Newport, Portsmouth Beach revenue decline after wet summer
It appears all of Aquidneck Island’s beaches saw a slight drop in revenue thanks to the rainy weekend, but fortunately the drop was relatively small, according to local authorities.
The island’s beaches got off to a bad start last summer, with rain falling nearly every weekend in June, according to Weather Underground. Reports indicate that June 10, June 17, and June 24 were weekends.
And in July, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center — data accumulated from Cornell University — the first half of July in the Greater Providence area alone saw rainfall nearly three times the average for that time of year. Early July brings the region an average rainfall of 2.91 inches, compared to the 7.12 inches recorded last July.
According to Newport Beach Commission Chairman Rick Klafke, parking revenue at Newport Beaches is down 6%.
“Our parking revenues were down this year as a result of the weather. Parking revenues were $777,000 through September compared to $825,000 for the same period last year,” he said.
Portsmouth CFO Ryan Kilpatrick presented the beach’s revenue numbers for the past three years. He noted that Portsmouth tracks data over fiscal years and currently, beach revenue for the current fiscal year 2024, which ends June 30 of next year, is $14,645. Recreation officials estimate that by the end of the fiscal year that number should be about $4,000 or $5,000 higher to about $19,000 — based on historical data.
This latest figure is down from the previous year, which was $22,208.
In the previous year, which ended June 30, 2022, city beach revenue was much lower at $13,482.
The lowest number that year was related to beach closures in August due to lifeguarding issues, according to officials.
(That) summer we had problems with lifeguards. They basically wanted to take time off every two weeks for their other jobs, so we couldn’t work. “I think we closed the first week of August,” Recreation Director Wendy Polk said.
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The beach report will be presented to the Middletown City Council on Nov. 20, said Will Cronin, Middletown’s director of operations and facilities.
He declined to comment further until the numbers are presented to the council.
According to a Newport Daily News report last summer, Middletown’s Second and Third Beaches also saw a slight decline in usage thanks to rain.
“While we’ve certainly had our fair share of beautiful summer days, unfortunately some of them don’t seem to line up with our weekends, when we typically see the most visitors on Second and Third Beaches,” said Matt Shelley, Middletown Public Affairs Office. “. Newport Daily News last summer.
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