The Albright Memorial Library schedules programming during free parking hours in downtown Scranton and Martina Soden worries about changing the free hours.
Soden, who runs the library's reference department, fears adding more hours when drivers must pay for parking could discourage library visitors.
"Our patrons have been hindered over the years to the cost of parking. These new changes will have an effect on accessibility of our resources and access to all we offer,” she said.
After almost an hour of public comment, Scranton City Council tied 2-2 in a vote on lengthening the hours for weekday street parking and beginning to charge on Saturdays. The tie means the motion failed, but the matter could come up for another vote when an absent councilman returns.
Council members Tom Schuster and Mark McAndrew voted against the proposal. Council President Gerald Smurl and Councilwoman Jessica Rothchild voted yes. Councilman Bill King was absent.
All council members shared concerns about the changes the nonprofit National Development Council (NDC) is seeking.
NDC began leasing the Scranton Parking Authority's garages and street meters from the city in 2016 and took on the city's parking debt, four years after the city defaulted on payments. The council is looking to refinance that debt.
NDC asked the city to approve extending payment hours for street payment kiosks to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from the current 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It's currently free to park downtown on weekends. NDC wants to add paid parking at meters from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
NDC is also asking the city to contribute $2 million over the next 10 years to system maintenance and repairs of four garages; add solar panels to two garages to generate revenue; and dissolve the parking authority.
The Saturday hours drew the most ire from business owners and residents during a meeting that lasted more than two hours.
“Back in 2012 when the default happened and in 2016 when the monetization happened, the monetization was considered one of the first steps of revitalization in the City of Scranton and I feel the rate increase, plus the extension of hours, plus the addition of Saturdays goes against that revitalization. It defeats that purpose,” Schuster said.
Rates at meters and garages will not change because of the new proposal. It costs $2 for an hour to park downtown. That will go up to $2.25 in 2026 but that was part of a previously agreed upon fee structure.
A 'complicated transaction'
Former Mayor Bill Courtright made the deal with NDC in August 2016 as part of the city's financial recovery plan, which helped the city relieve itself of the parking system's debt. The City Council had defaulted on paying the debt years before. The deal at the time was called the “most complicated transaction ever for the city.”
Without the changes, NDC representatives say $45 million in bonds could go into default.
"The pandemic hit, obviously that affected everyone's business, including the parking business. We knew that we had to restructure the bonds, and that's really why we're here today. The revenues that we’re generating from the parking system due to the lower rates in the pandemic weren't sufficient to support the amount of debt that we had borrowed in 2016,” said Dave Trevisani, from Community Development Property Scranton, an NDC arm.
They secured a deal with the investment firm, AllianceBerstein, that eliminates $15 million by restructuring the debt but is contingent on extending payment hours, Trevisani said.
“We only can make so much money, either we raise rates or you don't get paid. Now, they can come in and run the system and raise the rates if they want, but they don't really see that as a good deal. They want to work with us, and they want to work with the city, and they want to continue to be the lender, but they recognize that system can't afford $40 million,” Trevisani said.
Trevisani said downtown residents come home from work after 5 p.m. and park cars on the street until the next morning, which discourages parking turnover. Extending weekday hours until 7 p.m. should change that and maybe drive more people into parking garages, he said.
He said AllianceBerstein wants paid Saturday parking.
“We’re very happy to go back to talk to the bondholders and try to work something out with them, with maybe we can figure out something on the hours, or maybe it's a lower rate on Saturdays," he said. "But we feel pretty strongly as an economic development company, and working with parking companies and working with cities all over the country, actually, that the parking enforcement after 5 and on Saturdays is really important for the good of the city and the good of the parker and the good of the retailer.”
During a caucus meeting, Trevisani showed a slide featuring Pennsylvania cities that charge for Saturday parking. That includes smaller cities like Pittston and Wilkes-Barre and larger ones like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Retailers say otherwise
Charles Jefferson, a downtown developer who revitalized many buildings to include apartments and condos, wanted to know about NDC's marketing and business plans.
"I have residents downtown. I've never seen an outreach from the parking authority to any of those residents never I've never seen a validation program to any business down here to encourage people to park in those garages," Jefferson said.
Many who spoke, like William Nasser, who co-owns Backyard Ale House on Linden Street, and Jenn Saunders, who owns Northern Lights Espresso Bar and Cafe on Biden Street, said their employees will pay more for parking, too.
Many questioned the quick turnaround to vote for the new plan.
Andrew Merwine co-owns Loyalty Barber Shop on Adams Avenue.
"We've worked hard to remain successful while still dealing with the lasting effects of the pandemic, combined with rising rent, utilities and supply costs, making margins tighter than ever," Merwine said. "Many other businesses downtown are in the same position trying to maintain momentum in a tough economic environment that the changes in parking will only make tougher."
Merwine and others told council the kiosks often don't work and confuse many, especially older residents. The kiosks are often the reason people come downtown on Saturdays, instead of during the week.
"Longer parking hours may create short term revenue, but they risk driving away the very people that we need to continue bringing downtown back to life. If fewer people come downtown, every business suffers, and so does the city's tax base,” he said.
Before council voted, Rothchild said she understands the need for debt refinancing but has other concerns, like the kiosks.
“I want to see a hard stop for payment after hours, so that we’re not accepting money. I feel that it's deceptive to people who may not even be residents from outside of the area who may be visiting and may not be aware of the parking hours for us to continue accepting payment at the kiosk,” she said. “Obviously we need better maintenance of the kiosks, we’ve been asking for that for a long time now.”
What's next
NDC plans to take the concerns back to the negotiating table with AllianceBerstein.
City solicitor Jessica Eskra said she hopes the council can vote to pass the changes at its next meeting, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The administration is willing to answer more questions and address concerns, she said.
“We need our businesses to be supported by a safe, clean, reliable parking system. It is a critical part of economic development, and so that's why we came up with the deal structure that we did,” she said.
