As paid parking is introduced to part of downtown St. Joseph, the city is implementing a new Downtown Ambassador Program to spread the word.
Speaking to commissioners this week, city Development Director Kelly Ewalt said because there will be big changes in the area this summer, the ambassadors will help people understand what they need to do.
“Who will spend time explaining the parking program, assisting with any questions on the pay stations in the app, and helping to maintain the pay stations, replacing paper, working with St. Joe today,” Ewalt said. “They’re also expected to give information on activities and events.”
Ewalt said the ambassadors will be the city’s “friendly face downtown.”
The city will hire a coordinator for the program along with six or seven ambassadors, who will work whenever they’re available for shifts of a few hours each. They’ll be paid $18 an hour, while the coordinator will be paid $21 an hour.
Commissioners agreed to hire the ambassadors with the cost of the program to be covered by the fees generated by paid parking.
The paid parking will be between May 15 and September 15 on the west side of Main Street only. The downtown parking program is expected to generate about $832,000 in revenue for the city each year while costing about $100,000.
