Jefferson City explores third-party vendor for parking lot operations
Keriana Gamboa
JEFFERSON CITY Mo. (KMIZ)
Jefferson City is set to have negotiation talks with a third-party vendor to operate the city’s parking lots and structures.
Some city council members have raised concerns that when a city service or the management of the city service is privatized, prices increase for the citizens served.
The Jefferson City Council voted to move forward with contract negotiations with PCI Municipal Services LLC, following a 7-3 vote at its meeting two weeks ago.
3 city council members voted not in favor of the privatization, Ward 2 Councilman Aaron Mealy, Ward 3 Councilman Derek Thomas, and Ward 5 Councilwoman Mackenzie Job.
Council member Derek Thomas told ABC 17 News that because of the demolition of the Madison Street parking garage for the building of the new proposed conference center, the City staff did not feel like Parking Services had the skills to manage the 400 spaces going missing for the next 2 years.
The city initially issued a request for proposals to parking management companies nationwide as part of its effort to explore third-party oversight of Jefferson City’s parking services.
Four companies responded, and after a review process by a group of people selected by the city, PCI Municipal Services LLC was selected
“The stage right now is really just negotiating with Pcci to understand what they will and won’t do what we do and don’t need what we’re willing to pay for and what we’re not willing to pay for. So all the details have to come together,” Thomas said.
Brian Kern President at PCI Municipal Services, told the city council last week that they are “bringing new ideas that are operations, types of operations that we see in other contracts and other cities.”
Ward 2 Councilman Aaron Mealy told ABC 17 News in a statement that many of his constituents believe the city should retain control over its services and how they are managed.
“Almost always, when a city service or the management of the city service is privatized, prices increase for the citizens served,” Mealy said.
Councilwoman Mackenzie Job Ward 5 told ABC 17 News in a statement her reasoning for her vote.
“My ‘no’ vote is because I have reservations about turning over responsibility for a city asset to a third party, and those are based off reading several case studies from other communities who have chosen to take that route,” Job said.
The changes could potentially include higher parking meter rates or the installation of new meters on streets that currently do not have them. High Street in downtown Jefferson City has been without parking meters since 2003.
“Whether we raise the rates or it happens in conjunction with was turning parking over to an organization to manage it. It’s it really needs to happen one way or another. So I can’t apologize for rate increases,” Thomas said.
The resolution, approved by the council, formally authorizes city officials to begin discussions on the terms of a potential agreement with the private company.
Thomas also told ABC 17 News that if an agreement is reached, it will return to the city council for final approval. He expects that it could happen before the planned demolition of the parking garage, which is scheduled for September or October.
Thomas also said he expects more details and a specific timeline to be released following a city council work session scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The session will focus on reviewing financing plans for the proposed conference center.
ABC 17 News has reached out to Council member Mike Lester, the sponsor of the resolution, for comment on the new negotiation talks.