Town of Boone parking enforcer wants rules changed
By Frank Ruggiero

The town of Boone’s vehicular immobilization regulations may see more fine-tuning in the future, if last Thursday’s meeting of the Boone Town Council is any indication.

To the knowledge of Jon Tate, owner of We Wheel Lock Security, his business is the only licensed vehicle immobilization — better known as booting — company in town. After strings of complaints from visitors and residents alike, the town adopted language to its code regulating booting.

Among its provisions was one requiring parking lot attendants to display official identification badges, as well as a regulation requiring an attendant to be in the subject lot at all times after a vehicle has been booted. The latter part ensures a parking violator needn’t wait at all to have the boot removed, though Tate considers the rule to be cost-prohibitive.

With seven private parking lots under Tate’s authority, “This means I would have to hire 12 to 18 attendants just to cover the lots we have under contract now,” Tate wrote in a letter to council. “This would not be cost prohibitive unless we charged $150 to $200 per violation.”

As it is now, We Wheel Lock charges $60 for boot removal.

“We have had violators take as much as 12 hours to return with their fine after talking with the lot attendant about having the boot removed,” Tate continued. “I have had many more private lot owners approach me for my services, but because the way the ordinance is written, I’m not able to put them under contract at this time.”

When someone is booted in a protected lot, a note is attached to the violator’s vehicle, informing the party of who they can contact for removal and how to do so. Tate said attendants are able to respond to calls within 10 minutes or less.

He requested the provision requiring attendants to be present in a lot with a booted vehicle at all times to be changed to allow his business to not have anyone present provided he could respond within 10 minutes.

“I asked for 10 minutes, but [council] said they didn’t want to put something down that pinned people to specific times,” Tate said.

“Council gave consideration to that and instructed the town attorney to amend the draft, where [Tate] would not have to have someone present on a private lot 24 hours a day,” town manager Greg Young said. “They indicated they would consider it.”

Young expects the new language to appear at November’s regular council meeting.

Due to mounting complaints this past summer, Tate abandoned the business and was prepared to seek another venue of employment.

The willingness of the town to resolve the matter, however, resulted in a change of heart for the businessman.

“It’s been going great,” he said, mentioning how We Wheel Lock has strived to conform to new town-imposed regulations.

The code tells how protected parking lots must display signs no smaller than two square feet and no larger than four square feet, which clearly state that unauthorized vehicles will be subject to the use of a parking control device or method and include the amount of any charge or fee imposed.

The sign must also clearly disclose the specific type of device or method used in a print large enough that it can be easily read by “a person of ordinary vision” from 20 feet away.

“The signs have been approved, physically looked at and approved by the Boone police,” Tate said. “They’re adequate, their placements are proper and their wordage is proper. Any more signage, and this is my personal opinion, would be breaking the sign ordinance laws in Boone.”

Other complaints told of the intimidating demeanor and unprofessional dress of some attendants, and how some asked for cash upfront and did not provide a receipt.

Adhering to the code, Tate now requires attendants to carry identification badges authorized by the Boone Police Department, even featuring the police chief’s signature on the back.

“All the attendants have to have them, and I have to personally give their names to the person in city hall before they can go and get one,” Tate said.

His attendants also now wear uniforms, consisting of black pants, white shirt and ID badge.

Ever since the recently-imposed regulations, Tate said customer complaints have significantly reduced.

“According to my statistics, less than 5 percent have even showed any concern or wanted to argue over it,” he said. “Most people realize they made a mistake and are willing to pay the fine, which is posted on the sign, upon coming back to find their vehicle booted.”

Nonetheless, Young said town hall still receives complaints.

“A lot of it is I don’t think people see the signs,” he said. “They pull in there and they don’t realize there’s booting strictly enforced.”

As an example, Young mentioned Angelica’s Vegetarian Restaurant, which is directly adjacent to the Boone Bagelry. People often park at Angelica’s when it is closed to frequent the Boone Bagelry, whether it is to dine in or pick up an order. When they return to their vehicle, they find it booted.

“It appears they have the property posted, the signs are on the building and it appears that they’re within the confines of the ordinance, but a lot of people don’t realize or see it, and they wind up getting booted and they’re very upset,” Young said.

Since Angelica’s is a privately-owned lot, however, and since the owner has requested 24/7 lot protection, Tate is certain that booting, in that or any other similar instance, is perfectly acceptable.

“As a company that enforces parking regulations, we feel like it’s not fair to discriminate and let some people go and other people not,” he said. “We’re very strict on that. If you violate it, you violate it.”

What many people fail to see, Tate said, are the benefits of parking enforcement.

“The reason we do this is to supply parking for businesses’ customers,” he said.

“That’s the main [reason] we’re doing it. I’m just a company hired by these private individuals to try to accomplish that.”

Tuesdae Rice, director of the Downtown Boone Development Association, agrees with Tate, saying booting is actually something positive.

If a downtown visitor wants to eat at a certain restaurant, there are parking spaces available, she said, as opposed to unprotected lots where parking spaces are few and far between.

“It’s been helping people to find parking spaces in private lots,” Rice said. “So, in that capacity, we’ve seen the parking situation looking better. You just have to read the signs, specifically when you’re parking in a private parking lot.”

For more information on We Wheel Lock Security, call (800) 977-03

• Frank Ruggiero can be contacted at ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com