GREENFIELD — City councilors spent more than half of Wednesday night’s roughly two-hour meeting questioning Mayor Ginny Desorgher about the Hope Street parking lot ballot question, and the city’s parking inventory and revenue.
The city’s decision in July to declare the 54 Hope St. lot as surplus property and draft a request for proposals (RFP) to develop housing or a mixed-use building at that location has drawn a strong response from residents who believe it would be best to repave the lot and use it for parking.
Franklin County Register of Probate John Merrigan and resident Beth Lorenz, through a petitioning effort that began in August, placed a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot seeking to reverse City Council’s July decision.
Sitting before councilors on Wednesday, Desorgher explained that in fiscal year 2025, the city collected $322,604 in parking revenue, roughly $80,000 of which came from parking passes, while the remaining funds were collected through meters, lots and parking tickets.
Desorgher, responding to rumors that development of the Hope Street lot would result in a $200,000 loss in parking revenue each year, said she does not believe it is likely.
“Personally, I don’t see how that is possible [that there could be a $200,000 loss in revenue]. … Keep in mind that you would just be moving people from one place to another, unless we had a whole lot more people that were coming here. I don’t see how that would be humanly possible,” Desorgher said. “The way that we would make more room for parking is if we had more people that are coming to things here in town. The way that you get more people here in town is if we have more development, more commercial, more housing.”
When Precinct 7 Councilor William “Wid” Perry asked whether the city’s RFP would include development options other than housing, Desorgher said the RFP suggests that the developer build first-floor commercial space, with housing in the stories above. The RFP, Desorgher added, also suggests that the developer build market-rate housing, with some affordable units.
Perry also asked whether the city plans to use revenue bonds to pay for the parking lot’s repaving in the event that residents “by some miracle” vote “yes” on Question 1 in November. Under the ballot language that City Council approved in September, a “yes” vote on the November ballot would rescind the City Council measure authorizing the sale, while a “no” vote would uphold the council’s vote.
“With the things that we need in the city, I’d be hard-pressed to be thinking about building a parking lot 115 steps next to a parking lot — that would be very difficult for me to think about,” Desorgher responded, referencing the Olive Street Parking Garage. “Being the mayor of a city is very difficult. I have to think about what this city actually needs for the future. … We have a parking lot that I worked very hard to brighten up, to clean up, that during business hours has 120 vacant spots from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To be building and spending money, even if it were free, to build a parking lot next to a parking lot isn’t exactly what makes sense to me, so I’m not going to commit to that today.”
At-Large Councilor Wahab Minhas asked the mayor how much revenue the Hope Street lot made the city prior to being used as the site of the temporary fire station in 2021 and after the Olive Street Parking Garage was constructed, opening to the public in late 2018. Desorgher said that while the city has data on the amount of parking revenue generated year-over-year, it does not have data on specifically where people parked those vehicles.
Minhas also asked whether it is true that Desorgher is considering shifting the Main Street parking from diagonal to parallel spots. She confirmed that the change is being planned, explaining that it would make the city eligible for state grants through the Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets program.
“Yes, there is a plan for that. … When I first got into office, that was the very first meeting that I went to, it was with the [Greenfield Business Association] and I thought, ‘Boy, if you ever want to be at something where you’re afraid that people are going to throw things at you, go to a meeting where you’re talking about parking,'” Desorgher said. “I’m going to tell you, quite truthfully, councilman — yes, there’s going to be less [parking].”
The results of a grant-funded parking study, which were shared by consulting firm Stantec in June 2023, found that parking supply in the city significantly outweighs demand, with about half of the roughly 3,000 spots in the downtown area being empty at all times.
“You could wipe out 60% of the Main Street supply and virtually have zero impact in your downtown,” Jason Schrieber, senior principal at Stantec, said at the time. “The parking is there, the spaces are there, the availability is there.”
Precinct 5 City Councilor Marianne Bullock asked the mayor during Wednesday’s meeting if the city needs more parking, to which she replied that it does not. Bullock then followed up, asking if the city needs more housing, to which the mayor responded “yes,” adding that a lack of housing is “one of the biggest issues in the city, state and nation.”
At-Large Councilor Michael Terounzo asked Desorgher why the city could not simply sell the property, instead of going through an RFP process. He clarified that he was simply relaying a question that constituents had asked him.
“There are different ways that you can sell things. You can auction things, but you can’t just [have] somebody come up to you and say, ‘Oh, I’ll buy that lot for such and such,’ You have to do things according to procurement laws,” Desorgher said. “I’m trying to make decisions that are good for the city, and I would assume that most of you would probably not like an amusement park on that lot, or a casino.”