Kate Kelleher had not yet walked one-tenth of a mile Thursday morning when she did a double take.
“We got one already,” she said.
It was 8:21 a.m., and Kelleher was writing her first ticket of the day. She is one of the city’s parking enforcement officers, and she would walk as much as 10 miles in the 86-degree weather on her downtown beat that day. She printed out a ticket at the expired meter on North State Street, pulled a yellow envelope from the pocket of her shorts and left both on the windshield of the Jeep Cherokee.
“We’re just out here trying to do our jobs,” she said. “We’re not trying to bust anybody’s chops.”
In the 12 years Kelleher has worked for the city, parking rates have only increased once. In 2010, fines jumped from $5 to $10; on-street rates went up a quarter to 75 cents. But in part because of delayed action and compromise, Concord’s parking system – and Kelleher’s work day – could be on the brink of upheaval.
The parking fund was designed to sustain itself on meter fees, fines and leases. But that fund has been plunging into debt, and it is on track to end fiscal year 2017 in the red by $130,000. In 2014, Concord hired a consultant firm to evaluate the parking system and make recommendations. Based on that study, Matt Walsh, the city’s director of redevelopment, special projects and downtown services, unveiled a package of sweeping changes last month.
If those ideas are adopted, the capital city would be one of the most expensive in the state for parking, as rates would increase from 75 cents an hour to $1.75 on Main Street. A ticket for an expired meter would jump from $10 to $25. Enforcement would be extended into the evenings and on Saturdays.
“My job is to enforce what they tell me to enforce,” Kelleher said. “We definitely need to raise revenue. We’re going to be bankrupt at some time this year. We want to remain self-sufficient.”
“Do I disagree with an increase? Not necessarily,” she added. “Is it going to make some people angry? Absolutely.”
Concord’s downtown includes more than 3,700 public parking spaces in garages, surface lots and streets. About two-thirds of those spaces are regulated, and about 770 are metered.
To enforce the existing rules, the parking department employs three full-time people and one part-time person. Under Walsh’s proposal, the number of officers would more than double. Currently, city ordinance sets the salary for parking enforcement officers between $27,000 and $39,000.
Kelleher, 44, joined the department when her kids were little. Every week, she’ll walk one of the downtown beats or drive the mobile unit. The schedules rotate for variety, but it also means repeat offenders can’t accuse an officer of targeting.
“I walk my beat, and I walk it the same way every day,” Kelleher said. “It’s all in the timing. I’ve never sat and waited for someone’s ticket to expire.”
She said she likes to be outside, plus she gets to engage with people on the sidewalk. The Garmin watch on her wrist tells her she walks about seven to 10 miles on a typical day. The city pays for each officer to get a new pair of shoes and winter boots each year. She works in the pouring rain, the blistering heat and the freezing wind – and in bad weather, she has to stop more often to write tickets because more people skip the kiosks.
In the first hour on the job Thursday, Kelleher wrote five tickets for expired meters; she’ll probably write 40 or 50 by the end of the day. But that’s not all she does.
“There’s a lot more to this job than people understand,” she said.
She gives directions to passers-by. She has been the first call to 911 for a seizure or a traffic accident. She has helped people who fell on an icy sidewalk and walked elderly ladies to the bus stop on hot days.
“People ask us where to eat,” Kelleher said. “People ask us how to get to the highway from here. People ask us about businesses.”
Not everyone is nice, however. Activists from the Free State Project tried to video tape her. She’s been the target of profanity. Someone once told her to get “a real job.”
Tip: Walk up to Kelleher while she’s writing you a ticket and start swearing, and she’s definitely not going to let you off with a warning.
“Nobody likes to get treated that way,” she said, shaking her head.
Kelleher doesn’t treat people that way. As she strolls North Main Street and its side streets, she said hello to people who walked by. She greeted business owners and employees as they opened their shops. When she passed Concord Mayor Jim Bouley in conversation, she gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. She waved at a passing car.
Bouley is part of the city’s parking committee, which is in the process of studying the parking recommendations. Eventually, the Concord city council will discuss and vote on the issue. Councilors and residents alike have initially balked at the proposed increases, but without them, a shortfall in the parking fund would likely be covered with money raised from tax bills.
So Kelleher said she didn’t oppose the fee hikes proposed by her bosses, even though she said they would be felt acutely by parking enforcement officers on the street. She suggested residents and downtown businesses could participate in the process to find a compromise.
“It doesn’t matter whether you raise it $10 or $2,” she said with a shrug. “We’re going to hear about it.”
When she talks about downtown, however, Kelleher is defensive. On hot days, she dips into Runner’s Alley and Subway for water. On cold days, she stops at the coffee shops to warm up. But she also shops downtown on her days off. Her teenagers like to ride their bikes to Orange Leaf. On Thursday, Kelleher wore a ring from Capitol Craftsman and Romance Jewelers and a pair of shoes from Joe King’s. She talked about charities boosted by donations from local business owners.
“Downtown gives back to our community,” she said. “With all these parking changes, I hope the community gives back to downtown.”
For more information about the proposed changes to the parking system, visit concordnh.gov.
Side streets to close
This week, construction crews will be excavating trenches across side streets for utility conduit.
The following streets will each be closed: the alley next to OutFitters Thrift Store on Monday; Concord Street on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; Fayette Street on Friday. They will be accessible for local traffic from South State Street. The parking lot behind the former New Hampshire Employement Security building and the Concord Food Cooperative parking lot will be open.
Elsewhere on South Main Street, crews will be working on drainage structures and other utilities. On Thursday, the pavement will be removed between Fayette and Concord streets. On Saturday, they will grade that area to prepare for base paving next Monday.
For more information or to sign up for regular email updates about downtown construction, visit concordmainstreetproject.com.
So long, Concord
As I wrap up this week’s installment of the Downtown column, I have a bit of personal news to add. Friday was my last day at the Monitor, and this week, I’m headed to the Portland Press Herald in Maine. I am excited for this new venture, but I will miss the readers I have met in my time here. Know I have been grateful for every call and comment, email and Tweet.
My colleague Nick Reid will take over our coverage of Concord and its many stories. You can reach him with ideas, questions and comments at nreid@cmonitor.com.
Thank you so much for reading.