The Hermosa Beach City Council authorized staff Dec. 9 to purchase multi-space parking meters from Flowbird America under a cooperative purchasing agreement not to exceed $400,000, as part of CIP 113. Staff said switching to Flowbird could save the city roughly $24,000 annually in transaction fees in beach lots compared with the existing vendor, amortizing to significant savings over the meters’ 10-year life.

The proposed Phase 1 work would replace 170 single-space meters on Pier Avenue and Lot D with 11 multi-space meters, and citywide reduce 1,613 single-space meters to 104 multi-space meters in subsequent phases. Flowbird’s CWT4 multi-space meters would allow license-plate entry, tap payment, and integration with mobile apps; staff recommended the purchase and appropriation of funds to cover the beach-lot meters.

Separately earlier in the meeting council debated motions to remove two informational items from the agenda: 17b (residential parking permit program) and 17f (vehicles in EV spaces). After confusion about which item was on the floor, council revoted on item 17b and carried the motion: yes votes from Francois, Keegan and Mayor Seaman; no votes from Jackson and DeToy. Council members raising concerns warned the removal might expose the residential parking program to Coastal Commission scrutiny if priority protections are weakened.

Council approved the Flowbird purchase authority and associated appropriations for the CIP; staff said further procurement details and operational rollout will follow.