Letter from John A. Rudy

$25 Season Pass a Small Price to Pay

The Cooperstown Village Trustees are to be commended for seeking to improve the village’s paid parking program by soliciting the views of the public. (“Coop Residents Raise Concerns over…Parking Burdens…,” by Joshua Youngquist, “The Freeman’s Journal,” August 6, A-1.)

The village’s paid parking program is the most successful and beneficial local government program my wife and I have experienced in Cooperstown in our 39 years of village home ownership. Each year, we delight in learning the portion of our village property taxes that are funded by paid parking revenues. Last year, we recall the number was around 40 percent. But for paid parking, our village tax bill would have had to be increased to fund that amount.

As a further improvement, the village can promote enhanced usage of the $25 Season Pass by seeking to inform baseball tournament visitors of its availability. It may behoove the trustees or their designees to reach out to the proprietors of Cooperstown Dreams Park and All Star Village to ask that they advise their attendees that they can purchase a $25 Season Pass at the village hall for use when they visit Cooperstown. Relief of the anxiety of feeding the meter and risking a ticket may be welcomed by parents and grandparents who just want to enjoy the Home of Baseball without obsessing about their vehicle. A $25 Season Pass—good from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Memorial Day to Columbus Day—may well be considered a small price to pay for this convenience.

Residents and tradesmen from nearby towns and villages who make frequent trips to Main Street may also find it advantageous to purchase a $25 Season Pass for their vehicles, thereby expanding their parking options when visiting America’s “perfect village” for business or pleasure during summer days. Again, this is a small price to pay for the added convenience.

John A. Rudy
Cooperstown