Modesto weighs cutting cost to park in garages, lots

It could become a lot cheaper to park in the evening in Modesto’s three downtown parking garages and five parking lots.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider lowering the parking charges for those facilities. It now costs a $5 flat fee to park from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., whether a car is parked for an hour or 12. The new pricing would change that to $1 an hour, to a maximum of $5.

It costs $1 an hour to park during the day.

The reduction in parking charges is seen as a way to encourage more people to come downtown. But there is an exemption to the reduced price. For big evening events, such as shows at Gallo Center for the Arts, the city could charge the $5 flat fee to use the 11th Street Garage. Modesto would do that so traffic does not back up in front of and in the garage, which has only one entrance and exit. A city report says the flat fee provides for a faster flow of traffic.

The report estimates reducing evening parking charges will cost Modesto about $60,000 annually in parking revenue. This is a pilot program that the city would revisit within a year.

The council also will consider:

▪ Accepting a $1.5 million federal grant that will offset the cost of hiring a dozen police officers over four years. The city plans on using the grant to offset the cost of increasing police staffing from 218 to 240 officers.

▪ Passing a resolution opposing Proposition 57, which – according to Ballotpedia – “supports increasing parole and good behavior opportunities for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and allowing judges, not prosecutors, to decide whether to try certain juveniles as adults in court.” The proposition has the support of Gov. Jerry Brown. A city report states the League of California Cities’ board of directors voted to oppose Proposition 57. The report states the proposition’s passage “may result in undetermined but negative consequences to public safety.”

▪ Approving a five-year agreement with Grover Landscape Services at an annual cost of $1.67 million, or $8.35 million over the life of the agreement. The agreement calls for Grover to do landscape maintenance at city parks and other city property. The city awarded Grover a contract for these services in 2011 at an annual cost of $1.88 million. A city report states some of the cost decrease is because some of the property now requires less maintenance because the landscaping has grown, and Grover will perform more work than it did under its previous contract. The report states Modesto put this contract out to bid and Grover scored the best in an evaluation.

This story was originally published October 23, 2016 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Modesto weighs cutting cost to park in garages, lots."