Commission tells staff to draft temporary free parking for Aggieville construction, continues talks on reserved downtown stalls

Commissioners directed staff to draft a resolution to change the Aggieville garage fee schedule during a 30-day construction window and to continue negotiations with HCW (owner/operator of the Hilton Garden Inn) about reserving stalls in the downtown garage.

The direction came after a presentation from Parking Services staff about the division’s budget, recent investments in the downtown garage and usage in the Aggieville garage, followed by public comment from business owners and residents.

The parking updates explained that the Parking Services Division was established in 2022 and now includes roughly 5.5 full-time equivalents who manage two garage facilities, residential color-zone permits and enforcement across two business districts. “I lead a small but effective team that consists of 2 full time parking officers,” Parking Services Manager Heath Romine said, describing staff duties and limited office hours.

The commission heard that downtown garage repairs identified in a Walker Consultants review total about $800,000. Staff said prior investments included about $215,000 for elevator modernization paid from Transient Guest Tax (TGT) funds and roughly $700,000 invested into the facility in recent years. Staff proposed selling blocks of reserved stalls (staff described a proposal for about 250 stalls) to the Hilton/HCW group so the city could generate a predictable revenue stream to pay for downtown repairs. Staff estimated the reserved-stall arrangement could generate on the order of $100,000 annually and use that revenue for a multiyear capital program to address concrete, sealant and cladding issues.

Staff also reviewed Aggieville usage and fees. The division reported roughly 450 stalls in the Aggieville garage and about 40,000 annual transactions last year; staff said hourly revenue in Aggieville is roughly $80,000 and permit revenue fills out the remainder of an approximately $136,000 total annual parking revenue figure cited in the presentation. Commissioners were told the city had authorized up to $115,000 in TGT funds to offset conference parking in 2024 but that ParkMobile promo-code glitches limited use of those funds to about $2,000 during implementation.

Business owners urged help for the district during construction. “Anything we can do to ease the pain, anything you can do to help ease that pain, we really, really appreciate it,” Rob Good, a local business owner, told commissioners. A downtown resident and business owner criticized HCW’s historical handling of the downtown garage and called for the company to “pay [its] fair share”: “HCW built the garage poorly in 2010, and we are paying to mend those defects to this day,” Amber Starling said.

After the discussion, staff reported there was consensus to bring back a draft resolution that would make the Aggieville garage free from May 19 through June 9, 2025, with flexibility to extend the period if construction delays continue. Staff also said they would continue negotiations with HCW and the Hilton group on a reserved-stall agreement and return with contract terms and cost/revenue estimates for commissioners to review.

No final contract or formal ordinance was approved at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to return with a detailed contract proposal for reserved stalls, cost estimates for the downtown repair program and a draft resolution for the Aggieville fee change at a future commission meeting.

The commission also reaffirmed that the city will continue tracking garage usage and citation revenue and will present more detailed financial modeling before making long-term changes to the parking fund or permitting structure.