Parking in Pottsville may get a little less “punitive” for some who visit the downtown business district in the near future.
On Monday, as one of its first announcements, the newly-seated City Council announced that it’s working with Pottsville Parking Authority to provide some relief to people 62+ who come downtown.
City Councilman Jonathan Marsh said the council has asked the Parking Authority to provide more options to make parking “more friendly and efficient” downtown.
“Parking is very divisive here,” he said. “We don’t want it to continue to be the barrier that it’s been for our downtown businesses.”
The goal of the initiative, which was only hinted at pending a final presentation by the Parking Authority, is to allow those 62 and over a little freedom to visit downtown Pottsville and “handle their business without fear of being ticketed every time they step out of the vehicle,” Marsh said.
Right now, the plan is to focus on people in that age group to expedite its implementation.
Councilwoman Dottie Botto said she supports the idea of providing some relief to downtown visitors in that age group but questioned Marsh on how it would be monitored.
Mayor Tom Smith said the Parking Authority has been conducting a trial of monitoring time cars are parked downtown using technology already at its disposal.
Smith said the city is looking at something like a “two-hour free parking window” for those downtown visitors.
After Monday’s meeting, Marsh added that the initiative is aimed at not making parking “so punitive” in Pottsville.
He hinted that the system would potentially be permit- or placard-based. “Digital chalking” is also a technology available to the Parking Authority, Marsh added.
Parking Authority board member Joseph Drasdis III said the Parking Authority needs to finalize its plan a little more before it’s able to make a final presentation.
OTHER PARKING BUSINESS:
On Monday, Smith wiped the slate clean of Parking Authority board members and installed his own board. The Parking Authority board serves at the pleasure of the Mayor.
Several term expiration dates were also corrected.
The following members had their terms corrected before Smith made the changes:
- Joe Drasdis III (term expires June 1, 2026)
- Mike Weres (term expired June 1, 2024)
- Jim Humphrey (term expired June 1, 2025)
Smith then essentially removed all members before appointing a new board. Those new members are:
- Amber Grube (term to expire on June 1, 2029)
- Jim Humphrey (term to expire on June 1, 2030)
- Sean Reilly (term to expire on June 1, 2028)
- Bob Hoppe (term to expire on June 1, 2027)
- Drasdis III was re-appointed to his current seat.
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