PASADENA – The City Council renewed its parking enforcement contract with a company residents and businesses have criticized for being too aggressive in handing out tickets.
The company, was criticized last year when its contract was renewed. Many residents said they had been unfairly ticketed.
The city reviewed some of those complaints and corrected them, officials said, and the council elected to renew the company’s contract at its meeting Monday night.
In doing so, however, city officials noted they’ve received multiple complaints from members of the city’s business community, who continue to be unhappy with Inter-Con.
“The businesses really bear the brunt of the complaints from customers who are upset when they get a ticket,” Paul Little, president of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview.
Although he was not necessarily opposed to renewing Inter-Con’s contract, Little said he wanted the city to first arrange a meeting between business community members and Inter-Con officials to work out some issues.
Michael Hawkins, who owns the Green Street Restaurant, said he has had problems with Inter-Con. He recounted how a parking enforcement officer caused trouble for a vendor delivering cases of wine to his restaurant.
“The guy walks up and tells him he has three minutes to move 40 cases of wine,” said Hawkins. “We’ve been in business over 26 years and never been harassed this
way.”In a letter to the council, Steve Mulheim, president of the Old Pasadena Management District, said he had received numerous customer complaints about officers, describing them as “aggressive,” “rude,” and “disrespectful.”
Even so, council members renewed Inter-Cons contract, over the objections of Councilwoman Margaret McAustin, who opposed the renewal. She cited a number of complaints she had received.
“When this came to us a year ago, there were a number of complaints expressed, and I’m not positive anything has been done,” said McAustin, who cast the sole vote against the contract renewal.
Councilwoman Jacque Robinson and Councilman Victor Gordo were absent from the meeting.
The contract was renewed for one year as a kind of test period last year. The new contract renewed Monday is for three years and is worth $1.9 million.
Inter-Con is based in Pasadena and received strong support from council members Steve Haderlein and Steve Madison, who argued that the company has been reliable and responsive to complaints.
“I feel compelled to speak up on their behalf,” said Madison. “The business is located in my district and they have done a reliable job at a good rate for many years now.”
Several council members said they, too, had received complaints from residents, but many of the complaints were about the city’s parking policies.
Several residents who contacted the Star-News complained about poor posting of information on parking signs and about the appeal process for tickets.
Melissa Michelson, a Pasadena City College professor, said she got a ticket for breaking a two-hour parking restriction. She moved her car within the two-hour period to another spot on the same block, not knowing that the two-hour restriction applied to the entire block.
“The hearing officer told me that was common knowledge,” said Michelson. “But I never heard of it… it wasn’t posted on the signs, and I couldn’t even find it when I read the municipal code.”
Michelson lost the case when she appeared in front of Inter-Con’s hearing officer. She planned to appeal it but elected not to stand in a long line at the courthouse to fill out the paperwork.
“That line was enormous,” said Michelson.
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