West Chester parking committee reports revenue gains, plans elevator assessment, EV charger and loading‑zone audit

The West Chester Parking Committee met and heard a garage performance update that showed October and year‑to‑date gains and outlined several near‑term operations and maintenance steps.

Chris Hankins of Colonial Parking said, “In October, total revenues were $249,000,” with operating expenses of $50,540 and a net operating income of $198,791 for the month. He told the committee year‑to‑date revenue is $2,257,381 with operating expenses of $523,094 and year‑to‑date net operating income reported as $1,734,287; Hankins said those figures are ahead of budget and ahead of the same month the prior year.

The report included usage details: contract parkers in October were 295 at the Bicentennial Garage and 710 at Chestnut Street (combined 1,005), and average daily transient revenue and ticket counts were higher than recent months. Hankins attributed higher average ticket value ($4.31 in October vs. a typical $3.70 range) to special events and explained attendance declines at two events: “We had the Halloween parade…185 folks who came in and parked at the garages this year for the Halloween parade” versus 521 the prior year, and the chili cook‑off parked 365 cars this year versus 698 previously.

Resident Daryl Cook asked, “Are there plans to get the elevator fixed?” The meeting facilitator replied yes. Borough staff later said the borough is working with Premier Vertical Solutions on a phase‑one elevator assessment for both garages to inform capital planning and that a staff member has drafted an RFP for elevator maintenance services “that we will be posting shortly.”

Staff also reported other infrastructure actions: a purchase order on the finance agenda to add three kiosks (bringing the planned total to eight), completion of the Bicentennial ceiling project, and an EV charging station expected to be installed in the Chestnut Street Garage between the first and second levels between now and the next meeting. Bike lockers have been installed in the Chestnut Street lot; staff said Tim Phelps from TMAC helped secure a grant to upgrade the locker doors electronically and that the borough will consider pricing and a possible six‑month free trial to encourage use.

The director said staff is updating Chapter 104 with the solicitor and running a loading‑zone audit; pink signs are being posted to reconcile actual signage and usage with ordinance text. Staff described current enforcement practices—officers mark or “chalk” vehicles for about 20 minutes before enforcement—and said they will tighten enforcement where needed. The committee discussed potential ordinance changes such as designating one side of Gay Street for loading during certain hours and standardizing loading‑zone placement across blocks.

Several financial figures for October were read aloud, including posting revenue of $3,659.50 and permit revenue of $4,611; portions of the transcript contained formatting inconsistencies for other dollar amounts, which are reflected as presented at the meeting. Staff committed to further recon and ordinance work and to post the elevator maintenance RFP in the near term.