Monterey officials currently with no plans for the paving of the Adams Factory parking lot.
The lot is located between the railroad tracks and the factory and is owned by the city. Monterey Ward 2 Alderman Larry Bennett said the property serves as a shared space used by factory employees, heavy trucks, and citizens attending local events.
“Well, just to be blunt, we don’t have the money,” Bennett said. “We’ve only got so much money in the street fund and we’ve got everything else to worry about on the streets. We can’t just take all the money and put it into the parking lot. We can’t do that. So we just have to maybe do it a little bit at a time.”
Bennett said the street committee is currently prioritizing a list of 16 city streets that require pothole repairs.
“Well, if you ever had to drive through it you’d have to dodge the potholes and they’re getting to be quite big or deep,” Bennett said. “A lot of trucks and things like that used to use it a lot and heavy heavy equipment, heavy trucks. I’m not blaming it on them. I’m just saying a lot of traffic going through there. After a while it just starts wearing and developing potholes.”
Bennett said the city wants the lot to be user-friendly for the approximately 30 employees expected to work at the factory. Bennett said the city also intends to eventually stripe the lot to designate specific parking spots for business and event use.
“We want to make it right and we want to like stripe it, parking spots off and everything like that, so that’s a concern,” Bennett said. “We just want to get it ready for the business and events. So, you know, make it nice.”
Bennett said the factory management and ownership may provide some financial assistance to help the city cover the costs of the project. Bennett said the city is focused on maintaining a positive relationship with the business to ensure the factory runs smoothly and provides local employment.
“We got a bid around $150,000 dollars,” Bennett said. “That’s a lot of money. And we don’t have it enough to cover that. So it’s just it’s just one of those wait and see when we can do it. But I’m hopefully we can patch some big potholes that’s in that parking lot.”
Bennett said the street committee is also addressing secondary issues such as illegal parking at the depot. Bennett said new signage is needed to prevent drivers from blocking electric vehicle charging stations.
