STAFF SENATE

October 22, 2008 Ronda Russell, Director of Admissions, about family parking on MSU Fridays. Per Kurt Blunck, Parking Manager, Parking will work with Admissions to provide a method which will allow families to park for free on campus on MSU Fridays. They will probably generate special hangtags for them to use. Craig Roloff has agreed to fund these hangtags. This is all part of the campus recruitment effort.

Blunck explained to the Committee that if and when Town & Country Groceries replaces the campus theater on South 11th the city plans to make slight changes to 11th. They will make the street what they call collector status. This will mean there will no longer be parking on the street at that end of 11th. The placement of Town & Country on 11th is not a done deal yet and is still being reviewed by the city.

Blunck gave a presentation on calculations for projected costs out through 2046. These costs include lot maintenance and replacement over time and funding enforcement. (Reminder: Parking cannot use state funds and must be self supporting.) Due to rising costs and projected long term maintenance he recommends a 15% increase to maintain a positive fund balance for parking in order to ensure that we can adequately maintain our parking assets over time. A 10% increase was also discussed. A recommendation was made by a committee member and seconded to accept the 15% increase. A vote was taken and this was passed with only two NO votes of which one was mine. I objected on the grounds that our wages do not increase at this rate. Please do remember this is not a final decision but just a recommendation being passed on by the committee to the appropriate upper administration. PTAC only makes recommendations. I did request that Kurt Blunck come to a Staff Senate meeting and discuss the fees and expenses of parking. He said he would be happy to do this.

The next meeting of PTAC is set for November but may be cancelled.

The Parking Advisory Committee (PTAC) meet on Feb 27th. Deanna Tarum from the Office of Planning and Analysis was introduced to the committee as she will represent Planning and Analysis at these meetings. She replaces Ben Sharp. The bicycle regulations sub Committee reported. The No Ride Zone on the Centennial Mall is not being enforced due to lack of manpower. The sub-committee felt this was OK as the bikers are riding safely and responsibly. The sub-committee agreed to recommend the No Ride Zone should be repealed. There was no agreement on bike parking and the sub-committee agreed to continue to discuss bike parking and bike racks. The main PTAC committee discussed different styles of bike racks available, bike barns for storage, and cost associated.

PTAC will research the issue of the demand for pay lots.

Blunck advised the committee that the snow removal contract with Four Seasons has expired because it exceeded the $25,000 limit. A new contract went out for bid and the lowest bidder was Sleepy Hollow. Clarification on snow removal: Service contract provides for the plowing and snow removal in all the parking lots and facilities services take care of removing snow form the sidewalks.

Next Meeting April 23.

January 23, 2008

• The Committee reviewed the annual maintenance list of parking lots for summer maintenance. The Wally Byam Caravan Club (RVs) will be on campus the end of June and first week of July which will affect the schedule. Additionally, building construction staging may also affect the schedule.
• The current bicycle regulations are being reviewed.
• PTAC will be reporting to PEC (President’s Executive Council) in February.
• There was a discussion on the availability of parking for those employees who are off-campus but need to come to campus during the day for meetings and errands. The discussion will continue.

October 23, 2007
The Parking & Transportation Advisory Committee (PTAC) meet today, October 24th. Jo Oudshoorn, Chair of the Parking Manager Search Committee, reported that the search is going well. There were 17 applicants, honed down to 4 in the top pool via resume scoring and initial phone interviews. The Search Committee is currently interviewing these 4 applicants, 3 of which the interviews have been completed. The committee will start reference calls and complete the 4th interview over the next few weeks and will be giving the hiring authority, Robert Putzke-Chief of Campus Police, a list of the interviewees and their strengths and weaknesses as the committee sees them. A decision and offer is anticipated the first week of November. After much deliberation and research new parking software will be purchased in the near future. It will be able to interact with Banner. PTAC is currently, and will be through November, reviewing the campus parking regulations and making edits, additions, and deletions. That’s all for now. Any questions or concerns please contact me.

November 29, 2006
Members Present: Banziger, Burns, Carroll, Fradette, Huls, Kack, Martin, Oudshoorn, Putzke, Saunders, Sharp, Taylor, York
Members Absent: Baumbauer
Guests: Lashaway
The following items were discussed:
Fradette briefed the committee on his presentation to Residence Hall Association leadership regarding the proposed parking fines. He said the students questioned why citations were waved and asked about the possibility of boots on vehicles. The majority of students present felt that the increase in fines is needed. The committee discussed the student's feedback. Fradette will follow-up with RHA when they meet again in January. As a way of obtaining more student communication, the notes from the PTAC meeting will be sent to the ASMSU president. The committee commended Student Representative Fradette for his diligence in presenting information to RHA and returning comments to PTAC.

Burns presented revisions to the components of Parking Fees and proposed fines. The materials were discussed. Carroll asked for a motion to go forward with the proposed fines and non-mandatory fees for 2008-09 Biennium. York moved that PTAC recommend the Fees/Fines as proposed and Kack seconded. Motion passed with one opposed, no abstentions. Taylor recommended that at some future point PTAC consider whether 'preferred' parking permits should 'subsidize' the general parking areas and if so, to what level.

Banziger presented the Campus Master Plan. After his presentation he asked each committee member for input on the two plans. A discussion followed. Information on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is available on the LEED website at www.usgbc.org. The following general comments were offered:

• General consensus supported concepts of consolidated vertical solutions (shuttle-linked multimodal facilities) with reasonable interspersed/distributed surface areas.
• Should consider convenience of ADA parking in addition to technical regulations. Campus should attempt to move toward ADA user friendliness as opposed to just regulatory compliance.
• Campus should develop in a pedestrian sensitive way but not vehicle prohibited - still need to provide adequate access for service, delivery and users drop-off/pick-ups.
• Need to consider serving residence hall with closer parking to promote safety.
• Consider aging of the MSU workforce - proximity where possible.
• Provide some flexibility for users who must come & go several time per day (for both personal and work-related reasons).
• Provide a reasonable range of parking alternatives, e.g., close-in, remote, cost options, etc.
• With ~25 surface lots dispersed around campus today, it promotes inefficient travel/surfing between lots - future vertical solutions should help.
• Consider how telecommuting might affect need for parking in the future. How will virtual instruction/distance learning affect need for parking?

The committee will continue feedback for the planning board at the January PTAC meeting.

The December meeting has been changed to January 3, 2007.

Members Present: Banziger, Baumbauer, Burns, Carroll, Fradette, Huls, Martin, Putzke, Saunders, Sharp,York
Members Absent: Oudshoorn, Taylor
Guests: Lashaway
The following items were discussed:
Committee record documents, including meeting notes and handout materials, are available at \\opal\ptac. Meeting notes will also be distributed on the listserve. Contact Paul burns if you have any questions or trouble accessing the \\opal\ drive.

A final of the Principles for the Development and Management of MSU’s Parking Enterprise and Parking Facilities was presented by Lashaway. We can now use the document as a guide as we proceed forward with parking planning and business management.

Burns distributed a revision to the citation information he had presented at the last meeting. Proposed Parking Fines were discussed.

Burns presented components of Parking Fees. The committee discussed maintenance costs and how we expect to estimate annual and long-term maintenance budgeting.

The Committee will make recommendations at the Nov06 meeting regarding Parking Fines and Fees.

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the next meeting will November 29th instead of the 22nd.

April 12, 2006 - Sue reports that the Parking Task Force has not met since her last report.

March 8, 2006 - from CEPAC Minutes - A recommendation has been received by CEPAC that, while the parking garage proposal has been placed on hold, consideration of parking issues generally should not be suspended. CEPAC members agreed with the comment, and our representative on the Parking Task Force, Sue Martin, will follow through with the Task Force.

December 14, 2005 - Note to CEPAC from Jo Oudshoorn, Chair:
In late November Craig Roloff, Walt Banziger and Jo Oudshoorn had a meeting with the Financial Underwriters to continue the discussions of the economic and financial status of funding the proposed garage.

At this meeting Walt Banziger presented a “Statement of Probable Total Project Costs” which had been revised after MSU had received the bids for the SUB renovations. Walt’s revised figures – which are still only estimates – strongly suggest that the cost of the proposed garage is beginning to exceed the level of affordability identified in the financial model.

Additional influencing factors are:

• Anticipated increases in construction costs associated with Katrina, Rita and Wilma,
• Increasing demand for concrete from China driving concrete costs up,
• Concrete rationing, and
• Costs associated with any delay.

• Impact of next winter on the construction timeframe due to delay associated with the additional community consultation, ( March BoR, Bid in May, Construction commencing July/August (?)),
• Ability to hire top quality contractors so late in the construction season and possible quality implications, and,
• A factor unique to Bozeman; the higher hourly contractor rates for Bozeman as a consequence of the strong demand from Big Sky.

We advised PEC of this situation on 5th December 2005.

We are to make further presentations to PEC in the new year, on the policies that will guide our future decision-making about alternative options.

November 10, 2005 - CEPAC submitted feedback to the Parking Task Force.

November 9, 2005 - (From CEPAC Minutes, unapproved) Genevieve Burmeister, Carol Shannon (who has attended the last two meetings in Sue Martin's absence) and Sara France brought CEPAC up to date on the parking garage project. There has apparently been a break down in communication in that the report of classified input dated October 25, 2005 got lost among a wealth of electronic messages and had not been read by all Task Force members. The Task Force Chair meets with University Governance Council this afternoon to answer further questions of the campus constituencies. CEPAC members continue to have concerns, following its meeting with the Task Force on October 31, and is hopeful of further information this afternoon.

November 3, 2005 - note following CEPAC's meeting with the Parking Task Force on October 31, and the University Governance Council, today:
In response to an invitation to meet with the Parking Task Force, and to offer classified input into the parking garage proposal, CEPAC solicited staff feedback. A report of the findings was delivered to the Task Force Chair, and a meeting was held on October 31. CEPAC is grateful to the members of the Task Force who attended, and gave a lengthy presentation. Some misunderstandings were corrected at the meeting, but CEPAC members continue to have concerns. The subject of the garage was subsequently raised at University Governance Council Steering Committee, where Faculty and Professional Councils and CEPAC further discussed their consitituents' input. It was agreed that specific information would be requested for University Governance Council's meeting (at which many campus constituent groups come together) on November 9.

August 17, 2005 - extract from CEPAC Minutes:
Sue Martin (CEPAC-nominated classified representative on the Parking Task Force) had previously posed four questions to CEPAC members intended to help the Task Force consider improving campus parking in general. Sue, and Paul Burns, Parking Director, had requested agenda time today to discuss these questions. Genevieve Burmeister suggested that, in order to consider the broader opinions of the classified staff in general, CEPAC could circulate these (or any other) questions to the constituency. Paul considered that the personal thoughts of those present today would be sufficient at this stage. There followed a lengthy discussion of parking, predominently related to the parking garage, including the following issues:

• size and location - 450-500 parking spaces, on four levels, situated near Johnstone and Hapner halls with entrances off Harrison and 8th (near Cleveland). The site was chosen for various reasons, including proximity to residence halls and the new chemistry building.
• anticipated use - improved resident parking facilities, particularly for Hapner and Hannon halls, has been a priority of the project. How the parking garage spaces will be allocated has not yet been decided (beyond the provision of 140 "E"-designated spaces, replacing those lost to the construction site) although the design intends inclusion of short-term (possibly metered), reserved, and "S and B"-type parking, reaching as many constituents as possible without diluting access in any one category.
• security - preliminary considerations include: lighting, glass stairwells, closed circuit TV, police patrol.
• services - to include elevators (which could be speed-regulated for optimum service), and automatic signs at entrances indicating when the garage is full.
• parking fees - some garage permits may be costlier than hangtags for regular parking since the facility offers improvements unavailable in existing lots.

Paul said that there are 18-24 months in which to finalize all the necessary logistics for the parking garage, and that a team of experts has been hired to advize.

It was agreed that CEPAC members would send their answers to the Parking Task Force's original questions to Sue Martin (smartin@montana.edu), and Paul encouraged further input, on any parking issue, from any employee, at any time (pburns@montana.edu or 994 7747). (Also, the design committee will be on campus on August 26, from 9 am - noon [likely in the SUB]).

June 1, 2005 - Sue Martin reports:
No meeting took place this cycle.

May 2, 2005 - Sue Martin reports:
No formal meeting took place this cycle. Instead we held the public forums. I attended one and have only heard that the other two went well with no new information being shared, any way that was shared with me. We can announce that selection committee interviewed 3 Montana Companies to bid on Architecture.(I think) I don't think it was engineering companies. One stood out. I am sure we will hear more details at our next meeting. It was good to see some of the CEPAC members attend as well.

April 18, 2005 (Staff Bulletin). Hangtags. Starting with fall semester 2005, users of MSU parking lots will use hangtags instead of decals to avoid tickets. The current system of decals doesn't work well when a user drives a different car to campus on different days. With hangtags, a person can drive any car he or she chooses. The hangtag dangles from the mirror. No extra stops at the Police Station or Paylot Kiosk to pick up a hangtag for the day are necessary. Drivers will not have to worry about getting a ticket for driving the car without the decal.

The freedom to choose has a price. There will no longer be second car discounts for anyone. In the past, discounts were available if a family drove more than one vehicle to campus, but now each driver that comes to campus will pay a full share to use MSU's parking facilities. If a driver forgets the hangtag, the user will have to purchase a day hangtag for $2.50 or risk getting a ticket. The police will void the first ticket a user receives for forgetting to utilize the hangtag or forgetting the hangtag in the other car. After that, the full price of a parking ticket will help jolt the user's memory. Questions, concerns, or comments can be sent to parking@montana.edu.

MSU schedules public parking forums April 25th and 27th
Bozeman-Montana State University will conduct three public forums focusing on a parking plan for the northeastern quadrant of the MSU campus, near the proposed site of two new campus buildings. The forums will be held from 12:00-2:00 p.m. Monday, April 25th in SUB Ballroom C; 4:00-6:00 p.m. Monday, April 25th in Reid Hall Room 101; and 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27th in Reid Hall Room 103.

MSU Parking Improvement Task Force will explain the parking plan including the Shortfall of Resident Hall Parking and construction of the new chemistry building and future animal biosciences building. Members of the public as well as the MSU community are invited to attend, ask questions, and share opinions. If you are unable to attend, comments can be submitted to parking@montana.edu.

March 28, 2005 - Sue Martin reports: The first meeting this month was cancelled and no meeting happened during spring break. The meeting on 3/28 was very brief with only a very small number of people in attendance. In brief the finance people are crunching numbers and trying to find a way to make sense for 3 story building in the Lewis and Clark Lot south of Johnstone and west of Hapner Hall. Nothing is anywhere near firm or approved. There are some underlying bonds that pay off in the near future which help the bottom line immensely. Jo hopes to have some good financial numbers soon.

February 23 and 24, 2005 - public forums for information exchange regarding the possibility of constructing a parking garage on campus.

January 24, 2005 - Sue Martin reports:
At the meeting on 1-24 we discussed the planning for gathering information from the staff and faculty very soon. The Student survey is out and we are waiting for information.

There is now some discussion about an option of using the Linfield lot on the easterly half to become the parking lot vs the east lawn south of Culbertson. Surveys (email) will be devised and forwarded soon and additionally we will see open forum around the mid of February. Noon time and about 7Pm The date tossed around is the 23rd. So watch for that.

If you have any hot spot topics that should be relayed back to the communication committee let me know what they are. They are to be in by Wed 27th of Jan.

I have fielded my chem. office and forwarded that much info already and your input will help too.

New business as I write this: Forum is set up for 11-1:30 Feb 23rd and 7-9 24th No place shared but I think it was to be at the sub. If I learn otherwise I’ll be back in touch.

If you have any media channels that we may have not thought of please send that along too.

10th January 2005 - Sue Martin copied CEPAC on this report from the Parking Task Force Chair:
Discussion of HKM’s estimates for Steel Framed Buildings and Pre cast concrete buildings and looking at various options in terms of levels of parking and basements.

Zack is to provide additional details broken down into a modular format so we can mix and match options such as “basement” , “single levels”, any decreased incremental cost for “additional levels” – so that we can get a between idea of realistic costs. Zack is also to confirm some of the itemized amounts such as Caissons and how they vary significant between some of the options.

Discussion of the Draft Proposal paper: Jo walked everyone through the draft proposal paper explaining the rationale and the structure and summary of the flow chart. Jo had a concern that we had two financial models; the cash-flow, and the Parking Operations budget and while they both seemed to support the financial position of a multi story car park Jo felt that a single model would present better to the advisory board. Jo will work on a blended model for the presentation to the advisory board on Wednesday.

Communication Strategy: Walter Metz was unavailable to discuss his Communication Strategy

The committee continued to discuss communication issues: Student Survey – Glenn Puffer & Carina Beck - Carina distributed the student survey responses – which were very interesting. We will get additional copies made available of the rest of the committee. The students’ main concerns seemed to be

• Oversupply of disabled car parking
• Shortage of supply near the residences
• 41% of respondents would be prepared to pay extra to build a carpark if they were assured of having a space.
• Concerns were expressed about safety and the distance between available parking and residences/place of work
• There were a range of responses about increased parking fees – some are prepared to pay more others are outraged that we would even suggest increasing fees.

Open Forums - We are getting to the stage where we need to involve the rest of the campus community in open forums and discussions. The Committee decided that Paul Burns, Robert Putzke and Jo Oudshoorn should essentially be the lead facilitators as they were the people with most knowledge – and other members should be able to offer visible support. It was noted, with reference to support roles, that provision of inconsistent info (based on lack of specific knowledge) had the potential to be more damaging to this process than to have three people with consistent info. Jo, Paul and Robert to meet and discuss.

NOTES FROM UNIVERSITY FACILITES PLANNING BOARD
Jo made a presentation to the Board based on the draft proposal and further revised financial figures. Discussions were on the issues of :

• Potentially increasing demand – not finally approved but on the horizon that will have an impact on demand in this quadrant.
• The optimal cost per space range – it was felt that the appropriate cost per space range was $11,000 - $15,000 – the board was uncomfortable about the reliability of any lower amount.

Student Survey – Carina/Glenn
We have also organized a student survey to seek input from student who live in the residences.

CEPAC Feedback – Sue Martin
CEPC have raised concerns about the construction workers and equipment impinging on car park availability during the construction of the Chemistry building and the car park. Robert Putzke advised that Paul Burn, the Parking Manager, would be quite stringent in ensuring that the impact would be kept to a minimum. Jo Oudshoorn advised that she would advise Bob Lashaway of CEPAC concerns. (Consultation after the meeting with Cecelia Vaniman indicated that the proposed staging area for the new building is on the north side of the grass area and not in the lot itself. The only impact on the lot would be the loss of 10-20 spaces due to actual construction in the SE corner of the East Linfield Lot)

WTI – Data Collection WTI personnel including Susie Lassacher provided advice about the cost associated with the “Ground Hog” data collection device. Unfortunately the cost was higher than previously anticipated. Susie was asked to get a rough quote to assist in decision making. ( This has proved to be difficult from the vendors perspective. Susie has been advised that we do not want to pursue this option at present)

Additional Information from activities after the last meeting
There have been discussions between Parking and OFS about changes to the basic garage concept. The proposal has changed from a 2 storey structure to a three story structure. A small informal subcommittee has formed and has considered issues such as

• Demand – including changes to street parking as well as the changes in East Linfield
• Financial capability – we are currently building a funding model based on a 3 story garage @ $11,000 - $15,000 per space funded by an Intercap loan @ 5.5% over 10 years.

Return to regular view	Text-only	Updated: 10/28/08