LAWTON - A public/private partnership to provide parking enforcement at Lake Lawtonka’s Day Use Area was recommended recently by the Lakes & Land Commission.
“This enforcement would be the responsibility of Premium Parking Solutions, including all reporting and tracking information that the city would have access to see and monitor/’ Lakes Supervisor Jim Bonnarens said.
The approximate cost of the signage would be $5,000 and PPS would install the signs for approximately $700, he said.
The most recent quote for security cameras would be $8,381 per camera, installation included, he said; thus, the total cost of entry and exit cameras would be $16,762. The cameras can identify in-state and out-of-state license plates, PPS reported.
All parking revenue collected by the New Orleans-based vendor would be earmarked for recouping the costs of the signs, installation, and cameras, Bonnarens said. After the vendor collected that amount, the city would begin receiving 70% of the revenue and PPS would keep the other 30%.
The vendor “also would perform 100% of the collections and issuing citations to nonpaying visitors,” Bonnarens told the commissioners Wednesday.
“Once this area is operating and the city is receiving revenue from our Day Use Area, there are options to expand parking in our Primitive Camping area,” he said.
The commissioners voted unanimously to recommend the city establish a uniform parking fee of $8 per vehicle. Besides imposing a day rate, perhaps the City Council would also consider authorizing annual passes (subscriptions) at a cost of $75 per year, Bonnarens suggested.
During a City Council meeting in November 2023, Mayor Stan Booker stated that “less than 1%” of Lawton’s residents are renters at Lake Lawtonka. Therefore, any parking fee that would be imposed at the lake probably would be paid largely by out-oftowners rather than local citizens.