Commissioner seeks 'black-and-white' cost and parking guarantees for K Street garage and 17 South M

Commissioner Christopher McCoy asked colleagues to put a “robust discussion” of the K Street public parking garage and the related 17 South M project on the June 30 agenda and requested written backup showing the total construction cost (hard and soft), building relocation and land costs, legal fees, contingencies, inflation, and any other related expenses.

"The public needs to understand from their elected officials in black and white their return on investment," McCoy said, urging the commission to include an explicit tally of the number of guaranteed, fully public, unrestricted spaces. He added the backup should also list operating and maintenance costs and a dedicated funding source for those expenses.

Other commissioners supported a more concise deliverable that staff could provide quickly: a one-page summary of known figures with “TBD” for items not yet available. Clerk (staff) and the commission’s secretary noted some hard totals were not yet calculated by consultants and that the demolition/relocation of 17 South M could materially change the final cost.

Commissioner Anthony Stegrich and others emphasized timing and process: several suggested the informational discussion occur after the second-reading of quasi-judicial items to avoid ex parte communication concerns. McCoy said he was not asking to delay the second reading but wanted a public forum to present and discuss the numbers.

The commission directed staff to gather the best available estimates for costs and guaranteed parking counts and return with that information for the June 30 meeting or the first July meeting, with unknown items marked as "TBD."