FBCC considering limited paid beach parking

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter - News Analyst

September 26, 2018 3:20 p.m.

During a sparsely attended public workshop on beach parking on September 25, 2018, Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) mostly listened as City Manager Dale Martin explained his recommendation that the city implement paid parking during peak beach season at two city beach park locations:  Main Beach and Seaside Park.

The recommendation follows more than 8 years of study by multiple city officials and committees. As commissioners stressed, the reason for doing this is to generate revenue to reinvest in maintenance and repair of beach infrastructure.  Without such a revenue stream, these costs will be paid by property owners via ad valorem taxes.

The city currently has approximately 900 beach parking places at city lots and on the beach itself at Sadler Road.  The proposal would cover only 340 of those spaces (2 of the city’s 13 beach parking lots) between April 1 and September 30 of each year.

Consultants estimate that by adopting the rate structure recommended in the charts below, the city would take in $450,000 to $550,000 during a 6-mnth period.

Commissioners and City Manager Martin stressed that all revenue collected would be segregated from the General Fund and used only for beach maintenance and improvements. Currently, the Tourist Development Council (TDC) pays for beach trash removal, and that would continue.  But repairing beach accesses – the most recent cost was $400,000 to repair two – and maintaining other infrastructure, such as restrooms, boardwalks, gazebos, etc. would be paid out of parking revenues.

Vice Mayor Len Kreger reminded commissioners and audience members that Fernandina boasts one of the five best renourished beaches in the country, with renourishment costs paid almost entirely by the U.S. Navy, the federal government and the state.  Use of the beach will always be open and free to everyone.

Commissioners also noted that this recommendation is not about the number of spaces available, but about revenue.  Commissioner Chip Ross noted that the Main Beach lot at Dolphin Street is rarely filled.

Both Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach are on the verge of implementing a similar system, with Jacksonville Beach soon to follow.  Should Fernandina Beach opt to charge for limited beach parking, it would leave only St. Simons between Hilton Head, SC and St. Augustine, FL as a community with no paid parking.

How would we do it?

Thanks to advances in technology, eight parking kiosks at the two locations would be stand alone, solar powered units that could be removed during storms or off season.  Bluetooth technology would allow drive-by enforcement with license plate readers.  Citations could be printed from a hand held printer. Such systems have been used successfully in other beach communities throughout Florida and the nation.  They stand up to weather conditions and require little maintenance after installation.

Start-up costs are estimated at $200,000 to cover purchase and installation of 8 kiosks and software. Annual maintenance costs for the recommended units are estimated at $25,000 annually.

The keys to an effective paid parking system are enforcement and flexibility.  In other communities, paid parking lots are patrolled as often as hourly.  City police or Beach Rangers would be charged with this duty.  Because of the data collected by the system, adjustments in patrol schedules could be made easily depending on time or day of the week. The software provides many options to allow for exceptions and/or use of vouchers for restaurant patrons who also use the beach parking lots.

Citizen concerns

Two city residents raised concerns that such a system could push parking from the targeted lots into the smaller lots along Fletcher that are mainly used by beach neighborhoods and that costs need to be fully loaded into the project so that both the city and the residents have a more realistic understanding of costs and benefits.

Commission discussion

While most commissioners seemed reconciled to such a system as a way to fund vitally needed beach maintenance and infrastructure without overburdening property owners via taxes, questions remained.  Should city residents pay as well as tourists and day-trippers?  Should handicapped beachgoers be charged to use the only lots with handicapped access to the beach? How would beach cleanup volunteers or turtle watch people be handled?  What would the impact be on tourism and beach businesses?

Two of the consultants who served on the Beach Parking Committee, Mark Schleier of NuPark and Mark Rimmer of RTA Consulting, Inc., were also at the workshop and responded to commissioner questions.

Commissioner Chip Ross grilled Rimmer about assumptions underlying revenue projections.  Ross said that he has not heard from any citizen who supports paid beach parking.

Commissioner Phil Chapman said that the community is selling itself short by not currently charging for beach parking.  He noted the parking charges at Orlando attractions, noting that our charges would be much lower.  He encouraged citizens to email commissioners with their thoughts.  However, he asked that if they opposed the plan, they inform commissioners how much they are willing to have their taxes raised in order to pay for beach maintenance.

Jeremiah Glisson, city maintenance manager and a member of the committee making the recommendation for paid beach parking said, “There is no such thing as ‘free parking.’ Someone must pay.”

The FBCC will formally deal with the recommendation at their October 16, 2018 Regular Meeting.

The recorded workshop may be viewed on the city's website at http://fernandinabeachfl.swagit.com/play/09262018-1329.

9-27-18 UPDATE:  Following publication of this article, City Manager Dale Martin replied to questions from this reporter regarding composition of the Beach Parking Committe.  His response is provided below:

Yes, the Committee unanimously recommended what I ultimately recommended. In fact, when the initial opposition to the Beach Committee (and beach parking) coalesced, I specifically asked the Committee if we should simply fold or should we press on. The group unhesitatingly indicated that because of the growing costs and the alternative revenue, we must proceed.

The Committee included Jeremiah Glisson (who nominated Vice Mayor Kreger), Rex Lester (who nominated Lowell Hall ...), Fino Murallo (who nominated Haines Cavender) and Chief Hurley (who nominated Walt Sturges and Bob Keller).

The hardware company is Parkeon (not in attendance). The management and enforcement software company is NuPark. The parking revenue consultants are RTA Consulting and SS Plus (not in attendance).

Editor's Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne's many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.