Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of Parking Today articles by Adrienne Tucker. To read the first article, see “Nothing Is Impossible: Building a Parking Division from the Ground Up,” pages 18 and 21, in the June 2024 issue. Look for the next installment in our October issue.
The first few weeks working as the parking services manager for the City of Manhattan, Kansas, in February 2022, were chaotic. However, I don’t think anyone noticed. From the outside looking in, all anyone saw was me, glued to my laptop. But what was I doing?
I determined on the first day that 8 weeks was not enough time to procure two enforcement vehicles and acquire all the necessary parking equipment needed to install license plate recognition (LPR) technology and pay stations in our new 450-space garage.
Realizing that charging for parking in the city’s new garage would not prove popular with the public, I knew that I had to keep costs down as much as possible without sacrificing service.
Many Hurdles To Clear
There is so much red tape to cut through when working for a municipality. I learned how our procurement process works and how the legal department and the City Commission would be involved, all of which would take more time. Although the garage was going to open for customers that April, the earliest we would be able to start charging for parking would be August, just in time for the beginning of fall semester at Kansas State University. I hated the idea of opening a garage and not immediately charging for parking, but I was hired so late in the game I didn’t have a choice.
I also learned in that first week that I did not need a formal request-for-proposal process to acquire the necessary equipment and software because no local vendors within 100 miles of our city could provide them. That was one hurdle down, only about 100 more to go. I needed to procure my parking equipment and software as quickly, and responsibly, as possible.
How do you go about weeding through dozens of parking equipment providers? Let’s not forget all the companies that provide enforcement software, the pay-by-phone apps, permit software, and data analytics. I made a list of everything I knew I would need and started to research every company I could find that could provide us with what we needed, including pay stations, mobile and fixed LPR equipment, a permitting system, and enforcement software that integrated with what our court system used.
Finally, we also needed a company that had a robust analytics platform that could provide the data I needed to make smart operating decisions not just in the first year, but 5 to 10 years down the road. Realizing that charging for parking in the city’s new garage would not prove popular with the public, I knew that I had to keep costs down as much as possible without sacrificing service.
At the time, the existing parking control officer — who reported to the Municipal Court — and the city’s police officers used a rudimentary enforcement technology to write parking citations. Consisting of simple enforcement software, small handheld devices, and wireless printers, the enforcement technology was rudimentary compared to the more robust platform offered by the vendor working with the Municipal Court.
Although the vendor offered LPR and enforcement software, unfortunately they did not have a permitting platform, a pay-by-phone app, pay stations, nor a real analytics platform to speak of. Our Municipal Court used the vendor for more than just parking citations, so whomever I chose would have to integrate with them.
Frustrating Discovery
What I didn’t expect was the frustrating discovery that very few companies provided all the solutions I needed. Some companies excelled in permit processing, while others excelled in enforcement management. Some did both but didn’t offer pay stations. Or they offered pay stations through another provider, necessitating another integration I would have to pay for.
As I tried to piece together a brand-new parking program, my operating costs soared. I knew that the more complicated and expensive the program became, the less popular it would be. Simply put, I could not justify contracts with multiple companies, and multiple integration fees, all to provide the public with a service they already didn’t want to pay for.
After several weeks making exploratory calls and scheduling Zoom meetings and demonstrations, I received proposals from 10 different companies, some of which I was already familiar with. However, as I began reaching out to them, I found the process infuriating. Some companies didn’t call me back when I reached out to their salespeople. One company essentially told me that we were too small of an entity to bother with.
Making the Selection
In the end, I was able to narrow it down to two companies. Both offered everything I needed and integrated with the system our courts used to process parking citations. Furthermore, both companies integrated with ParkMobile, which I already knew I was bringing on as our pay-by-app provider. ParkMobile operated at Kansas State and our regional airport, so it only made sense to continue to use them in our community.
I understand why a parking provider would use multiple companies for its parking program, especially when parking is divided among multiple departments. Why try to excel at everything when you can be an expert in only one? I greatly appreciated the variety of equipment, products, and services offered. Through my exploration, I met a lot of wonderful people, and I was introduced to new and upcoming technologies that were truly innovative. Even though multiple companies may have sold the same type of product or software, each one was uniquely different from one another. It’s one of the things I love so much about our industry.
Ultimately, I selected the IPS Group to provide the city with multi-space pay stations and handle our enforcement, permitting, and data programs. My decision resulted from the relationship I built almost immediately with the company and its helpful sales staff. Talking to them was like talking to an old friend in the industry. They listened and understood what I was trying to do without trying to push a sale. I think that is critical.
It was important to me that whomever I chose understood that I didn’t want to hear, “Of course we can do that,” when we all knew that may or may not have been true. Instead, what I heard from the sales staff was, “Let’s figure out how we can accomplish this together.” They understood that not all customers were the same. They also understood how municipal parking is different. Spending taxpayer dollars involves a higher level of scrutiny and prudence.
I believe this decision caused some hurt feelings among a few people with whom I had worked previously. Although I understand their perspective, I felt as though because of our prior relationship, they assumed that I would bring them on with the city. However, I am a public servant. My loyalties do not lie with any one company or person. My loyalty is to the taxpayer and public for which I serve. It is my responsibility to act with integrity, exercise financial prudence, and maintain taxpayer-funded assets.
Time To Go Public
As I was wrapping up the contract with the IPS Group and ParkMobile, I began my efforts to learn about the community I would be serving. I needed to get in front of the director of the local business association, as well as the business owners in the district. I also needed to schedule various town-hall-style meetings to introduce myself to the public and to get feedback about what we were doing.
I did not know what to expect, but I was told to brace myself for the criticism and public distaste for what we were trying to do. It’s a good thing that I’m tough as nails and I am not easily intimidated. I am not, however, a politician. This was going to be interesting.
Adrienne Tucker, CAPP, is the parking services manager for the City of Manhattan, Kansas. She can be reached at adrienne.tucker@cityofmhk.com.
