Willard Beach Paid Parking Working Group

Willard Beach Paid Parking Working Group Agenda Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM City Hall Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER B. ROLL CALL C. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM 3/3/26 MEETING 2 Willard Beach Paid Parking Minutes - 3.3.26.pdf D. PUBLIC COMMENT E. UPDATE FROM DIRECTOR COUGHLIN AND PETER WILSON REGARDING MEETING WITH SMCC F. DISCUSS SURVEY QUESTIONS AND PROCESS G. DISCUSS NEXT STEPS H. PUBLIC COMMENT I. ADJOURN Page 1 of 5  Willard Beach Paid Parking Working Group Meeting Minutes March 3, 2026 Called to order at 12:07pm by Adrienne Members Present: Adrienne Jalbert (Conservation Commission), Peter Wilson (Conservation Commission), Ellen Sanborn (Finance Director), Karl Coughlin (Parks & Rec Director), Melissa Hutchins (Public Works Director), & Officer Rocco Navarro (Traffic Safety Officer) Approval of minutes – Motion to approve made by Officer Navarro. Seconded by Director Hutchins. Approved unanimously. Members Absent None Public Comment Michael Cahill – He is not a fan of paid parking, but wants to hear what the group discusses. He likes the concept of a parking lot gate, but fears that this plan will force people to park at SMCC and throughout the neighborhoods. He feels the costs will far outweigh any revenue generated. Discuss hiring a consultant/vote Adrienne posed the question as to whether or not we should hire a consultant. Director Sanborn stated that she doesn’t think we need to hire a consultant at this time and that capturing data is the most important thing, which is the missing piece. The committee will revisit hiring a consultant after data is collected. Page 2 of 5 Director Coughlin made a motion to not include this in the FY27 budget. Seconded by Director Sanborn. Voted unanimously. Discuss the cost of hiring a seasonal employee/vote Director Coughlin mentioned that it would cost $8,400 to hire a seasonal ranger at $20 an hour for 21 weeks at 20 hours a week. Peter made the motion to add it to FY27’s budget. Director Hutchins seconded. Voted unanimously. Review the parking map Director Hutchins reviewed the map (attached) and stated it is based on current road standards and where parking could eventually be added (if it’s not already). She stated that areas on the map with no markings means there is no parking allowed. This is due to narrow roads. She said that anything highlighted with purple are areas that would allow parking. She mentioned that restrictions will have to be put in place if people start parking illegally. Illegal parking is currently happening on roads that have two-way travel, which makes it difficult for vehicles to navigate. Director Sanborn asked if the seasonal ranger was going to be patrolling at just the beach and parking lot and Director Coughlin stated that the survey area would be comparable to the area on the map that Director Hutchins shared. Officer Navarro asked how many spots there are. Director Hutchins stated that there are 160 spots based on the plan (60 in the Willow St lot and 100 throughout the neighborhood). Officer Navarro stated that he thinks people won’t care about paying a $20 parking ticket as long as they can park close to the beach. Page 3 of 5 Discuss the survey and start developing questions Adrienne stated that specific questions should be asked depending on the time of the day (day/night and dog/vs no-dog hours). Officer Navarro feels that we need to be mindful of what questions are asked to avoid conflict and asked the group about what types of surveys should be used. Director Hutchins mentioned signs with QR codes Adrienne mentioned that the Maine Association for Non-Profits has beneficial trainings for surveys. Director Coughlin is going to research parking surveys and what questions other towns asked. Adrienne said she’s going to research it, too. Review the groups duties Officer Navarro said he’ll conduct preliminary data collection regarding beach usage in the offseason and will provide it to the group during April’s meeting. He stated that he’ll gather data closer to summertime. Adrienne said she didn’t see any duties that need to be responded to immediately and that we can work on many of them throughout the summertime. Public comment Michael Cahill – He reiterated that he thinks paid parking won’t be a large revenue producer and that the City’s current parking fines of $20 won’t deter people from parking illegally. He feels that Small School could be utilized for parking during the summertime and that we need to be mindful of Scratch employees and where they park. He said we should be considering utilizing the Willard Hose Company for parking and need to that Shara should be utilized to assist with survey distribution. Page 4 of 5 Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 12:51pm. Seconded by Director Hutchins. Page 5 of 5