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Parking Board director outlines fine increases and special-event fees; council members raise concerns
Summary
Kirk Dodrill, director of the Huntington Parking Board, described proposals in Ordinance 2026-05 to raise parking fines from $5 to $20, cap special-event street parking at $25, extend enforcement hours and raise boot fees for self-removal; councilors questioned clarity, potential spillover effects and whether the language should return to the parking board for revision.
Kirk Dodrill, director of the Huntington Parking Board, presented the second reading of Ordinance 2026-05 to the City Council on Feb. 23, 2026, laying out several proposed changes to the city's parking code.
Dodrill said the proposal would not raise meter rates (retaining the quarter-per-hour meter established in 1961) but would increase parking fines from $5 to $20, create special-event parking zones with a capped maximum charge (proposed $25) for events defined as drawing more than 1,000 people, extend enforcement hours on event days to 10 p.m. (including Saturdays and holidays), and raise a maximum boot fee to $75 to support implementation of self-removal boots.
"The $5 fee is way too low," Dodrill said, arguing that higher fines would improve compliance and turnover and make more spaces available for retail and restaurant customers downtown. He said the board was not seeking to raise meter rates and that some event-related charges would be capped by ordinance so future administrations could not set unbounded fees without returning to council.
Council members asked detailed questions and offered constructive pushback. One council member called an alleged proposal to raise certain rates "a money grab," and others said the ordinance language as drafted caused confusion for the public. Concerns focused on spillover parking into nearby residential blocks and student neighborhoods if special-event charges were applied near Marshall University event sites; several council members recommended sending the ordinance back to the Parking Board for rework and clearer language so the public could understand and defend the changes.
Dodrill said some decisions about event-area implementation — how far event pricing would reach and whether $25 would apply to every event — could vary by event, and that not every event would be charged the maximum. He also said the board was considering offering self-removal boots with a maximum fee around $75 to cover hardware and software costs; the existing boot fee of $30 could remain if self-removal was not adopted.
What happens next: Council members proposed options including amendments or returning the ordinance to the Parking Board for revisions and additional public clarification. The transcript records extended Q&A but no recorded vote on Ordinance 2026-05.
Provenance: Topic runs from SEG 211 to SEG 664.
