By Gareth Henderson, Standard Staff
It will be three to four weeks until Woodstock’s new “smart” meters are fully operational, according to Municipal Manager Phil Swanson.
Swanson confirmed Tuesday that, due to a factory error, the incorrect units for the new meters were sent to Woodstock. Swanson said the units that arrived were compatible with T-Mobile’s network, not with AT& T as requested.
Swanson acknowledged that the municipality is missing out on some parking-meter revenue due to this delay, and he said that’s a big concern.
“We’ll try and negotiate something from the company, since it was their mistake,” Swanson said.
The meters are leased from the California-based company IPS, which has done business in Vermont in the past.
Swanson said Tuesday he didn’t have figures immediately available on how much the revenue loss to the municipality would be due to this parking- meter delay, since Police Chief Robbie Blish — who was out of town this week — is in charge of that data.
Also on Tuesday, Swanson acknowledged another issue: that the meters are too high for some people to be able to see the display.
For some individuals, he said, “You couldn’t see how many minutes you were paying for.”
Swanson said the posts would be lowered to help with that issue. He added that it took just over two weeks to install the meters.
“There’s a big difference between arriving and functioning,” he said.
While the meters are still bagged, people will get free parking at metered spaces. However, Swanson noted there’s still a two-hour limit in the nonmetered parking area on Elm Street, which will continue to be enforced.
“It’s not free parking everywhere; there are other rules and regulations,” he said.
This article first appeared in the January 26, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.