This is a cost for the whole town not the district that creates jobs and brings in tourists

Making the parking "free" to help businesses that have lost sales due to the horrible parking system, only to then exclusively make those same downtown businesses pay all of the "lost" revenue from discontinuing a completely flawed paid parking system that literally no one asked for borders on insanity. Unless you want all of the downtown core to become a ghost town, this needs to change.

I think the business owners have suffered enough. They have lost business through Covid and again with the resurfacing of the main street. Why should they have to suffer again and take on more expense. With the elimiination of the parking meters I think you will find more locals shopping downtown again instead of always at the malls.

I am able to provide all my tenants and my customers free parking in my property that I already pay taxes in. I should not be levied for someone palling and going for a walk on the Main Street.

Property owners already paying high taxes in the downtown. Even renters end up paying this, as it gets passed on. If Midland wants to kill downtown businesses, I guess that’s the way to go. If they wish to support a vibrant downtown, then it’s a ludicrous proposition.

Downtown businesses shouldn't have to pay for the town's mistake. Most of the people that park behind our store are going to the MCC, doesn't really benefit us, we shouldn't have to pay for it.

Why should business pay?? Bad idea

I can’t believe that you are even contemplating to have the merchants pay the cost of downtown parking. Taxes for business owners are already very high and bottom line for is part of the reason for being in business. Somebody has to bear the costs of doing business and what better way to send people to the malls because costs for shopping downtown are expensive. Talk to business owners, they are barely covering costs now. Parking meters are not the problem, it is the current ones that are very difficult to see plus those stupid bollards that are too low to see when parking, and car doors are being damaged.