5. HRSR 11-05-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Minutes Page 5 October 8, 2007 permits requested and only 96 parking spots available in the King Ave lot, parking would be on a first come, first served basis. ^ Residential parking -assign across Highway 10, on the south side of the tracks, west of Jackson. Staff would advocate that significant enhancements be made to that lot including: parking lot overlay, lighting, and other security features as directed by the Council. Council discussion took place on the employee permitting process. Ms. Johnson reviewed the motion the Council approved on September 17, 2007, reverting back to the former permitting system issuing yearly permits with a nominal yearly fee of $20 per permit. Councilmember Motin stated that he agreed with the first two or three recommendations in the staff report but did not agree with the other recommendations. Councilmember Gumphrey expressed concern over charging the public a fee for a parking permit. Councilmember Motin indicated that he believes that the fee should be higher to help cover costs associated with the permitting process. Councilmember Farber indicated that the city should acknowledge the fact that having pedestrians crossing Highway 10 is not the most ideal situation but agreed that labeling the intersection dangerous would land lock the downtown area. He stated that the parking lot needs to be utilized but should not be a permanent solution to the parking problem. Councilmember Farber questioned if there is a way to make the intersection more pedestrian friendly, especially in the winter. Public Works Director Terry Maurer indicated that he and Phil can develop a plan to ensure that snow is properly removed from the pedestrian route. Mr. Maurer stated that he contacted the District 3 Traffic Engineer for MnDOT to see what other forms of signage can be installed to make crossing Highway 10 more pedestrian friendly. Councilmember Gumphrey questioned what the plan is for the residents that require overnight parking. Chief Beahen explained that he has received 42 requests for parking permits in the King Avenue lot. He stated that he cannot find a way that co-mingling the residents with the employees and customers will efficiently work. Councilmember Gumphrey indicated that he is only concerned with providing parking spaces for the previous nine residences that requested parking. He stated that he is not concerned with the Jackson Square residents as they have already each been provided one parking stall. Councilmember Motin stated the King Avenue parking lot is a public parking lot and he does not believe any downtown residents should have dedicated parking stalls. He stated that he would support three-hour parking for the business part of the day, such as 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., and allowing anyone to park overnight. He doesn't see the harm with overnight parking but believes the snow removal issues need to be addressed. He noted that if those hours do not work for people they would have to park across Highway 10. Mayor Klinzing stated that it does not make sense to her to not allow overnight parking the entire year because of potential snow plow issues. Councilmember Zerwas concurred.