The Glens Falls Common Council agreed to hire retired city clerk, Robert “Bob” Curtis, on a contractual basis at $40 per hour up to a total of $5,000 to help on a special parking project that will look at changing the city’s overnight parking laws. The vote came only after a discussion about the timing of the contracts, and about the need for the contract.
“My thinking was that Bob was the best person to lead us on this project,” said Fifth Ward Councilor Mary Gooden who had entered the resolution to hire Curtis on the agenda. Gooden chairs the Special Projects Committee which has been looking at the changes since last spring.
Ward 4 Councilor Ben Lapham had pulled the item from the roll call vote in order to discuss it more fully and said that his concern was that the committee was not yet ready for Curtis’ input. The city is waiting on a parking study and on data from parking sensors that will help them make decisions, he said.
“I don’t think it’s the time to be doing this,” Lapham said.
Ward 3 Councilor Diana Palmer was not too worried about the timing.
She worried, as she had during budget season late last year, that the city had hired full-time people to handle economic and community development projects.
“Planning” is under their job descriptions, she said, and yet the city was still hiring a consultant to do the work that Palmer believes the full-time staff should handle.
Mayor Bill Collins said that the economic development and community development directors will be bringing information to the Special Topics Committee.
"Jeff's already been asked to give us full information from the sensors and we just got the summary of the parking study, and that will be coming to your committee soon," the mayor said. He was referring to the city's Economic Development Director Jeff Flagg.
No one on the council questioned Curtis, his credentials, or his ability to do the job. In fact they all agreed that Curtis, with his 30-plus years of experience in the city, knowledge of city code and city history was an excellent choice to work this position.
At-large Councilor James Clark Jr. said that the council would still have control over the budget and that it was not simply giving $5,000 to Curtis. The mayor reminded Lapham that Lapham is on the Special Projects Committee and will be directly overseeing Curtis' work.
Still, Lapham asked for the resolution to be tabled until more information was available.
“The Common Council shouldn’t be appropriating funds until we know what we’re doing with them," he said, adding that having the data first would give a clearer understanding the further work that is or is not needed.
Lapham was the only “No” vote on the five-member panel.
Palmer voted for the contract, which comes from the city's American Recovery Plan Act funding, saying: “I’m not going to stop this, but I want to note my reservation."
The vote means that Curtis was hired to help the Special Projects Committee on the revision of the overnight parking rules in the city. Currently cars are not permitted to park on city streets between 2 and 6 a.m. Gooden is looking to run a pilot program testing one or more alternatives to the ban this spring.
The restriction causes a problem for some homeowners who do not have driveways, and for landlords who rent houses without driveways and might therefore only be able to rent to people without cars.
The committee is looking at many options, including parking in alternate spaces, lifting the restrictions, zoned parking, and even renting parking spaces on city streets to the homeowners.
Gooden said during the meeting that she was hoping for Curtis’s expertise to help the committee make decisions.
“I like to do the best job I can. I like it done right,” she said after the meeting. "There's a lot to look into. It's not going to be an easy fix."
The current law reads: “Overnight parking. No person shall park a vehicle on any City street between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. of any day, except for the south side of Lapham Place between Glen Street and the loading dock of the building located at 229 Glen Street.”
Currently, people may park overnight in city-owned parking lots.