Assessing all available downtown parking has proven divisive on city council, with some believing it will inevitably lead to a taxpayer-funded parkade and others saying it could promote economic development.
During its Jan. 29 executive committee meeting, city council voted 4-3 to spend $11,150 on a downtown parking assessment, with the money to come from the parking reserve. Further, council authorized city administration to draw down the same amount of funds from the moderate-term investment portfolio.
In favour were Mayor Clive Tolley and councillors Jamey Logan, Kim Robinson and Heather Eby. Opposed were councillors Crystal Froese, Doug Blanc and Dawn Luhning.
Luhning had recommended that council receive and file the report — to take no action — but council voted 4-3 against that option. Tolley, Logan, Robinson and Eby were opposed, while Froese, Blanc and Luhning were in favour.
The recommendation only becomes official when council approves the executive committee minutes at the Feb. 12 regular meeting.
Background
City administration has been working with a group on the Hilton Hotel project for the 0 block of River Street West, and during the discussions, the developers talked about the challenges and opportunities with parking, a council report explained.
The proponents — led by businessman Shea Jameson — have asked city hall to participate in finding parking solutions to address the needs of the hotel, the Events Centre, and another expected commercial development, the document continued.
“Options may include the need for a parkade and the potential for city partnership in building it,” the report stated.
City administration believes the assessment can determine whether the area meets such needs, and if so, then officials would determine whether to build a parkade and its cost, the document continued. The hotel will have 109 rooms, while the developers will have enough surface space to meet parking requirements.
City hall will use consultant KGS Group to conduct the assessment, considering this firm is overseeing the transportation master plan, the report said. If the assessment determines there is a need for a parkade, it would also propose possible locations and construction costs.
The document added that, as of Dec. 31, 2022, the parking reserve contained $1,967,801; the financial figures for Dec. 31, 2023, were not yet available.
Spending money frivolously
Blanc supported the hotel project and re-development of River Street West but didn’t think council should spend money on an assessment or consultants when city administration likely had information about downtown stalls from studies written before the Events Centre/Multiplex was built.
“This was a tough (2024) budget to go through. We cut a lot of (projects) … ,” he said. “And now we’re going to spend $11,150 to see if there’s enough parking. I have a real problem with that.”
Let developers build parkade
It was the developers’ job — and not the City of Moose Jaw’s responsibility — to determine whether there was enough parking downtown for the hotel, said Luhning.
Further, she was surprised to see city administration recommending taking money from the moderate-term portfolio, an area that should only be used when the city is “in dire straights.” Moreover, she didn’t believe council should dip into it after finishing the 2024 budget a month earlier.
Luhning thought city hall already had in-house information about parking downtown and could also give the developers data from the parking app. She pointed out that parking was an issue when the Events Centre first opened, with leaflets distributed showing parking within a four-block radius.
Missing the mark
Robinson thought council had “missed the mark” with this issue since conducting the study would give director Jim Dixon “more arrows in his quiver” to promote economic development.
“The impact on the medium-term investment is minimal. We could sit on those funds forever and forever, but if we don’t use them to promote our city, we’ll have a big account and a ghost town,” he added.
Future River Street growth
Tolley spoke passionately about this topic, pointing out the hotel developers already own the land for surfacing parking and can provide the necessary stalls. That was good news for the city since it didn’t have to provide further spaces.
What is at stake is the block’s remaining development, whether that’s installing further parking or pursuing other economic development opportunities, he continued. However, since council wants this to be a tourist area, filling storefront space with parking is a bad choice.
Council should consider the Event Centre’s future parking situation because while the developers are allowing parking on a piece of land across from the venue, they will turn that spot into the hotel’s parking, said Tolley.
He pointed out that the biggest obstacle to constructing the Multiplex was people suggesting there would be no parking. However, council learned there was plenty of parking within three to five blocks and people could walk to and from the venue in good time.
“So $11,150 … is a bargain price to get a good assessment of where we’re going with our future development,” he remarked. “This is a small amount to find out more so we don’t make fatal … planning mistakes like has been done in Moose Jaw over the last 100 years.”
Existing information
Froese agreed that city hall already had data about downtown parking — and could compile a legitimate number — based on how contentious constructing the Multiplex was over a decade ago. Moreover, she thought the city should conduct economic development internally and not pull money from the portfolios.
Meanwhile, she said that city administration has worked with the Events Centre before to address parking for big events, including offering bus service from the mall to the venue. So, that organization should have information, as should the downtown association.
Dixon piped up and said it was city administration — and not the developers — who pushed this study since it believed an assessment was required.
Snowball effect
If council members believe this assessment money will be the only amount spent, they should realize this will eventually be “the snowball going down the hill” toward a parkade’s construction, which is what the proponents of the Events Centre wanted decades ago, said Luhning.
“The cart is going before the horse here. The hotel is not built yet … ,” she continued, noting the city should improve its bus service so people have better transportation options to hockey games. Meanwhile, she thought city hall was “regurgitating” the idea of building a parkade where the Multiplex is.
Luhning pointed to the report’s first paragraph on page 2 as evidence of what this issue was about, which is whether the city “will bite and hang onto” constructing a parkade. Yet, she reminded council that they had just raised taxes and cut projects from the 2024 budget.
“I think council should be more careful about what they think is going on with the possibility of the taxpayers building a parkade downtown,” she added.
Plan now
“Prior planning prevents problems,” said Tolley, pointing out past councils failed to purchase land on River Street West — even though money was available — to build inexpensive above-ground parking for the Events Centre, nor did the city develop an area parking plan. So, another organization bought the property and wants to build something on it.
It’s wise for council to use the parking reserve money to ensure it goes about planning the downtown area “as intelligently as possible” based on the available information, he said, adding, “When we don’t plan, we fail.”
Use in-house staff
In response, Froese said, “Cliches don’t really apply to this,” pointing out city hall has completed studies about parking around the Multiplex, while reiterating that the parking app provides immediate data.
She also criticized council’s approach to outsourcing small studies to consultants — something she has noticed since joining in 2016 — since such requests “pop up here and there” in the budget.
“We really need to use the expertise of our staff,” she remarked, adding the downtown area plan likely has available parking data.
Luhning agreed that council was spouting off cliches, saying this request for another study was “absolutely ridiculous” and that many taxpayers were likely concerned about spending $11,150.
A future council decision
Eby said she wasn’t in favour of building a parkade but supported an assessment for proper future planning. She also pointed out that it would be a future council that created plans using the study’s data.
Meanwhile, she recalled how, during the Multiplex’s first five years, people would sarcastically ask where she parked when attending games because parking was “terrible.” She rejected that claim but said it would grow worse once the hotel was built and removed existing stalls.
The next executive committee meeting is Monday, Feb. 12.
