Oswego Committee of the Whole Meeting - March 4, 2025
Oswego Committee of the Whole Meeting - March 4, 2025
The Oswego Village Board met as a Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 6:00 PM to discuss the downtown parking deck operations and the Downtown EDIA (Economic Development Incentive Award) program. No public comments were received. The board heard staff presentations and engaged in extensive deliberation on parking fee structures, fund usage, and program funding.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public addressed the board.
Discussion Items
- F1: Village Parking Deck Discussion – Staff provided an overview of the 339-space parking structure (159 upper, 180 lower). The deck is free from 5 AM to 2 AM; overnight parking requires a pass. Two pass types exist: resident monthly permits ($50 first car, $83 second car) and daily permits ($5). The village cannot reserve specific areas for residents due to TIF restrictions. Average occupancy in the 2024 summer survey was 32%, with a peak of 37% at 7 PM. Operational costs are shared with Shodin via a CRE agreement. The village is responsible for portions of stairwells (25%), elevators (25%), exterior (40%), etc. A $100,000 escrow target was set based on municipal peers. Revenue in 2024 totaled $110,912 ($101,471 from permits, $9,435 from fines). The parking fund balance is $317,000, used for striping and future cameras. The second deck (116 spaces) under construction will require amended agreements. Board members discussed the need to raise permit fees to cover rising costs (utilities, construction) and avoid a future deficit similar to the water fund. Some members favored an immediate increase, while others preferred to await a consultant’s structural evaluation (already underway for deck two) to determine actual reserve needs. The board also considered using parking funds for off-site parking at 6 and 12 Van Buren (asphalt ~$200k, gravel ~$50k), but several members expressed concern about diverting funds from deck maintenance before a study is completed. Staff will return with study results and fee increase options.
- F2: Downtown EDIA Program Discussion – Staff reported that the $80,000 budgeted for FY2025 grants is nearly exhausted (only $1,400 remains) after two approved grants. The program historically budgeted $40,000 annually for facade and interior improvements. Two options were presented: review applications case-by-case or budget additional funds. Funding could come from year-end surplus or excess fund balance. A specific case was raised: Freddie’s Off the Chain received a $20,000 grant in June 2021 but failed to meet deadlines due to construction delays. The owner now seeks the original $20,000 plus an additional $20,000, believing the total was $40,000. The village also contributed $52,000 (over budget) for a water main extension that benefits the block, using TIF funds. The board reached consensus to amend the RDA to allow Freddie’s to receive the original $20,000 despite the missed deadline. For the broader EDIA fund, the board discussed replenishing it with $100,000 (including the $20,000 for Freddie’s), with a preference that the additional money be targeted toward new businesses that generate sales tax revenue, rather than existing businesses or routine maintenance. Staff noted several prospective tenants (5 South Madison, 174 Harrison, Denny’s Train space, Reserve Hudson Crossing, Danelli’s) have inquired about grants. The board agreed to allocate $100,000 total, with $20,000 for Freddie’s and $80,000 for other grants, to be funded via a budget amendment using surplus or excess fund balance. The money will roll over if unspent.
Key Outcomes
- Parking Deck: No formal vote was taken. The board directed staff to complete a structural evaluation of deck one (building on the deck two consultant work) and return with maintenance cost projections before considering any fee increase or fund reallocation. The idea of raising permit fees (both first and second car) will be revisited after the study.
- EDIA Program: The board unanimously agreed to amend Freddie’s Off the Chain’s RDA to extend the deadline and release the original $20,000 grant. They also approved a $100,000 budget amendment (20+80) to replenish the EDIA grant fund for the remainder of FY2025. Staff will bring back formal documents for these actions at a future meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Present. Trusty McCarthy Lang as a trustee Nelvi. Present. Trustee Torres. Present. All right. First up, we will open the public forum. I do not have any green slips, so if anyone wishes to uh address the public, please feel free to come forward now. Seeing nobody, we will close the public forum and move on to new business. Uh under uh new business, we have item F1. And that is Rod. Thank you. Uh tonight we want to provide an overview of the downtown parking deck. As you aware, the village currently owns and operates a two-level parking structure that's part of the reserve of Hudson Crossing South building. The structure contains 159 parking spaces on the upper level and 180 spaces on the lower level. That's 339 spaces total. Um the usage of the deck, the deck provides free parking for residents and visitors to the downtown from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. Overnight parking is allowed between 2 and 5 a.m. if users have a parking pass. There are two kinds of parking passes. One is limited to residents of the downtown area, which is the reserve building and the commer uh residential apartments above the commercial on Main Street. They can buy overnight parking permits typically for a month or multiple month basis. The second option is a daily permit people can buy if they are visiting someone who lives in the downtown area or if they just need to park their car there overnight. Uh that's a five dollar a day permit. Uh the village has been asked several times if we can reserve certain areas of the parking deck for the residents of the downtown. The short answer is no. Uh the TIFF Act basically says that TIFF funds can be used for public improvements. And if we identify a specific area for the residents, that would be could be considered uh private improvement, so that would not be eligible for the TIFF funds that we have spent on the project. So we cannot do that. The current permit process allows them to park overnight, but it's not a specific area or parking space that they're not being reserved, so we can still consider that as a public improvement, so we can do that. Uh just touching base on deck capacity. Uh the deck, as we stated before, deck contains 339 parking spaces. The village conducts an annual parking downtown parking survey in the summer. Uh from the 2024 season analysis, the day showed the average usage of the deck was 32% occupied. The map the peak occupied occupancy was 37% at 7 p.m. Uh touching base on estimated operational costs. The parking deck is part of overall Hudson Crossing Building. The village and Shodin split the cost of operating the deck based on whose responsibility or what particular item it is. We have uh conditions, restriction, and easement agreement with Shodine that kind of outlines who pays for what uh turn my page here. For example, the village is responsible for 25% of 25% of the stairwells. Uh we also have 25% of the elevators. We handle one of the elevators, they handle the other three. Uh 40% of the exterior, 20% of the fire and water room maintenance on such as that. Uh to estimate the village to estimate what the village's long-term cost could be. We did a survey other municipal decks. We looked at Naperville, Aurora, Geneva, and Libertyville. The big question is how do we handle the big ticket items, say a resurfacing or a structural repair? After reviewing what we got from the those neighboring communities, we came up with a target of about 100,000 dollars in fees to set up an escrow account. So in the long term, some of the something would occur, we'd have funds available to repair those items.
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