Office of Administration & Planning
Meeting Minutes
101 Bricker Hall
190 North Oval Mall
Columbus, OH 43210
April 18, 2016
385 Bricker Hall
614-292-3080 Phone
614-292-3036 Fax
PARKING ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ap.osu.edu
Attendees: Mark Evans, Dan Hedman, David Hoover, Lindsay Komlanc, Sarah Blouch, Richelle
Simonson, Captain David Rose, Molly Ranz-Calhoun, Kristen Zabrecky, Kurt Shaffer, Tzachi
Zach, Bill Mifsud, Bill Phillips, Ulrich Heinz, Kevin Petrilla, Lynn Readey, Dick Dietrich, Beth
Snoke, Gulsah Akar, Bill Mifsud, Mike Penner, David Hoover, Mark Consylea, Thomas Hatch, Xen
Riggs, Mark Conselyea, Nima Niassati, Heidi McCabe, Katie Laux

Welcome and Introductions (Mark Evans)
o Mr. Evans welcomed the group and explained that at 3:30 p.m., CampusParc will
kindly exit the room in order for the PAC to conduct university business.

CampusParc Update (Richelle Simonson, Sarah Blouch)
o
o
Operations Update

Ms. Simonson introduced Kelly Stephenson as the company’s new Customer
Service Manager. Kelly previously worked at COTA and has a strong background
in customer service. She also mentioned Bjorn Wennerstrom, a previous Ohio
State employee, will transition to Quality Control and Dispute Resolution
manager.

Garage cleaning has been changed to occur during third shift. To date,
complaints are down and work appears to be getting done more efficiently.

Garage power washing began in April. All garages are expected to be completed
by August.
Construction Update
o

Ms. Blouch shared that CampusParc recently conducted elevator maintenance
on parking garages, including the Union Garages.

9th Avenue West and Cannon Garages will have their elevator maintenance
completed in the coming weeks.

Northwest Garage will be under construction this summer and a complete
shutdown is planned beginning May 9 with the goal of completing prior to August.
Quarterly Report (see attached)

Ms. Simonson shared that the quarterly report is not due until Monday, April 25.
The full report will be distributed to the PAC as an attachment to the meeting
minutes.

CampusParc recommends moving the upgrade/downgrade process forward to
May – ahead of when permit sales begin. Ms. Simonson shared that
CampusParc believes this will allow it to give better service to these individuals
because they will now know when purchasing a permit whether or not they
qualify for an upgrade or downgrade.
o

Dr. Dietrich asked why the upgrade/downgrade process is limited. The reason is
to ensure financial neutrality.

Ms. Simonson notified the group that there was a slight decrease in enforcement
from CY15 Q1 to CY16 Q1.
Customer Satisfaction Survey / Stakeholder Survey (see attached)

CampusParc conducted phone calls with select administrators, PAC members
and key university stakeholders. A full report is attached, below are a few
takeaways:
 67% of respondents were “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” with
responsiveness, issue resolution and working relationship.
 Areas identified for improvement include responsiveness, issue resolution
and attitude toward university culture.
o

Call & Email Volume (see Appendix B of Quarterly Report)

Call Center calls slightly increased from 4,462 to 4,477 from February to March.

Abandoned calls decreased by 2.87% from February to March.

Hold times went down from :22 to :18 from February to March.

Average hold times decreased from :37 to :26 from CY15 Q1 to CY16 Q1.

Total call volume decreased by approximately 3,000 from CY15 Q1 to CY16 Q1.
Administrative (Mark Evans)
o
Parking Concession Manager


Mr. Evans announced to the group that Alex Wright’s last day at the university
will be May 20. Bill Mifsud will help absorb Alex’s former parking responsibilities.
Topics of Interest (Alex Wright, Mark Evans, Mark Conselyea)
o
4th Amendment

o
Space Changes (attached)

o
Mr. Wright provided an overview of Parking Space Allocation Changes.
Permit Change Recommendations

o
Mr. Wright delivered a brief update referencing earlier PAC emails and reviews.
Mr. Wright delivered a brief update referencing earlier PAC emails and reviews.
USG Parking Safety

During a March meeting, USG passed a resolution to work with the university
and CampusParc to identify ways to enhance safety in West Campus parking
lots.
 UPDATE: A follow-up meeting was held which involved the Department of
Public Safety, Transportation and Traffic Management, CampusParc and
USG. Discussions included potential communications or signage to
encourage commuter students to utilize safety and transportation resources
such as Student Safety Service Safe Ride and CABS buses. Student
representatives committed to following up with the group with a list of next
steps.
o
WMC Parking Update (Mark C.)

o
Mark Conselyea provided an update on the parking plans for the Medical Center
area. He reminded the group that 1,900 spaces will be removed from the Polo
Lots in conjunction with the Cannon Drive relocation project. The Board of
Trustees recently approved hiring a Criteria Architect to review and determine a
site or sites for a garage or garages.
Additional Updates

July 27 Soccer Event
 An event has been scheduled for Ohio Stadium. Mr. Riggs stated that the
goal is to not have this constitute as a Global Parking Event.

Football Garage Parking (12:01 a.m. signage)
 It is unlikely towing will need to occur in the Northwest Garage as it is unlikely
all permits will be sold. As a result, the “12:01 a.m.” signage may be
removed.
 Action Item: A PAC designee will circle back with the inquiring faculty
member to provide an update when a resolution is determined.
 WC to C Exchange
 The PAC email account received an inquiry from a student that wanted to
upgrade from a WC to a C. The PAC followed up to inform her a physical
permit change is required and it therefore cannot be done online. The PAC
directed her to the CampusParc office to complete the transaction.

University Discussion (Group)
o
Credit Card Fee Proposal
Mr. Evans asked CampusParc to exit the room so the PAC could conduct university business.
Mr. Evans provided and overview of the PAC proposal, explaining:

CampusParc has made a proposal regarding credit card fees for online services.

Mr. Evans reminded the group that a promise has been made to the campus
community that permit prices will not go up more than 5.5% and for that reason
we want to have a discussion about this proposal.

Mr. Wright explained that CampusParc would like to assess a fee equal to 5%
the total of online credit card transactions, capped at $15, for all online purchases
made with a credit card. This fee would not apply to employees paying through
payroll deduction, university e-requests, pay on foot machines inside garages, or
in-person credit card purchases made at the Gateway office.

CampusParc estimates this would equal $150,000 per year.

The group is aware that the university also applies a credit card fee for certain
products and services and that the median rate is generally comparable.
Mr. Evans opened the topic up to group discussion. Below is a high-level recap of the
conversation:

Member asked how much CampusParc is paying the credit card companies. We
do not currently have this information.

Member suggested the PAC asks what CampusParc’s credit card company
charges to determine if they plan to make money off this adjustment.

Member adds that he would support a credit card fee to support CampusParc’s
operating costs (i.e. citations), but he is not supportive of the same on parking
permits.

Member said this change is most likely to impact students and that would not
support the university’s focus on affordability.

Member shared the opinion that this cost should be considered standard
operating costs covered by the standard 5.5% annual permit price increase.

Member shared that students would oppose an increase in cost and will likely go
pay in person to avoid the fee.

Member added that permits are usually purchased during the summer months
and many students would be unable to avoid the fee by paying in person.

Member pointed out that many city or state agencies and other businesses
charge convenience fees.
 Mr. Evans held a vote for a recommendation to the administration: 0 Yes; 23 No
UPDATE: A recommendation reflecting the above comments was shared with administration.