THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022 Page 3 Proposed Parking Benefits District could benefit downtown district Meter funds could be used for business district upgrades By Adam Swift C reating a Parking Benefits District using money collected from parking meters could help pay for improvements in the downtown business district, according to city fi nance director Richard Viscay. Viscay was before the City Council Monday night asking it to consider a Parking Benefi ts District. The City Council agreed to continue further discussion of the request at a future Economic Development Subcommittee meeting. “The Parking Benefi ts District is a geographic district specifi c to an area of the city where parking revenues can be collected and designated for use in that district,” said Viscay. In Revere, that district would be the metered areas of the city, which are primarily on Broadway and Shirley Avenue and the municipal parking lots on Shirley and Central Avenues. “These Parking Benefit Districts would allow us to be fl exible in the ways we use these dollars,” said Viscay. “Right now, we pay staffi ng, maintenance and capital costs of the meters themselves.” With a special district, the city could use the meter funds for improvements, such as benches, barrels, treescape improvements, pedestrian safety initiatives, electric car charging stations and other upgrades to the business district. “We’re just trying to improve upon the districts in which these meters are,” said Viscay. “We’re also proposing transportation improvements, which could include biking, walking and mass transit.” If the district is ultimately approved, Viscay said, the City of Revere is also recommending the creation of a Parking Advisory Committee to oversee the RevereTV Spotlight A well-known face and new official RTV community member, State Representative Jessica Giannino, is creating a new program at RevereTV. It will be called “A View from the Hill” and will be an interview-style show featuring Giannino talking to people from our community and also some colleagues in government with a focus on potential initiatives to take on. The first episode will have Revere Fire Chief Christopher Bright as her guest. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for this program to be premiering on RevereTV. Specific days and time slots will be listed in future RTV Spotlights. Creating and producing your own program is something that any RevereTV community member can do. Memberships are free with the only stipulation being that you reside in Revere. Productions can include participants from other cities and towns, but all programs must be sponsored and produced by a community member living here. For those interested in creating a show, you can sign up at any time and take classes that lead you through all the skills needed to become an independent producer. Programs made by community members air on television on the Community Channel, which is 8 and 1072 on Comcast and 3 and 614 on RCN. The schedule for the monthly Board of Health Meeting has been changed to now take place on every fourth Tuesday of the month. RevereTV covered the meeting this week and continues to stream all city government meetings live from the City Council Chambers at City Hall. You can view all RevereTV content, including government meetings, on RevereTV’s YouTube page. Don’t forget to also follow @RevereTV on Instagram for snapshots of everything going on at RTV. Due to some technical upgrades happening with the Education Channel out of Revere High School, Revere School Committee Meeting recordings will now also be scheduled to replay on RTV Gov. The meetings will not stream live on RTV Gov because of scheduling confl icts with other city meetings, but recordings will be scheduled soon after the meetings happen. Revere School Committee Meetings do still stream live on the Revere School Committee YouTube page, and they will stream live on the Education Channel again once the upgrade is complete. The Education Channel is 22 on Comcast and 15 on RCN. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma use of the funds. The committee would be made up of city offi cials, city councillors, traffi c commission members and local business owners. Ward 5 Councillor Al Fiore asked Viscay how much money the city brings in from the meters, as well as from parking tickets. Viscay said the city has brought in about $100,000 from the meters in the past six months and collected about $1 million in parking tickets last year. Fiore said he would like to see the meters removed from the Central Avenue lot. “I think it is crippling the downtown business district and I don’t think it is user-friendly,” said Fiore. Viscay said the meters were initially installed to create some organization in that parking lot and to clean it up. He also noted that there is an annual business district parking permit, and that the city charges half the rate for that lot to create capacity. “We feel it is a benefi t for the businesses and not a harm,” said Viscay. Lawrence A. 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