BROOKINGS – A spirited debate broke out but no final decisions were made regarding parking permits around the South Dakota State University campus, during the Brookings City Council meeting Tuesday.
Scott Munsterman also presided in his first meeting this week as interim mayor after being sworn in by Deputy Mayor Keith Corbett.
The council has talked over the parking issue a couple of times this year already and is considering establishing a zone where residents would have to purchase parking permits to park on the street and others would be ticketed.
Two zones south and west of SDSU were identified as impacted and prone to congestion. The locations of those zones are illustrated on maps available as attachments to the agenda.
The city has wrestled for years with the street traffic and parking problems near campus, said City Manager Jeff Weldon back in November, when the issue last came before the board. At that meeting, it was tabled to find out more about costs.
Weldon said the idea is to provide more on-street parking for residents because SDSU staffers and students park on those streets. SDSU workers and students can buy a permit to park on campus, but some choose not to, so they park on nearby streets and walk.
“No significant changes since we last discussed this item,” Weldon said.
Kevin Catlin, assistant to the city manager, presented the numbers, including a fee proposal.
Catlin said the Brookings Police Department had been consulted about costs and how adding the parking permits would affect city staff.
Catlin said new software would have to be purchased at an initial cost of $17,990, with an annual renewal cost of $4,700. The police department would have to hire another part-time officer to enforce the no parking zones, which would cost $24,989. A thousand hang-tags would cost $560.
The program would run from August to May with new students arriving and needing to be made aware each year, which would cost money to promote. There would also need to be new signage on the affected streets.
Total expenses came to $54,702, he said.
Revenue would largely depend on fees for the hang-tags and fines. Cost for hang-tags was listed at $23 per permit. Tickets cost $20 and increase by $5 after 72 hours.
Catlin said he couldn’t project how much money the violations might bring in because he had nothing to compare it to; he could offer a better projection after a couple of years of data.
Munsterman asked what kind of violations or complaints have been registered for the area covered by the zones. Usually it’s parking too close to an alley or driveway, Catlin said, but the city hasn’t heard much.
Joanne Puetz Anderson, who’s lived on Eleventh Avenue for almost 30 years, said that until recently her family had five registered drivers in residence. She bikes a lot and her husband walks to work, but sometimes everyone needs a vehicle.
She didn’t like the two parking pass limit per household, saying it means hang tags will have to be swapped out in the vehicles. She said mistakes will be made and people will forget to hang a tag.
Anderson prefers to park her vehicles on the street when she shovels the driveway, but with the parking restrictions, she would have to shovel before the sun came up to avoid having all her vehicles on the street during the prohibited hours of 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where will visitors park without getting a ticket? she asked. She has elderly relatives who would have to park on the other side of Sixth to not get a ticket. She also asked about the holidays when several people are visitng one residence.
Weldon said the council had considered giving residents the option of buying more passes, but there was concern they would sell them to others not living there.
Anderson suggested the city go by the number of people living in the house or by the registered vehicles they own.
She objected to the cost of the permits on behalf of people who are only making minimum wage, saying if they are buying multiple passes, it could cost them a whole day’s wage.
“This will be a real inconvenience and opportunity for making mistakes,” Anderson said. “If it’s a great idea, maybe we need to do it city wide.”
Taylin Albrecht, state and local government chair of the SDSU Student Association, said students are concerned and have a stake in the issue.
She said some rental properties have four or five people living in them, each with their own vehicle. Weldon confirmed that the city ordinance says only three unrelated persons can live in a house. Albrecht said she was living with several cousins and knew of a number of situations like that.
The ordinance also stipulates that the landlord must provide off-street parking, said Councilor Mary Kidwiler.
Albrecht said the Association opposes the parking permits and said students have lots of questions, confusion and pushback on the issue. She asked that the issue be referred to the University Community Coalition for discussion.
Kidwiler worked on campus for years and is well acquainted with the problem. She said she agreed with Anderson that holiday time should be exempt because the problem is during the day when school is in session. Kidwiler said she didn’t want to make everyone pay for a problem in one area.
Councilor Patty Bacon lives in the area and said it does get congested and it does get dangerous, citing when people park too close to the alley entrances and those coming out can’t see traffic. She wanted to see the issue go to the UCC.
Councilor Ope Niemeyer also lives in the area around campus.
“I’ve had this discussion in my own household,” he said.
He said he’s talked to students parking on the streets and asked why they didn’t buy an on-campus permit. He was told they couldn’t afford it, while they were driving a nice SUV.
“When I went to school here I was required to buy a parking pass,” he said. “Eventually, we need to have this ordinance passed.”
Niemeyer added he had a problem charging citizens for parking.
“Purchasing a permit does not guarantee you a spot to park on the street,” pointed out Mike Struck, director of Community Development.
Councilor Dan Hansen said it was a campus problem because SDSU charges between $140 to $300 to park on campus and that’s forcing people off campus. He also wanted the issue referred to the UCC.
“The Coalition is a good place to take this,” said Councilor Nick Wendell, adding he wants to hear from the people if they are having problems and what kind.
There may be solutions and ideas out there none of the council have thought of including ways to solve it, Weldon added.
Munsterman directed Corbett to present the issue to the UCC, get a discussion going and bring the topic back to the council in the future.
Looking ahead to future meetings, Wendell brought up the proposed demolition of the Old Armory and how it would affect those who still use it. He asked that city staff look into finding replacement places and what the cost would be. Weldon said it could be brought back during the February study session.
Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.
