| On November 2nd, at about 8:00am, Vicki Krueger received an early-morning visit from her neighbor. “I was about to go to the Farmers’ Market when a neighbor knocked on my door. She informed me that her husband had just been at the Meadow and had noticed that a tree had been cut down on the edge of the park across from the Post Office.”Ms. Krueger’s condo, located across from Central Park, is a three minute walk from the Central Park’s “West Meadow,” the grassy green space south of the Post Office. In an interview with the Voice, Ms. Krueger confirmed that when she and her neighbor walked down to inspect the West Meadow that morning, they “saw the stump where a tree had been cut down“ and also saw that part of the West Meadow “had been marked-off with orange tape” next to the Post Office parking lot.
Ms. Krueger told the Voice that several days prior to her discovery of the marked-off area, she had learned of the city’s interest in paving part of the meadow, but mistakenly believed that no action would be taken before further Commission discussion.
Krueger Challenges City Surveyors and Public Works Official.
On Monday, November 4, at about 7:00am, Ms. Krueger again visited the Meadow parking site. Within minutes of her arrival, Krueger says that “two City employees arrived and began to survey the property.” Ms. Krueger questioned the surveyors, “I asked them whether there was a work order, who had signed it. They confirmed there was a work order but didn’t know who signed it.”
City Had Planned to Pave 12 New Parking spaces on West Meadow by Nov. 30.
Don Marcotte, Asst. Director of Public Works, arrived at the Meadow shortly after Ms. Krueger spoke with the surveyors and, according to Krueger, “Confirmed that the paving was going forward.” Ms. Krueger says she handed Mr. Marcotte a copy of an independent parking garage study and “after some discussion, he told us that the work would be stopped, at least for the day.“ Click the button below to view the Public Works memo discussing the Parking Expansion timeline.
Public Works Memo
Citizens Dispute City’s Parking Rationale – Conduct Their Own Parking Availability Surveys.
Over the last two weeks, several citizens – including Ken Murrah, Vicki Krueger and others – have written the City asking for reconsideration of the city’s plans to expand parking in and around Morse Blvd. and Central Park. Mr. Murrah and Ms. Krueger have each conducted independent surveys of parking availability near Park Ave. Their counts of available parking spaces over multiple days/hours/locations are at odds with the City’s own parking surveys. The City surveys are a key factor in the City’s decision to expand parking. Click the button below to view the City’s Parking Study.
Parking Study
The Voice contacted the City asking for comment from City Manager Randy Knight, Public Works Officials Troy Attaway or Don Marcotte on the delayed implementation of the City’s parking expansion. Clarissa Howard, the City’s Communications Director, responded with a statement saying , “The city did have plans to move forward, however, due to public input received, this project was delayed until after the City Commission had an opportunity to discuss further at their Monday, November 11 City Commission meeting.”
Did Commissioners and City Staff Agree to Meadow Parking Expansion Without Actually Voting on It?
We spoke with Ms. Howard at length about the City’s decision-making process – the process that led to the City’s initial decision to pave a section of the West Meadow by Nov. 30. We asked about the hearings, meetings, public notifications and votes that led to, and ultimately authorized, City staff to add 100+ parking spaces in and around downtown.
On Friday, Ms. Howard told the Voice that her research – done in the limited time she had to respond to our questions – indicated that parking expansion was discussed at several meetings including the June 24, 2013 Commission meeting (during which a consultant presented the City-commissioned Parking Study), and the Sept. 6 Strategic Planning Session. According to Ms. Howard, the Commission did vote to formally “accept” the Parking Study during the June 24 meeting – and asked City staff to come back with specific recommendations to expand parking.
Click the button below to view the staff Parking Study analysis.
Staff Parking Study Analysis
Ms. Howard indicated that in the Sept. 6 Strategic Planning Session attended by Commissioners and City staff, Public Works Director Attaway presented his suggestions for creating 100+ additional downtown parking spaces including making/paving new spaces in the West Meadow. However, it appears that since this meeting was a work session – not a formal Commission/Board meeting – no actual vote was taken regarding the West Meadow paving, nor was any formal notice given to the community that City staff would implement the paving/parking expansion administratively (without a formal vote by the Commission).
Parking Expansion and Paving the Meadow Will Be Discussed in Today’s 3:30pm Commission Meeting.
Multiple sources have told the Voice that even though City Commissioners will discuss the City’s Parking Expansion plan, they may or may not decide to vote on paving the West Meadow. Sources confirm that inaction by the Commission could result in City staff moving forward as planned to pave the meadow and implement the rest of the Parking Expansion.
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