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It's good there is at least the start of a plan to address issues in Jamestown's Spring and Cherry street parking ramps.
But let's not let city officials off the hook just yet.
Let's not forget these issues were brought to the City Council and city administration in September 2022. Now, in mid-August 2023, bids have finally come in. The appropriate signs, for which bids shouldn't be needed, still haven't been purchased despite being recommended in November by Police Chief Tim Jackson. How hard is it to purchase signs that will make it easier for police to get vandals, youth and the homeless out of the parking ramps so they are safe for people to use?
But that brings us to something else Jackson mentioned. Jamestown police officers need signs or a complainant to request the removal of individuals who are loitering in the ramps. Let's hop in the time machine and go back to 2020 to find out why there isn't a complainant monitoring the parking ramps during the day.
In the fall of 2020, Mayor Eddie Sundquist proposed improvements through Allpro Parking, the company that operates the Spring and Cherry street parking ramps. In an attempt to save money and boost revenues, the mayor proposed transitioning the ramps to full automation and removing parking attendants who worked from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. At the same time the city wanted to charge people to park all day as opposed to the house attendants were presnet. Hindsight is 20/20, but it's fair to ask now if some of these vandalism incidents would have been prevented were there still parking ramp attendants working in the ramps. We also note the same news story from Nov. 9, 2020 that the city was planning $1.7 million in improvements to the Spring and Cherry street parking ramps that were to include security cameras and lighting.
The city was planning for cameras and lighting three years ago. Three bloody years. So we have to ask if the work Sundquist mentioned during last week's council meeting is the same work that was being discussed in October and November 2020 or different work. And if this is new work, how did we not get it right three years ago? Either way there is some explaining to do.
We understand the gears of government turn slowly, but this is ridiculous.