May 14, 2008
The Patriot News reports:
The Harrisburg City Council sent Mayor Stephen R. Reed’s proposal to lease the city’s public parking facilities to its administration committee Tuesday night. Council President Linda Thompson, chairman of the committee, did not say when the committee would return a recommendation. Reed has proposed a $215 million lease of Harrisburg’s downtown public parking facilities to North American Strategic Infrastructure Partners, a New York City investment firm, and LAZ Parking of Hartford, Conn. Together, the companies would pay $215 million to lease nine parking garages, two public lots and 1,200 metered spaces. The companies would maintain, operate and even expand the parking facilities, but the parking authority would retain ownership and oversight. Irvin Kittrell III,The Patriot-News
Link to The Patriot News
Leave a Comment » | 
parking | Tagged: city council, government, harrisburg, parking | 
Permalink
Posted by harrisburgparking
May 12, 2008
Central Penn Business Journal reports:
Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed and the union leader for Harrisburg Parking Authority employees sounded worlds apart Friday, even as the union leader said the strife could have been avoided.
Reed said the union is open to talking about his proposal to lease city parking garages for $215 million. In fact, Reed said, a meeting was scheduled the week of May 9 between the proposed parking-garage operator and the union.
Not so, said union leader Gail Lewis.
“We’re not talking to anybody,” Lewis said. “Our members told us they didn’t want us to.”
Link to Central Penn Business Journal.
Leave a Comment » | 
parking | 
Permalink
Posted by harrisburgparking
May 6, 2008
Commonwealth Foundation reports:
While the city of Chicago recently contracted out a handful of their parking garages, such lease deals are rare – because there are almost no other government-run parking facilities in other states.
As I have pointed out before, 41 out of 46 government parking “authorities” in the US are located in PA . And the $66 million in expenditures by Pennsylvania’s parking authorities in represents 98% of the US total.
Link to Commonwealth Foundation.
Leave a Comment » | 
parking | 
Permalink
Posted by harrisburgparking
May 5, 2008
On May 5, 2008, Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed announced a plan to lease the parking resources of the City of Harrisburg for 75 years in an unprecedented public-private partnership. The title of the press release was as follows (link):
MAYOR PROPOSES MAJOR TAX REBATES, TAX RATE CUTS; ELIMINATION OF MOST CITY DEBT, HIRING OF ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS, MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, CODES INSPECTORS AND LAUNCH OF FIRST-EVER NEIGHBORHOOD BLIGHT SQUAD
From the moment the announcement was made, Reed did not want this to be about the lease; he wanted this to be about his “comprehensive financial plan”. The lease of the parking resources is the coin purse to fund that plan.
Harrisburg is in financial distress, and the city would benefit greatly from all of the positive elements included in Reed’s plan. Perhaps the parking resource lease is the best way to fund Harrisburg’s fiscal recovery. This is a decision that should not be left to the mayor alone.
Reed’s actions to date indicate that he wants to see the parking resource lease accepted quickly and with little discussion. The editors of this blog believe such a course is a mistake. Only through deliberate and active discussion can the entire community come to agreement on the best way to manage Harrisburg’s financial issues.
This blog aims to be both an incubator and a repository of that discussion.
Reprinted from the ‘About’ page.
Leave a Comment » | parking | Tagged: harrisburg, parking, Reed | Permalink
Posted by harrisburgparking
