There were so many concerning and crazy things said at Tuesday night's Parking Study Committee meeting that I don't know where to begin. So, I'll just stick to two issues and hope to follow up later with more posts of what was said at what appears to have been the committee's final meeting.
Belton, Tom Depietro, Dewan Sarowar, Mohammed Rony, Dominic Merante and the parking consultant from Long Island are through with studying the Parking Study we paid $24,000 for a few years ago. (One wonders how much the most recent consultant was paid.) It's now up to our Police Chief and her Police Clerk (who will be doubling as the "Parking Chief") -- both who, apparently, constitute the city's new "Parking Bureau" -- to handle all matters parking, including getting all those kiosks up and running all over downtown so that the city can start swimming in parking revenue (six kiosks are already in the ground at parking lots waiting to be uncovered and utilized). Folks, things are going to get truly ugly, and our tax dollars will continue to be squandered in what is already an obviously poorly planned and executed effort to rid the city of parking meters. The Police Chief of the City of Hudson, whoever it might be, should not be thinking or talking for one moment about where to install a parking kiosk on a sidewalk or what rate to charge, let alone any other matter related to parking, no matter how large or small.
Here is what Jen Belton stated early in the meeting during what was a summation of the committee's efforts and accomplishments, as well as suggestions to the new Parking Bureau. Keep in mind that right now putting a quarter in an on-street parking meter will get you a half hour of time, and 2 quarters (50 cents) will get you a full hour. Meters do not offer more than two hours of time, though plenty of people (particularly downtown workers) leave their cars in spaces for several hours while filling the meters throughout the day.
"The payment for on street parking will be one dollar an hour for the first two hours plus a 40-cent convenience fee. That's for hookup to the network and also the credit card fee. Our consultant suggested that stays over two hours would become more expensive so they would double in price to encourage people to move but I don't know if that will actually happen."
Perhaps someday the Police Chief or Clerk can fill us in on that last idea.
In response to a question from fellow committee member Tom Depietro, Jen Belton also had this to say about the newly installed $10,000 parking kiosk at the rear of the city-owned parking lot (aka, 327 Columbia) that is used on weekdays by the Columbia County Mental Health Department at 325 Columbia Street. "On the weekends, there's no one in that building. But there are a lot of people parking in that lot [on weekends] because there are some new businesses that have opened up nearby. So, Chief Franklin thought it would be a good idea to place a kiosk there."
For the second consecutive Parking Study Committee meeting, Tom Depietro, the Common Council "President," proved that he had no idea that the city owns that large parking lot that is primarily used by the county. Tom's cogent contributions and astute observations for the Parking Study Committee -- along with Dewan Sarowar's and Dominic Merante's, of course -- will be sorely missed. We will all suffer without them and the rest of the study committee.
Take it away, HPD! And good luck -- we're counting on you!
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| A ten thousand dollar kiosk, only to be used by people parking in a lot in the 300 block of Columbia Street ON WEEKENDS! |
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