Old Lyme ― With the summer season looming at Sound View Beach, parking rates are again being tweaked as officials work to balance the needs of residents, business owners and day trippers at the public gateway to an otherwise private enclave.

Sound View Commission Chairman Frank Pappalardo this week recommended the town take advantage of a new mobile app-enabled parking program from Passport Labs Inc. that comes with the system already used to process parking tickets.

He proposed a revised fee schedule that he said is meant to provide more options for visitors.

He said the existing parking kiosks will be removed so people can pay on their phones instead. Those who don’t have phones or want to use cash can go to one of the private parking lots in the area, according to Pappalardo.

Selectmen voted unanimously to approve the new fee structure and to amend an existing contract with Passport Labs Inc. signed by First Selectman Tim Griswold in February.

Pappalardo said he hopes the new program will be up and running by Mother’s Day.

The cost this year for parking in the town lot or on the street will be $7.50 for the first two hours. Every hour after that will be $9.50 on weekends and $6.50 on weekdays.

“If you only want to come for a couple hours to go have a hamburg or watch the game at the Pavilion, it’s $7.50,” he said. “It’s not a tremendous amount of money. It gives everybody a lot of flexibility.”

He said business owners in particular were clamoring for cheaper, short-term options so the cost of parking doesn’t drive away potential customers.

The plan is meant to accommodate as many people as possible in an area with “a lot of competing agendas,” he said.

Pappalardo is among those who have emphasized parking fees as a way to compensate for unruly people at the free beach. He cited increased security and maintenance fees related to drinking, littering, public urination and trespassing on private properties along the beach.

The fee structure approved by selectmen Monday eliminates the previous half- and full-day options that maxed out at $79.76 with tax for a full day.

Parking from 6 to 9 p.m. will remain free.

“On a weekend, get there at 11 o’clock and stay until 9 o'clock at night and the total cost is $55,” Pappalardo said.

Those who get there at 9 a.m. and stay through 6 p.m. can expect to pay more than $70 with taxes and fees.

Residents with a season pass can park for free if they can find a space. Of 80 available parking spaces, 15 are reserved for passholders and 13 for 30-minute parking.

Passport contract

Pappalardo said Griswold signed a $5,000 contract with Passport in February as part of the police department’s system for processing parking tickets. The mobile pay services were already included in the contract even though they weren’t being used, according to Pappalardo.

Resident State Trooper Matt Weber described the new plan as a way to “use the full capacity” of Passport offerings. He said the town brought in the company to process citations last June.

Additional costs to expand the Passport program consist of two Android phones and an additional citation printer. Prices for those items were not specified at the time.

Weber said the phones and printer will be used by the town’s beach rangers to enforce parking ordinances. The app lets the rangers pinpoint expired spaces and print tickets which call for a $90 fine.

Pappalardo said the kiosk system the town is getting rid of a system that cost $7,670 in 2021 and $3,238 last year.

Resident Lenny Corto, who used to own Lenny’s on the Beach where Kokomo’s is now, addressed the selectmen at Monday’s meeting to criticize transparency and coordination in town operations.

“All of a sudden there’s a new Passport program no one’s ever heard of getting implemented in the next two weeks,” he said.

The agenda for the April 24 meeting of the Sound View Commission included a discussion on 2023 parking, but no minutes were available online or in the town clerk’s office as of Friday.

e.regan@theday.com