Derby’s Board of Aldermen will consider whether to dissolve the city’s Parking Authority — apparently at the request of the members of the parking authority.
The Aldermen reviewed an undated and unsigned letter last month from the Derby Parking Authority in which the members asked for a meeting to discuss:
1. Repealing the local legislation that created the “parking division.”
2. “Cost savings” that could happen by eliminating the “parking division.”
3. “Future infrastructure costs/expenses which the division would not be able to accommodate.”
Art Gerckens, president of the Board of Aldermen, said he hopes to get details from the parking authority during a joint meeting.
The meeting hasn’t been scheduled just yet because of various calendar conflicts.
Presumably, if the Aldermen decide to disband the parking authority, supervision of the employees who work there would fall to the Aldermen, which was actually the practice in Derby years ago.
Background
The Derby Parking Authority is an appointed, unpaid board that supervises the management of the parking garage on Thompson Place and various public parking lots in Derby.
It employs a director who runs the parking garage and supervises several parking garage attendants and a parking enforcement officer.
The authority generates revenue from parking garage fees, parking garage permits and from the parking meters in downtown Derby.
However, the 310-space parking garage is old, and the authority does not have the money to fix the structure, which could entail tearing it down and starting over.
The city has been hesitant to seek permission from voters to borrow money to pay for the parking garage repairs. In recent years voters have approved $5 million to replace roofs on three school buildings, in addition to approving $31.2 million for repairs to the city’s sewer system.
The majority of the parking authority resigned last August, citing frustration with city government’s lack of commitment to the parking garage problems.
In October, Mayor Anita Dugatto appointed a new group of members, who met several times before writing the memo asking for the meeting.
Oh, and last year the garage was temporarily closed because officials were concerned that concrete could fall from the facility onto a vehicle or person.
Gerckens: We Need Help
Gerckens told the Valley Indy Monday he sent a letter to state and federal legislators for help with the parking garage.
In his letter, Gerckens points out the fact Derby is a distressed city and that the garage plays an important part in economic development. Asking voters to pay for the repairs isn’t an option, because the voters just approved millions in repairs to the sewer system.
He notes that the state funded a parking expansion project in downtown Milford, and that the state also approved $1 million for an artificial turf playing field.
“That’s great news for that community, but our parking garage directly affects the lives of our seniors, handicapped citizens, disabled veterans, minority members of our community, and others who often have little or no voice in the day to day decisions and legislation that affects them,” Gerckens wrote.
Gerckens said he hasn’t received a formal response from elected officials regarding his letter, but several state officials have told him they want to work with Derby on the issue.
