Town parking fee increase

Return tourists will be relieved to find out that we now have a 21st Century parking meter that will only take plastic as payment.

But along with the new parking meter comes a new price. It is now $4 per day to park, still a bargain when compared to the daily fees in other locales.

The Town Council approved the increase earlier this month. This is the first time the price of parking in La Conner has gone up since 1997, when the lot was built, and the fee was set at $3 per day.

The $1 increase is partly due to credit card company charges to the town, said La Conner Finance Director Maria DeGoede. Some card companies take a cut of up to 10 percent of the amount charged.

The new parking meter will be up and ready to spit out tickets by Monday, if not sooner.

Each night, the day’s parking fees will automatically be credited to the town’s bank account.

Programming training for town employees is scheduled for today, Wednesday, Feb. 3.