The City will arrive at a critical juncture in the next ten days: that because parties interested in pursuing a lease of the City's parking facilities have until 5 PM on March 19^th to reply to the Request for Qualifications proposal.  The lease (or concession, as it is described in the RFQ) will "grant certain operating management, and revenue collection rights for a certain period of time in exchange for an upfront, lump sum payment".

That lump sum payment is expected to be used to pay off the Parking Authority's debt and the remainder for helping the City's ailing pension funds.  At least $200 million would be needed to bring the funds to a level of health necessary to avoid a state takeover of the pensions.

So what exactly is to be included in the lease?

• 8,987 spaces in 11 garages and 1 attended lot in Downtown, Oakland, and Shadyside
• 6,931 spaces served by on street meters
• 1,776 spaces in metered surface lots

All in all, some 17,694 spaces are up for grabs, but the RFQ points out that "certain facilities, assets, and elements may be added or removed during the process and will be further detailed in the subsequent RFP".  Much of that continues to play out as Council debates as to how the deal will be structured.