The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Board on July 16 approved a $35 late fee for resident park stickers purchased after a July 3 deadline, aligning the late fee with the county sticker rate. The board voted to adopt the fee after staff described payroll-savings measures that prompted the earlier deadline.
Parks staff said the office window at Northpointe Pavilion was closed after July 3 to reduce payroll; keeping it open through August would have added roughly $10,300 in payroll costs. Staff told the board the early-deadline policy allowed two clerks per shift during the busy season and reduced lines. The department reported that after July 3 last year, staff issued only 129 late stickers.
Staff said the deadline and the late fee were heavily advertised beginning in January across the parks’ website, Facebook, radio and park signage. The department recommended the $35 late fee so residents who miss the free window would purchase the resident sticker at City Hall rather than pay daily gate fees of $20 per vehicle.
The board approved exceptions for cases described by staff: new vehicle purchases after July 3, recent moves into Michigan City, or vehicle damage that prevented use of the warranty sticker (for example, a broken windshield). Staff said those are “special situations” that would still allow a free replacement. Sales and replacement stickers will be processed at City Hall through the end of the season.
During public comment, resident Cornell Branch described extended medical treatment that kept him from obtaining a free sticker and said he was told the office had already closed. Board members discussed the administrative difficulty of making ad hoc exceptions in mid-summer, citing staffing burdens. One board member volunteered privately to pay Branch’s fee for this year; that pledge was not recorded as a board policy change.
Outcome: Motion to approve the $35 late fee after July 3 passed on voice vote. The board did not create a written exemption process at the meeting beyond the exceptions staff outlined.
The board also discussed possibly adjusting replacement sticker pricing and asked staff to consider fee structure changes for future seasons; no formal change to replacement pricing was adopted July 16.