Local mooring holders asked the Wells Board of Selectmen to reconsider part of its newly enacted beach parking policy on Tuesday evening.
Specifically, the boat owners asked selectmen to keep 30 designated spaces for them all day long at the parking lot at the end of Atlantic Avenue during the summertime. At a meeting earlier this month, selectmen approved a change in the town’s beach parking policy that would designate the 30 spaces only until noontime, giving more opportunity to all to park there in the afternoon.
Selectmen heard the concerns of a handful of local boat owners during the public comments segment of the board’s meeting on Tuesday.
Some of those who spoke stated that restricting the designated spaces to the morning hours would limit the opportunities they would have to enjoy their boats, given the fluctuations in tides.
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Others spoke of the inconvenience they believed they would experience if they had to park their automobiles farther away from their boats — getting family members and other guests, as well as various supplies, such as fuel, onto their crafts would be more difficult, for example.
One woman who spoke also expressed concerns for local charter boat owners, saying the new parking policy would make it difficult for them to provide convenient service for their clients.
“They go with the tides, just like the rest of us,” the woman said.
She also said the new policy could lead to confusion.
“If you open this up to a noontime exclusion for mooring holders, it’s open for everybody,” she said. “That’s just going to generate a ton of confusion. There’s only 30 spots, and there’s a lot of us boaters. We all know we have to get down there in time before our spots are taken up.”
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Another speaker suggested that the mornings-only policy conflicted with her own boating habits.
“I go out in the afternoon very frequently because at times in the morning there’s just not enough water,” she said. “I would like to be able to use my boat all summer, every summer, until I’m gone.”
Another boat owner said he often gets to his boat late in the day as a result of the long lines of cars at the booth at the entrance of the parking lot. He added that he felt as though the town had crafted the policy decisions without first hearing “both sides of the story.”
“If you don’t hear both sides, you shouldn’t make big decisions,” he said. “Just consider all the problems we have, after all the years we’ve been here, and make a good judgment.”
A few of the speakers commented on the money they spend in the community – not just on the taxes and fees associated with owning a boat and holding a mooring but also at local grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants.
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One man suggested that the revised policy is friendlier to an out-of-state visitor — someone who could come to town, park for free, enjoy his boat, not “spend a red cent,” and then hit the freeway for the ride home — than to someone local who holds a mooring and spends a lot of money locally.
“All I’m asking . . . is that you keep Wells user-friendly — user-friendly to slip owners,” the man said. “Keep the designated spots designated. That’s all we’re asking. Thirty spots is not a lot to ask.”
Some of the speakers said they live in Wells year-round, while others said they lived in town for a few months out of the year. Some of the speakers traveled from out of state to be at the meeting on Tuesday.
After the boat owners spoke, Wells Police Chief Jo-Ann Putnam responded to some of their concerns. Putnam worked with Town Manager Jonathan Carter and the Harbor Advisory Committee on crafting the revamped policy. Putnam noted that the first version of the revamped policy had no mooring parking at the lot at the end of Atlantic Avenue whatsoever.
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“The compromise was to make it to noontime,” Putnam said.
Putnam turned to the boat owner in the audience who said he often had to wait in a long line of cars to pay for parking at the booth at the entrance, in order to try to get a space designated to a mooring holder.
“You reference people waiting in line,” Putnam said. “Some of those people are year-round residents that live here and can’t use the beach. Why should they be any different than you? Why can’t they use a parking spot if it’s open?”
Putnam said she understood where the mooring holders were coming from, as she too once owned a boat, but added that the town has 400 parking spots and on average sells around 6,000 parking stickers to residents.
“Where are they supposed to park?” Putnam asked.
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Putnam added that she had spoken to those with charter boats and said the revised policy may actually help promote their businesses, as more people will likely see others getting on and off their boats.
Putnam also said the town had surveyed other communities to see what they had for policies regarding parking for mooring holders.
“I believe we were the only town providing parking for mooring holders,” she said. “We looked at a lot of things. This was not made in haste. We put a lot of thought and effort into this. You’ve got to start somewhere.”
Some of those who spoke said they had not been aware that selectmen were preparing to revise the town’s beach parking policy, particularly the parts of it related to designated spaces for boat owners.
The town’s efforts to revise the parking policy are a matter of public record. At the board’s meeting on Jan. 22, Carter and the selectmen held a workshop and then discussed the proposed changes to the policy and set Feb. 5 as the date for the public hearing on them.
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The town posted the proposed changes online ahead of the public hearing. Selectmen held that public hearing on Feb. 5 and approved the revised policy after some further discussion. No one from the public spoke during the public hearing.
Selectman Daniel Hobbs expressed an openness towards revisiting the policy, noting that boat owners who mentioned that shifting tides affected when they could use their boats had a solid point.
“I don’t remember us ever taking into account tides,” Hobbs said. “I’m willing to re-think this cutting-it-off-at-noon portion.”
Selectwoman Kathy Chase, who was unable to attend the meeting at which her colleagues approved the new policy, also proved willing to reopen discussions.
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“A lot of people looked at all sides,” Chase said. “Even if you think they didn’t, they did. We’re trying to implement a new policy. It may be very successful, or it may be only partially, but I think the point is that we need to do something to make it fairer for everyone. If it isn’t working, then we can re-look at it. I think that’s a fair way to say it. It’s not a permanent thing written in stone. We’re just going to lay it out there, try it, see if it works, and maybe it will or maybe it won’t, and we will just re-adjust accordingly.”
One selectman — John Howarth — took issue with the boat owners.
“This wasn’t just about you folks,” Howarth turned to the audience and said to those who spoke. “This was about our parking program for all our lots in town. We have, at minimum, 9,000 residents living in this town. Those 9,000 are paying taxes. They want to use those beaches too.”
Howarth implied a certain elitism on the part of those who spoke at the meeting.
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“You folks have had the glory here in town,” he said. “You’ve had the benefit. I want to use those parking spots myself, and I can’t get them. I’m sorry that this is upsetting you, I really am, but you’re saying that 70 slip holders should get priority over the 9,000 residents that live in this town and want to use those parking lots.”
A couple of boat owners took exception to Howarth’s remarks — one of them, after being told by Howarth to think of others and not just himself, even got up and called Howarth a “sick man” and walked out of the meeting.
After everyone spoke, Chairman Karl Ekstedt stated that the flexibility exists for the town to re-examine the new parking policy, if necessary.
“It can certainly be looked at,” he said. “I’m not saying it can’t be changed.”
Putnam said her department will track statistics to determine whether the new policy is effective or not. She told the boat owners that they can offer their feedback and concerns to the attendants at the parking lot and that they will report them to her.
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“If things need to change, I’m more than willing to come back to the selectmen and town manager and go from there,” she said. “I’m not saying this is the greatest plan. I never said that. But we do need to start somewhere.”
Ekstedt thanked everyone from the public who spoke on the matter.
“When folks like you turn out, it makes us think a little bit more,” he said.
For now, he added, the new parking policy would remain and would be given a chance.
“We’ll keep a close eye on it and see if it works,” he said.
Featured image by Ian Bruce used under Creative Commons license 2.0.
