Ogunquit News
The price of a day of sunshine just went up
By C. Ayn Douglass
OGUNQUIT - Sun-worshippers heading for a day at the beach over the past weekend may have been surprised to see that they had to factor in an additional $5 to park their vehicles.Lot fees have increased from $15 to $20 for all lots by order of Town Manager Phil Clark.
All-day parking at Ogunquit lots begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. on weekends. Those coming into lots after 3:30 p.m. find the rate reduced to $10. Weekday parking costs $12 and ends at 4 p.m. Add to the mix those days that Clark deems non-beach days and visitors may find a reduced fee or no fee.
Clark raised the parking fees partly as a result of comments and complaints by Perkins Cove business owners early in the summer who said their customers were being unfairly charged for parking at metered spots in the cove.
Attendants in the cove charge $3 per hour with a two-hour maximum.
Amy Forbes, owner of Perkins Cove Candy, suggested that the town put in some sort of system to charge for parking in the upper lot and Jacobs Lot. Currently, both lots are free, but have a maximum time allowed for parking of only one hour. Forbes believed an additional $70,000 in revenue could be attained by the town by charging in the upper lot alone.
Budget Review Committee members didn't support the initiative to charge at either of the two lots.
"As a committee, we were against meters at the upper lot and Jacob's Lot," Chairman Frank Broomfield said.
Clark told the Budget Review Committee he intended to ask the Board of Selectmen to increase the maximum charge for the lots to $30 per day.
"We also want to increase the parking fines. It will be cheaper to get a ticket than to pay for parking," he said.
Currently, parking tickets for overtime parking carry a fine of $25. Under the new rate schedule, they will go up to $40. The changes will take effect next year.
Clark said current revenue derived from the lots is ahead by $5,000 over last year's same date. Revenues are down by approximately $500 in Perkins Cove due, perhaps, to the better bang for the buck that Perkins Parking Lot just outside the cove offers. Perkins Parking Lot offers all-day parking for $10.
Clark also suggested that next year fees will be collected at the lots until 8 p.m., adding to the revenue stream Ogunquit depends on to defray property taxes.
The town relies on collecting a minimum of $1 million annually to support town government costs, add to that the revenue derived from parking fines that goes into the general fund. Ogunquit has free parking in the upper lot, on Main Street and Jacobs Lot, but all have limited time ranging from 30 minutes on Main Street to two hours at Jacobs Lot. Police patrol the free-parking areas prudently and issue overtime parking tickets at a rate of 25 to 50 per day.
Clark noted that the lots on days that are suitable for beach-going are filled by 9:30 a.m., especially during weekends.
Metered parking at the Main Beach is charged at $1 per fifteen minutes or $4 per hour, making the lots a bargain at $15 or even $20.
In comparison, both Long Sands and Short Sands beaches in York charge 25 cents per 15 minutes or $1 per hour for parking.
Peggy Scamman of the York Police Department estimated that town revenue from the Long Sands meters amounted to about $250,000 last year and overtime parking tickets, which are charged at $15 per ticket if paid within seven days, added approximately $80,000 to the town coffers.
York has no metered parking in town and no town-run public parking lots accessing the beach areas.
Our neighbors to the north in Wells say they collect about $200,000 in parking revenue from the four lots they operate and from parking passes and stickers.
Patty Garvin, tax collector in Wells, said parking fees in the four lots including Mile Road, Atlantic Avenue, Drakes Island and the lot at the jetty are $8 per day with no increase on weekend days. Unless a vehicle is parked illegally in an area where it is not allowed, there are no parking tickets issued.
Visitors to the southern Maine coast may get the benefit of the same sunshine, but the cost of enjoying it varies widely from town to town.
