Parking fee for walkers logical

A great deal of interest has been generated by my proposal to Mount Pleasant Town Council to charge a fee to park at our Waterfront Park. This fee is a logical means for the town to recoup the approximately $300,000 annual maintenance and operation cost.

Mac Burdette

The proposal also suggests that since town residents paid to build the park, they should be permitted to purchase a parking pass for a reasonable annual fee. Our discussion of the parking fee also points out that those who wish to access the park or the Ravenel Bridge could park for free at or near our soccer complex at Patriots Point. The walk to the park from that area is only very slightly longer than the parking currently afforded along Patriots Point Boulevard. This, too, is a reasonable accommodation.

What is not negotiable is the fact that the operation and maintenance cost and long-term repair costs for a facility of this size and intended use are significant, and that they will have to be paid. Should the general budget of the Town be obligated to cover this annual cost or should the cost be borne by those who use the facility?

I believe a logical parallel is the parking fee charged by Folly Beach and the Isle of Palms to park in a convenient location for access to a public beach that is open to all.

Town Council understands its budgetary responsibility. What remains is its decision on how that responsibility will be satisfied: 1) by reducing some other cost to offset the cost of running the park (not easy as it means giving up something already established); 2) allowing the fund balance of the town to absorb a reoccurring cost (not wise given the reoccurring nature of the requirement); 3) assigning a user fee (universally accepted funding method everywhere, even in the Charleston area); or 4) a combination of the above (probably the most politically acceptable method).

At the end of the day, we will have one of the great water access facilities in the southeast. Folks will come from far and wide to enjoy it. It will be well maintained, and it will be safe. And I am confident that council will arrive at a reasonable method of paying for the cost associated with its operation and maintenance. But to suggest that the concept of a user fee via parking charges is unfair, is not logical when you survey other similar facilities throughout the Charleston region. I think part of the problem lies with the fact that Mount Pleasant, for years, has charged very little for leisure services and access to facilities. One thing is for sure, our decision process is very transparent, and the public is very free to express its desires to Town Council.

R. MAC BURDETTE

Town Administrator

Town of Mount Pleasant

Ann Edwards Lane

Mount Pleasant