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Council tables $120,000 Point Mallard Park point-of-sale proposal pending more details
Summary
Council agreed to table a proposed $120,000 custom point-of-sale and CRM system for Point Mallard Park and campground after questions about cost, scope and ongoing support; staff said the project would be funded by transferring previously budgeted IS funds.
The Decatur City Council voted to table a proposal to purchase and deploy a custom point-of-sale (POS) and customer management system for Point Mallard Park and the city campground.
City staff and vendors described the project as a cloud-based POS tied to a customer relationship management system that would centralize campground reservations, golf tee times, online daily passes, armband payments, and real-time availability to prevent double bookings. The initial year cost identified in the packet was $120,000, with an annual support budgeted at up to 20% of the initial cost (roughly $24,000) if fully needed.
"We’re asking for the funding for the first year," Parks staff said, adding that the funds would come from money already budgeted in the IS department and that the request is a transfer, not an additional appropriation. The vendor representative, Darmesh, said the team planned a six-month beta and 24/7 supported operations with AI/chatbot first-level support and that the system would use open-source components rather than a single large vendor.
Council members pressed for more detail on cost breakdowns, long-term operating expenses, whether comparable off-the-shelf systems had been considered, and evidence of successful municipal deployments. Staff told council they had evaluated higher-cost commercial systems (some quoted more than $1 million with large support fees) and had considered local campground operators during selection.
A motion to table the item carried; council asked staff to return with additional written materials and the presentation slides for review before a final vote.
