Roseburg council directs staff to renew ACE Parking contract and pursue 75/25 funding split after 4–3 vote

The Roseburg City Council voted 4–3 to direct staff to renew the city’s contract with ACE Parking and pursue a 75/25 revenue split for the off-street parking fund, after a lengthy presentation and discussion about projections, citation assumptions and impacts on downtown businesses.

Stuart (city staff) introduced the item and said council had previously asked staff to prepare three funding options. He explained ACE’s contract initial three-year term ends Dec. 31, 2024, and the contract allows up to two additional three-year renewal terms. Staff recommended continuing the contract and pursuing ACE’s preferred 75/25 split.

Brandon Johnson, ACE’s regional director, described the company’s data and modeling approach, saying ACE used license-plate-recognition "first detection" counts from Jan. 1–Aug. 30 and reduced detection counts by 35% to account for behavior changes under paid parking. He told the council the 75/25 model estimates on-street paid parking could generate roughly 28% of ACE’s revenue in that scenario; permit sales and citations make up the remainder. On citations, Brandon said ACE reduced projected citation counts by 30% in the models to reflect expected increases in permit use and behavior change once paid parking is instituted.

Councilors pressed ACE and staff on several points: clarity about which permit-revenue columns represented current monthly revenue versus annual projections; why two lots (Phillips and Shalimar) were removed from some projections; whether the $1.50-per-hour on-street rate would be charged the minute a vehicle arrives and whether short-term loading or grace periods could be created; signage and enforceability issues given that staff said roughly 20% of stalls currently lack clear meter heads or signs; and what would happen if revenue targets were not met. Staff answered that any future adjustments or a decision to shift additional cost to property owners would return to council for deliberation and that Oregon budget law allows budget adjustments for unforeseen circumstances.

Several councilors voiced skepticism about relying heavily on citations in revenue projections and reported math concerns in the presentation's spreadsheets. Councilor Andrea (unnamed 11) and others argued for a more conservative split (65/35) to reduce the burden on downtown business owners; one 65/35 motion failed for lack of a second. After deliberation, a motion to direct staff to renew the ACE contract and evaluate the 25% base-fee approach (75% ACE / 25% property/business owners) was seconded and passed in a 4–3 voice count.

Mayor (unnamed) said staff will return with additional information on how the 25% base fee would be assessed (property owner vs. business owner, boundary definitions, and method of apportionment) and with details on signage, meter counts and implementation costs. The council also directed staff to proceed with the next steps of planning and to present more detailed cost and boundary options in future packets.

Next steps: staff will draft contract renewal documentation and return with detailed proposals for how a 25% base fee would be structured, proposed boundaries for assessments, costs for signage and meters, and options for short-term loading zones and customer-service measures.