POWELL — Parking is everybody’s problem in Powell.
The downtown parking issue has persisted for years, and city staff have been exploring solutions through collaborative, public-private partnerships.
Those agreements would allow certain privately owned lots — typically used by downtown businesses — to also serve as public parking during limited hours.
But at Tuesday’s city council meeting, both residents and council members expressed confusion, frustration and concern about that approach and other proposed solutions.
The discussion was prompted by a new business item on the agenda focused on a shared downtown parking policy.
In a memo attached to the online agenda, City Manager Andy White asked council to refer the policy outline to the Development Committee for further discussion and refinement, with the goal of drafting a resolution to establish a formal shared downtown parking policy.
Instead, the discussion turned into a nearly two-hour debate over how the city should address its ongoing parking challenges.
By the end of the meeting, council agreed to continue developing a shared-use parking policy but took no formal action. Members also discussed valet service as a possible short-term solution.
“You can’t fix 30 years worth of under-investment in two years.”
andy white
“The biggest issue, I think, for you all in the seats you occupy today, is a pent up frustration, a demand for investment that we just have not been able to make,” White said. “All the while this continues to cause issues within the community. But you can’t fix 30 years worth of under-investment in two years.
“We don’t have a shortage of spaces required. We have a shortage of classification.”
Shared-use parking might not be effective
Parking background:
Only 14% of all downtown parking represents public spots, according to a downtown parking analysis by Powell Economic Development Administrator Sean Hughes.
The city has already opened its first public-private parking agreement at 110 S. Liberty Street, which adds 26 parking spots until the site is redeveloped.
More could follow soon; Hughes said he is negotiating with about 15 private property owners at the April Development Committee meeting.
Powell is planning for a more permanent parking footprint, with 148 spaces proposed as dedicated public parking. The largest share — 130 spaces — would come from a new lot tied to the Scioto Street extension project.
Under current shared-use agreements, the city offers to maintain participating private lots, including infrastructure improvements, snow removal and other services.
Powell Economic Development Administrator Sean Hughes said the city has secured 50 shared-use spots so far.
He added he expected more property owners to participate.
Councilman David Lester said if the city isn’t seeing stronger participation, it may be better to shift focus to other parking solutions.
Jessi Iams-Kaniaris, owner of Local Roots, told council she has seen an increase in people parking in her private lot without visiting her restaurant, forcing her to begin towing vehicles.
She said she is not interested in a shared-use agreement but asked council to consider allowing a gated system, where non-customers could pay $25 to park.
During public comment, Vincent Margello spoke in support of her concerns, arguing the issue stems from broader planning decisions.
“You’ve put her in a very bad situation,” Margello said. “If she tows, she loses a customer. If she doesn’t, she loses a customer. You’ve caused this problem by approving businesses without enough parking.”
Alternative solutions aren’t easy, either
White said the city is also evaluating whether a parking garage could be part of the solution, but noted the cost could be significant.
He said the average cost per space is about $55,000, meaning a 300-space garage would exceed $16 million and take years to complete.
Vice Mayor Tom Counts asked Planning Director Logan Stang asked how parking garages are financed in other communities, specifically pointing to Dublin.
Stang said developments like Bridge Park are unique, but typically involve a mix of public incentives and private investment.
“There’s usually some type of incentive package approved by council, which may include upfront funding or payments spread out over several years,” Stang said. “But there is still a significant amount of private investment that has to come alongside that.”
Assistant City Manager Jeffrey Tyler, who worked as the director of building standards in Dublin for 11 years, said before the city pursued parking garages, city officials negotiated public-private parking agreements and set up a valet parking system.
“Those were all done prior to the parking garages, so it’s consistent with what we’re asking for this evening,” Tyler said.
Counts also expressed concern about charging for parking, which would likely be necessary to help cover the cost of building and maintaining a garage.
“The last thing we probably want to do is to charge for parking. It would be a disincentive to come downtown,” Counts said.
“I’m not sure that the downtown is ready for a 300-car parking garage in downtown,” he said. “Doesn’t mean that it may not happen in the future, but I think that it’s something that is in the future, not today.”
Valet parking might be short-term solution
Mayor Heather Karr asked whether the city could bring back a proposal for temporary valet parking at the next council meeting.
White said the city has previously explored valet services to help manage peak traffic on Fridays and Saturdays.
He said a quote obtained more than a year ago estimated the cost at about $60,000 annually for one valet booth and $130,000 for two. However, he noted those figures are outdated and reflected a worst-case scenario.
“I don’t know if that’s the golden goose,” White said.
White said valet service could be part of a broader approach that includes additional short-term agreements with private lot owners. The question then becomes whether council would support funding valet service.
He added the city would likely share in both the risk and the return
“If we provided a $100,000 service and no one used it, then we’d eat $100,000,” White said. “But if it was a 50% success rate, then we would subsidize that cost by $50,000, 25%, and so on and so forth.”
Under that model, the city would recoup a portion of the cost based on how often the service is used.
White said he plans to seek updated estimates from other vendors.
A valet service would utilize existing public or public-private parking lots downtown to make more parking spaces in the lot. But it would mean downtown public parking is valet only, because other cars parking in lots would disrupt a valet system.
Councilman Leif Carlson, who said he was apprehensive to use taxpayer dollars to fix parking in any capacity because he feels like each options cause unique problems, suggested using transit buses to shuttle people from further parking lots and other areas.
