Committee awards bid for automated parking system at Elmira Corning Regional Airport

The Chemung County Multi Services Committee approved a resolution awarding a bid to Flash Parking Inc. for an automated parking system at Elmira Corning Regional Airport.

County staff and committee members said the project is a one-time capital expense of roughly $300,000 that the legislature previously approved as a bonding item in the county budget. "This, resolution calls for the county to expend $300,000 or so on a technology to collect parking fees at the Elmira Corning Regional Airport," the committee chair said during discussion. County staff explained that the item was included in the 02/2024 budget and that the legislature had previously approved bonding for the project.

Committee members questioned how the automated system would interact with the airport's existing parking contract and whether the county would see a revenue change. "We have an out clause," county staff said, noting that current contracts include termination language. Staff also provided revenue figures: "they pay us $46,000 a month," a county staff member said when describing current payments under the contract. Staff said moving to automation would remove the annual contract payment and initially require a one-time payment of about $300,000; after the capital expense, estimated recurring costs for the automated system were described in the budget book.

A committee member asked whether automation would change total revenue projections for airport parking. County staff said automation itself would not necessarily increase revenue absent price changes, but that the county would realize savings by eliminating the current contract expense. Staff estimated the county would have about $241,000 per year in savings after accounting for the one-time cost and recurring system expenses; staff said the budgeted parking revenue for 02/2025 was around $530,000.

Questions were raised about who would operate the system during low-traffic periods and whether drivers could use mobile payment options such as Google Pay or Apple Pay. Staff said the system could accept a variety of payment methods and that one attendant might remain on-site during peak hours, as seen at comparable airports.

The resolution awarding the bid to Flash Parking Inc. passed by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the committee transcript.