"For as long as I can remember, the city has needed and sought additional parking near the Square. In most cities, the city or its development authority builds these decks with bonds and higher property taxes. They seldom make any profit but are essential to a successful downtown," Olens wrote in an e-mail to the council on Thursday.
The county has offered the city the chance to lease 102 spaces in the proposed deck for about $300,000 over 25 years. The city's total lease obligation would be nearly $5 million, though the county expects that parking revenues would cover all but about $300,000 of that amount. Olens said that's a deal the city won't find anywhere else.
"While Marietta would not 'own' the deck, the proffered agreement adds over 100 additional public spaces for businesses and civic activities on the Square," Olens wrote.
"The county's offer is far cheaper than any other plan under consideration by the city or development authority. The county will go forward without the city and without the additional spaces," he wrote.
Olens sent his e-mail after the council's Wednesday committee meeting, where the five council members present were critical of the proposal. Only Mayor Bill Dunaway urged the city to accept the deal.
Councilman Philip Goldstein has been the chief opponent of the proposal, and believes the county's projected revenues are precarious. He also said parking on the Square is "not as bad" as some make it out to be.
"Currently there's ample parking available in the county deck," Goldstein said, referring to the county's 840-space deck at Waddell and Cherokee streets.
Goldstein argues that shoppers simply want to park on the Square in front of the shop or restaurant they intend to visit.
"And we're never going to solve that problem," Goldstein said.
Councilman Grif Chalfant does see a parking problem on the Square.
"A big one," he said.
But he, too, believes the county's proposal leaves too much risk for the city to end up owing millions, which is why he intends to vote against it at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Nov. 5.
Council members Holly Walquist and Annette Lewis have expressed reservations about agreeing to the deal because they say the city would end up with nothing after the 25-year lease expired.
Virgil Moon, Cobb's director of support services, said the parking deck would cost about $8 million, plus $5 million in interest on the fixed-rate revenue bonds and $7 million in operating costs over the 25 years, for a total cost of $20 million.
Olens ended his email to the council by saying due to the low interest rates, the county will likely combine the existing debt on its current deck with the new one.
"At that time, the county's first priority will be timely repayment of the new bond, which may necessitate reconsideration of free parking at nights and on the weekends. The council's decision is very shortsighted. The entrances to the city and improvements to the Square are essential now. The county always seeks to be a great neighbor for the city of Marietta, but one-sided agreements will not be considered," Olens said.
The county is building the deck next to City Hall on the site of the former Fulton Federal Savings & Loan. The deck, expected to open in February 2011, is being built in conjunction with the construction of a new Cobb Superior Court building on Haynes Street.
If the city participates, the deck would have between 525 to 540 parking spaces. If not, the county would reduce that number by 102 spaces, Moon said.
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So if the City opts out then the County needs to put a stop to free use of the existing parking deck at once. Let the City lose the business.