Vice Mayor Blasts City Staff Over Paid Parking Plan

Fernandina Beach Vice Mayor Darron Ayscue didn't mince words regarding city staff and plans to select an outside vendor next Tuesday for a proposed paid parking program in historic downtown.

In a terse one paragraph Facebook comment Friday, Ayscue wrote that: "literally no one in City Hall knows what’s going on” in regard to plans to implement paid parking in a core eight-block area of downtown.

In responding to support of the paid parking by resident Sheila Cocchi, Ayscue was highly critical of city staff's handling of the initiative.

“Spin it however you want,” Ayscue wrote. “Staff can’t even answer basic questions on this entire issue. They can’t even agree that going with a vendor while a petition to eliminate paid parking is pending is even legal. Nor can we even get confirmation that using paid parking revenue is legal without hard numbers. There is no plan. I’m here to state that unequivocally."

His remarks come just days before the city commission's meeting on Tuesday, where they will choose a vendor to manage the paid parking program, pending commission approval. After a vendor is chosen, the city will negotiate a contract with them, which will also need city commission approval to proceed with implementing charges for parking in the prime downtown spaces.

Ayscue weighed in on a post by Paul Lore - an anti-paid parking petition organizer - on the Facebook page Fernandina Beach - Citizens Against Paid Beach and Downtown Parking.

Meanwhile, a petition drive to have the paid parking issue placed as a voter referendum has kicked off with organizers setting up a booth at Saturday's Farmer's Market to collect the necessary signatures.

As the clock ticks toward Tuesday’s meeting, both sides of the debate — supporters seeking a new funding stream and opponents pressing for a public vote — are racing to make their case.

Under the city charter, the city is acting within its legal authority to move forward with vendor selection and negotiations for paid parking.

However, if citizens launch a properly structured initiative petition in time, gathering at least the required number of validated signatures the city commission must pause or defer final action until the matter is put to voters. And, once voters decide via referendum, their decision becomes binding.

Ayscue's claim regarding the legality of the paid parking plan and how revenues could be spent are grounded in the city charter.

If there’s uncertainty about whether a policy is lawful — like how parking revenue can be spent — commissioners can formally request a written legal opinion from the city attorney.

That opinion then becomes part of the public record and protects the city from claims of acting outside the law. To date, no legal opinion has been issued.

City Manager Sarah Campbell also said that potential paid parking revenues are not included in the pending for approval 2025-26 city budget which means what projects would be funded with the money are not specificized.

The City Commission at their July 15 workshop considered the submittals from Elite Parking Services, Inc., One Parking Inc., and SP+ Parking. Commissioners will select one of the vendors and instruct staff to begin putting together a contract for management services.