AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
Consider approval of Resolution 2025-93R, approving a contract with IPS Group Inc. through the Omnia Partners Purchasing Cooperative for parking enforcement software and equipment with an initial term of thirteen months for $96,950.00 plus the annual service cost and allowing for four additional annual renewals with the annual service cost of $51.056.00 per year for a total contract amount of $352.232.00; authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to execute the contract on behalf of the city; and declaring an effective date.
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Meeting date: May 20, 2025
Department: City Marshal - Parking Enforcement
Amount & Source of Funding
Funds Required: $148,006 Year 1; $51,056 annually Year 2-5
Account Number: 10002178-60128; 10002178-52395
Funds Available: Yes
Account Name: Capital Outlay; Software
Fiscal Note:
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Background Information:
In August 2017, the City of San Marcos purchased a parking citation enforcement system from NuPark, a parking technology solution provider. NuPark enabled staff to identify vehicles in violation of parking Ordinances, facilitated the issuance of parking citations, and provided an integrated online platform for citation payments and dispute resolution.
Utilization of NuPark introduced License Plate Recognition (LPR) camera scans as a method of enforcing parking Ordinances. The camera scans the license plate of a vehicle and makes a time-stamped record of the vehicle’s location. A second scan of the same license plate, after a period of time, will electronically record the presence and duration of parked vehicles and whether the vehicle is in violation of parking Ordinances based on geographic area. Nupark was heavily utilized in the downtown 2-hour parking zones to enforce parking Ordinances.
In 2018, NuPark was acquired by the company Passport Inc.
In December 2021, NuPark was sold again to the company T2 Systems.
Beginning in 2022, the City’s Parking Technicians started experiencing recurring issues with the LPR cameras and software, including connectivity failures and lost or deleted license plate scans. These issues persisted through 2023. By 2024, technical support for NuPark had been significantly reduced, making it increasingly difficult to communicate with NuPark support staff and leading to extended wait times for issue resolution.
On August 31, 2025, T2 Systems will officially end all technical support for NuPark, requiring the City to transition to a new LPR system to ensure continued, effective parking enforcement operations.
Since NuPark will go unsupported beginning September 1, 2025, the Parking Enforcement Division is requesting approval of a new parking citation enforcement system. The system is available through IPS Group, Inc., and includes handheld devices and hardware, an enforcement management system and citation processing services, as well as delinquent collection services.
The IPS Enforcement Management Solution includes several components: Enforcement Management System, Public Citation Management Portal, and Mobile Enforcement System. The Enforcement Management System is a real-time, web-based enforcement back-office application that gives the Parking Enforcement Division access to case information including both high-level and detailed citation summaries, photos, notices and letters, adjudications, and voids. Within the Public Citation Management Portal, customers can review their citation status, pay or contest their citation, review fine amounts and late fees, apply for payment plans, and obtain additional support. And finally, the Mobile Enforcement System includes devices that issue citations from a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device. The system operates on Apple iOS, Android, or Windows-based platforms.
Additional annual itemized expenses included in the estimated contract amount are for handheld ticketing licenses, manual citation entry, ticket paper, vehicle owner information retrieval, citation letter processing, and other consumable supplies. Because these costs are based upon volume of use, historically the City does not have sufficient data to determine the actual amount for these expenditures. Therefore, the City is providing an estimation of $51,056 annually, to account for these expenses.
The City is authorized through Local Government Code, Section 271, to participate in cooperative purchasing programs. As IPS Group, Inc., has been awarded contract #05-81 for Parking Enforcement Software and Equipment with Omnia Partners purchasing cooperative, the City is able to enter into a contract with IPS Group, Inc., for this technology.
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Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval.