MONROE - More division among Monroe Common Council members over the fate of the beleaguered downtown parking ramp was evident during their meeting Tuesday as talk of conflicting ideas broke from the planned agenda items.
City Administrator Phil Rath had to call a point of order after remarks regarding the future of the downtown parking ramp site broke out among members.
The disruption began when alderman Charles Koch moved to separate a $16,000 Fehr Graham bill for engineering services on the parking ramp from the agenda's claims section. The charges were for preliminary work before the city requests bids for demolishing the parking ramp. The demolition date has not yet been determined.
"I feel we have not explored all of our options," Koch said. "We're not going to have enough parking down there and I think we need to build a new ramp."
Mayor Louis Armstrong, who right after being sworn in this spring called for a vote on whether the parking ramp should be demolished, said the matter had already been decided.
However, when it was pointed out that the demolition site would then be paved until the council could decide the future of the site, alderman Tom Miller disagreed. Miller contends that a flat lot will not be sufficient to make up for the loss of the 212-stall ramp currently in its place. It would hurt Square businesses if that much parking was lost, Miller maintains.
Because council members did not decide whether to replace the parking ramp with a new one or to outline a 72-stall flat lot in its place, Armstrong put the issue on hold in April and be brought back to a future agenda. The parking ramp is set for demolition because of safety concerns by the city after 43 stalls have become incrementally unsafe to use over past years.
Alderman Reid Stangel reiterated that just because the lot is paved does not mean discussion of a future parking ramp is finished. It is simply a temporary fix for an ongoing problem, he added.
After minutes of back and forth, Rath halted discussion by pointing out that engineering services had already been concluded, and legally there was no reason to not pay the money due to Fehr Graham. The bill on the agenda had nothing to do with the fate of the parking ramp, he said.
The full council, minus alderwomen Chris Beer and Brooke Bauman who were absent, voted to pay the charges.
City Administrator Phil Rath had to call a point of order after remarks regarding the future of the downtown parking ramp site broke out among members.
The disruption began when alderman Charles Koch moved to separate a $16,000 Fehr Graham bill for engineering services on the parking ramp from the agenda's claims section. The charges were for preliminary work before the city requests bids for demolishing the parking ramp. The demolition date has not yet been determined.
"I feel we have not explored all of our options," Koch said. "We're not going to have enough parking down there and I think we need to build a new ramp."
Mayor Louis Armstrong, who right after being sworn in this spring called for a vote on whether the parking ramp should be demolished, said the matter had already been decided.
However, when it was pointed out that the demolition site would then be paved until the council could decide the future of the site, alderman Tom Miller disagreed. Miller contends that a flat lot will not be sufficient to make up for the loss of the 212-stall ramp currently in its place. It would hurt Square businesses if that much parking was lost, Miller maintains.
Because council members did not decide whether to replace the parking ramp with a new one or to outline a 72-stall flat lot in its place, Armstrong put the issue on hold in April and be brought back to a future agenda. The parking ramp is set for demolition because of safety concerns by the city after 43 stalls have become incrementally unsafe to use over past years.
Alderman Reid Stangel reiterated that just because the lot is paved does not mean discussion of a future parking ramp is finished. It is simply a temporary fix for an ongoing problem, he added.
After minutes of back and forth, Rath halted discussion by pointing out that engineering services had already been concluded, and legally there was no reason to not pay the money due to Fehr Graham. The bill on the agenda had nothing to do with the fate of the parking ramp, he said.
The full council, minus alderwomen Chris Beer and Brooke Bauman who were absent, voted to pay the charges.