City won’t alter parking agreement
City officials have denied a request from County Executive Kenneth Rogers to terminate a decades-old parking agreement between the city and county.
The request was sent to Mayor Royce Davenport, who relayed the message to members of a joint city Safety and Building and Grounds Committee Monday. The letter specifically said the county executive wants to terminate the courthouse parking agreement the city and the county made in 1979.
“Our city attorney, in a consulting opinion, indicated that just a request from the county executive could not accomplish that,” Davenport said.
The letter followed an incident last month where Rogers had the parking signs around the courthouse removed. City Safety Committee members immediately voted to have them replaced, and they were the next day.
“As far as terminating the agreement, it was an agreement between the county commission and the city board. No more than I can terminate the agreement, neither can the county executive,” Davenport added.
Rogers’ letter, dated Jan. 27, said traffic congestion around the courthouse is not what it once was and that he would like to see the parking regulations there be unrestricted. He has said courthouse employees should be able to park closer to where they work.
City officials invited two members of the Warren County Commission to their joint committee meeting Monday. Those members said they were unaware of the developing situation until after the signs were removed.
Carl Bouldin, who chairs the county’s Building and Grounds Committee, which, according to official city records, is the committee that originally dealt with the city to regulate downtown parking in 1979, said he believes the agreement should remain as it is.
“I don’t think Mr. Rogers had any authority at all to do what he did,” Bouldin said. “He did not bring it before the Building and Grounds Committee. He did not bring it before anybody that I know of.”
Rogers said “it’s a possibility” he took matters into his own hands, but stuck to his ground on the question of authority.
“I’ve found no resolution in the agreement that it’s with the county commission and I see where the county executive signed it and it said either party that it could be broken, and so we’ll look into it,” he said.
Despite denying the request, city officials said they would be willing to entertain ideas about changing the parking agreement if asked to by members of the county’s governing body.
City and county officials also expressed the importance of learning courthouse property ownership, which the city and county agree should be resolved to prevent future problems. Despite the flap over parking, Warren County Commission Chair Sally Brock said after attending the meeting with Bouldin she was encouraged by communication between members of the two governments.