CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A consultant doing a parking study for the City of Clarksville back in 2023 said there is no paid parking scenario that can cover the city’s new $25 million parking garage.
On Monday, Clarksville Now, as well as the full City Council, received an email from a concerned downtown business owner about the upcoming proposal to abolish the city’s Parking Commission.
Jeff Robinson, owner of Blackhorse Pub & Brewery, referenced a 2023 email from a parking consultant the city hired. Robinson said he obtained the information from a public information request a few years ago, and he filed it away in case it became pertinent. “I think it is pertinent now,” he said.
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‘Under no revenue scenario’ can the city pay for garage through parking
In the email, a senior consultant with Desman Design Management said they had created four parking revenue scenarios and two parking expense scenarios for a City of Clarksville parking study with preliminary financial analysis. The consultant said they calculated the annual revenue for the next 10 years under four scenarios:
- Do nothing.
- Expand the on-street meter footprint.
- Expand the paid parking time to Monday-Friday through 8 p.m.
- Expansion of a day (Saturday) to paid parking.
The consultant said each successive scenario builds upon the previous. “The expense scenarios are with and without the debt services on a new garage (annual operating costs would remain). Under no revenue scenario can the city pay for a new $25 million parking structure under the Parking Enterprise Fund,” he said.
The consultant said that parking demand generated by F&M Bank Arena “will be largely satisfied by the F&M Bank Arena Garage.” Also, he said, the metered parking program was too small to create any significant increase in revenue without dramatic rate increases.
The study results were provided to the city in June 2023, one month after construction on the eight-story garage began in May 2023.
Robinson: City could have reduced project size
While the city has held the Parking Commission accountable for the costs of the parking garage, Robinson said the commission did not create the project or its expense.
“That Parking Commission did not decide where to build a garage, how big to build it or how to pay for it. That was all done on the 4th floor of City Hall. They didn’t borrow the money; the mayor and City Council did that. They didn’t hire the contractor; the mayor did that,” Robinson said.
“Those decisions were made in 2022 before the city hired an expert. In June of 2023, when this expert plainly stated to (former) CFO Laurie Matta and Parking Director Michael Palmore the Parking Enterprise Fund would never pay for a $25 million garage, the city could have still reduced the size of the project and lessened the debt on the taxpayers.”
Calls for additional study, long-term planning
Robinson acknowledged that there are problems with the Parking Commission.
“But this ordinance (to disband it) will cause more harm than good until it is replaced. Please defer this to the next administration,” Robinson said. “Tossing (parking ticket enforcement) to the police chief is like rolling a grenade towards him with the pin pulled. He has enough to worry about already. It would be so much more prudent to do a proper study of the situation and come up with a plan for the long term.”
Clarksville Now has reached out to the City of Clarksville for comment.
Conclusion of 2023 parking study
The 2023 Desman parking study concluded that with increases in “parking demand, revenue associated with a new 570-space Performing Arts Center Garage and expanding the hours and days of fee-based parking operation, the Parking Enterprise Fund will generate sufficient parking revenue to cover the cost of the parking management plan action items.”
However, the study said, the Parking Enterprise Fund cannot also cover the debt service on construction of the 570-space facility, which is estimated at $25 million.
“If the Parking Enterprise were responsible for the additional $1.2 to $1.7 million annual debt service payment, parking rates would need to double from $1.50 per hour for transient parking to $3.00 and from $45 per month for permit parking to $90. Given present market forces and the market rate for parking, it is anticipated that Clarksville’s stakeholders and elected officials would oppose such an increase and no
imminent changes to park rate.”
The City Council voting meeting is Thursday, Aug. 6, at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers, 106 Public Square.
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