Council to look at buck-a-day parking at city hall

The days of free parking at the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre may be numbered.

Councillors voted unanimously last week to look into charging members of the public who park at city hall.

City staff have also been instructed to prepare recommendations on whether full-time and part-time municipal employees should pay to park there.

Other local organizations will be surveyed to determine an appropriate rate for staff parking.

Consideration will also be given to charging for parking at other city facilities.

Ward 3 Coun. Ron Zagordo started the discussion last week during council's annual budget deliberations, proposing that staff pay $1 a day to park at the civic centre.

If 150 employees each pay a loonie to park there an average of 225 days a year, Zagordo reckoned taxpayers could be saved $33,759

"As leaders, I think we need to lead by example, and by no means is paid parking by employees a new concept," Zagordo said.

"Institutions around Sault Ste. Marie like Sault College and the hospital have been doing this for a while now.

"Parking lots, like roads, require more removal and repairs, which need to be paid for."

Zagordo said city councillors should have to pay too.

But other members of city council wondered whether staff should also be charged to park at other city-owned facilities like the Rhodes Centre or public works.

Mayor Shoemaker, who twice before has tried to persuade council to charge for parking, said he could support more than a dollar a day for city staff, pointing out that hospital employees pay $800 a year.

Instead of immediately ordering buck-a-day parking at the civic centre, councillors agreed to direct staff to prepare a report on possible parking charges for both city staff and members of the public.