Gallatin city leaders have approved an agreement to expand public parking availability downtown.
A resolution authorizing Mayor Paige Brown to sign a lease agreement with Holloway Investments for the public use of a parking lot on Enlow Street, located directly behind Chubb’s Smokehouse, was passed unanimously by the Gallatin City Council last month.
As part of the agreement, the city would pay an estimated $52,000 to repair the lot, adding 22 additional public parking spaces downtown.
“We’re going to need the parking with this (new courthouse construction) going on and everything else,” District 3 Councilman Jimmy Overton said prior to approving the agreement May 18. “We’re going to need it.”
Once the repair work is completed, the city would lease the lot for $10 per year for 20 years, according to the agreement. The property would be allowed to be used for public and city parking along with events, training, temporary storage and placement of dumpsters.
Holloway Investments would also be allowed to close the parking lot for a maximum of four days each year as long as the company provides a 14-day notice and follows all city rules for closure of streets and public parking areas.
“I just think because we’re using public funds, we’ve got to severely limit the ability to (close the parking lot),” City Attorney Susan High-McAuley advised city leaders last month.
Either party can choose to terminate the agreement with a 90-day notice, according to the terms of the lease. However, if Holloway Investments chose to end the lease before June 30, 2041, the company would be responsible for repaying the city for a portion of any repairs, alterations, changes and improvements to the property. The amount would be reduced by 5 percent each year.
Once the lease is signed by both parties, Gallatin Public Works Superintendent Richard DePriest said repair work is expected to start in late July and would take between four and six weeks to complete.
The Enlow Street parking lot is separate from a public parking garage Sumner County plans to build on East Franklin Street behind the Gallatin Church of Christ and across from a new courthouse that is already under construction.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.