Public can submit suggestions for parking garage online

LACONIA — Members of the public are now able to offer their ideas online on ways to improve the downtown parking garage.

The comments can be submitted by using a special form which went live on Tuesday on the city’s official website.

City officials want as much public participation in the parking garage plan as possible, which is why they are soliciting suggestions through the website.

Comments submitted — whether online or by other means — will be reviewed by the city as well as the consulting engineer and architect on the project ahead of the next public meeting which is scheduled to take place in February.

At the first public meeting held last week said the project would involve replacing deteriorating steel supports in sections of the three-story structure, replacing crumbling concrete on the parking decks and the ramps between parking levels, and construction of a glassed-in stair tower with elevator.

The City Council has directed the city to do a full-scale study of the scope and cost to rehabilitate the garage which was built 47 years ago during the downtown Urban Renewal project.

The rough estimate for correcting the structural defects as well as improving the lighting, accessibility and appearance of the building has been put at $6.6 million, although final cost could well go up because of inflation and other economic factors.

Actual construction will not begin until the City Council approves the necessary funding. Assuming the council gives the go-ahead, work could begin sometime next fall or in the spring of 2023. The project is expected to last one year.

The public comment page can be accessed by going to the www.laconianh.gov, hover over “Your Government” and click on “Public Works” from the drop down menu on the right. Once on the Public Works page click on “Parking Garage Rehabilitation from the menu on the left.