Charleston officials plan to have clear-cut recommendations for the city's parking system before the end of this year.
Sherry Risk, executive projects manager with the city manager's office, gave an update to Council's Finance Committee Monday on the progress of a monthslong parking assessment, just before businessman Martin Riggs proposed a project that would task the city with constructing a new parking garage next to the Union Building on Kanawha Boulevard.
Risk said city employees are aggregating data from a parking inventory that was collected during the first week of May, which will provide useful figures on occupancy percentages for specific areas, demand and turnover rates.
They plan to conduct a second inventory sometime in August before finalizing the data and drafting the report, which will be released before Thanksgiving, Risk said.
"We'll be able to look at charts, so we can see what we have [and] how it's actually being used on a given day and a given time," she said.
This summer, Risk said the city will continue studying the efficiency of the downtown parking system and hold public hearings and focus groups to get input from residents and business owners.
Risk also said the assessment will look at existing and future land use to help determine where additional parking may need to be developed in coming years.
In his presentation Monday, Riggs made the case for a new parking garage on city-owned property directly next to the Union Building, which he owns.
Riggs said he wants to redevelop the Union Building from commercial office space to residential condos, but only if the city is willing to build a parking garage that tenants could lease.
"Without this parking, the project doesn't work," Riggs said.
He also noted the economic benefits of constructing a restaurant or retail space on the first floor of the garage, considering the site's aesthetics and close vicinity to Haddad Riverfront Park.
Riggs estimated the garage could provide 200 spots.
City Manager David Molgaard said he plans to follow up with the architect who created the renderings for the parking garage.
He said having a restaurant on the ground floor "makes the most sense for the city."
"I don't think it makes sense from a city standpoint if it were just going to be a parking garage - at least I won't have that sense until I see data that suggests there's otherwise a need for that," Molgaard said, referring to the ongoing parking assessment.
Molgaard also noted some design challenges the project could pose.
"You'd still have to have back-of-house service areas and be able to accommodate ingress and egress ramps, in addition to having enough floor space for retail or a restaurant," he said.
He added there has been "absolutely no discussion" about how such a project would be financed, although he said a public-private partnership might be the most effective approach.
It's unclear how much the project could cost at this point.
Also on Monday, City Council voted to:
n Approve a resolution giving Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital an easement to construct an enclosed steam utility line over Brooks Street that will connect to the hospital
n Grant an easement to Appalachian Power Company for new and relocated facilities to accommodate the Civic Center project
n Authorized a sixth change order to the design-build contract with BBL Carlton for the Civic Center project. Fourteen changes were made to the project, adding $265,133 to its cost.
n Renewed an agreement with Suttle & Stalnaker for a procedures engagement with the city's Solid Waste Facility, operated by Landfill Services of Charleston
n Renewed the city's agreement with WasteZero for black refuse and clear recycling bags in the amount of $410,000. Councilman Courtney Persinger voted against the resolution.
"I vote against it every year. We're paying $50,000 to take our recyclables to Beckley, then paying $410,000 annually to buy trash bags. In my mind, that could certainly fund a recycling center in Charleston," Persinger said.
n Renewed the city's lease agreement with the Kanawha County Board of Education for space in the Martin Luther King Community Center to conduct Head Start programs.
n Recognized the city's Accounting Department for being awarded for the 10th straight year the "Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting" by the Government Finance Officers Association of the U.S. and Canada.
n Approved the purchase of six air mark systems and six spare air cylinders to be used by the Charleston Fire Department for $40,470
n Approved the purchase of 20 computers for Charleston Police Department vehicles for $73,780
n Approved the purchase of 56 Dell computers for various city departments in the amount of $100,630.
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