City of Birmingham

City of Birmingham ADVISORY PARKING COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING Birmingham City Hall Commission Room 151 Martin, Birmingham, Michigan Wednesday, August 17, 2016

MINUTES These are the minutes for the Advisory Parking Committee ("APC") regular meeting held on Wednesday, August 17, 2016. The meeting was called to order at 7:38 a.m. by Chairman Lex Kuhne.

Present: Chairman Lex Kuhne Gayle Champagne Anne Honhart Steven Kalczynski Lisa Krueger Judith Paskewicz Al Vaitas

Absent: Vice-Chairperson Susan Peabody

BSD: John Heiney

SP+ Parking: Catherine Burch Sara Burton Jason O'Dell

Administration: Mark Clemence, Police Chief Ellen DeView, Staff and Services Coordinator Austin Fletcher, Asst. City Engineer Scott Grewe, Police Commander Paul O’Meara, City Engineer Carole Salutes, Recording Secretary

RECOGNITION OF GUESTS (none) Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 2 of 8

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING OF JULY 20, 2016

Motion by Ms. Honhart Seconded by Ms. Krueger to approve the Minutes of the APC Meeting of July 20, 2016 as presented.

Motion carried, 7-0.

VOICE VOTE: Yeas: Honhart, Krueger, Champagne, Kalczynski, Kuhne, Paskewicz, Vaitas Nays: None Absent: Peabody

SMART METER REVIEW

a. Test on Martin St.

Mr. O'Meara recalled at the June 2016 APC meeting the committee recommended an on-street test of the IP and Duncan Liberty meters for the spaces on Martin St. in front of City Hall. The test was started on August 1.

It is hoped that the results of the test can be collected by early September, and a final decision approved by the City Commission prior to the end of the month. That way, if appropriate, the City can proceed with the installation of the approximately 65 disabled reserved parking spaces planned throughout the CBD. (Three reserved spaces for the disabled are now in place on Hamilton Ave. to meet the requirements of the ADA.)

Both meter companies are anxious to win our favor, and have asked for the opportunity to speak at this meeting. No decision is expected by the APC today; but rather, this is meant as an opportunity to be updated.

Chief Clemence observed that during the second week of the test trial, revenues are up about 24%. He thinks the increase is for two reasons. People tend to buy the maximum time allowed when using a credit card. Secondly, the sensors are working really well and there is no more free time left on the meter when vehicles pull out.

IPS M5 Meter Mr. Randy Lassner was present with his colleagues, Mr. Frank Delmonico and Mr. Mark Berling. Mr. Lassner said they deployed the smart meter in 2007. IPS Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 3 of 8 has over two hundred long-term partners with over two hundred twenty-five thousand smart meters across the USA. IPS is privately owned and carries no debt. All their smart meters are made in San Diego, CA, USA. One of the main things they have come out with this year is a dome mounted sensor that detects whether a space is full. The other company's sensor is pole mounted.

Mr. Berling gave an overview of the meter. No recharging of the batteries is necessary because the meter has a big solar panel. The screen is large and can be programmed to display messages. Payment options include coins, credit cards, NFC, Google Wallet, Apple Pay, EMV chip, and Bluetooth that communicates wirelessly with a smart phone. Additionally, the meters support progressive rates. A number of various reports can be generated for staff.

Chairman Kuhne took comments from the public at 8:03 p.m.

Ms. Joellen Haynes, Asst. to the City Manager, asked if the option of Apple Pay is an additional cost to the City. Mr. Berling replied there is a one-time cost to add that feature.

In response to Mr. Kalczynski, Mr. Delmonico advised the City has the opportunity to negotiate the credit card processing fee because of the IPS large volume of business. He answered other questions from the group, saying the meters are backlit, and ADA compliance is addressed with the lower pole height.

CivicSmart Liberty Mr. Brad McGee said their radar technology stops people from being able to feed the meter. If a vehicle pulls out and then pulls back in the meter senses that it is the same car. Sensors work independent of the meters and can be placed in a No Parking area so that enforcement can be notified if someone pulls in. He continued with an overview of their organization. Today there are over two thousand cities using their parking meters. The meters will fit into existing housings, are easy to upgrade, cost effective, and keep the current maintenance and systems for collecting. Transactions are encrypted and secure. Batteries are 100% rechargeable. No adjustments are needed for ADA compliance.

CivicSmart will not interrupt operations, but only add a credit card option to the meters. The reader is chip and magstripe based. The meters are fully backlit and will remove any glare from sunlight. A message can be added to the screen.

Another attractive aspect of their technology is that the upfront costs, monthly fees and the transaction fees are significantly lower than anybody else in the industry. When someone swipes a card, the charge is only $.06 per transaction. Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 4 of 8

In summary, the top three differences between them and their competitor are cost, reliability, and experience.

There were no questions from the public at 8:20 a.m.

Ms. DeView indicated there has been little response from the City's survey.

b. Parking by Zone

It was noted Commissioner Nickita thought that while this test is a good idea, he personally asked that the committee not rule out multi-space parking meters at this time. To that end, the Police Dept. is doing further research on this topic, particularly the system being used in Detroit.

Commander Grewe explained that once payment is made, a vehicle can park legally anywhere in that zone. The advantage of zone parking is that it removes meters and cleans up the streetscape. Also, there is a reduction in cost for maintenance.

Disadvantages to the zone parking are the cost to implement the program and that enforcement officers are taken off the sidewalk where they can interact with citizens and put into a vehicle where a license plate scanner would be mounted. However, in a Jeep they can cover a lot more ground than they can by walking. Other disadvantages are that parking spaces cannot be bagged for different events; handicapped persons have to walk extra distance to a pay station; and also, short-term parkers sometimes don't pay because they don't want to walk to the pay station. Right now Commander Grewe is inclined to think that smart meters are the better way to go.

TRAFFIC CONTROL EQUIPMENT UPGRADE - PHASE 2

Mr. O'Meara advised that after many months of study, the City and SP+ local office worked together to prepare a request for bids for new traffic control equipment at all five parking structures. The existing equipment is nearing the end of its life cycle, and has required extra money in repairs the past few years to keep it going.

The bid was issued with a request for two sets of prices in two phases. The first phase to implement would be a cashless, ticketless system at the Chester St. Structure only. This location was chosen because it has the least amount of daily traffic. It was felt that testing this system at Chester St. for about six months would be wise before a commitment is made to make all these changes at the other locations. The Phase 2 part of the bid covered the other four structures, Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 5 of 8 with prices for both cashless and ticketless, as well as the traditional system offering both cash payment, and tickets for tracking.

The City Commission agreed with this approach and awarded the recommended bidder the Phase 1 part of the contract at the Chester St. Structure. The City is generally happy with the vendor's performance and the quality of the equipment. The public's reaction to the changes has been generally favorable; however many object to arriving at the structure and instead of taking a ticket they are required to open their purse or wallet and produce a credit card. To solve this problem, the entrance machine could be modified so that a ticket dispenser is provided as an option. The credit card could be used as well. The customer would still need to pay with the same payment options, so a credit/debit or Parkmobile option would have to be used if there is a charge. However, for the large number of people entering and exiting for free, they would not have to produce their credit card number.

If the APC agrees with this approach, the City will request the vendor, Harvey Electronics, to provide a cost estimate to modify their bid for the remaining four structures.

Mr. O'Dell advised that Chester is the slowest garage relative to transient parking. That is the reason why it was chosen. However, there are some drawbacks to the no ticket approach. People that are unfamiliar with the system are asking about a ticket all the time. He suggested that going back to using tickets plus credit cards would make validation easier and reduce backups.

Motion by Dr. Vaitas Seconded by Ms. Champagne to concur with staff that offering tickets but not a cash payment option may be the preferable approach for the conversion of the remaining four parking structure traffic control equipment, and to direct staff to obtain a quote from Harvey Electronics for this work, to be reviewed at the next APC regular meeting.

Ms. Paskewicz noted there are people who don't have a credit card for one reason or another. She thought this is an elitist view of the world. Mr. O'Dell said there will be an option to purchase cash value cards from the City which would be the fastest way in and out of the garage for everyone.

Chairman Kuhne added that there are alternatives to credit cards such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Mr. Heiney received clarification that there are stand alone kiosks on the Park and Peabody Structures that accept cash or cards. These will be phased out if we go to a cashless system. Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 6 of 8

Motion carried, 7-0.

VOICE VOTE: Yeas: Vaitas, Champagne, Honhart, Kalczynski, Krueger, Kuhne, Paskewicz Nays: None Absent: Peabody

ROOFTOP VALET PARKING - PHASE 2

Park St. Structure At the last meeting of the APC it was noted that the valet assist option has worked well on the roof of the N. Old Woodward Ave. Parking Structure. With demand remaining strong at both N. Old Woodward Ave. and Park St., there is a desire to consider supplying this service to Park St. as well.

As discussed last month, the second best option for operating a valet service is the roof level of the Pierce St. Structure. However, the demand is not as strong at that structure.

Therefore, SP+ was asked to look closer at their estimate for the Park St. Structure, and determine if the valet hours could be cut to help reduce their initial cost estimate of about $180,000. Based on the demand that has been seen over the past several months, SP+ is estimating that a five day per week operation is needed for the seven busiest months of the year, while a three day per week schedule could be followed the rest of the year. The modified work schedule brings the cost down to about $120,000/year, which is more manageable. Having a valet operation here would provide space for about 50 more vehicles (similar to the rooftop at N. Old Woodward Ave.).

The valet assist at the N. Old Woodward Ave. rooftop location is estimated to cost about $52,000. It is suggested that the rooftop valet assist option for the Park St. Structure be implemented as amended at an estimated cost of $120,000/year. Similar to the current operation, demand will be watched, and hours will be cut if the demand does not warrant their use.

Mr. O'Dell pointed out the higher cost at Park St. is the result of the reduced lane widths which were built for one-way traffic. More control of the roof is required to make this work, meaning that the staff has to work earlier in the morning, and wait longer into the afternoon to service all drivers as they leave for the day. An additional driver is suggested as well to handle the increased traffic. The Pierce Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 7 of 8 and Chester Structures are more conducive to valet, but they are currently not filled.

Motion by Ms. Champagne That due to the high demand experienced at the Park St. Structure, the APC recommends that the City Commission authorize SP+ Parking to operate a rooftop valet assist program at the Park St. Parking Structure at an estimated cost of $120,000/year.

Motion died for lack of a second.

EVENING ONLY MONTHLY PERMIT UPDATE

Mr. O'Meara reported that the following indicates how many evening monthly permits have been sold since the program began, through August 10, 2016:

Pierce St. 24 Peabody St. 0 Park St. 2 N. Old Woodward Ave. 7 Chester St. 2

Regular monthly permits voluntarily given up, through August 10:

Pierce St. 2 Peabody St. 0 Park St. 0 N. Old Woodward Ave. 2 Chester St. 0

Mr. O'Dell said they intend to do a bigger push with the current card holders to see if they are interested.

Mr. Heiney indicated he has heard that the hours don't work well with some people's start times.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Mr. O'Meara advised they opened up bids on installing new LED lights throughout the Park St. Structure in order to use less power. This work is scheduled to proceed in September. Advisory Parking Committee Proceedings August 17, 2016 Page 8 of 8

MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORTS

Mr. O'Dell noted transient income is up significantly.

MEETING OPEN FOR MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA

Chairman Kuhne noted that with the increased daily rate, the rate at the parking meters is technically the same as the hourly rate in the structures. The Committee will have to focus more on rates and decide if the street meters ought to go up in price because they are in the optimal location.

NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING

September 21, 2016

ADJOURNMENT

No further business being evident, the chairman adjourned the meeting at 9:06 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul O’Meara City Engineer