Council moves forward on ParkMobile contract and coin-operated parking meters amid public concerns

The Town Council advanced a plan to use ParkMobile for digital parking payments and to purchase new coin-operated meter heads, with staff saying the town will receive the meter face value and ParkMobile’s consumer surcharge will be charged to users.

Council discussion and public comment focused on transaction fees, data-security history and implementation details. A ParkMobile representative told the meeting, “ParkMobile will aid in the digital payments,” and said the app is intended as a consumer convenience in addition to coin operation. Residents and council members pressed for written cost comparisons and for clarity on how the change would affect meter revenue retained by the town. One resident said a third-party convenience surcharge could raise what motorists pay for short trips; another asked how many meters would be replaced and on what timeline.

Town staff said the immediate purchase will replace about 59 meter heads in a multi-year rollout and that coin payments will remain available: users can pay the face value in coin or use ParkMobile for convenience. Staff told the council the municipality would receive full parking revenue for digital transactions and that the app’s convenience surcharge will be paid by the consumer, not the town.

Members of the public and a councilor raised ParkMobile’s data-breach history; the company representative said a prior incident had been identified and handled and offered to provide documentation. Council members asked for clearer written cost comparisons and implementation maps before installation across additional blocks. The resolution authorizing the agreement with ParkMobile and a separate resolution to purchase new meter heads were placed on the consent agenda and moved forward.