There have been 10,064 vehicles towed in Gainesville in last 12 months by two companies.

Cries of excessive roam towing seem to resurface every few years.

Whether it is due to a new round of college students realizing where they can’t park or a growing problem of developments with too few supporting parking spaces, roam towing is one of the city’s long, unresolved dilemmas.

“It’s a real issue we have in our community,” said City Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos.

Roam towing, which is seeking and removing illegally parked vehicles from private property, is nothing unique to Gainesville. Cities around the state experience the same issue.

Oftentimes, businesses work with tow companies to keep a steady flow of rotating vehicles within lots.

But some argue tow companies in Gainesville go too far.

“It’s more predatory,” Hayes-Santos said.

There have been 10,064 vehicles towed in Gainesville in the last 12 months by two roam towing companies, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

Ultimate Towing is responsible for 5,265 of those tows. Superior Towing conducted the other 4,799 tows. Additionally, in 2016, the city handed out 12,094 parking fines.

Management from Superior Towing didn’t respond to requests to comment for this article.

“We get made out to be the bad guys, but the real bad guys are the people who disrespect private property rights,” said Ultimate Towing owner Stephen O’Grady.

“The only person responsible for a vehicle being towed is the person driving the vehicle,” O’Grady said. “This town would grind to a halt if it were not for my company and Superior Towing and the services we provide.”

The local roam towing companies have a reputation of scooping up vehicles within minutes of being illegally parked. Some even hire workers — or "spotters" — to post up in condensed areas, watch for violators and quickly call in tow trucks, without offering a warning to patrons.

The term “spotter” carries a negative meaning, O’Grady said, but it’s how his company finds many violators and keeps up with some of the city’s requirements.

“We’re no more or no less a spotter than an officer that observes someone speeding and radioes another officer to pull them over,” O’Grady said. “It’s the same thing."

O’Grady believes the matter of time that someone is parked illegally is irrelevant. He admits to being fined three times in the last year for going past his meter time and has been towed by the very company he now owns.

“There is no grace period,” he said.

In many facets, Ultimate Towing and Superior Towing are regulated by the city and the Gainesville Police Department. The city has a say in the companies’ uniforms, hours of operations, records and the hiring of employees.

Mayor Lauren Poe said he remembers the city commission updating its towing ordinance a few years back, giving patrons more protections.

But the complaints continue.

“It’s certainly something I’m willing to take another look at,” Poe said.

Hayes-Santos said most towing complaints come from the Northwest 16th Street region in Midtown and the Sun Center in downtown Gainesville.

O’Grady said his company tows the most cars from a popular area near the University of Florida, which has just 34 regular parking spaces. The area described is likely along West University Avenue in the Northwest 16th and 17th street blocks, although O’Grady would not say for the protection of his business clients.

Signs don’t always help, he said, but their placement is important. There are 19 signs warning drivers not to park in certain areas over there, he added, and people still do it.

In 2011, GPD revoked Ultimate Towing’s permit for trespass towing for six months, saying it illegally removed vehicles from an apartment complex several times in the fall of 2009.

O’Grady says his company has played by the rules since he took ownership almost four years ago and wants to work with the city to improve its parking issues.

Still, he often avoids his Gainesville office due to receiving an influx of death and bomb threats.

“I’ve been shot at twice, choked, urinated on, spit on, hit in the face with a beer bottle, all within a 18-month period,” O’Grady said. "People don't realize the risk this business entails."

The mayor and Hayes-Santos plan to meet on April 21 to discuss towing in Gainesville and hope to find areas to improve the city’s ordinance, which may mean more regulations for tow companies.

Hayes-Santos said he would like to ensure signage placement improves and that spotters can’t be used.

“If they don’t follow the rules … they’ll lose their right to tow,” he said.

Contact reporter Andrew Caplan at andrew.caplan@gvillesun.com or on Twitter @AACaplan.