I would recommend using for Midnight Madness. Impress your friends with how easily you find those hidden parking spots. Park like Ninja.

This parking app is going to drain one million dollars out of our local economy over the next 4 years and put it straight into the pockets of two out-of-state corporations, Streetline Inc, of CA and Duncan Meters of WI. The most outrageous part of this program is that it was pushed through by the County Administration and a small group of business owners without any input from the majority of the business owners in the Historic District, and without making any effort to inform us until after it was a done deal, despite the fact that 65% of the business owners in The Historic District signed a petition opposing it. I for one have joined the ECBA and encourage all other business owners to do so to make sure this type of behind-the scenes dealing is not repeated.
For the sake of fairness, the paid parking hours should be extended until 11 pm so that the restaurants and bars can have their customers pay their fair share of the financial burden this program imposes. Parking is difficult mainly on weekend evenings. Daytime business like mine (Still Life Gallery) that operate when parking is plentiful are shouldering the burden while bars and restaurants get free parking for their customers in the evenings. I trust that the restauranteurs such as Matt from Rumor Mill, a strong advocate of this parking program, will show his sincerity by requesting that the paid parking hours be extended to allow his customers to pay their fair share for the benefits he believes it will provide.

"I'd much rather use an app than a mobile website."- no one ever

Assuming its the "Parker" app in the apple App Store I just took a look and the lack of parking it returned would keep me away from historic Ellicott City. Looks like there's about 20 available spots in the whole place as I type this.

Tony, here's the problem is that "old all knowing and I don't care" Ken, brother in law runs the CA company. Ken like Martin does things with out research or care of what people want or think. So like Sara, "I just moved here but yet I can think for myself" this will kill Old EC but Kenny will be gone so he won't care.

Sara Arditti
10:30 am on Friday, November 16, 2012

Dear Tony McGuffin,

When you make accusatory statements such as the one above, you need to be clear and specific. I would like you to please tell me exactly what it was that I have said that was "misleading", and why you think it is so. I consider this a cowardly attack on my moral character, Tony, which you need to back up with your facts, figures, and sources, the way I do. I would also like for you come to my gallery with a list if questions and any documentation you would like to see. I will be happy to provide any facts and figures you like, straight from the Howard County Admin, the Purchasing Department, and Mr. Lafferty. I spent many, many hours over a couple of months, working diligently with an attorney who helped me to research and investigate all of this. There were indeed many questions raised. You have very little actual knowledge of the specifics of this case. As I have offered to you before: If you ever wish to learn and become informed. let me know and I will give you the thousands of pages of documents, facts, figures, and emails for you to pore over like I did, as well as people to talk to, and you can come to your own conclusions. You can then publish all your findings here on Patch, so everyone can see them.

It is interesting that ALL the other people to whom I made this offer to have not taken me up on it. They are afraid of seeing the truth.

Peter-
Regarding your comment re residential parking- that's why you need to push for free resident parking permits which will allow you to park wherever and whenever for free.
I wish you success with your upcoming meeting with the County on residential parking issues. I hope the residents will be in control of this group, not the County, that it will be on the residents' terms, that YOU will be the ones generating the proposals to which the Administration will have to respond, not the other way around. Most of all, that you will not bend to their will under duress, and take the path of least resistance for the sake of not rocking the boat or potentially offending the powers that be, (as some people advocated to me!)

Sara. Failed logic is a hallmark of yours. Restaurants Re open during the day. Id be willing to wager that even the smallest restaurants in town do more revenue on saturday day than you do in a week. So your logic is...lets screw everyones clientelle. Most retailers unlike yourself do not have bankerz hours. Perhaps if you stayed open lile malls and shopping centers do....youve gone from making pointz to being vindictive. Get over it. Its the law like it or not. Your are isolating yourself from everyone at this point and trying to screw the residents. Resident...remember who is trying to make you pay with your dollars. Avoid saras shop like the plague. I will

Sara youve gone from paid parking is bad to extend the hours is good. You are a walking contradiction

But ill give you this...youve united even folks that agree and disagree with parking on one thing

That said I still find it odd ecba is presented as supporting this.

Sara it is shared equally. We are open during the day. What part of we have the same hours as yiu dont you get. Its not shared...its more revenue out of people pockets. So if our customer have to pay day and night and your pay during the day....how is that fair. Our customers do pay during the day. Your argument and your logic is flawed. Our day customers to have to paym. So if you think parking paid is bad by day....why is it good T night....silly

Sara....so you wanna screw the customers. I get ya. Btw yiu had nothing to do with the residents getting possible free parking

The point. .apparently goes way over your head. Paid parking encourages turnover. Retaurants want folks to stick around. Its an entirely different clientèle. The reasons were to help the retailers. So you wamt to screw the restaurants because you lost the argument. Brilliant. Almost as brilliant as your class action lawsuit.

Timmy Kaye:
Now you are raving...and incoherent too. What "class action lawsuit" are you referring to? I hope you have some documentation to back up this absurdity. But of course, none exists, so maybe you should have thought about that before you make wild baseless statements.
You must feel extremely threatened by my proposal to be making up lies like this, and to feel the need to conduct your little smear campaign, (as a matter of fact there are several other business owners in favor of ALL customers paying their fair share) but I say- just continue...I for one find it very amusing to watch you self- destruct! Keep on keeping on!

Everyone is watching you now to see your evidence of a so-called "class action lawsuit", so bring it on! I'm very curious to see what you come up with. Please include the following info: when and where it was filed, who the "class" is, how many people are in it, who is being sued, what the claim is, what remedies we are demanding, who the law firm is, and when and where the hearing will take place....(other than in your imagination.) After all, this is all a matter of public record, so you can go and find it, and please let us all know when you do, OK?

You bruoght up the lawsuit in front of witnesses. Nice try. We are enjoying you bury yourself

You bruoght up the lawsuit in front of witnesses. Nice try. We are enjoying you bury yourself. Your reaction is all we need. Lol

Timmy,

So according to you, "bringing it up" is the same as actually filing, right? Very logical, good job!

You are obviously lacking in the area of law and its terminology, so I will explain the FACTS:
I did in fact bring up and discuss the possibility of an EMERGENCY INJUNCTION shortly before the installation of the sensors in order to halt the project. I did not file for one. (or any other kind of legal action)
A class action lawsuit would not have been the thing to do, as it takes way too long, is way too expensive, and not really relevant to this type of situation.

Good try, young man, hope you can come up with a better lie next time! Bring it on. I love this kind of stuff, can't you tell? I love shooting down liars, it's a great feeling.

I didnt say you did it drama queen. Please relay where I saod you did itm. I said it was a brilliant idea in sarcasm. But thanks for admitting you were pursuing it. I didnt lie. I simply sa8d it was a brilliant thought. Hows busijess btw.. .

Well, Timmy, after that last comment, I am literally speechless, I rest my case!

Timmy,
You know, it' really kind of flattering that you care SO much about what I say and do that you are willing to stay up half the night ( it was about 4:00 am when you last posted) in order to try to provoke a response from me. Well, here it is, young man:
Speak to the wall, I care not what you say or think. Go get some sleep, and don't feel so threatened by me.

I love Mr. Lund's idea (Work.Play.Bark) of paying for his customer parking!

Tony,
I never, not ever, once said that the contract went to Ken Ulman's college friend; that is a lie. I have no evidence for this, and without clear evidence this would not be something I would consider bringing up. I challenge you to show when and where I ever said this. I actually told other people who were making this claim that it could not substantiated.
You have still not bothered to take me up on my offer to look at the documentation and the facts. You have no real idea what is in it. Until you do, you have no right to make judgements about it. The fact that you feel the need to resort to personal attacks about how "extremely unpleasant" you find me indicates you know you are on very shaky ground.
Corrections to your misinformation: According to Steve Lafferty, there are 100 business. 65 of them signed the petition, not 60 as you misstated. The petition is here for you to count them, as are the other documents for your inspection. Until you have looked at all of the documents and information, which were obtained from the County, you have no right to make judgements and accusations simply because you don't like me, or the idea that there may have been something amiss. It's easy to shoot the messenger, which is what you are attempting to do.
The fact is that any "sole bidder" procurement contract raises red flags that should be reviewed. That is part of the American Democratic process, it is our right as citizens to hold our elected representatives responsible.

An Open Invitation to The Community:

In good faith, at this Holiday season, I would like to invite everyone who has a gripe with me, or how I have handled the parking situation, to please come to my business, Still Life Gallery, 8173 Main St and have an actual face-to face discussion, a civil discourse. Especially if you really hate me, and perhaps have said mean and insulting things, I welcome and encourage you to come on over. You may think this is odd, but it is all too easy to hide behind the safety of written word in this type of forum. It should not be an easy substitute for actual human interaction. We are open Wed- Sun 11:00 am-6:00pm. I am really quite friendly, enjoy a good laugh, am not likely to bite, and am not nearly as scary as some have described.

Tony,
There was in fact a "sole bidder". You keep pretending this is not true. Streetline was the one and only company that bid on this project and was awarded a contract that gives them up to $833,000 in the first four years. You may come to my gallery and look at the documents stating these facts, as well as the contract itself, from Darla Herbold, Head of the Howard County Purchasing Dept.
By the way Tony, exactly how many of the original documents, including the Streetline contract, the Request for Proposal put out by the County in January 2012, the 2009 Desman Study, the parking program's Projected Revenue chart, and the letters answering my Public Information requests from the Howard County Purchasing Dept have you read personally with your own eyes?

I want you to make an accurate count, and let everyone know.

To date you have refused all offers to see these things for yourself; why is that? Why do you keep pretending you know what they say when you have not bothered to look at them?
These are not "facts from me" as you like to pretend, but from the Howard County Admin.

Why do you refuse to understand this?

Better yet, email Steve Lafferty and ask him whether or not Streetline was the only company that bid, and how much they are getting out of it; then let everyone know what YOU found out. Then you'd be assured of the accuracy of this. I'm sure you'd be curious to see what they tell you, aren't you?

Wow such love in here. Sara it was a sole bider but what Tony said was "It was not a "sole bidder procurement procedure" The bid was open to others only 1 sent a qualified bid. So what Tony said was correct. You did mention a lawsuit not sure if it was a class action or not. You are new to this town so you kinda behind the 8 ball about the history of the goings on. I know you wanted to help unite the people of the town against this back door parking fiasco. Well the fight is over it is the law. Please realize this because all you are doing now is causing problems and dividing the town. If this is what you want then keep posting, if not then stop posting and put your time into your business. Time to move on....

Sara. Friday I worked from ten am until 3 am. I got home late. Im not staying up for you. You are recreation. ...like a cat pawing a mouse back and forth. Because my business actually has customers...indont have all day to post on the internet...make signs for picketing...try to grt class action lawsuits together...petition the county for free parking for myself....etc etc etc.

Gayle. Restaurants work kn very small margins. You are talking about tens of thousands of dollars. You are literally advocating laying people off.

free parking at the courthouse!!! all you have to do is walk down the street to get to work or walk up the street to go home. laziness is not a reason for reform.

If a vehicle's time has expired but it's still in the space does the space show available or not available? Does the app monitor actual occupied space or just the parking meter paid status?

I guess this could be a decent option to help look for parking but probably not a guarentee you'll find one.

has anyone, ANYONE ???? actually used this app ? Doesn't seem worth the money or the hassle in this particular area.