FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. — In Flagler Beach, city leaders are discussing ways to develop a system of paid parking for non-residents.
The city is putting out a request for qualifications for parking operations and enforcement services on June 1, with a deadline for firms to submit on July 2.
City leaders said that they welcome this idea of paid parking and they’re looking forward to seeing who’s interested.
Officials want to be clear though they are just moving forward with gathering information, and have not approved any paid parking initiative.
“It would be a good idea to have paid parking in some areas with residents having passes, it would be just paid by our neighbors and visitors. And I think it’s great that it’s finally up for discussion,” commissioner Scott Spradley said at the May 14 Flagler Beach city commission meeting. “Now it’s time for it to come back up and look at these solutions.”
He knows the ins and outs of parking woes in the city.
In 2013, a parking workshop was conducted and in April 2015, the city of Flagler Beach Ad Hoc Parking Committee released a final report and recommendation on parking.
At the time, data said the growth in the number of visitors to the beach has far out-paced population growth.
This, in addition to new restaurants, nightlife venues, busy events and holiday seasons has kept the conversation about parking capacity going.
“Parking in Flagler Beach has been limited from the beginning of the formation of the city,” Spradley said. “It seems like as businesses have grown and as our residents’ units have expanded north and south, we still have the same amount of parking that we had many years ago, which is still insufficient to cover our daily needs.”
Spradley says conversations surrounding paid parking have always been ongoing.
One option, at one time, was meters, but Spradley says options these days have evolved.
“These days, the technology has completely changed, which makes it more palatable because there’s probably less expensive (ways) than having to continually replace meters, which have a short life,” Spradley said.
The request for qualifications details how firms interested should demonstrate parking operations and customer service, parking enforcement, technology integration and revenue management.
“We’re in the study phase, but it’s anticipated that if there is paid parking, residents of Flagler Beach would get a pass so that they would not have to pay to park in their own town, and this the revenue would really be coming from our visitors,” Spradley said.
With the Flagler Beach pier construction ongoing, parking is hard to come by. A similar issue was seen back during construction of the Compass by Margaritaville hotel, which opened last year.
For Dawn Romero, owner of Romero’s Tuscany By The Sea, her restaurant has a front row seat to pier construction.
“Parking has always been challenging here in Flagler Beach, but as we grow as a county and as of the community, it’s become even more challenging over the last year or two,” Romero said.
She says she stands behind the city on this paid parking endeavor as long as solutions can be found on questions she has.
“I know other local business owners. There are many questions with where’s our staff going to park? Because many of them do come over the bridge from, you know, the Palm Coast or the Ormond Beach area to come to work here, Flagler Beach,” Romero said. “That is a concern of ours, where are they going to park? And why should they have to pay to park if they are servicing the Flagler Beach area.”
Flagler Beach City Commissioner James Sherman released a statement to Spectrum News 13 in support of the paid parking for non-Flagler Beach Residents.
“I am also supportive of creating a pass program for Flagler County residents, where they could register their vehicles through the parking provider and pay an annual fee.
What people have to understand is that Flagler Beach is a full-service city, and the costs associated with maintaining our beachside infrastructure fall heavily on the taxpayers of Flagler Beach. Services such as garbage collection at beach approaches, public safety, maintenance, and other operational expenses are funded primarily by our residents.
One argument you may hear is that Palm Coast residents already pay county taxes. While that is true, the level of county support directed toward Flagler Beach and its beaches is limited at best, while the impact from visitors continues to grow. This discussion is ultimately about creating a fairer balance between the use of our city’s resources and who helps pay to maintain them.”
An evaluation committee will give presentations in August and make a consideration in September.
The city says the cost to retain a parking management consultant will be determined as part of the review and selection process.
Documents related to this reporting can be read in the PDF below:
