FARMVILLE – Most Main Street parking meters will soon offer an hour of parking for 25 cents following Town Council action Wednesday night, with a maximum of two hours.

The only exception will be the block of Main from High to Third Streets in which meters will continue offering 30 minutes of parking for 25 cents, with a maximum of two hours.

The change to an hour of parking for 25 cents was the clear winner in a recent poll of downtown merchants but Town Manager Gerald Spates told council members Wednesday night that business people in the High to Third Streets block preferred the status quo, which adequately meets their customers' needs.

“Basically, what we talked about doing was changing the parking at the request of the downtown merchants,” Spates said Wednesday night, “from 25 cents for 30 minutes to 25 cents for an hour, with a maximum of two hours. And in talking with the businesses in the one block where the courthouse is they would like to leave this block exactly like we have it, 25 cents for 30 minutes. Most of their customers are short-term. They're not there that long. And the other meters on the other blocks of Main Street will be 25 cents for an hour, with a maximum of two hours. So that's what I'd like to propose to council.”

After a brief discussion regarding the question of parking meter uniformity on Main Street, with a motion by Ward D council member Donald L. Hunter and a second by Ward B council member Sally Thompson, the new parking meter plan for Main Street passed without dissent.

“I can understand their request for this end of Main Street,” Hunter said of the courthouse block of Main Street. “That benefits people just trying to run in and out” of businesses.

From Third Street to Green Front Furniture will see the meters soon change to allow an hour's worth of parking for 25 cents, with a maximum of two hours.

Town council had nearly voted on the change from the current 25 cents for 30 minutes last month but a substitute motion had put the proposal into the budget committee for analysis and recommendation.

Meters elsewhere-on High Street and Venable Street near Longwood University, for example-will remain unchanged, offering 30 minutes for 25 cents, along with the High to Third Streets block.

Spates said the machine, or device, necessary to change the meters has been ordered and Town employees will re-program the downtown meters themselves.

The equipments cost approximately $350 but by re-programming the meters the Town is saving on the $12.50 per meter cost Spates said would have been charged by a company that does such work.

“I thought that was a little high,” Spates commented during this month's Town Council work session.

Last Month's Meeting

During last month's Town Council meeting, Dr. Charles Ross had presented Town Council with the results of the poll that queried downtown merchants on their parking meter preferences.

“I would just like to ask that the council take that sentiment under consideration, that most of the people running businesses down here would prefer to have one hour for a quarter, if that's doable,” Dr. Ross told council members in January.

Thirty-eight downtown Farmville business proprietors were polled and 36 of the 38, or roughly 95 percent of the people, voted for a change of one kind or another from the current system, Dr. Ross noted. “And most of those-28 of 38, or roughly 75 percent of the downtown proprietors-voted to go with a one hour for a quarter on the meter,” he told Town Council.

The other two poll options were: keeping the current 30 minutes for a quarter or increasing the amount of time a quarter can purchase to two hours. Thirty-six of the 38 merchants polled voted for one change or another, only two supporting the status quo. Thompson made the motion in January to adopt the one hour for a quarter proposal preferred by most merchants, the motion seconded by At-Large council member, and Main Street businessman, Tommy Pairet.

Pairet had barely offered his second of the motion when Ward A council member Dr. Edward I. Gordon suggested the issue be put into committee to consider all the implications, with Hunter also asking questions.

Dr. Gordon subsequently made a substitute motion, Hunter seconding it and, per parliamentary rules, the vote was taken first on the substitute motion, which passed 5-2, with Ms. Thompson and Pairet voting no, and Dr. Gordon, Hunter, David Whitus, Otto S. Overton and Vice-Mayor Armstead D. Reid voting 'yes' to send the issue into committee, where it emerged this month with a recommendation to back the wishes of downtown merchants.

“To me, the one hour parking (for a quarter) is the perfect situation,” Main Street merchant Caryn Kayton had advised Town Council during its January meeting.

Dr. Gordon told council members and residents attending that meeting that there was no negativity in his substitute motion, simply a desire to know all the relevant facts.

“I'm not saying anything negative or positive. My feeling is it sounds like a very good idea and I would just like to have,” Dr. Gordon said, “some facts in front of me. That's why I made the substitute motion…”

Dr. Gordon and Hunter explained last month that they want the Town to avoid flip-flopping on the issue and that is one of the reasons they want to consider everything.

“I don't want it to come back again…so we want to make sure we do the right thing,” Hunter said. “We have a knack of coming back and changing things once we put it out there and I don't like doing that.”

Parking Issue Done?

On Wednesday night, Spates joked to Farmville Police Chief Doug Mooney, “Chief, if anybody comes in and asks to change it, would you arrest them, please.”

The Town has been wrestling with the issue of downtown parking for several decades.

Other Action

Among the other items during its February meeting, Town Council:

Heard a presentation on the Commonwealth Regional Council's annual report from acting CRC president and CEO Mary Hickman.

Authorized paying the CRC $1,000 to help offset the cost of computer software the CRC purchased and has made available to assist the Town with the redistricting of its Wards.

Learned that merchants are responding more slowly to paying the BPOL tax than in past years; the gross receipts tax is the Town's largest revenue source.

Received a report from its budget committee on possible revenue enhancement alternatives and appropriation philosophies.

Referred to its ordinance committee a proposal to stop giving utility tax refunds for electric bills, something that affects several businesses.

Appointed Building Inspector Phillip Moore as Building Official.

Decided to begin addressing the Ward redistricting at next month's work session.

Voted to designate April as Longwood Center for the Visual Arts Month.

Authorized its Library Committee to meet with their Prince Edward counterparts to address use of revenue from the sale, when it occurs, of the old Farmville-Prince Edward Community Library building on Third Street.

Learned that work has temporarily stopped on the Sarah Terry Trail around Wilck's Lake, due to winter weather conditions, but will recommence shortly to finish the trail.