Change in JEA board

[Kiva]

So, will this change the rush to privatize JEA? Looks like Lenny Curry nominated him to the JEA board.
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/grey-resigns-from-downtown-investment-authority-to-join-jea-board

[thelakelander]

How will this change the rush?

[jaxlongtimer]

Mayor Lenny Curry nominated Grey to the JEA board. Resolution 2019-744 was filed with City Council on Tuesday for the appointment.

I don't know anything about Mr. Grey, but based on the below editorial in the Times Union today, there is a strong chance he very much will be doing Curry's bidding to sell JEA.  So much for "independent" authorities.

In a small conference room in City Hall on Tuesday, a few people received a phenomenal proposal.

Dane Grey, who resigned the previous day from the Downtown Investment Authority board, offered to manage all of the city's Downtown parking issues — lock, stock and barrel.

The proposal was phenomenal in several ways.

First, it revealed how poorly the city's parking has been managed. It's as if that guy in the basement in the movie "Office Space" had been running the city's parking.

Nothing ever seems to get done. There are always plans and pilot programs but parking in Jacksonville's Downtown is in one big traffic jam.

As Board Member Oliver Barakat said, every time he has to stick a quarter into one of the city's ancient parking meters, he gets annoyed.

Gray happens to be an expert on parking. He is CEO of Elite Parking Services of America. His company manages parking facilities for airports and hospitals in Jacksonville and elsewhere.

Elite has over 200 employees, shuttles more than 4,000 passengers daily and manages nearly 55,000 parking spaces.

Gray spoke to the Strategic Implementation Committee of DIA.

As a former board member, he had the benefit of examining a recent consultant's report on parking. Gray took that report and put it into action.

Here are highlights of Gray's proposal:

• At no cost to the city, no incentives, Gray would guarantee to the DIA a minimum annual payment. As profits increase, the city would take a proportionate share.

• Parking meters and facilities would be upgraded at no cost to the city. That means using apps on smartphones to pay.

• Services would increase such as valet parking and park and ride. Included in the proposal would be parking in San Marco and Riverside.

• Gray's company would make a $6 million initial investment to fund these improvements. Profits would be obtained by raising rates to market conditions and offering new services.

Whether this proposal is right for the DIA will require some major study but the concept of turning over the city's parking to a private firm is clearly a good one. The status quo is simply not working.

Brian Hughes, the mayor's chief of staff and former interim CEO of the DIA, told the committee that the mayor's administration agrees with the concept of privatizing parking.

"Success in that industry is being driven by technology, smart meters, apps, automation," he said. "In general, public entities like city government are probably less equipped than the private sector to evaluate and deploy technology."

The Times-Union's historic position is to privatize when it makes more sense. That's the case here.

Lori Boyer, CEO of the DIA, said that a private company, freed from political pressures, would be better able to raise parking rates and make changes to city employee parking benefits.

Politics might explain the gridlock that has kept city parking rates turned upside-down. Short-term metered parking should cost more; long-term parking in garages should cost less. Think of airport parking.

But in Downtown Jacksonville, cheap metered parking spots are usually full, frustrating people who just want to make a brief stop.

And some of the city's parking facilities are located too far from the Central Business District, in the stadium area, for instance.

Gray proposes a shuttle service that would conveniently move city employees and others to and from the stadium parking garages.

The concept is great but board members need to make sure the details make sense as well.

Boyer asked the committee to give her a month to assemble data on the proposal. Presumably, other bidders would have a chance to seek the city's business.

Any contract needs to have reasonable flexibility as conditions Downtown change as well as a legitimate way to end the contract if problems arise.

Gray proposes a 30-year management deal. Much can change in that time.

Boyer reminded the committee that some problems had arisen with one of the city's garage operators.

As the saying goes, when drafting a contract, prepare for a divorce.

Parking is one of those lingering issues Downtown that never seems to get fixed. With this proposal, a real solution may be on the way.

https://www.jacksonville.com/opinion/20191010/thursdays-editorial-interesting-proposal-to-take-over-downtown-parking

[vicupstate]

Profits would be obtained by raising rates to market conditions and offering new services.

All the parking under the control of one entity, that does not answer to the public.  Sounds like a monopoly to me.  Get ready to bend over and grab your ankles Jacksonville. Dont hold your breath for a kiss either.

Given the fiascoes underway with the School Board and JEA privatization, there is no reason to think this is in the public interest.   

Plenty of cities have public parking that uses Smart Apps, credit cards, etc.  If JAX wasn't so screwed up, it would have done the same long ago.

[thelakelander]

Sounds more like a management issue as opposed to a need to 100% privatize. With that said, this one little quote really stuck out to me in that editorial:

• Services would increase such as valet parking and park and ride. Included in the proposal would be parking in San Marco and Riverside.

San Marco and Riverside seem to be doing just fine without the extra hands in the public cookie jar. What do they have to do with downtown's perceived parking issues and has there been any discussion with residents and business owners in those areas about having their parking privatized? On the surface, it seems meters will be up in districts like Five Points, King Street, St. Johns Avenue, San Marco Square, Hendricks and San Marco Boulevard overnight to grease these areas for every nickel and dime possible.

[thelakelander]

All the parking under the control of one entity, that does not answer to the public.

Correction, not all parking. Just downtown and in areas where revenue can be generated.

[Charles Hunter]

Then, there is this

Gray proposes a shuttle service that would conveniently move city employees and others to and from the stadium parking garages.

JTA tried this years ago, and discontinued it due to lack of passengers.  IF I remember correctly.

And, a major concept of the Skyway is "park and ride" with a parking garage at the end of the Southbank line, and a parking garage under construction (and surface lots now) at the end of the Convention Center line (except the Skyway is not running there now).

[thelakelander]

The difference would be, with control of parking, you could potentially force a larger segment to certain remote areas through discounts/reliable shuttle service there with high rates and aggressive enforcement in the core. Now what downtown employees, business owners, consumers think, and the impact of privatization on things economically, should be viewed as being more important than apps and smart meters. It would be bad to see places like Five Points and San Marco Square having their public parking areas privatized without much input on the proposal.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

This may be a dumb question, but if parking collections go private, who's in charge of parking enforcement?

[Charles Hunter]

This may be a dumb question, but if parking collections go private, who's in charge of parking enforcement?

The JEA Board?  (just trying to get back on track ...  )

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

This may be a dumb question, but if parking collections go private, who's in charge of parking enforcement?

The JEA Board?  (just trying to get back on track ...  )

LOL... so much for tangents....

[jaxlongtimer]

Nate Monroe column nails this appointment and its unfortunate meaning in this column:

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20191018/nate-monroe-city-hall-and-revolving-door

The blatant web of conflicts of interests and good ol' boy network of Curry are over the top.  Can't believe any voter can be happy with this current state of affairs.

[Charles Hunter]

Deplorable.

[thelakelander]

Nate Monroe column nails this appointment and its unfortunate meaning in this column:

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20191018/nate-monroe-city-hall-and-revolving-door

The blatant web of conflicts of interests and good ol' boy network of Curry are over the top.  Can't believe any voter can be happy with this current state of affairs.

I take it that you're skeptical about this plan to privatize parking?!

[Bill Hoff]

Nate Monroe column nails this appointment and its unfortunate meaning in this column:

https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20191018/nate-monroe-city-hall-and-revolving-door

The blatant web of conflicts of interests and good ol' boy network of Curry are over the top.  Can't believe any voter can be happy with this current state of affairs.

I take it that you're skeptical about this plan to privatize parking?!

Efforts to privatize JEA, schools and parking.....

I'm sensing a trend.