Today the 600-space garage is a cash-only-pay-at-the-gate operation, but the county commissioners during their budget hearings asked Facilities Manager Mark Gadd to step up plans to modernize the garage and make it more user friendly. Commissioner Cindy Carpenter has been asking for an update for six years because she says the current system is “archaic.”
“One advantage of that, that I think makes it a viable project, is that we capture everyone that stays late when the gates are open, and we capture all the payments for community events in Hamilton,” she said. “Then it is a paying parking garage even when this building is closed.”
Gadd’s last estimate was for $80,000 from a couple years ago, when the commissioners asked him to look into it. He said the money wasn’t available to do the project then. Asset and Purchasing Director Randy Quisenberry said that figure is surely low.
“That was to change out the software so we could accept credit cards,” he said. “We’re going to accept proposals to not only automate but change out the equipment. The arms, the ticket booth, everything. We’re just going to let the experts tell us what’s out there.”
While the garage will be fully automatic, no one is talking about eliminating parking attendants at this point.
“It depends on who you talk to, we certainly would like to keep them,” Gadd said. “We’d like to have that human element. If we went to a management company, they’ve agreed that you have have, because we’ve looked at all kinds of options, that they would like to have someone there in case of emergencies, to respond to the customer, to have the customer service level we feel is necessary. The question is how many staff members would be necessary.”
The proposals are due on Dec. 21.
About the Author