Chuck Paulk, owner of Cabin and Creek Real Estate in downtown McComb, appeared before the McComb city board Tuesday, the latest city parking policy critic.
Paulk is excited about city efforts to revitalize the downtown district, but he said he’s conidered moving to a location away from downtown with less parking scrutiny.
“I take my clients out to locations. This can last longer then two hours. I’d rather pay a flat annual fee for parking than to constantly try to dodge getting a ticket,” said Paulk.
Additionally, Paulk said many of his clients are elderly, and he has been told that walking several blocks in inclement weather becomes a hassle for his female clients wearing high heels. He said the downtown parking garage is too far from his office. Paulk and other business owners and employees routinely swap parking spaces just before the two-hour mark is up.
Mayor Whitney Rawlings said this is the fourth time in four years the board has addressed the parking problem since the two-hour rule was put into place.
In so doing, the city wished to revitalize the downtown district by increasing parking availability. Any vehicle that stays within a parking spot for more than two hours could get a $20 ticket. That rule has become a burden for business owners, and in turn their clients and employees, Paulk said.
In recent weeks, the police have increased patrol of the area due to rising complaints, McComb Police Chief Scott McKenzie said.
“We became tired of fielding phone calls, complaints, so we decided to put patrol on it, as time permits,” he said.
The policy has not opened up parking spaces, but it has led to business owners and employees taking up the spaces randomly throughout the day as they move from one parking spot to the next to avoid the fine, McKenzie said.
This evades the city parking policy, but still limits open spaces as a convenience for downtown shoppers. That is what the city had in mind when they implemented the two hour parking limit.
The mayor said a solution is hard to come by.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve been down this road. It appears as though we are like a cat chasing our tail on this parking situation. You eliminate one problem and another comes up,” Rawlings said. “If you could provide consensus from property owners on how to address the issue, would you do that?”
“I’m not a politician. I’m just a business owner. But, a pass program that we pay for might be a good idea,” Paulk said.
Selectman Ronnie Brock said he’ll try and find a consensus from business owners in the area. Much of the downtown property lies within Brock’s Ward 5 district.
Brock said research into the situation is the first step.
“I will talk to property owners, primarily in my ward. I hope to get input and suggestions,” Brock said.
Brock said he leans in favor of parking stickers for a limited number of owners and workers. He is dismayed by how long the city has been dealing with the issue. “I don’t know why it has taken so long. Most times, the people have the answer. Sometimes the board doesn’t have the answers the people need.”
In other business, the city will declare October “Racial Recognition Month” in honor of Mission Mississippi.
McComb Fire Chief Scott Adams will accept a hazardous mitigation grant and two homeland security grants of $40,000 and $8,000, next week.
