Urine-soaked garages delay $390,000 city parking contract

ASHEVILLE – Concerns over a certain smell coming from city parking garages have thrown a wrench in a $390,000 contract for a private company to help with municipal parking services.

The problem of people urinating in the garages also raised the question of using hotel room tax money for bathroom expenses.

The City Council was set to vote Tuesday on a three-year deal with Chartwell Staffing Solutions, Inc. Private contractors are used to supplement city staff at four public garages, surface lots and other parking facilities. As the low bidder, Chartwell would replace the current contractor.

But Vice Mayor Marc Hunt asked that that $130,000 annual deal be delayed while a new plan is hashed out to cope with increased incidents of people urinating in parking decks.

“For me, I’m at this stage where I’m embarrassed at the state of cleanliness, particularly in the stairwells,” Hunt said.

He pointed to the fact that the city a year ago had increased the contract amount by 49 percent in hopes of better maintaining garages.

Council members agreed to put off the vote while city staff come up with a plan. The current contractor will be asked to fill in until that time.

Suggestions included increased cleaning, more bathroom availability and more monitoring of garages.

Hunt noted that three of four decks have bathrooms attached to them. But sometimes they are not open when people need them most.

“As evening progresses, fewer and fewer restrooms are available just as people are drinking more and more alcohol and heading home. People have to find a place,” the vice mayor said.

Councilman Cecil Bothwell wondered if any tracking had been done to see if the problems are worst when bathrooms are closed.

Mayor Esther Manheimer suggested more security. “Maybe some well-placed cameras,” she said.

Another idea was to ask for help from the body that controls all hotel tax money, the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. Manheimer and Councilman Jan Davis pointed to the almost 10 million visitors that the city now gets annually.

Davis called it “a very graphic point” that the city receives little help dealing with the impact of tourism. Most of the sales tax generated locally, for example, is distributed away from Asheville by the state.

“It’s terrible to have this discussion about not keeping public restrooms open,” Davis said. “I think this makes a great point to bring this forward for tourism dollars.”

City Manager Gary Jackson said staff said would report back with a suggested plan of action.

Generally, city parking employees work during the business day and early evenings. Contract employees fill in for absent employees and during special events, City Transportation Director Ken Putnam said in his report to council members.

Contract employees help extend the hours at garages and at public restrooms attached to them. That happens particularly when big events are booked at the U.S. Cellular Center or for festivals.