Paid parking – A sure bet not a gamble – An opinion

Submitted by

Tony Crawford

In my Opinion article of July 31st I expressed what I felt were the real
world issues facing the “Pay for Parking” proposal. A summary of this would
include the fact that this could bring in probably only $116,000 and could cost
us $41,000 should it fail. It will cost all tourists, as well as all non-City
residents, $5 per day, $30 per week, or $95 per year for the privilege to park at
the beaches within City limits. It will put every beach front business at risk of
reduced revenue or the potential of not being able to do business in our City.
It will create a parking issue along all beach streets that will all but prohibit
non-resident family and friends from parking on these streets to visit City
resident family and friends for fear ofbeing ticketed year round. This is not
to mention the installation ofmany many more NO PARKING signs. You
know that more signage is just what we need around the island to help keep its
quaint appearance and small town image intact! These are the downsides to
the issue. The upside is that we can bring in most likely $116,000. Or, as the
report also stated, we could suffer a potential loss of$41 ,000.

David Lotts’s reply to these concerns are well taken, but still the plan
has many holes in it. I understand that the committee was charged with a
difficult task and in no way is this a reflection on him or those who put their
time and energy into presenting this. Any arguments here are not meant to
“shoot the messenger” –just the message.

David pointed out that the Committee didn’t take into account the
economic impact it could have on beach businesses and that it would
admittedly place pressure on some, and others seem to be doing ok as they
have spaces they have paid for. I know one way that they may have gotten a
feel for what effect this plan would have on these businesses.—Simple, ASK
THEM. I have spoken to a few owners and they were not approached by the
committee to have their input included in the overall thought process that
developed the plan. Who better to ask what impact it would have on a
business other than the owners ofthese businesses.

True enough, some places such as Sliders have spaces they pay for, but
let us not forget, the owner ofSliders was one ofthose who spoke about the
potential loss ofrevenue and the effect the plan would have should it go into
effect. Ifmemory serves me correctly, the owner ofSandy ‘Bottoms once made
a gesture to give his keys to the Commission the last time this issue was brought up as he felt it would effect his business so much he would have to
close. This could be a death sentence for Sandy Bottoms. How many are
willing to pay an extra $5 to eat there or for that matter to play Putt Putt? Let’s
not forget the impact on those who live in Fernandina Cay with respect to
their guest parking. I, for one, would have to really like someone who invites
me knowing I had to pay and extra $5 to have a drink with them. Where do
Sandy Bottoms’ customers park without paying this fee? During the off
season, will non residents be willing to shell out the extra $5 to patronize
them? A rather big gamble I would think.

In my discussions with various members of  the Commission as well as
David, one oftheir points is that this has worked in other communities in
Florida. The two I have repeatedly heard are –Jacksonville Beach (population
21,500) surrounded by Jacksonville (population 827,000) and St Pete Beach
(population 9,300) surrounded by St Pete ( population 244,000) This gives
both those places a lot of folks to draw from. Let’s look at us. The population
of all Nassau County is 74,000. If we subtract City residents (approx 11,000),
it would give us 63,000 potential beach goers to draw from. I understand that
we get a share of folks from Georgia who come down, but just compare the
potential numbers between us and St Pete or Jacksonville. We are not a
volume town; as I have said, we are special and have to respect that.

Another talking point is that those who come over the bridge dirty our
beaches and don’t support local business, buying their ice and beach supplies
outside the City. I really don’t have an answer to this. I don’t know how many
families come here from Yulee, or Georgia and buy their ice before they cross
the bridge. I don’t know how many after going to the beach have a beer or a
burger at a local restaurant, and I don’t know how many go to local shops
downtown as part of their outing. I really don’t. The simple fact is neither
does anyone else. I admittedly don’t know, but does the committee? Does the
Commission? Simply put, these are just speculations folks have formed and
are using as talking points to justify this plan.

The Citation issue is still a thorn in many sides of those who live on the
effected streets. A complaint-driven system can be a real devil in disguise. A
law is a law. As well intended as it may be, should someone have a 4th of July
party, or a family function on a hot day, how is the officer going to know those
folks aren’t at the beach? How is another resident going to know this and not
issue a complaint, thus putting an officer in a position of having to issue citations? A very slippery slope to say the least.

I also wonder what minimal signage is. If you put a person in a position
to get a citation, I would think there would have to be a sign visible warning
them! This alone would bring many more unwanted signs to the island.

Many of us,  myself included, will complain about various issues we are
concerned about without offering a reasonable solution to the problem we are
complaining about. This doesn’t sit well with many on the Commission, and
who can blame them. They hear complaints day in and day out, and I would
guess for the most part very few ideas on how to solve some of these
problems.

I think there is a simple solution to this issue. In fact it is a sure bet,
sort ofa no lose way ofraising almost three times the $116,000 for our
beaches and do so year after year. It will not cost the City residents or the
non-City residents one cent. It will not hurt beach business. It will not affect
street parking and there will be no signage. And it will affect our tourist trade
in a much more positive way than the proposed $5 per day. This idea was
brought up at the very same meeting David presented the power point report.

I have spoken to our Chamber of Commerce and our Tourist
Development Council (TDC). Did you know that we have 1,701 rooms that
are available to rent in the City? I didn’t. Did you know that in 2011 we had
an occupancy rate of 56.4%? When you do the math, this translates to approx.
350,000 room rentals in the City each and every year. That’s a lot of rooms.

WHAT IF??? (remember all ideas -good and bad-start with a “what if’)
we put a $1.00 a night fee, tax, surcharge, beach usage fee (whatever name
they want to use) on each room rented each night. This would bring in
approx. $350,000 a year. Yes, you read that right—$350,000 each year.

I ran this by the TDC thinking that this was going to go over better than
Mom’s apple pie. Wow. I found out quickly they don’t like pie, not even sure
they like Mom. It seems the TDC feels it can only support something that
affects everyone and not just our tourists. I tried at length to explain that ifI
was a tourist I would be a much “happier” tourist ifI only had to pay $1.00 a
day rather than $5.00. In fact, should I decide to stay 7 nights I would be
ecstatic paying only $7.00 as opposed to $30. It would make me very happy

knowing I was saving $23 a week for the privilege ofusing the beach. I can’t
understand how paying $23 more a week could possibly be better for tourism.
Admittedly, I don’t understand a lot about how the tourism business works,
but this was the answer I repeatedly got from them. Maybe it makes sense
and paying more is better for tourism?

I have communicated this idea to all the City officials. It seems that in
human nature, not just government, most have the old knee-jerk reaction to
first find fault and just say –NO, THAT CAN’T BE DONE. What I asked
each ofthem to do is ask another question–HOW CAN THIS BE DONE?

The little bit of research I did convinced me that it can not be done by
the City. I did go a step further and called Janet Atkins’ office and, ifI was
told the correct information, such a extra fee could be imposed through the
county or even through legislation at the State level. The question is—-is it
worth the time and effort by the City to at least pursue this idea? It took a lot
of time and effort by Mr. Lott and those on the committee to look into the
beach parking plan and I give them all credit for their efforts. Would it be
worth it to look at this idea knowing that the end goal would be $350,000
each and every year and not effect business, residents, and having a far less
cost on the folks that support us—-the tourists. It’s just an idea.

I urge all who are concerned about this issue to call or email all City
Commissioners and let them know how you feel, pro or con. They will
appreciate your input now rather than after this is voted on.

Editor’s note: Tony Crawford is a 14 year resident of the city of Fernandina Beach.  This is his second opinion article for the Fernandina Observer regarding the paid parking discussion. Click here to view first article.  Click here to view David Lott’s opinion.

August 7, 2012 12:37 p.m.