February 22, 2010

Things I learned today about Commuter Parking in Fairfield and the impact of the New Train Station -

1. There were 3612 people on the Commuter Parking Waitlist for the Downtown Fairfield Train Station as of August 25, 2009. 
2. According to the Parking Authority, the February 25, 2010 estimate is approx 3800.
3. When someone registers currently for the Wait List, they are put on both the Southport and the Downtown Waitlist - so the lists are mostly duplicates or the 3800 on the Downtown list is a reasonable estimate of the total commuters waiting for a Parking Permit.
4. In 2009, there were about 500 applications sent out by the Parking Authority with approx 400 being returned and accepted for new permits to be issued.  This means approx 500 people come off the wait list each year.
5. The Parking Authority is currently using the 2004 section of the list to send out Applications.  This is where the 6 year wait estimate comes from.
6. Based on current absorption, 500 per year divided by 3800 is almost an 8 year lead time for people going on the list today.
7. The New Train Station has been in the works for almost 13 years.
8. When the New Train Station was originally planned, the Commuter Wait List in Fairfield was less than 1000 names. This is when the 1500 spaces were planned. More than enough to eliminate the entire Wait List for Commuter Parking Spaces.
9. It should be noted that the current plan also includes taking approx 300 spaces away from the current Downtown Commuter Parking to be used to expand Downtown Retail Parking. So the number Net New Parking Spaces with the New Train Station is 1200.
10. The current plan calls for "overselling" by 25% so that would create 1500 new permits or reduce the current Wait List from 3800 to 2300.
11. If we assume that no one from Bridgeport or Stratford stations would want to park in the nice new Fairfield Station, then we would have approx a 4.5 year wait after the New Station is built. If more people from other towns would rather drive to Fairfield then the wait could easily be 5 years or more.
12. Currently the Fairfield Train Station is the 2^nd most used station in the State. Stamford is number one. If we are planning for the future, we should be adding capacity for the future not just for the past.
13. The current plan also has the State controlling the Parking at the New Train Station not the Town.  This seems to lead to two Wait Lists rather than one.
14. If the Fairfield Parking Authority were to pick up responsibility for this third parking area, would it lead to a need for more staff?
15. All this leads to the question, why are we not considering building more parking capacity now? 
16. Does a multi level Parking Garage make sense?
17. If so, building it now would be the make the most sense.  Expanding Capacity later would cause major trauma and the need to relocate some if not all of the 1500 cars using the station daily.
18. Expanding Capacity later would most likely be a more expensive option.

I developed most of these observations after talking with Parking Authority staff.  The math calculations and projections are my own. 

Some of the facts in this write up are hearsay since I haven't looked at the actual agreement with the State. I am hoping that this document will help encourage discussion and raise some questions that can be answered in a timely fashion.  If after all 13 years of drama and trauma, we end up with a 5-6 year wait list for commuter parking permits, I am not sure this would be called a success.

The Tax Revenue stream originally envisioned is not going to happen in the near term.  The solution to our parking problem would be the most significant benefit to this development. Let's hope it accomplishes that one goal.

Prepared by Mike Tetreau - Member Board of Finance.

Mike -   I hope you can get this message out to more people.

A friend of mine in the Air Force is deployed to Iraq for a second time. There are 40 enlisted people from his unit that live on a base without any store to buy items. The Army Air Force Exchange (AAFES) have Post Exchange (PX) stores on many bases in Iraq but not on their base. Military service members and contractors can buy personal hygiene items, food, snacks, soda, Gatorade, military clothing, books, magazines, DVDs, electronics, etc. from the PX stores. It provides a nice break from the hardships and dangers of Iraq. And that saves the families of military personnel from paying for the necessities of life here and shipping them to their loved ones in Iraq. Theses service personnel and their families need your help. I have already sent 2 boxes to Iraq and I hope you can join me and send a box. You can go to any store and buy whatever is on sale and any size. They need everything and nothing will go to waste. You can send hand sanitizer, foot powder, tooth paste, disposable razors, shampoo, etc. - the usual personal hygiene items. Also, may I suggest some candy, cookies, books, DVDs, playing cards or small games. You'll need to ship the box from a U.S. Post Office and complete a customs form to list what is in the box.

Here is the address:

MSgt Steve Callender

1 ERHG/Red Horse USAF

FPO AE 09355

Thank you,

LTC Bill Tetreau

USCENTCOM

Trumbull Home Sales Update

After 9 months, 205 Single Family Homes have been sold in Trumbull.  This makes the Trumbull market one of the hottest around - trailing last year by only 6%.  We are still 31% behind 2007 when 297 Homes sold in this period.

The Average Selling Price is $405,950.  This shows a decline of 13% from last year and 23% from the 2007 Selling Price of $524,515.

There are 187 Homes for Sale today ranging in price from $199,999 for a 3 Bedroom Colonial on Main Street to $1,489,000 for brand new 5825 SF 5 Bedroom Colonial. To see these and all the homes for Sale, please visit www.tetreau.com

This information is provided by the Greater Fairfield County MLS.

Westport Home Sales Update for September 30, 2009

Through the first nine months of the year, 174 Single Family Homes have been sold in Westport. This is down from the 218 Homes that sold in this period last year. It also continues a two year slide - down 47% from the 329 Homes that sold in the first nine months of 2007.

The Average Selling Price is $1,373,394.  This is off 21% from last years $1,732,734.  This reflects the slowness had the higher price segments in the market.

There are 342 Homes the market today.  They range in price from $387,950 for a 3 Bedroom Ranch to $30,000,000 for a Georgian Colonial with 6 Bedrooms sitting on 4 acres on Westport's shoreline.

To see all the homes for sale, please visit www.tetreau.com.

This information is obtained from the Greater Fairfield County MLS

Fairfield Beach Update for September 30, 2009

There have been 49 Single Family homes sold so far this year.  This is down from the 59 that sold last year at this point.  It continues a two year decline from the 89 Homes that sold in 2007 or a 45% decrease in units sold.

The Average Selling Price this year for the Beach Area is $794,113. The Good News is that this represents only a 8% decrease from last year.  It is 15% below the Average Price in 2007 of $986,840.

There are 84 Homes for Sale currently.  We are averaging 7 Homes sold per month for the first 9 months of the year.  This means we have a 12 month inventory of homes or the other way to say it is - The Average Market Time for a home in the Beach Area is 12 months.

The homes for sale range from a small Ranch for $267,000 which just came back on the market to $5,499,500 for a Fairfield Beach Road home that is Direct Waterfront.  To see these and all the homes for sale in Fairfield, just go to www.tetreau.com.

This information is taken from the Greater Fairfield County MLS.

Bridgeport is an interesting Real Estate Market.  Home Sales are running 8% ahead of last year with 330 Homes sold through September 30th of this year.  We are still down from the 410 homes that had sold by this time in 2007.  

It appears that Bargain Hunters are behind this surge in Units Sold.  The Average Selling Price is only $153,157.  This is 27% lower than last year at this time and 40% lower than the 2007 Selling Price of $257,184.  

There are 327 Single Family Homes on the market ranging in price from $29,9000 for a Bungalow to $2.995 Million for a 1929 Georgian Colonial. 

To see all the homes on the market, please visit www.tetreau.com.  

This data is supplied by the Greater Fairfield County MLS.

As of September 30th, 34 Single Family Homes have been sold in Easton. This trails last year by 29%.  It also is only about half the 67 Homes that sold at this point in 2007.  Easton homes are not really designed for or at the price point for First Time Home Buyers so the current Federal Stimulus is not having a significant impact.  

The Average Selling Price for the first nine months of the year is $597,942.  This is 28% below last year's $825,549.  This reflects a continued slowness in the higher end price segments.  

There are 93 Homes on the Market ranging in price from $365,000 for a 2 Bedroom Ranch to $3.6 Million for an 1810 Antique Colonial. To see all the homes for sale in Easton, please visit www.tetreau.com.  

This data is from the Greater Fairfield County MLS.

After 9 months ending September 30, Fairfield has sold 21% fewer homes than for the same period last year.  There have been 343 Closings.  This is approx half the number of homes that sold for this period in 2007 (644 homes).  

The Average Selling Price came in at $724,891 down 10% from last year.  The ASP is off 18% from 2007.

There are 453 Homes for Sale in the Town ranging in price from $215,000 for a Bungalow to $15,500,000 for an 1854 Antique in Southport. To see all the homes for sale, please visit www.tetreau.com.    

These numbers are based on data supplied by the Greater Fairfield County MLS.