TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Joe DeFrancesco, Interim Public Works Director
Nicholle Petroff, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Awarding a Three-Year Agreement for Parking Pay Stations and Mobile Parking Payment System Services to ParkMobile, LLC in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $2,428,310 (Budgeted) (Interim Public Works Director DeFrancesco).
(Estimated Time: 15 Mins.)
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 26-0017
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt Resolution No. 26-0017 awarding a three-year agreement with ParkMobile, LLC, for the purchase, installation, and operation of parking pay stations and mobile parking payment system services in an amount not to exceed $2,428,310.
2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement and any necessary amendments, including exercising up to two additional one-year extensions if deemed in the City’s best interest.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Sufficient funds of $2,900,000 are currently budgeted for this project. Approximately $2,303,310 would be utilized from the Parking Fund for the Annual Parking Payment Facilities Improvement Program.
The cost breakdown for the project includes one-time capital costs totaling $895,410. Ongoing annual fees are estimated at $247,980 in Year 1, with ongoing annual costs of $289,980 for Years 2 through 5 for the Parking Pay Stations and Mobile Parking Payment System.
Additionally, the total agreement includes $125,000 over the five-year period for ongoing operational needs, including spare parts, which equate to approximately $25,000 annually. Sufficient funding is available in the Public Works Department’s budget for the current fiscal year within the Parking Fund.
Customers paying at physical pay stations would not incur add-on credit card processing or gateway fees from ParkMobile, with the exception of an optional “text message receipt” fee. Because the City serves as the merchant of record for pay station transactions, per-transaction credit card processing costs are paid by the City and not assessed to customers. The City’s parking meter rates are reviewed annually to ensure rates keep pace with rising operational costs (e.g. credit card processing fees and pay station fix costs such as annual warranties and monthly station fees) as well as to set aside funds for future capital needs.
Similar to other municipalities, as part of the City’s modernized parking operations, customers who choose to pay for parking using mobile payment options would be subject to applicable convenience fees. Under the ParkMobile agreement, mobile payments are subject to a $0.35 mobile transaction fee and a $0.35 text-to-pay transaction fee, both of which are invoiced to the City monthly. Additional optional mobile services include Extend-by-Text at $0.35 per use and text message receipts at $0.05 per receipt. These fees are directly tied to individual mobile transactions and represent the incremental cost of providing a convenient, optional payment method beyond traditional pay station use.
Passing mobile transaction fees through to customers aligns with the City’s cost-recovery efforts by ensuring that users of optional mobile payment services bear the associated costs, while customers who pay at physical pay stations are not subject to additional transaction fees.
BACKGROUND:
The City currently operates 1,275 single-space meters and 12 older model pay stations. These systems are nearly at the end of their useful life, costly to maintain, and prone to technical issues.
On April 15, 2025, City Council considered a general business item to discuss the Parking Technology Roadmap and provide direction on moving forward with the recommended initiatives. As part of that action, City Council approved proceeding with the roadmap items related to transitioning the City’s parking payment infrastructure to pay-by-plate kiosks and mobile payment options.
On November 4, 2025, the City Council approved the City Parking Management Strategies and Toolkit, which outlined a comprehensive framework for enhancing parking operations and implementing new technology solutions within the City. Among the strategies identified was the transition to modern pay-by-plate pay stations and mobile payment platforms as part of a broader effort to streamline enforcement, improve customer convenience, and better manage parking demand.
The proposed award implements this direction by securing a vendor to provide the pay stations and mobile payment solution identified in both the Parking Management Study and the Parking Technology Roadmap. This contract marks a significant milestone in advancing the City Council’s strategic direction to modernize the City’s parking system.
DISCUSSION:
On August 18, 2025, staff issued the Pay Station and Mobile Payment Services Request for Proposals RFP No. 1337-26 through OpenGov. Proposals were due on September 15, 2025. Eight proposals were received. One proposal submitted by Codebody Dynamics LLC was disqualified for not meeting the minimum qualifications.
Proposals Received:
1. IPS Group, Inc.
2. Kaizen Laboratories Inc.
3. Orikan USA LLC
4. ParkMobile, LLC
5. Passport Labs, Inc.
6. PayByPhone US, Inc.
7. Premium Parking Services, LLC
8. Codebody Dynamics LLC - Disqualified
As listed in the RFP, the evaluation criteria for this service contract and vendor selection are based on several factors, including but not limited to:
Contractor Qualifications and Experience
• Demonstrated history of successful implementations in the parking industry
• Municipal parking program experience and ability to integrate with third-party vendors
• Qualified project management team, with a clear implementation schedule
• Demonstrated testing and training programs
• Demonstrated ability during interviews to explain technical approach and staffing
How the Solution Meets the Requirements
• Extent to which the solution meets or exceeds RFP requirements without excessive development
• Minimal exceptions taken on the Technical Compliance Matrix
• Flexibility to accommodate future adjustments (rate changes, integrations, programming)
• US-based support services and help desk responsiveness
• Warranty and replacement programs
• Functionality and user experience as demonstrated in live product demos (ease of use, reporting, integration, enforcement compatibility)
References
• Strong references from California and US agencies with comparable pay station and/or mobile payment deployments
• Minimum thresholds (e.g., 15+ pay stations in California, 50+ pay stations nationally, 5+ years operating history)
• Positive track record with no recent defaults or contract failures
• Proven, reliable products (not pilot-phase technology)
Cost
• Transparent and easy-to-understand pricing structure
• Competitive and reasonable pricing compared to other proposals
• Long-term value and avoidance of hidden or variable fees
The Public Works Department established a ten-member evaluation committee in advance of the review process, with at least one representative from each of the following departments: Finance, Public Works, Information Technology, Parking Enforcement (Police), and Community Development. The committee evaluated all proposals received in response to RFP No. 1337-26 in accordance with the criteria outlined in the solicitation. Proposals were reviewed for compliance with minimum qualifications, responsiveness to the scope of work, proposed pricing models, and overall ability to meet the City’s operational and technical requirements.
Following the evaluation process, the top three scoring proposers for each solution, listed below, advanced to the interview and demonstration phase. As part of this process, vendors were required to provide a live demonstration of their proposed pay station equipment and software platform, in addition to responding to standardized interview questions.
Pay Stations:
ParkMobile, LLC
IPS Group, Inc.
Orikan USA LLC
Mobile Parking Payment System:
ParkMobile, LLC
IPS Group, Inc.
Passport Labs, LLC
This approach allowed the committee to evaluate not only the written proposals but also the functionality, usability, and customer experience of each system. The demonstrations also provided an opportunity to assess system integration capabilities, enforcement compatibility, reporting tools, and back-office functionality in real time.
The interview and demonstration components were scored using a standardized qualitative scoring rubric. Each evaluation committee member independently submitted scores for each proposer, and those scores were averaged to establish a single interview and demonstration score for each proposer. Reference checks were conducted following the interviews, and a fixed allocation of fifteen points was applied to each proposer’s averaged score based on confirmed reliability and past performance. This methodology ensured consistency, transparency, and equal weighting across all proposers.
While several proposers demonstrated strengths across different aspects of the solicitation and presented high-quality solutions, the evaluation committee’s final scoring reflected that ParkMobile, LLC, received the highest overall score and provided the most advantageous proposal to the City. This recommendation is based on the proposer’s demonstrated technical capability, system reliability, ease of use, and ability to integrate with mobile payment and enforcement platforms. The vendor’s approach, references, and performance during the interview and demonstration process further confirmed their ability to meet the City’s operational and service requirements.
Accordingly, staff recommends that the City enter into a three-year agreement with ParkMobile, LLC, for the purchase, installation, and operation of parking pay stations and mobile parking payment system services, in an amount not to exceed $2,428,310, which includes two one-year extension options. Staff further recommends authorizing the City Manager to administratively exercise the one-year extension options if deemed to be in the City’s best interest.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The RFP was advertised through OpenGov and the City’s website to encourage broad participation. The public has been informed of this agenda item as part of the City’s standard meeting notice practices via public bulletin boards, website calendar, and social media. Public outreach and customer education will be incorporated as part of implementation through signage, branding, and communication prior to system launch, consistent with the City’s standard public notification practices.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary. Additional environmental analysis will be conducted once a comprehensive pay station installation plan is complete.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The agreement has been reviewed by the City Attorney and is approved as to form.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 26- 0017
2. Agreement - ParkMobile, LLC
3. PowerPoint Presentation