City presents Nights of Lights after-action: expanded shuttles, more restrooms, $379,000 net cost to city

City Manager David Burton told the commission the city addressed 2024 crowding and safety problems with several 2025 operational changes, including expanding shuttle service and increasing garage rates during shuttle hours to disincentivize driving into downtown.

"We expanded the shuttle service. We expanded it to 33 days," Burton said, adding the city raised the downtown garage rate to $40 during shuttle operating times and actively managed the US 1–Castillo intersection to reduce gridlock. Burton said total garage entries fell slightly from about 135,000 in 2024 to 129,000 in 2025 even as the garage filled more consistently.

Meredith Bridal, assistant city manager, reviewed the budget and actuals and said the season's actual expenditures were about $1.2 million, with net city expense—after TDC funding and a modest sales‑tax uptick—of roughly $379,000. "Our actual expenditures were $1,200,000 ... when we net those out down at the bottom, you can see that the net city expense was $379,000," Bridal told commissioners.

Operational changes the city described include: expanding shuttle service from 12 to 33 days and increasing shuttle ridership from roughly 19,450 passengers in 2024 to about 69,000 in 2025; inaugurating an Anastasia Island circulator that ran 56 of 58 days and carried about 16,000 passengers; and moving an estimated 85,419 people overall on shuttles during the season. The city reported shuttle operations (33 days) cost roughly $516,000 in 2025 and estimated per-passenger shuttle costs of about $7.40 when averaged across service days.

Bridal and Burton also described operational improvements: adding up to 75 additional portable restrooms at peak locations and contracting third-party custodial services to maintain them late into the night (city costs for portable restrooms and related services were presented as approximately $132,420). The city increased trash-collection support and contracted a third party to pick up overflow and maintain downtown appearance; staff reported measurable reductions in negative social-media commentary about sanitation compared with 2024.

Public safety staffing rose. Burton reported portions of policing, sheriff's and off‑duty hours were required to manage crowds and traffic; combined calls for service during the event reached thousands and the city recorded 194 arrests, 221 vehicle crashes and one traffic fatality over the season. Staff added Meridian barricades and bike-rack barricades to define pedestrian areas; the city purchased Meridian barricades in a one-time $323,000 buy so future seasons need not rent them.

Commissioners focused questions on the program's cost-effectiveness, asking staff to produce: (1) a more detailed daily-cost and revenue breakdown that includes lost meter revenue from barricaded areas, (2) hotel/TDT occupancy and revenue correlation data, and (3) fuller staff-time accounting for reassigned work. Burton and Bridal agreed to return with additional breakdowns and balance-sheet updates.

The presentation and the discussion produced a mix of reactions during the meeting's public comment and by commissioners: many residents and business owners praised improved crowd control and restroom availability but said changes to parking and the extended event schedule harmed some downtown businesses in January. City staff said they will use neighborhood survey results and business feedback to refine future operational plans.

The commission took no formal vote on program changes at the meeting; staff will return with requested cost/revenue analyses and recommended policy options ahead of decisions about the next season.