board …
Liz – we have yet to hear…
Penelope – let me wait til you are done..
Amanda – snow removal – why is the budget number so high? Is it handwork around the area? Hours?
Darren – there are 11 lots, plus building lots. We put them out for bid. We’re looking at ways to get the costs down. Depends on the year. DPW does some lot maintenance. It could be a similar thing for plowing if DPW did different work in the future.
Liz – you are about to discuss meters but we should have a 5 minute break. T’il 8:12.
More Parking
Liz – Okay people let’s resume.
Darren – I’l cover some things about the meters. Sunday Parking – wanting to move that back to a free day. Some think that will help merchants and shopping, so we’d need to increase hours during the week. You can see what we generated on Sundays alone – and weekdays 4-6 – they are generally close on revenues. We’re looking at a ghost number – we don’t know if those same figures would work 6-8. We’ll go with your recommendation on bringing back free parking with additional hours after 6, or just leave it how it is? Next is parking permits. Parking permits are not hitting the margins we’d hope for. We sell different types. Elm St is permit only and it is mostly empty. It’s kinda far outta town. Maybe we could extend the parking enforcement down Flat and First – there is free parking right next to the lot. Or lower the price – sell more permits in a l lesser used lot. The coop has wanted to look for different lots because of the distance. Parking Center permits are down, too. In 2019 we made more money there… we are seeing less and less parking in the transportation center.
Oscar – the 2025 numbers are really that low?
Darren – it is a calendar year, to date.. Not fiscal year. Harder to break out.
Oscar – mobile looks way up…
Darren – the last permit is Harris High Grove Spring Street. We’re selling out of these. Most are in the High Grove Lot. High Grove is the favored lot. Should we increase costs because it has higher demand? IPS is the vendor for the pay method but not enforcement. They do offer software for enforcement. As we pay for pay by plate, you can do permit by plates. Your plate is the permit. No more stickers. As many different types as you want. It could help generate more money with permits. The software costs about $15k now… they collect a fee. I’ll have better figures. It’s something we are looking at. Last is loading zones. After getting into loading zones, if we made some designated some, it would be unfair to one merchant or another – so additional signage will help with enforcement there.
Oscar – the idea of adjusting permit fees based on supply and demand makes sense to me. We should consider looking at rates that way. If no one sues it should we lower the prices. Let’s lower Transportation Center rates below anything and let it be all day parking. Long term economy parking. The more people that use it, the more comfy it will be for everyone. The Sunday switch seems ok, maybe keep Sunday and add evening? Have we looked at looking for a different parking app. I think the experience is better in Keene and Greenfield.
Darren – let’s look at supply and demand by operating every lot. We shouldn’t have conjoined permits. Then we can see what our costs are for each lot and we could better do a supply and demand… I know Sue did a parking scoping study and it was to make the outside lots the long term lots. If we do make changes it may go against that study. But times have changed. The parking app itself – there was a group that looked at many vendors and the biggest reason to stay with IPS is that we had a bunch of IPS kiosks, so switching away was a substantial cost.
Amanda – I like the lower rate lot idea.
Darren – lower costs and more people will park, then more people park, then look at increase rates later on.
Oscar – looking at it yearly would be good while we figure it out.
Peter – With regards to changing remit costs based on lots, there is the cannibalization of coughing up a $145 permit… and moving to a lower cost permit of $120…
Darren – Harmony is #1 and High Grove is right behind it.
Peter – people park based on convenience more than cost. I’d caution us jockeying too many permit prices. The parking app… I use 3 parking apps. The ease of use is about the same for all three. keene gives you 15 minute free for a quick errand. The app has been around for… 5 years?
Darren – maybe since the single head poles? It’s been improved in recent years.
Peter – Sunday parking – retain it and add more? Not a fan. Seems like more taxes. A free Sunday then adding hours to offset it. I’d advocate for free Sundays and adding an hour or so during the week.
Isaac – I echo concerns about simplicity – change is hard. We want it to be easy to use the system. I agree with looking at supply and demand, by keeping it simple with clear communications. I like one focus – some signs. As for the Sunday decision – how was it decided to charge on Sundays? Selectboard? (Revenue). Now we see a deficit great than expected. Curious if your thinking about this has shifted about the impact? A deficit next year? What’s the risk?
Darren – that’s why we got a lot of feedback from merchants looking for Sunday’s to return back to free. You are looking at unknown numbers for those evening hours – it is a risk. tell us the direction you’d like…
Isaac – it is a sabbath day. I think about tourists. Most of them have a higher median income than the locals. When are we most likely to be benefitting from the tourist revenue? Do we have a sense of which tourist would do more?
Darren – from a personal view I see a lot of tourists on weekends.
Isaac – my thought it let’s give it a year and see how people feel a year from now when we are not running a deficit. I like free parking. It is popular. I’ve just gotten used to the new system. I’m skeptical of making more changes right now.
Liz – one way to find out about the day on Sunday vs weeknights. Start the weeknights, then cancel one or the other once you see the income. Public has commented to me.. one objected to changing to codes to the zip codes – could it be shortened.
Darren – most towns have a 4-5 digit codes. We knew the 5 digit code was unique. Decals were all purchased and ordered with those numbers… they are color coded.
Oscar – the thing difficult about Sunday – merchants are divided on it. When deciding, I’m thinking of needs of downtown merchants but am hearing both things…
Amanda – could we run the numbers for the plowing with 4 inches of snow rather than 2 inches – less sand and salt potentially…
Darren – if we don’t spend the 90k, it is a surplus for the fund. We can look at it, but probably not in time for this budget. Leaving it at 90 is where we felt comfy and if we don’t spend it…
Liz – outlying parking lots – the parking study that was done – before making changes learn the lessons of that study. There might be residential parking in the more distant lots.
Peter – when we switched over – it was in December? (Nov 21) My concern is making changes to free parking – we had to answer lots of questions. Are people starting to develop that new muscle. I’d be a little concerned about making a change right now that could upset that.
Penelope – I have a retail store downtown. I wanted to say one thing. One thing about Sunday parking is theater isn’t anyone parking at meters on Sundays – it’s not a good day to expect much revenue. Not a lot of people suing paying parking spaces. When you get excited about raising revenue from giving out parking tickets – your gain becomes my loss, so is it worthwhile. I wrote this letter a long time ago and was told not to bring this up until the budget was done. Some will seem irrelevant, but it is easier for me to just read it…. (reads letter). (Have you looked at what the parking system takes away from merchants? My shop gives 1% of my…
Liz – I’m going to let you go over because..
Penelope – I have a long letter. (continues to read). (New parking system is one of the dumbest decisions… last year was a ghost town.) You need to seriously think about not having any parking costs in the two weeks before xmas. Maybe on Main Street. (Can we compare earrings from parking vs earning from the 1% tax. You should be focused on creating a great shopping experience downtown.) Right now it is stressful. (Could we have free parking on Wed and Thursday from 3-7 and organize retailers to stay open that extra time in the summer? Could the 1st half hour be free? Free parking on Sunday! Town web site still says it is free. ). We have a very negative rap these days.
(allowed to speak for almost 7 minutes…)
Liz – the most important thing is that the parking system is a consortium of police and planning and others and it is an interesting mix. It would be nice if you join the DBA conversations.
Penelope – mumbles off mic…
Potter – we were trying to get more of the 1% but were unsuccessful for the full amount.
Erik – I liked the ideas we just heard about the 4 inches. Clear roads vs safe roads. The break at the holidays is a great idea. And I like the idea of a healthy Transportation Center – make it free on Sunday.
Marta – one other thing – as far as paint tickets – you can’t pay online without a citation number. It might be helpful for more to pay online.
Liz – isn’t it on the ticket?
Marta – what if you lost the ticket? I’d pay it faster tif I could look it up.
Darren – there is a way to pay tickets online – pay, contest, – they collect all the data from that…. the system brings it all into an online portal based on your plate number.
Fric – as a customer and someone who parks downtown – I like the meters. It let you know if you were in a spot. I used the parking garage when the chargers were there. It’s the people not the price that keep people out. If we can make it feel over a period of time… we get used to a rhythm with parking and it is important to not have unpleasant surprises. Changing the perception of the parking garage… I really like parking out of the weather. I’d say don’t muck about with rates, and do what you can to clean up the parking garage. Publicize success.
Liz – we’ve come a long way and there is more work to do.
Jeremy – the parking garage – we’ve seen an uptick in activity there. Mostly external to the public garage. On the Flat Street side of the parking garage. Not in the garage. Not in our data. The murder was on Flat Street, not in the garage. For plowing – we call for plowing at 2 inches. They don’t plow at 2 inches. If we waiting, we should see if it is an insurance issue for the town.
Penelope – interesting how many people who are parking using the meters are people who are working downtown vs incoming travelers.
Darren – can’t pull that data.
Penelope – number of hours that you need to be earning? A break even annual amount?
Darren – this next coming year is going to give us a lot of information about where we should be. We haven’t had a full year with the new rates. After we do, we can decide if the rates are right.
Penelope – having some free time is more important than raising the number of paid hours.
Darren – if I could get a clear idea on Sundays. For permits, we can recommend some options for rates and hours. Sundays?
Liz – have both Sundays and evenings then gather the data.
Oscar – I want to do the thing that makes people happy… as little unhappiness as possible. I guess I will put out the call – send us emails and tell us what you think.
Potter – but a motion now…
Oscar – both is the conservative approach.
Liz – you get a full year of data – do you want to do Sunday and evening weekday parking to see what the numbers are before we remove Sunday parking?
Isaac – I like getting more info and something new, but a whole year… not sure if that… the top concern was that change was hard. if we increase the hours people have to pay it is concerning to me. I heard making the parking garage free on Sunday… could we do something more modest?
Liz – we could get options, but guidance for them for those options, the options should include Sunday or not?
Heidi – if you are adding two hours does that mean we pay for extra hours of enforcement?
Liz – it will be taken into consideration. Opposed to Sunday or still part of the mix?
Amanda – I’d prefer Sundays to be free. You asked for our opinion.
Oscar – you’d like one answer.
Darren – I can bring you more info, but if you want a first ready I need to no what you want.
Oscar – I’ll follow the board on this…
Liz – you are the board…
Isaac – can I try to sway Oscar on this one? I move that we don’t amend the ordinance on days we pay for parking.
Peter – if we average 3k a month that is 36k a year. The fire is going out around the parking change- we’ll do the color coding. I’m kinda ok with leaving it go as is for another year.
(general agreement to leave it as is among board)
Water Tank Necessity Resolution
Potter – Back in 2024 at RTM there was bond article to do project at Pleasant valley to build a secondary tank there. The board warned it and we should have done a necessity resolution – a statement that public necessity requires this and that funds must be used in a certain way to get the job done…. we think we can have the board approve this now.
Liz – any discussion?
approved
Committee Appointments
Liz – the final item. No contested slots. Approved as a slate.
Just Don't Pay
A good friend of mine hasn’t paid for parking downtown since the latest stupid kiosks went in.
The new system knows when you overstay your limit, but it doesn’t know when you’ve parked if you never tell it. You might get caught if a meter maid scans your plate and sees you never used a kiosk, but given what the town said about insufficient enforcement coverage even before the increased hours, it’s no surprise I haven’t gotten a ticket in ~9 months. At this point, getting a ticket would be cheaper than paying for parking this whole time.
I expect this wouldn’t work if you were staying downtown for whole days, but if you come down for an hour or two, just don’t pay. The new meters solved problems that didn’t exist and were implemented without much discussion of the pros and cons, or even of other options. It’s good to see the town getting punished financially for that process, but it appears they won’t learn anything from it.
Other options
Another option to shore up the parking system would be to turn parking spaces into pickleball mini courts and let Carol Lolatte fundraise for them. : )