After making a proclamation declaring this Saturday “Small Business Saturday,” to help promote local businesses, the Montclair town council voted against bagging the parking meters around these shops during the two weeks before Christmas.
At last night’s council meeting, local shop owners came to plead their case on how important having the meters bagged is to their business during the holiday season. The council’s final decision was passing a resolution that would grant free parking for the three Saturdays before Christmas, but not the traditional two full weeks. The resolution passed 5-1, with Second Ward Councilor Cary Africk voting against it. By not having free parking for those weeks, the Montclair Parking Authority said it will save the town $50,000.
The Montclair Business Improvement District (BID) handed a petition to the council with nearly 350 signatures “respectfully seeking the council’s support to bag meters.”
Although the meters will not be bagged, Mayor Jerry Fried thought it was a “responsible compromise.”
Mayor Fried said that the free parking for those Saturdays will cost the town only $7,800.
Africk, who was in full support of bagging the meters, said a couple of years ago, he thought differently when the economy was better and didn’t think free parking was necessary. “Businesses are essential,” he said. “Free parking creates an atmosphere saying ‘come here, look around.'”
Third Ward Councilor Nick Lewis emphasized that we are not living in normal times right now and that the town faces more budget cuts and deficits in the next two years. “This particular decision is the first one in the series of difficult decisions we are going to face,” he said. “Unless Govt. Christie gets a brain transplant, there’s going to be no support coming from the state.”
Although Councilor-at-Large Roger Terry saw both sides of the debate, he focused his attention more on why the parking authority was not present at the meeting and why they waited until the last minute to put the decision on the town. “It’s upsetting that this has to come to the 11th hour,” he said. “Someone from the parking authority should have talked to businesses ahead of time to discuss this number.”
Co Co an Experience, Inc. owners Jack and Rose Connolly told the council that it is extremely important to every business to have meters bagged. “Customers come in and grieve to us that other towns haven’t bagged meters,” Jack Connolly said.
Montclair Feed owner Joel Tabor said he was “really disappointed” after the vote. “When people come here to move to Montclair they say it’s because of the shops,” Tabor said to the council before the vote. “Montclair needs these shops.”
Businesses do have the option to buy the meters in front of their stores and reserve them for their costumers, but only during the week.
In an email to Baristanet early this morning, Cary Africk offered his thoughts on last night’s decision not to “bag” the meters for the full holiday shopping season. Here’s what he said:
It is ironic that the Town Council issued a Proclamation last night supporting small business in Montclair, saying in that Proclamation, “small business is the heartbeat of local communities and the engine of the US economy …. for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.” The Council then proceeded to vote down bagging the parking meters, an action opposed by over 350 merchants in the downtown business district, and perhaps another 100 from Upper Montclair. Businesses in Montclair were ignored.
The Council then came up with a “compromise.” The “compromise” is for no ticketing for three Saturdays. There is no opportunity, nor signs, for people to actually know this is the case unless they read one of the other local media. The Mayor suggested people could find out about the “free Saturdays” if the retailers, perhaps, sent emails to people urging them to come shop, or buy advertising announcing “free parking for three Saturdays.” Sounds like they are counting on people being unaware that parking is free, and depositing quarters on those Saturdays even though they don’t need to. This is called deception, in my book.
There was no inkling of how the Parking Authority reached the $50,000 number. It does include the costs for the bags and bagging the meters, to clarify. As I pointed out last night, a few weeks ago the Parking Authority gave away free parking in the Upper Montclair lot, without asking the Council, after businesses adjacent to the lot suffered significant hits to their sales due to construction activities, which took over two months rather than the anticipated two weeks. Several of those business subsequently closed, as well as two others within a short walking distance.
The challenges posed to the Parking Authority go way beyond bagging the meters at Christmas time. A bad economy, a parking deck at Bay Street that ran over budget by 300% when built and will remain unprofitable, competition from a private lot, heavy operating costs, and so on. Taking it out on the business owners is wrong. Creating a vibrant economy in Montclair, one that would bring many more parkers, is part of the solution.
What exactly is the “Parking Authority”? How many people, how much in salaries and benefits, and what does this cost the town? They are responsible for the parking deck that went 300% over budget? They owe the town $850,000 — why do we need an “Authority” to collect parking money in the first place? I’ve offered to do it for a flat 10% of whatever comes in as a joke….but seriously. How many people does it take to count quarters and mismanage the building of a parking deck?
absolutely critical to a “vibrant economy” are people with disposable income to spend. Job one, Cary, is to end 5 and 6 percent tax increases every year. So projects like your $750,000 – $1,000,000 Park Street Beautification project are much more detrimental than a few quarters in the parking meter.
With a quick google search, I learned it’s 13 people. Only one of whom is responsible for broken meters and changing batteries etc. 13 people. Would it cost the town LESS to have no meters and no parking authority?
And yes, ROC ….for every additional tax dollar we pay for nonsense, there is one less tax dollar to spend to support our local businesses. I think the Mayor stated that this year the increase is an average of “only” about $800+ per household. Personally, I think that’s a lot.
As go the merchants in a town, so goes the town. Montclair’s merchants are struggling. We are a step away from having our formerly thriving commercial centers turn into half-deserted wastelands. Of course, our illustrious council would pick this area to finally take a cost cutting stance. Why do we not try to support our struggling local businesses and citizens? I’d love to know the total salaries of our “Parking Authority” members. Knowing Montclair, their annual salary increases this year were probably more than the cost of bagging the parking meters.
The real question is whether the Parking Authority is profitable or not. I doubt we need 13 people for the job; but without zero-based budgets we will never know.
Again, I wish our local leadership would force the town departments to justify their existence every 10 years or so with zero-based budgets.
Well we don’t know. But I’ll bet that the Authority is probably net loss for the town.
Right now, everything’s a net loss for the town. There is no money maker when you operate at a deficit.
I think the PA should be dissolved for reasons of transparency and oversight. But let’s not miss the forrest for the trees.
Parking meters and public parking lots don’t solely exist as revenue streams for the township. It would probably be cheaper to have no meters, no lots and no necessary enforcement. But this would also mean every available spot is filled all day with commuters and residents. Then you would have no viable local business district. So keep this stuff in perspective.
In my opinion, owing to a “build it and they will come” attitude of local politicians, our parking infrastructure is actually overbuilt (I’m looking at you, Bay Street and Orange Road). I don’t think we should ever expect to “make” a lot of money via parking. It would be nice if this activity paid for itself
Im not in favor of bagging the meters because the logic makes no sense to me. I want to shop locally, but the $0.75 I have to pay the meter will anger me enough to send me on a traffic laden 30 minute round trip journey to a mall?
For a group worried about every quarter, how about taking a walk on the south end of valley road on any sunday where 100’s of cars a parked directly under no parking any time signs. Where are the tickets then. Can’t get the MPA to work on Sunday? How much is a ticket? $38? Multiply that by every car parked there on Sundays. If the illegal parkers are forced to find other spots, perhaps they will pay to use the two decks within walking distance of the church they are attending. And the private lot nearby doesn’t charge $1 to park all day sunday. Would $2 kill anybody. Think, people!
And before the MPA existed, one would walk into the town clerk’s office to get a parking permit. Now there seem to be at least two full time people “managing” permits. Pu-lease!
All of this means that it’s a PERFECT time to spend $750K to reduce the amount of parking on South Park Street, right?
Don’t forget, folks, TONIGHT from 4:00pm – 8:00pm is your opportunity to investigate the proposed South Park “great room”:
https://www.baristanetnew.wpengine.com/2010/11/south-park-streets-rejuve-calls-for-public-comment/
The link says that “The design team and town will use public feedback to help further develop one of the two concepts.” I’ll be swinging by to give my feedback: DON’T DO IT! STOP IT! CUT IT OUT! PUT DOWN THE FISCAL CRACK PIPE.
While it’s easy for us to sit here and post that those 13 folks at the Parking Authority should all go (and they probably should, it sounds like an office staffed according to “Parkinson’s Law”), it might also be remembered that these folks too have families and bills to pay. Where shall they go if dumped?
Well, not any longer to Roche (which used to reliably pick up the slack from other closed large local operations, as it was always in search of relatively skilled production line workers).
PS: “Small Business Saturday,” while I’m unclear about its actual sponsors, is actually a national movement. Commercials touting it have been running on Fox News for some weeks already. (Or does that the commercials ran on odious Fox therefore negate its intended local value?)
“Small Business Saturday” was initiated by American Express.
Certainly a noble effort, but a “national movement”?
Hardly.
If Amex is making TV ad time buys on a large scale, (at least on both coasts, to my knowledge), croiagusanam, then yes, by golly, “Small Business Saturday” qualifies as a national movement.
Sorry! No time to respond.
I’m busy celebrating Domino’s Pizza “3 for 5” National Movement.
They’ve purchased ad time and by God, that makes it a national movement.
Just as long as you’re not springing for the pies in downtown Dublin tonight, croi. There’s an embattld (and “national,” as well as nationalist) political party there whose many economic brains would well appreciate your largesse.
I guess you’re referring to Sinn Fein. Good to see that they have something to do with themselves now that the war has ended. They are irrelevant.
The island has survived conquest, famine, war and staggering poverty. It will survive this as well.
Actually, croiagusanam, I was referring to Cowen’s party which currenty holds power via that shaky, soon-to-be-over coalition, not at all to Sinn Fein.
(Heretical as it may sound, I once had a certain amount of respect for “Official” Sinn Fein back in the days when Seaus O’ Tuathail was the editor of The United Irishman. It seemed to me that the Officials were making, alongside the relatively restrained bombings and killings from their “wing,” a somewhat serious effort to develop a genuine far left, populist sort of socialist movement. Those days also passed rather quickly, I acknowledge. As well, I can always go back, read my worn copy of “Eire Nua” and laugh at the hopelessness of it all…)
I’d like to dedicate this clip to ROC and cathar, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-ORlQfHWrQ
Spiro T., you really are a desperate sort, aren’t you? You’d like to come off as sort of Cratchet-like, but instead you always smack of Uriah Heep.
And, kind of like Adam Sandler movies for those of us past the intellectual age of 25 or thereabouts, you’re never really even remotely funny.
Suit yourself, cathar ol’ chap, as you walk the streets alone at night.
“Penny wise, Pound foolish”
Gee cathar, it sounds like you’re making fun of Spiro! That’s not right!
Perhaps you did mean Fianna Fail. Its always tough to tell what you’re talking about since you seem to value random insertions of monosyllabic words over any sort of coherent message in you offerings.
So be it. The government will change in Ireland. It will change, indeed it HAS changed, here too. The sun continues to come up, the tides rise and fall. Life goes on. And I can certainly envision you in one of those Official IRA confabs, smoking industriously and railing about the Brits just prior to collecting a dole cheque and doing mam’s shopping.
The 13 people are a volunteer board. Parking Authority has a director and assistant (who was pretty rude and dismissive when I called to find out about parking on the street overnight – must have a $5 permit, purchased ahead, btw). I’d love to hear some analysis of whether they have saved/generated revenue for the township.
I believe the Parking Authority was originally established to be a legal entity capable of issuing bonds to construct parking decks. It immediately expanded its role to manage the decks, then to manage on-street permits, then again to manage parking enforcement, and became the “employer” of the parking agents. It seems to me to be an unnecessary over-professionalization of a simple service, driven by the need for the Authority to have something to do.
Perhaps someone who better understands public financing could explain this. I think it is not so easy to eliminate this entity, as its bond obligations would likely flow straight to the township’s books.
Theoretically, the function of an “Authority” includes the ability to issue bonds. However, in this case the Town wound up issuing the bonds anyway! Indeed, the Town needed to establish a “Utility” in order to make all the financing neat.
The thought was, people tell me, to create a DEDICATED group that could get the decks built. They did this.
In a Town as contentious as Montclair, where we sometimes argue what day of the week it is, it is more than likely this was a good choice!
However, as I’ve written before, I have arranged for an independent analysis using a superb, OUTSIDE, NO COST, consultant who in conjunction with the Authority is analyzing it.
I’m just a little bit confused with the rationale for bagging the meters. It would seem to me that if they are bagged:
First come first served – stands to reason that the first to arrive will be the employees, that doesn’t help the merchants. Smart merchants don’t let staff hog the parking spaces closest to the stores.
Free parking without time limits reduces the turnover, making it harder for people to find spaces
75 cents for an hour parking does not seem like an impediment to Montclair shoppers, unless their is a Walmart or Costco in town that I have yet to see.