Poll: Who Should Gov Nixon Appoint St. Louis License Collector?

Last week it was announced a city hall regular would be leaving elected office to take a new job:

The Board of Directors of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. has appointed Michael P. McMillan, 41, as the next president and chief executive officer of the 95 – year old Urban League affiliate. McMillan, the License Collector for the City of St. Louis since 2007 and a longtime Urban League member and supporter, takes the helm August 5, succeeding James H. Buford who is retiring after 28 years of stellar service to the Urban League. (Urban League)

McMillan, 42 as of last Friday, will be assuming an important leadership position in St. Louis, congratulations.

This also means a city-wide elected office will become vacant, the position of license collector.    As a county office, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, will appoint a successor to complete the term, which ends on December 31, 2014. The next primary is in August 2014.  The appointee will have nearly a year in office on the day of the primary.

Speculation began right away as to who Nixon might be considering, the Post-Dispatch listed the following in Field to replace St. Louis License Collector is wide open:

• Brian Wahby, the former chairman of the St. Louis City Democrats who lost a bid for city treasurer last year.
• Terry Kennedy, a workhorse at the Board of Aldermen who chairs the board’s Ways and Means committee.
• Marlene Davis, close friend of McMillan’s who represents his old Midtown ward.
• Martin Casas, who unsuccessfully ran for state representative and is looking to stay active in politics
• Donna Baringer, alderman from the city’s Ward 16.
• Jeffrey Boyd, alderman from the city’s Ward 22.

If Nixon appoints a current alderman then we’d see jockeying to fill that seat. I personally like to see the players change seats every so often, otherwise races get stagnant as voter apathy increases.

Speaking of stagnant, we shouldn’t forget the two most senior members on the Board of Aldermen:

• Fred Wessels
• Phyllis Young

Both were sworn into office in April 1985! Wessels ran for treasurer last year, Young ran for president of the board of alderman in 1995.

Assuming all are equally qualified, Nixon may consider the race of his appointee. He may not want to appoint a white person to a citywide seat held by a black person. Then again, he may not care.

Will McMillan ask Nixon to appoint Marlene Davis? Given her recent financial difficulties, the increased salary would no doubt help her personally. As of January 1, 1999, the annual salary was $64,130 (source). I’m uncertain of the current salary after annual adjustments.

The replacement is the poll question this week: Who should Gov Nixon appoint St. Louis License Collector? The poll is in the right sidebar, you’ve got the option to add a name if you like.

— Steve Patterson

I Can’t Imagine My Life Without The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Twenty-three years ago today our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 into law. At that time I was still living in Oklahoma, just 23 years old. I’d completed all but one course for a bachelor degree in architecture, though I don’t recall the idea of accessibility ever coming up in my 5 years in school.  Accessibility was on the radar of some, but it wasn’t law so it was easily ignored.

I had no idea that just 18 years later I’d come to be so thankful the bi-partisan congress passed the law and the president signed it.

Today Bush, 89, is seen publicly in a wheelchair  — not standing. He’s got a Secret Service detail to help him, he’s not going grocery shopping or taking the bus to the doctor like us regular folks.

Don’t think this doesn’t apply to you, the statistics around disability are eye opening to many:

• Just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire.
• Over 37 million Americans are classified as disabled; about 12% of the total population. More than 50% of those disabled Americans are in their working years, from 18-64.
• 8.8 million disabled wage earners, over 5% of U.S. workers, were receiving Social Security Disability (SSDI) benefits at the end of 2012.
• In December of 2012, there were over 2.5 million disabled workers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s receiving SSDI benefits. (source) 

If not you in your working life, then likely a family member, friend, or co-worker.

As I show often there is a lot of work to be done, but without the ADA I couldn’t live the independent life I lead.

— Steve Patterson

Fragmentation: One Tiny Example That Reeks

The St. Louis region ranks second in the nation for fragmentation of government, resulting in negative consequences:

With each decennial Census since 1980, we find that more people are leaving the St. Louis region than moving in. We rank very low among competing metropolitan areas in job growth and in new business starts. We have not attracted the new immigrants that other metros have done in recent decades, and our demographic profile is much less diverse than that of regions that are growing. Economic and racial disparities create chasms within the regional family. Our governmental structure is second in the nation in terms of fragmentation. (East West Gateway)

Not good, right? Often cited is the 90+ municipalities in St. Louis County but last week I discovered a small example of governmental fragmentation within the City of St. Louis.

A parking meter issue related to the Central Library was voted on by the Parking Commission last week that required me to dig into St. Louis’ history from 156+ years ago to get some answers. Huh?  Yes, I had to go back to two land transactions from 1857 to try to make sense of a modern day issue. I’m still not totally clear about the legality of a recent property boundary adjustment, but first let me set up the background for you.

We need to start with the history of the land bounded by Olive, 14th, St. Charles St., and 13th — today the site of the Central Library and Lucas Park. The old city website about Lucas Park had great information, good thing I saved it before it was removed:

Lucas Garden was the site of a brick house built by Judge Lucas in 1820 facing the present St. Charles Street or King’s Road, as it was called. There is still a flowing spring in the Public Library basement that was the water supply for the Judge’s home.

“Desirous of contributing to the ornament and health of the City of St. Louis and at the same time to establish a permanent monument to the memory of his ancestor (father) the late Honorable John B. C. Lucas, in the shape of a public square bearing his name,” reads the deed signed by James H. and Marie E. Lucas on March 24, 1857, giving the block of land immediately north of the St. Louis Public Library to St. Louisians. The deed states further that, “This conveyance is however made with the express condition, to wit: that said public square shall forever be maintained as a public promenade for the inhabitants of the City of St. Louis.”

On the same day in 1857 that he signed the deed on Lucas Garden, James H. Lucas sold the block where the Public Library now stands to the city for the sum of $95,000.

In 1859, a board of improvement for the park was created and its development started.

Its layout caused Locust Street to be closed at 13th and the park was given an asymmetrical plan with a bandstand near the foot of Lucas Place. Sale of the buildings at the southwest corner of the park was authorized by Ordinance in 1872. From the time of the first appropriation in 1858 to 1877, $41,465 was spent on it.

The entire 6.25 acres was named Missouri Park and provided popular downtown breathing space until the erection of the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall in 1883. Licensed to a private corporation for a period of 50 years, the ground was restored to use as a park in 1907 and designs for the Italian Renaissance inspired library building were drawn up by the famous architect Cass Gilbert. The library was completed in 1912.

Locust Street was reopened behind the Library from 13th to 14th Streets and the present sunken garden with its fountain was developed. (source)

So the city bought the block where the library stands, but the land for the park to the north was a gift to the city, with conditions. With both parcels part being public land there shouldn’t an issue over boundaries. Shouldn’t, but there is.

“Their property?” The city “provided” land presumably part of the 1857 grant to the city to the public library, which then generously allowed the Treasurer’s office to keep parking meters located on the new moved sidewalk. Could citizens stage a protest on this sidewalk or would the library tell citizens it isn’t public property?

At the July meeting of the Parking Commission they voted to allow the library to “hood” the ten meters on library property up to 50 times per year for special events, including board meetings.

The next day I emailed all involved, informing them the library neglected to mention that two of the ten spaces are designated as disabled parking. Even if the parking meter is hooded, anyone parking in the space needs a legit disabled placard or plates. You can be sure I’ll be watching to see. Even so, I don’t like the idea of a disabled patron driving down to the library only to find every space on this side of the street taken by the library for board members.

A fragmented, reeking mess.

— Steve Patterson

Downtown Fiat Display Closed

Last month the downtown display-only showroom for Lou Fusz Fiat closed.

The store was not a licensed dealership — a costly process that involves permission from the auto manufacturer, in this case Chrysler, and usually a sizable investment — but rather a display not unlike what you might find in a shopping mall. It also enlivened a storefront downtown that had sat empty for several years, so much so that the building’s owner let Fusz occupy the space rent-free. (stltoday)

Indeed the cars inside the corner space of 1015 Locust more interesting. Once again, it is empty.

I wrote If It Sounds Too Good To Be True… in January 2012 when others were splitting hairs between “dealership” and “full-service dealership.” With a staff person and availability of test drives this was more than a simple display, though well short of a full dealership. The Missouri legislature must have thought it was too close to being a dealership and tightened up laws to clarify displays.

Of course, Lou Fusz could build an actual dealership. I could picture an urban dealership at Tucker & Cass, easily reached by downtown residents/workers and visible to the thousands that’ll come into downtown on the new I-70 bridge when it opens next year.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Not Enforcing Short-Term Parking Limits

As I posted last month, St. Louis will began charging to park at meters downtown on July 1, 2013.  For the first two Saturdays warning notices will be placed on vehicles. Because of this change of policy, those who wish to park at meters all day on Saturdays will go out and feed the meters every two like they have been Monday-Friday from 8am-7pm. In most cities re-feeding the meter to extend the time is illegal, presumably it is in St. Louis too — it just wasn’t enforced by the previous treasurer for 3 decades.

In the interest of trying to determine St. Louis’ policy regarding short-term parking I sent the following questions to Treasurer Tishaura Jones & her Chief of Staff Jared Boyd on the morning of June 20th:

1. Is re-feeding the parking meter after the posted time limit is reached allowed or illegal in St. Louis?
2. If illegal, what is the amount of the ticket? If allowed, why not set the meters to accept payment for more than 2 hours?
3. What methodology is used to ensure a vehicle isn’t parked in a short-term space all day? If none, when might we expect expect enforcement to begin?
4. Does your office enforce the 15 minute limit in front of Culinaria on 9th Street? (see photo attached) This is free parking daily but only for 15 minutes. If you don’t, does anyone?

An hour later I received the following reply from Jones:

Mr. Boyd and I appreciate your interest in urban affairs related to parking. However, we think it might be appropriate to direct your questions to those who have the day-to-day responsibility for parking administration. Please direct your future inquiries to either Carl Phillips or Lenny Freeman. They have been copied on this message.

Ok, that made sense. Jones ran on a platform of not wanting to be a “parking czar”, let the parking staff deal with these issues so she can handle more important matters. Within 10 minutes I emailed both Phillips & Freeman and reaffirmed the questions I wanted answered.

That afternoon Phillips replied with:

I want to address all of your questions properly. I’m out of town right now and won’t be back until Tuesday. We are researching your questions thoroughly and will have some answers for you Tuesday afternoon. 

I thought my questions were rather basic, not something worthy of prolonged research.  Tomorrow will be 2 weeks after the time I was told I’d get answers. Here’s what I believe is happening:

1. Someone thought the 2 hour limit meant Saturdays were supposed to be free for the first two hours you park, and that you should pay after that. Thus, the decision was made to stop these “violations” from continuing by charging on Saturday. 
2. Meanwhile I’ve already shown in the prior post the policy was in fact no charge for meters between 7pm Friday until 8am on Monday morning. This is confirmed the parking meters themselves, the downtown parking guide, and everyone who has spent time in downtown.  
3. The concept of a time limit (meaning the car must physically be moved) remains a mystery to those in charge of parking in St. Louis.
4. The Parking Commission solved a non-existant problem while ignoring a very real and ongoing problem.

I support charging on Saturdays, but more importantly we need smarter short-term parking policies. In some high-demand areas the time limit might be as short as 15-30 minutes, and up to 8-10 hours in areas less in demand. Though not popular with motorists who don’t want to park in an off-street lot all day, merchants need the on-street spaces to have time limits enforced so customers coming to their establishment can park for the duration of their visit (shopping, lunch, etc).

Here are some examples of such a policy from other cities:

Pasadena, CA:

In Pasadena, time limits are used to manage on-street parking in two general types of areas.  In residential areas adjacent to commercial areas, parking time limits are used to discourage long-term parking by employees of the businesses in the commercial areas.  The City allows a provision for daytime permits to residents in these time-limited areas who need to park on-street near their homes during the hours the time limits are in effect.  In commercial areas, generally by petition of the business/property owners, time limits are used to encourage the turnover of parking spaces to provide short-term parking for visitors to the commercial areas. (source)

Lenox, MA:

At a special meeting this past week, the Select Board voted 4-0 to authorize $3,000 for a 10-week program based on random, selectively scheduled ticketing by a Police Department parking enforcement officer, beginning around July 1. Warnings will be issued at first.

The immediate purpose is to free up on-street spaces for residents and visitors during the busy summer season. Because of the lack of enforcement, some of those spots are being occupied all day by employees or owners of local businesses, the Selectmen have said.

“Be warned, this is not popular,” declared Selectman Kenneth Fowler, a major proponent of the enforcement decision. “You’re going to hear a hue and cry. The biggest problem is that we had that lapse of so many years when we weren’t enforcing the parking.”

“No matter who gets the ticket, right or wrong, doesn’t matter, they’re angry about it and they yell,” observed Selectman John McNinch, noting that the parking officer is bound to be confronted by upset people.

The board directed Town Manager Gregory Federspiel to send a letter to downtown business owners advising them of the enforcement policy. The town bylaw limits downtown parking to two hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., seven days a week. (source)

Berkeley, CA:

Time Limits May Not Be Extended

Time limits are strictly enforced and may not be extended by adding more money after time has expired.  This applies to both single space and multi-space meters per BMC 14.52.060. (source)

New Brunswick, NJ:

On-street parking at meters and time-limit areas is designed and regulated to promote turnover for commercial and retail use. If someone parks in a space all day, it is not available for other users – and this hurts local businesses who rely on having some amount of on-street parking available.

Meter feeding is prohibited! At all on-street metered parking, adding more money to the meter past the designated time limit is not allowed and violators are subject to a ticket. Also, in areas with time limit restrictions it is illegal to park beyond the posted time limit. (source)

When you obey the time limits on short-term parking spaces, you help make valuable parking spaces available to you when you need them. (source)

Portland, OR:

Overtime:

Leave the blockface when the time limit of a short-term meter is over. A short-term meter has a time limit of less than 4 hours.  Also see Re-parking below.

Re-parking:

At a short-term meter (less than 4 hours), do not return sooner than 3 hours to the same blockface. (source)

Madison, WI:

Parking meters are intended for short-term parking.

• The purpose of time limits on parking meters is to ensure that parking spaces regularly become available for customers of area businesses and visitors to the area.
• It is illegal to deposit additional coins in the meter after the time limit has been reached.
• You must leave a parking space when the time limit posted on the meter has been reached.
• Vehicles parked longer than the posted time limit are subject to citation. (source)

Champaign, IL:

How long can I park?

Before 5 p.m., see the rate/time limit sticker on the meter. After 5 p.m., at meters with Blue labels, you can pay for up to 4 hours at one time.

Color coded meter labels help you determine where to park depending on your length of stay:

• Red = 30 minutes or less to grab lunch or a cup of coffee to go
• Blue = 2 hour maximum for lunch or some light shopping
• Orange = 3 or 4 hour maximum for a movie or museum visit
• Green = 10 hour maximum for a day-long meeting or outing downtown (source)

Note that in downtown Champaign IL you must 8am-9pm (2 hours longer than St. Louis, with a 2 hour maximum time 8am-5pm. Someone can stay parked in the same spot from 5pm to 9pm as long as they pay the meter.

As you can see from these examples the idea of on-street spaces as being short-term is pretty common. They recognize the need to keep cars on the street moving. I shared the Champaign IL examples with the other members of the parking task force because we agreed the lack of enforcement was detrimental to downtown.

Even looking at our neighbor to the west, Clayton, we see they too enforce time limits:

Question :

When are the parking time limits enforced on parking meters?

Answer:

 The parking meter time limits are enforced between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. They are not enforced on weekends and on these holidays: the first (1st) day of January, the last Monday in May, the fourth (4th) day of July, the first (1st) Monday in September, the fourth (4th) Thursday in November and the twenty-fifth (25th) day of December. (source) 

In Clayton, and the other cities listed, you’ll see parking enforcement putting a small chalk mark on car tires so when they come around again after the time limit those cars still parked in the same spot will be ticketed. This is likely why my simple questions from weeks ago had to be researched, because the answers are very likely:

1. Gee, we don’t have a clue if refeeding the meters is illegal. We don’t care if someone parks all day long at a metered spot as long as they have an endless supply of quarters.
2. We only ticket for not feeding the meter, that’s $10.
3. Uh, huh?
4. There’re no meters on that block of 9th so we have no way to enforce the 15 minute limit.

In 2009 the Treasurer’s office under Larry Williams commissioned a downtown study. Serving on the Downtown Parking Task Force in 2010 I had a draft copy of the report from September 2009. I dug through my archives and uploaded it to Scribd, you can read it here. One of the findings:

St. Louis’ current downtown parking enforcement program has several opportunities for improvement. The parking violation rates are low, thereby discouraging compliance. Enforcement coverage is limited to regular business hours, regardless of need. Enforcement is concentrated on traditional issues (e.g., expired meters), perhaps at the expense of more pressing compliance issues (e.g., overtime parking). Finally, this traditional focus has a real opportunity cost—by limiting enforcement to parking tickets, the CBD may miss opportunities to satisfy other stakeholder needs (e.g., patron assistance, merchant surveys and district security).

The next meeting of the parking commission is 10am Thursday in Room 220 of City Hall, weather permitting I’ll be there.

— Steve Patterson