Jill Schramm/MDN Vehicles park in the short-term parking at the Minot airport Wednesday.

Minot International Airport will be getting a new parking manager and new parking rates.

The Minot City Council on Monday approved a contract with LAZ Parking, which will replace REEF Parking Management June 1. The airport sought proposals earlier this year as it plans to transition to a concession-based parking management operation from a management-fee based operation, which will enable it to garner a greater share of the revenue.

The management-fee model provides for the airport to pay the manager a monthly fee and retain the rest of the revenue. In the concession model, the manager pays the airport a commission on the revenue it collects.

The projected revenue for 2022 is $1.6 million, an increase from $900,277 in 2020. Nearly $1.29 million is projected for 2021.

“The non-aeronautical revenue generated by parking at the airport is our number one non-aeronautical revenue generation source,” Airport Director Rick Feltner said. “So being able to effectively manage that revenue source is very important.”

LAZ was selected as parking manager from five companies that submitted proposals. In business for 40 years, it is the second largest parking operator in the United States and became the largest in the world after partnering with a French company. It has about 3,000 locations and 13,000 employees in the United States.

The current parking and revenue control system also has exceeded its useful life, and updated technology will be installed. LAZ representatives said the new technology will allow people to pre-pay for parking on a website or from their phones. People also can pre-pay using a QR code in the terminal before heading to their vehicles. Individuals who pre-pay receive a barcode they can scan at the exit. A customer care center is staffed 24/7 to address any problems.

The new equipment is expected to cost $358,194 and will be funded with federal CARES Act money awarded to the airport in 2020.

With new equipment will come simplified parking rates with fewer price points. No longer will there be free parking for the first 30 minutes, but the daily rate won’t change.

New short-term rates as of June 1 are:

– 0-30 minutes, $1

– one hour to three hours, $5

– four to six hours, $8

– Daily, $14.

New long-term rates as of June 1 are:

– Daily maximum, $12

– Weekly maximum, $72

– Airline crew, monthly, $30

The council also selected Short Elliot Hendrickson as the airport’s professional consultant for architecture, engineering, planning and environment services for the next five years. The firm will replace Ulteig Engineers after June 30.

The council previously approved using the recruitment services of ADK Consulting and Executive Search to assist in finding a new airport director. Feltner retires June 3. ADK submitted a proposal of $38,900 plus travel expense of about $2,000 to conduct the search. The recruitment process is expected to continue to the end of July or early August.