Though they know it won't be popular, Grand Forks city leaders are mulling another round of parking assessments for downtown businesses, this time to pay debt on the Corporate Center ramp.
The City Council's Finance Committee discussed the matter Monday and agreed that, while some businesses say they don't use the ramp, they do benefit from not having all the cars in the ramp competing with them for street parking.
Council President Hal Gershman noted that of the 357 slots available, 236 are reserved, which he felt indicated they're being used. Even assuming some carpooling might take place if the ramp weren't available, he said, that's still an awful lot of cars kept off the streets.
He said he'd still like to meet with business owners to see if they have a better idea than parking assessments
These are payments based on the estimated number of workers and customers a business generates. In the past, city officials have met with owners, mostly of small businesses, but the assessments stayed.
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There's $313,000 in debt left on the ramp, which includes $116,000 remaining from the last assessment in 2005, leaving $197,000 for the final round.
City staff suggested the council stretch payments over 10 years or 20 years at 5 percent interest.
Council Vice President Eliot Glassheim said he wants to allow an option to pay over 20 years because it would reduce annual payments.
The actual cost of the ramp, opened in 2000, is $4.4 million, but most of that was paid with other city funds and federal flood recovery funds. The federal money totaled $2.7 million and, over the years, city funding has added up to $1.6 million in principal and interest payments.
The impact of the new assessment with the 10-year option ranges from a few hundred dollars a year for residential properties to $4,200 for large commercial buildings.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
