PORT TOWNSEND — Although parking fees won’t be imposed at Fort Worden State Park for the first nine months of 2004, the sale of annual passes and contributions from county government could determine how long the charges are held in abeyance.
An agreement reached Monday night, that includes $25,000 funding from the City of Port Townsend in the first six months of the year, paved the way for free parking at the park through September.
City funding helps guarantee funding to the state Parks and Recreation Commission which is using parking fees to help balance its budget. Fort Worden is the only state park that doesn’t have the $5 a day parking fee.
Fundraising efforts helped keep parking free at the park during 2003.
In addition to annual passes. nominal fees will be added to the cost of event tickets at Fort Worden in order to raise more money.
Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tim Caldwell, who sits on a committee that helped work the deal with the state Parks and Recreation Commission, thinks selling annual passes is a great way of paying for parking.
“It really puts the emphasis on selling the annual passes at Fort Worden,” Caldwell said Tuesday.
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The rest of the story appears in Wednesday’s Peninsula Daily News.