BY LAUREN HENRY
STAFF WRITER
The Greeneville Parking Authority met Thursday morning to discuss applications to fill the Authority's vacant position.
They agreed on Greeneville attorney Ed Kershaw's application to send on to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for consideration.
Member Craig Ogle said that the Authority occasionally needs the expertise of an attorney for issues that arise so it would be helpful to have an attorney on the Authority.
"It has been invaluable having an attorney on the parking authority ... I think we should recommend to the board of mayor and alderman Mr. Ed Kershaw," Ogle said.
The position that Kershaw will fill, if approved by Board of Mayor and Aldermen, was previously held by attorney Doug Payne until his resignation in September.
PAY RAISE
The authority also voted to raise the Parking Authority officer's pay rate.
According to Alderman Keith Paxton, it has been more than seven years since the Authority has looked at Michael Knapp's pay.
Paxton said it is important to have pay scales roughly even among departments.
The Authority voted on a pay raise of $1.45, effective next payroll in two weeks.
DOWNTOWN PARKING
At the end of the meeting, Knapp gave a report on parking payment options for the downtown area.
Knapp informed the members that if Greeneville were to use parking kiosks in the downtown, it could cost between $150,000 and $300,000 to install them.
Each kiosk would control six-to-10 spaces and be debit/credit card-compatible. Parking would be purchased in 15-minute intervals.
Ogle said following the meeting that the Parking Authority has merely asked the parking attendant to look into downtown parking payment options for informational purposes.
Knapp has also contacted for further bids another company that handled Knoxville's downtown parking.
