Despite turning down a request by the city’s engineering department for a $20,000 study into a proposed downtown parking lot plan, the city is still moving forward with a project that increases parking spaces in the area while eliminating those along FM 2920.

At a recent city council meeting, City Engineer Mark McClure asked on behalf of the department that council approve a $20,000 expenditure in order to pay for a study by Kimley-Horn. The study was to include concept site planning, an estimation of the cost of acquiring the land and building the lots, an “analysis summary” and “project expenses.”

Joe Wilhite of Kimley-Horn explained to council that the study was needed in order to identify which of the five proposed sites in downtown would be best suited for parking lots. He also said the expenses would cover the cost of procuring deeds and title records of the sites.

However, council members voted down the request.

“Spending $20,000 to decide where we pick a parking lot seems like a lot of money,” councilman Mark Stoll said.

Councilman Preston Dodson explained that the ownership documents would be obtained by a title company should the city decide to purchase the sites.

McClure explained that the expenditure was a necessary step in the process of identifying and eventually constructing the lots.

“It’s not a study, it’s not a plan, it’s part of the design,” he said.

In a presentation to the council, the Engineering and Planning Department stated that “the City wants to ensure that the monies are allocated to the appropriate parking facilities in an order to be determined via a Parking Lot Feasibility Analysis.”

As detailed in the Livable Centers Downtown Plan and FM 2920 Access Management Plan, which were joint studies by the City of Tomball, the Houston-Galveston Area Council and the Texas Department of Transportation, five potential parking lots were identified in downtown.

The Access Management Plan “calls for the removal of the on-street parking that is currently within the limits of downtown Tomball along FM 2920.”

The sites for four of the five proposed lots are owned by Rodney Hutson, who owns several businesses and parcels of land in the downtown area.

City Planner Kelly Violette said the fifth lot, located at North Oak and Commerce, was “non-essential.”

Council members Dodson and Derek Townsend said that since one person owns four of the lots, much of the preliminary work was not necessary.

Last summer, Hutson presented to council a plan to transform a number of his plats into parking lots.

Hutson told the Tribune last week that since that presentation, and since the last city council meeting, he has had no formal discussions with the city involving the parking lot project.

He said he would be in favor of possibly leasing the sites to the city and that they “could very easily be converted into parking.”

Hutson said he would consider creating a long-term lease arrangement with the city for the proposed lots. Those sites are located at Commerce and North Walnut, which engineers estimate could hold 18 vehicles, at Main and South Walnut (15 vehicles), South Walnut and Market Street (20) and Market Street and South Cherry (40).

Regarding the suggestion of an expense to review ownership records of his properties, Hutson said “I think the concern of whether the property is owned is probably not anything we need to worry about.”

There have been initial discussions between the City and TxDOT about a plan to eliminate the parking spaces along FM 2920 in order to increase traffic lanes or add a center turn lane. However, that project has no time frame.

According to TxDOT North Harris County Area Engineer, there are no significant plans to restructure FM 2920.

“There is no plans on the part of TxDOT to do anything with 2920 at this time,” Stephens said. “We have nothing planned at all. It has no construction funds.”

However, Hutson believes the city still should be looking ahead.

“I think the city definitely needs to pursue the idea of alternate parking and to be proactive is a good thing,” Hutson said. “Obviously the time to do it is when they’re not developed.”

Despite council’s refusal to fund the Kimley-Horn study, McClure assured the council that the project could be completed.

“We can go say ‘pick three lots’ and we’ll go and negotiate contracts,” he said.

The city has allocated money in the current fiscal year’s budget to move forward with the parking lot project.

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