TOWNSHIP – The city is moving towards a more modern cashless parking experience.
City council on Monday agreed to contract with ParkMobile for the software and PSX Inc. for the equipment to automate its two parking lots and provide digital payment options for parking.
“We have no plans to do away with our coin meters, but we will provide a mobile phone app,” Mayor Thomas Bernabei said.
The new equipment, which includes parking barriers and license plate readers, will cost $ 184,170, according to the mayor’s note to city council. A monthly software fee of $ 1,775 will be $ 21,300 per year.
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At a committee meeting ahead of the regular council meeting, Bernabei said the city’s parking expenses typically exceed revenues by about $ 190,000 a year. The city expects to reduce its annual loss to about $ 100,000 by eliminating staff from Cornerstone and Millenium parking lots.
“Every year that we go forward we will continue to save money,” said Bernabei.
The maintenance of on-street parking meters, which the mayor described as costly to buy and maintain, will be evaluated every year.
Police Chief Jack Angelo, whose department oversees parking enforcement, said the staff had grown from six to three by not replacing people who have retired or left in recent years. The employees will stay; one as a parking control officer and the others as an assistant to the parking manager and parking manager.
“An employee would go between the two bridges until people got used to it,” Angelo said.
Most of the garage parking lot consists of monthly users and verified guests, he noted.
Matt Brooker, regional sales manager for ParkMobile, and Steve Charnas, account manager for PSX, said drivers can expect to use the new parking system in two to three months. They presented the details of the changes to city council, including:
- Signage and stickers to advertise contactless payment options near metered parking areas.
- The ability to pay for parking by submitting license plate and credit card information to the Mobile Park app, texting or scanning a QR code, or calling a free phone number.
- Additional charge of $ 0.35 per transaction for using cashless payment options at street stores.
- A car park management platform that accepts credit cards or payment via ParkMobile.
- The garage system will be equipped with license plate recognition for monthly parking lots, which will also receive a QR code to pay by phone.
- ParkMobile will charge the city a 3% credit card processing fee plus $ 0.20 per transaction.
Other action
- Authorized the mayor or director of the civil service to receive a low interest loan for a period of 25 years and enter into contracts for the Sugar Creek Water Treatment Plant Renovation Project. The project is estimated at $ 32.5 million.
- Heard from three residents in public speeches who expressed concerns over the fatal shooting of James Williams by police and made several requests, including the release of the officer’s name and 911 calls related to the beatings fire during New Year’s Eve.