Members of the Transit and Parking Commission discussed raising parking rates to help pay for reconstruction and maintenance of major parking facilities Thursday.
The rate-raising proposal would increase on-street parking meters to $1.25 per hour and standardize surface lots to $1 an hour. The changes are planned to take effect Feb. 2006.
Parking operations manager Bill Knobeloch said funding for major renovations are needed, especially for the Government East Ramp. He said the $250,000 maintenance allocation for the ramp is making the city choose between what is most cost-effective, noting he thought rebuilding it would be a better option.
Knobeloch said building a new East Ramp would cost $15 million, and the rate-raising proposal would generate a needed $1.1 million annually. He stressed the need for raising this money, saying the city cannot afford to keep borrowing.
'We have a few big-ticket items coming down the road,' he said. 'I need to save up for these items, otherwise the debt service will be unbearable on [our parking customers].'
'$1 million is the base amount that needs to be raised to help fund major products; I'm willing to look at other options,' he said.
Knobeloch recommended increasing street enforcement times to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as an alternative option to raise funds.
City Council member Jed Sanborn said he liked this option, but wondered about the increased costs of enforcement.
'If we don't enforce the longer hours, they will be useless,' Knobeloch said. 'People are always testing these things.'
Director of Monona Terrace Jim Hess welcomed the proposal as a way to fund new parking facilities.
'There is a massive parking shortage,' he said. 'This is especially a problem when we have a conference.'
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said raising rates might be needed, but he is unhappy with the lack of public involvement.
'Enacting the rate raises Feb. 1, without allowing the public enough time to react would not be wise,' he said.
Verveer said he was apprehensive about breaking the $1 barrier for on-street parking, asking the TPC to schedule a public hearing on the matter.
Knobeloch maintained that an additional $1 million annually is needed; he noted he would address alternative fund-raising at next month's meeting.
'I would be delighted to get other ideas,' he said.
