Councilors and staff discussed parking policy, enforcement and technology at the June 5 Fort Myers Beach meeting, focusing on whether to offer expanded year‑round passes for residents and potential partnerships with Lee County.

The issue matters because parking is a significant source of municipal revenue and a daily quality‑of‑life concern for residents, businesses and visitors; changes could affect town operating income and access to downtown and beach areas.

Councilor Stafford opened the discussion by proposing an expanded or year‑round pass that would allow residents to park at beach accesses and other town spots outside the current seasonal structure. Staff said an average parking space on the island generates about $4,000 of annual revenue, a figure the town uses when weighing whether to extend privileges beyond current limits. The town’s parking coordinator, Frankie, explained enforcement practices and customer service: “we void somewhere between 40‑45% of our tickets at this point,” and said the department balances revenue goals with an educational enforcement approach.

Councilors and staff discussed options that included a resident year‑round pass, limited off‑island purchases in the off season, recognition of Lee County park passes in certain town lots, camera‑based enforcement pilots, and a unified app that could show private and public availability. Staff noted hurdles: many parking spaces are privately owned, signage and jurisdictional differences create confusion for motorists, and some third‑party parking vendors take a revenue share that reduces town receipts.

Council members asked staff to research the feasibility and revenue implications of a year‑round resident pass or limited off‑island sticker program; to inventory how many town spaces would be affected; to re‑engage vendors who have proposed camera or app solutions; and to seek available funding or grant opportunities (the mayor suggested asking the Metropolitan Planning Organization and FDOT for traffic/count data that could support planning). The town will also look for existing traffic‑count datasets before commissioning new counts.

No ordinance or fee change was proposed on June 5. Council directed staff to return with cost estimates, revenue modeling, any vendor proposals and information on grants or MPO/FDOT traffic counts that would help quantify demand and fiscal impact.

Methodology and sourcing: article is based on the June 5 council meeting transcript and direct statements by councilors and parking staff recorded there.