CAPE ELIZABETH (AP) – The historic Fort Williams park that includes the Portland Head Light will no longer be free to all visitors if a town committee gets its way.

A Cape Elizabeth panel is recommending keeping the park free for cyclists and pedestrians but charging a $5 daily parking fee for out-of-town motorists. If adopted by the Town Council, the fees would become effective next spring.

Town Councilor Mary Ann Lynch, who was a member of the panel, said the goal is to raise enough money to maintain, or even improve, the park.

“We are very mindful it’s a treasure we want everyone to enjoy,” Lynch said. “The park needs a lot of improvement,” she added.

Some of the stone walls are crumbling, landscaping is being neglected and the Goddard Mansion has been declared off-limits because of its state of disrepair.

Fencing has been erected to keep people out of the mansion’s stone remnants.

The committee will submit its recommendations to the Town Council on June 12, and a public hearing is expected this summer.

The idea of charging visitors to the 90-acre park has been considered and rejected many times over the past 30 years.

When park fees were again proposed last fall, critics worried that the park would charge an entrance fee or that town residents would be charged along with nonresidents. Instead, kiosks would be set up to sell parking passes that would have to be displayed in cars. Under the plan, residents with a sticker from the town dump would be allowed to park for free.

Town officials estimate the proposed parking system will cost about $50,000 to install. The system could pay for itself in the first year, officials predicted.

Town Councilor Cynthia Dill said $5 to enjoy the park is a bargain.

“I think it’s a very modest and reasonable way to try to pay for the park,” Dill said. “It’s not going to be a big cash cow, where we’re going to squeeze tourists unreasonably with the profit motive.”

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-06-01-06 0944EDT