After hearing from residents and local representatives and discussing possibly scaling back the proposed parking garage at Third and New streets, city council members voted “at the eleventh hour,” as council member Bryan Callahan said, to approve the city guarantee the Parking Authority funding for a $17.75 million parking deck. The vote, at 11:10 p.m., April 16, was 5-2 in favor, with council members Olga Negron-Dipini and Adam Waldron against.

Council member Eric Evans had put forth a proposal to decrease the size of the deck, leading to Callahan’s comment. In the end, Evans withdrew the proposal but said he will bring it up again after the Parking Authority has had a chance to run some numbers to assess the financial feasibility of making the 626-space proposed garage smaller.

Council President J. William Reynolds said making the garage much smaller may not actually reduce the cost. “At some point there is a fixed cost to building anything,” he said.

John Welty, deputy vice president of advancement at Lehigh University, said the University plans to have 125 employees in the adjacent building. “The parking structure is essential to success,” he said, adding the university will also use the proposed garage for 30-40 visitors per day.

Lehigh Assistant Vice President for Community Affairs Adrienne Washington said the university supports local development. “We made a conscious decision to move to South Bethlehem,” she said. Washington also said the university plans to move about 30 employees to the Flatiron Building and the changes have spurred interest to develop property owned by the University on Adam Street.

Resident Steve Melnick said he was not opposing development or the parking structure, rather that the city would be guaranteeing the cost for the Parking Authority. “The Parking Authority is on the hook for that money,” he said.

Parking Authority attorney James Broughal said developer Dennis Benner has signed a letter of intent to lease 123 spaces at $57.00 per month for 20 years and will be getting 57 spots for free.

However, Broughal said, if the garage doesn’t meet the expected revenue after five years, Benner will lose half of the free spaces or if the revenue is exceeding expectations, he could choose to lease more spots.

Benner’s commitment to the parking garage allows the Parking Authority to build a larger deck that will benefit other businesses in Southside, Broughal said. Many residents have criticized the deck as only benefitting Benner.

Negron-Dipini said, “I still have lots of questions.” She said she was concerned the information was getting to council members and the public “in pieces instead of as a whole.”

Council member Michael Colon suggested moving some of the Mechanic Street lot spaces to the garage and making some of Mechanic Street to be metered parking. “I don’t think the intent of this project is to alienate any neighborhood,” he said.

Callahan said the business around the proposed building and parking garage are “100 percent for it,” he said.

“They are the silent majority.” He said redevelopment of the Southside struggled for years because there was not centrally located garage, but rather a hodgepodge of surface lots. “This project marks a new day for South Bethlehem,” he said. He said Benner is spending his money in Bethlehem rather than moving the project somewhere else. “This project is a shared risk,” Callahan said.

Council member Shawn Martell asked when the city’s liability might be triggered if council agreed to back the parking deck. Scott Shearer of Public Financial Management, Harrisburg, consultant to the Parking Authority, said the principal would be paid annually and the interest twice a year. The parking authority will have a replenishment fund, he said, which would be used to reimburse the city in the event the city would need to cover the debt for the Parking Authority.

Guaranteeing the Parking Authority debt would not affect the city’s ability to borrow, Shearer said.

Reynolds said the pro forma document presented by Shearer at the April 19 meeting differs vastly from the one presented previously. “A lot has changed,” he said. The current pro forma takes into account projected parking meter and fine increases, which were not in the earlier document, Shearer said.

City Business Manager David Brong said the document contains important planning information. “Use it as a management tool,” he said. “Embrace this document.”

Martell said, “It’s difficult to think this would not be a success.” He said for years businesses and residents on the South Side have had to pay taxes going to support the garages on Walnut Street and North Street in the north. “To me that seems like disrespect,” he said. “It’s about time we took that seriously.”