MINUTES OF THE HANOVER BOROUGH COUNCIL HANOVER ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING March 12, 2025 Chairman Hegberg convened the meeting of the Hanover Borough Council Enhancement Committee on Tuesday, March 12, 2025 at 6:00 PM in the Hanover Municipal Building, 44 Frederick Street, Hanover, PA, as advertised. Attendance: In attendance were Hanover Borough Enhancement Committee Members Mrs. Funk, Mr. Hegberg, Mr. Lookenbill and Dr. Rupp; Citizen Advisors Mr. Graham and Mr. Riston; Staff Members Secretary Felix and Planning and Engineering Director Mains; Council Member Bubb; and Main Street Executive Director Tyler. Approval of the Minutes: It was moved by Mrs. Funk, seconded by Mr. Lookenbill to approve the minutes of January 14, 2025 as written. Motion carried. Public Comment: concerning items presented in the Enhancement Committee Agenda None was presented. Develop a Strategy to "Triage" the Existing Parking Lot Facilities, Develop Improvement Concepts, and Prioritize the Investment of Local and Grant Funding to Undertake Necessary Long Term Capital Projects (Goal a): Planning and Engineering Director Mains noted that partial concept plans for the municipal parking lots were submitted by Dewberry in 2020. Mr. Mains stated that Dewberry's concepts were then submitted to Hanover Land Services for review, which they completed free of charge. Mr. Mains distributed photos of current parking lot conditions and high level sketches of suggested changes from Hanover Land Services to improve safety and traffic flow. The Committee should consider which parking lots need to be approached first as a starting point. There is money in the budget to begin work, with parking revenue coming in steadily. Mr. Mains was able to locate rights-of-way for the Chestnut Street municipal lot between Franklin Street and High Street. The Pennsylvania Avenue parking lot adjacent Warehouse Gourmet was discussed as possibly transitioning to a non-pay parking area since it is further away from the downtown, and there is ample free parking in the area. There is a potential for the Hanover Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) to work with the property owner of Warehouse Gourmet regarding this parking area. The grant for the Market House parking lot was not approved, but Delta Development may assist with future grant endeavors for this area. Minutes oft the Hanover. Borough Council Economic Development Committee March 12, 2025 Page 2 Chairman Hegberg would like to schedule a field trip for the Committee to discuss potential options for the parking lots, according to the data provided by Hanover Land Services. Mr. Mains noted that at the end of 2024, the Passport Parking system contained a full two (2) years of data for analysis which of course does not include data for coin users. In the future iti is planned to eliminate the actual coin meters and utilize kiosks that accept coin as well as Passport Parking and also have the ability to accept a variety of different payment venues. Then staff will have the ability to gather data easily from all forms of payment. Mr. Mains noted that he utilized drones to create high resolution imagery for all of the parking lots to help with the Committee's analysis. Mrs. Funk noted that she would prefer to begin the parking lot improvements with those areas located in the downtown. She liked the idea of improving the parking areas with greenery to make them more welcoming, and to increase downtown business patronage. Mr. Riston pointed out the importance of proper signage designating paid parking zones. Mr. Riston asked for a rating system for the Committee to evaluate each municipal parking lot for various attributes and improvements. Mr. Riston asked how many parking passes are currently issued. Mr. Mains responded that he would provide that information to the Committee. Mr. Mains stated that the Market House parking lot has a zone in Passport, and is available for public parking when the Market is not in use. The parking is free during Market hours. There may be many people parking there during the week without payment. Mr. Mains will investigate the Passport Parking system for tag options. Chairman Hegberg suggested that with each parking lot upgrade, meters could be eliminated, and kiosks could begin to be installed as a more cost-effective and convenient option. Mr. Graham styressed the importance of providing a cost comparison between the cost of parking meters verses kiosks. Chairman Heberg noted that a field trip will be planned for the May meeting to evaluate the parking lots. Minutes of the. Hanover Borough Council Economic Development Committee March 12, 2025 Page3 Discuss potential funding strategy (grant programs, capital project overlaps, etc.): Mr. Mains noted the funding strategy will include the help of Delta Development, who has been contracted for the past two (2) years to research grant opportunities and provide advocacy. Borough staff confers once a month with Delta Development to converse on what opportunities are available, and to provide updates on the grant applications that have been submitted. Borough staff provides regular oversight over Delta Development for cost effectiveness and efficiency. Chairman Hegberg would like to add a dashboard for the Borough's grant funding on the Borough website. Mr. Mains noted this item is in progress and is a current goal. Update on funding reserves in the parking lot funds from 2024 and into 2025: Chairman Hegberg noted the majority of meter payments are paid by coin. In 2024 after administrative fees, there was a significant increase to $309,000 from $173,000 in 2023, including fees and citations. The Committee discussed the need for a dedicated budget line item for parking as a standalone item, instead of existing in the General Fund. In this way, the funds earned by parking fees and citations may be dedicated and available for parking improvements. The possibility of creating an Enterprise fund, a Capital Fund, or a Parking Authority to secure the funds was discussed. Currently there is $50,000 listed in the 2025 budget allocated to parking. Main Street Executive Director Tyler noted that two (2) new women's boutiques recently opened on Broadway. Snacktown Surf and Skate looks to be opening soon. The Comic shop on Frederick Street is scheduled to open by May 3rd. Sea Gypsy on York Street is looking to sell their entire business, due to other commitments. Public Comment: concerning all other matters pertaining to Enhancement Committee Business There was no additional public comment. Adjournment: It was moved by Mrs. Funk, seconded by Mr. Lookenbill to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 PM. Motion carried. Resp@ctfylly submitted, IM 1 1W1 Dorothy C. Felix, Borough Secretary