CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES
"The Pass of the Oaks"
City Council Agenda Addendum
Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 5:30 PM
Tuesday, June 6, 2023, 6:30 PM
Council Chamber 1000 Spring Street, Paso Robles
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Pages
R. DISCUSSION ITEMS
*1. 90 Day Review of the Downtown On-Street Parking Program 2 - 14 Damian Nord, Police Chief / Donna King, Parking Coordinator CEQA Determination: The City finds that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15061, subd. (b)(2)-(3), 15378.
Recommendation: Maintain the changes to the parking program previously adopted by Council on February 21, 2023 and authorize the City Manager to renew a contract for parking management services with Flowbird.
Council Agenda Report
From: Damian Nord, Police Chief
Subject: 90-Day Review of the Downtown On-Street Parking Program CEQA Determination: The City finds that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15061, subd. (b)(3) and 15378.
Date: June 6, 2023
Facts
1. On January 31, 2023 and February 21, 2023, the City Council reviewed options to update the downtown on-street parking program, which included consideration of changes to the pay structure, discussions on a resident discount parking program, merchant validation program, and extension of the Cale/Flowbird parking mobile app contract. Based on action taken at the February meeting, the City Council approved the following and requested staff return in 90 days for a review of the program:
a. 90-day resident discount pilot program with 2 hours free followed by $2 per hour for all users. b. 90-day extension of the Flowbird contract to include mobile application and pay by text features in addition to ongoing hardware services.
c. 12-month pilot merchant validation program that provides downtown merchants the ability to prepurchase parking hours at a 50% discounted parking rate.
2. The pilot program was launched on March 1, 2023, providing customers three options to start or pay for parking: Flowbird mobile application, pay by text, or at one of the pay stations within the downtown area.
Temporary signs were posted on all paid parking signs with information on how to pay for parking.
3. During the months of March and April there were 100,046 total parking sessions, of which 88,897 were free parking sessions (less than two hours in session duration). This equates to approximately 89% of sessions being free. During the months of March and April there were 32,604 app or pay by text parking sessions (33% of total).
Community Outreach
In preparation for the changes to the parking program starting March 1, 2023, staff published a parking update flyer with frequently asked questions and how-to videos on how to use the Flowbird app and Pay by Text. All information on the parking changes was sent via social media, press releases, and posted on the City’s parking webpage. In addition, the Parking Ambassadors were on foot answering questions and explaining how to use the new features of the parking program. Staff provided a presentation on the changes at the City Council meeting on March 7, 2023.
Options
1. Take no action;
2. Maintain the changes to the parking program previously adopted by City Council on February 21, 2023 and authorize the City Manager to renew a contract for parking management services with Flowbird;
3. Direct staff to bring back options to modify the program to achieve cost neutrality;
4. Provide alternative direction to staff.
Analysis and Conclusions
On March 1, 2023, the Council acted to improve the City’s downtown parking program. Council action addressed concerns surrounding parking program revenue neutrality, consumer confusion and maintaining available parking at an 85% occupancy rate during peak days and hours. A majority of Council voted to:
Retain 2 free hours of initial parking.
Increase the hourly parking rate from $1 to $2 per hour. Authorized the implementation of the Flowbird parking management solution.
The Flowbird solution offers consumers the ability to pay for parking via a conveniently located kiosk, by text, or via a mobile phone application.
Since the program started in August of 2019, the program achieved several of the Council majority’s objectives:
Increased parking payment/registration options for consumers via multiple Flowbird technology solutions
Reduced consumer confusion through improved parking signage Marginally improved parking program revenue via an hourly parking rate increase Improved on-street parking availability at 85% occupancy rate during peak days and hours. Improved parking turnover and customer convenience for local businesses; and Limited employees from parking directly in front of local businesses for multiple hours.
The changes to the parking program have improved usability for the customer. The Flowbird mobile application and Pay by Text features provide convenience for users, while the pay stations offer those without cell phones or those that don’t want to use their cell phone an alternate option. Updated signs provide clear directions on how to pay for parking with a note that all drivers must start a parking session upon arrival with no exceptions for free parking.
The parking program has yet to achieve cost neutrality through permitting and/or increased hourly parking rates. The paid parking hours were expanded to include evenings and weekends on May 1, 2021. Between May 2021 and February 2023, the parking and permit revenue averaged approximately $13,900 per month. During the same period ongoing parking expenses averaged approximately $24,000 per month, which resulted in a net loss of approximately $10,100 per month.
The increased paid parking rate of $2 per hour, after the initial free 2 hours, increased the average paid and employee permit parking revenue during March and April 2023 to approximately $18,000. The monthly expenses increased with the implementation of the Flowbird mobile application and Pay by Text features. There is an added transaction fee of $0.25 for each paid parking session using the app or text feature and increased credit card processing fees. This resulted in an average monthly expense for March and April 2023 of approximately $32,650 resulting in an approximate net loss of $14,650 each month. Excluding citation fines, the current fee structure does not achieve cost neutrality.
Citation fines are a revenue stream accounted for in the downtown parking program and used for ongoing operations and repayment of a general fund loan. Reliance on citation revenue and an enforcement centric business model is not a best practice. Additionally, the intent of any parking program should be to achieve voluntary compliance, not enforcement.
Between May 2021 and February 2023, the City received an average of approximately $18,700 per month in net citation revenue. During the months of March and April 2023, Parking Ambassadors issued warnings rather than citations for all first-time violators. Warnings provided opportunities to educate consumers and encourage compliance after program changes. This approach resulted in 2,375 warnings and 474 citations.
The most recent addendum to the Flowbird contract expired May 22, 2023. Flowbird is aware of the Council’s pending action and has agreed to continue operations pending the Council’s decision to permanently adopt
changes. If a new contract addendum is not authorized, all services currently provided by Flowbird will be discontinued. This includes the Flowbird app, pay by text, all electronic permitting (senior permits, employee permits, etc.), and merchant validation.
If the Flowbird contract is not renewed the City will own all pay station hardware, but cloud software services to run the meters will no longer function and the kiosks will be inoperable. Therefore, staff is seeking authorization for the City Manager to sign the attached contract addendum and extend the contract to June 30, 2024, with automatic annual extensions until June 30, 2030, unless formally terminated.
Fiscal Impact
Financial projections estimate that, if no changes are made to the existing parking program, the program will continue to expend more than it receives. By offering 2 hours of free parking to consumers, the City will continue to subsidize the parking program through citation general fund revenue. Any future improvements to the Downtown parking program will require alternate funding sources.
Based on the billed amounts from April 2023, the total cost of the Cale/Flowbird contract is estimated at $120,000 per year. It should be noted that the actual amount of the contract fee is currently unknown as certain costs are based on the amount of parking sessions each year. For example, the contract includes merchant fees for all credit card transactions. The merchant fee is 30 cents plus 3% of the transaction amount. It is unknown how many credit card transactions there will be.
CEQA Determination
The City find that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15061, subd. (b)(3) and 15378.
Recommendation (Option 2)
Maintain the changes to the parking program previously adopted by Council on February 21, 2023 and authorize the City Manager to renew a contract for parking management services with Flowbird.
Attachments
1. Flowbird Contract Addendum
Attachment 1
SECOND ADDENDUM TO THE CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS SECOND ADDENDUM is made and entered in on this 6th day of June 2023, by and between the City of El Paso de Robles, a California municipal corporation, (“City”), and CALE AMERICA, INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal place of business at 13190 56th Ct. Ste 401, Clearwater, FL (“Consultant”), to amend the CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT signed and executed by the parties on June 18, 2019.
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the parties entered into a City of El Paso De Robles Professional Services Agreement on June 18, 2019, (hereinafter “Original Agreement”); and WHEREAS, work is still ongoing; and
WHEREAS, the Parties agree that the City requests Consultant be Merchant of Record for credit card transactions generated on the Cale America Multi-Space Kiosks; and WHEREAS, both parties to the Original Agreement desire to amend them to include additional professional services of similar scope to those described in the Original Agreement and include compensation for the additional services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises made herein and other valuable consideration, the parties hereto now amend the Original Agreement as follows:
1. AMENDMENTS:
1. Services. Consultant shall provide the City with the services described in and attached hereto as Exhibit A.
2. Compensation. The City shall pay for such services in accordance with the services provided set forth in Exhibit A.
3. Term. The term of the Original Agreement shall be extended to a termination date of June 30, 2024. On June 30, 2024, the Agreement shall be automatically renewed for the following twelve (12) month period upon the same terms and conditions unless (i) one Party gives written notice of the non-renewal to the other party or (ii) Cale America advises City of a price increase, at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to the end of the 12-month period with a final expiration date of June 30, 2030.
4. Merchant of Record.
i. Cale America will settle with the City for card transactions on a monthly basis on or before the 15th day of each month. The settlement will be for the cleared funds Cale America received for the transactions processed for the City since the prior settlement date. The settlement payments will be net of Cale America fees (under 2). The City will be liable for all refunds, chargebacks, fines and other amounts (such as issuer claims of
Attachment 1
fraudulent transactions or billing disputes) payable under card network rules.
ii. The City will pay Cale America a fee of 3% of each transaction plus a fee per transaction of $0.30 for its services related to the card transactions.
Such amount will be deducted from the monthly settlement. iii. The City will promptly review all statements from Cale America and the processor and will promptly notify Cale America of any errors. The City acknowledges that if it does not notify Cale America of an error on a statement within five (5) days, neither it nor the processor will be obligated to reimburse it for such error, and Cale America shall have no liability to the City for any such amount.
iv. The City will be responsible for responding to and resolving all cardholder billing inquiries and disputes related to card transactions, in each case in the time period required by the processor or card network in accordance with card network rules.
v. Cale America assumes no liability arising from a chargeback or reversal of a transaction as a result of the EMV “liability shift”, as provided under the card network rules.
vi. The card services will commence on <date> and remain in effect for a period of 36 months. However, Cale America may terminate the card services at any time due to (i) any failure of the City to perform its obligations, (ii) card network or processor complaints as to Cale America’s merchant of record status, (iii) unanticipated costs relating to Cale America’s merchant of record activities or, (iv) risks associated with such activities under applicable law or regulations.
vii. Upon the termination of the card services for any reason, the City shall remain liable for all costs and liabilities related to card transactions made prior to the termination.
2. OTHER TERMS: All other terms and conditions of the Original Agreement shall continue to apply.
3. ENTIRE AGREEMENT: This first Addendum is a written instrument pursuant to Section 24 of the Original Agreement between the parties and cannot be altered or amended except by written instrument, signed by all parties.
Attachment 1
IN WITNESS WEREOF the parties hereto have caused this Second Addendum to be executed the day and year first herein above written.
CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
SERVICE PROVIDER:
Cale America, Inc.
13190 56th Ct, Ste 401
Clearwater, FL 33760
Attachment 1
EXHIBIT A
On Going Service
Product Name Quantity Unit Price Term Year
Flowbird Cloud hosted Backoffice
Includes: All Mode Configuration
Maintenance alarms alerts to cell phone
Reporting (standard)
Standard Credit Card Gateway
Cellular Communication Plan
24/7 Support 35 $648.00 Per Year $22,680.00
Flowbird Extended Warranty Program - PartSmart
Includes: The PartSmart program extends the manufacturing warranty after the initial warranty expires. 35 $360.00 Per Year $12,600.00 Flowbird Cloud hosted Permit System
Includes: Web Portal for end users,
Admin Console,
Reporting tools,
Enforcement integration 1 $12,000.00 Per Year
$0 (fee waived
per agreement)
On Going Service Total: $35,280.00
Optional - Products
Product Name Unit List Price Discount Price per unit
Optional Upgrade to 9.7” Screen EA $2,850.00 55% $1282.50 Box of 10 rolls of paper Box $295.00 10% $265.50
Optional - Digital Services
Product Name Unit List Price Paid by
PayByText Pre-paid session $0.25
Convenience fee to
end user *
ExtendByText Per Extension $0.25
Convenience fee to
end user *
Text Message Receipts Pre Text $0.03 Paid By City
Mobile App Pre-paid session $0.25
Convenience fee to
end user *
Merchant Validation System Per validation used $0.05 Paid By City Local Resident System Per validation used $0.05 Paid By City * Convenience fee will be paid by end user to the city and vendor will then invoice city based on number of transactions.
On-site Services
Product Name Unit Price
Preventive Maintenance (2 visits per year)
Package includes two scheduled on-site visits with
preventive maintenance service to all meters. Per meter and year $895.00
Attachment 1
Preventive Maintenance (4 visits per year)
Package includes four scheduled on-site visits with
preventive maintenance service to all meters.
Plan has 10% discount for field service calls. Per meter and year $1,295.00 FIELD SERVICE CALL - $135/hr - On-site meter maintenance by a Flowbird-certified technician. Travel time and approved travel costs, if any, will apply; 1-hour minimum local or 4-hour minimum if over 50 miles PROGRAMMING & CONFIGURATION SUPPORT - $350 per Person/PDR Set-up fee per rate or tariff for up to 4 hours of programming, testing and delivery for common meter parameter changes and customization, rate changes, display and/or receipt language changes, graphic design and UI changes, merchant account changes, WebOffice or Smartfolio configuration changes, report requests, and custom database queries. Also applies to Help Desk Service accounts, including ticket template changes, call script changes and retraining, mobile device/app support; An additional fee of $95/hr will be charged for hours in excess of 4 hours. Shipping costs for SD cards or SRAM service cards will apply if programming changes cannot be downloaded remotely.
From: jea
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public comment 6-6-23 City Council
Date: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 12:01:01 PM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
For inclusion in Public Comment
City Council Meeting 6-6-23
Discussion Item 1.
90 Day Review of the Downtown On-Street Parking Program City Council:
From day-1, this parking program has been wrong for this city.
It has caused anger and resentment amongst the citizens, the business community and with the City leaders who refuse to acknowledge this debacle for the mistake that it is and pull the plug.
You allowed this program and the enormous costs because the downtown business owners could not control the parking behavior of their employees.
As a tax-paying citizen, I object to watching this program continuously draw from our City resources.
Not only draw in financial resources, but in personnel as well.
This program has caused a serious divide between the City and the residents.
A divide that may never reconcile.
Please eliminate this program and help the citizens get back to their downtown.
Regards,
Jan Albin
From: William Faye
To: City Clerk
Subject: Parking
Date: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 9:14:15 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
GoodMorning, concerning the downtown parking the current program needs to be scraped & returned to the original way it was before the city tried to do what the merchants should be doing themselves.
William Faye
From: Richard Pettit
To: City Clerk
Cc: Dora Cary
Subject: Kiosk
Date: Tuesday, June 6, 2023 10:02:19 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
The City Council needs to abandon the parking kiosks. It’s a waste of money and it deters shoppers from doing business in
Paso Robles. The city is pushing tourism to bring shoppers to Paso Robles. If you invite tourists here you need to consider building a parking structure for them to park along with LOCAL RESIDENTS rather than build another giant hotel.
Dump the kiosks!
Richard Pettit