Parking fees on the rise as city OKs hike

The Bloomington City Council passed a resolution Wednesday night that confirms the council's commitment to raise parking fees in the future. \nThe increase was one part of a resolution on the redevelopment of a city-owned property on the southwest corner of 7th Street and College Avenue.\n"The goal of this project is to provide adequate parking and redevelop downtown at the same time," Council President Chris Gaal said.\nThe Regester Parking Garage currently sits at that site on 7th Street, but the city, through the Redevelopment Commission, has requested bids for a public-private partnership to redevelop the site. \nA developer has come up with a plan to build a mixed use building on the site, consisting of a hotel, residential, commercial space and a parking facility.\nThe city wants to lease the parking facility back from the developer. Funds for this lease-back would not be available unless the Council approves a parking fee increase and annual appropriations to cover the lease back costs, City Controller Tom Guerva said. \n"We looked at the current expenditures on parking and realized we need to derive $642 per parking space per year," Guerva said at the council meeting.\nGuarva also said current metered spaces generate around $320 to $340 per year, spaces in the five-day-per-week/13-hour-per-day garages generate around $440 per year and the lots open 24 hours per day, seven days a week generate $540 per year.\nThe resolution does not commit the council to a specific number for the increase. It passed unanimously. \nCouncilman Andy Ruff expressed frustration with past redevelopment projects.\n"I'm a little concerned about supporting more public-private partnerships until I feel like we figure out what to do with the Thompson site," Ruff said, referring the the factory abandoned by Thompson Consumer Electronics in the early 1990s. "We spent a lot of public money on redevelopmening that." \nThe Thompson factory is still empty.\nAlso passing 8-0 at the meeting was a $22,000 appropriation to Shelter, Inc, a local social service agency, that provides temporary housing for the homeless in Bloomington. \nJames McNamara, a representative of the mayor's office, emphasized to the council that this was a one time support for Shelter Inc, which has struggled with a decline in contributions and fiscal irregularities.\nCouncil members said they were concerned about Shelter's fiscal problems but were confident the organization would iron out the problems. \n"The need for emergency shelter is without question," Councilman Tim Mayer said. "I find it woeful that our federal and state governments push aside the neediest in our communities. Bloomington stands out because we provide, but it pinches us tightly"