Members of the Downtown Parking  Advisory Commission met Friday morning in a special session to discuss recommendations for parking rates and space allotment.

“What we were deciding on today were the final details of the financial model,” commission member Kevin Frye explained, noting that they aim to fund the revenue bond for Oxford’s new 410 spot garage through current paid parking revenue. 

Chairman Tom Sharpe laid out the current revenue model and explained two alternatives that the board has developed to fund the project. The discussion centered on the hourly rate for parking in the new garage, which under the current plan exists as a one-time entry fee for each parker.

“Doing $2.00 for entry has a lot of operational problems, particularly regarding having to have a gate when you enter,” Sharpe said.

The board voted to recommend a plan that charges $0.50 an hour for a spot in the parking garage that will be maintained by kiosks. Current curbside parking rates of $1.25 on the square itself will not be affected by commission’s new recommendation.

One concern voiced by several board members was the demand for free parking spots for Square employees, as the new paid garage and the addition of meters to some off-the-square lots will limit availability.

“The old mayor used to say we need to have free parking spaces, and I think we still do,” commission member Jeff Johnson said.

The Board of Aldermen has asked that 250 free spots be left available, and the recommended plan from Friday’s meeting gets within range by providing 238 spots. The commission advised that these spots be located surrounding the garage, to provide ease of flow from people looking for a free spot to their next-cheapest option.

The second alternative presented to the board would only allow for only 145 free spots, but would see the rate of the garage lowered to $0.25 an hour. Board members feel that this option would be more equitable in allowing all long-term parkers to pay the same rate to park, but does lack the necessary amount of free parking. 

“The heaviest parking group is employed [on the square], but we want them to have free spaces available,” Frye commented.

The board also recommended the addition of another enforcement officer for the garage.

“It’s not unreasonable to assume that that ticket revenue would double since we the number of spots will increase by two and a half times,” Sharpe said. Parking ticket revenue for the 2017 year, since paid parking hours were extended from 10 pm to midnight in January, is $85,000.

Towards the end of the meeting, members began discussing the idea for a potential monthly parking pass option, but no final plan was reached.The board later adjourned to an executive session to discuss the leasing of property to an unidentified group.

While no official plan was implemented by the parking commission’s decision, it will now be up to the Board of Aldermen to determine the final pricing. A member of the parking garage design team will attend their next scheduled meeting in November to discuss the two phases of the project and move forward with the contractor-bidding process.

The parking garage will begin construction in January of 2018 and is slated to be completed by December of next year.

“During construction, we want as many free parking spaces as we can, parking is going to be disrupted during construction,” Sharpe warned.

The board passed a motion to add 214 spots during the garage’s construction in lots such as the Oxford Park Commission, the Church of Christ, and the Department of Human Services building.