Parking deck group turns to public input

The Houghton Parking Deck Subcommittee met Tuesday, using a two-paged outline of the issue compiled by City Manager Eric Waara as a starting point. All four members agreed that Waara’s document was an accurate portrayal of the different alternatives in a broad sense. Chairman Tom Merz said his only reservation was the discussion of costs, as the body has no power of the purse. Merz thought that fiscal matters should play a secondary role in any recommendation given to the city council.

Member Mike Needham suggested a compromise, saying the subcommittee should only adhere to one financial rule. Any recommendation should not raise costs on the taxpayer. Member Dan Liebau said that the subcommittee should lean on the 18 months worth of discussion surrounding the parking deck to help guide it. He proposed going through minutes and correspondence to categorize prior suggestions into one of the seven broad options Waara gave.

Frank Fiala, during public comment, said that new comments should be solicited online. Waara agreed with that, saying email might be the best avenue. Clerk Ann Vollrath said if you only do it through the internet, you will miss out on a lot of potential opinions. She suggested other survey methods like a mailer. Needham said the trick was to get honest feedback without leading the discussion through how the question is worded.