Flagstaff City Council Tentatively Approves Airport Parking Fees

Dec. 9—Flagstaff Pulliam Airport is one step closer to implementing paid parking.

During its Tuesday meeting, the Flagstaff City Council unanimously approved the proposed ordinance that would eliminate free parking at the airport and instead require travelers to pay up to $8 per day and $48 per week.

The reading of the ordinance received no comments from the public or members of the council. Council will vote whether to adopt the ordinance officially at the Dec. 28 meeting as the Dec. 21 meeting is canceled due to the Christmas holiday.

According to airport director Barney Helmick, charging for parking is necessary to pay for the $4.9 million borrowed from the city's general fund to cover the construction of an additional parking lot and other improvements to the existing parking lot.

The airport long outgrew the existing 385-space Terminal Lot. The airport has expanded significantly in recent years with multiple routes and more than 124,000 passengers departing from the airport in 2019, Helmick explained.

The new lot — dubbed the Terminal Economy Lot — is currently under construction. It will more than double the number of parking spaces by adding 413 spots, ideally alleviating the parking overflow during the peak spring and summer seasons. The lot will also feature internal walkways and a sidewalk to the terminal. The addition of the new lot will also allow for further expansion of electric vehicle charging stations, bike paths and improve bus usage.

Gate-arm systems will be installed at both lots. The paid parking will be managed via a kiosk that charges based on the number of days a car is parked by using the license plate number. Park Flag staff will assist with enforcement and anyone parked outside of a market spot will be subject to parking enforcement.

Parking staff, increased utilities, landscape maintenance, snow management, credit card fees, software and yearly pavement maintenance will cost an additional $288,000 annually.

The addition of the parking fees will restore that money in about a decade and cover the ongoing costs of operation and maintenance needs.

Rick Tadder, management services director for the City of Flagstaff, told city council during Tuesday night's meeting that the introduction of paid parking will eventually allow the airport to be self-sustainable.

"It will make the airport fund a true enterprise fund where it's not relying on other resources outside their capacity and the fees and charges that they have at the airport," Tadder said. "Currently, they do rely on the (City of Flagstaff) general fund."

Parking will remain free for the first hour in both lots and $2 for each additional hour if the ordinance passes. The existing Terminal Lot, which is located closer to the airport, will cost $7 per day. The fee would then increase to $8 on July 1, 2022. Weekly parking will cost $48.

The Terminal Economy Lot will cost $5 per day until July 1, when it would then increase to $6. The weekly rate is set for $36.

Helmick said Pulliam anticipates a soft opening of the new parking lot with no paid parking by Feb. 1. However, he warned that it likely won't happen due to delays in construction and getting materials. The new rates won't go into effect until all the equipment is in place and the public receives at least 30 days' notice of the start date.

Reporter Bree Burkitt can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @breeburkitt.

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