Syracuse DPW Committee Meeting on Laz Parking Contract - September 17, 2025
DPW Committee Meeting on Laz Parking Contract – September 17, 2025
This meeting of the Syracuse Department of Public Works (DPW) committee focused on a proposal to enter into a new contract with Laz Parking to operate four of the city’s municipal parking garages: Washington Street, Fayette Street, Madison Irving, and Center Armory. The committee discussed contract terms, fleet improvements, EV charging infrastructure, parking rates, and long-term garage strategy. Key city officials and Laz representatives answered questions from council members.
Discussion Items
- Contract Overview: The proposed contract mirrors the previous one: a three-year base term with two two-year renewal options, each requiring Common Council approval. Laz was the lowest bidder in all cost categories (security, staffing, operating expenses, management fees, equipment). Laz will invest $100,000 of its own funds into entry‑floor beautification and landscaping, and will bear the cost and project management of installing EV chargers at the Fayette, Madison Irving, and Washington Street garages (estimated value $25,000).
- EV Charging Stations: Laz plans to install approximately eight stations at Washington Street, four at Fayette, four at Madison Irving, and none at Center Armory due to space constraints and recent capital investments. Council members asked about charging access and integration with on‑street EV options.
- Staffing and Local Hiring: Laz area manager Kendi B. reported that 90% of the 20 employees covering the Syracuse portfolio are city residents. The workforce is diverse in ethnicity and background.
- Parking Rates: Current monthly rates range from $70 to $125 depending on the garage and have not been adjusted since 2017. Laz proposed a $10–$20 increase to align with comparable municipalities. Chief Operations Officer Connor Modun suggested considering automatic periodic increases (e.g., $5 every two years) to avoid future gaps.
- Safety and Security: Laz uses a 24/7 camera monitoring system (except Center Armory, which is fully covered) and a duress (panic) button system in all garages. Security personnel patrol and respond to incidents. Council members inquired about the effectiveness of these systems.
- Garage Long‑Term Strategy: Modun described a planned study to evaluate the useful life of the garages (some approaching 50 years), redevelopment potential, and the impact of the I‑81 viaduct removal. The study would take 6–9 months and could be funded through existing partnerships (e.g., Grow America). Councilor Caldwell raised the possibility of creating a parking authority to manage both garages and on‑street parking, noting that surface lots are less productive than structured parking. Several council members supported exploring a parking authority model.
- Employee Shuttle: The city‑owned shuttle, which runs between Washington Street Garage and City Hall, averages about 30 users per day, with higher usage in inclement weather. Council members discussed expanding the shuttle for special events or partnering with the county.
Key Outcomes
- No formal vote was taken; the committee received the proposal and discussed its merits. Approval of the contract will require a future Common Council vote.
- The administration will share monthly financial and operational reports with the council, as requested by Councilor Manto.
- The administration will continue to explore a parking garage study, possible rate increases, and the feasibility of a parking authority. Council members expressed interest in being included in those discussions.
- The city remains open to partnerships for the shuttle and will share Laz’s monthly performance presentation with the council.
Meeting Transcript
We're gonna start a DPW committee meeting in regards to Laz parking. Glad to be joined by Council Hogan, Council Navi, Council John Browser, President Hudson, Councillor Caldwell, and Council Manto, along with our Chief Operations Officer, Connor Modun, and members from CNS and Laz. Take us away. Great. Thank you so much, Counselor. Um so this is um in response to our uh proposal to enter into contract with Laz parking, uh for the operator of our municipal parking garages. Um that would include Harrison, nope excuse me, not Harrison, I apologize, Washington Street Garage, Bayette Street Garage, Madison Irving, and Center Armory. So four of our municipal own garages there. Uh there was a competitive process. There is an RFP. Uh members of the Common Council were on that RFP committee. Uh and uh it was a unanimous uh vote to go with Laz. Laz has been our operator for uh a number of years. How long have you been working together? Seven, eight years, something like that. Since two thousand and nine, fantastic. Uh and you know, we've been very thrilled with with their performance and the the operation of our our garages. Uh and we're looking to extend uh or enter into a new contract. Um the contract is very similar to the prior contract that we had just uh finished up with LAS, so the similar to the last contract, the base charm would be a a three-year term, and then with two two-year options to renew, and both of those options would require the approval of the common council. Ums was also the lowest bidder on all of the cost categories, uh, including security staffing, operating staffing, operating expenses, management fees, and equipment. Um, and Laz is proposing as part of this contract to invest a hundred thousand dollars of their own funding into entry floor beautification and landscape for the garage portfolio, um, and to bear the costs and project management of installing EV chargers at the Fayette garage, Madison Irving Garage, and Washington Street Garage. That's estimated a value of about 25,000. Um so that's a good overview of of where we are, uh and happy to answer any questions about our parking garages. How many EV stations? So we would want to be mindful that the number of EV stations is not over a limit that would require additional costly investment into the underlying electrical infrastructure at those facilities. So I think we're looking at it's approximately eight at each of the garages, Pat. Is that sound right? Or you can please correct me. Eight at Washington, four at Fayette for at Madison. Thank you. And so none at Armory. Not at this time. Is that because Armory doesn't have the infrastructure to do it or we don't have the space? What's the reason for none in Armory? Pat, can you talk in the next one? It's primarily a space issue. And uh we recently put a lot of money into the armory garage, as you're most of you are aware. Um there's a possibility that that could change hands, and that gets into a uh an issue with uh national grid and our tax situations and stuff where we'd have to give back money. So rather than do that now, we thought we'd like to move forward with the other garages, and not to say we wouldn't do it in Armory in another year or two once we get you know on more secure footing. So question is really not about the garage, it's just more about staffing. Um, how many employees do you guys have at LAS? And is there a lot of local um Syracuse people working? Can you Okay, thank you? Oh my notes. And you just introduce yourself to you. Hi, my name is Candy B. Yes, I'm the area manager for LAS parking. I've been with Laz for four years, but I've been in the parking industry since 1998. For our portfolio, he and Syracuse, the city mainly the Syracuse um city garages because we have other um garages, we have a very big diversity. Um we go from Hispanic like me.
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