CALDWELL, ID — During a special meeting on Friday, Aug. 30, Caldwell city council voted on two key issues surrounding parking in the city.
- First, they approved resolutions to suspend regulations and requirements for paid parking.
- Second, they approved resolutions to terminate the operations agreements with Car Park.
- Both measures went into effect immediately.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“ I just wanted you to know that you are being heard and your council is listening to you," said council member Diana Register.
Earlier this week a special meeting was held in which Caldwell City Council members heard public testimonies from residents and business owners urging the removal of paid parking.
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Since their arrival in March, many businesses have said it has been costing them and the meters are keeping customers away.
“Mr. Mayor, I vote that consider resolutions suspending regulations and requirements for paid parking pursuant to Caldwell city code section 09-07-12," Council member Register said.
Caldwell city council voted on two things during Friday's special meeting — to approve resolutions suspending regulations and requirements for paid parking and to approve resolutions terminating the operations agreements with Car Park.
Both were approved and have been placed effective immediately.
“This change has really taken a weight off," said business owner Ernest Seton.
Many that attended the meeting were business owners and workers that felt a relief once the decision was made.
“So excited to see the people come back to Caldwell and help the business have a good time and we want to see this plaza fill again," said business owner Christoper Ott.
“I feel like it will be nice to start making some money again because without customers we don’t make any money," said Alyssa Surreal, a waitress at Caldwell Chop Shop.
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But one reminder they hope many will remember, “The problem doesn’t go away — the reason we started this is because of the lack of parking in Downtown Caldwell," said Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner. "We want to make sure we don’t go back to where we started."
It will take some time to remove the meters, but the city council voted to immediately suspend payment requirements that were put in place in May.
“The owners of businesses need to take accountability too, which means that we need to make sure our employees park in the designated areas and enforce that because it's not all up to the city, part of it is up to us also," Seton said.