City adds third Paid Parking Vendor

The city of Fernandina Beach has added a third paid parking management company to be under consideration by the city commission as the operator for the program if approved. Last week, an evaluation committee selected two companies to make presentations before the city commission. However, after conferring with the city attorney pro tem, Deputy City Manager Jeremiah Glisson convened the committee Monday to include One Parking Inc. of West Palm Beach, along with SP+ of Chicago, Illinois, and Elite Parking Services of Jacksonville, Florida to present paid parking proposals at an upcoming city commission meeting in July or early August.

Committee members used a score sheet to rate the seven submittals received by the city. SP+ earned the highest committee average score of 398 and Elite Parking was third with 388. One Parking Inc. was second at 392, but didn't make the cut.

After talking with acting City Attorney Harrison Poole, Glisson was advised to include One Parking Inc.

"The city attorney pro tem's advice for the path to move forward was to get the number two company for consideration because without that there's a potential for a bid protest that could occur," Glisson explained.

The five-member evaluation committee included Glisson, Airport Manager Nathan Coyle, Parks and Recreation Director Scott Mikelson, Downtown District Manager Lisa Finkelstein and Police Captain David Bishop.

The paid parking proposals have not been made public despite the city conducting open meetings to select the finalists. Under state statutes, RFP submissions are not public until 30 days after they are received.

The committee's selection process prioritized each company's ability to deliver on performance metrics, budget transparency, and alignment with the city's needs. The seven proposals were assessed on criteria including:

• Revenue-sharing vs. expense-based models

• Resident vs. non-resident rate differentiation

• Onboarding and implementation strategy

• Use of technology (e.g., license plate readers, mobile ticketing)

• Customer service and enforcement policies

A town hall meeting on the paid parking proposal is scheduled today at 5 p.m. The first hour will be devoted to what should replace Brett's Waterway Cafe once the restaurant is demolished and the second hour at 6 p.m. will focus on paid parking in historic downtown.

The move toward paid parking has been on a fast track since the city commission conducted a workshop last April to consider potential revenue streams. Commissioners agree that paid parking should focus on improving parking space turnover, managing limited downtown space, and generating funds for improving infrastructure.

City staff have been directed to coordinate with One Parking Inc., SP+ and Elite Parking to schedule their vendor presentations at the next available city commission meeting. The commission will likely decide whether to go forward with paid parking following discussion about the presentations.

Vendor	Score	Highlights
SP Plus	398	Highest revenue, expense-only model, wide city experience
One Parking	392	60+ years of municipal experience, phased rollout
Elite Parking	388	Strong tech stack, resident-friendly features, revenue share