GREEN MOUNTAIN FALLS • Mayor Jane Newberry and the city’s board of directors have postponed the decision to open the paid parking lot to 250 spaces.

After facing passionate public comments from about 25 attendees on the virtual directors meeting held via Zoom on May 4, the board tabled the decision on May 18.

Most of the residents in attendance spoke out against the idea even before hearing a presentation from one of the five contractors who submitted a bid to manage the parking system.

Among the critics was Ben Stevens who, along with his wife Nan, owns The Pantry restaurant. Stevens said many of his customers say they won’t come back if they have to pay for parking.

But with the first two hours of free parking, Newberry retorted that most people can have breakfast or lunch in under two hours. After two hours, the charge would be $ 2 for the next two hours.

Before embarking on the change, the city relied on the advice of a consultant, Jonathan Cain, who offered his services as part of his master’s thesis at the University of Colorado at Denver.

Cain recommended that after four hours, “the city increase the rate to $ 5 an hour.”

In a presentation by Gareth Lloyd and Jessica Hindmarch of the Interstate Parking of Colorado, the company agreed to invest $ 200,000 in the program, complete with kiosks, signage and 24/7 services, including an on-site ambassador. to answer questions.

As part of the parking system, residents as well as business owners and their employees would park for free and there would be allowances for their visitors.

Before embarking on implementing the change, which is expected to last through the busy summer season until October, the city assembled a group of community stakeholders to participate in the program. “We ran a massive community awareness campaign, conducted a survey that came back statistically with the support of our managed parking plan,” said City Manager Angie Sprang.

The Kirkpatrick Foundation funded the investigation.

Some reviewers questioned the need for paid parking. None recognized the chaos of last spring and fall when an influx of visitors sparked an uproar. Residents who lived on the streets leading to the trails had in the past complained of illegally parked cars and some blocking alleys.

As a result, Newberry and the administrators searched for a solution to prepare for what could be another summer of traffic congestion and an influx of backpackers.

The next meeting, also via Zoom, will be at 7 p.m. on May 18.