By Telesha Ramnarine

THE Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown (M&CC) is going full speed ahead to have parking meters installed and in operation in the City by September 1.M&CC officials are of the view that they do not need to seek permission from anyone to carry through with this project, but only out of courtesy, Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan was consulted.

At a highly anticipated press conference held on Monday following the return of a team from Mexico, Chairman of the M&CC Finance Committee, Oscar Clarke, said: “He’s (Minister Bulkan) asked us to say to you that he appreciates that the Council doesn’t have to ask anybody under the Council Law. And we don’t have to ask anyone, but out of courtesy, we think we have to speak to the minister.

“The minister doesn’t make a decision for the Council; the Cabinet does. But the minister has said he is happy we were able to visit with him; that he has a copy of the contract, and he is sure that on the basis of what we explained to him, he is going to deliver to Cabinet a different message from the one which he has seen in the press.”

Mayor Patricia Chase-Green has said that a “deliberate” decision was made not to share with City Councillors and the public the contract that was signed with National Parking Systems (NPS)/Smart City Solutions until after the project has been implemented.

A number of councillors recently complained that they had been denied access to the contract, although they were promised in the past that they would be able to peruse it and provide feedback. Mayor Chase-Green is, however, maintaining that councillors had had opportunity to discuss the contract at a recent statutory meeting, and that a majority of councilors had voted in favour of implementing the parking meters.

She is contending that the ‘handful’ of councillors who are against the project cannot be allowed to stymie progress in Georgetown.

Asked how the councillors could have agreed to the contract when it was not shared with them, Town Clerk Royston King responded: “All contracts are signed by the Town Clerk, who is the Chief Administrative Officer of the City Council. All contracts are signed by the Town Clerk. The contract was seen by the councillors, who took the decision prior to the incumbent Council.

“We had an informative session (in which) councillors were informed about the contract, but the contract itself was agreed on by the previous Council. A decision was taken by the previous Council, and therefore we go forward.”

A PRIVATE DOCUMENT

Commenting on the possibility of the contract being made available to members of the new Council, Chase-Green offered: “A contract for the M&CC is a private document for the administration. It will be unfair for this Council to give every single councillor a copy of that contract. We could not afford to have all contracts being given out to councillors. Nobody knows where they will take those contracts. Those are private documents of the Council. They are free to request to see, but they have to come to the administration’s office, read it and then leave; but not to take it away with them. Which organisation within this whole world gives contracts to every single member who asks for it?”

The Town Clerk added: “We would have no problem sharing the contract during the implementation of the project; but in order to secure this direct foreign investment, we will not share the contract at this time,”

Asked how she felt about Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan’s refusal to support the project, Chase-Green offered that the manner in which he is trashing out his views (on social media) is wrong.

The Mayor also said that she does not have to report her every move to Duncan. “It is most unfortunate that individuals have taken it upon themselves to access social media with their reservations. But they do not speak on behalf of the Council,” she declared.

ALREADY ON THE WAY

According to the Mayor, City Hall will be receiving 20 per cent of whatever is earned through the parking meters. The meters, she said, are built in such a way that they cannot be vandalised.

“So far, the consortium with which we have a contract has already sent their engineers and technical team to do various assessments. As we speak, parking meters are being processed for shipping to Georgetown, to allow the project to begin on schedule,” she disclosed.

Asked about cost to citizens, Chase-Green said the $500 per hour to park is being reviewed, and the amount would be less. As for employees parking outside their workplaces, she said they will be granted a special concession.

Parking meters will be installed on every street between South Road and Church Street, Water Street and Camp Street. The arrangement will be such that one meter would be placed for approximately 15 parking spaces.

Questioned if the City has enough space for the installation of parking meters, Chase-Green informed that there are in excess of 4000 spaces. She refused to say, however, just how many meters would be installed.

Citizens would have to purchase prepaid cards for parking, and once the necessary information would have been punched in, the control room will receive an indication if a driver has overstayed his time. The driver will subsequently be given a ticket, or the vehicle will be towed away, at the expense of the driver.

The Mayor has noted that by means of this project, many jobs will be created. “I have also asked the Town Clerk to advertise for 100 persons who would be trained to work with the parking meters. They will be well paid and constantly trained to assist in the management of this particular project. This and other related activities will be paid for by the consortium in full; not the Council. It is part of the expenses of the consortium.”

According to Chase-Green, the project will be rolled out at no cost to the Council.

“Smart City Solutions, which was awarded the on-street parking contract last November, is part of an international consortium, anchored by the largest on-street municipal parking operator in all of Latin America, the Caribbean, Central and South America. This consortium offers a solution in which it is 100 per cent invested. There is zero cost to our City,” the Mayor disclosed.

TEAM SATISFIED

The Mayor began her speech by reminding that, at the statutory meeting of May 9, she had announced to the full Council that she had received an invitation from the parking meter company to visit Mexico and Panama. She said the visit was paid for by Smart City Solutions.

“I, as Mayor of this City, accepted the invitation and selected a team based on the nature and scope of the visit, knowledge of the issues involved… relevant competencies and aptitudes, and official and statutory portfolios.

“I, along with Councillors Oscar Clarke and Junior Garrett, and Town Clerk Royston King, (am) satisfied with the bona fides of Smart City Solutions,” she said.

Chase-Green said the team has verified the consortium’s five years’ operating experience in Mexico City, its recent achievement of being the first to install parking meters in Peru, its installation of parking meters in Panama; and its position as a distributor of parking meter equipment for Parkeon, the largest parking meter manufacturer in the world, with a footprint in some 3,500 cities globally.