Drivers parking along Main Street in Bradford could eventually be able to feed the meters by swiping a credit card or debit card.
During a city council work session held Tuesday, a representative from Wisconsin-based company CivicSmart and two city officials talked to council members about the potential for new meters.
City leaders are leaning toward smart meters that would mostly be one meter for two spaces, said Anita Dolan of the Bradford’s Office of Economic and Community Development. The machines would take debit cards, credit cards and coins.
“It seems like a nice compromise for everything we want to do,” she said.
Last fall city officials began looking at parking meter options, including kiosks where multiple spaces would be paid for at one location. But that didn’t seem like the best option for a place like Bradford, Dolan said.
What’s more, Sara Andrews, executive director of the OECD, said that officials are attempting to reduce the number of meter poles on Main Street.
“We (also) recognize it is a debit card and credit card world,” she said.
Eventually, none of the current meters would be able to be replaced, Andrews said. The smart meters would be put on the existing poles, said Mike Nickolaus, president and CEO of CivicSmart.
Smart meters also could mean a revenue increase for the city. Nickolaus said he has seen a 30 to 40 percent increase of income for municipalities, he said.
No timeline was given for the possible work, which would be paid for with funds from a planned major rehabilitation project on Main Street. Officials are planning on replacing aging infrastructure downtown.
“We just felt the timing was right that we do something,” Andrews said.
Also Tuesday, city council held its regular meeting that included authorizing the OECD to submit a bid for the purchase of property for possible development as part of the Robert P. Habgood Jr. Business Development Center on Russell Boulevard.
The money would come from the OECD’s revolving loan fund and be repaid via the center’s operations. Officials would look for funding for construction on that property. After the meeting, Andrews would not give the address of the property, and details were not discussed at the meeting.
In other business, council:
• approved authorizing Police Chief Chris Lucco to execute an agreement with Crimewatch Technologies Inc. The Crimewatch Network would provide expanded awareness and information and community engagement for crime reduction, officials said. The cost would be $1,666.30, which includes access, training and an annual subscription. Donated funds would cover the expense.
• amended an ordinance setting salary and wage increases for lifeguard/assistant manager at $10 an hour; lifeguard, $9; and park attendant, $8.
• approved paying $6,250 to the Bradford Area Public Library as part of a second quarter allocation.
• approved a $3,509.65 payment to Aquatic Technology Inc. to replace a programmable chemical controller at the Callahan Park pool.
• approved a certificate of appropriateness to Jeff and Rainey Coles to replace the roof, siding and deck of the property at 80 Boylston St.
• approved a certificate of appropriateness to the city’s water authority to remove and replace exterior entrance lighting at 28 Kennedy St.
• accepted a $325 bid from Bill James of Olean, N.Y., for the purchase of a 2011 Crown Victoria police vehicle.
