Stevens Point considers increased fines to offset revenue loss

By Taylor Hale

City leaders considered the possibility of removing the $3 per night, overnight parking fees in some areas of the city, during a presentation to the Public Works Committee on March 8.

To combat the small revenue loss, the city could impose a fine increase from $15 to $25 for citations violating overnight parking rules.

Police Chief Tom Zenner gave the presentation and noted that the changes could help residents as the city continues to develop.

“Obviously our city is growing, and there are certain areas within the city that have limited parking, and all of us agreed moving forward, this is something we need to consider if overnight parking is going to be an issue that we need to expand upon,” Zenner explained.

Currently, any car parked on city streets from 2:30-6 a.m. must have overnight parking permits, which costs $3.

If the ordinance changed, the overnight parking hours would remain the same, but no pass would be needed. All vehicles on the street would still require registration.

Trailers, boats, and other mobile containers would not be allowed to park overnight on city streets. Vehicles that receive three citations would be considered abandoned and removed from the road.

Zenner noted that the city could benefit from a separate downtown/business zone that is regulated separately from other residential areas. The business zone would not allow overnight parking on streets or the public square, overnight parking would still be allowed in certain city lots. The city could add parking kiosks to allow guests to buy overnight parking passes onsite.

“We do have kiosks though that are in storage, there would not be an extra cost for the purchase of the kiosk, but the kiosk would have a monthly cost,” Zenner explained.

Community Development Director Ryan Kernosky said the shift could help high-density areas, and allow the city to use future spaces for developments, rather than parking.

“We can get more property tax revenue if we don’t have these vast parking lots in our developments, but rather have buildings that are occupied and are active,” Kernosky said.

No action was taken during the presentation and discussion. City leaders will look into the proposal to eliminate overnight parking permits and bring the plans back during next month’s committee meeting.