MONROE - They certainly don't want to lose their parking ramp, but what the members of the Monroe Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) want to know first is this:
What do the city leaders really want?
BID president Bob Duxstad plans to ask that question at Tuesday's Common Council meeting, hoping to at least delay Mayor Bill Ross' desire to put the city's dilapidated 227-space two-level ramp - located between 10th and 11th streets along 15th Avenue - up for sale. The council is scheduled to discuss the controversial topic with a potential vote at stake.
"What do they want when it's done?" Duxstad asked of a potential sale.
Added board member Craig Patchin: "What is their list of best possible outcomes?"
Board member Ryan Wilson felt the ramp and any potential growth for the downtown area go hand in hand.
"Please define the vision," he said. "If we don't want any more growth, then that's the vision. That solves the parking-lot issue."
Scoring big with a developer is an unlikely scenario, the members agreed.
"In a vibrant community, a developer would come along," Patchin said. "I'm not so sure that's the case in Monroe."
Added Duxstad: "It will be a large task to get what they want."
They agreed that when all is said and done, a new surface lot paid for by the city, featuring about 60 to 80 stalls, will be the likely outcome. And that isn't satisfactory with the future in mind.
"I think they (the council members) want it gone, and instead they'll be a flat lot," board member Mike Doyle said. "They aren't looking enough ahead."
Duxstad, who called the ramp "a tool for further economic development downtown," said he'll be submitting a letter to the council before Tuesday, outlining research he's done while interviewing two out-of-town developers, two adjacent land owners and also an urban consultant.
Ideally, Duxstad said he'd like to see an underground parking lot with retail above.
An ad hoc committee was formed last year to address the ramp issue, but it somewhat lost its legs. Still, Duxstad was surprised to hear from a council member on Jan. 20 that the committee's time had come and gone, noting a Jan. 1 deadline, rendering its findings mute.
"Losing the directors of both downtown organizations (Main Street Monroe and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce) took some steam out of the effort," he said. "Still, a lot of work was done."
Duxstad fears the city leaders are being hasty.
"It would be wise to talk to other cities where they have done some redevelopment," he said. "You just can't toss up a for-sale sign. What I see the city saying is, "Let's just see what happens.'"
Meanwhile, he thinks use of the lot should be more effectively promoted.
"We need to direct people to it, and keep the spaces (on the Square) available for immediate need and for the merchants. Parking on the Square is full at critical times and people are avoiding the Square."
Patchin is worried the city isn't willing to listen any longer.
"There's discussion fatigue," he said. "They're willing to pay $1 million for 67 spaces."
Doyle voiced that a dip in parking spaces could have negative results across the board.
"If downtown isn't vibrant, the city of Monroe isn't vibrant," Doyle said. "You won't know how important it (the ramp) is until it's gone."
What do the city leaders really want?
BID president Bob Duxstad plans to ask that question at Tuesday's Common Council meeting, hoping to at least delay Mayor Bill Ross' desire to put the city's dilapidated 227-space two-level ramp - located between 10th and 11th streets along 15th Avenue - up for sale. The council is scheduled to discuss the controversial topic with a potential vote at stake.
"What do they want when it's done?" Duxstad asked of a potential sale.
Added board member Craig Patchin: "What is their list of best possible outcomes?"
Board member Ryan Wilson felt the ramp and any potential growth for the downtown area go hand in hand.
"Please define the vision," he said. "If we don't want any more growth, then that's the vision. That solves the parking-lot issue."
Scoring big with a developer is an unlikely scenario, the members agreed.
"In a vibrant community, a developer would come along," Patchin said. "I'm not so sure that's the case in Monroe."
Added Duxstad: "It will be a large task to get what they want."
They agreed that when all is said and done, a new surface lot paid for by the city, featuring about 60 to 80 stalls, will be the likely outcome. And that isn't satisfactory with the future in mind.
"I think they (the council members) want it gone, and instead they'll be a flat lot," board member Mike Doyle said. "They aren't looking enough ahead."
Duxstad, who called the ramp "a tool for further economic development downtown," said he'll be submitting a letter to the council before Tuesday, outlining research he's done while interviewing two out-of-town developers, two adjacent land owners and also an urban consultant.
Ideally, Duxstad said he'd like to see an underground parking lot with retail above.
An ad hoc committee was formed last year to address the ramp issue, but it somewhat lost its legs. Still, Duxstad was surprised to hear from a council member on Jan. 20 that the committee's time had come and gone, noting a Jan. 1 deadline, rendering its findings mute.
"Losing the directors of both downtown organizations (Main Street Monroe and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce) took some steam out of the effort," he said. "Still, a lot of work was done."
Duxstad fears the city leaders are being hasty.
"It would be wise to talk to other cities where they have done some redevelopment," he said. "You just can't toss up a for-sale sign. What I see the city saying is, "Let's just see what happens.'"
Meanwhile, he thinks use of the lot should be more effectively promoted.
"We need to direct people to it, and keep the spaces (on the Square) available for immediate need and for the merchants. Parking on the Square is full at critical times and people are avoiding the Square."
Patchin is worried the city isn't willing to listen any longer.
"There's discussion fatigue," he said. "They're willing to pay $1 million for 67 spaces."
Doyle voiced that a dip in parking spaces could have negative results across the board.
"If downtown isn't vibrant, the city of Monroe isn't vibrant," Doyle said. "You won't know how important it (the ramp) is until it's gone."