The Fort Walton Beach City Council approved a contract with Premium Parking to manage the City Hall parking lot during its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, addressing long-standing issues of parking misuse and pedestrian safety.
- The council authorized City Manager Jeff Peters to enter into an agreement with Premium Parking for parking management services at the 8.87-acre City Hall complex located at 107 Miracle Strip Parkway SW. The site currently houses the City Hall Complex, Civic Auditorium, and City Hall Athletic Complex.
This decision comes after two to three years of discussions between City Council and staff regarding parking at City Hall. The initial concerns weren’t about implementing paid parking, but rather addressing issues with nearby businesses using the city hall parking for overflow and employee parking. Safety concerns also arose, with people running across Highway 98 at various points.
To address the safety issue, the city installed a crosswalk, but without a traffic light. According to the city, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will not allow traffic on Highway 98 to be stopped or slowed down, and an overpass is not feasible.
Under the new agreement, Premium Parking will provide 24/7 parking management services, including digital branding, multiple payment options, and parking compliance. Importantly, those conducting business at City Hall or attending sporting events will not be charged for parking.
The city will set parking rates, with initial proposals ranging from the following:
- 2 Hrs $8.00
- 4 Hrs $10.00
- 6 Hrs $12.00
- 12 Hrs – $15.00
- 24 Hrs – $18.00
Premium Parking estimates an annual total net revenue of approximately $137,400, to be split 50-50 with the city. This revenue share would allow Premium Parking to staff a full-time parking ambassador/compliance agent to handle parking management and enforcement, according to the city.
During the council discussion, members debated the origins of the parking management initiative and its potential impact on local businesses and employees. Councilman Travis Smith clarified the multiple purposes of the initiative.
“I think it serves multiple purposes,” Smith said. “It can resolve some issues with private individuals believing that private businesses were using public property for private gain. I think it can also resolve some issues with businesses potentially using this as employee parking, which it’s not.”
Councilman John Mead emphasized that the plan would ensure availability of parking spaces for city business. “These folks are going to make sure that there are spaces dedicated for city business,” Mead stated.
- The council also approved a subsequent motion, proposed by Councilman Smith, to allocate the city’s share of parking revenue towards improvements at the City Hall property.
City staff will work with the city attorney to finalize contract details with Premium Parking before implementation. The agreement includes provisions for Premium Parking to supply the first $4,000 of equipment costs, amortized over five years.
The city hopes to have the new paid parking up and running around October.
5 Responses
I’m in favor of dissuading people from playing Frogger with Hwy 98. I think this will maybe help lessen the amount of people running across to the south side. My concern is events at the civic auditorium. Will attendees have to pay to go to shows at the auditorium or will they be exempt?
I promise nobody enjoys playing frogger on 98, but what’s paying to park going to do to fix that? People are either going to pay and run across the road or a bunch of local businesses are going to go under. I’m not worried about your shows, I’m worried about all of the people who will be out of jobs and can’t feed their families.
I promise nobody enjoys playing frogger on 98, but what is paying to park going to fix? People are either going to pay and continue to run across the street or a bunch of local businesses are going to go under. I’m not worried about your shows, I’m worried about all of the people who will be out of work and won’t be able to feed their families.
Taxing people is always the government’s answer to everything….money…money..money.
What about civic auditorium parking for shows? I’ve already spent $60 for show tickets for 2, shows last more than 2 hours($8) I have to pay for 4 hours($12) so now it’s costing me $72 for an Erving out supporting my Community Arts Programs.
Why not just Paid Parking Meters. That’s what they do in Pensacola. Should have made that little park across street of city hall a parking lot for businesses on that side.
Pontoon boat rides? They should have a large parking lot for pickup area instead of at there rental location.
Sports complex. You knew how big it was going to be when you built it should not have sold property around it. You knew it was going to hold events for out of town teams who have to now pay for parking! Build another parking lot!
As far as the convention center on the island it was a poor plan from the start. Not community friendly.
I have lived her since 1965 so I’m not a recent implant. I have just seen the city making some bad decisions for the last few years.
Oh! Hope someone comes during the expected Hurricane rainfall ( yeah make sure it’s raining)and looks at flooding at “Coral Creek” in Frank Brown Community housing on Robinwood, and the swamp. the end of Cowrie and Rose Marie(two houses known for flooding and snakes) the bridge on Coral. This has always been known as just a storm / waste water runoff. You could have used that $600,000. Grant for something else. Unusable dog park at Liza Jackson because of flooding.
These are just my opinions.