Norwalk Parking Authority authorizes staff to seek $1.225 million bond for garage repairs

The Norwalk Parking Authority voted to authorize staff to seek a $1,225,000 bond through the city to fund priority repairs to the authority’s four parking garages.

Board members discussed a new engineering assessment from Desmond that builds on a 2023 baseline and lays out a five‑year capital strategy. Ken Sugarman of Desmond said the assessments identify urgent and emerging structural needs across Haviland, Yankee Doodle, Maritime and Sono garages and provide a professional roadmap for reinvestment: “These assessments…tell us what’s urgent, what’s emerging, and what we can plan for over the next 5 years,” Sugarman said.

Staff described a larger total need presented in the report — roughly $8.3 million across the five‑year plan — but said the city would not finance that entire amount at once. Brian (staff) said the authority plans a phased approach to match the city’s willingness to bond and to keep garages open during repairs. During discussion commissioners pressed for clarity on what the first‑year scope would include and whether consulting and administration fees could be capitalized rather than expensed.

A commissioner moved to authorize staff to seek a bond in the amount of $1,225,000 for priority FY2027 garage repairs; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Next steps: staff said they will prioritize the year‑one items from Desmond’s report, prepare the bond submittal to the city, and return with a more specific scope of work for the board to approve.