Ogunquit News
Perkins Cove purveyors protest poor parking policies
By C. Ayn Douglass
Perkins Cove business owner Amy Forbes speaks at a workshop of the Ogunquit Board of Selectmen about the inequity of town-wide parking fees.
Photo by C. Ayn Douglass
Specifically, the fees and times that Perkins Cove charges and is open were under assault by Perkins Cove Candy owner Amy Forbes, who spoke before the board on the issue of the inequities between the parking lot fees.
Prior to Monday's session, Forbes originally spoke before the board in early March, again in early April and again last week at the board's meeting. At previous meetings she had spoken on behalf of the Perkins Cove business people; at last week's meeting, she brought a cadre of them with her.
At the Monday workshop session she reiterated her concern that charging for parking in the Perkins Cove lot during the spring and fall was driving business away from the cove and taking people into town to shop where the parking, while limited in time, is free.
"There are two candy shops in town," she asserted. "Why should people be able to park up town for free and have to pay at Perkins?"
Forbes stated that since she took over her parents' shop in Perkins Cove in 2000, business has been dropping as a result of an increase in the parking fees from $2 per hour to $3 and because of a two-hour time limit instead of the previous three hours.
The town, which budgets in an expected revenue of $1.2 million dollars annually from parking fees in its six lots, could add an estimated $70,000 annually by changing the free parking structure in the upper lot next to Alexander's Garage to a paid lot, Forbes said.
"You're subsidizing the business downtown and penalizing us," she said. "Why is everyone turning a blind eye to that upper lot? Why are we disregarding that $70,000?"
Both Forbes and Selectwoman Jackie Bevins were critical of the lack of enforcement of parking fines in Perkins Cove and the free public lots. Forbes said she has seen multiple instances in the upper lot - which is posted as one-hour parking - of vehicles parked for eight hours at a time.
Bevins was critical of tickets not being issued in the cove.
"You gave 47 tickets in May. If I were down there, I could write 40 tickets a day," she said.
Police Chief Pat Arnaudin said until the Police Department was fully staffed with additional summer help, it was difficult to keep up with parking violations, to which Bevins responded that staff was already available in the form of the community and visitor service people that the town employs.
"I want community service people to be able to write tickets," she said.
Arnaudin said in the past that community service personnel had not had the training or expertise to write tickets as the Police Department found such tickets lacked critical information to follow-up on violations.
"Well, train 'em," Bevins responded.
Selectmen Chairman John Miller said the whole issue of parking fees and limited time in the cove came from the business owners in the cove themselves.
"If you don't charge for parking at Perkins Cove, you get no turnover. Business people requested that we initiate parking fees," he said.
To improve or equalize the townwide fee schedule, cove business owners made several suggestions, including reducing the fee in the cove during the shoulder season in spring and fall; not charging in the cove when other lots are free of charge; reducing the fee from $3 to $2 and increase the maximum time vehicles can park in the lot from two hours to three hours.
The last two were suggestions submitted in a letter from Billy Tower, owner of Barnacle Billy's, who said the changes would allow those who come to the cove for dining and to take a trip on the tour boats a little leeway to enjoy the cove without having to worry about getting a ticket. He also suggested opening the Perkins lot at 9 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. for people who just want to come down and enjoy a cup of coffee at the cove without having to pay for parking.
Selectman John Abbott, who had originally agreed to research the issue after Forbes' spoke before the selectmen, suggested forming a committee consisting of the town manager, a member of the Budget Committee, cove representatives, Director of Visitor Services Kevin O'Neil, and representatives from the Police Department, the business community in town and the Ogunquit beach area. They goal would be to tweak the fee and time schedules by the fall.
"The committee will bring forth ideas and recommendations," Abbott said. "If we cut the (fees) in the cove, we'll have to look to other revenue streams."
According to O'Neil's daily parking lot totals, on June 11, a partly sunny and cool day, parking lot totals for the day were $2,869 with Perkins Cove leading in revenue at $1266 of the total and the main beach a close second with $1023. Many of the lots operated at a loss that day after factoring in payroll, he said.
In attempting to equalize the parking fees at the cove by instituting fees in town, Miller said the board would be opening a new dialogue in equity.
"The minute we charge for parking in town, we'll have those seats filled with people from businesses in town," he said.
Staff reporter C.Ayn Douglass can be reached via e-mail at cayndouglass@yorkindependent.net
