Fernandina Observer logo>

Fernandina Beach paid parking generates $38,000 and nets $108,000 overall in 3 weeks

Posted
By Mike Lednovich

Fernandina Beach’s controversial downtown paid parking program generated more than $131,000 in gross revenue during its most recent reporting period, with about $108,000 ultimately remitted to the city after expenses, according to financial reports released Monday by City Hall.

Most of the revenue during the program’s startup period came from permits rather than hourly parking transactions.
 
According to the city’s invoice:
 

  • Digital permit revenue totaled $93,400

  • Hourly parking revenue generated $37,700.59

An invoice and supporting operating data from the city’s parking management contractor, One Parking, show $131,066.87 in total gross receipts from the program during its initial weeks in February. After deducting operating expenses and transaction fees, $108,372.44 was netted to the city.
 

The reports provide the first detailed financial breakdown of the program since paid parking launched Feb. 16 in Fernandina Beach’s historic downtown district.

Permit activity included:
 

  • 726 non-city resident annual permits sold at $124 each, generating $89,900.

  • 135 city resident permits for third or additional vehicles, producing $3,240 in revenue.

  • 7 additional permits in the LWPPA category, producing $168.

  • 4 non-resident monthly permits, generating $240.

 

City residents receive up to two free annual permits, which explains the large number of resident permits issued without revenue attached. The report lists 5,545 city resident annual permits issued during the startup period.

 

Hourly parking transactions produced $37,700.59 in revenue through the mobile payment system tied to downtown parking signage.

The data shows the following breakdown of parking durations:
 

  • 2,051 one-hour transactions

  • 3,130 two-hour transactions

  • 1,163 three-hour transactions

  • 382 four-hour transactions

Smaller numbers of longer stays were also recorded, including:
 

  • 109 five-hour sessions

  • 54 six-hour sessions

  • 28 seven-hour sessions

  • 17 eight-hour sessions

 

A total of 6,943 hourly parking transactions were recorded in the reporting period.

Several operating and transaction costs were deducted before the city receives its share of revenue.
 

Major expenses included:

 

  • Digital permit administration fees: $13,006

  • Hourly transaction convenience fees: $6,040.41

  • Credit card processing fees: $1,508.02

  • Customer response service contingency: $2,140

 

Total variable and fixed operating costs totaled $22,694.43.

After those expenses were deducted, the net revenue owed to the city was $108,372.44, according to the invoice.
 

Sales taxes associated with hourly parking transactions are to be remitted separately by the city.

Paid parking in downtown Fernandina Beach began Feb. 16 after months of debate at City Hall.
 

The program covers much of the historic downtown area around Centre Street and the waterfront, where visitors must pay hourly to park, while residents and workers can obtain permits.

City officials have said the program was designed to:
 

  • Generate revenue to pay for historic downtown improvements

  • Improve parking turnover in high-demand areas

  • Encourage the use of peripheral parking lots

Early data previously released by the city showed more than $100,000 in revenue generated during the first week of permit sales and hourly parking activity, driven largely by permit purchases.
 

The paid parking program remains one of the most contentious issues in Fernandina Beach.

Opponents organized a citizens group seeking to repeal the ordinance that authorized paid parking and have argued the system discourages residents and visitors from coming downtown. A vote on paid parking is slated for Aug. 18.
 

One important economic barometer is paid parking's impact on downtown businesses. There are no published reports to date to gauge its effect.

The paid parking program has also led to a citizens-backed recall effort of two city commissioners — Genece Minshew and Tim Poynter — who voted for the program.
 

Supporters on the City Commission have said the program addresses long-standing complaints about downtown parking shortages and shifts part of the cost of maintaining the historic district’s infrastructure to visitors.

The financial reports released by the city provide the first detailed accounting of the system’s revenues and expenses as the program continues to roll out.

Comments

7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • DouglasM

    Annualizing the 3 weeks of parking revenue will get you just over 650K for a year. Who knows where the "one shot" permit ends up.....200-300K maybe? Tracking for about 1M in revenue? Then you take out about 300K in annualized expenses. Don't forget to pay the State their 7% cut in sales tax!!

    Good grief! Anybody getting different math?

    If we don't vote this down in August, the Commission will increase fees to reach their spending goals. They want 2M and they will be way short, Increases will follow.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

  • GDecker

    The $2M will come from somewhere--if pay-to-park ends, your property tax will go up. That will mean a 10% increase--be careful what you wish for, This commission is determined to get that $2M.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

  • RichardTimm

    Mike ... Are our downtown retailers seeing a pattern in lost revenue, year over year, since paid parking has been deployed? A short-term difference might be attributed to influences other than paid parking, but this would be good to track because if the long-term trend shows a loss, it would be hard to pin it on something else.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

  • Kelprod

    The revenue is not worth the ill will and contention being felt throughout the community. What is the cost of having a divided, non-harmonious, town? The community will be far better off when it is again unified and pulling in the same direction. This paid parking needs to go away.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

  • Douglas69

    Kelprod..if the island were 1 municipal level of government and not 2, u might have a point. I for one am sick and tired of NON CITY PROPERTY OWNERS, getting a free ride at expense of city tax payers. Enough is enough. Get your free downtown parking pass if you're eligible or pay to play.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

  • FunnyGirl4615

    Would very much like to hear what the membership from the Main Street and Chamber have to say about all of this. Could be a good source of information as to how it is affecting local businesses. We need to continue to track their information. Remember - up to this point, paid parking has not been enforced. We should ask for information pre parking, during the grace period and then continue to monitor as enforcement is begun.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

  • Editor

    For Richard Timm: with the economy unstable, any downtown in retail spending will be hard to directly 100% attribute to the implementation of paid parking downtown. There's lots of smart people in town who could come up with a solid methodology for measuring the impact, but I haven't heard of anyone who is taking this on.

    Tuesday, March 10 Report this

Other items that may interest you

17 restaurants passed the inspection at the first …

City waterfront board advances harbor plan as costs of …

What could Fernandina’s waterfront look like? New …

Atlantic Avenue project parking loss draws pushback as …

© Copyright 2026 Fernandina Observer
Contributions or gifts to the Fernandina Observer are tax-deductible.
Our federal EIN is 88-2158428.
Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions