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| PARKING AUTHORITY MINUTES |
SPECIAL MEETING
ATTENDANCE: Urban Mulvehill, Chairman; Burton Shatz; Troy
Jellerette; Luis Garcia.
STAFF: Kathryn Hebert, Public Works; Harold Alvord, Director of Public Works; Ed Schmidt, Mayor’s Assistant.
OTHERS: Mike Kuziak, Cornelius
Thompson & Frank Del Monaco, LAZ; Robert Cavello, Westview Group LLC.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 by the Chairman,
who introduced Mr. Alvord, the new Director of Public Works.
AUTHORIZE AN AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH BRUCE
SPIEWAK TO PERFORM CODE REVIEW WORK FOR THE FIT OUT OF THE PARKING BUREAU AT
THE MARITIME GARAGE, FOR A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $2,500
Ms. Hebert said it was determined
that code work needed to be evaluated. Mr. Spiewak is a code person, and they
would like to amend the contract to have him do the additional code work.
Mr. Shatz asked why this was
above and beyond the responsibilities in his contract. Mr. Cavello said this
was not part of the original project. They are going from a storage usage to a
habitable space. Mr. Shatz asked who is doing the design work. The Chairman
said this is a space on the second floor that LAZ thinks they can use as their
office. The proposal was made to have it fit out as an office space. This was
not part of the original plan.
Mr. Garcia said whoever is going
to do this work should be a person hiring Mr. Spiewak. They are going to need
an architect as well. Mr. Shatz asked if LAZ has architects or engineers; Ms.
Hebert said they do not.
Mr. DelMonaco said right now they
just need to know if this is feasible from a code standpoint.
Mr. Shatz said that the design
work was authorized by the City and asked if they are comfortable with
additional costs and fees. The Chairman said that the fact that it will cost
money for architects and review is coming up for the first time. Mr. Shatz said
that $2,500 is a little pricey and Mr. Garcia agreed.
The Chairman said that the first step is to find out if this can be done. Mr. Shatz said this is the “why not” syndrome and they have to be rational about it.
Mr. DelMonaco said that the idea
is not for this to be class A office space; it is to allow them to house the
current office staff.
The Chairman asked if there was a problem with asking the Building
Department to look at this. Ms. Hebert said that they had been asked and they recommended
that Mr. Spiewak do this work. The Chairman asked why staff could not do the
code analysis. Mr. Shatz said he would be surprised if code issues come up. It
is this Authority’s responsibility to monitor costs rather than to take the
easy way out.
Mr. DelMonaco said they will be
working all throughout the City.
Mr. Shatz suggested they hire an architect who will include code analysis in his report. The Chairman said they first want to find out if there are any problems that would prevent this project from being done. Ms. Hebert said, in terms of an architect, the recommendation is to amend Desmond’s contract, at an estimated cost of $10,000, for the design work. Mr. Shatz said this cost is high. Mr. Cavello said that the biggest issues are fire separation, fire rating between castees and habitable space. The idea is that Mr. Spiewak has a handle on the project and can run through this quickly. Maybe they want to ask for a “quick and dirty” (3 hour) code review.
Mr. Schmidt asked how long it
would take to obtain the report from Spinaker. Ms. Hebert said her goal would
be to get it by the January 28th Parking Authority meeting. Mr.
Schmidt said they would then be able to get a more accurate report from the
designer. Approval of garage facility design work could then be put on that
agenda. Ms. Hebert said there could be completion by April. Mr. Schmidt said
that Mr. Lo of the Redevelopment Agency and Mr. Sweeney from Public Works are
assisting with this effort. The goal is to save money and design this to be
cost effective.
** MR. MULVEHILL MOVED TO AUTHORIZE AN AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH BRUCE SPIEWAK TO PERFORM CODE REVIEW WORK FOR THE FIT OUT OF THE PARKING BUREAU AT THE MARITIME GARAGE, FOR A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $2,500. ACCOUNT NO. 21 40 90 5258.
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
APPROVE
THE COMPLETE INTERIOR SIGNAGE PACKAGE INCLUDING THE PARKING AUTHORITY LOGO
Mr. Jellerette asked if there would be a sign
relating to people who don’t leave by a certain time. Mr. DelMonaco said that has
not been decided but there will be way by which the fee can be paid. Mr.
Schmidt pointed out that this garage will close in the early morning hours.
Mr. Garcia said that the signs should be large
enough so that people can see them. Mr. DelMonaco said they will see, as time
goes by, if there are any problems. This will be monitored, and adjustments
will be made as they go forward.
In response to a request from Mr. Shatz, Ms. Hebert
left the meeting to bring back mock-ups of each sign.
Mr. Cavello said that on December 31st,
the Building Department and the Fire Marshal had re-reviewed the facility and
found it acceptable to open. There will be a meeting with LAZ and Spinaker on
Monday to schedule the soft opening with the Spinaker Lock Building tenants. They
have a conditional C.O. They plan to bring in the Lock Building tenants in
three phases, starting tomorrow.
Ms. Hebert brought in the signs for the members’
review and Mr. Thompson showed everyone the shirts that will be worn by LAZ
employees.
Mr. Jellerette asked the reason for the delay and
the soft opening, and Mr. DelMonaco said there were problems with the fire
alarm system, and it was difficult to get the parts over the holidays.
Mr. Kuziak said there will be people on site by 6:30
tomorrow morning. This will be a good test. As work continues, as soon as the
central cashier area is ready, they should be able to open the garage to
everyone. The goal is January 15th. The formal opening ceremony is
scheduled for January 30th.
** MR. MULVEHILL MOVED TO APPROVE THE COMPLETE INTERIOR SIGNAGE PACKAGE, INCLUDING THE PARKING AUTHORITY LOGO.
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Discussion took place on the rates. Mr. Schmidt said
that the 3-hour break was adopted for the Maritime Aquarium. Mr. Shatz said
that stops people from leaving the Aquarium and going to lunch. Mr. Thompson
said that the first hour is only $1. Mr. Schmidt said this is the rate that was
approved by the Common Council, with the idea that with three to six months’
experience, they will have the data for evaluation. Mr. Shatz asked if this
could be modified. Mr. Schmidt said they should consider this after they have
more data. The Chairman said his concern is that people may be very unhappy. He
would be more comfortable with having a per-hour fee after the third hour, up
to a maximum. Mr. Schmidt suggested that LAZ survey the users. There was
agreement that rates would be discussed at another meeting.
RECOMMENDATION FROM LAZ TO CONTRACT WITH ALL AMERICAN POOL
FOR SNOW REMOVAL SERVICES
Mr. Shatz said if they have 7 to 8 inches of snow,
they end up paying twice as much for plowing. Mr. Thompson noted the difficulty
in finding a new company mid-season. This is only for one year and this can
then be re-bid. Mr. Thompson noted that sidewalks are separate. Mr. Schmidt
said this is a slightly revised version of the bid since December 10th.
Spinaker is going to pick up a portion of the costs. It was noted that the
proposal has been amended.
The Chairman noted that everything that the
contractor is doing will be at LAZ’s request; Mr. Thompson said that was
correct.
Mr. Jellerette asked Ms. Hebert if they were happy
with this contract. Ms. Hebert said they were happy; it made sense for now.
** MR. MULVEHILL MOVED TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATION FROM LAZ PARKING TO CONTRACT WITH ALL AMERICAN POOLS FOR SNOW REMOVAL SERVICES FOR PARKING FACILITIES INCLUDING THE ADJACENT SIDEWALKS AND STAIRS FOR THE FOLLOWING FACILITIES: SOUTH NORWALK RAILROAD STATION PARKING GARAGE WESTBOUND ($12,000) AND EASTBOUND SIDES ($12,000) AND THE MARITIME GARAGE ($15,000) FOR A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $39,000. AND, APPROVE THE CONTINUATION OF THE NORWALK DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS SNOW REMOVAL OPERATION FOR ALL OTHER PARKING FACILITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003-04 TO BE CHARGED AGAINST THE $40,000 PUBLIC WORKS ALLOCATION.
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
REVENUE
CONTROL EQUIPMENT PURCHASE FOR THE SOUTH NORWALK RAILROAD STATION
Mr. DelMonaco made a presentation on how the
eastbound side would be treated. The original proposal eliminated the access
way between Henry Street and Monroe Street. Because of concerns expressed
earlier, they will allow the free flow of traffic between Henry and Monroe. Mr.
Schmidt said that the revenue control system to be put in is similar to the Maritime
lot. Mr. DelMonaco said they would collect fees in an automatic fashion and
reduce costs significantly. They will revisit the police department issue when
they have relocated in a year.
The Chairman said that the original plan was to put
a traffic control device at every entrance. Some level of free flow should be
allowed. Mr. Shatz asked if this would be a route that emergency vehicles would
go through. Mr. DelMonaco said this has been discussed with police and fire and
no objections were voiced.
Mr. Schmidt said this design substantially reduced
the request for revenue equipment. In addition, tickets were being issued,
which has been stopped.
It was noted that fees are collected on a monthly
basis now rather than on a yearly basis. Mr. Thompson said that on March 1st,
people will be able to pay on-line. The Chairman suggested they collect on the
fifth of the month. It was noted that people can pay in advance and that as of
February, the waiting list will be eliminated. Mr. DelMonaco pointed out that
there is currently no symmetry between the South Norwalk and East Norwalk
stations, but there will be soon.
Mr. Jellerette asked about the disparity in terms of
pricing between the two stations. Mr. DelMonaco said they are looking into
this.
Mr. Schmidt noted that discussion is taking place on
the Merritt 7 lot. A study has to be done on the regular users of this lot.
CONNDOT would like the City to take this over and preliminary meetings are
taking place. Mr. Schmidt said that CONNDOT has a lease with the Rowayton
station; the City has no control over that.
Mr. DelMonaco said they would like approval of the
expenditure for the Capital equipment they need. They need equipment the same
as that in the Maritime Garage. This equipment will eliminate the need for
cashiers and will pay for itself within one year.
Discussion took place on whether the existing
equipment could be resold. Mr. DelMonaco said this equipment is at the end of
its useful life.
It was noted that $46,000 would be saved in
operating costs.
Mr. Shatz asked where the funding would come from.
Mr. Schmidt said this would be purchased by April at the earliest, but payment
will not be made until July 1st (next fiscal year). No bonding would
be required.
Mr. Kuziak noted that the current equipment is
antiquated and will require more money to maintain. In addition, there is a
huge customer service issue.
The Chairman asked if there is a space on the
eastbound side to put in equipment. Mr. Cavello said they are looking into it.
Ms. Hebert said that the concessionaire is allowed to sub out vending machine
operators. They can tell the concessionaire that they don’t want that equipment
and the concessionaire will have to move it. Mr. Cavello said he would report
back at the January 28th meeting.
In reference to monthly vs. annual parking permits,
Ms. Hebert pointed out that the yearly permits are heavily discounted. Mr.
DelMonaco said that they need the flexibility because of demand in the garage.
Mr. Mulvehill said probably 50% to 60% of the users
at the East Norwalk station elect to go to that station.
In response to a question from Mr. Garcia, Mr.
Schmidt said stopping use of the St. Thomas lot is a work in progress. The City
wants to discuss having the DOT take over this lot.
** MR. MULVEHILL MOVED TO APPROVE THE REVENUE CONTROL EQUIPMENT PURCHASE FOR THE SOUTH NORWALK RAILROAD STATION FOR A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $255,000 ($40,000 EASTBOUND SIDE/$213,000 WESTBOUND SIDE INSIDE THE GARAGE).
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
APPROVE
THE OPERATING EXPENSES FOR THE BALANCE OF FISCAL YEAR DECEMBER 31, 2003-JUNE
30, 2004
Members reviewed the proposed operating expenses.
Mr. Thompson said this budget will show a loss this year but a surplus next
year. Mr. Schmidt said this is not a static budget; it is a work in progress.
The Chairman said his concern was that any loss
would be on the Parking Authority budget, and they have not budgeted for that.
** MR.
MULVEHILL MOVED TO APPROVE THE OPERATING EXPENSES, AS PRESENTED, FOR THE
BALANCE OF THE FISCAL YEAR, DECEMBER 31, 2003-JUNE 30, 2004.
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
APPROVE
THE PROFORMA OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004-05
Mr. Schmidt said that the Parking Authority budget
has to be finalized by the fifth of April. Changes will be made. Last year’s
projection was a loss of $261,000. Due to the efforts of the Parking Authority,
there will be no loss this year.
** MR. MULVEHILL MOVED TO APPROVE THE PROFORMA OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2004-05.
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
ACTION ON
ANY ITEM DISCUSSED HEREIN
All actions were
taken under the relevant agenda headings.
** MR. MULVEHILL MOVED TO ADJOURN.
** MOTION
PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was
adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Cheryl Telesco
Telesco Secretarial
Services
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