City to contract with ParkMobile app
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — The good ol’ days of free parking in the three city-owned lots in the Bay Avenue district are almost over.
City Council passed an ordinance Thursday, April 23, approving a contract with ParkMobile to operate the lots via its smartphone app.
According to the ordinance, the city saw an opportunity to earn revenue and determined the fees “would not be detrimental to the businesses, recreational uses or neighborhoods.”
City Council President Janice Johnston said the city’s Parking Committee decided it could be “a great source of revenue.”
“Every other resort town you go to charges for parking. I feel like it’s a missed opportunity for us,” Johnston said, noting that there is no cost to the city and no obligation to continue past the one-year commitment.
The lots are located at Annie Avenue near the Clam Bar, across Bay Avenue from the Gateway Playhouse and across Higbee Avenue from the theater.
Johnston said there are 113 spots among the three lots, which are all paved and lined.
“I think it’s going to be good for business that there will be parking available for patrons,” Johnston said. “Any event that’s going on we will fill them up.”
City Administrator Jason Frost said ParkMobile has an analytical component that allows the city to track usage and “quantify how many people are visiting the Bay Avenue district.”
As it is now, people could park all day, possibly all week or longer, and no one would be the wiser.
“There was no mechanism to track who was parking,” Frost said.
He said creating a parking lot is usually capital-intensive, in that the city would have to purchase meters, pay for installation and pay someone to collect the money. But the agreement with ParkMobile allows the city to earn revenue without that “capital-intensive barrier to entry,” he said.
“We don’t pay ParkMobile, the user pays ParkMobile and (it) takes a share of each transaction,” Frost said. “If it doesn’t work out, we didn’t just spend $25,000 on parking meters.”
The city also has total control of the spots and can set the hourly cost or even turn them off and on. Johnston said that way theater patrons, for instance, would be able to park free during performances.
The city hosts many events such as Bayfest, weekly beach concerts and others in the historic district, so officials believe the city can earn a significant amount of revenue. Bayfrest annually draws hundreds or even thousands of people to the historic district, although this is the second year it has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnston said the committee generated some numbers based on the company’s estimates, and with the minimum number of hours at the minimum price per hour, cut to 25 percent, the city could earn $60,000.
The ordinance also allows for the sale of parking permits, which are required to park between the hours of 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. April 15 to Oct. 31. The hourly rate will be $1. Violators are subject to a fine of $51 or imprisonment for as long as 15 days.
Johnston said it would take about 60 days to get the paid parking up and running.
The city also is installing a gate at its boat ramps to keep scofflaws from using it without a permit. The automated gates will eliminate the need for a ramp attendant, Frost said.
Resolution 84 authorizes an agreement with TAPCO to provide, construct and install two automated boat ramp gates.
The cost includes $116,810 for equipment, $8,807 for civil infrastructure and $18,359 for installation for a total contract of $143,976.
Frost said the city did not hire boat ramp attendants last year amid restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“At the time, we came up with a plan that going forward we were going to have automated gates,” Frost said.
