News	April 17, 08

Parking Politics

Standard Parking loses nine-year contract with the city because of Frank Pintado’s heavy involvement in Miami Beach politics

By Ben Torter

The questionable ethics of local political operative Frank Pintado have swung around and knocked the parking company he represents out of town after a nine-year run.

Imperial Parking, also known as Impark, beat Pintado’s Standard Parking by a 6-1 Miami Beach Commission vote for the $3.2 million contract to supply attendants to city-owned parking garages. Commissioner Jerry Libbin cast the one dissenting vote.

Impark was chosen after an exhaustive bid process reviewed by a seven-member committee chaired by board of adjustment member and former commission candidate Alex Annunziato.

Deputy City Attorney Raul Aguila determined that Standard Parking’s last-minute bid protest filed Tuesday afternoon had no merit, even though Standard’s bid was $700,000 cheaper than Imperial’s.

“There are other criteria besides price, which include past performance,” Aguila said.

Although Imperial Parking’s bid was slightly more expensive, it is still saving the city 2 percent over the current Standard Parking contract.

Commissioner Jonah Wolfson proposed opening up the bid for Standard’s contract shortly after he was elected to the commission in November because of Pintado’s heavy involvement in last year’s commission race.  Pintado is widely thought to have been behind the now infamous Teletubby flyer that was seen as racially and sexually degrading of three of the candidates. And an e-mail that appeared to have originated from Pintado claiming to be an official city poll showing three candidates he endorsed in the lead was sent to the county ethics commission.

Imperial Parking, headquartered in Canada, is the third-largest parking company in North America, with more than 1,900 locations. The company promised to interview and hire as many of Standard’s employees as possible to save jobs.

Just before the commission voted for the contract, Commissioner Saul Gross expressed his approval of the whole bid process.

“I want to commend Commissioner Wolfson for putting this on the agenda initially,” Gross said. “Taxpayers are a winner no matter what the outcome.”

Comments? E-mail ben@miamisunpost.com