Glendale parking contract gets extension

Glendale this week agreed to extend its contract with the firm that manages five public parking lots for the city for $1.8 million.

The agreement on the one-year extension came even as city officials work to address a number of problems, including broken equipment that at times leads to uncollected user fees.

A city audit also recommended that the firm, Modern Parking, make original invoices available for inspection since there’s a risk they could be submitted to the city multiple times, and ratchet up its record-keeping.

High on the priority list for city officials is finding a private operator to replace aging parking payment and access equipment.

Some parking access areas are broken, leaving lanes unusable. And parking gates that can’t operate without attendants are left open, meaning motorists can exit without paying.

Installing the new equipment could cost about $2.5 million.

The new contract was approved by four council members, with Councilman Rafi Manoukian dissenting, citing his experiences using the garages.

“I’ve been less than pleased with the services the contractor has been providing,” he said.

At the same time, the city has been working on issues raised by the Modern Parking audit, which determined that a new contract “needed specific direction regarding revenue collections, record-keeping and expected frequency of deposits.”

Although recommendations in the audit won’t be incorporated into the extended contract, they are being worked out separately with Modern Parking, said City Auditor Michelle Flynn.

The three-year Modern Parking contract was first signed in 2009 to manage five public parking lots, including those at The Exchange and the Larry Zarian Transportation Center. With the extra year, the total contract through next August will total $7.1 million, according to a city report.
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