Planning Board - Regular Meeting

Welcome to City of Keen in Focus. Thanks so much for listening. Hello and welcome to our next episode of City of Keen in Focus. My name is Asa Kramer and I am joined today by Elizabeth Furland, our city manager, and Chelsea North, our parking operations manager. Hi you two. Good morning. Good morning. How's everyone doing today? Good. I'm really excited to have Chelsea on today to talk about all things parking. She's been doing a lot of really great things with the parking system in general. And so, she's going to talk to us about that after we talk about the very quick council meeting last night. Yeah, it was a fast one. I was surprised.

Half an hour, 40 minutes, something like that. It was really quick. Yeah. Not a lot on the agenda, honestly. We had a couple of items we're just accepting asformational that people might be interested in. And one of them is the budgeting and tax rate discussion that we had at the finance committee last week. So there was a presentation by Dan Langel, our city assessor, and Carrie Chamberlain, our finance director, about the budget and how the budget process works. And then Dan talked about how that impacts the tax rate and about the upcoming revaluation of our values in the city and how that will impact the tax rate. And one of the things he did which was I thought really cool. He had a little calculator at the end of the presentation.

I love to see that. I thought that was a really cool representation of how the different numbers and different elements really affect each other. I thought that was a really good way to demonstrate that.

Yeah. So, we're going to put the PowerPoint up on the finance department's website. It helps you to actually visually see what happens when the values of the city go up and how much of a change in the budget influences the overall tax rate. And it really also helps you to see that we're only one portion of the tax rate. The rest of the tax rate is made up of the school budget and the county budget, things that the city council don't have control over. And the other thing last night we accepted as informational was the capital planning workshop that we just recently had. So on Tuesday we had a workshop with the city council and planning board members and some members of the public to kick off our capital planning program. And so capital planning is really for two things. Projects that are $50,000 and have a life of 5 years. So that's the minimum. It has to be a $50,000 or more project with a life of 5 years or more. Or a program. So we have several reoccurring programs in the city that we plan for such as radios. Radios for both police and fire are part of a combined program in the capital plan. And so that presentation that we did on Tuesday night will also be available on the city's website in the finance department. We'll be talking a lot more about the capital plan this week. So on Tuesday we have a special FOP meeting. So FOP is the finance organization and personnel committee meeting and that's going to start at 5:30. And the reason for that is to start going through the capital plan really page by page, department by department. And then on Thursday, we'll have another early start for the finance committee at 5:30 to go

through the rest of the departments in the capital plan. And so I really encourage anyone interested to attend those meetings and ask your questions because we will have everyone there that needs to be there to be able to answer those questions. And so we talked a little bit about that last night. The other thing that the council approved last night was a payment in lie of tax agreement with Cedarrest. And so for nonprofit agencies that qualify and there are educational institutions, there are government institutions and there are some nonprofit organizations that qualify for tax exemption under the state law. So that's nothing that the city approves or creates. It's something that's at the state level and if they qualify for that property tax exemption, we initially have a conversation with them about the possibility of providing some sort of contribution to the city of Keen for the services that they require. In this example, Cedar Crest is a a wonderful organization in our community and we've done some really good work with them and have a really good partnership with them. And so we had a conversation with them about a payment in law of tax agreement. And while they couldn't really offer much in terms of a payment, they did want to support and recognize the fire and ambulance service because they do recognize that we're there a lot with the ambulance. And so they created a payment in le of tax agreement with the city to fund about $5,300 a year in class A uniforms for the fire department. Now, the class A uniforms is something that has been cut from the budget for a number of years and something that we'd love to get back. We just haven't been able to afford it. So, in talking with the fire chief, this was something that we could do gradually over time and we're very excited to have this agreement with

Cedar Crest and we're very grateful for their contribution. So I think those were the couple of big items that we talked about sort of things that are coming up in terms of budgeting and capital planning and then the approval of that tax agreement. There were a couple of things that referred to committee and then finally the approval of the change in the total disability veteran tax credit. So this was something that was reviewed at the finance committee last week as well. And what the assessor explained to us is there was some changes in the law. So in the past, if you are totally disabled and you qualify as a veteran for this credit, you were able to get that plus an additional credit for $300. And now the law has changed and you're not able to get both of them. You're getting one or the other. So, the council supported increasing the total disability veteran tax credit by that $300 to make sure that there was no reduction in the upcoming year for the credit for our veterans. And so, that also occurred last night. They approved that resolution and then as part of the city's revaluation process, we will be looking at all exemptions and credits this upcoming year.

Thanks for that overview. Yeah, it sounds like a lot of really good items. So, should we Yeah, let's dive into parking. So, Chelsea has a few different things she wants to talk to us about. One of the things that we did just recently, I think it was back in May, we created some additional flexibility for our parking zones. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Yes, we had made a number of changes in the parking department. So, we changed vendors for our back office and enforcement software. And because of this change, we also took the opportunity to change a few other things since we have to do a lot of coordination with the vendors that way. And one of the things that was evaluated was the structure with the zones that were set up with Park Mobile back in 2015 2016. When Park Mobile came in, they evaluated all the streets within the parking system. And the way that they separated the zones in most cases was the size of the streets. So we will take Main Street for example which generally has the middle section and has the outside sidewalks. Park mobile decided in this particular section of Main Street to parse it out into four sections. So each side of the middle section was actually two zones

and then opposite sides of the street were an additional two zones. So every street was split into two at least and that made for about 43 zones I think we ended up with. Wow. Yeah. Which is a lot.

That is a lot. With the pay stations that came in around that same time, we didn't have as many of them, but they were also kind of isolated to those same zones. And we ended up with some zones like on Emerald Street that only had probably seven or eight parking spaces that people could use. So that was a very tiny zone. And as time has gone by, we recognized that this is causing a lot of confusion for customers because, you know, if you're using your phone and you're zooming in on a map, sometimes the tag that pops up is the wrong tag for the street. And so people would click that tag to pay for their parking and end up parking in the wrong zone even though they're on the same street. Yeah.

So that was causing a lot of issues. Another issue that came about was that people were getting frustrated with the fees that they had to pay. So if they wanted to move from Central Square, which was a separate zone from Main Street, they would have to pay for the processing fee again. So and start a new session. So if they had time left over on their session, they just wanted to move down to a lower part of Main Street, they'd have to pay for another session, which is frustrating. Yeah. So we decided with this change in the vendor to start consolidating some of the zones and cleaning up some signs downtown and also coordinating with other vendors that we have with the pay stations to make it a little bit easier for people to figure out where they should pay for parking and how they should pay for parking.

That's great. having the ability. So, if someone's shopping downtown or they're going out to eat for lunch and then they want to shop downtown, they now have more flexibility because the zones are larger to be able to move their car and not have to pay over again. The other thing I know that parking does is if you accidentally pay in the wrong zone,

if you bring that in, I mean, you basically void the ticket. If someone shows you that they paid in the wrong zone, it was a mistake, you'll take care of that. Yeah, we recognized that that was a a common issue and from the enforcement side, it was hard for them to identify where the cars are because there's so many cars that they look through every day with the license plates that if they're trying to just look in one zone and somebody's parked across the street, they're not necessarily looking across the street to make sure that they've paid because that's not very efficient with their time management. So, we do work with people currently and in the past with mistakes. Yeah. human error and it still happens but it's happening less frequently which is good.

Yeah, that's really good. Yeah, I mean the parking team is just fabulous. They do a ton in a day and they are just friendly. In the past I think they got a bad reputation which was very unfair. They're just doing their job and you know they don't want to give you a ticket but it's their job if you haven't paid for parking to do that. And I think honestly since you know I've been here for over eight years and I have just seen the change in the parking enforcement and how we go about doing it and we are always looking for ways to make it easier for people to park and to be able to make it easier for them to move from one spot to another. And obviously we don't want to charge fees but those additional fees are not controlled by us.

Yes. Yes, the fees that are charged at the pay stations and through Park Mobile go to the vendor as part of our agreement with the equipment and they're providing the software and the ways for people to pay that those processing fees go to them. Yeah. And I know that's that's frustrating, but if we were paying those park mobile fees, the cost would have to be higher.

Mhm. I wanted to touch base about a couple of other benefits with the zone flexibility. So, in the past with all of the very isolated zones, we would have a pay station on one side of the street and sometimes people would want to pay at the pay stations because they accept credit cards and coins, which is still a very popular way to pay and then they would park in the wrong zone. So, we were having that issue again. But now, if there's a pay station within that zone, whether it's on the opposite side of the street or farther up the street, you can still pay at that pay station and go park within that zone.

Oh, that's great. and it reduces the number of fees that you would have to pay. It makes it so, you know, if you're, oh, I don't have any coins, but I parked at a coin meter and I don't want to use Park Mobile, then you can still pay with a credit card at the pay station and move around as you need to, which is nice. Another benefit that we've had that we started a few years ago was the 15 minutes free for the pay stations that are on the street. I think back in during co

Yeah. So, if a person needs to do a quick run into a store, whether it get coffee or pick up an order or just, you know, touch base with somebody, all they need to do is put their information in at the pay station and select the 15-minute free option. There's no payment that's required. So, I know people get a little iffy about putting in their credit card, and I it's understandable, but you don't have to do that at all. You just have to register your information, and then you can go on your way. And that's available for all of the pay stations that are on the street. that it's not available in the lot because those are intended to be long-term parking, but they are available at the bay stations on street.

I wonder how many people know that because when we started back in CO with the 15minute free parking, it was because people were doing a lot of takeout and we actually created the spaces for them. So instead of creating all these spaces, we've just created the system where you can do the 15-minute free parking anywhere except for the lots, which makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, it's opened up a lot of spaces that were dedicated loading zones back into regular parking spaces. And so, we've been able to add a little bit of an inventory to the parking system, which has been good. That's great.

Along with the implementation of these consolidated zones, we also launched a new text to park program. It hasn't been extensively used yet, but I think it's a good alternative for people who don't want to create accounts or download apps. So, the way that it works is that you text the word Keen to 727563 and it will send you a link to a secure payment system that's run by the vendor that you can enter into your credit card or you can attach it to some of the mobile payment, you know, Apple wallet, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, that sort of thing, and you can pay for your parking that way. That's great. Mhm.

It makes it really nice because not everybody wants to download more apps on their phone and make another account and you don't have to do that. You can skip all of those steps there. Another option for paying for parking, and this is especially helpful in the parking lots for people who live downtown or work downtown and have to get to work before the pay to park time starts in the downtown. You can actually prepay for your parking. So, if you pay for your parking say at 6:30 in the morning, your time doesn't actually start until 8:00. So, you can pay for that and walk away knowing that you've paid for parking for the day and not worry about it, which is really nice. Now, does it tell you that on the pay station? It shows that you are set to park and that it will give you your expiration time.

That's really good because we do have a lot of people who live in the downtown and utilize those long-term lots. Mhm. They're becoming more popular. We've actually seen in the revenue over the last year that the revenue in some of the lots has gone up, which is good. We want people to use the lots. It is cheaper. You can park there longer and it's really not too far away from the rest of the the businesses downtown. Yeah, as Lisa knows. Yeah, we've seen that walk on social media. Right. It really is. I mean, I'm thinking specifically of commercial lot. It's about a minute to Main Street and I have spent much longer driving up and down Main Street looking for a spot to park in.

Yeah. And we have those lots located throughout the downtown which is really nice. We have Elm lot in the northern part of downtown and we have Wells lot and Roxberry Plaza on the eastern side and we have commercial lot and Gilbo east lot on the west side of downtown which is really nice and as I believe and Chelsea you can provide the information here but I believe there are options too for people who work downtown in those lots. So parking in commercial lot and Gilbo east lot is free after 5:00 and I know that there are some workers who come to work prior to that. So, we have opened up a new option in Wells Garage for covered parking for afternoon and evening employees. And it's $90 a quarter, which is a lot less than our other permits. And our daytime permits are reasonably priced at $175 a quarter. And that entitles you to parking all day, 6 days a week. And with the afternoon and evening worker permits, the breakdown to cost per hour is about 12 cents per hour, which is a great deal. We've gotten a lot of questions about parking capacity and costs for people who work and live in the downtown. So, that's really great. We provide an affordable option and in several places.

Yes. And another option that we have spoken of over the last couple of years for people who work downtown is a lot of the daytime reserve spaces, we'll take city hall upper deck for example, those permits are technically valid through 5:00. So, anybody who works or, you know, lives downtown can park on the upper deck of city hall from 5:00 on to 1:00 a.m. without having to pay. You all touched on this earlier, but I I do think it's important just to bring it up again. The parking fund is a little unique in that it is self- sustained and I think that's really important for people to know. You know, there's some confusion about that or there's some misconceptions that it's funded from general taxation and that's not the case.

Yes, that's correct. So similar to water and sewer, the parking fund, all of the fines, the fees, the permits, all of that revenue is reinvested in the parking system. It is not part of the general fund, which is your taxation. It is its own separate fund. So the money that we raise supports the infrastructure that we need in the downtown for parking, including our garages, which is costly at times.

They can be. Yeah, they require a special kind of maintenance and the parking fund also pays for the landscaping downtown. So all of the beautiful flowers that the highway department plants every spring and fall parking fund pays for those landscaping features. Parking also I feel like this is a very important part because we have a lot of events coming to Keen which is great and parking provides a lot of the physical space for those events. you know, it has a good impact on the community to give back that space and give back those funds to the community.

And I think every year when we review the budget, it's a challenge to make sure that we have enough revenues to offset the expenses. And in the past, there's been a lot of hesitation to increase parking fees or permits because, you know, we want to keep it affordable for people, but also when we hold off on those increases for too long. When we finally make an adjustment, it's large and then that, you know, really becomes problematic. So, I know that Chelsea, you look at that every year when you put together your budget. You take a look at what the revenues are, the expenses are, and sort of forecast into the future what the fund needs in order to remain self-supporting.

Yes. And the parking fund is really crucial with offsetting property taxes for keen taxpayers because if there wasn't the revenue coming into the parking fund, then all of that would have to be pushed back onto the taxpayers which would really increase their rates, you know, and that's obviously something that nobody wants to hear or have happen. You know, you talked a little bit about how the parking funds support events in the downtown and we have a list of days where it's free to park.

Yes. says this last year was the first year that we had Junth as a free parking holiday. So there was a little bit of overlap between when it was declared as a federal holiday and as it was adopted locally and I think a lot of people were very happy about that. So Junth was added to all of the other free parking days which includes New Year's Day, Jonathan Daniels Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous People's Day, also known as Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. And with Thanksgiving, we do the day of Thanksgiving through the Saturday. So that's a three-day free parking event. And then with Christmas, it's the seven days prior to Christmas,

right? because we're really trying to encourage people to come downtown and shop for Christmas. So, parking is free during that time. Yep. And we still have time limits that remain in place so we have the turnover and people can access the businesses that they want to, but there are no meter fees that day. The other change that happened well gez within the last year or so is change to overnight parking in the downtown as it relates to weather. So, storm events and also for scheduled maintenance. How's that been going? This year, I think we've used it more than more snow this year.

Yeah, a lot of snow this year. I think when it was implemented at the end of 2024, before the winter season in 2024 since last winter was not such a huge big season, it was kind of a good time for the system to be used and kind of practiced.

Yeah. The winterband days are declared by the public works director and there is an alert system that people can sign up for on keenh.gov/ snow. There is a way to sign up for text and email alerts to let people know when there's a ban coming and they usually do that at least 6 hours in advance. So that first year that that happened, there was a little bit of confusion, but I think we did a lot of work with public works and communication and the police department to educate people about where to go and when they're in effect. But it's been very popular to have people park overnight.

Yeah. I mean, if you live in the downtown area, I see why it would be because prior to this change, we just had, I think it was from November till April 30th, it it was several months anyways of just blanket, no parking. And so people would have to find a spot and then they would walk to wherever, you know, they were living in the downtown. And I can see how that would be really inconvenient. And most of the time the parking really is available. It's only when we have these snow events where public works needs to be able to plow. So just this year we've had a lot more.

We have and I think that communication is spreading. The word is spreading and people are becoming more accustomed to the winter bands. There has been a little bit of a lag in trying to get full buy in or full understanding of the system, but I think it's coming along. Oh, good. The other thing the city did was install signs at the parking lot. So, long-term parking lots on Gilbo. And the reason we did that is people would get confused which lot was it okay to park in and which night. And now if you drive there you you will know it says on these signs which lots are open. So I think that hopefully is helping as well.

It is the ordinance prior to this change was very confusing because even though there was no ban in place, people would have to alternate where they parked every other night and it was really hard to understand. you know, does this count as Monday night I'm supposed to park here? Does this count as Monday morning I'm supposed to park here? And so we would have a lot of confusion with that. And having those signs up and having the ordinance clarified has been really helpful. The parking team works really hard. They spend a lot of time talking to people and educating people and working with people on their parking options. And I know that they do get a bad rap sometimes, but like you said before, they are just doing their job and they do it well and efficiently and they have a hard job, but they they show up every day and they do great.

Yeah, they do. And they're out there in any kind of weather. You know, I'm always passing someone in the hall and we're talking about it. You know, it could be raining, it could be snowing, it could be really, really cold. They're still out there. They don't get enough credit. One fun thing is that we have three parking enforcement officers right now and I think all three of them carry dog treats. Oh, that's all I love. They're all very much dog lovers and so they like to make other connections with people in the community. That's an easy connection to make with people is through their animals. So, that's always a fun thing. Yeah. Well, is there anything else either of you would like to add today about parking or or otherwise?

No, I'm Thank you, Chelsea, for coming today. you gave us a lot of information and explaining the zones and how that has evolved and the options that people have and that we're always striving to improve and be as flexible as possible.

Yep. Thank you for having me today. I will just mention go to keenh.gov/job. There are job opportunities on there. I will also mention if you have a teenager that's 14 or 15, our youth services department is starting to gear up for their summer youth program in which kiddos that are 14 or 15 can come work for the city in various different positions. That happens over the summer. There are office jobs, there are parks and wreck jobs, there are some positions down at public works. And it's a great opportunity for the kiddos to start to get some work experience, to build their resume, to learn some workplace skills. Those applications are going to be opening up here in the next couple of weeks, mid-March. And they'll stay open till midappril. And you can find those applications at keenh.gov/job as well. If you have more questions about the summer youth program, you can visit our youth services department web page at keenh.gov. All right, I think if that is it, we will wrap up for today and we will see you next time. Thanks for listening to City of Keenan Focus. We'll see you next time.