danthebuilder Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 It appears that city council has finally acting on the problems with the season passes that came up this year. Here are the minutes.... City Council will be asked to consider awarding the bid for parking pay terminals at South Beach, North Beach and Black River Park to Total Parking Solutions in the amount of $99,660. Background Information: The City of South Haven has requested bids for parking pay terminals to be installed at South Beach, North Beach and Black River Park. South Beach is planned for new pay terminals as part of a larger parking lot reconstruction project. North Beach is included in the project because it is a paid parking area with a lot of use and it is a high maintenance enforcement area. Black River Park has been added to the project because of problems with the existing pay terminal in that location and the need to replace the pay terminal. Based on review of the products available and experiences in other communities, we believe that there will be a decrease in the amount of staff time required to do enforcement, and an increase in parking system revenue by using an automated pay terminal. In addition, the automated pay terminal would allow the boat launch at Black River Park to be a paid service for a longer season than currently in use, which will also increase revenue. -5- The purpose of the Parking Pay Terminal bid is to select a vendor who will work with the City to determine the exact number of pay terminals as well as exact location of the terminals. The specified dollar amounts in the bid are based on an estimate of the number of terminals and may be changed after review of the parking areas with the selected vendor. The purpose of the bid amounts are to allow comparison between vendors and to select a vendor. During 2011, staff experienced problems with the computer hardware that activated seasonal pass cards at Black River Park. We attempted to work with the firm that serviced the pay terminal (Traffic and Safety Controls), but were unable to get the seasonal card system to work. This experience has emphasized the importance of a responsive firm with a service crew that can respond quickly, with an adequate replacement part inventory that can be delivered the same day. After interviewing city staff who had worked with Traffic and Safety Controls, I recommend that we disqualify Traffic and Safety Controls and their equipment supplier (Digital Pioneer) due to poor customer service. The notes from the interviews with staff are available upon request. The bidder VenTek, which is headquartered in California, proposes to warehouse parts in California and service the pay terminals with technicians who travel the entire midwest (or possibly the US). The firm who would do the service has not yet been selected and would be a subcontractor to VenTek. Staff is concerned about the response time of technicians who do not have a home office within one day driving time, and the lack of a spare parts warehouse in the midwest. Staff recommends disqualifying VenTek due to not having a home office and parts warehouse within daily driving distance from South Haven. The bidder Total Parking Solutions has its headquarters in Downer's Grove, Illinois. The nearest system is in St. Joseph, and references are positive. The bid amounts were used to prepare a cost comparison based on a 10 year service life of the equipment, with an annual maintenance contract. Moved by Kozlik Wall to award the bid for parking pay terminals at South Beach, North Beach and Black River Park to Total Parking Solutions in the amount of $99,660. Seconded by Patterson. A Roll Call Vote was taken: Yeas: Arnold, Bemis, Fitzgibbon, Klavins, Kozlik Wall, Patterson, Burr Nays: None Motion carried. THANK GOODNESS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal Trophy Fishing Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Seems like a lot of high falootin gizmos and costs just for launching boats these days. But, since I berth at a marina for the season, I really am not affected. Hope this doesn't put a damper on the casual visitors to the launch ramps that like to visit, not launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymous Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 What a relief. I am not the only one that hates that machine. I wish I had audio of a busy Saturday morning there. It would be hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eliminator Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I second the "hate the machine". I also wondered if any one else turned in their receipts over the $75 gate fee for a refund? They claimed we could and that they would refund anything over the $75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthebuilder Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 The refund was mentioned early in the year "we'll refund & give you a pass". After the dream of getting a pass was given up I didn't bother trying to get a refund. I started using quarters at the end of the year out of spite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCUM LINE Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 There was a Morning.. if i have a chian with me... i would have removed it.. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Far Beyond Driven Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I have removed it with a socket set one time. You can put it back then none the wiser..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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