Fannin County residents, who are not also City of Blue Ridge residents, will not be able to park for free in the city’s pay-to-park spots regardless of downtown employment.
Linda Rice spoke during pubic commentary at the City Council’s regular meeting Tuesday, December 8, regarding the issue.
She explained that neither her nor her employees “know what to do” about the parking situation as the spots next to TruFitness are now pay-to-park.
“What the locals wanna know and what my employees wanna know what arrangements have been made for us,” she said.
She also asked if her employees will have to begin paying to park as they’ve begin receiving notices explaining that their vehicles will be towed if they continue to park in those spots.
Furthermore, she asked how this information is going to be communicated to all citizens.
Executive Parking Systems Owner Zach Wojohn explained that residents of the City of Blue Ridge will be able to acquire a parking tag, which will allow them to park in spots for free.
City residents will need to email a picture of the back of their vehicle to indicate the tag number, make and model of the vehicle and the color of the vehicle, Wojohn said.
“Is it safe to say to all the business owners downtown and their employees that until we get this process out and communicated, their cars are not gonna be towed,” Councilman Nathan Fitts said.
“We can’t say you gotta follow the rules when we can’t tell ya what the rules are.”
Downtown Development Authority (DDA) Chairman Cesar Martinez explained that downtown employees have the option to park at a variety of free parking spots, such as those of City Hall, but the Authority is actively searching for a designated parking lot solely for employees and business owners.
Downtown Business Owner Angelena Powell insisted that county residents also be allowed to park for free.
During discussion, Councilman Mike Panter quizzed Wojohn on the contract.
“We have a one-year agreement,” Wojohn said to clarify that neither parties have entered a contract yet.
Panter pointed out that the agreement says the city is to pay for all signage; however, Executive Parking Systems has provided those free of charge until the DDA can obtain their way-finding signs.
“The payment machines, and all the signage and all of these things, I’ve been doing a lot of extra work at our expense to help the city’s user experience,” Wojohn said.
Fitts asked if something should be included in the contract to allow the company to help during special events when needed.
Wojohn said he’d be “happy to bring our staff ... to manage the event.”
Councilwoman Rhonda Haight pointed out that through the company the city has been bringing in $1,600 to $1,900 a month.
“This is driven toward the tourist footprint and helping the commerce of the City of Blue Ridge,” Wojohn said. “We have a big company in Atlanta. We’re trying to help here.”
City Attorney James Balli said any issues found in the contract need to be addressed, and a final document will be presented at a later time.