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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-09-20 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Minutes Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Tuesday, September 20, 2005 Minutes Councilors Attending: Geoffrey Gratwick, Susan Hawes, Councilor Farrington Staff Attending: Ed Barrett, Jim Ring, Norm Heitmann, Rebecca Hupp, Sally Bates Others Attending: Matt Brankd, Tom Brand, Connie Russell, Other Citizens Committee convened at 5:00 p.m. 1. Bangor International Airport Domestic Passenger Statistics Rebecca Hupp states passenger traffic is up 7% year to date, 9% for the month of August. This being the second best August on record, the best being in 1997. BIA’s sixth consecutive month of growth. She also points out three of the five carriers are in bankruptcy. But bankruptcy is a tool for reorganization. The airport will continue to monitor changes, if there are any market opportunities that develop or changes in the market, they will be prepared for that and react quickly. Ed Barrett states he recently received a newsletter from a company that tracks passengers nationally and internationally. Their statistics for August showed passengers were up .7 tenths of a percent for domestic, 1.7% for international. Overall in August about 1%. Councilor Farrington comments that he continues to be very pleased but doesn’t see how we can continue to keep going with fuel prices going up. Yet there’s been a steady flow. Requesting a synopsis from Rebecca. Rebecca Hupp states an increase in capacity and additional service has been very helpful. There is more capacity now then than in the mid 90’s. Jim Ring comments about the jet capacity vs. turbo. Jet capacity 99%, turbo 1%. Jet capacity utilized was 67% overall, but turbo is only 28%; does that suggest that the remaining turbo flight may not continue with such a low utilization rate. 1 Rebecca states that those are year to date and are misleading. Currently 100% of the market is on jet. Turbo flight has been replaced by jet flight. Ed Barrett comments that although there are bankruptcies going on the threat is not to service that we provide but to route restructuring and reductions. We may continue to have relatively good services, while the connections may not be as good. Councilor Gratwick asks Rebecca if these numbers include the military. Rebecca Hupp states these only reflect domestic and do not include international transit, which is the military. The military are considered transfer passengers, whose numbers were about 60,000 which are in addition to these numbers. Councilor Gratwick asks what’s on the horizon for security, where the parking garage is going. How can the Committee assist for the best feedback? Rebecca Hupp comments on the budget process, capital projects, marketing incentive program, fire sprinkler system, future RFP requests for an advertising agency. Those are some areas in which Council input is appropriate. Councilor Gratwick requests information on future projects to allow the Committee to collect data. Ed Barrett requests Rebecca to provide a briefing on the capital projects at the next meeting or meeting thereafter. Councilor Gratwick suggests the resurfacing, departure gate 5, international arrivals. Councilor Farrrington requests Rebecca to provide update on money owed and the collection. 2. Request for Lease Parking Spaces in Haynes Court Parking Lot-Club Gemini Norm Heitmann asks the Committee to recall that this all generated from noise complaints in that general area that also included Benjamin’s. The owners have been pursuing alternatives to reducing the noise level, as well as the City’s dealing with the parking lot and loitering after 10:00 p.m. One of the problems they have are smokers who have to go outside. One possible solution is to build and enclosed structure that does not have a solid roof. The idea is to have a wall to reduce the noise in the neighborhood and on Court Street. 2 Councilor Gratwick requests clarification on the map of the five parking spaces in question. Norm Heitmann indicates from the corner of the building. They went before the Government Operations Committee, last week and mentioned one of the things they were hoping to do is to take care of the issue outdoors with the smokers. But they have been concentrating their money on the noise abatement and this will be additional sound abatement money in addition to money needed for coming up with a plan to do that. They would like some idea from the council if this would be a project the Council would be supportive of. The Government Operations Committee wanted to move it forward for the next Council meeting. The Government Ops doesn’t have the jurisdiction for this, but B&ED and TIC does, TIC being sooner. In anticipation of preparing a document agreement to present to the Council, he sought the assistance of Code and Planning to see what issues we would be looking at. As well as Sally Bates and her department apprised of what’s going on because they are responsible for parking. There is a memo from Parke Clemens from Republic Parking, as they manage the parking lot noting their concerns. Don Winslow notified the people at Franklin Place, some are in attendance as well as Sally. The feedback from Code and Planning creates a bigger issue. The building is pretty much the entire footprint of the property. The building is zoned USD, the parking lot is zoned G&ISD. The requirements are not met because the building fills the land; they are grand- fathered for setbacks. Rezoning to USD wouldn’t help according to Planning because the maximum lot coverage is 30%, that building covers virtually 100%. Which is grandfathered as a non-conforming building, but you can’t expand non- conformings, once you’ve exceeded that 30% you can’t go any more. Which may leave us with DDD and haven’t heard back from Planning to know if it creates other problems. In addition, if and when rezoning were to happen they would need to come in with a site plan. This issue will have to be taken care of with a zone change and done with minimal impact on parking downtown. Sally will respond to the parking and Mr. Clemens memo. Councilor Farrington states the first thing that comes to mind is the Downtown Development District. And asks if this area needs to be expanded to include Benjamin’s, Franklin Place. Ed Barrett states they are already in the DDD. And that you could be in the DDD and not be zoned DDD. The tax district has a se t defined geographical boundary, within that you could have a variety of zoning. Councilor Gratwick requests definition of DDD. The most advantageous part of DDD is there aren’t any setbacks; you can build to the lot lines. If it were DDD before the nightclub went there they would have 3 to get approval through the Planning Board because it would be a conditional use. They would have to meet certain requirements, including a noise level. Those requirements they can’t meet due to the current structure, they would be grandfathered in. Councilor Gratwick asks what civic good is being served by having DDD. Ed Barrett states the general purpose of the Downtown Development District is to recognize the traditional pattern of downtown core areas, very intense development with buildings that go right to the property line and along the sidewalk. Mixed uses are allowed. Sally Bates states that in the Government Operations meeting several weeks ago she expressed her concern with eliminating parking spaces because it is a scarce resource and can’t be expanded without spending a fair amount of money. With EMDC and the Chancellor’s office moving downtown will put a strain on the inventory of parking spaces in the downtown area. The role of the Parking Advisory Committee is to find parking space. This situation is slightly different in that it is to permanently eliminate five spaces because of a noise problem. And suggest the decision be referred to the Downtown Parking Advisory Committee. Councilor Farrington notes this is a noise problem as well as parking, and is it the role of the Parking Committee to make a judgement on the overall problem. The responsibility is probably the Council’s through this Committee and invites discussion. Sally Bates states she was not recommending the Committee look at the problem of noise but a s a policy point of view is it a good practice to lease spaces to anyone, because the business didn’t identify the noise issue before it opened it’s business. And is it appropriate to reduce inventory because of a noise problem that could be alleviated by other methods. Ed Barrett states certainly the Parking Committee could take a look at it and would suspect what the recommendation would be. If it did go to the Committee it would have to go back to the City Council, which may have a different perspective and have to weigh noise, parking, value issues and all other issues involved. As parking demand increases, we’re looking at approximately $14,000.00 per space to be replaced in structured parking. And that on a relatively close horizon we’ll be facing parking demand downtown will exceed supply. Jim Ring asks what is the minimum size needed to meet the needs and in dimension how far back from the building? Which is information that is needed in the future. 4 Councilor Gratwick raises the cost that will be paid for each space to do this and requests the Parking Committee to consider the issues. Also asks Sally what re- striping would do and would it help. Sally Bates state she and Jim Ring did evaluate the location and determined that there could be additional spots added. Councilor Gratwick suggests that should be part of the next Agenda. Jim Ring states that was the basis for his prior question. It will make a difference if it’s a little bit of a distance as opposed to a full space there may be an opportunity. If it’s the full space, part of the consideration would be loss of parking. Matt Branc, Co-Owner of Club Gemini expresses that this is not a private business just requesting the spaces. This is from addressing problems due to residents in the area. The business wouldn’t be doing it except that they’re trying to work with the city and residents to improve it. There are issues they are addressing which is the base music, the other is people outside smoking, and a que line of people waiting to get inside. The addition of the building reduces people from hanging outside and less in the parking lot. The addition would probably take up a depth of the spaces, thus they are asking for the entire depth and length of the building, which they don’t have the dimensions. They are working with two Engineering firms, one in Brewer and the other from Boston, who are experts in acoustics, and are drawing up plans on the dimensions, etc. Based on time spent in the Lower Abbott lot, the back is not really used during the daytime, which he has a collection of photos showing it rarely has more than six or seven cars in the area. Sally Bates responds on the utilization of the parking lot. There are certainly more than a half a dozen cars in the lower parking lot. It may see it is not a heavily used lot, but what’s coming here very shortly is going to place more a demand on that lot, perhaps in weeks. And suggests that dynamics can change with the parking need depending on who is there in those buildings. Tom Brand, part owner of the building states half of the proposed building is in the loading dock area and doesn’t involve parking spaces. And points out there are ten parking spaces out front that do not have signage where the public generally utilized more than the ones in back. There may be five parking places, but at the present time they are providing ten free parking places to the City that the public uses at will. 5 Councilor Gratwick queries the parking spaces in front, are used by the upstairs tenants. Tom Brand states they use them from about 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., their main use four days a week. Councilor Gratwick invites spokespersons for Franklin Place to comment. Asks the Committee and Staff to think about the next appropriate steps. Connie Russell, President of the Board of Franklin Place states she is the one the complaints go to at 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. She states that things are better, thanks to the City’s assistance, the Police Department, and the Brands trying to accommodate. The noise problem has come from both areas. The new Benjamin’s owners addressed the congestion and noise issue by building a patio out back for smokers. Suggests some arrangement could be made to confine the smokers to one place, perhaps it would reduce some of the wild congestion in the parking lot. Also noting the law passed regarding loitering, which would seem hard to define when they’re smoking if they are smoking or loitering. Suggested also confining the smokers would reduce the noise and chaos in the parking lot. Councilor Gratwick asks Connie Russell if the base music, etc. from Benjamin’s is disruptive. Connie Russell states there are no complaints. The owner approached her regarding her concerns and complaints, identified them and resolved them. And states his intention was to contain all the smoking. Occasionally she does hear people at 2:00 a.m. when people are leaving, but they are very friendly and non- disruptive. Councilor Gratwick asks Connie Russell if the problem at Club Gemini is it more people outside or cars squealing their tires. Connie Russell states it seems more to be people being noisy and disruptive, later in the evening congregating. She also points out the vulgarity, fighting, and extremely disruptive having improved with the Police presence. The nights that it seems to happen most are Friday and Saturday. Wednesday and Thursday are not bad. Another citizen of Franklin Place commented on the motorcycle traffic, and if a smoking area will eliminate the disruption when leaving it would be helpful. Councilor Gratwick asks if they will be recommending this to another Committee or to the Council to give the space. And asks the Brands if there are other 6 options for the smoking area such as roof gardens or other places that would not take parking. Matt Brank States not right now. The roof material is not adequate. Councilor Gratwick asks if they are taking care of the base and are the plans underway with the Engineering firms, and if they have a contract with the firm in Boston. Jim Lacurdy from CES states they are working on a design to use the smoking area as mitigation on the base sound, as well as reconstruction of the rear of the building. The lease of the space will determine what level of effort needs to go into the wall construction and/or the smoking construction. Councilor Gratwick questions the situation with bouncers now that the contract with the Police patrol has expired. Matt Brand responds that they have a full staff of bouncers, especially on Friday and Saturday. That would consist of six, not including himself and his brother being there acting in various capacities. There was a three week trial with the Police, it definitely improved, quieter crowd. And agreed with Chief Winslow to play it by ear, if it goes up again to call in more officers. Three nights a month Police presence will be there, but not the same nights every month. That could address the noise when people are leaving. Tom Brand states in reference to the roof, it is not designed to handle that kind of weight load and there is no access to the roof except via an outside ladder. That would require major reconstruction. The noise level of the music would be a problem if that were to be considered. The can control the sound level at the present location in the basement but could not if it were roof level. He also points out the issue of the bouncers not having jurisdiction outside of the club, on public property and employee risks if they were to do so. Ed Barrett asks if they are willing to consider this proposal. If yes, then do you want to asks the advice of the Parking Committee that Sally raised? There are issues involved in zoning that have not been fully explored at this point which would need the involvement of the Code Officer, the Planning Staff, setbacks, and buffer issues. The larger issue will have to be looked at. He states he would be hesitant due to not having enough information on everything required. And concerned about giving a yes, and having something come up later that would require them to have to stop. And suggested to look at that, not at the next meeting but the meeting after that to give time to know what all the implications are. And to sit down with the Brands and offer all the options 7 regarding zoning, the process, and additional requirements that may arise because of rezoning the building. Councilor Gratwick states that the Parking Commission will need to look at all the associated costs and parking spaces. Ed Barrett would recommend have Staff work on those issues rather than the Parking Committee. The Parking Committee is already charged with a large parking issue than with pricing on five parking spaces. Norm Heitmann states that at some point the lease or sale of the spaces and price will have to be decided. And if there is a sale do you have a reverter. If this business were to close and didn’t need the smoking area, does the property come back to us. Jim’s point is right, whether there is a sale or lease the City would want to retain rights should the City want to build a parking garage at that space. There’s a number of things to look at in terms of agreement. Jim Ring asks if there are any other construction options. Tom Brand stated that some major reconstruction needs to be completed on the parking spaces and the reloading zone at City expense anyway. The way the parking lot is constructed the material underneath the parking spaces has expanded and changed the shape of the blacktop in such a way that every time it rains it floods the building. He states that with his conversation with the City Engineer indicated that was a problem the City would have to solve. Norm Heitmann states they don’t need to rush into this given all the unanswered questions. And requests all interested parties be patient. Councilor Farrington recommends continuing to work on this. And refers this to Staff, the Parking Commission, then back to TIC, then the Council. Councilor Gratwick concurs. Ed Barrett clarifies that this will remain under consideration, ask the Parking Committee for their recommendation, not immediately put something on the Council Agenda, Staff will work on the zoning issues with the Brands. Jim Ring will work on parking layout, and at Staff level will work on lease rate costs. Councilor Gratwick motion to adjourn, Councilor Farrington seconded. Adjourned. 8