02/14/2019

Town reduces 2019 fee increase for tour buses visiting Fort Williams Park

Responding to concerns from local tour operators, the Town Council has dialed back the fee increase it approved for tour buses visiting Fort Williams Park this season, but also warned that increases are necessary and will be coming.

At their meeting Feb. 11, 2019, councilors voted 4-2 to reduce the $150 per motorcoach fee it approved in November to $100 per visit, up from the $50 charged in 2018. Buses visiting more than 75 times will be charged $90 per visit.

The vote was in response to several tour operators who since November have expressed concern not only about the increase, "but the lack of sort of 'ramp time' to that increase," said Council Chair Jamie Garvin.

One of those operators, Chris Rackmyre of the Maine Tour Connection in South Portland, told councilors that her company stands to lose $17,000-$18,000 on tours that were booked 18 months in advance. She asked that the council at least consider the $75 fee that had been proposed by the Fort Williams Advisory Committee last spring.

The idea however did not sit well with councilors, who by a 2-4 vote failed to pass a motion for the $75 fee. "I have issue with a lot of the fees, I think they are way too low," said Councilor Valerie Deveraux, who along with Jeremy Gabrielson, Caitlin Jordan and Chris Straw voted against the motion. Traffic from commercial vehicles has overwhelmed the park in recent years, wearing down the roads, the parking lots, and the patience of many townspeople. "We've had people in the community talk about ... so many buses and tourists that they can't even park to watch their kids' soccer games. There's something wrong with that picture," Deveraux said.

Supporting the $75 fee were Garvin and Councilor Penny Jordan, who said she agreed with Garvin's assessment that a more gradual approach would ease impact on local operators. "I think we are in somewhat of agreement that we want to move these fees up but did we do it too abruptly?" said Jordan, who then proposed the $100 fee.

Garvin said he believed the fees should ultimately go as high as the market can bear, but, "what was unknown to me before going into this was the ... sort of middle man operator that exists and the very extended timeframe by which they set their contracts and their fixed costs."

Voting against the $75 fee, but for the $100 fee, was Councilor Caitlin Jordan, who also called for more increases in the future. "We're pretty much saying right now, 'plan on it going up'," she said. Just how much remains to be seen, but Jim Kerney, representing the Fort Williams Park Committee which recommended the fees, said his committee could begin developing proposals right away, well in time for the 2020 season.

Jeremy Gabrielson, another councilor who voted for the $100 fee for 2019, said he would like to see a cost-based approach. "My sense is that even at the $150 motorcoach level, we're well within the margin of what the costs are to the town from that use, but I'd like to get a better sense of how the committee understands those costs so that we can understand what that target that we're aiming for is," he said.

Voting against the $100 fee were councilors Deveraux and Straw.

In a related matter, councilors on Feb. 11 also set a workshop for March 18 to discuss a pay/display program for parking at Fort Williams Park, and associated amendments to the town's traffic ordinance. [News Article]