City officials on Tuesday approved a special use of right-of way request allowing a local bookstore to take up a Sixth Street parking space downtown for two months, but not without some push-back from a board member.
The Board of Public Works and Safety approved a request from Viewpoint Books to park its ‘Santa’s Book Shop’ bus in a parking space near the Cummins parking garage from Nov. 1 until Dec. 28.
The request was approved by a 4-1 vote, with board member John Pickett voting against.
Pickett, who is a co-owner of Baker’s Fine Gifts & Accessories downtown, told board members he was not opposed to the request specifically, but more so is concerned about the precedent it would set and the process by which it came before the board, less than a week before the request would be in effect.
“I’m not against this at all and I think it’s great, but are we setting up a temporary store, which essentially is a planning issue, and why hasn’t it gone through the parking commission which we did when we released all those spaces in front of Turning Point?” Pickett said.
Pickett was referring to a recommendation the parking commission voted to make on Aug. 31, 2023 that any on-street parking along the east side of Washington Street between Seventh and Eighth streets should be unmarked, which is about 12 spaces.
The board of works during their meeting the following day voted to approve that recommendation.
In addition, Pickett mentioned that Columbus Regional Health had made a request for parking spaces in front of WellConnect in the past, which also was considered by the parking commission but turned down. Pickett wondered what made the request from Viewpoint different and posited that he thinks the request would “open the door” to others like it.
“I realize it’s just one parking space, but I’m thinking about the future for you all, because I guarantee you the hospital will be back like everyone else, and then that does go to the parking commission.”
Pickett disputed that a space being taken up for two months is temporary and asked that someone other than the board of works vet the request, namely the parking commission. However, there was not consensus on the board that such a thing is necessarily under the commission’s purview.
Eric Frey, the city’s executive director of administration, asserted that the parking commission is more of a policy-making body than a decision-making body.
Mayor Mary Ferdon said the commission is not set up to be a quick-decision-making body because they only meet once per month, whereas the board of works does every week. Ferdon also added that city engineering vets each special use of right-of-way request.
“It doesn’t really fall under their jurisdiction per se,” the mayor said. “Their goal is to help set strategy for parking, we don’t ask them to typically make these kind of decisions.”
Pickett said, in his view, the parking commission is a body that should have input on matters regarding parking downtown.
“When it comes to stores making requests, or businesses making requests, it’s always going to the parking commission,” Pickett said. “… Parking is very serious to me, and because of that, I’m aware of these issues. Yes, it’s one space to you, but it opens a whole door for those of us who work downtown and I passionately think this should be better.”
Council Member Tom Dell, D-at-large, is a member of the parking commission and offered his view.
“It depends on whether this body wants recommendations in relationship to parking in the downtown area, which is really what the parking commission will do,” Dell said. “If you don’t want that discussion, or you don’t want a recommendation from them on issues, then it de-emphasizes the need for a parking commission because the response I got from some of the other people on the (parking) commission is, if the board of works is going to make decisions arbitrarily about situations within parking in the downtown and they don’t necessarily want our recommendations, what are we there for?”
Board member Brenda Sullivan made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Melanie Henderson, another member of the board of works.
Pickett then made a motion to table the request, which he believed that, according to Robert’s Rules of Order, takes precedent. Had he received a second, that would have meant the motion would be tabled regardless of a motion to approve, Pickett told board members.
But City Attorney Alex Whitted said the proper procedure would be to vote on Sullivan’s motion to approve because it had received a second, later telling The Republic that is how the board of works has operated traditionally. The board then voted to approve the request.
“A point of order, a motion to table does, by Robert’s Rules of Order, take precedence, and that vote should not have happened,” Pickett said.
