Paid parking here to stay at Empire Beach

Was controversy this spring much ado about nothing?

By Jacob Wheeler
Sun editor

The Empire Village Council voted yesterday to implement and enforce paid parking at Empire Beach next summer, following what members perceive as a successful trial run in 2014. The parking meter near the picnic area, which charged visitors $1 per hour, generated more than $23,000 between July 3 and September 10, despite summer weather marred by rain and cold temperatures. Empire’s popular beach, which has 87 parking spots, sits in the middle of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The Village had a 90-day free trial of the meter from Traffic and Safety Control Systems Inc., making the effort a profitable one. Fears among some business owners that the parking charge — unique in Leelanau County — would keep tourists away never seemed to materialize. In fact, one restaurant in downtown Empire reported a banner year in sales.

The Village will now pay $16,241 for the latest version of a V5 Digital Payment Technology Luke II Pay Station meter, which accepts credit cards, bills and coins, and prints out a display dash board receipt. The Village will also pay seasonal monthly service fees of $70 to Electronic Monitoring System and $20 to Cellular Data during the three-month seasonal operation. Next year’s paid parking season will begin on Friday, May 22, and conclude on Monday, Sept. 7 — from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend, the two ends of Leelanau County’s tourism season.

Free parking passes issued this year to Village and Township residents will remain valid.

The measure to make paid parking permanent passed the Village Council 5 votes to 2 yesterday. Voting in favor were Gerry Shiffman, Sam Barr, Lanny Sterling, Karen Baja and Cile Plumstead (Plumstead switched sides after originally voting against the paid parking trial this spring). Voting against were Village Council president Sue Carpenter and Danny Davis.