Paid Parking Proposals Rejected
Parking Committee Rejects Five Proposals
By: Destiny Malone | February, 2010
UPDATE: March 3, 2010 -- The City of Saratoga Springs will not instill a plan for paid parking. The city council has decided to nix the paid parking idea and keep public parking downtown free in the Spa City.
SARATOGA SPRINGS NY — In a February 22nd meeting, the Parking Advisory Committee in place to review and implement plans for paid parking in downtown Saratoga Springs rejected the five proposals submitted.
Committee Chairman and City Finance Commissioner Ken Ivins Jr. was hoping the committee would identify their two top proposals and make a recommendation, but Harvey Fox, owner of n. Fox Jewelers on Broadway and representative of the Downtown Special Assessment District, said they were all "totally flawed" as he made the motion to dismiss.
Saratoga Springs resident Brian Riley was the only member on the committee who did not want to reject all proposals, and he was willing to rank them. Other committee members described the proposals as "poison." Adirondack Trust Co. President and CEO Charles V. Wait wanted to get public input for a solution to the parking problem.
In addition to Fox, Riley and Wait, other members on the 11-member advisory board include Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Joe Dalton, Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau Director Kathlyn Denkenberger, former Design Review Commission Chairman Patrick Kane, Downtown Special Assessment District representative Tim Mabee, City Center President Mark E. Baker and Assistant Chief of Police Michael Biss.
The five rejected proposals were submitted to the city by companies from New York, Connecticut, Ohio and Tennessee. The city expects to bring in $400,000 to $700,000 in revenue from parking tickets after implementation of a paid-parking program.
There are two public workshops scheduled in early March to discuss paid parking. The first workshop will be at 6 pm on March 6 at City Hall, and the second is scheduled for 6:30 pm on March 8 at the Canfield Casino.
The Saratoga Springs City Council has the final say on awarding a bid for parking management.