Council Implements New Fees For Mixville
July 2, 2009 by Josh Morgan
The Town Council unanimously approved the implementation of parking fees at Mixville Recreation Area, beginning tomorrow, July 3.
Last week, on June 24, the Council met to discuss a recommendation from the Parks and Recreation Commission to charge users of the Town park that includes playing fields, a beach, ponds, playground, and picnic area. When the fees become effective, daily passes will cost residents $5 and non-residents $10, while seasonal passes will cost $40 for residents and $120 for non-residents. Passes will not be available at Mixville park, rather, the passes can only be purchased at the Parks and Recreation office during normal weekday business hours and at the Cheshire Community Pool after hours and on weekends. People who walk or ride a bike into the park will not be charged and residents who already have yearly passes to the community pool will not have to pay a fee to use Mixville either.
“We needed to do something and I think this is a fair fee structure,” said Councilor Sheldon Dill. “Having a park ranger there will help also.
Town Manager Michael Milone explained that a gate guard and park ranger will stay at the park from early afternoon to dusk on weekdays and mid-morning to dusk on the weekends. It will cost around $6,000 to staff the park with two employees throughout the summer. The gate guards will be checking passes, but will not be handling money or selling passes in an effort to reduce the risk of a robbery or theft, Milone said.
“We don’t feel it’s appropriate for someone to be handling money at the guard shack,” Milone said. “We don’t want to have cash out there.”
Milone explained that there would be signs posted near Mixville park and flyers would be left on the windshields of cars at the park leading up to the implementation of the fee structure, letting people know of the upcoming changes. Originally, at the end of May, the Parks and Recreation Commission voted to restrict access to the park so only residents could use Mixville. After consultation with the Town Attorney, it was determined that a municipality could not prohibit out-of-town residents from using a park or facility, but it could charge two separate fees for access. The Parks and Recreation Commission then decided on a similar fee structure that the Council adopted on June 24, with the only difference being the Council lowered the daily pass fees, which the commission originally requested be placed at $10 for residents and $20 for non-residents.
Some issues at the park have included graffiti on tables and changing rooms, excessive litter on the grounds, and overcrowding in the pavilion and picnic areas. Parks and Recreation Director Robert Ceccolini said these are problems at all town parks, but Mixville gets it the worst. Milone said staff has been keeping a close eye on the park in recent weeks.
“We monitored the situation to see if the fees would fix the problem,” Milone said. “Whatever we put into place, we want to make sure it addresses the problems.”
Milone said it was determined that a lot of the problems occur after the park is closed at night. As a result, both the inner and outer gates will be locked and there will be more police patrols in the area.
Ceccolini said it’s tough to gauge the use at Mixville park so far this year because of the unseasonably rainy June the Northeast has been experiencing. However, three weeks ago when the sun was out, roughly 130 people were using the park on a Saturday. Ceccolini expected that number to rise throughout the summer as the weather improves. Ceccolini said fees should help control the crowds.
“At this point, we feel it’s the best effort,” Ceccolini said. “If it doesn’t work, then we’ll have to look at other options, but I’ve spoken with other parks directors and when you institute a fee, people look for a free place to go.”
Milone added that, when a person pays for something, usually their “behavior is a little different” and hoped that they would take better care of the park.
Resident Terry Terzakis said he would be the “first one” to pay the fee. He said it was time to “reclaim the park” and said residents are willing to help out with “what was once a beautiful park.”
“I live across the street, but I’ll still pay the fee,” Terzakis said. “But there needs to be security and control at the park. There needs to be an authority figure there, not some high school kid in shorts and a tank top.”
Councilor Laura DeCaprio, whose district includes Mixville park, said she was “very happy” that attention is being paid to the area.
“I hear a huge outcry about the park and some say it’s a nightmare and others say it’s really not that bad,” DeCaprio said. “But there are constructive ways to fix the park. I’m glad to see this happening.”
Milone said the Town is prepared to put no parking signs up along Notch Road to stop the public from parking down the street and walking to Mixville. However, Milone acknowledged that the signs could cost more than $2,000 and “people don’t like having signs in front of their houses.” Instead, the police will be monitoring the situation over the coming weeks to make sure parking on the street near Mixville does not become an issue.
Ceccolini explained that if someone purchases a daily pass and then decides at a later date to purchase a seasonal pass, the Town would deduct the daily fee from the seasonal cost. Ceccolini said, over the next few weeks, residents and staff will have to learn about the new fee structure at Mixville and how to control the situation.
“We’ll have to feel our way through the bugs and we don’t want any seasonal staff to have a confrontation at dusk in the park,” Ceccolini said. “I hope (the problems) at Mixville are curtailed. There will still be things we have to do, but this is a step in the right direction.”
For more information or to purchase a pass, contact the Parks and Recreation office at (203) 272-2743.