Downtown merchants prevailed at last night’s Bay Council meeting, saving the public parking lot they consider a tourism asset.

After hearing several pro-parking lot speakers, the council voted unanimously to reverse the decision to surplus the parking lot on Main Street behind the former City Hall Annex/Chamber office. That surplus building, you’ll recall, was recently sold.

Somebody needs to figure out how to make that parking garage wallflower on Court Street cool. (The council voted to give the garage to the county but that hasn’t happened yet.)

On an upbeat note, project manager Kenny Monti presented plans for a multi-use stage and pavilion at McDonald Field on Dunbar Avenue. The $80,000 project is made possible through a donation to the Hancock Community Development Foundation. The city voted unanimously to accept the generous gift. Next stop: P&Z approval.

The council tabled until next month a controversial application requesting a text amendment to the zoning ordinance to allow a machine shop in a C-2 Neighborhood Commercial District. The P&Z members denied the request 5-0. The proposed machine shop is on Main Street but the change would allow machine shops in all C-2 areas of the city. Lots of opposition to this.

Then came the lengthy and sometimes testy discussion about city dumpsters, which was still smoldering at 9:30 p.m. This is a real rabbit hole, folks.

The administration, the council and a couple of restaurant owners shared their views – and vented – about what to do with all that garbage from bars and restaurants. Make the owners handle their own disposal, even when there’s no place for a dumpster? Use the dumpster behind the youth court building? Put dumpsters under the ramp at the harbor? Build a dumpster farm and collect fees from the users? Should the city even be in the dumpster management business?

Dumpster funk is not going away anytime soon.