Augusta Commission authorizes procurement for downtown parking management and ordinance updates

The Augusta Commission authorized staff to begin procurement of a downtown parking-management firm and directed the law department to draft related ordinance changes after staff and commissioners discussed costs, enforcement and stakeholder engagement.

Dr. Malik of the Engineering Department recommended contracting a firm to handle end-to-end parking management rather than building an internal program, explaining a contractor could absorb implementation costs while providing a revenue share to the city. As a pricing example, staff suggested a $2.50 rate for primary downtown corridors and $1.50 for side streets, and said the contractor model would minimize city operating costs.

Commissioner Jordan Johnson pressed staff on anticipated costs to the city, resident impacts (overnight enforcement and resident exceptions), representative stakeholders invited to work on the plan, and the proposed timeline. Staff said a draft RFQ/RFP would be prepared quickly, with stakeholder meetings expected in July, and identified participants including the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), EDA, Destination Augusta and several downtown businesses.

The motion to authorize procurement and to ask the law department to draft code updates carried unanimously. Staff said they will return with the procurement timeline, list of stakeholder participants, public-survey data and proposed ordinance language for enforcement and resident provisions.

Why it matters: A downtown parking-management program could change longer-term parking behavior and revenue collection; commissioners emphasized protecting residents and ensuring the stakeholder mix is representative.

Next steps: Staff will draft the RFQ/RFP, present a stakeholder list and provide ordinance changes and enforcement-cost estimates at a future meeting.