The St. Mary’s County Commissioners have voted to impose an entrance fee for Myrtle Point Park and Elms Beach Park for weekends and holidays this summer. The fee will be $5 per car per visit for county residents, $10 per car for non-county residents and $15 per van for non-county residents. There will be a $20 per car season pass for county residents for use at both parks. No season pass will be available for non-county residents.
In voting 3-1 to impose the fee, the commissioners agreed to relook at the issue at the end of the season. Recreation and Parks Director Phil Rollins told the commissioners there is not enough data to support Commissioner Larry Jarboe’s proposal to just change non-county residents. Jarboe said, “I am concerned in charging county residents for waterfront access.”
The revenue generated by the fee will be used to pay two part-time employees at each park. One of the staffers would collect the fee, control parking and turn away visitors in the event the parking lot became full. The second employee would act as a manager to control activities.
At a recent public forum several members of the Friends of Myrtle Point complained about illegal activity there. Volunteer Mary Piotrowski put the problem in some perspective. She said a website that shows good locations for sexual encounters listed Myrtle Point as one of the ideal locations because there was no supervision.
Also at the public forum, Bob Boxwell, another Friends member, said, “We have always thought there needs to be a presence there.” He added, “It is becoming a party place for youth. Recreation and Parks’ suggestion is a good first step.”
Since there is no one keeping track of visitors to the park, Rollins said there was no way of knowing who is from the county or not. The weekend fee system will allow them to track that and see if there are enough out-of-county visitors to remove the fee for county residents.
Jarboe also attempted to get the commissioners to treat the two parks differently. He suggested that since Elms seems to attract more out-of-county residents as overflow from Point Lookout that a higher fee there for them might cover operating costs.
Jarboe said volunteers could then help at Myrtle Point with patrolling for illegal activity. Rollins said, however “I don’t think volunteers are going to work.” He asserted that volunteers would be reluctant to perform essentially police duties. Commissioner Todd Morgan also said that different volunteers would respond differently leading to uneven enforcement.
Jarboe’s motion to charge fees just for non-county residents at Elms Beach ended in a 2-2 tie with Commissioner Morris supporting it. Morris said he was concerned about safety at Elms Beach with so many people parking along the road.
But them when Commissioner Morgan moved on the motion that ultimately prevailed, Morris joined in supporting that.
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