Fees at Mukilteo’s Lighthouse Park unpopular with anglers

MUKILTEO — Add one more group to those still fuming about new parking fees at Lighthouse Park — people who like to fish.

Vehicle and trailer parking fees were increased this year, affecting people who like to launch their boats at the popular waterfront park. The daily fee is now $15 from May 15 to Sept. 30, an increase of $5, and $10 for the rest of the year.

That’s in addition to a new charge for parking at the park, which went into effect June 1.

Ronald Jones, of Lynnwood, said he has been using the Mukilteo boat launch for about 12 years to fish for ling cod, steelhead and salmon.

Jones said he often meets a buddy at the park to go fishing. The launch fee pays for one vehicle to park, he said. That means anyone who goes out with him needs to pay for parking, as well.

“You pay the launch fee, you should get two passes,” he said. “Once the fishermen find out, they won’t go out of that launch anymore.” They have the option of launching from other spots, including Everett, Jones said. “I just don’t think they thought it out very well.”

It had been 11 years since the city changed launch fees. The city gave notice and provided an opportunity for boaters to give their opinion on the increase, said Bob Champion, City Council president. Several people did comment on the fees at the council’s Dec. 15 meeting. The boat launch fee was approved in February.

For comparison, the Port of Everett’s year-round boat launch fee is $9 and includes parking. The City of Seattle charges $12. The Port of Edmonds uses a motorized sling to lift boats into and from the water. Fees depend on the type of trailer being used. A round trip for a roller trailer is $27.39, plus $5.48 a day to park.

Mukilteo decided to start charging a fee to park at Lighthouse Park after complaints from residents that parking was at such a premium that they often couldn’t get to their own city park. The parking fee was approved in the hope that it would shorten stays at the waterfront area and beach so more people could find parking.

“When you have a scarce resource, one solution is to attach a cost to that,” said Mayor Jennifer Gregerson. The fees also will help offset the cost of maintaining the park, which is expected to hit $280,000 this year. City residents can get a parking permit to park for free.

Gregerson said it’s the first time there’s been a charge to park at Lighthouse Park. “We’re testing this as a pilot program and will reassess everything in October,” she said. The launch fee is “something we can look at.”

The city is collecting public comment on the fee issues, Champion said.

Plans are being drawn up for major improvements on the waterfront, including a promenade and new park facilities. The fees the city is charging will help pay for those improvements, Gregerson said.

Pat Edge, who has lived in Mukilteo for 47 years, said she was so upset about both the charge for parking and the increase in boat launch fees that she asked friends to comment on Facebook. “First and foremost people felt it was a cold and unfriendly way to treat visitors, besides the inconvenience and expense,” she said.

The upgrades the city made to the park in 2009 and 2011, which included shelters and new restrooms, also reduced the number of available parking spaces, she said. Now there are 263 spaces.

Edge said he knows the jams caused by lack of parking at the park. Nevertheless, “it’s just not a good thing to do, it’s giving people a very bad feeling about Mukilteo,” she said.

Edge said she sympathizes with families who had enjoyed the park as a free place to take their kids and now may not be able to afford it.

“You should be able to go down there, cook your marshmallows, play with your kids all day and not have to watch the clock,” she said.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Comment on fees

The City of Mukilteo is accepting email comments on the new pay-for-parking program in the waterfront area, as well as the increase in boat launch fees. Comments can be sent to elected@ci.mukilteo.wa.us.