There has been yet another change to the parking strategy in Mainstrasse Village.

Only this time, it has more finality.

The Covington City Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to remove the paid parking system in the Village, amid criticism from business owners who claim that the 2015 decision directly impacted their sales in a negative way.

"The biggest thing we need to reiterate is, we didn't have a parking issue until we implemented this parking plan," said Emily Wolff, who co-owns the restaurants Otto's and Frida with her husband, Paul Weckman. "Currently, we have businesses going out of business because of a plan that is not structured for our community."

For the first time since it opened 14 years ago, Otto's has seen a decline in lunch sales, she said. Weckman said that he could trace the beginning of the slippage to the implementation of the pay-to-park plan, adopted in early 2015. The business owners are thinking of laying off employees.

"We can't continue to employ them if we don't have the traffic, and we don't have the traffic," Weckman said.

Since the roll-out of the parking plan, changes have been made to accommodate growing criticism and also to add more parking opportunities reserved for residents of the neighborhood. Some residents urged city leaders to maintain the resident-only zones.

"I can't believe I am standing up here again," said Kelly Rose, a Mainstrasse resident, referencing the multiple prior meetings at City Hall about the issue. "It can be very difficult to live in an area where you feel like you can't park anywhere near your home."

A long-standing problem has been that customers of bars, restaurants, and shops in the Village park on the resident-heavy side streets, forcing the residents to park blocks away.

"I am nervous about the plan being overturned without thinking about the residents," Rose said. "There are also people that live in Mainstrasse that need some sort of relief and help as well."

Resident Eric Sternberg said that it was "problematic" to find a parking spot prior to the implementation of resident-only parking. "I understand the needs of the businesses, but I'd like to see a bit more thought going into the business aspect and more involvement with the opinions of the residents in the Mainstrasse area when it comes to changing the plan," he said.

Mayor Joe Meyer, who campaigned heavily against the paid parking plan in Mainstrasse in his successful bid to unseat Sherry Carran in November, and the city commission opted to scrap the plan entirely, reverting the neighborhood to where it was before the rule, parking kiosks, and signage were installed.

"People really are bleeding," Meyer said. "They are hurting dramatically. So, rather than ask people to continue to experience pain, let's take a deep breath, let's put things back the way they were. Let's take our time and put things back permanently."

The city commission directed city staff to create a parking plan for the neighborhood as a development boom nears that will inevitably affect parking availability. Hundreds of new residential units are to come online in new construction projects at the 501 Main site (which will eliminate the 5th Street parking lot but will eventually add a parking structure) and the John R. Green company building. That should be made available by March 1.

By the end of the year, there will be a more permanent parking strategy in view for the Village, Meyer said.

Commissioners Jordan Huizenga and Bill Wells, who voted to install the pay-to-park plan last year, voted on Tuesday to overturn it. Newcomers Tim Downing and Michelle Williams also voted in favor, though Williams did so with admitted hesitation out of concern for the residents.

Prior to the vote, city engineer Mike Yeager addressed the commission and answered questions about the parking situation. He offered that the parking kiosks could be switched to accommodate a different system, rather than tearing them out completely.

Yeager also started to suggest that, perhaps the city should wait to hear from its parking consultant on Monday before voting. "We have a public meeting scheduled for Monday," Yeager said, "and we spent $45,000 on a parking consultant, I think it would make sense - "

"That's enough," Meyer said, raising his hand.

The kiosks cost roughly $100,000 and the annual revenue generated from the parking plan was estimated to be at approximately $250,000. City Manager Larry Klein said after the meeting that the infrastructure would likely be stored until a permanent solution is decided. Residents who purchased parking permits will be reimbursed.

On Monday, January 23, the public is invited to attend a meeting about parking in the city, and to see the results of a recently completed survey. Parking consultant Carl Walker, Inc. will be present and feedback from the meeting will be incorporated into the final recommendations and report. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall (20 West Pike Street).

Other notes:

The city commission also voted to solicit bids from agencies that would conduct an independent review of the city's financial situation, to direct Fire Chief Dan Mathew to come up with various plans that would restore full city ambulance service to South Covington, and to generate a comprehensive update on all transportation projects in the city.

Written by Michael Monks, editor & publisher

Photo: Mainstrasse Village at 6th & Main Streets (RCN file)