NEWBURYPORT — Saying the city has a rare opportunity to move forward with federal dollars if it builds a parking garage downtown in the future, city councilors agreed last night that Titcomb Street is the place for it to go.
As the clock approached 11 p.m., the council voted 7-3 to pick Titcomb Street over the Green Street parking garage.
Voting in favor of it were councilors Ed Cameron, Barry Connell, Tom Jones, Greg Earls, Allison Heartquist, Ari Herzog and Tom O'Brien. Voting against were councilors Brian Derrivan, Bob Cronin and Kathleen O'Connor Ives. At-large Councilor Steve Hutcheson was absent.
The vote is to keep the conversation going, councilors argued, saying a design for the garage and its size will still be discussed. If the city wants an open waterfront with a park on the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority land, it must replace the parking spaces that will be lost in that process, councilors said.
Ward 4 Councilor Cameron, who sponsored the measure, said the city has a chance to "complete the connection" to the waterfront and complete the work that was started decades ago to fix the downtown and rebuild the city. The city has a chance to use federal resources in this project, unlike the parking garage proposal 10 years ago, he added.
The chance for the city to use federal dollars and not the city's taxpayers for the project is key, at-large Councilor Jones said. "There's a lot of federal money ... and a small window to grasp it," he said.
Ward 2 Councilor Earls said the vote keeps the city at the table. There's nothing stopping the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority from approaching the property owners on their own, without the city taking part, Earls said.
"They're inviting us to the table, and I would at least like to be a participant," he said. "It keeps the process moving along at virtually no cost to us."
At-large Councilor Connell called Titcomb Street "the second best choice" that he was willing to go for to keep the conversations going as the final design is drafted.
"Our vote tonight is a placeholder, it's nothing more," he said.
At-large Councilor O'Connor Ives called the vote "premature."
A garage should be part of the solution at the process, she said, saying the city hasn't taken the necessary steps to reach that point. The city needs to address signage, she said, and explore public-private partnerships. It's a "false choice" to say the city has to choose between an open waterfront or a parking garage, she said.
The path to last night's vote began last spring under the administration of former Mayor John Moak. Moak formed a parking task force to work with the MVRTA and its consultant TetraTech Rizzo on a feasibility study to determine where in the city a garage could go. The consultant team, hired by the MVRTA, reviewed all previous parking studies and examined all past sites where a garage had been considered. The committee narrowed the sites down to the final two — Green and Titcomb streets.
Owned and operated by the MVRTA, the intermodal parking facility would also offer terminals for MVRTA buses.
While the garage plan will now move forward to a final design stage, preliminary conceptual plans drafted by the team for TetraTech Rizzo show a multistory parking facility with a bus terminal for the MVRTA and at least 300 parking spaces for cars.
The number of parking spaces is based on the plan to replace the 235 parking spaces that will be lost when the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority moves ahead with its plans to construct a park on waterfront land.
Mayor Donna Holaday said, "I'm thrilled."
She has said as the garage moves into the second phase, the city will need to move forward with identifying funding for the project. The city has no money to fund the construction of a garage, the mayor has said.
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
