Helena business owners and residents expressed concerns to city officials about the cost of parking permits and tickets in the downtown area Wednesday morning during a Helena Business Improvement District meeting.
The city's Business Improvement District invited city staff and community members to share their thoughts on monthly permit prices, parking availability and downtown parking locations.
Helena's parking department charges monthly fees starting at $60 for street parking, $70 for multi-storey parking, $85 for garage parking and $95 for multiple parking permits.
City Commissioner Andy Shirtliff participated in the morning roundtable where he and other city officials heard multiple complaints about downtown parking. He also encouraged attendees to suggest possible solutions.
“I know there's some frustration, and that's understandable, but I'd like to hear some suggestions, ideas, or ideas that you may have about how we can improve this together,” Shirtliff said at the beginning of the meeting. I want to hear your thoughts.”
In addition to concerns about parking locations, fees and enforcement raised by business owners during the hour-long meeting, multiple stakeholders proposed discounted parking permit fees for downtown employees as a solution.
City Parking Manager Tim Nickerson said during the meeting that the city already offers discounted permits to part-time employees, as well as 50% discounts for some underutilized parking lots. He said he was providing permission.
In addition, Nickerson said after the meeting that the city collected about $147,000 from parking tickets in fiscal year 2023. Those funds, along with other parking revenue, will help pay for a $500,000 loan the city received for new meters and parking kiosks installed in 2019, he said. That debt now stands at about $350,000.
During the meeting, Riley Tubbs, co-founder of 10 Mile Brewery, asked questions about the Department of Transportation's budget, specifically the salaries of the four parking lot workers.
“We seem to be running into a brick wall where you can add special spots for some of your employees,” Tubbs said. “…he takes away two tickets and ends up paying for all the tickets downtown.”
Helena resident Paul Pacini said the downtown community needs to get over the fact that parking facilities are in place and focus on finding other ways to pay off that debt other than parking fees and tickets. Ta.
“To be able to use a street for parking, whether it's employee parking, customer parking, residential parking, whatever it is, you need another source of income. , I don't even have to worry about how I'm going to pay for this damn parking meter. I need another source of income.”
City Manager Tim Burton suggested a group of downtown representatives continue to talk and find a solution.
“After today's meeting, I believe that if we can have more structured conversations and make policy decisions with proper analysis, we will not only improve our ability to repay our debts, but also improve the experience of people who are facing hardship. I think, take advantage of your business,” Barton said.
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