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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2015_tcwsmin0209 Council Work Session February 9, 2015 Council Chambers, 25 West Market Street, 7:30 p.m. Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd presiding. Council Members Present: Kelly Burk, David Butler, Thomas Dunn, Suzanne D. Fox, Katie Sheldon Hammler, Marty Martinez and Mayor Umstattd. Council Members Absent: All present Staff Present: Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Deputy Town Manager Keith Markel, Assistant Town Manager Scott Parker, and Executive Associate I Tara Belote. AGENDA ITEMS 1. Work Session Items for Discussion a. Diversity Commission Kaj Dentler stated the Diversity Task Force has requested the formation of a commission on diversity. Key Points: • Duties would include fostering diversity and inclusion within the town government work force by looking for ways to cast a wider net for applicants. • A potential commission could help the town communicate and perform outreach to the community. • Coordinate outreach through the Economic Development Commission to help minority business owners get started. • Help identify cultural events that could be celebrated. • The commission would be an advisory commission. • Would not have review of personnel issues. Council Comments/Questions: • Task force understood that personnel issues would not be reviewed. • Some of the recommended activities could open the town up to increased liability. • Need more discussion before moving forward. • What are the costs in terms of staffing? Staff answer: Keith Markel, Deputy Town Manager would be liaison to the Commission. • VML Insurance provides some benefits. • Council will need to be prepared to address policy issues that are brought up by the commission in terms of parity. • Would not want personnel issues to be discussed at the commission level. • Would like duties to be clearly laid out. • In no way should a commission or Council be involved in human resources decisions or issues. 1 IPage Council Work Session February 9, 2015 • Why has this issue never been raised before? If the town has been derelict, Council needs to know why and how. • Reputation in the past of not being open to the minority community. • Need to make sure that this commission, if created, knows their mission and limitations. • Would suggest starting out as a committee. • Would like to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities for employment with the town. • Next step is initiation of an amendment to the Town Code. • Are duties and make up of the commission discussed at the initiation? Staff answer: This starts the process and the duties and make up can be discussed at the public hearing. Staff would recommend that make up is chosen similarly to other existing commissions. There was support for an initiation resolution at Tuesday night's meeting. b. Comprehensive Parking Follow-up Scott Parker stated that a public input session was held to focus on several issues with respect to parking. Key Points: • Questions posed at the public input session were whether the town should continue to charge for parking in the town garage and whether the town should keep the parking meters on the street. • Approximately 20 members of the public, not including council members, attended the session and provided feedback. • Turnover of spaces was identified as being most important. • Staff recommends the following: o Continue to charge for parking in the Town garage. o 1st hour free in the garage (2nd hour free with parking validation program) o $1.00 for each hour in garage up to $5.00 Maximum o Keep the unassigned parking space rates ($40 per month) and the assigned parking space rates ($60.00 per month) the same o Do not charge for nights and weekends. o Do not automate the garage at this time, particularly if nights and weekends remain free. The option should be kept open for future discussions, however, as it relates to larger comprehensive parking initiatives. o Leave the meters on the street, and rehab the casings and poles to match the street furnishings and new street lights of the downtown (black). o Charge for the 14 meters that are currently bagged on Harrison Street. o Charge for the 11 meters currently at Liberty Street. 2IPage Council Work Session February 9, 2015 o Re-install the meters on Loudoun Street that were removed during downtown construction. o Change all meters in Town to a two-hour time limit EXCEPT: The two meters in front of the Downtown Post Office on Market Street. They are currently 15 minutes and no change is proposed. • Raise the meter rates to $0.50 a half hour from the current$0.25 a half hour to bring them in line with the rates of the garage and to encourage turnover of parked vehicles in the downtown area. Council Comments/Questions • Concern that the meters are so affordable that it allows people to stay in one spot all day. • Harrison Street meters are under-utilized. Staff answer: They have been under-utilized and the argument could be made for removal of those meters. Decision needs to be made to either re-start charging for those spaces or remove the meters. Historically, the parking enforcement staff reports them to be under-utilized. • The town does not charge for the 11 meters in the small lot just north of Liberty Street. Staff answer: Those spaces are considered more "prime" due to their proximity to Royal Street and the downtown. If Council determines that those are part of the Liberty Street lot, they should be removed. Those particular meters have a six-hour time limit, but could be changed to two-hour time limits to encourage turnover. • The current daily maximum of$5 for parking in the garage could be limited for day-time parking. Other localities charge considerably more. • Agree with keeping the meters to encourage turnover and find some way to enforce the two hour time limit. • Agree with increasing the charges for the parking garage. • As was reported in the 2004 Desmond Parking Study, incentives for long term parkers to use less convenient parking options need to be instituted. • There is a parking capacity issue—the number of required spaces for uses versus the available spaces. • Possibly reach out to the county to allow the public to use some of the spaces in their garage. • Opportunity to use buses to shuttle daily parkers from satellite lots. • Could research the use of church lots for employee parking. • If another garage will be needed in the long term, start thinking about what type of creative partnerships can be formed to pay for it. • Need to look at parking as a comprehensive picture—not little pieces at a time. 3 ' Page Council Work Session February 9, 2015 • Mr. Burnett's capacity report is not correct— space sharing was not taken into account. • Why was the recommendation made to not automate the garage at this time? Staff answer: If the policy is not to charge for nights and weekends, that would be the biggest beneficiary of an automated system. • Recommendation against automation should have included a fiscal analysis of whether it makes sense. • Increasing the rates in the garage will not impact turnover because the garage is never full. • Charging more for the garage and keeping the antiquated equipment will discourage people from parking in the garage. It will not encourage people to park in the garage over the meters. • If we continue to charge for the garage, the meters should be at least twice as expensive to encourage people to park in the garage. • Staff report does not talk about finding additional parking spaces on the street, if there are parking spaces that need to be removed, or the cost of an additional parking facility. • Do not want to have a parking task force. • Still in favor of kiosks and police officers, not finance staff, writing tickets downtown. • Street parking is the premium parking and should cost more than the parking garage. • The town should not get involved in private parking agreements between landowners and businesses. • What would be the income if fees, except those for permits, were doubled? Staff answer: We can get that information for Council. • Discussed with the Chairman of the County Board about the county freeing up space for visitors. He does not think this would work. • These small steps would increase revenue for the town and may alleviate some of the issues. • What is the possibility of stairs on the east side of the Liberty lot? • If higher costs result in more turnover, then the perception that there is not enough parking will be alleviated. • Parking garage staff add to customer service for visitors to town. There was consensus to initiate a Town Code amendment to increase parking fees in the garage to $1 per hour and pay for the amount of time spent in the garage (first hour free) and $1.50 per hour at the meters as well as removal of the parking validation program. Meters on Harrison and the Liberty Street lot will be returned to service. 41Page Council Work Session February 9, 2015 2. Additions to Future Council Meetings Council Member Hammier requested providing visitor information for the parking attendant. She asked for the possibility of increasing fines for parking violations at meters. She asked for initiation of the task force so that people can see that the Council is looking at parking in a comprehensive manner. She asked for initiation of the Joint Land Management Area planning with the County. She also asked for Certificates for the Flag Football champions. For upcoming meetings, she asked for the following information memorandums: a. Information regarding what Loudoun County is doing to negotiate parking space at private sector sites, such as Telos. Would like input on that possibility for the town as well as information on the use of the county transit bus. b. Information on whether the Tech Comm can remove cable from their list of duties. c. Information on what would be involved in making the Standing Residential Traffic Committee to a commission. d. Information on what would be needed to increase the street light wattage from 400 to 1000 all over town. e. Information on the final destination of recycled paper from Leesburg. Paper sent to other countries could create identity theft issues. f. Information on environmental benefits of a water feature off the Town Garage/Mervin Jackson Park. Vice Mayor Burk stated that the Friends of Leesburg Public Art are applying for a grant from the state and would like a letter from the Council stating support for their efforts. She stated she would provide a draft and there was consensus to put it on Tuesday's agenda for action. Council Member Fox stated the Airport Commission would like to know if there was any support from Council for financial assistance for the Airshow. Council Member Hammier asked for information on County contribution. Council Member Butler stated that at the current time, Paragon is planning the Downtown Arts show the same day as the Airshow. Staff noted that the audiences for the two events are different and parking for both events is at different areas of town. He asked for an information memorandum on the stairs on the east side of the Liberty Street lot. He asked that public parking signs as previously directed by Council be erected. 3. Adjournment 5IPage Council Work Session February 9, 2015 On a motion by Ma y or Umstattd, seconded by Council Member Butler, the meeting was adjou ed at 10:S p.m. Clerk of o cil 2015 tcwsmin021 6IPage