The Stafford County Board of Supervisors is once again turning its eye to a familiar problem: overcrowded parking at the Historic Port of Falmouth Park.
The Board has had several discussions over the last two years on alleviating problems of overcrowding and parking at the beach. Since then, the county has made some strides, including sectioned-off parking areas, adding drop-off areas and no parking signs, and towing away illegally-parked cars.
The county has also made additions aimed at the beach's cleanliness and safety, including dog waste stations, loaning personal flotation devices, and providing EMS staff from the Fire and Rescue Department to monitor park activity on the weekends.
All these steps and others have cost the county money, and now they're looking for ways to continue funding the beach.
Some Board members, such as Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English, have proposed to close the beach entirely. English spoke to the high operation costs mentioning items such as the upkeep of 18 port-a-potties and county employees picking up trash five hours a day which, according to the Supervisor, gets worse during the summer.
"There's a lot that we spend on there, and we've kicked the can so many times, and it's been an issue," says English. "I suggest we start charging or close the beach because it's costing too much money to run this. I think it's going to get worse this year."
English would suggest charging for parking and estimated that a fee of $20 or $25 per car from 80 cars over the course of the day could bring in $2,000. This estimate is based on how many cars would park at the beach during the summer.
George Washington District Supervisor Tom Coen responded that the county would not be allowed to close the park due to a deal with an entity that no longer exists, the Fredericksburg-Stafford Park Authority. Coen believed that the county would also not be able to charge parkgoers from nearby Fredericksburg but got clarification that the county would not charge residents of the city more than they would potentially charge county residents.
One option was charging non-residents of the county and Fredericksburg for parking. Garrisonville District Supervisor Pamela Yeung was against the idea, saying that the park was for everyone.
On the opposite end was Aquia District Supervisor Monica Gary, who noted that the park was already paid for by local taxes and didn't have an issue with charging out-of-towners for parking. Falmouth District Supervisor Meg Bohmke also attested to the trash collection at the park and favored charging out-of-towners.
Any solution that the board would come up with would not go into effect until Summer 2023. The timing of the Board's attention to the issue wouldn't allow the county to implement any change for the Summer 2022 season.
The matter will come back to the board as unfinished business at their next meeting on May 17.
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