PARKING BOARD
MINUTES
APRIL 5, 2010
1. CALL TO ORDER 4:30 p.m. by Mr. Spatafore
ROLL CALL Mr. Spatafore, Mr. Bouchard, Mr. Caggiano, Mr. Doggett and Mr. Walsh and Parking Director James Hacker.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Caggiano made a motion to approve the minutes of March 1, 2010. Mr. Bouchard seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried.
3. REPORT OF BOARD MEMBERS
There were no reports from Board members.
4. INFORMATION & CORRESPONDENCE
Mr. Hacker distributed the spreadsheets for revenues through February for the parking garage and office and stated that February 2009 had an error and therefore 2010 can not be compared to 2009. He distributed spreadsheets for the lots and meters, and stated they are up 33.4% from 2009, which is likely due to the pay by space machines at the Church and Bridge Street lots. He distributed the Visitor Center statistics and noted that they were down 22%.
Mr. Hacker stated that Nelson/Neygaard, the consultant that is undertaking the parking study, will be have a presentation meeting on April 15, 10:00 am at 120 Washington Street in order to preview the report recommendations. The tentative public hearing dates are 4/20 or 4/27.
Mr. Hacker stated that cleaning and sprucing up of the garage will begin next week.
Mr. Hacker stated that his department has begun leafleting and ticketing has begun on the entrance corridors for street sweeping.
Mr. Bouchard asked if anyone is looking at the garage leaking.
Mr. Hacker stated that he is working with the Engineering Department and they have identified one major leak at the first expansion joint. The leak probably cannot be fixed for another 60 days, until it warms up.
Mr. Bouchard stated that there is no change in the valet parking development.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no unfinished business.
A letter was submitted from Mayor Driscoll in support of a proposal by Zipcar. Present from Zipcar were Neal Glazier and John Crooks. Also present was Jason Silva of the Mayor’s Office.
Mr. Glazier stated that they have been working with the Mayor’s Office for a couple of months. He stated that Zipcar began in Cambridge more than 10 years ago. People choose to use Zipcar because car ownership is expensive – parking, insurance, maintenance, etc. He noted that Salem already has approximately 150 active and non-active members and they have gotten a high volume of requests to have Zipcars in Salem. They propose to place 6 Zipcars, 2 each in the Church Street, Sewall Street and Riley Plaza West lots. He stated that Zipcars help increase local spending by residents, because they give up car ownership and do more local shopping.
Mr. Walsh asked if they were seeking to get the six spaces for free.
Mr. Crooks replied in the affirmative and stated that he is the Fleet Manager. They would enter into a two year agreement, which can be revisited after the two years.
Mr. Glazier stated that they started in Boston with free spaces and then revisited the contract.
Mr. Doggett stated that he would like to see a formal written request.
Mr. Glazier stated that the Zipcar use is for round trips only and most people use a car for 1-2 hour trips during the week, with longer trips on the weekends.
Mr. Crooks stated that users are members and reserve the cars. They have a membership card that unlocks the car. It is all wireless. He stated that the cars are cleaned every week and that they rely on member reports if the car has an issue. He noted that they have a liability policy with Liberty Mutual.
Mr. Walsh asked if any liability for the city was covered by the policy. He stated that he did not want any city liability.
Mr. Crooks stated that he could provide a copy of the policy.
Mr. Caggiano asked if there were enough Salem members to support the six cars.
Mr. Crooks stated that they did not yet and that it is a little risk for them. They need to try to build membership in Salem to over 300.
Mr. Crooks stated that the volume of requests for Salem is greater than anywhere else they are currently not serving.
Mr. Walsh asked if they knew the demographics of the current Salem members.
Mr. Glazier replied in the negative. He noted that they must be 21+.
Mr. Doggett asked who is Zipcar’s largest competitor.
Mr. Glazier stated that there is no direct competition in Boston and that car owners are the largest competition.
Mr. Doggett asked if there would be a non-compete provision in the agreement with the city.
Mr. Glazier replied in the negative.
Mr. Walsh asked if any of the communities that they are in get paid for the parking spots.
Mr. Crooks replied in the affirmative and noted Brookline did not get paid at first, same as they are requesting in Salem. He noted that Brookline now has an agreement for which Zipcar pays for the spaces. He noted that for public spaces for which they pay for the spaces, it is typically the market rate for the space.
Mr. Glazier stated that their typical model is 1-2 years with no pay and then renegotiate years 3, 4 and 5 for revenues. He stated that they are also hoping to enter into an agreement with Salem State College.
Mr. Walsh stated asked what they do in the Winter when it snows.
Mr. Crooks stated that if a vehicle is in a spot, they send teams to shovel within 24 hours after the snow stops.
Mr. Walsh asked what kind of feedback the city will get from car rental places who may want free space.
Mr. Silva stated that it is a different concept.
Mr. Spatafore suggested that the City Solicitor review the proposal.
Mr. Doggett stated that the Board cannot vote tonight and that it would need to be placed on a posted agenda.
Mr. Hacker suggested that members forward any questions that they have for the City Solicitor to him and he will forward them all at once to the City Solicitor.
Mr. Doggett stated that he did not feel Zipcar had a user-friendly website.
Mr. Doggett made a motion to table discussion to the next meeting. Mr. Caggiano seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried.
Mr. Doggett stated that he was concerned with setting precedent for allocation of spaces, especially with there being condo owners that want to have a space or other rental companies that pay taxes in the city.
Mr. Hacker stated that it will be a licensing agreement, not a lease.
Mr. Caggiano questioned if the Parking Board had the authority, or if the authority was with the City Council.
Mr. Hacker stated that the Board does not have the authority on the streets, but are more in control of the city lots. He noted that since the lots are metered, he was not sure.
Mr. Caggiano stated that there are empty spaces in these lots, so the city is not necessarily loosing revenue.
Mr. Doggett stated that he felt the Board needed something from Zipcar in writing that specifies their request.
The next meeting will be May 3, 2010.
8. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mr. Caggiano made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Doggett seconded the motion, all were in favor and the motion so carried. The meeting adjourned at 5:26 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jane A. Guy
Secretary
| 
