City officials discussed major municipal projects at a workshop meeting on Tuesday, June 12, at City Hall.
The discussion of a Woodlawn Avenue parking proposal by a consortium of developers that includes Hudson-based nonprofit Community Initiatives Development Corporation, BBL Construction Services, Bonacio Construction and LaBella Associates, soon evolved into the discussion of paid parking in the city.
The conversation of paid parking has to be advanced, said Finance Commissioner Matt McCabe.
Bonacio Construction owner Sonny Bonacio said his proposal did not include any contingency for metered parking.
`As our elected officials, that’s something you can discuss,` he said.
Public Works Commissioner Tom McTygue said he would introduce a paid parking program to the City Council in the near future. He said he’s going to propose $8-a-day parking on the municipal deck at Putnam Street and Spring Street.
While McCabe estimated that would generate upwards of $150,000 annually for the city, that cannot be done with the city’s other municipal parking garage, as it was paid for partially with funds from Saratoga County. This prevents the city from charging for parking, McCabe said.
Public Safety Commissioner Ron Kim took issue with the proposal of having paid parking at one municipal garage and not the other, saying it would be unfair.
The council scheduled the workshop after receiving two proposals for the Woodlawn parking project. One of those, submitted by a group of companies led by Turner Construction Co. of Albany, was described by McCabe as `more of a letter of inquiry.`
Bonacio and BBL’s proposal came hand-in-hand with the nonprofit Community Initiatives Development Corporation. Their proposal incorporates the city’s new public safety building and a 500-space parking lot. The emergency services building would be leased back to the city for 30 years at $28.10 per square foot. They would put the rest of the property back on the tax rolls for private development once the garage is completed.
Construction could begin on the facility, across Woodlawn from Stewart’s, this November. The CIDC also proposes establishing a $200,000 fund to help the city establish a municipal parking authority when the garage is completed. In a drawing in the proposal, the garage is shown as six stories. The property at 6 Woodlawn Ave. is currently a 150-space free public parking lot on 1.58 acres.
McCabe said he wasn’t sold on the prospect of leasing back the property at that rate, citing the city’s good bond rating.
`I believe there is a better economic way for this city to go,` he said. `We don’t need to lease.`
Kim, whose department has spearheaded the research into a new emergency services facility, asked the council to consider what the cost of leasing back the property would be in the future, if the city did not take action soon. He also noted the opportunity to address two of the city’s biggest needs.
`I think, first of all, this is an extremely intelligent response to two issues that aren’t going to go away,` Kim said.
Kim said that in City Hall, `there is simply not enough room. What this proposal offers is a way to actually move the ball.`
Kim expressed his frustration at seeing construction costs rise while the council mulls the possibilities.
`The failure of this City Council to recognize that is irresponsible,` he said. `I think the voters are going to get fed up with the wait-and-see attitude.“