Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/305631
off when merchants said starting the plan at the beginning of tourist season was a bad idea. That was a sentiment echoed on April 29 by DID board members. "We should have paid parking and attach a map to the new [University Town Center] mall," said member Tom Mannausa. "In a few months, they'll just bypass the city and go straight to the mall." There is a fear the new mall, which will open in October, will sap discretionary spending at downtown stores. Hampshire, who runs a shop on Palm Avenue, said she is uncon- cerned. "In the mall, you could be in Peoria. I'm not worried." Dr. Mark Kauffman, another DID board mem- ber, owns a substantial amount of downtown commercial property. He, like Mannausa, opposes reintroduction of paid parking. "It's too soon," he said, referring to the previous fiasco during which the city installed and then took down new parking meters. "Please relate to your committee the feelings of this board," Kaufman told Hampshire. Mannausa then made a motion to draft a let- ter to the Parking Advisory Board and City Commission, urging no change in parking for two years, "until May 1, 2016." The district's operations manager, John Moran, told the group, "Writing letters is a waste of time. You should designate a person to make a presen- tation to the City Commission." The motion passed 3-1, and Moran said he would draft the letter. Considerable progress was visible in early March at the site of the Mall at University Town Center off University Parkway. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader May 2, 2014 Page 44