VERO BEACH — Plans to introduce paid parking at the Vero Beach Regional Airport are moving closer to a City Council vote, but concerns over the technology behind the system could complicate the rollout.
In March, the City Council authorized the airport to move forward with a paid parking program as commercial air service continues to expand. Interim Airport Director Brandon Dambeck said negotiations on the lease agreement are nearing completion.
"We're making good headway in those lease negotiations. We're hoping to bring a lease agreement before council in August, in the second meeting in August. We've, I believe, worked through some of the major hurdles within the agreement, and now we're just sort of doing some fine-tuning," he said.
Before approving the agreement, some council members said they want assurances that the technology used to manage parking will function properly.
Councilwoman Linda Moore said she remains concerned about SafeParc, whose parking technology is currently in use at the Arbor Center downtown and is slated to be installed at the airport.
"I have a lot of apprehensions about the technology being used in Arbor Center right now, and I'm not, at this juncture, super comfortable using them for the airport because they can't manage a parking lot that's much smaller properly. That's kind of an issue," she said.
Moore said residents have contacted her after receiving parking citations despite using free city parking spaces at the Arbor Center.
"The problem is the free spaces are inside the lot. The way SafeParc monitors who's parked in the lot is by filming everybody as they come and go. I don't know what kind of technology they're using to eliminate the free spaces from what they're charging for, but that part's not working out," she said. "Because if I'm getting calls from constituents all the time based on problems in this one parking lot, I can only imagine what kind of phone calls we're going to receive if we use this same not perfect technology in the airport parking lot."
Councilman John Carroll said the concerns extend beyond City Hall.
"I mean, everybody in downtown is upset about this," he said.
John Mostoller, a partner with Envision Parking, the company that will manage the airport's parking operation, said the company wants to address both logistical issues and the city's concerns before moving forward.
"I want to make sure that we do, one, is get comfortable with the construction of the airport, the timing, the permits, things of that nature. Secondarily, any issues with SafeParc before we get to that juncture, we understand you have to be comfortable with and we can understand whatever issues they have with the city now, as well as make sure that we, as well as the council, is comfortable with the technology moving forward," he said.
City Manager Monte Falls said staff will work with SafeParc to determine why problems have occurred at the Arbor Center and how they can be resolved.
"We can find out what's going on with SafeParc and why they're having a hard time discerning between what's public spaces and private spaces there. Have them tell us how they're going to resolve that," he said.
City officials have previously said airport parking is one of the most common complaints they receive from residents.
As additional airlines have begun serving Vero Beach, parking demand has increased, with the airport relying on temporary parking to accommodate travelers.