By Michael Stivers
At last week’s meeting, the City Council heard a request from Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church to reduce permit-only parking to two-hour non-permit parking on Farragut Drive.
The Council asked staff for the number of violations of the present parking restriction. The representative of the Police Dept. said there had been 200 violations in the last measured six-month period. At $60 a violation, that is revenue to the city of $12,000.
The mayor said she would not support a reduction in the permit. She said she understands that those who want to use this block to park would overwhelm the block. The other four Council members asked staff to estimate the cost to suspend the permit and study just how overwhelmed the block would be. It would cost $20,000 to hire consultant, and there would be the cost of additional time from the city staff.
I am sure that Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church has many fine programs. Still, I do not think that taxpayers should take a hit of over $30,000 to give the church a city street to use as its parking lot. When the church was established in the 1950s, they did not provide parking. Sixty-some years later, the church still does not provide their own parking.
Do you want to pay for the church’s parking?
Mr. Stivers may be contacted at the.stivers@ca.rr.com
