Council Greenlights $200,000 Parking App
A loss of income that will have to be made up by increasing property taxes or reducing services was one of the reasons some councillors used to approve a $200,000 Request For Proposal (RFP) for a parking smartphone app system.
After a lengthy discussion - which saw a resident ask Council to delay any decision to get more citizen feedback - the move was approved.
The move came after the City has found itself with more destroyed than functioning coin operated parking meters. As of March 23rd there are 819 parking meters out of commission leaving 179 parking meters still functioning.
It is estimated the City is losing $35,000 a month in revenue.
The meters have been destroyed by vandals and thieves in search of easy money.
An example of a destroyed meter in downtown Moose Jaw - MJ Independent file photo
The discussion started after downtown resident Patty Yuzek asked Council not to approve the $200,000 expenditure but rather either allow two hours of free parking - with tires chalked - or return to coin operated parking meters downtown.
Both options were discussed but in the end rejected by a majority of Council.
Mayor James Murdock asked if minor changes might make the meters less attractive to thieves. The Mayor asked if the money in the meters could be collected everyday at the end of the day to make them less attractive to thieves.
“Could we implement a pilot project during the summer?” he asked.
“I do think the emptying (of meters) daily would make a big difference…the people committing these crimes would catch on and see (it’s not worth it).”
Director of Operations Bevan Harlton said “it’s just a matter of making that decision…there will be no pushback on the collection.”
Councillor Dawn Luhning said something needed to be done before the tourism season to fix the problem.
“I worry this keeps rolling downhill and we won’t have any resolution.”
“I’d like to get the RFP done and we’re collecting the money we’re losing,” she said.
Councillor Heather Eby wanted to point out that the parking meter problem was not created by Council or the City but they were the ones taking the blame from the public.
“The people who are responsible are the vandals and thieves,” Councillor Eby said.
The question was asked how long it would take for the App to be active if the RFP was approved at Tuesday’s meeting and Harlton replied by August.
It should be noted that at the present time there are 179 functional parking meters that have been moved to Main Street and no approval was granted to the Mayor’s suggestion to collect the money daily at the end of the day to deter the vandals and the thieves.
With the removal of meters and posts Councillor Carla Delaurier asked if it was possible to paint lines - after street sweeping - to show where parking stalls are.
Councillor Luhning took offence with comments Moose Jaw would not be a good tourist town if the coin operated parking meters were removed and replaced with an App.
She based this upon anecdotal evidence from her own journeys to tourist towns that just used a parking App.
“It has nothing to do if we are a good tourist town or not.”
Mayor Murdock asked about the two hour free parking and chalking tires option.
“Is there anything wrong with removing the parking meters and doing a two hour parking limit?” he asked.
“It’s at the discretion of Council,” Harlton replied.
Councillor Patrick Boyle pointed out a potential drawback on the budget side.
“It’s going to be a mill rate increase or a reduction of services,” Councillor Boyle stated, adding “the reality is we are losing $35,000 per month on parking and we’ve got to do something to fix it.”
Council was told that approximately $200,000 was lost in 2025 and so far in the first three months is 2026 that $113,000 in parking meter monies have been lost.
The City takes in annually $597,000 from parking meters.
“This is the fastest way to get the solution…we have to fix this hole in the budget before it’s too late,” Councillor Boyle said in support of the App RFP.
Council was told they could not simply expand the App that’s being provided by the present contractor as they want more money.
“I would suggest it’s because they’ve been purchased by a big company,” Harlton said about the App provider asking for more cash.
Councillor Chris Warren wanted to have the RFP submitted but then Administration reporting back to Council for the final approval.
Harlton said Administration would be OK if that was Council’s will.
Council Warren said Council should “stay out of the weeds” on the issue but at the same time the final result should be more of what the citizens want. Coming back to Council before giving the final OK would allow more citizen input he said.
An amendment to force the RFP was proposed by Councillor Warren but failed to pass in a 5 - 2 vote with Mayor Murdock the only other supporter.
The main motion to issue the RFP passed unanimously.