By SHAUN SMITH
Staff Writer

VENTNOR – City commissioners are considering an ordinance that would raise fees at the municipal parking lot on Newport Avenue in response to complaints from residents that it has been overtaken by jitneys and cleaning service trucks.
Complaints have trickled in during City Commission meetings and workshop sessions over the past few months, with residents saying that jitneys and the trucks belonging to a local cleaning service take up all the spaces and create an eyesore.
At the Nov. 12 workshop session, Shelly Trivisonno, owner of Shelly’s Café on the corner of Newport and Ventnor avenues, urged officials to do something about the parking lot.
“The jitneys don’t provide any service for the city,” Trivisonno said. “When jitneys are parked there during the daytime, it doesn’t look like a municipal parking lot.”
By city ordinance, anyone can rent a parking spot. According to Deputy City Clerk Janice Callahan, the fees are $20 a month for Ventnor residents or business owners in the city and $100 for nonresidents.
There are approximately 40 spots available, and buying a permit doesn’t guarantee a spot in the lot; it allows a car to park there without feeding the meters. According to Callahan, the permits aren’t transferable and are on a first-come, first-serve basis. The most the city would rent per month is 40.
According to Mayor Theresa Kelly, the commission is looking at a few solutions, including raising the fees, while keeping in mind that since it was funded by Green Acres, there must be public access.
“We feel $20 a month has been on the books a long time, and it certainly costs people a lot more to park somewhere else,” Kelly said Monday, Nov. 17.
“Commissioner Stephen Weintrob has some ideas, and Commissioner John Piatt spoke with a volunteer about an idea to move the jitneys to another spot – which would be good for both the city and the jitney owners,” Kelly said.
Kelly said that she understands the concerns of residents and business owners and is keeping those in mind while trying to make a decision that satisfies everyone. 
“When I go there to park and go to an eatery, I can always find a place to park. I’ve never had an occasion when all the spots were taken,” Kelly said.
Kelly said she understands business owners need the spots open and that more people would frequent businesses if they had an easy place to park to shop or eat on Ventnor Avenue.
“I think that’s a legitimate concern by them,” Kelly said. “We’re trying to open it up and give the folks who want to shop on Ventnor Avenue, and we hope there are a lot of them, a place where they can park their cars and do that.”
No ordinance amending the fees for municipal parking lots has been scheduled for a first reading at the 7 p.m. meeting Thursday, Nov. 20 at City Hall.
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