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City staff flags $700,000-needed downtown parking repairs; council discusses funding options
Summary
City staff reported six downtown parking lots will need repairs in five to nine years at an estimated cost of about $700,000; councilmembers discussed doing nothing, levying through the general budget, or creating a parking district assessed to benefiting property owners and asked staff to gather business input.
City staff presented an initial assessment of downtown public parking and told the Little Falls City Council that six downtown lots will likely need improvements within five to nine years at an estimated total cost of about $700,000.
The assessment compared daytime and nighttime usage and concluded the overall number of stalls was close to projected demand but that aging pavement will require significant investment. Staff presented three options for funding the work: (1) do nothing and defer repairs, (2) budget through levy (general fund), or (3) create a parking district that assesses benefiting property owners — a mechanism the city used previously in 1980 but that the transcript said has since expired.
Council discussion emphasized getting input from downtown business owners before choosing a funding approach. Staff said assessments for parking-lot improvements would follow a process similar to street-improvement assessments under “Chapter 429” (as described in the meeting), and that the city could choose to do the work piecemeal or encompass multiple lots under a single district.
Next steps: Council asked staff to collect business-owner feedback, include the issue in strategic planning and fall budget discussions, and return with options for how to fund and stage parking-lot repairs.
