Poulsbo council fields complaints over new paid parking rollout and $60 fines

At the Sept. 2 Poulsbo City Council meeting, several residents and councilmembers raised practical and equity concerns with the city's newly implemented paid-parking program and its $60 citation. Public commenters and business liaisons described difficulties scanning small, high-placed QR codes in rainy or low-light conditions and urged accessible alternatives such as card kiosks and bigger signage.

"It pretty much says if you don't have a smartphone, we don't really want you here," said Paula Strid, a longtime volunteer with local food bank Fishline, in public comment. Martin Bridal, who works downtown as a vendor, told council the QR codes were hard to scan in rain and called for lower signs, bigger codes and a customer service phone number.

City Administrator Rob Gelder told the council that ParkMobile processed "8,777 parking sessions" in the first two weeks of the program, a number he said showed early uptake but also raised user-experience issues staff plan to address. Police and public-works staff described constraints set by federal and ADA sign-placement standards and said they would explore locations where lower signs would comply with manuals and safety codes.

Council members also questioned the citation amount. "But $60 says don't come back," said Councilmember Michael Fitzpatrick, describing conversations with downtown customers who said a $60 fee felt punitive. Councilmember Rick Eckert defended a higher fine as a disincentive to repeat nonpayment and noted processing costs historically made lower fines less effective.

Rather than making immediate rate changes, Mayor Edward Stern said staff would continue adaptive management of the rollout and recommended a focused workshop in the near term to review enforcement, platform fees and citation levels before making policy changes. The council asked staff to return with options and data in the weeks ahead so decisions can be considered within the upcoming budget cycle.

Why it matters: The debate touches downtown businesses, seniors, and visitors. Council directed staff to balance enforcement that encourages compliance with outreach and user-friendly payment options so the program supports downtown parking objectives without deterring customers.