GLADSTONE — The Gladstone Downtown Development Authority discussed adding electric charging stations downtown.

Two options were discussed, a five-hour charging station priced at $30,000 each, and a one-hour charging station at the cost of $90,000 each. A state grant for the charging stations would award up to $13,000.

While the DDA agreed the five-hour stations work well for larger hotels, the one-hour stations would be more desirable to those looking to charge their vehicles while traveling through town and stopping for lunch. DDA board member Linda Howlett suggested that the extra spend would be worth it for the one-hour stations, so the town doesn’t have something that will become quickly obsolete because travelers will not want to stop for five hours to charge.

There was general agreement electric charging stations would bring more people to the downtown area. Howlett suggested placing the spaces behind businesses and off the street to prevent gas vehicles parking in the station spots. While the plan is still in its infancy, the DDA is moving forward to gain more information.

Turning to the parking issue, a study by Coleman Engineering Company revealed that there is an significant lack of parking between 10th Street and 8th Street, centered around the Delta Avenue section. This includes a total deficit of 340 spaces — 190 spaces between 9th Street and 10th Street, and 150 spaces between 8th Street and 9th Street. Scott Nowack, project manager at Coleman Engineering, said that since it won’t be possible to add all the spots needed, he recommends adding as many as possible as close as possible to those areas.

Since the study found the current available parking is set up well, Nowack’s report looks at two different approaches to solving the problem: regulatory and engineering.

The regulatory approach involves enforcing time limits in existing spaces and using signage to direct people to other areas. The engineering approach takes real estate into account, looking into land that new lots can be created on. This will necessitate looking one- to two-blocks away from the deficient area.

The DDA agreed one way to open up more on-street parking is for business owners to park behind their businesses, leaving the spots right in front on the street for customers. DDA board member Derby Chase said if this were put into practice the problem could be solved by adding as few as 20-30 spaces to the area.

Nowack said the 340 spot number assumes that spots are filled at all times. He says the best option is to raze a building and build a new lot. DDA members agreed having another lot would be particularly helpful on Mondays during the farmer’s market.

Parking spots compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act were also assessed. Nowack recommends at a few spaces be added between 8th and 10th.

The subject was wrapped up with consideration of forming a future subcommittee to look further into the subject, that would include a DDA member or two, a city representative, and Nowack. DDA/EDC Coordinator Ron Miaso will send out an email the week of January 11 to see about arranging a meeting.

Turning to the 9th Street Bond project, Eric Buckman gave an update saying that while there was a great improvement above ground, improvements were also made below ground that can’t be seen but are equally important. “You look at it and you don’t appreciate what’s underneath, but that was a lot of reconstruction,” said Howlett.

The DDA reported that the project is coming in under budget thus far but will probably be pretty close to budget in the end, due to additional sidewalks and drive approaches, causing some of the contingency money to be spent.

Miaso presented DDA budget information at the meeting, stating that the fund balance is $585,776, but the 9th Street payment hasn’t come out yet. His projected fund balance of $382,934 factors in Façade under-spending. “We don’t need to be sitting on a huge pot of money, but it’s nice to be able to spend on emergencies as they come up,” said Howlett of the numbers.

The home decorating contest enjoyed a good turnout with 25 participants compared to nine last year. Santa will be at Sayklly’s on Friday with a fire truck and DDA members wearing yellow vests handing out chocolate and directions to houses participating in the contest.

Looking to next year, a motion was carried to continue the 2021 DDA regular meeting schedule on the second Tuesday of the month at 8 a.m. The 2021-2022 budget discussion was put off in favor of having another meeting in January, prior to the regular meeting.