Scranton council OKs refinancing steps for parking authority; business owners, residents urge removing Saturday meters

Scranton City Council approved a package of measures on Tuesday to advance refinancing and transfer arrangements for the city's parking system, while dozens of downtown business owners, residents and institutions urged the city to abandon or narrow a proposal that would extend metered hours and begin charging on Saturdays.

The council voted to move forward with financial steps tied to the parking authority's transaction, including resolutions authorizing refinancing under federal tax rules and the city's acceptance of the parking authority's obligations and garages. At the same meeting, public commenters and several council members urged removing the Saturday enforcement provision and asked for more protections for seniors, students and small businesses.

Why this matters: The refinancing and transfer are intended to avoid a potential default on parking-system bonds and to restructure the concession and lease agreements that govern metered street parking and downtown garages. Opponents warned that expanding enforcement to Saturdays and extending daily hours would reduce weekend foot traffic, hurt small businesses, and impose new costs on low-income residents and students.

Council action and what it does - The council read into the record and advanced ordinance 6D (file to council number 84 of 2025), described in the agenda as amendments to the 2016 concession and lease agreements that would extend terms, transfer the authority's metered system and garages to the city and authorize related actions. That ordinance passed the reading-by-title motion. - The council also read and advanced an associated ordinance to amend the city's parking-meter rate and hours schedule (item 6E, file to council number 85 of 2025) to permit higher meter rates, extended weekdays enforcement and a service fee for certain payment methods. - Separately, the council unanimously adopted three finance resolutions (7C, 7D and 7E in the record) authorizing refinancing under federal tax rules and approving acceptance of the parking authority's obligations and acquisition of the parking garages; those resolutions passed on roll-call votes recorded in the meeting minutes.

At the same meeting a motion to table the ordinance that would amend the concession agreement (6D) failed on a tied vote, leaving the underlying measures to proceed. Council members said the decisions were time-sensitive because bondholder negotiations are ongoing and the refinancing window is limited.

Public concerns and council response - Downtown business leaders, residents and nonprofit representatives spoke in opposition to extending enforcement to Saturdays and to raising meter hours. Leslie Collins, president and CEO of Scranton Tomorrow, urged the council to "review and consider revising the section regarding implementation of Saturday metered parking to a more mutually beneficial outcome, supporting both the parking system, refinancing, and the downtown business community." She said downtown businesses rely on Saturday foot traffic for sales and special events.

- Small-business owners described practical problems with kiosks and the Pango app and said unreliable payment equipment already deters patrons. Andrew Merwine, co-owner of Loyalty Barber Shop, warned: "Extending the paid parking hours and removing free Saturdays will only increase confusion and deter visits to downtown businesses." Several speakers said elderly patrons, students and low-income workers would be most affected.

- Lackawanna College's general counsel told the council that many of the college's students are non-traditional and work full time; charging Saturdays and extending hours would burden those students who use campus and library services on weekends.

Financial context presented to council - City financial advisers and bond advisors described the refinancing structure to the council. A financial adviser summarized three series of bonds under negotiation: the largest Series A at roughly 5.75 percent, a taxable Series B around 6 percent, and capital-appreciation bonds near 6.75 percent. The advisers said rates were still being negotiated but expected to fall in those ranges.

- Council members and the advisers said the bondholders had agreed to a substantial concession to preserve the parking system's operations. An adviser described a roughly $15 million present-value reduction (described in the meeting as a "$15,000,000 haircut") to bondholder recoveries as part of the package to keep the system solvent.

- City contributions cited in the meeting included an upfront capital contribution (discussed in the meeting as about $155,000) and ongoing annual improvements (discussed as about $200,000 a year); these city contributions were described as part of the overall negotiations with investors.

Council debate and next steps Several council members acknowledged the economic concerns raised by speakers and said they would press the concessionaire and bondholders for concessions, particularly on the Saturday enforcement provision. Council members asked for clearer commitments on: (1) whether kiosks will be reliably maintained, (2) protections or reduced rates for seniors, students and long-term downtown residents, (3) discounts or voucher programs to incentivize use of garages rather than surface street parking, and (4) a firm policy about not continuing to accept payment after enforcement hours end.

Council voted on multiple items related to the transaction: after a failed motion to table the concession amendment ordinance (6D), the council proceeded to pass the finance resolutions (7C, 7D and 7E) authorizing refinancing steps, assumption of authority obligations by the city and acquisition of parking garages. Council members indicated they expected continued discussions with the concessionaire and bondholders in the following days.

What was not decided The record does not show the council adopting a final, detailed rate schedule or a final, binding change to meter hours that would immediately take effect. Several council members and speakers asked for additional specific commitments (maintenance metrics for kiosks, discounts, voucher programs and clearer timelines). Those details were not resolved in the meeting record and were described by council members as items they would seek from the concessionaire or include in later implementing documents.

Evidence from the meeting The discussion began in public comment from downtown business and institutional representatives (including Leslie Collins of Scranton Tomorrow, small-business owners and representatives from Lackawanna College and the Scranton Public Library) and continued through council debate and roll-call votes recorded under items 6D, 6E and resolutions 7C'E.

A follow-up: Council members said staff would continue negotiations with the bondholder and the concessionaire and return to council with any proposed amendments or clarifications; several members requested information about kiosk uptime and enforcement staffing before finalizing a permanent rate and hours schedule.

Ending note: Council members said they seek to avoid a default that could leave the city liable for greater financial exposure while trying to protect downtown businesses, students and seniors from unintended economic harm.