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Hours approved for New Church Street parking lot

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Farmington town o facials discuss the new parking lot's hours of operating at Tuesday's eating. From left to right:
Farmington town officials at Tuesday’s meeting, from left to right: Selectman Andrew Buckland, Selectman Stephan Bunker, Selectman Joshua Bell, Town Manager Richard Davis, Selectman Matthew Smith and Selectman Michael Fogg.
The new parking lot on Church and Cony streets in downtown Farmington will allow for some overnight spaces.
The new parking lot on Church and Cony streets in downtown Farmington will allow for some overnight spaces.

FARMINGTON – In a split vote, selectmen approved an amendment to the town’s traffic ordinance that added the new Church Street parking lot and its hours of operation that will include some overnight parking.

After much discussion, a 3-2 majority of selectmen approved the recommendation made by the town’s Parking Ordinance Committee that allows the 27-space lot to be open for overnight parking from April 16 through Nov. 14. The committee includes downtown property owners and town officials.

For snow clearing purposes during the winter, designated from Nov. 15 through April 15, all vehicles will be prohibited from parking in the lot from noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Also, during that six-month winter period, spaces allowing for overnight parking will be cut nearly in half to allow for weekday snow removal.

That half is designated as the 14 spaces along Cony Street, which will not be available for parking from midnight through 6 a.m. from Nov. 15 through April 15. The other half of the lot’s 13 spaces on the east side will remain open for overnight parking year-round, except for the three hours on Sunday.

The six-month winter snow removal provision keeps half of the lot in line with the other parking areas in the downtown that prohibit overnight stays during the winter. The only other overnight public parking allowed is the 23 spaces in a portion of the lot off Front Street north of the Better Living Center. That area is closed to parking for a few hours on Sundays during the winter season to allow for snow removal needs.

Parking committee member Paul Mills, a downtown building and business owner, noted the committee was unanimous in its recommendation. The committee includes the police chief, fire chief, a highway department representative, town manager and property owners downtown. In a survey of both merchants and building owners Mills conducted he said there was a consensus of support that overnight parking will help open up prime parking spots on Main and Broadway for customers.

Property owner John Moore noted that his Main Street second and third floor apartments generate enough revenue so he can offer a lower rate to the first floor merchants so they have a better chance of keeping their businesses thriving.

“They’re intertwined,” Moore said of the tenants living downtown and the merchants and their customers who all need places to park. “If I can keep those rates down, I can keep building spaces filled,” he said.

The new parking lot “is getting a lot of use and the good news is it doesn’t seem to be tapped out,” Mills added.

Selectman Michael Fogg argued that the intention of building the lot was to provide additional public parking for customers downtown and not provide longterm parking for tenants. Revenue from Farmington’s Downtown Tax Increment Financing District’s funded the new parking project, which involved removing a deteriorating apartment building and constructing the new lot.

“I took this as a way to relieve the parking crunch. Businesses voiced concern that there wasn’t enough parking,” Fogg said. Was the overnight, long-term parking provision the original intent of the project, he asked. “This is what I can’t come to grips with.”

Mills noted that there might be one or two people storing their vehicles for the long term at the lot but they will still have to move them for three hours on Sundays during the winter hours. He added that some business owners, such as at the Homestead Restaurant, noted their employees work until midnight and need longer term parking than the allowed two-hour or three-hour street and lot parking in other areas downtown. “There’s a lot of dynamics,” going on in downtown’s parking, Mills added.

Selectman Matthew Smith said he thought 13 spaces open to overnight parking was too many of the 27 total. He added that around the holidays when family and friends come to town to visit they will tie up more parking spaces at the lot, which mean fewer for customers.

“If there’s no overnight parking you’ll have renegade parking,” Mills said, people parking on lawns just to find someplace to put the car. “That causes more of snowplow problem.”

Selectman Stephan Bunker said striking the balance between increasing parking for customers and the needs of employees downtown is needed.

“I thought (the lot) would be for customers and now I see the shift to businesses,” he said. He added he wanted to wait and see if the parking committee’s recommendation works and, if not, it can be adjusted later.

Selectman Joshua Bell agreed that the ordinance can be changed, if needed. He also noted a public safety concern for the employees walking down to Front Street late at night to retrieve their cars in the long term lot there and that the new lot will open up more desirable spots on Main and Broadway as employees choose Church Street.

Selectmen Bell, Bunker and Andrew Buckland voted in favor of the committee’s recommendation. Fogg and Smith were opposed.

In other matters, selectmen unanimously approved a bid of $27,096 from Quirk Ford of Augusta for a 2016 Interceptor sport utility vehicle  to replace a police department cruiser damaged beyond repair  in the summer. An insurance reimbursement  and funds appropriated from the department’s vehicle reserve account will provide for the purchase and to outfit the cruiser. Three bids were submitted, with Quirk’s at the lowest total.

Selectmen also approved another bid by Quirk Ford for a four-wheel-drive 2016 Ford F250 pick up truck for the sewer department for $34,885.  Three other dealers submitted a bid and all were about $5,000 more.

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Noon to three on Sundays seems kind of too bad. That’s exactly when people might be looking for a place to park and eat at downtown restaurants. As it is, I sometimes have to park on Church St. in order to eat at the Homestead, when all of the regular spots anywhere near the restaurant are full.

  2. The parking lot should be for people visiting our local bussiness not for tenants to apartment buildings , the landlords like mr mills and john moore should provide there own lots for thier tenants , furthur more the renegade parking shouldnt be a thought because we have a local towing company that can remove those renegade parkers , those 27 parking spots should be empty after 1 a.m. every night for people that want to spend money in our town !!!!!

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