Bradford City officials are still undecided on the direction to go with the city’s parking meters.
Anita Dolan, community and economic development coordinator for the local Office of Economic and Community Development, conducted a work session prior to the regular council meeting on Tuesday. She provided a list to give council members a better idea of the costs and potential revenue from new meters. The package could include different enforcement options.
In a November work session, a representative of IPS Group provided information on smart meter and smart kiosks that could be installed to replace the existing meters.
“The biggest concern that we had would be the annual fees,” said Dolan. Fees would include the cost of monthly fees, as well as the cost of offering debit and credit card payments.
Officials plan to finalize meter plans in time to incorporate new meters on Main Street when the sidewalks are torn up for replacement during a upcoming rehabilitation project. Dolan said meters on side streets could be replaced over a period of several years.
New parking meters likely mean an increase in parking fees. Officials have discussed raising the hourly fee from 25 cents to 50 cents, which they note is still much lower than many cities.
Police Chief Chris Lucco, who talked about the enforcement of parking at the meeting, suggested coming up with two or three proposals for council to consider to simplify the decision process. He said he could probably find data for what other similar-sized municipalities charge for parking.
Mayor Tom Riel indicated he would like to have a trial with a new meter.
During the regular meeting that followed the work session, council approved a reassessment of the value of property owned by American Refining Group. It was previously reported that the assessment was lowered from more than $6 million to $3.4 million.
“Reluctantly, yes,” said Riel, during the vote.
The lower reassessment means ARG will be paying less in taxes.
All three taxing bodies must approve the reassessment. Bradford Area School District passed it Jan. 8. The vote will also go before the McKean County commissioners.
“We feel that’s as good as it’s going to get,” Riel said about the reassessment after the meeting.
Also after the meeting, solicitor Mark Hollenbeck added that the new reassessment value does not include a building ARG recently built, and that value will be added on at a later date.
Council also approved a loan for $300,000 that will be used for the construction of three news homes on Elm Street and Congress Place in the Second Ward Neighborhood Revitalization Project area.
Riel indicated the money would be repaid when the houses were sold.
