Opinion
By Dave Scott, 8-22-25
Paid parking in downtown Fernandina Beach appears to be a popular as Bud Light’s bikini-clad poster boy Dylan Mulvany at an Octoberfest celebration.
Other than the four clueless members of the City Commission, I haven’t discovered a single person who favors installing parking meters in downtown Fernandina Beach.
Every single downtown business owner I’ve talked to is against it. It’s mystifying to me why Commissioner Tim Poynter, who owns multiple downtown businesses, is an enthusiastic advocate.
Commissioner Poynter told the myopic online outlet Observer: “The decision was about long-term survival. Sometimes you have to make a decision that’s not necessarily popular. Parking is not free — our citizens are already paying for it. This is about helping the community take care of itself.”
OK, Commissioner, if, as you say: “our citizens are already paying for it”, then why are you demanding they pay a $100 annual fee or feed meters each time they go downtown, or whatever devious money-grubbing schemes the Commission has come up with? How about a plan for saving taxpayer money?
There are a variety of reasons to oppose downtown Fernandina Beach paid parking, a significant one being that local radical left winger Sheila Cocchi is all for it. Anything this unemployed lefty gadfly proposes is a clear signal that it is not good for the city, local businesses, or residents, just the opposite.
The lone elected opponent, City Commissioner Darron Ayscue, expressed his disagreement with paid parking responding to Cocchi’s Facebook support of it. He cautioned that the city staff is also oblivious concerning the issue.
Commissioner Ayscue was the only member of the Commission who voted against the proposal in its 4-1 decision Tuesday, August 19. Despite widespread opposition to parking meters four commissioners stuck their collective fingers in the publics’ eye saying the city needs the cash. So do the folks they plan on taking it from.
If the city needs money how about trimming its bloated overpaid staff, selling some of the new vehicles it keeps buying, cutting each department budget by 10-15 percent, and merging the redundant building, police, and fire departments with the county? Or how about unloading some of its millions of dollars’ worth of nonperforming and untaxed real estate assets that are nothing more than swampy mosquito sanctuaries?
Former News Leader columnist Steve Nicklas, now with the Yulee News, wrote that financially screwing the public isn’t new to the city. Back in March 2021 he wrote a News Leader column headlined: “City manager fortunate he doesn’t work in private sector”.
In it Nicklas also pointed out that during Dale Martin’s tenure property taxes increased by nearly 50 percent; the city’s staff grew by 43 new full-time employees; there are leaking sewer lines; unnecessary beach access expenses; landscaping issues; the $600,000 golf course Top Tracer game fiasco; an inferior garbage collection contract; and the overpriced airport terminal; and a $500,000 Simmons Road park nobody wanted. Poynter was a Commissioner during this period of excess spending.
In his no-nonsense one-paragraph Facebook comment Friday, August 15, Commissioner Ayscue slammed the city staff writing: “Literally no one in City Hall knows what’s going on” in regard to plans to implement paid parking in a core eight-block area of downtown.
Ayscue lumped them into the same clueless category as Cocchi.
“Spin it however you want,” Ayscue wrote. “Staff can’t even answer basic questions on this entire issue. They can’t even agree that going with a vendor while a petition to eliminate paid parking is pending is even legal. Nor can we even get confirmation that using paid parking revenue is legal without hard numbers. There is no plan. I’m here to state that unequivocally.”
Downtown businesses demonstrated their opposition to meters by hosting petition-signings calling for a citizen vote. Those signing had to present two forms of identification and proof they were registered to vote in the city. Other businesses are scheduled to host similar events.
Where is the impotent Chamber of Commerce hiding during this brouhaha? As usual Chamber members get nothing from the Chamber for the dues they pay other than an occasional ribbon cutting ceremony and meaningless blah blah.
It’s also obvious the city and its pricey paid consultants and staff didn’t do any research on the paid parking issue. All they had to do was look for examples in the state.
For example, after three years of complaints from business owners and visitors, the town of Dunedin (population 30,000) city commissioners voted in 2018 to make downtown parking free again. Meters were installed in that small West Florida town in 2015 . But the criticism against them grew throughout the three years until city commissioners decided to do away with them.
When proposing the meters Dunedin city officials said they would help with turnover and prevent drivers from hogging a spot for an indefinite amount of time. Sound familiar?
The Tampa Bay Times reports that since word got out that parking meters were removed, locals and visitors have returned to downtown Dunedin in great numbers. Fernandina (population 13,000) will see the opposite happening when meters start popping up downtown say those familiar with the issue.
If the issue goes to voters it’s likely to receive a massive thumbs down. Any of the four meter-huggers that voted for the mechanical pickpockets will meet the same fate if they run for reelection.
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Bonk! Democrats locally and nationally can’t talk about any issue without stepping on a rake. For example if DEI is such a good thing why do Democrats get angry when you call one of them a DEI hire?
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Just Wondering Department: Where does unemployed local liberal gadfly and leftwing radical Sheila Cocchi get the money to organize her protests, rent venues for her phony “Aaron Bean Townhalls”, and material she distributes to her grey-haired gaggle of granny groupies?
The local Democrat party even appears to be fed up with Cocchi’s antics. She no longer holds any official position in it and is currently operating as a free agent activist screecher.
So who pays for her protesting antics?
“Fox and Friends” co-host Lawrence Jones verbally brawled with Crowds on Demand CEO Adam Swart on Friday, August 15 over who was paying him to provide crowds for protests.
Protests have taken place, including the “No Kings” protests in multiple cities across the U.S. on July 4, with some of them turning violent, including one in Portland, Oregon, where rioters stormed a facility used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After Swart claimed his company engaged in “peaceful protest,” Jones asked Swart if the use of paid protesters gave an “accurate account” of public sentiment, prompting Swart to claim the Tea Party used paid protesters, leading Joned to jump in.
Several conservative events, candidates, and politicians have been targeted by paid protesters over the years.
When asked what organizations foot the bill, Swart gave an evasive answer, claiming that protesters are paid in several ways, including academic fellows who were paid to organize demonstrations. Swart also claimed that Congressional staff were paid protesters.
“It’s an interesting business model,” Jones said. “We look forward to seeing exactly where the money is coming from though. Because I think when you are affecting public policy, everybody likes organic protests, it’s a part of our democracy, but we have groups that are funding-”
“What we do is organic,” Swart claimed, with Jones responding, “It’s not organic, you are paying them. That means it’s totally different. They are professional, paid people.”
So, where does Cocchi get her funding?
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Overheard Downtown: Commenting on an odd-looking person walking past them, a Centre Street bystander asked: “Is that a man or a woman?” His companion responded: “I don’t know, but it’s certainly a Democrat.”
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Who Actually Talks Like This? Reporting on Target’s proposed new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, the Wall Street Journal quoted him Thursday, August 21, during a call with analysts saying: “We have to get back to growth. That is mission 1.2.3,.4, 5. We haven’t had enough of it over the last few years. We know that. I know that.”
That’s like the General Manager of baseball’s worst team, the Chicago White Sox, saying: “We need to get back to winning. We haven’t had enough of that the last few years.”
I’ve written opening remarks for executive at analyst meetings and if I had written anything even close to that I would have been cleaning out my desk before the meeting even started.
I suspect Mr. Fiddelke won’t be running things there for long.
Republished with the author’s permission. Read The Dave Scott Blog– subscribe Free
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida.
