Board of Aldermen 03-09-2021 Page 36
But this would allow the Mayor and the Parking Manager, for example, instead of the time being noon to 9:00
p.m. the Parking Manager and the Mayor could change the time from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. or change it from
5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. depending on what kind of plan they come up with to try to accommodate the retail
establishments. | am told by the retail establishments that they are there every day and they see, for example,
the area in front of Wingate’s, the barrier currently extends from the corner of Factory Street and so it covers
that hair salon that is on the corner and then there’s San Francisco Kitchen so it allows dining for San
Francisco Kitchen but it also covers Wingate’s, Cardin’s, and then extends beyond the Nashua Garden.
So you have got from Factory Street all the way past Nashua Garden to around a walkway there, | believe,
which is covered by a barrier. There is some area there which allows for short-time parking for take out
possibilities. But during the day like these retail establishments open up around 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning
and they are trying to do business all day long. The restaurants really don’t, San Francisco Kitchen and | think
Nashua Garden does have a lunchtime business. But there’s a lot of time there where they are not, those
outdoor dining areas are not being used and there’s not any take out being done. So perhaps the time limits,
perhaps allowing for example the 15 minute parking to extend from 8:30 in the morning which would allow
people to scoot in there, park for free, go into the drug store, get their prescription and leave. That's a
possibility. All | am trying to do, Alderman O’Brien, is give our professionals, the Parking Manager, Director
Cummings and the Mayor the opportunity to make adjustments that are warranted. If we adopt the Ordinance
as is, it is set in stone or in granite or in concrete until November 15.
| think Attorney Bolton has told us that these tweaks that we thought that Director Cummings could implement,
the Ordinance doesn’t really allow him to do that. But the amended Ordinance would.
Alderman O’Brien
Follow up?
President Wilshire
Alderman O’Brien?
Alderman O’Brien
Thank you. Through the Chair to Alderman Jette if | may, Madam President,
President Wilshire
Yes.
Alderman O’Brien
Last year | think there was, the previous one that we just discussed, the Ordinance we discussed, that you said
wasn't flexible, but last year was extremely flexible. Wingate’s only had one 15 minute type of situation and it
was increased and actually took space away from another business, the Nashua Garden, OK. So that proves
that there was flexibility. But the thing is, again, what | don’t understand, once these barriers go down, | don’t
want to give the public the impression that they can come up and say, “Oh this isn’t working out for me” like |
say, the City doesn’t own the equipment.
| am not going to go out and buy a $500,000.00 excavator, they probably go for about that, | don’t know what
an excavator goes for. But like | say, | do know that we are going to be paying an independent contractor to
move these things. So | don’t know how much flexibility once they go down, and like | say, Wingate’s was at
the, as you remember, at the Infrastructure meetings and | am glad to see that the negotiations are still going
on as brought up by Alderman Dowd to discuss these things. The barriers aren't there yet so there seems to
be some time with this.
