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Welcome to the Longview.
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This is where we expand on news, views, what-ifs, and what Pensacola could be for future generations.
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Take a seat and enjoy the Longview.
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Hi, thanks for joining us.
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I'm Shannon Nickinson, the PIO for the City of Pensacola.
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And it is not Mayor DC Reeves with me today.
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I have an extra special guest.
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I have Lisa Dees, the Executive Director of Parking and Constituent Services for the City of Pensacola.
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She is the parking guru, the parking czar, and the 311 expert in our building.
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And we're grateful to have you here.
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Thank you so much.
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Thank you for having me.
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Of course.
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Well, um, it's a very special occasion for you to be with us today because we are going to talk about everyone's favorite subject.
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Which is parking.
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As everyone may know, we had a suspension, temporary suspension of paid parking for parts of downtown that the city controls.
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Correct.
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Um, for on the occasion of the Palafox project.
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Yes, we were supporting our local businesses and made all of the on-street parking free for the last almost 10 months.
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That's wonderful.
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And I know that residents have enjoyed it and visitors have enjoyed it, but all good things must come to an end, as they say.
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And uh managed parking is a good thing.
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Yes, I think managed parking is a good thing, and it uh will return to us here shortly, October 5th.
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October 5th is D-Day, as it were.
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That's the day that managed parking returns back to downtown.
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Um and so we just wanted to spend a little time and talk about that that process, that program, remind everybody why paid parking is important to have, why that revenue is important to the city, what it what it goes for, where it comes from.
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Um tell us a little bit, Lisa, about what managed or paid parking was like before the pause.
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What um what did that revenue go toward?
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What did it help support in the city?
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Um, and then what will it help support again?
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So, first of all, managed parking is obviously more than just about the revenue, but the revenue that does come from it helps with landscaping, helps with maintenance of our parking structure, like Jefferson Garage.
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We did a big project at the Commendencia lot with a lighting project this year, made that lighting a lot, a lot better.
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You'll see some of the before and after pictures.
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Nice.
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So And that's a public safety issue.
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It's not just a beautiful things issue.
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Absolutely, public safety, and that's also a free parking lot.
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So we made the free parking safer by charging for some of the other parking, the more high-demand parking.
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Well, that's that's I think a good investment.
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Yes.
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Our community, I mean it's all reinvested back into the city of Pensacola.
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Right.
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And that um that revenue doesn't just come from city residents, right?
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That revenue happily comes from.
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The majority of it comes from outside the city.
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Oh, wait, say that part again.
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The majority of our parking sessions come from outside the city.
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So instead of managed parking or the parking assets being a tax on city residents, it's a user fee that's passed on to people who actually use the parking, which mostly are tourists.
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And we actually have the ability to look in, get a little peek behind the curtain and look at that data in terms of the zip codes that people um where that revenue comes from.
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So if we were to map it, it would it would not just show our little corner of paradise, it isn't.
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It actually extends outside the United States.
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So we have lots of people that come visit our city.
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I mean, why would they not?
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It's a beautiful place, of course.
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And they're always surprised at how inexpensive our parking is, right?
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Um, well, not not that it's inexpensive, but it's a great investment too.
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It is a great investment that 100% stays in the city of Pensacola.
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So when you park here, you invest here.
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I like that tagline.
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That's great.
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Um, we did have a period we we shared with residents before um the hiatus, I guess we'll call it, right?
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That um we had some changes to parking and we wanted to take a kind of a whole year basically to look at um how people used it, where the turnover in the um in the where the churn rate was, right?
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And um, and we wanted to take resident feedback in all in all the fashions and forms that that comes in.
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And we have used that um when we have uh in this rollout, in this new rollout of um of how we're gonna reintroduce the idea of um of a little bit of a uh a fee.
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And one of the things that we heard was that we wanted convenience in our parking, that making it easier to use.
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How are we doing that?
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Some of the ways that we're doing it is, well, my favorite is the senior permit.
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And the mayor coined this phrase, so I can't take credit for it because I am, you know, those those are some shoes I don't want to feel.
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Um, but he said, you know, he uses it in his um rotary clubs and things like that.
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He says it's as easy as parking in your driveway.
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You just find a place to park and go and play.
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Um, and we use that with our seniors.
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So you sign up for your permit one time and 65 and older, don't care where you're from.
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If you come and stay here six months a year, you can sign up for six months.
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If you stay two months, you can sign up for two months.
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It's up to you.
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But you sign up at one time and you just come downtown and park in any two-digit zone and just go play.
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You don't have to pull out your phone, you don't have to find a pay station, you don't have to understand technology or anything.
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You just park and play.
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Yes.
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I can't wait to be 65 then.
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Oh my god.
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Be careful.
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It comes, it comes fast, I'm told.
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Well, that is fantastic.
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We also have a little bonus for um for residents, too.
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We have a resident discount that we're um reintroducing, I guess you would say.
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Yes.
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So we we rolled this out right before the hiatus began.
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So we didn't do a huge marketing push because we knew parking was going to be free.
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But for city residents, you sign up, it's a$5 annual sign-up fee.
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And every time you start a parking session through Park Mobile, you'll get a discount just for being a city resident.
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I'm not kidding.
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That's all true.
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It's all true, all true facts, folks.
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Um, we're also are gonna uh add uh a couple of one of the other pieces of feedback, of course, that we got was that folks really would appreciate the opportunity to come downtown and do a little bit of their business on like the workday, maybe, um, and be able to have a little advantage for that.
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So one bonus that we have in responding to that feedback is two uh two free days of the week.
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Tell the people what they are.
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So pending council approval, what we are bringing to council is not only is more than 60% of the city's parking already free all of the time, and not only is it free on all federal holidays, and not only is it free on Sundays, but we're also introducing um per count uh city council approval free Mondays.
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So if you don't want to have to sign up for a permit, you don't want to have to deal with a pay station, you don't want to have to do any of the options that we've given you, and all you want to do is just come down and maybe visit your favorite jewelry store, clothing store, your doctor's appointment, come on a Monday, park in a city spot.
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It will be free.
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Pending council approval.
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Pending council approval.
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Um, and we sure want to give a shout out to council president Allison Patton, who worked very closely with you and the whole team to um the past 10 months.
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Yes.
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She has worked very closely with us for the past 10 months on all of these initiatives, plus more.
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Yeah, talk about how that, like, how did that process go?
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It wasn't like we just sat in a room and thought all this stuff up, right, on our own.
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We took in a lot of feedback.
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A lot of feedback.
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Um, you know, as you know, Council President Patton is very active in her district, and she's brought a lot of good feedback to us.
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Some things that we were easily able to accommodate, and some that are a little bit more difficult, but we're still working on validation being one of them.
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We want to come up with a good validation program, although we already have one, it's just not as easy for the businesses to to do for their visitors or their customers.
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So we're trying to find an easier way for that.
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We are um gonna launch a thing called express pay for the garage via park mobile.
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So, again, if you don't want to have to break out your phone with express pay, you sign up one time on your ParkMobile app, and when you pull into the garage, it'll capture your license plate, it will time how long you're there, and when you leave, it will just charge the card that you have on the account.
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So you again don't have to go to a PayStation, don't have to bring out your phone, don't have to worry about extending your parking session.
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It'll capture when you're there, when you leave, and it'll charge you the appropriate amount.
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So we're trying to make it as easy and as customer friendly for everyone that we can.
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That's fantastic.
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I love it.
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Um lots of I, you know, parking is something that people sort of like to kvetch about.
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But um, but again, we did not do any of this in a vacuum.
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No.
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And it's important too to note that um what 67% of the city-owned spaces are free all the time.
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All the time.
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Already.
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They're just a little tiny bit off the main the main drag, as it were, a couple blocks.
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So as the city expands, those those spaces now are not so far off the beating path anymore.
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So what we when we talk about paid parking, we're talking about approximately 1,100 spaces right in the downtown core, right on Palafox and on Jefferson.
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Um, so you're looking at your primo parking for a dollar an hour.
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That's a pretty good deal.
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That's a really good deal.
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And if you can, you know, hoof it a an extra block or two, then you don't even have to pay.
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Don't even have to pay the dollar.
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I mean to tell you.
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Yeah, in one of the safest cities around, and we continuously make it even safer, um, like with the lighting project.
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So if you want to park a little bit further out, you have a nice walk um to your destination, to Palafox from Command Densey a lot or to Jefferson, and it's well lit and lots of activity going on.
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So that's great.
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I know, I love it.
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I do too.
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Um, so for sure there'll be a lot more messaging about um how this project is gonna how managed parking is gonna return uh to our lives in those core 1100 um spots.
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What can folks look for um by way of reminders or how are we gonna help walk people through the change?
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Will they be seeing things on social media?
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Will they be seeing where will we get the skinny?
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Hopefully, they're already seeing them on social media.
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We have some billboards out there, we have little um commercials that we're airing on channel three in between news breaks.
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So we have print ads coming out later on in September.
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We have signs that are going up.
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You may have already seen them that tell you October 5th is the date, and a QR code that you can scan to get more information.
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You can always visit parkpensacola.com to get all the down low on parking.
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Ooh, tell the people that website one more time.
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Parkpensacola.com.
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That's where all of your frequently asked questions and all the info that you could possibly want to have.
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Yeah, learn all about the permits and the discount programs and everything and anything you'd want to know about city parking.
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We even have an interactive map, Shannon, that has some of the private lots on there.
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So if you're not sure if you're parking in a city lot or a private lot, look for the two-digit zone and then you'll know you're in city.
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But if you're not sure we have an interactive map, so you can visit our website and it'll help you figure out where you're at.
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That is um fantastic.
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And an important thing, I think, to point out to folks.
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I know it can be easy to think that you're just you pull it, you come downtown, you find a spot, you whip in there, but you got to look at that, look for the look for the teal, not for the look that color, that little sign, that red sign, or the black.
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Now they're black and white.
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There's a lot.
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It can be confusing.
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So it can be.
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What's the kind of down low on what what to look for for a city-owned spot, which one are private, and so our colors are the teal.
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We also have new signs that are coming out.
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I don't want to give too much away because every time it seems like every time we come up with a way to help make it easier, other parking vendors in our area duplicate us and make it a little confusing.
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So we do have a new sign.
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Because our ideas are so great.
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Um, we have new signs coming out that are a very distinct design.
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So it will also help guide you to where city parking is at, very visually identifiable, but look for two-digit zones.
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Not an easy phrase for me to put together without stuttering, but very, very important.
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Um I would I do want to touch on a little bit about you mentioned the Jefferson Street garage and how um important she is to uh to the landscape, but um but she's she's coming up on the she's nearing the end of her useful lifespan, right?
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Well, we're gonna get all the life we can have and all the usefulness we can.
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But yes, she's over 40 years old and she has served this community very well.
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Um, but she is a public structure and has a 50-year expected life.
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So we're trying to make sure we maintain her, keep her updated, safe, reliable, and keep her in use for as long as we possibly can because garages are extremely expensive to build.
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Um we've got about a little less than$500,000 of repairs that we've got to do to the garage next year.
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Wow.
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And I know that we have um we have some information about that coming to council soon for them to um hopefully, hopefully give their approval to move forward because we want definitely to maximize the lifespan of uh the garage.
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It has been of great service.
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Yes.
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Um, but we want it to be safe and we want to get all the useful life out of her that we can that we can.
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She's she's 41 and she's got a couple wrinkles, but that's okay.
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We all do.
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She's a little seasoned.
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She's seasoned.
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Oh yeah.
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I like that.
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That's good.
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Um, but yeah, so it's it's time to do some some repair work.
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Right.
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And all of that repair work is gonna be paid for with the parking revenue that's come in.
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So again, user fee, not a not a tax on city residents.
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So we will pay for it with the parking fees that we've charged over the years.
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And that um I just want to put a pin in that because um the the revenue that's generated from lots that aren't teal assigned, that revenue doesn't necessarily stay in our community.
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That revenue doesn't necessarily invest in um landscaping or lighting or making sure the garage is safe and durable and uh ready to get all the use out of it that it needs to.
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Um that's I think important for folks to remember that um that that that those public spaces need a need investment because everyone, you know, lots of people use them.
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Everyone uses them.
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Yes.
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And it's not just garage revenue that pays for the garage.
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So you might be parking on the street.
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That dollar goes towards paying for the elevators to stay running in the garage and the lighting to stay on and the insurance and you know the maintenance of the garage.
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Yeah.
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All good things, all good things.
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All that we need.
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Yes.
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Um, we have I I think we may have not quite mentioned the um the new rate structure yet in our conversation.
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So let's run that down for folks a little bit.
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Okay, other than free Mondays?
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Other than free Mondays, which is the only headline I will be paying attention to, by the way.
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Um so yes, when street parking returns, let's lay it out.
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Okay, so during the the last 10 months, as you had mentioned earlier, we have back office providers now that can capture so much data, and with the help of AI and and everything that we have available to us today, we're not looking at parking the way we did five years ago, much less 10 years ago.
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So we can see transactions and we see what's our busiest times of day, our busiest days of the week, our busiest months of the year, what are those ebbs and flows?
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And we can look at it at a very granular level.
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All based on data.
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All based on data.
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And one of the things that we saw was we have a lower usage on Monday.
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So we're gonna encourage people to come down on Monday.
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It'll support our local businesses, um, help encourage people to come down on Mondays when we're not quite as busy, but also give people an opportunity to get free parking on Monday.
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And if you've ever come down on a Friday or Saturday night, you probably already know this without me telling you.
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:22.319
It can be difficult to find some place to park because everyone wants to come down on Friday and Saturday night.
00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.799
So it's supply and demand, it's basic business.
00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:27.759
Friday and Saturday night will be at a higher rate.
00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.480
Um, the rest of the days will stay the same.
00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:32.240
Friday during the day will stay the same.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:38.319
It's just when that peak time goes up at six o'clock on Friday, the rate will go up, pending council approval.
00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:45.519
And then on Saturdays, we pretty much have 100% full parking on Saturday from each other.
00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:51.039
You know, thanks to businesses and our beautiful weather and our beautiful downtown Hall Fox Market, all those wonderful things.
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:52.400
All those wonderful things.
00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:58.880
Our parking stays full pretty much 100% of the time on Saturdays, so the rates will be a little bit higher on Saturday.
00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.799
Um, but I think that that makes business sense, right?
00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:05.599
We would they're still very reasonable.
00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:10.240
I mean, I have I have recently dropped a child off in South Florida to go to college.
00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:16.240
Um it costs a lot more than a dollar or$1.75 to park there.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:16.960
Yes.
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:22.000
So what what we are proposing to council is$1.75 on Friday nights and Saturday.
00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:31.759
Again, free Mondays and everything else stays that dollar an hour unless you have a you know permit or the discount program, then you'll you'll receive even less expensive parking.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.359
Um but yeah, so that's that's what we're proposing.
00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:50.079
Well, uh certainly um we hope that um the that the relationship that the involvement that council movement patent has had in the process will will definitely help make that hopefully a smooth transition.
00:19:50.240 --> 00:20:00.880
Um we did always say that it couldn't be free forever, would have to come back, but I think you know it's fairly this is a reasonable plan, yes.
00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.519
And I don't I don't think the mayor ever said free forever.
00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:12.799
He said, he said, yeah, he said we will support the new Palafox and we'll support local businesses, and by doing that, we'll make on-street parking free during construction.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:15.440
And he even went above and beyond the construction period.
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:24.000
Um you know, it was initially going to end when Palafox was done, and as we know, Palafox has been done, and we're not bringing it back till October 5th.
00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:30.960
So I think the city has done its part in showing that we're supporting a prosperous downtown.
00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:45.920
It's not just about the revenue, but it is about the reinvestment back into our downtown through usage fees of our parking and making sure that that parking is possibly available to as many people as it can possibly be.
00:20:46.480 --> 00:21:02.079
Um yeah, I think our there are I read somewhere there's upwards of 5,000 counties in the entire country, and and if you look at our data, um parking sessions come from license plates from 4,000 plus of those counties.
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.400
It is not um something that is funded on the backs of solely on the backs of locals.
00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:13.680
No, I'll tell you when we were looking at the map, I was trying to just get them to send me the just the US.
00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.279
And they were like, Lisa, it's it extends outside the US.
00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:21.440
So you you need a much bigger map because you have people from Europe visiting you now.
00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:22.880
And I'm like, oh, okay.
00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.119
What a great problem, what a good problem.
00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:31.839
So the dots on the map were a little hard to see, but that's because we have so many people coming to see us from all over the world.
00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:37.759
And it's fair, it's I think it's fair that we ask them to, you know, help help out a little bit.
00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:41.519
Yes, that's not out, that's not outside the realm of possibility.
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:43.279
It's well worth the investment.
00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:44.240
Absolutely.
00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:46.559
Well, um, thank you very much.
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:54.079
I want to, while I have you as a captive audience, the other half of your title, constituent services, that includes 311.
00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:54.400
It does.
00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.759
We get lots of um questions from residents about how to use it, what it's for.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.839
What should I be reporting to it?
00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:06.720
So while we have you under the bright spotlight, give us a little 311 primer.
00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.000
Like what's that?
00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.680
What's the best way to use that?
00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:13.359
So let me first say parking also helps support 311.
00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:14.720
Excellent.
00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:15.759
And 311.
00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:16.880
We have it all feedback.
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:17.759
It's all feeds back.
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.079
So 311 is for anything city related.
00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:33.920
And even if it's a service that the city doesn't offer, like in our four walls, and I'll I always use the uh example of data animals on the road.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:43.839
We don't have someone that will go, you know, pick up those animals, or it goes to someone outside or water issue.
00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:46.880
It goes to NG, you know, Pets Call of Water or whatever it's called.
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:47.519
ECUA.
00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:48.319
ECUA, thank you.
00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.680
ECUA, our good friends at ECU.
00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:51.119
Our good friends at ECUA.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:58.400
So if you are a city resident and you have a water issue, you can call us and we will call ECUA for you.
00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:01.519
We'll get a work order number for you and we'll update that on your ticket.
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.359
So then you can track it either through our system or you can track it through ECUA.
00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:07.759
But we just make sure that our citizens are taken care of.
00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:09.759
That's basically what 311 is for.
00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:11.680
So any city service.
00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:12.559
Anything?
00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:13.519
Anything.
00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:15.920
If we can't help you, we'll get you to the person that can't.
00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:17.359
You can find the people who will.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:20.559
We will work diligently to find you someone who can.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:26.480
Um I know that, of course, you call 311 in the name.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:30.160
Um, there's also a website where you can submit uh a ticket.
00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:37.039
I have used that several times um just as a live person testimonial to uh request some.
00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:38.559
Did your issue get resolved?
00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:39.759
It did get resolved.
00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:40.880
Thank you very much.
00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:43.519
And I got a nice note when it was when it was done.
00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.039
Love it to let me know.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:49.599
Perfect that the fencing was fixed at my at my neighborhood park, which I appreciate.
00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:50.160
Okay.
00:23:50.799 --> 00:24:01.440
So yeah, I know that in the past, long past, we had had some issues with backlog at 311, but I think that the team has well responded to that and cleared that up, right?
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:09.359
Yes, that was a huge success, and I I love talking about the success of it, but it was so long ago and it wasn't in the best state.
00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:17.200
So I don't want to dwell on that because it's been more than three years, and the team that we have in place now, they have 100% kept up with it.
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.079
I think our average ticket time is three days.
00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:27.359
So it might not be fixed in three days, but you're gonna get a response and you're gonna have some type of resolution and some kind of time frame within three days.
00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:28.640
That's fantastic.
00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.440
Yes.
00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.880
Great customer service, wonderful customer service.
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:33.519
I appreciate it.
00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:34.480
From real people.
00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:35.680
From real people.
00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:36.880
We love that.
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:39.359
On both the parking side and the 311.
00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:44.319
We do have a little bit, we have a new helper at 311 too.
00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.200
We have Penny, right?
00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:46.160
We do have Penny.
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.240
Talk about Penny and her role.
00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:50.799
So Penny speaks multiple languages.
00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:52.640
Actually, she'll speak any language that you speak.
00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.599
You just have to tell her.
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.599
And that's really hard for us to find humans that can do that.
00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:03.440
And again, just like we have parking sessions from all over the world, we have people that call us and live here from all over the world.
00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:05.920
And English may not be their first language.
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:12.480
So Penny can talk to you in whatever native tongue you want to speak to her in, and she will take down that information.
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:17.279
She'll make sure it gets to us and it's translated, and so that we can get it resolved.
00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:21.680
And she's also on call 24-7, which we love.
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.039
We do love that.
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:26.559
Now we should Penny is um is there to answer overflow calls, right?
00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:34.319
Which she we had an overflow call system before Penny, but what's what does she bring to the table that's an improvement?
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:45.839
So again, the language thing was a really big aspect for me because I didn't realize how many how many people called in, and we couldn't help them because we didn't speak the language that they they needed to speak to us in.
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:48.480
Um, so that was a big sell for me.
00:25:48.640 --> 00:26:03.279
Um, the other thing was overflow calls would go to a call center, and that call center was from all over the world, and sometimes stuff gets lost in translation, and penny doesn't lose the translation, it's verbatim what's what's being said.
00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:07.519
And sometimes it's rather funny to listen to how it's translated.
00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:13.200
Oh, I'm sure there's a pen, there's a highlights reel we could we could share, but maybe later.
00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:18.640
But she's she's very reliable in making sure that we get the information we need so that we can get you the help that you need.
00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.519
That's great.
00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:22.000
She's been on the job a couple months now.
00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:32.880
Um she was we tested her out just as overclose overflow during the day for the month of July, and then August she went to after hours and overflow.
00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:36.079
And what's the um what what what's her data like?
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:39.680
How's she hand what's her response rate and her her clearance rate?
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:39.920
I guess.
00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:50.640
Well, she they go by um satisfaction, yes, caller satisfaction, and we're seeing I didn't bring those numbers because I thought we were just talking about parking.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.920
Um I want to say she was she was in the 90s.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:58.240
Yes, she was in the 90 percentile, so she's she's doing really well.
00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:03.119
But don't worry, our our wonderful staff of real people are always still there.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.680
Yes, they are always still there, just not 24-7.
00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:06.640
Just not 24-7.
00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:08.880
I wouldn't want them to work 24 hours.
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:13.200
Give them a lunch break every now and let them take breaks and have a day off or something.
00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.880
And that's where Penny can be helpful to us for sure.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.119
Um, well, thank you, Lisa.
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:29.920
Is there anything that uh we didn't cover that you'd want us to or that you want to share with folks about either 311 or the parking transition and what we have in store?
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:31.440
What do we have in store?
00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:36.400
Um, any any secrets you can spill or secrets?
00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:36.720
No.
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:38.480
There are no secrets in government.
00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:39.680
No, never.
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:40.319
Never.
00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:42.799
Just a reminder October 5th is the day.
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:49.680
Um it's not it's not that you know, October 5th, 8 a.m., everyone gets out and just with their pencil.
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.200
Yeah, just you know, looking.
00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:52.640
Um so we are here to help.
00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:56.559
If you have any questions, find one of our guys on the street or gals on the street.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.319
Um, yes, our parking ambassadors, give them a shout out because they're amazing.
00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:01.920
They are amazing.
00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:07.599
Um I don't know if you ever watched the the show years ago with dirty jobs or something like that.
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:13.039
Like if it was still on today, I would so be writing into that show and be like, please show my team.
00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.319
Um but anyway, they are they are wonderful staff.
00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:25.599
So if you have any questions after October 5th about what's happening or how to how to park, where to park, where's a good place to eat, um, they have some really good parking hiding spots too.
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.640
They do about make friends with the parking ambassador.
00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:29.759
Be nice to them.
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.599
They yeah, they will help you.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:36.799
Um, but yeah, reach out to them, stop them on the street or dial 311 if you have questions about parking.
00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:43.039
October 5th is when we come back, but we're here to just remind everyone as gently as we can.
00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:55.599
There will be uh, I don't want to say, uh kind of a grace period in between there where we'll we write a lot of warnings, um, just reminding people that it's paid parking, so soft enforcement.
00:28:55.759 --> 00:29:03.039
Um but yeah, come back and say yes and yeah, and invest October 5th.
00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:17.279
Your investment in your city um is coming back and it it all goes um to the public good, it all makes us safer and um more inviting downtown and community for us all to live in.
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:23.359
So thank you, O parking guru, Lisa Dees, for sharing all of your wisdom.
00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:26.000
Um and we appreciate you.
00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:26.640
Thank you.
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:27.680
Yes, thanks.
00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.400
And we appreciate you all listening and watching.
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:35.680
However, you're absorbing the long view, we're happy to have you with us, and we'll see you next time.
00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:02.640
Welcome to the Longview.
00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:09.119
This is where we expand on news, views, what-ifs, and what Pensacola could be for future generations.
00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:11.759
Take a seat and enjoy the Longview.
00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:13.279
Hi, thanks for joining us.
00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:17.039
I'm Shannon Nickinson, the PIO for the City of Pensacola.
00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:20.320
And it is not Mayor DC Reeves with me today.
00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.000
I have an extra special guest.
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:28.320
I have Lisa Dees, the Executive Director of Parking and Constituent Services for the City of Pensacola.
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:35.200
She is the parking guru, the parking czar, and the 311 expert in our building.
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:37.280
And we're grateful to have you here.
00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:38.399
Thank you so much.
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:39.600
Thank you for having me.
00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:40.479
Of course.
00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:47.280
Well, um, it's a very special occasion for you to be with us today because we are going to talk about everyone's favorite subject.
00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:48.799
Which is parking.
00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:57.280
As everyone may know, we had a suspension, temporary suspension of paid parking for parts of downtown that the city controls.
00:00:57.520 --> 00:00:58.079
Correct.
00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:01.359
Um, for on the occasion of the Palafox project.
00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:08.879
Yes, we were supporting our local businesses and made all of the on-street parking free for the last almost 10 months.
00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:10.159
That's wonderful.
00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:18.400
And I know that residents have enjoyed it and visitors have enjoyed it, but all good things must come to an end, as they say.
00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:20.480
And uh managed parking is a good thing.
00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:26.719
Yes, I think managed parking is a good thing, and it uh will return to us here shortly, October 5th.
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.280
October 5th is D-Day, as it were.
00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:34.079
That's the day that managed parking returns back to downtown.
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:50.799
Um and so we just wanted to spend a little time and talk about that that process, that program, remind everybody why paid parking is important to have, why that revenue is important to the city, what it what it goes for, where it comes from.
00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:58.400
Um tell us a little bit, Lisa, about what managed or paid parking was like before the pause.
00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:01.920
What um what did that revenue go toward?
00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:05.120
What did it help support in the city?
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.879
Um, and then what will it help support again?
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:21.439
So, first of all, managed parking is obviously more than just about the revenue, but the revenue that does come from it helps with landscaping, helps with maintenance of our parking structure, like Jefferson Garage.
00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:29.120
We did a big project at the Commendencia lot with a lighting project this year, made that lighting a lot, a lot better.
00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:31.120
You'll see some of the before and after pictures.
00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:32.080
Nice.
00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:34.240
So And that's a public safety issue.
00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:36.159
It's not just a beautiful things issue.
00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:39.280
Absolutely, public safety, and that's also a free parking lot.
00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:45.919
So we made the free parking safer by charging for some of the other parking, the more high-demand parking.
00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:50.479
Well, that's that's I think a good investment.
00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:51.439
Yes.
00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.599
Our community, I mean it's all reinvested back into the city of Pensacola.
00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:56.319
Right.
00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:02.000
And that um that revenue doesn't just come from city residents, right?
00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.159
That revenue happily comes from.
00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:07.680
The majority of it comes from outside the city.
00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:09.360
Oh, wait, say that part again.
00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:13.360
The majority of our parking sessions come from outside the city.
00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:26.560
So instead of managed parking or the parking assets being a tax on city residents, it's a user fee that's passed on to people who actually use the parking, which mostly are tourists.
00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:38.560
And we actually have the ability to look in, get a little peek behind the curtain and look at that data in terms of the zip codes that people um where that revenue comes from.
00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:44.639
So if we were to map it, it would it would not just show our little corner of paradise, it isn't.
00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:46.719
It actually extends outside the United States.
00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:48.800
So we have lots of people that come visit our city.
00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:49.919
I mean, why would they not?
00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.840
It's a beautiful place, of course.
00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:56.719
And they're always surprised at how inexpensive our parking is, right?
00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.400
Um, well, not not that it's inexpensive, but it's a great investment too.
00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:07.599
It is a great investment that 100% stays in the city of Pensacola.
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:09.439
So when you park here, you invest here.
00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:11.599
I like that tagline.
00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:12.639
That's great.
00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:20.959
Um, we did have a period we we shared with residents before um the hiatus, I guess we'll call it, right?
00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:35.439
That um we had some changes to parking and we wanted to take a kind of a whole year basically to look at um how people used it, where the turnover in the um in the where the churn rate was, right?
00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:42.879
And um, and we wanted to take resident feedback in all in all the fashions and forms that that comes in.
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:58.959
And we have used that um when we have uh in this rollout, in this new rollout of um of how we're gonna reintroduce the idea of um of a little bit of a uh a fee.
00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:07.920
And one of the things that we heard was that we wanted convenience in our parking, that making it easier to use.
00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:09.439
How are we doing that?
00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:14.240
Some of the ways that we're doing it is, well, my favorite is the senior permit.
00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:20.639
And the mayor coined this phrase, so I can't take credit for it because I am, you know, those those are some shoes I don't want to feel.
00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:26.240
Um, but he said, you know, he uses it in his um rotary clubs and things like that.
00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.160
He says it's as easy as parking in your driveway.
00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:30.800
You just find a place to park and go and play.
00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:32.720
Um, and we use that with our seniors.
00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:39.120
So you sign up for your permit one time and 65 and older, don't care where you're from.
00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:43.360
If you come and stay here six months a year, you can sign up for six months.
00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.480
If you stay two months, you can sign up for two months.
00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:47.439
It's up to you.
00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:54.639
But you sign up at one time and you just come downtown and park in any two-digit zone and just go play.
00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:59.759
You don't have to pull out your phone, you don't have to find a pay station, you don't have to understand technology or anything.
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:01.600
You just park and play.
00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:02.000
Yes.
00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.079
I can't wait to be 65 then.
00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:04.720
Oh my god.
00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:05.600
Be careful.
00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:07.839
It comes, it comes fast, I'm told.
00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:10.480
Well, that is fantastic.
00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.920
We also have a little bonus for um for residents, too.
00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.000
We have a resident discount that we're um reintroducing, I guess you would say.
00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:20.560
Yes.
00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:23.839
So we we rolled this out right before the hiatus began.
00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:27.839
So we didn't do a huge marketing push because we knew parking was going to be free.
00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:32.800
But for city residents, you sign up, it's a$5 annual sign-up fee.
00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:39.360
And every time you start a parking session through Park Mobile, you'll get a discount just for being a city resident.
00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:42.800
I'm not kidding.
00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:45.600
That's all true.
00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:48.879
It's all true, all true facts, folks.
00:06:49.519 --> 00:07:12.160
Um, we're also are gonna uh add uh a couple of one of the other pieces of feedback, of course, that we got was that folks really would appreciate the opportunity to come downtown and do a little bit of their business on like the workday, maybe, um, and be able to have a little advantage for that.
00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:20.480
So one bonus that we have in responding to that feedback is two uh two free days of the week.
00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:22.720
Tell the people what they are.
00:07:22.959 --> 00:07:44.079
So pending council approval, what we are bringing to council is not only is more than 60% of the city's parking already free all of the time, and not only is it free on all federal holidays, and not only is it free on Sundays, but we're also introducing um per count uh city council approval free Mondays.
00:07:44.399 --> 00:08:02.800
So if you don't want to have to sign up for a permit, you don't want to have to deal with a pay station, you don't want to have to do any of the options that we've given you, and all you want to do is just come down and maybe visit your favorite jewelry store, clothing store, your doctor's appointment, come on a Monday, park in a city spot.
00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:04.240
It will be free.
00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:05.680
Pending council approval.
00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:07.120
Pending council approval.
00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:17.360
Um, and we sure want to give a shout out to council president Allison Patton, who worked very closely with you and the whole team to um the past 10 months.
00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:17.759
Yes.
00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:23.199
She has worked very closely with us for the past 10 months on all of these initiatives, plus more.
00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:26.560
Yeah, talk about how that, like, how did that process go?
00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:30.319
It wasn't like we just sat in a room and thought all this stuff up, right, on our own.
00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:31.680
We took in a lot of feedback.
00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:32.879
A lot of feedback.
00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:41.039
Um, you know, as you know, Council President Patton is very active in her district, and she's brought a lot of good feedback to us.
00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:49.679
Some things that we were easily able to accommodate, and some that are a little bit more difficult, but we're still working on validation being one of them.
00:08:49.759 --> 00:09:01.200
We want to come up with a good validation program, although we already have one, it's just not as easy for the businesses to to do for their visitors or their customers.
00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:03.759
So we're trying to find an easier way for that.
00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:09.759
We are um gonna launch a thing called express pay for the garage via park mobile.
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:26.639
So, again, if you don't want to have to break out your phone with express pay, you sign up one time on your ParkMobile app, and when you pull into the garage, it'll capture your license plate, it will time how long you're there, and when you leave, it will just charge the card that you have on the account.
00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:32.480
So you again don't have to go to a PayStation, don't have to bring out your phone, don't have to worry about extending your parking session.
00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:35.679
It'll capture when you're there, when you leave, and it'll charge you the appropriate amount.
00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:40.559
So we're trying to make it as easy and as customer friendly for everyone that we can.
00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:42.159
That's fantastic.
00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:43.039
I love it.
00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:51.679
Um lots of I, you know, parking is something that people sort of like to kvetch about.
00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:56.559
But um, but again, we did not do any of this in a vacuum.
00:09:56.799 --> 00:09:57.039
No.
00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:05.360
And it's important too to note that um what 67% of the city-owned spaces are free all the time.
00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:06.080
All the time.
00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:06.799
Already.
00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:12.879
They're just a little tiny bit off the main the main drag, as it were, a couple blocks.
00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:18.799
So as the city expands, those those spaces now are not so far off the beating path anymore.
00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:28.879
So what we when we talk about paid parking, we're talking about approximately 1,100 spaces right in the downtown core, right on Palafox and on Jefferson.
00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:34.960
Um, so you're looking at your primo parking for a dollar an hour.
00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:36.480
That's a pretty good deal.
00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:37.840
That's a really good deal.
00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:42.240
And if you can, you know, hoof it a an extra block or two, then you don't even have to pay.
00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:44.000
Don't even have to pay the dollar.
00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:45.440
I mean to tell you.
00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:52.320
Yeah, in one of the safest cities around, and we continuously make it even safer, um, like with the lighting project.
00:10:52.480 --> 00:11:04.399
So if you want to park a little bit further out, you have a nice walk um to your destination, to Palafox from Command Densey a lot or to Jefferson, and it's well lit and lots of activity going on.
00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:05.679
So that's great.
00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:07.039
I know, I love it.
00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:07.919
I do too.
00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:24.159
Um, so for sure there'll be a lot more messaging about um how this project is gonna how managed parking is gonna return uh to our lives in those core 1100 um spots.
00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:34.879
What can folks look for um by way of reminders or how are we gonna help walk people through the change?
00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:37.600
Will they be seeing things on social media?
00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:40.960
Will they be seeing where will we get the skinny?
00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.200
Hopefully, they're already seeing them on social media.
00:11:43.279 --> 00:11:51.360
We have some billboards out there, we have little um commercials that we're airing on channel three in between news breaks.
00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:55.919
So we have print ads coming out later on in September.
00:11:56.240 --> 00:11:58.240
We have signs that are going up.
00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:03.759
You may have already seen them that tell you October 5th is the date, and a QR code that you can scan to get more information.
00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:08.399
You can always visit parkpensacola.com to get all the down low on parking.
00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:10.720
Ooh, tell the people that website one more time.
00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:12.960
Parkpensacola.com.
00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:19.279
That's where all of your frequently asked questions and all the info that you could possibly want to have.
00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:26.320
Yeah, learn all about the permits and the discount programs and everything and anything you'd want to know about city parking.
00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:31.840
We even have an interactive map, Shannon, that has some of the private lots on there.
00:12:31.919 --> 00:12:40.879
So if you're not sure if you're parking in a city lot or a private lot, look for the two-digit zone and then you'll know you're in city.
00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.840
But if you're not sure we have an interactive map, so you can visit our website and it'll help you figure out where you're at.
00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:48.240
That is um fantastic.
00:12:48.399 --> 00:12:50.879
And an important thing, I think, to point out to folks.
00:12:51.039 --> 00:13:08.240
I know it can be easy to think that you're just you pull it, you come downtown, you find a spot, you whip in there, but you got to look at that, look for the look for the teal, not for the look that color, that little sign, that red sign, or the black.
00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:09.519
Now they're black and white.
00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:10.240
There's a lot.
00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:11.360
It can be confusing.
00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:12.480
So it can be.
00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:23.120
What's the kind of down low on what what to look for for a city-owned spot, which one are private, and so our colors are the teal.
00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.759
We also have new signs that are coming out.
00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:37.519
I don't want to give too much away because every time it seems like every time we come up with a way to help make it easier, other parking vendors in our area duplicate us and make it a little confusing.
00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:38.960
So we do have a new sign.
00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:42.639
Because our ideas are so great.
00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:48.000
Um, we have new signs coming out that are a very distinct design.
00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:57.279
So it will also help guide you to where city parking is at, very visually identifiable, but look for two-digit zones.
00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:01.440
Not an easy phrase for me to put together without stuttering, but very, very important.
00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:23.840
Um I would I do want to touch on a little bit about you mentioned the Jefferson Street garage and how um important she is to uh to the landscape, but um but she's she's coming up on the she's nearing the end of her useful lifespan, right?
00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.759
Well, we're gonna get all the life we can have and all the usefulness we can.
00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:32.080
But yes, she's over 40 years old and she has served this community very well.
00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:38.320
Um, but she is a public structure and has a 50-year expected life.
00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:52.320
So we're trying to make sure we maintain her, keep her updated, safe, reliable, and keep her in use for as long as we possibly can because garages are extremely expensive to build.
00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:58.000
Um we've got about a little less than$500,000 of repairs that we've got to do to the garage next year.
00:14:58.320 --> 00:14:58.639
Wow.
00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:14.399
And I know that we have um we have some information about that coming to council soon for them to um hopefully, hopefully give their approval to move forward because we want definitely to maximize the lifespan of uh the garage.
00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:17.039
It has been of great service.
00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:17.600
Yes.
00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:24.320
Um, but we want it to be safe and we want to get all the useful life out of her that we can that we can.
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.799
She's she's 41 and she's got a couple wrinkles, but that's okay.
00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:29.600
We all do.
00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:31.679
She's a little seasoned.
00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:32.799
She's seasoned.
00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:33.360
Oh yeah.
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:33.919
I like that.
00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:34.639
That's good.
00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:39.759
Um, but yeah, so it's it's time to do some some repair work.
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:40.159
Right.
00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:46.720
And all of that repair work is gonna be paid for with the parking revenue that's come in.
00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:51.679
So again, user fee, not a not a tax on city residents.
00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:56.159
So we will pay for it with the parking fees that we've charged over the years.
00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:10.159
And that um I just want to put a pin in that because um the the revenue that's generated from lots that aren't teal assigned, that revenue doesn't necessarily stay in our community.
00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:21.919
That revenue doesn't necessarily invest in um landscaping or lighting or making sure the garage is safe and durable and uh ready to get all the use out of it that it needs to.
00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:36.799
Um that's I think important for folks to remember that um that that that those public spaces need a need investment because everyone, you know, lots of people use them.
00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:37.919
Everyone uses them.
00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:38.879
Yes.
00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.320
And it's not just garage revenue that pays for the garage.
00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:44.559
So you might be parking on the street.
00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:54.159
That dollar goes towards paying for the elevators to stay running in the garage and the lighting to stay on and the insurance and you know the maintenance of the garage.
00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:55.039
Yeah.
00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.200
All good things, all good things.
00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:58.320
All that we need.
00:16:58.480 --> 00:16:58.879
Yes.
00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:05.920
Um, we have I I think we may have not quite mentioned the um the new rate structure yet in our conversation.
00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:09.119
So let's run that down for folks a little bit.
00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:10.960
Okay, other than free Mondays?
00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:16.960
Other than free Mondays, which is the only headline I will be paying attention to, by the way.
00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:21.599
Um so yes, when street parking returns, let's lay it out.
00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:39.440
Okay, so during the the last 10 months, as you had mentioned earlier, we have back office providers now that can capture so much data, and with the help of AI and and everything that we have available to us today, we're not looking at parking the way we did five years ago, much less 10 years ago.
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:48.799
So we can see transactions and we see what's our busiest times of day, our busiest days of the week, our busiest months of the year, what are those ebbs and flows?
00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:51.440
And we can look at it at a very granular level.
00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:52.640
All based on data.
00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:54.079
All based on data.
00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:58.079
And one of the things that we saw was we have a lower usage on Monday.
00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.079
So we're gonna encourage people to come down on Monday.
00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:10.079
It'll support our local businesses, um, help encourage people to come down on Mondays when we're not quite as busy, but also give people an opportunity to get free parking on Monday.
00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:15.599
And if you've ever come down on a Friday or Saturday night, you probably already know this without me telling you.
00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:22.319
It can be difficult to find some place to park because everyone wants to come down on Friday and Saturday night.
00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:24.799
So it's supply and demand, it's basic business.
00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:27.759
Friday and Saturday night will be at a higher rate.
00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.480
Um, the rest of the days will stay the same.
00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:32.240
Friday during the day will stay the same.
00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:38.319
It's just when that peak time goes up at six o'clock on Friday, the rate will go up, pending council approval.
00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:45.519
And then on Saturdays, we pretty much have 100% full parking on Saturday from each other.
00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:51.039
You know, thanks to businesses and our beautiful weather and our beautiful downtown Hall Fox Market, all those wonderful things.
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:52.400
All those wonderful things.
00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:58.880
Our parking stays full pretty much 100% of the time on Saturdays, so the rates will be a little bit higher on Saturday.
00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.799
Um, but I think that that makes business sense, right?
00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:05.599
We would they're still very reasonable.
00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:10.240
I mean, I have I have recently dropped a child off in South Florida to go to college.
00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:16.240
Um it costs a lot more than a dollar or$1.75 to park there.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:16.960
Yes.
00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:22.000
So what what we are proposing to council is$1.75 on Friday nights and Saturday.
00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:31.759
Again, free Mondays and everything else stays that dollar an hour unless you have a you know permit or the discount program, then you'll you'll receive even less expensive parking.
00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.359
Um but yeah, so that's that's what we're proposing.
00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:50.079
Well, uh certainly um we hope that um the that the relationship that the involvement that council movement patent has had in the process will will definitely help make that hopefully a smooth transition.
00:19:50.240 --> 00:20:00.880
Um we did always say that it couldn't be free forever, would have to come back, but I think you know it's fairly this is a reasonable plan, yes.
00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.519
And I don't I don't think the mayor ever said free forever.
00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:12.799
He said, he said, yeah, he said we will support the new Palafox and we'll support local businesses, and by doing that, we'll make on-street parking free during construction.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:15.440
And he even went above and beyond the construction period.
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:24.000
Um you know, it was initially going to end when Palafox was done, and as we know, Palafox has been done, and we're not bringing it back till October 5th.
00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:30.960
So I think the city has done its part in showing that we're supporting a prosperous downtown.
00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:45.920
It's not just about the revenue, but it is about the reinvestment back into our downtown through usage fees of our parking and making sure that that parking is possibly available to as many people as it can possibly be.
00:20:46.480 --> 00:21:02.079
Um yeah, I think our there are I read somewhere there's upwards of 5,000 counties in the entire country, and and if you look at our data, um parking sessions come from license plates from 4,000 plus of those counties.
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.400
It is not um something that is funded on the backs of solely on the backs of locals.
00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:13.680
No, I'll tell you when we were looking at the map, I was trying to just get them to send me the just the US.
00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:17.279
And they were like, Lisa, it's it extends outside the US.
00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:21.440
So you you need a much bigger map because you have people from Europe visiting you now.
00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:22.880
And I'm like, oh, okay.
00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.119
What a great problem, what a good problem.
00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:31.839
So the dots on the map were a little hard to see, but that's because we have so many people coming to see us from all over the world.
00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:37.759
And it's fair, it's I think it's fair that we ask them to, you know, help help out a little bit.
00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:41.519
Yes, that's not out, that's not outside the realm of possibility.
00:21:41.759 --> 00:21:43.279
It's well worth the investment.
00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:44.240
Absolutely.
00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:46.559
Well, um, thank you very much.
00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:54.079
I want to, while I have you as a captive audience, the other half of your title, constituent services, that includes 311.
00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:54.400
It does.
00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:59.759
We get lots of um questions from residents about how to use it, what it's for.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.839
What should I be reporting to it?
00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:06.720
So while we have you under the bright spotlight, give us a little 311 primer.
00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.000
Like what's that?
00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.680
What's the best way to use that?
00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:13.359
So let me first say parking also helps support 311.
00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:14.720
Excellent.
00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:15.759
And 311.
00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:16.880
We have it all feedback.
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:17.759
It's all feeds back.
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:22.079
So 311 is for anything city related.
00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:33.920
And even if it's a service that the city doesn't offer, like in our four walls, and I'll I always use the uh example of data animals on the road.
00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:43.839
We don't have someone that will go, you know, pick up those animals, or it goes to someone outside or water issue.
00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:46.880
It goes to NG, you know, Pets Call of Water or whatever it's called.
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:47.519
ECUA.
00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:48.319
ECUA, thank you.
00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.680
ECUA, our good friends at ECU.
00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:51.119
Our good friends at ECUA.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:58.400
So if you are a city resident and you have a water issue, you can call us and we will call ECUA for you.
00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:01.519
We'll get a work order number for you and we'll update that on your ticket.
00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.359
So then you can track it either through our system or you can track it through ECUA.
00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:07.759
But we just make sure that our citizens are taken care of.
00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:09.759
That's basically what 311 is for.
00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:11.680
So any city service.
00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:12.559
Anything?
00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:13.519
Anything.
00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:15.920
If we can't help you, we'll get you to the person that can't.
00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:17.359
You can find the people who will.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:20.559
We will work diligently to find you someone who can.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:26.480
Um I know that, of course, you call 311 in the name.
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:30.160
Um, there's also a website where you can submit uh a ticket.
00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:37.039
I have used that several times um just as a live person testimonial to uh request some.
00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:38.559
Did your issue get resolved?
00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:39.759
It did get resolved.
00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:40.880
Thank you very much.
00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:43.519
And I got a nice note when it was when it was done.
00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.039
Love it to let me know.
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:49.599
Perfect that the fencing was fixed at my at my neighborhood park, which I appreciate.
00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:50.160
Okay.
00:23:50.799 --> 00:24:01.440
So yeah, I know that in the past, long past, we had had some issues with backlog at 311, but I think that the team has well responded to that and cleared that up, right?
00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:09.359
Yes, that was a huge success, and I I love talking about the success of it, but it was so long ago and it wasn't in the best state.
00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:17.200
So I don't want to dwell on that because it's been more than three years, and the team that we have in place now, they have 100% kept up with it.
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.079
I think our average ticket time is three days.
00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:27.359
So it might not be fixed in three days, but you're gonna get a response and you're gonna have some type of resolution and some kind of time frame within three days.
00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:28.640
That's fantastic.
00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.440
Yes.
00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:32.880
Great customer service, wonderful customer service.
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:33.519
I appreciate it.
00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:34.480
From real people.
00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:35.680
From real people.
00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:36.880
We love that.
00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:39.359
On both the parking side and the 311.
00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:44.319
We do have a little bit, we have a new helper at 311 too.
00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.200
We have Penny, right?
00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:46.160
We do have Penny.
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.240
Talk about Penny and her role.
00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:50.799
So Penny speaks multiple languages.
00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:52.640
Actually, she'll speak any language that you speak.
00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:53.599
You just have to tell her.
00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.599
And that's really hard for us to find humans that can do that.
00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:03.440
And again, just like we have parking sessions from all over the world, we have people that call us and live here from all over the world.
00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:05.920
And English may not be their first language.
00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:12.480
So Penny can talk to you in whatever native tongue you want to speak to her in, and she will take down that information.
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:17.279
She'll make sure it gets to us and it's translated, and so that we can get it resolved.
00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:21.680
And she's also on call 24-7, which we love.
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:23.039
We do love that.
00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:26.559
Now we should Penny is um is there to answer overflow calls, right?
00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:34.319
Which she we had an overflow call system before Penny, but what's what does she bring to the table that's an improvement?
00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:45.839
So again, the language thing was a really big aspect for me because I didn't realize how many how many people called in, and we couldn't help them because we didn't speak the language that they they needed to speak to us in.
00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:48.480
Um, so that was a big sell for me.
00:25:48.640 --> 00:26:03.279
Um, the other thing was overflow calls would go to a call center, and that call center was from all over the world, and sometimes stuff gets lost in translation, and penny doesn't lose the translation, it's verbatim what's what's being said.
00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:07.519
And sometimes it's rather funny to listen to how it's translated.
00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:13.200
Oh, I'm sure there's a pen, there's a highlights reel we could we could share, but maybe later.
00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:18.640
But she's she's very reliable in making sure that we get the information we need so that we can get you the help that you need.
00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.519
That's great.
00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:22.000
She's been on the job a couple months now.
00:26:22.240 --> 00:26:32.880
Um she was we tested her out just as overclose overflow during the day for the month of July, and then August she went to after hours and overflow.
00:26:33.200 --> 00:26:36.079
And what's the um what what what's her data like?
00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:39.680
How's she hand what's her response rate and her her clearance rate?
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:39.920
I guess.
00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:50.640
Well, she they go by um satisfaction, yes, caller satisfaction, and we're seeing I didn't bring those numbers because I thought we were just talking about parking.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.920
Um I want to say she was she was in the 90s.
00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:58.240
Yes, she was in the 90 percentile, so she's she's doing really well.
00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:03.119
But don't worry, our our wonderful staff of real people are always still there.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.680
Yes, they are always still there, just not 24-7.
00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:06.640
Just not 24-7.
00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:08.880
I wouldn't want them to work 24 hours.
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:13.200
Give them a lunch break every now and let them take breaks and have a day off or something.
00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.880
And that's where Penny can be helpful to us for sure.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:19.119
Um, well, thank you, Lisa.
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:29.920
Is there anything that uh we didn't cover that you'd want us to or that you want to share with folks about either 311 or the parking transition and what we have in store?
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:31.440
What do we have in store?
00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:36.400
Um, any any secrets you can spill or secrets?
00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:36.720
No.
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:38.480
There are no secrets in government.
00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:39.680
No, never.
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:40.319
Never.
00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:42.799
Just a reminder October 5th is the day.
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:49.680
Um it's not it's not that you know, October 5th, 8 a.m., everyone gets out and just with their pencil.
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.200
Yeah, just you know, looking.
00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:52.640
Um so we are here to help.
00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:56.559
If you have any questions, find one of our guys on the street or gals on the street.
00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.319
Um, yes, our parking ambassadors, give them a shout out because they're amazing.
00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:01.920
They are amazing.
00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:07.599
Um I don't know if you ever watched the the show years ago with dirty jobs or something like that.
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:13.039
Like if it was still on today, I would so be writing into that show and be like, please show my team.
00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.319
Um but anyway, they are they are wonderful staff.
00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:25.599
So if you have any questions after October 5th about what's happening or how to how to park, where to park, where's a good place to eat, um, they have some really good parking hiding spots too.
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.640
They do about make friends with the parking ambassador.
00:28:29.039 --> 00:28:29.759
Be nice to them.
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.599
They yeah, they will help you.
00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:36.799
Um, but yeah, reach out to them, stop them on the street or dial 311 if you have questions about parking.
00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:43.039
October 5th is when we come back, but we're here to just remind everyone as gently as we can.
00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:55.599
There will be uh, I don't want to say, uh kind of a grace period in between there where we'll we write a lot of warnings, um, just reminding people that it's paid parking, so soft enforcement.
00:28:55.759 --> 00:29:03.039
Um but yeah, come back and say yes and yeah, and invest October 5th.
00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:17.279
Your investment in your city um is coming back and it it all goes um to the public good, it all makes us safer and um more inviting downtown and community for us all to live in.
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:23.359
So thank you, O parking guru, Lisa Dees, for sharing all of your wisdom.
00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:26.000
Um and we appreciate you.
00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:26.640
Thank you.
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:27.680
Yes, thanks.
00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.400
And we appreciate you all listening and watching.
00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:35.680
However, you're absorbing the long view, we're happy to have you with us, and we'll see you next time.
