“I know that immediately it would impact the coffee, the shopping, the pizza, the liquor sales and it would trickle from there. I’m going to say, please don’t. I want to stay.””

Angie Miner, owner of Aim Joy Boutique

PRESCOTT – Prescott residents stood in solidarity together against the downtown paid parking rroposal on Monday evening. There was standing room only at the Aug. 28 public hearing as City Planner Carter Hayes shared a description of the proposal.  

On Aug. 29, the city posted this message on its Facebook page: "After hearing feedback from downtown businesses as part of the informational meetings last Tuesday and from the public on Monday night the City will not be moving forward with further consideration of the current proposed downtown paid parking plan. Thank you all for providing feedback and for giving us your opinion."

Before the city made the decision to scrap the plan, they talked at length at the meeting about it. Hayes said parking revenue can be used to pay for public services. He said it would create turnover and open spots and minimize traffic congestion. He added that the main purpose is to manage the current parking inventory.

At the proposed rate of $1.50 per hour, people can pay with credit, debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or with coins; people could pay in increments if they don’t need an entire hour. The plan would use ParkMobile, a mobile app for app-based payments and IPS Group’s pay stations for the traditional payments. He mentioned that vehicles cannot be parked overnight except in Orange, Cherry, and Mercord Mill parking lots.

Hayes said residents and employees can both register for permits online with employee permits costing $8 per month, while residents can obtain permits at no cost for up to two vehicles per address. For those with additional vehicles, a permit for a third, fourth and fifth vehicle can be added at $15, $30, and $60 respectively. Prescott Police would enforce the paid parking plan with license plate readers and license plate scanning software.

The downtown paid parking solution is projected to cost $146,346 and will bring in an annual profit of $73, 971.41. 

City Administrator Matt Wolf took to the podium to share his thoughts on the proposal and how the city would use the revenue.

 “The idea behind this plan is for better managing our downtown parking, but it is also to offset the burden of our Prescott residents,” Wolf said.

He shared that 50% of the revenue would go into a Downtown Parking Fund that would include downtown beautification items, events, downtown cameras, parking equipment maintenance and snow removal. The other 50% would go to the Capital Improvement Fund to pay for park projects, minor street projects, public works vehicles and equipment and public safety vehicles and equipment.

Wolf said the city values its relationships with neighboring cities, but it’s fair for those cities’ residents to pay for parking; he cited the higher property taxes Prescott residents pay and the fact that residents are the ones who pay for maintenance and upkeep of various city departments.

Wolf then talked about the Aug. 22 informational meeting held with local business owners to hear feedback on the plan. He summarized the comments into seven common sentiments which included:

• Negative impact to businesses due to paid parking discouraging business
• Negative effect on the city’s reputation as a shopping destination
• Opposition to paying for non-resident passes and worries about employee safety
• Questions about the practicality and enforcement of the paid parking system
• Skepticism about the decision making process and fears of adverse effects on the city’s economy
• Businesses feeling this is an attempt by the city to raise revenue
• People wanting parking ramp options or better enforcement of the current parking downtown.

Prescott resident Ben Bettis was the first to voice his disagreement with the proposal. He asked Wolf if the lot behind the Holiday gas station would be made bigger for more parking spaces and where. He said 40-plus parking spaces were eliminated with the city’s beautification process.

“We’re trying to say we have a parking problem now but we kind of, to be honest with you tied our hands behind our back by getting rid of 40-some parking spots. I just think that could have been handled a little bit better there,” Bettis said.

He also asked Wolf if there are enough police officers to enforce the parking proposal.

Wolf asked the council, “Do we want this to be a Q&A or public hearing?”

Alderperson Darlyn Hintz reminded Bettis, “You need to state your concerns within three minutes, and we can hear your information and take it all in.”

Bettis mentioned the current lack of police officers in Prescott and how paid parking will force people to park further up the hill.

“The people will park up in the neighborhoods. They will get around this paid parking. People are going to find the easy and free ways to do this,” he said.

He mentioned the marinas and asked who would police those areas so that marina members aren’t stuck; he said he pays a lot of money to be able to use his boat.

“If it wasn’t for bikes and boats, this town wouldn’t be what it is,” he said to the cheers of the crowd.

He also recommended Prescott should use boaters to increase city revenue by adding public docks and charging boaters.

“Boaters pay. We have short seasons and want to enjoy the living heck out of it,” Bettis said.

Angie Miner, owner of Aim Joy Boutique, spoke against the paid parking proposal. She believes it would negatively affect the shopping businesses in downtown Prescott.

“I know that immediately it would impact the coffee, the shopping, the pizza, the liquor sales and it would trickle from there,” Miner said. “I’m going to say, please don’t. I want to stay.”

Matt Bronk, owner the Twisted Coffee House, approached the podium to clapping and cheers from the crowd. He reminded the council that Prescott is not a destination town but rather a convenient spot off the highway and that tourists would rather drive down the road than pay to stop in Prescott.

“Charging someone for parking in the dead of January where it’s negative zero and there isn’t another vehicle in the entire block, doesn’t make sense,” Bronk said.

He commented on the need for better signage to direct people to current parking areas.

“I believe that if the proposal were to pass, paid parking would put a bad taste in people’s mouths when visiting Prescott. They wouldn’t come back. Losing our unique small businesses would be a big loss for our community and our local economy,” Bronk said.

He asked that the council vote no on the proposal.

John Schmidt, Prescott resident for ten years and father of four, spoke against the parking proposal. A busy downtown is good for the economy, he added.

“Nothing good can come of this,” he said. “I would like to remind the city here that every penny you spend is a penny that you’ve taken from these people out here to spend on whatever it is you decide to spend it on. Somebody’s vacation, clothes for their kids.”

One by one residents and business owners alike stepped up to the podium to share their complaints over the paid parking proposal, along with recommendations for alternate ways to increase revenue. One resident said the city would likely only make half the projected revenue amount; she likened it to a Tupperware party where you invite 40 people and only 20 show up as she asked the council to keep Prescott a small town.

Another resident asked how motorcycles would be managed under the paid parking plan. He remarked that currently two or more motorcycles can fit in one parking spot but under the parking plan, each would need their own spot, which would cause more parking spots to be taken.

Thomas Langenfeld asked for a show of hands of those in favor of the proposal; no hands were raised. When he then asked who was against the proposal, almost every hand went up as he explained that he doesn’t want Prescott to be made into a big city.

As the public hearing was closed, Mayor Robert Daughtery thanked everyone for coming and shared, “I think we need to step back and think about everything, take it all in and we’ll try and get answers on all your concerns.”

The Prescott City Council will vote on the downtown paid parking plan at its Sept. 11 meeting.