Jim Thorpe Borough Council is weighing whether to grant a downtown pizza shop a 15-minute parking spot for use by its drivers making deliveries to customers.

Henry Marin, owner of Antonio’s Pizza at 43 Broadway, submitted the request to the borough.

“I understand how it is on Broadway,” Police Chief Joe Schatz said. “I feel bad for the guy that he has nowhere to get in and get out. But it has become an issue for us because the delivery driver is parking in the alley quite a bit and it’s blocking access to the back of some of those properties there. We’ve been getting complaints.”

Council held a lengthy discussion Thursday before deciding to table the request.

Many options were tossed around, including charging Marin an annual price to have a 15-minute spot near his shop. Typically, when a business or organization requests a parking meter be bagged for an event or other activity, the borough charges $10 a day to recoup lost revenue.

“The biggest question I have is if you charge a fee, how do you manage that?” Council President Greg Strubinger said. “How do you make sure nobody else is dipping in there?”

Another option on the table is to put one 15-minute spot in the area, which could be used by multiple businesses.

“There is a spot in front of the House of Jerky which I think makes the most sense because then you aren’t discriminating,” Councilman Mike Yeastedt said. “It would be open to five or six businesses down there. It may not guarantee that the Antonio’s delivery driver gets it, but it’s something.”

Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said enforcement could become an issue. She also warned council of “setting a precedent” in a highly commercial area of town.

“I would suggest if you want to consider it, figure out all your parameters now because the next person is going to be in at the next meeting asking for a spot if you do this,” Sterner said.

Marin was not at Thursday’s workshop but Schatz said during a conversation the two had previously, he did plan to attend a meeting to question why he wouldn’t be able to get a 15-minute spot.

“He said he was going to demand why you’re not allowing them to have it because there are other businesses in the downtown that have such a spot,” Schatz said.

The Inn at Jim Thorpe has a spot designated as a loading/unloading zone for guests. Molly Maguire’s Pub and Steakhouse also has a loading/unloading zone.

Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank has two customer parking spots downtown.

“He had mentioned another business in the Heights, 3 Kids, that has 15-minute parking,” Schatz said.

Several parking related items have come across council’s desk the last few months. In an effort to make it easier for emergency vehicles to get up and down the street, it recently changed parameters on the first block of Broadway to allow for only compact and subcompact cars to park there. It is also considering raising the parking violation ticket fee from $10 to $20 and the prohibited parking fee from $15 to $25.

Jim Thorpe’s regular council meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall.