With more than 300 spaces and more than $250,000 generated in 2011, the Athens Parking Garage has been both a source of revenue and additional parking for the city.
The 145,000 square-foot structure, located at 8 E. Washington St., generated $263,390 last year and is a great asset to the city, said Ron Lucas, Athens assistant service-safety director.
This revenue comes from a combination of 273 metered parking spaces, 70 reserved spaces leased for $85 per month and from wireless phone companies, which pay to lease antennas on top of the garage.
Lucas said the parking garage has an annual maintenance budget of $27,500, which includes a $7,500 contract for elevator maintenance while the remainder is for general repairs and improvements.
Though the parking garage brings in almost 10 times as much money as its yearly budget, the city distributes 90 parking permits, free of charge, to city employees and occasionally to those who are in town for meetings, philanthropy projects and other events.
The parking garage also gives away two spaces to county employees for free as a result of a trade; the city is able to use a dumpster located on county jurisdiction in exchange for the spaces.
Athens gives 29 spaces to county employees for $45, or about half the usual cost.
City employees such as police officers, administrative employees and other city workers are able to receive free parking spaces, Lucas said.
“We have a lot of meetings uptown and we don’t want our staff to take parking spaces away from the public on the street,” he said.
If the city were to charge county and city employees currently receiving free or discounted parking full price, the city would make around $8,810 annually.
Improvements to install more efficient lighting in the garage were completed in 2011 and cost the city $17,053, Lucas said, adding that the lighting will save Athens an estimated $9,703 each year.
Lucas said the improvements are a part of a larger effort to make the parking garage more efficient. The parking garage was changed from a system in which an attendant was required to operate a gate to a more efficient meter-based system.
Jennifer Eskey, one of the four parking enforcement officers in the city, said although the day and time of year vary, she typically writes 20 to 30 tickets per day for improper parking in the garage with penalties ranging from $10 to $50.
Bill Savage, an Athens resident, said the parking garage saves him time looking for places to park, yet costs about the same as parking on the street.
“Past the third floor, it’s 12-hour parking; it’s great if you’re working in Athens,” Savage said.
“It’s so much easier to find a parking spot (in the parking garage),” said Ohio University alumna and Athens resident Amanda VanAuken. It’s a pretty central location uptown — kind of in the middle of everything.”
ld311710@ohiou.edu
