A planned agreement between the Town of Parry Sound and a local church is hoped to alleviate parking shortages in the community's downtown core.
Town staff were instructed in early May to enter a shared-used agreement with St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church for use of their parking lot, which currently sits vacant for most of the week. Under the deal, the town would pay about $25,000 from its parking reserve to provide drainage and pave the lot. The rental fee would be $7,200 per year for five years.
The town will also install parking meters for the 24 new spaces and maintain the lot, including snow plowing in winter. The parking lot will be reserved for the church when it needs it during the week for funerals or weddings
At 25 cents per hour, it is expected the town would generate more than $13,000 per year in revenue from the parking lot. The new parking spaces are expected to be open by Labour Day, depending on the outcome of negotiations between the Town and the church.
