Sag Harbor Village’s paid parking policy has been a boon for revenue, but it has left many residents and employees in the village aggravated. Their frustrations, in particular having to do with the village’s failure to follow through with accommodations for residents, came to a head at the Sag Harbor Village Board meeting Tuesday night.
“I don’t understand why we haven’t been issued resident parking stickers,” Paul Rogers said during the public comment portion of the meeting. He quoted from the local law that allowed for paid parking, which says, “Those vehicles without a resident parking sticker will be subject to the paid parking procedure and regulations set forth in Village Code.”
In that area, “we failed,” Aidan Corish, a village trustee, said. “We should have had them and we didn’t.”
Mr. Corish and Mayor Thomas Gardella also dived into the details of how a resident sticker would work. Resident stickers could not be used on Long Wharf because Long Wharf is designated as a public street; however, according to Mr. Corish, “because the other parking lots are not public streets, we can and we will” make accommodations.
Mayor Gardella clarified that people would need to show proof of residency, but over all he said he would like to see the sticker for use at Havens Beach used “for all lots that are paid.” Additionally there was talk between Mr. Corish and Mr. Gardella about clarifying how many would be allocated for each household.
Mr. Rogers was not the only community member to raise the issue. April Gornik was concerned about changing the parking lot behind the Sag Harbor I.G.A. and the so-called gas ball lot off Bridge Street into paid parking areas. “It doesn’t seem like this village,” she said, adding, “I don’t think it should be our style.”
Mayor Gardella did note that he understood this is a persistent issue, and he did suspend ticketing for the recent Harborfest and the Sag Harbor American Music Festival. “I don’t think any village resident should have to pay for parking,” he said. And although there are problems with the system, he and the board are striving to come up with a solution that works “for everybody in the 11963 ZIP code.”
Also not lost on the board is how employees in the village are impacted.
The mayor spoke about a business owner in the village who has 20 employees and has paid “$1,500 to $2,000 in parking tickets” for them.
The issue is complex as the gas ball lot specifically is not owned by the village, therefore money needs to be allocated to pay for its use. Additionally, revenue from the paid parking goes toward repairing village infrastructure like sidewalks. “We have a fine balance,” Mayor Gardella said, “because we have a responsibility to the taxpayers.”
With paid parking ending on Sunday, Mr. Corish said he is hoping the village can find a path forward for next summer. “I would like to have open discussions on this between now and the end of the year,” he said, “so we know exactly what we’re going to do for next year, and the following year, by January.”
“If anybody in the village, or in the corresponding area, was ticketed in the gas ball lot or on Meadow Street, I want to know about it,” Mayor Gardella said, “I want them to send me an email or come in and see me.”
