Feedback on 2026 downtown parking projects and how parking money is spent

In plain English

Public Works staff are giving the Downtown Commission a status report on city parking operations and the Parking Fund, the separate pot of money fed by meter, garage and lot fees. Staff report that the fund's yearly revenue has recently approached $7.5M while spending for the coming fiscal year is projected at $7.8M, and that the fund is not forecast to bring in more than it spends until Fiscal Year 2028. Remaining projects include elevator modernization, roof repairs at the Locust St. Garage, and a paused upgrade of on-street meters. A yes vote does not spend any money; it forwards the commission's feedback and priorities to staff, which could be folded into the Fiscal Year 2028 Financial Plan.

Anyone who parks downtown, or runs a business or lives there, is affected by which repairs and upgrades get funded and by how the city pays off borrowing for the new Cathcart parking structure, since rates were raised in July 2023 to support that financing.

Key facts

Parking Services maintains nearly 2,000 off-street spaces in four public parking structures and 15 open-air lots, plus more than 700 metered on-street spaces.
Parking Fund revenue has recently approached $7.5M per year; spending in the coming fiscal year is projected at $7.8M, with the first net-positive year forecast for Fiscal Year 2028.
The new mixed-use facility at Lincoln St., Cedar St. and Cathcart St. will include a 238-space parking facility, replacing parking lost from removing Lot 4 and Lot 5 (the 525 Cedar St. housing project). Bond financing was secured in Fiscal Year 2025 and construction began in early Fiscal Year 2026.
$750K was committed in Fiscal Year 2025 to fully modernize garage elevators after repeated failures and parts no longer being manufactured; the elevators are still working toward reopening.
Roof repairs to leased retail spaces at the Locust St. Garage are estimated at about $300K, and the on-street meter and pay-station modernization, estimated at $700K to $900K, is temporarily on hold.
In Fiscal Year 2023 the Parking Fund bought the building at 123 Locust St. for $2.3M and converted it into the Parking Services staff office.

Reasons to support

Staff say corrective steps — deferring non-critical maintenance and capital projects, trimming supplies and services, extending the life of fleet vehicles, and holding staffing steady — are protecting the fund's reserves while the fund runs at a deficit.
Some repairs cannot wait: elevator parts are no longer made and the cars experienced numerous closures, so staff concluded full modernization was the only workable fix.
Commission feedback now can shape which projects are requested in the Fiscal Year 2028 Financial Plan, and the report notes it carries no cost this year, no General Fund impact, no budget adjustment and no ongoing commitment.

Reasons to oppose or change it

The bond repayment plan for the Cathcart structure is built on the assumption that the fund turns net-positive in Fiscal Year 2028; if revenue falls short, the fund would face pressure to raise rates again or defer more work.
Keeping the meter modernization on hold, and looking at vendor lease options instead of buying, means drivers keep using more than 700 older meters with limited card payment while the estimated $700K to $900K cost is postponed.
Parking supply shrinks before it grows: Lot 4 and Lot 5 are being removed and the replacement facility provides 238 spaces, so downtown loses spaces during construction while rates raised in July 2023 continue to fund it.
Spending choices can be questioned — the fund paid $2.3M for the building at 123 Locust St. for staff offices while capital projects such as the roughly $300K Locust St. Garage roof repairs still lack identified funding.

Official wording

2026 Parking Projects and Fund Update Motion to review, provide feedback, and make recommendations to staff for future projects and parking fund goals and objectives. Information Items Subcommittee/Advisory Body Oral Reports Items Initiated by Members for Future Agendas

Official agenda

Summary written by claude-opus-5 from the agenda and the Staff report (agenda packet, pages 16-24). It can contain mistakes. The official documents govern.