City Council passes parking meters bylaws

The City of Georgetown now has regulations which govern the specifics of parking within its boundaries, inclusive of metered parking. This proposal became a reality after a majority of the city councillors voted on Tuesday to have parking meters’ bylaws as part of the city’s regulations.

The bylaws which were drafted after the city’s administration and National Parking Systems/ Smart City Solutions (NPS/SCS) had signed a contract for the installation of parking meters around the city, were presented to council for a second time at the weekly statutory meeting.

The first presentation had taken place last Wednesday, at a special statutory meeting, from which the public and the media had been excluded.

According to APNU+AFC Councillor Oscar Clarke, while the Municipal and District Councils Act: Chapter 28.01 provides for the council to implement parking meters and manage parking within the city, it does not specify the conditions under which such measures should be governed, hence the need for the bylaws.

“We don’t want what happened with the container fees to occur again,” he explained. The council had attempted to use section 274 of the Act to charge businesses for the unloading of containers on council roads, but were faced with several challenges, including the fact that the provision was not specific to the purpose to which they attempted to apply it. The Section granted the council authority to construct, maintain, repair, protect, and carry out works for the betterment of council roads in its area, and to regulate and control traffic thereon.

Section 276 of the Act further grants the council the power to regulate and control traffic on council roads by establishing, maintaining, and controlling car parks; erecting and maintaining parking meters, and regulating the standing and parking on council roads. It is this section which the 70-page bylaws attempts to develop.

After discussions, APNU+AFC Councillor Heston Bostwick moved a motion for the bylaws to be accepted. It was seconded by Councillor Junior Garrett, also of the APNU+AFC.

While People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Councillors, Khame Sharma and Bishram Kuppen voted against the motion, it was passed after 17 APNU+AFC Councillors voted in favour.

Councillors Malcolm Ferreira of Team Legacy, Selwyn Smartt of Benschop for Mayor, and Akeem Peters of the APNU+AFC abstained. Deputy Mayor, APNU +AFC Councillor Sherod Duncan who has been very critical of the parking meters initiative, was not present at the time of the vote.

The contract between NPS/SCS and the administration of the city of Georgetown has been the source of several controversies since its signing. A primary concern has been the fact that the city never invited public tendering for the project. This was seen as directly contravening municipal procurement regulations though NPS/SCS has challenged this interpretation.

Following the widespread public concern over the contract, government ordered that it be reviewed to ascertain if there were any irregularities.

Two reviews were done on the deal: one by the Ministry of Finance, and the other by the AttorneyGeneral’s (AG) Chambers. The Ministry of Finance’s review scathingly criticized the deal, saying that government procurement rules may have been transgressed, while the AG’s review said the terms highly favoured the contractor.

The reviews, however, did not find the contract to be illegal, and the central government after seeking the advice of an accountant, only recommended that the city renegotiate the contract.

The recommendation was followed, and the several amendments to the contract were presented to the full council on August 29.

The amendments included the reduction of the length of the contract to 20 years from the 49 years proposed in the original contract, as well as, a reduction of the parking tariff, which was “up to $125” per 15-minute period, to $50 per 15-minute interval.

However, councillors were not invited to vote on the issue of the contract until September 26, at which time, a majority voted in favour of the amendments.

Following the council’s decision, Town Clerk Royston King was charged with signing and operationalizing the amended contract on behalf of the council.

This was done, and NPS/SCS has since proceeded with the demarcation of parking spaces around the main commercial hub of the city.