Courthouse Parking Cut By 250 Spaces
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Parking around the Broward courthouse is about to get harder.
Courthouse employees were told this week that approximately 250 spaces in the parking garage at the corner of Southeast Sixth Avenue and Third Street are being closed to them and the public starting immediately.
The spaces will be given to residents of a neighboring condominium under a previous agreement inked by the county commission 16 years ago.
Court deputies and other employees are livid.
“We’re losing a lot of our parking, conmplained Joe Sanfonti, a court deputy. “If we need to park, we’ll be out of luck.
“We’re going to have a lot of employees and jurors who will be late because of this. If the garage is filled, they’ll be driving around looking for a space, said Iris Siple, chief administrator of the Clerk of Courts.
Jurors, employees and visitors to the courthouse park in the 2,200-space structure. Also parking in the garage are residents of the nearby apartment condominiums.
Condominium residents have the right to park in the garage under a 1993 agreement signed by the county commissioners. The 99-year deal allows the condominium to the exclusive use of spaces in the garage for $27-per-month, according to a Sun-Sentinel article at the time.
The apartment building exercised their right to 250 spaces this week.
April 30th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
The public must ask, how did a developer get a 99-year agreement for parking spaces in a county garage. The answer is commissioners are all sell outs.
Sue Gunzburger and John Rodstrom voted on this. Remember when you are looking for parking.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
$27 dollars per space or per all 250?
FROM BUDDY: According to the Sun-Sentinel, $27 per space.
May 1st, 2009 at 6:03 am
bill scherer
May 1st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Dirty.
The give away of the parking spaces was a dirty deal to allow the condominium to be built to favor the Forman family and Bill Scherer. Funny thing is now Scherer is on the county’s ETHICS COMMISSION. Need we say more.
May 4th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Wasn’t this garage build with a bond issue? Citizens again get to foot the bill, and get deprived of the use.
FROM BUDDY: I’m not sure how the garage was paid for.