WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The cost to alleviate White River Junction’s parking shortage is likely to surpass $8 million, town officials were warned during a Selectboard meeting Wednesday evening.

Construction of a multistory parking garage off of South Main Street could cost taxpayers between $8 million and $12 million, Chris Holzwarth, the town’s public works project manager, told about 20 people gathered at Hartford Town Hall.

Time also is running out for the town to complete designs and decide whether to fund the structure through White River Junction’s tax increment finance district. The TIF, which was created in 2011, requires infrastructure projects be bonded by March 2021.

While the proposed costs are high, Hartford has to understand that parking isn’t free, Town Manager Brannon Godfrey said.

“There is a cost to this utility, and we either pay for it all as taxpayers in general or we find a balance between taxpayer support and cost of public parking with user-supported costs,” he said. “There are costs to the loss of business and economic costs when parking in the downtown area isn’t done right.”

The parking garage is one of three approaches town officials hope will alleviate parking problems in the downtown area. Godfrey and his staff on Wednesday also discussed plans to install parking meters and update the town’s regulations.

Finding a parking spot is increasingly difficult as more retailers, restaurants and events draw people downtown.

The number of town-owned spaces occupied at any given time is up 53% since 2015, according to Town Planner Matt Osborn, who conducts Hartford’s biannual counts. The town owns 331 spaces in the heart of the village.

Busy evenings account for much of that increase, Osborn added, with occupancy after 6:30 p.m. rising by 126%.

This month alone, Osborn counted 10 times when more than three-quarters of town spaces were full, including the night of a Northern Stage performance that left only 12 open spaces in the whole of downtown.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in what is happening in our evening hours,” said Lori Hirshfield, Hartford’s director of planning and development. “That’s the top peak period, which wasn’t always the case.”

The news wasn’t surprising to downtown retailers who said their customers often circle White River Junction looking for parking.

Sally Bacon, the owner of Oodles in the Tip Top Building, said a customer recently came into the store complaining that it took three attempts to find parking.

“It’s so frustrating as a business owner here,” she said.

Other downtown merchants expressed worry that new housing units that have been built could worsen the parking crunch.

Holzwarth said a five-story parking garage could solve some of those issues, giving the town about 200 additional spaces.

The structure, which would have between 293 and 314 parking spots, could make up for spaces that will be lost with upcoming street projects and the loss of existing spots in the municipal parking lot on South Main Street where the garage would be built.

Town officials also discussed installing meters at much of the on-street parking on South Main, Gates, Currier and Church streets downtown, as well as the parking lot across the street from Hotel Coolidge.

Parking meters would be purchased from the IPS Group, a San Diego company that also manages Hanover and Woodstock’s systems, for about $160,000. The meters are capable of accepting coins, credit cards or payments from an online app.

That upfront investment could be paid back in two years, said Godfrey, who added that hourly parking rates haven’t been determined.

Town officials were urged by David Briggs, whose family owns the Hotel Coolidge and the Gates Briggs building, to think wisely about the new rates. Requiring people to pay too much risks pushing some visitors away, he said.

“One of the problems of White River has always been perception — perceived to be dangerous when it wasn’t, perceived to be crummier than it was and now (parking meters) could be perceived to be another barrier,” he said.

Selectboard members weren’t asked on Wednesday to make a formal decision on the parking garage or meters. However, Ken Parker, a former Selectboard chairman and White River Junction insurance agent, said some action will be needed soon.

“We’re looking at the future of Hartford here,” he said. “This is the defining moment — this project — because it determines what we can do in the downtown area to keep the growth and keep redevelopment continuing.”

“The problems are not going to go away if we don’t do something,” Parker added.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.