By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

The Hull Redevelopment Authority has awarded the contract to manage its 900-car beach parking lots to “the largest, fastest-growing privately owned parking operator in the United States” this summer.

LAZ Parking will pay the town $160,000 to operate the lots between Nantasket Avenue and Hull Shore Drive, with 50/50 revenue-sharing once LAZ reaches $450,000 in profits. The company will not accept cash payments, opting instead to require credit card payments.

Parking officials used the analogy of going from a “cigar box to a rocket ship” to stress how much this new system will change the “parking dynamic at the beach” from the cash-based-business people have become used to during the past 30 years.

The bid from LAZ was the higher of the two bids the HRA received in response to the request for proposals; the second bid of $150,000 was submitted by Henry Dunn of Dunn Rite Parking Inc.

Dunn questioned whether the HRA was legally allowed to restrict accepting cash; however, followed up by saying “they [LAZ] out bid me, so no problem.”

HRA attorney Paula Devereaux told members that the state prohibits discrimination against cash buyers at retail establishments offering goods for sale.

“Nothing is black and white, but don’t see how a parking lot is recorded as a retail establishment,” said Devereaux.

According to HRA Chair Dennis Zaia, in his proposal, Dunn scratched out parts key to the fundamentals of the RFP, such as accepting credit card payments and the entire section on the electronic management system.

The RFP had been advertised as required, and the bid process began on Zoom on April 8, while the decision was made in person, at Memorial Middle School, on April 9.

As a relative of HRA member Bartley Kelly has been a previous operator of the parking concession, Kelly did not participate in any of the parking lot management discussions, drafting of the RFP, the bid opening, or the contract vote.

Zaia said there are three categories on the standard RFP evaluation form; the first category of price was ranked at 50%; the second category of the ability to satisfy the terms and conditions of the agreement was set to 45%, while the third category, the experience of the vendor, was evaluated at 5%.

Members of the HRA were schooled by legal counsel on state procurement laws and on the need to identify the critical factors for the proposal to be considered responsive to the request.

Determined “critical” to the RFP were the ability to accept credit card payments, taking no cash so that all parking transactions can be tracked via a phone app or handheld scanner, and offering reporting to analyze the data collected.

Today LAZ operates more than 1.2 million parking spaces in more than 3,000 locations and 400 cities across the country, including 10 lots for the beaches of Rhode Island.

“At peak volume there will be nine staff members attending the lots…on days there is not staff due to inclement weather, there will be a QR code,” LAZ Director of Business Development Patrick Ford said.

LAZ Regional Vice President Brian Haley added that the QR code also can be used to disseminate information to customers about events or promote local businesses.

“This will be informative moving forward and we will gain a lot of data,” said Zaia. “The four of us have a vested interest in the manner in which the parking lots operate, and we want to learn…over the next few weeks there will be a lot of collaboration between us and LAZ.”

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