On Election Day, Cape Elizabeth voters will be asked whether they approve of charging non-residents for parking at Fort Williams.

Residents with a transfer station sticker will park without charge. There will be no car lines or entrance fees for pedestrians and cyclists. In each parking lot there will be a pay/display kiosk. Visitors will insert cash, debit or credit cards in the kiosk to purchase a $5 daily or a $25 seasonal pass (for a bus it will be $20/daily or $100/seasonal) The seasonal pass rate is much less than that charged for Crescent Beach and Pine Point. Parking fees will be charged only from April through October. The kiosk will print a daily or season pass, which visitors will place inside their car window. There will be no charge on Family Fun Day or during the Beach to Beacon race. All funds raised from the parking charge will be used for park maintenance and improvements.

Reasonable people can differ on how best to raise the money necessary to fulfill the town’s stewardship responsibilities for the park. Taxes, philanthropy and parking fees are different, and not mutually exclusive, means of raising the money needed to maintain the park.

The park’s financial needs are great. A capital project report is available in the library for interested residents. The report outlines the repairs necessary for the historic batteries and stonewalls. As a town we spend $130,000 or more annually to care for the park, and along with private fundraising, that’s not nearly enough.

On Election Day, please vote and help the town decide the future course for funding park maintenance and operations.

Mary Ann Lynch

Cape Elizabeth