Council, chamber team up to provide valet parking

By Nathan R. Huff

Partnership had been the name of the game between the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce and the Town Council when it came to solving the downtown parking problem.

After the town challenged the fledgling Chamber to help fund the second garage it desired, as well as come up with a larger plan to alleviate the parking shortage, the Chamber returned with a program and support for an assessment district.

The town partnered with the Chamber to help realize the Chamber's plan, which includes pay parking, valet service, the printing of parking maps, and the building of two structures.

So when the Chamber returned to the council at the Oct. 18 meeting to request implementation of the valet parking program it had been asked to research, members were more than a little surprised when the council said it expected the Chamber to pick up the whole $9,700 tab.

One by one, council members Linda Lubeck, Randy Attaway and Steve Blanton said they had no problem with the town entering the contract--the program will be on town-owned lots--but that the Chamber should pay for it.

Blanton questioned whether the town should pay for what amounted to a "subsidy of the [downtown] business district."

However, Councilman Joe Pirzynski said he could see shared funding because the program would benefit local businesses and residents as well.

A visibly restrained Diane McNutt, Chamber chairwoman-elect, told the council that the business community definitely saw the downtown parking problem as a shared responsibility. Reminding the council that it has funded valet programs in the past, McNutt said, "Angry shoppers will be mad at the town, not individual businesses. ... Parking downtown during the holiday season is a community problem."

The council relented following McNutt's speech, agreeing to fund the measure on a one-to-one basis with the Chamber, though adding that it hoped this would be the last year the program was neccesary.

Following the meeting, Chamber executive director Sheri Lewis said the Chamber has felt a "very strong partnership with the town." However, because of its limited size and resources, Lewis said, the Chamber's main contribution has been the thousands of hours spent researching the viability of an assessment district, valet parking, paid parking, shuttle service and employee parking issues, among other things.

Aside from man-hours, businesses generate nearly $6 million a year in sales taxes--roughly one third of the town's income. Lewis said businesses need to remain viable to put money into the town coffers.

"Los Gatos would not be Los Gatos without the distinct businesses we have downtown," Lewis said.

Domus owner Margaret Smith told the council that valet parking gives customers the impression that the town cares about the parking problem. "The reason why the town is thriving is the commitment of local residents to shop at local businesses," Smith said.

The valet parking program will run from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Nov. 18 through the end of December, mostly on weekends and big shopping days.

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