Staff Report
PREPARED BY: STEVE REGAN
Superintendent
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, Finance Director, Chief of
Police, and Parks and Public Works Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● 408-354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 05/21/2019
ITEM NO: 7
DATE: MAY 16, 2019
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: LAUREL PREVETTI, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT
LICENSE PLATE RECOGNITION (LPR) SYSTEM FROM TANNERY CREEK
SYSTEMS INC. IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $59,500.
RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the Town Manager to purchase a replacement license plate recognition (LPR) system
from Tannery Creek Systems Inc. in an amount not to exceed $59,500 (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Fiscal Year 2018/19 Operating Budget, the Equipment Replacement Fund was
approved, providing funds for replacement of high mileage or older vehicles and equipment
that meet the replacement criteria contained in the Town Vehicle and Equipment Acquisition
and Replacement Policy (Attachment 2).
The Town amortizes its assets over their forecasted lives and sets funds aside on an annual
basis to ensure the Equipment Replacement Fund has sufficient resources for the timely
replacement of equipment. In addition, this funding structure allows for a smoothing of
operating expenditures and a more accurate reflection of the actual cost of operations.
The Police Department has utilized a mobile vehicle mounted LPR system for one parking
control vehicle since 2013. In May of 2018, the current LPR system began experiencing
technical software issues. The Town’s IT staff worked closely with the manufacturer’s support
team to remedy the technical issues; however, it was determined that based on the age of the
PAGE 2 OF 3
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT LICENSE
PLATE RECOGNITION (LPR) SYSTEM FROM TANNERY CREEK SYSTEMS INC. IN
AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $59,500
DATE: MAY 16, 2019
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2019\05-21-19\LPR System\Staff Report License Plate FINAL.docx 5/16/2019 1:41 PM SH
BACKGROUND (continued):
software and hardware limitations the equipment has reached the end of its useful life, thus
requiring replacement.
DISCUSSION:
Two Parking Control Officers are assigned to manage the parking program in the downtown and
permit parking areas five days a week, including holidays and special events. Actively managing
parking compliance ensures that parking utilization is maximized for visitors to the downtown,
by encouraging the appropriate use of timed and permitted spaces. In addition, Parking
Control Officers are called on to perform other duties, including filling in as crossing guards,
providing traffic control at accidents, etc.
With the loss of an automated parking control system, staff has reverted to manually chalking
tires, marking the starting times and location, writing down the ending time, and returning to
the route once the limited time has passed (90 minutes, two hours, etc.). The manual chalking
technique requires the employee to extend their arms as they pass each vehicle to chalk the
tire, placing strain on the shoulder, elbow, and wrist. This method is inefficient and detracts
from the breadth of services the Parking Control Officers are able to provide.
The LPR technology uses high-speed cameras to capture license plate images in public parking
areas. LPR software reads characters on the plate and appends date, time, and location for the
photograph. The LPR essentially streamlines what Police and Parking Control Officers have
been doing with their eyes for many years.
The LPR system tracks the time a vehicle has been in a specific location and alerts the Officer of
non-compliance on subsequent passes through the area. In addition, the LPR system compares
these plate detections against law enforcement databases containing alerts for stolen vehicles,
Amber alerts, missing persons, felon vehicles, and more. Any matches on a vehicle of interest
notifies the Officer using the system as well as Dispatch, allowing for the appropriate Police
Department follow up. It should be noted that for vehicles not flagged through the law
enforcement database, LPR data is anonymous and does not contain any personal information.
On December 1, 2017, the Police Department entered into an agreement with Turbo Data
Systems (TDS) to provide services and equipment related to the processing of parking citations
including a permit management system. The TDS system will integrate with Tannery Creek’s
LPR interface to quickly validate permitted vehicles and accurately issue citations for timed
parking non-compliance.
PAGE 3 OF 3
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER TO PURCHASE A REPLACEMENT LICENSE
PLATE RECOGNITION (LPR) SYSTEM FROM TANNERY CREEK SYSTEMS INC. IN
AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $59,500
DATE: MAY 16, 2019
S:\COUNCIL REPORTS\2019\05-21-19\LPR System\Staff Report License Plate FINAL.docx 5/16/2019 1:41 PM SH
DISCUSSION (continued):
Staff reviewed this purchase with the Town’s Parking consultant, Dixon Resources. The
consultant supports the purchase, noting that the ability to provide consistent parking
compliance is important to managing parking habits in town.
CONCLUSION:
Authorize the Town Manager to purchase a replacement license plate recognition (LPR) system
from Tannery Creek Systems Inc. in an amount not to exceed $59,500.
ALTERNATIVE:
Alternatively, the Town Council could direct staff to delay replacement of the equipment. Staff
does not recommend this alternative as the current LPR system is nonfunctional and has
reached its useful life. A lack of replacement will impact daily productivity in the Police
Department parking control operations.
COORDINATION:
This report was coordinated with the Police Department.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are sufficient funds available in the Equipment Replacement Fund to purchase this
equipment.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.
Attachments:
1. Proposal for LPR system.
2. Town Vehicle and Equipment Acquisition and Replacement Policy.