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Swisher Economic Alliance proposes leasing downtown lumberyard for parking at $200 a month
Summary
Swisher Economic Alliance representatives told the council the clinic is willing to lease the old downtown lumberyard for $200 a month to provide roughly 40–50 parking spaces. Council asked staff to study site improvements, insurance, and costs and approved attorney revisions to the draft lease.
Representatives from the Swisher Economic Alliance presented a proposal to lease the town's unused downtown lumberyard as a public parking lot, saying the clinic is "willing to lease the old lumberyard for $200 a month." Alliance representatives told the council they estimated "approximately 40 to 50 parking spaces" would fit in the site and argued the lot would ease persistent downtown parking pressure, especially on busy Wednesday nights.
Council members and business owners pressed about costs and site constraints: grading, a required base for surfacing, proximity to the railroad right-of-way and a light pole blocking a possible access route. The city engineer (S4) said staff could produce cost spreadsheets and grading recommendations for the council to review by November. Mayor (S1) flagged insurance as a constraint: "The city currently has 3,000,000, in liability coverage," and staff said the city insurance agent preferred a requirement of $3,000,000 rather than the $5,000,000 limit originally in the lease draft. The council approved a motion to accept the city attorney's proposed revisions to the lease and asked staff to return with cost estimates and HR Green's review before taking any final lease action.
Actions taken: council moved to accept the attorney's lease revisions and voted in favor. Staff were asked to have HR Green evaluate site work and to return with a cost estimate and a draft to negotiate further with the property owner.
