According to our recent tax bills here in Cape Elizabeth, the budget is allowing $123,137, or 0.4 percent of our taxes, for maintenance of Fort Williams.

We feel privileged to live in this town, with its strong emphasis on conservation, its foresight in tucking away Fort Williams in the 1970s. The passive and active recreation there means a lot not just to the residents of the town, but also to visitors from all over the world. The prominent lighthouse acts as a magnet for artists, institutions, corporations, not just because it was a lifesaver guiding ships in the past by our rocky shores, but also because it is an image that instills security, and peace.

We both feel that the park has not yet reached a point of being “loved to death” so that we have to inhibit visits by imposing fees. Beyond that, we feel that our reputation as one of the wealthiest towns in the state should not allow us to indulge in a form of exclusion that charging fees might imply.

Surely some creative financing could allow us to share this special refuge from the sometimes chaotic world outside of Cape Elizabeth’s boundaries. Please vote to keep fees away from our park gate

Alice and Peter Rand

Cape Elizabeth